I"m in my presurgical stages, getting my upper GI tomorrow, dietician Monday and shrink Tuesday, and then I can make my surgery date. After reading a lot of these posts about complications and changes I think I"m misinformed. I knew about extra extra chewing, but I kinda thought I'd be eating relatively the same just MUCH smaller portions. Is the dietician really going to help me with what i should be eating and how many carlories I should consume daily? I"m so confused? I"m a little worried about the upper GI, b/c I have a history or reflux but mostly when I'm pregnant. They said that I have to have a good working esophagus, but what if banding causes MORE reflux? I think reflux is AWEFUL!!! I'd rather have labor pains!

I guess I'm thinking I don't know how much my life is going to change and how much more aware I'm going to have to be about what i put in my mouth instead of eating blindly.

I guess I'm worried about any discomfort while eating and all the complications that can go along with this. How can I prepare more? Any advice b/c I just feel lost!

Ok...I'm relatively new to this, but I don't believe reflux is an absolute at all. I've only been banded for about 6 months but I have only had reflux once and that was since my last fill about 3 weeks ago. I think alot depends on how tight your band is adjusted and how much you eat. I am still learning when to stop eating. My old habits of wanting to finish something because it tastes so good to me or simply because I don't want to waste it, are what caused the reflux and some other things I've dealt with. But I will learn, and so will you. I think I'm writing this as much for myself as I am for you....Small bites, chew throughly and slowly, and listen to your body and stop on time.

Good luck with your tests, surgery, etc...

Ok...take a deep breath! You will be FINE! Don't borrow trouble!! LOL. Lots of people have reflux before surgery because of their high weights. In most cases, the band and weight loss resolves it. If it doesn't at first, your doc will help you with some meds. The other thing to remember is that people often come to this support board when they are having troubles and need help. You are not hearing 100% of the easy days, the great changes, and the victories! So, it's good to be informed, but you will be fine! It will be SOOOOO worth it!!!

I"m in my presurgical stages, getting my upper GI tomorrow, dietician Monday and shrink Tuesday, and then I can make my surgery date. After reading a lot of these posts about complications and changes I think I"m misinformed. I knew about extra extra chewing, but I kinda thought I'd be eating relatively the same just MUCH smaller portions. Is the dietician really going to help me with what i should be eating and how many carlories I should consume daily? I"m so confused? I"m a little worried about the upper GI, b/c I have a history or reflux but mostly when I'm pregnant. They said that I have to have a good working esophagus, but what if banding causes MORE reflux? I think reflux is AWEFUL!!! I'd rather have labor pains!

I guess I'm thinking I don't know how much my life is going to change and how much more aware I'm going to have to be about what i put in my mouth instead of eating blindly.

I guess I'm worried about any discomfort while eating and all the complications that can go along with this. How can I prepare more? Any advice b/c I just feel lost!

Ok - take this one step at a time... This is a lifetime lifesytle change in your eating - Eating normal got you fat in the 1st place cuz what's normal for us is not what is considered healthy.. IMHO you can't continue to eat pizza, tons for fried foods, sugar, fast foods etc but just in smaller quanities and think that you will be a band sucess story - You have to eat healthy - low fat - low to sf free - you have to add exercise into your life. The band is not the magical cure to our issues with food - once you have proper restriction it will help control your portion size and if you don't chew or eat too fast you will get the stuck feeling (golf ball in chest pain) and this will happen cuz you can forget that you are banded - It does happen to me when I eat too fast or try to eat too much - You can eat around your band - Cookies, chips, ice cream all slip right on thru.

I don't have acid reflux not everyone does - some people have never PB'd either - I may get a itty bit of heartburn every now and then - but I just take a chewable pecid - and I am just ducky..

You are worrried about complications - thats normal - but are you wondering about the complications that are going to happen if you stay obese - We don't think about all the damage that we are doing to our bodies with our unhealhty lifestyle - Stuff happens but not to everyone - I would say the majority of the people here have not had any major complication - Yes there are some - and we can focus on the negative and say Oh I can't do this or we can focus on the positive and say - Oh this is a great tool to help me learn a new healthy lifestyle which will pro-long my live and greatly improve the quality of it.

This is a personal choice - only you can make the decision - but I can tell you from my point of view that the band is the best thing that I have ever done for myself - I love me for finally getting it - that I must eat healthy 98% of the time (and yes I still have pizza every now and then 1 piece not a whole pie) and exercise to be healthy - I love my band for the help in the portion control department. It took having major frickin surgery for me to get it - the band is a great tool - and your brain is even a bigger tool - with the combination it's a winning combination...

Good luck on your journey....

I use to have acid reflux before getting banded and now I don't. Just from the weight I've lost already I sleep better and don't have that acid stuff come up. It's been great. Good luck.

I have read alot on here that peoples reflux completely goes away after being banded.

Cool Crystal,

I also live in Texas and had my surgery in Dallas. My doc is Mark Watson...you?

I have Dr. Fox with True Results at Medical City!

He's really good.. I like him.. My best friend has him too and has lost like 120 so far in a year...

I still eat basically the same foods as before I was banded but not as much as before. For the most part I don't eat bread. I might have a small piece of good bread every once in a while. I no longer eat burgers and fries and it doesn't bother me a bit. I ate fast food almost everyday. Now fast food for me is Boston Market where I can get chicken or turkey and some veggies. Once a month or so I will go to Taco Bell when I am really tired and want something bad. I still eat fried food occassionally. I have a piece of chocolate every once in a while. I've lost 31 pounds in less than 4 months and I am thrilled with that. I know the loss would be greater if I ate a little better but I am eating small portions of food that I like. Don't get me wrong, I do eat healthy food too but I still get to eat the food I love.

I used to take Zantac twice a day before surgery for reflux. I've had no reflux since surgery. In most cases reflux is cased by the band being too tight. I have decent restriction right now. I could probably use another fill but I am still losing and I am not hungry all the time so I am waiting. I know it is up to me to control my choices. I have weeks where the scale doesn't move so I evaluate what I am eating and make changes and the weight comes off.

You have to take smaller bites and really chew your food. It is amazing how little we chew our food. I can really taste food now. If I don't really like something it isn't worth the effort to eat it. Before the band I would eat anything.

I was one of the ones that was worried that I would fail because I loved to eat a lot of food. I've only gained twice since I was banded and they were small gains.

I really didn't so anything to prepare myself except plan the type of foods I would eat during the liquid and mushy stage.

Wow! 120...that is awesome. Well keep up the good work and thanks for all the info.

U all are awesome! I know the bene's out weigh the risks, and I wanna be there for my girls when they get older, i wanna play with them outside and not feel so tired. I kow this will be the right thing, I really think I'm greiving bottom line, it's like I"ll be losing my best friend KWIM?

I do know what you mean. But your best friend hasn't been a great friend, has it? I know it wasn't for me. Eating the way I was eating might have had some good things, but it made me morbidly obese. I could choose to keep those eating habits, or choose to live a healthier life and have a better quality of life. I know it's easier to think this way in your head than make it real in your heart.

I think it's normal to go through these anxieties and grief before having surgery like this. It will definitely change your life. The best thing you can do to prevent reflux AFTER banding is to work with as little Fluid in your band as you can while still losing weight. If you are tight enough (after you get a few fills, which will be a few months after your surgery) that you are getting food stuck or vomiting more than very occasionally, you are too tight. People get in the trap of keeping too much fluid in the band because they are losing weight and the tight band is forcibly keeping them from eating very much food. But the band is actually designed to prevent hunger, not actively kick food out of your stomach! Listen to your body and don't rely on the band to do all the work for you, and you will be fine. And you might consider getting a therapist who is experienced in the issues of obesity and emotional eating if that is a particular problem for you (as it is for most of us). The band doesn't cure emotional eating and most of us would benefit from having some addtional help with these issues.

Good luck, you will do great!

When do you start reciving fills? I am 2wks post-op.:confused2:

I used to have reflux all the time before I was banded....all the time. It was mostly bc of the juink I was eating. I haven't had it since my surgery! 6 months and no reflux-- not once!

I attended the WLS seminar 11/27/2007. I decided that Lap Band was the procedure I wanted to pursue. I attended all my requirements, and had my surgery approved 1/31/2008. I was ecstatic, finally something that could really help me achieve and MAINTAIN my weightloss goal. I had surgery 3/5/08 and today is 3/14/2008. All I can say is WOW, I feel great. I was very pleased with the surgery procedure itself. The anesthsiologist that worked with him was very diligent in monitoring my vital signs during surgery which allowed me a very quick recovery time with no residual effects of anesthesia. Upon removing my bandages over my incisions, I was very pleased to see that there was no redness, irritation, or bleeding. In fact my incisions were perfectly horizontal, which visually is much more appealing and again indicates surgeons's attention to detail. I had surgery on a Wednesday and went back to work on Friday. I had some tenderness around my incisions but nothing that a little tylenol didn't help. I spent my weekend no differently than any other, went shopping, did house work, etc etc. I walk at least a half hour a day and walk for an hour or more on the weekends. I am very pleased with my decison to have the Lap Band, and I am so thankful for the wonderful job without a doubt if I were to have to do it again, I would do it the same.