Well, my 3 year wait is over – I have finally been approved for Lapband surgery. I wanted to send an email to everyone, explaining what the procedure is, what to expect and what not to expect. Feel free to ask any questions.

Lapband is an outpatient surgery that places a silicone band around the top part of your stomach. The band is inflated/deflated “a fill” with saline through a “port” that is accessed (by needle) around your belly area. This surgery is completely reversible and has <1% complications. I will be home recovering for about 3 days.

My surgeon is Dr. Felix Spiegel. He is the MOST experienced surgeon in the United States; he has done more than 5000 Lapband procedures and is very well respected. I am extremely lucky that he is in my network. People fly in from all over the world to have him perform their surgery and he is right here in Houston. Here is his website if you would like to see his information. http://www.felixspiegelmd.com/index.asp

The Lapband is NOT a miracle; it is a TOOL, it allows you to feel full faster and keeps you from eating as much. However, if you don’t follow the rules, you can gain weight on the Lapband, just as without it. The nerves of your stomach are at the very top. So when we eat, you fill your stomach all the way to the top before you feel full. The band will hold the food at the top and have a small opening where the food will slowly disperse into the lower stomach, so not only do you feel full faster, but you stay full longer. For the majority of people, this surgery enables them to loose weight, but it does not work for everyone. Thankfully the band can be removed in minutes in an out-patient procedure if needed. I hope it won’t be needed.

When I have the surgery, I will be on liquids while my body is healing and the stomach is swollen from surgery. Once the swelling goes down, I will be able to eat anything for a couple of months. The band will not be inflated, so there won’t be any restriction – Restriction is when the band is inflated and helps hold the food at the top of the stomach. Sometimes it takes 6 fills or more before your restriction is to a point where it helps control your hunger. So there may not be much change in my weight or eating for many months.

There are 3 stages of eating following surgery.

• Liquids Following surgery, the Dr. doesn’t want the stomach to have to process anything. It is freaking out because it has a band around it. The band is stitched into place and after a while it creates a “place” for the band to sit. If you eat solid foods or take huge bites, it could move the band while it is supposed to be healing.
  
• Mushy Foods Instead of going from Liquids to solid foods, they have a mushy stage so that your stomach has time to adapt to everything. Also, since you won’t be very hungry following surgery and your stomach is still swollen, this allows you to consume more calories and promote healing.
  
• Solid Foods Finally, I will begin introducing normal foods again. Some people have problems tolerating certain foods after surgery, others don’t. Tough meats, nuts, dried fruit, soft breads and pastas are normally the culprits.

Once I have proper restriction, you will notice that I won’t be able to eat very much at one time. Usually ½ a cup is normal for a banded person. Because I won’t be eating as much, I will have to eat a lot of Protein. Since I will get full fast, I am supposed to eat Protein first, then everything else. So, for all you people that I go out to eat with all the time – I am going to start eating off your plate! Ha! Also, I will be taking very tiny bites and chewing forever! A couple of other things you may notice, I won’t be able to drink with my meal – that is going to be so odd and I will be taking small bites.

This surgery does not cause any type of starvation, malnutrition, or vitamin deficiency. I will be able to eat everything from before; I will just want less of it. The typical banded person eats 1200 calories a day, which is what anyone is supposed to eat. Bad foods, such as fast foods, fried foods, sweets, shakes and such, go right through the band with no problem, so there is always room for failure. This surgery usually results in loosing 70% of your excess weight.

I have done so much research on this procedure; I think I could give classes on it. My favorite place to browse is http://www.lapbandtalk.com/index.php this website is devoted completely to Lapband. It is a great place for information. I have started an online Blog to document my experiences. Feel free to check it out. http://lapbandtalk.com/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=936

Hopefully next time I see you guys, I will be happily banded!

Wendy, my name is actually Wendy too and I live in Florida. I have Tricare Reserve Select and have my first appointment next week w/a surgeon. I have no idea if I will be approved or not as I am 255 / 5'6". I am probably pretty borderline in getting approved as I have NO comorbidities that I think they cover - I do have asthma, lower back disc hernia, and diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 6 years ago. What all do you have to do?? Is anything required other than dr recommended?? I know I've got the 100lbs covered, but I think I'll need the 200% over weight because I have no comorbidities.... and I have no idea how they calculate that. I really wish you all the best to you and your husband. My husband is awesome too and I am blessed for that. Good luck and any info is appreciated.

hopefulbndr, I think you should be fine, they go by the Met Life table of recommended weights. For 5'6", 120-130 for a small frame and it goes up, the larger the frame, if you are close, I am sure your dr. will fudge on what "frame" he considers you. http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/met.htm

Here is the link, you may want to bring it with you to your appt and have highlighted the"small frame" section :-) maybe your dr. will just go with it :-) I have no real comorbidities. The dr. put that I had Asthma (left out the part that says childhood) and said I have shortness of breath, he asked if I had shortness of breath and I said, no, he said, so you can climb a flight of stairs and not be out of breath, I said OH, hell NO! lol. If you meet the weight, Tricare doesn't care about anything else. You shouldn't have any problems. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions. Wendy@BeldwinKennels.com

Goodluck!

Thanks for your help.... I am sitting here running some "numbers" now.... crazy isn't it.. Again thank you and good luck, don't forget to keep us posted. Wendy

I am 5'6" too ... I stuffed 3 rolls of quarters in my bra & drank a liter of water to "make weight"!!! I added 7 lbs. doing that. If you're close you can try it!

Iwanttotriagain, you are so funny for doing that! I thought I was the only one with sinister ideas of how to add weight. I am approaching my consultation in 3 weeks and was planning on carrying hand weights in my pockets. Your idea is better;)

My surgery was 2 years ago and I'm 90 lbs down, a size 8/10, healthy and fabulous. I eat whole organic foods, I exercise and have found that most of the time I'm very happy. (minus some heartburn issues). GOOD LUCK and keep the faith. Your shopping experiences are about to get seriously fun!!!