Hi

I am going to be banded on Dec 22 and have been reading through these posts to be fully informed of all the bad as well as the good. I am trying to understand why there are so many people who are complaining about constant vomiting, PBing, being stuck yet still GAIN weight. That somehow doesn't seem to make sense to me. Obviously, they must have some restriction with the band to be having eating problems, but how can you be gaining weight when you are unable to keep anything down. Can anyone explain this phenomenon to me?

Thanks

Even with restriction you can eat around your band. Ice cream, cheese, chocolate and other high fat foods don't get stuck.

Esp in times when you're either too tight or not eating slowly enough, and are PBing all the time, it's often easier to revert to soft, high calorie, high fat food that will slip past the band and give you that 'full' feeling you're not getting with harder Protein. So being so tight that you pb all the time can be as destructive as being not tight enough, and can cause you to gain weight instead of lose it.

And annoyingly when you're very tight, your body will be HUNGRY because it hasnt had a decent meal, so you tend to get urges to just eat all the darn time, and there you go back to the yogurt, ice cream, chocolate, Cookies, and stuff that will go down to try to chase away the hunger. Its VERY easy not to lose weight when you're too tight.

My normal Breakfast is a bowl of good Cereal such as Allbran - 200 calories with some skim milk. When I was tighter and didnt like eating in the morning I was having a Peanut Butter and banana Optifast shake - EASILY 300 calories or more with a lot more fat from the peanut butter. I would have my favourite Soup for lunch often - curried peanut pumpkin soup - again full of sour cream and peanut butter. Didnt gain weight but boy, I sure wasnt losing it for how tight I was. That's why I decided to have some fill out, a tuna sandwich is a lot less calories than that soup! And I could eat fruit again whcih I wasnt able to eat.

Thank you for your answers. That actually confirms the whole picture I'm starting to get. My doctor keeps saying the band is a tool and I will still have to work at it. Exercise, don't eat junk, and use it to lead to a healthier life. I am very excited about this journey.

I think I can relate to this 100%. I am on the brink of having it emptied because I simply can't tollerate the exreme fickle nature of the band. Whether I am suffering simply with an overtight band I don't know but I am calling my "provider" tomorrow to get a good % or all took out asap

I will be banded on March 30th so I have been reading some of the reasons people would want to have the band removed so I can learn the pros and cons. I keep seeing the abbreviation PBing and haven't been able to guess what it stands for. Could you tell me?

PB is productive belch (Vomiting). Think REAL HARD about getting a band. I haven't put on any bands in a few years, as so many patients are unhappy with them. Of all the weight loss operations, dissatisfaction is HIGHEST with the band (this is from a large study with more than 10,000 patients). Delay your surgery. Find out if you can get a sleeve gastrectomy instead.

Mark Pleatman MD

Web page: laparoscopy.com/pleatman

LOL....if that wasn't blatent advertising I don't know what is!!

Care to share this study with us?

I can do bands, bypasses, and sleeves. How is recommending one operation over the other advertising? The information I discussed regarding patient satisfaction came from the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Consortium Study being run by Blue Cross of Michigan, a state where band placement is on the decline.

This site's owners would prefer that I not say negative things about bands. If you want a band, get one.

Mark Pleatman MD

Mark Pleatman MD Weight Loss Surgery Website

I can do bands, bypasses, and sleeves. How is recommending one operation over the other advertising? The information I discussed regarding patient satisfaction came from the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Consortium Study being run by Blue Cross of Michigan, a state where band placement is on the decline.

This site's owners would prefer that I not say negative things about bands. If you want a band, get one.

Mark Pleatman MD

Mark Pleatman MD Weight Loss Surgery Website

I have to say thank you to Dr. Pleatman. I have already been banded, but I do wish my doctor would have been more up front with patient satisfaction with the band. I had actually wanted the sleeve, but unfortunately, my insurance wouldn't cover it, and then prior to surgery while doing an EGD, it was discovered I had an ulcer, which my doctor said if I had been going for any other surgery, bypass or sleeve, he wouldn't have been able to do it. I have to say, I have been struggling for the last 2 months or so with heartburn. I had a slight unfill about a month and a half ago, which helped with the regurgitation, but depending on what I eat I still have it from time to time. I haven't lost any weight since January and getting frustrated. (I don't have the Lap band, I have the REalize band).

I was banded March 31st and had my first fill last week. I am starting to feel a little more full, but really want to get to how I felt after surgery when all the swelling was there.

Yes It was hard to get liquids down and I had some indigestion, but I would have to say to anyone considering the band, that even though several people are complaining about heartburn and belching, I would rather deal with that than the alternative.

With the little weight I have lost so far, I already feel better.

My blood pressure is improving, my knees are not hurting, my blood sugar is good and the swelling and numbness in my feet is gone.

Don't know about the rest of you but I think most of the annoying side effects are much better than the pain of a heart attack, stroke or being on dialysis any day. I am in the medical field and have seen all of these things first hand, and many more ailments that being overweight causes. So as long as I can keep my band in, I am going to stick it out. Just my two cents. Good luck to everyone :biggrin:

I'm with Dr. Pleatman, get something else, even the sleeve. I wish I had done more research prior to having this stupid band placed. I know which study he is talking about, as I saw it doing a research paper for a healthcare class about 4 months ago. (I'd post the link, but unfortunately said paper is stuck on my old laptop that died on me.) I would ESPECIALLY think twice about it if you have any kind of metabolic issues, like Syndrome X or PCOS. You will have 10x the challenge of losing weight with a metabolic disorder than others who do not.

If you really and truly feel it is for you, I say GO FOR IT and congratulations!!! However, do more than read here like I did.:thumbup:

I see that this is an older post, however, I am still posting with the hope someone is still looking at this blog. I was banded in 2007. I lost 57 lbs., then plateaued. Then, in 2009, I began gaining. The blogger who posted the thing about eating ice cream, chocolate, peanut butter, etc., is dead on accurate. I am so tight I vomit a lot. It is almost impossible for me to tolerate any sort of meat no matter how much I chew. I can't afford to have the band loosened right now. I wish I had never gotten it. I lost most of my weight on the 2 week fast prior to surgery. It was not worth it for me.

I was banded on May 31st, 2007. I have lost around 80lbs and could not have done it without the band. I just had total knee replacement and was not mobile for a long time, I gained 10lbs because of it. I joined Weight Watchers to help me be accountable for losing weight and something's working cause I have lost 6 of the 10 I gained. This is a struggle and will always be cause bad food goes down fine and solid protein does not. I eat cottage cheese and some natural peanut butter and still I don't think I eat right. We are used to eating a whole slab of ribs and can't do that now. Old habits are hard to break, I know it. Sometimes get depressed cause I can't eat, can you imagine that? good luck and keep in touch.