So, my name is Lori and I am getting things lined up to have surgery, hopefully this summer. I have my psych exam this Thursday and a seminar Saturday with a consult with Dr. Neal on the following Tuesday. At this point I am on an emotional roller coaster; excited one day, terrified the next. I've been reading here for the past 2 or 3 weeks, so I know this is pretty normal to go through, which keeps me from just eating myself to sleep...

A friend who knows I am contemplating this has suggested trying Sensa before I make my decision. I have looked at the reviews and am not convinced it actually works, but I was wondering if any of you had tried it before you had surgery, and if you felt like it did any good? I really don't see myself using it in place of surgery, but if it works, I wonder if it would help in conjunction with surgery?

So many questions. Wouldn't it be delightful if I could actually go to bed and wake up as thin as I sometimes imagine I am?

Looking forward to hearing back from anyone.

Lori

I did try Sensa. I found that Sensa removes the flavor of food but never really satisfied me. I would begin eating a meal and wonder why I like this food? I would still be hungry and would seek out other food.

I forgot to use Sensa at least 50% of the time. I would try it if I were you. We're all different and who knows, this may be your miracle prescription and avoid an expensive surgery. Try as many plans as you can and make the band or bariatric surgery your very last option.

tmf

Good luck to you. I'd love to wake up thin. Lol

I hate to say it but "If it sounds to good to be true, it isn't "

For me, I do not want to diet. I want to learn to respect food, look good and be healthy. Thus far, the band has helped me do just that.

I haven't tried Sensa. I have tried a zillion fad diets, diet drugs, and bariatric surgery. The only thing that has worked for me, not just for weight loss but for maintaining weight loss, is bariatric surgery.

I looked up Sensa at the pubmed site (a site created by a US government health and medicine agency, the NCBI). There are absolutely no studies or clinical trials indexed there that prove that Sensa works and is safe.

On the other hand, many studies have shown that bariatric surgery works, and if the various procedures weren't safe, no insurance company would pay for them. Right now, bariatric surgery is the ONLY obesity treatment with longterm success.

I have to agree with readytogoforit: a weight loss product that sounds too good to be true, is too good to be true. But if you want to try it, now or after surgery, go for it. I would hope that you wouldn't even need it after surgery. If you did need it after surgery, why even have surgery?

Thanks for the responses!

TMF: Thanks for sharing your experience with Sensa. I really didn't "get" what that product was actually doing, so your description really helps. It sounds like it could be made for people like me, who have trouble stopping eating something that tastes really good, by making it not have that good taste. I see the danger though, of just moving on to something else instead.

Ready: I hear you on "too good to be true" products! None of them have ever worked for me or anyone I know.

Jean: Valid question. First, you would need to understand how much I cannot wrap my head around the idea that this surgery is actually going to work for me...I enjoy food and the concept of actually eating less and succeeding at this is just really hard for me to believe. I figured that if I need to still do something to fool my brain after surgery, Sensa may help.

I had gone to the PubMed site to research it as well as some other sites and found what you did: No evidence that it works, but no implications in any safety issues.

I doubt I will spend the money to try it, heaven knows I have wasted a lot of money over the years on a wide variety of things that have not helped. I'm sure I will go ahead with surgery, hopefully soon, and put all of this uncertainty behind me.

Jean: Valid question. First, you would need to understand how much I cannot wrap my head around the idea that this surgery is actually going to work for me...I enjoy food and the concept of actually eating less and succeeding at this is just really hard for me to believe. I figured that if I need to still do something to fool my brain after surgery, Sensa may help.

Well, it may not work this way for you, but when my band was adjusted to provide optimal restriction, it did change and even diminish my enjoyment of food, same as the Sensa is supposed to do, only it worked 24 hours a day and I didn't have to buy anything or put anything on my food. Food was just not as appealing to me, even my old pre-op favorites. So you may be pleasantly surprised by what an adjustable gastric band can do for you. The band presses on the vagus nerves at the top of the stomach. The vagus nerves are responsible for (among many other things) sending satiety messages to the brain. So I think my band was continually telling my brain that it was already satisfied, thank you very much, and as a result, food became no big deal for the first time in my life.

Now that my band is gone, I have been shocked to discover how fabulous food tastes again.

Thank you so much for this reply, that actually makes sense to me and gave me kind of an "aha!" moment.

I think that, at this point, I am just wishing I were scheduled and that part of the commitment was taken care of, you know?

Soon.

I always wonder about the Sensa too. I have been what I consider blessed or you may call it lucky, whatever you want to call it. Before surgery I would get hungry all the time physical hunger and I felt that after surgery until I got my second small fill and in the past 3 years I have felt no hunger since that 2nd fill. I could go all day and not eat . . . if it wasn't for the head hunger.

It is good as I am never feeling hunger pains, but boy I did that first month after surgery but since then not at all. The only thing is it doesn't help me eat 3 small meals a day like I did at first as I am not hungry so lots of times I do not get enough calories and then no weight loss. I do not miss the hunger pains.

My understanding the new weightloss pill to be out around the first of the year is suppose to trick the mind that it is full . . . .it might be a perfect world. But I have not research it at all and do not know anything about it but what I heard on CNN. Anyone know!

Also welcome to the boards a lot of really nice people here with great information and tips and lots of support!

cheri

Thank you Cheri!

You should have lap-band surgery if you feel it is right for you. It'll work, but it is just a tool. I try to keep reminding my self of this, but it is an awesomely effective tool...