B-52

Don't worry, your day will come....I can now do things, and sometimes better, than people half my age... Not many people remember me when I was fat.... A new life awaits....

A month out, I had my first fill...4cc's....after which I started to, and did gain weight. I went for my second fill 4 weeks after that weighing more than my first fill visit.... Dr. was not surprised, he actually chuckled at my frustration....tried to explain to me that the band does absolutely nothing (in my case) until it gets properly adjusted...and that can take months.....It IS as though I have no band...all they did after all, was install it....they did not turn it on yet. Until then, if I wanted to loose, it was the old fashioned way...the way I tried...and failed...before I had surgery....that 4 letter word DIET In other words, I was in Bandster Hell.... BTW, everyone looses something post op, then eventually you start back on real solid food.

With me, it was the opposite....the more calories I could burn per day as opposed to the my daily calorie intake, the better. 3500 calories roughly equals 1 lb...so if you eat 1000 calories, to loose weight you must burn 1350 calories that day. In terms of one's metabolism, that is another issue....but I have always worked out first thing in the morning, around 5 am, on a empty stomach. Then had a high Protein recovery shake after my workout. This way I was burning stored fat as my source of energy, rather than recently eaten food. My workouts consist of running 3-5 miles, then doing weights. I'm also 63 years old.

Red Meat was one of the first things I could not tolerate with the band....along with rice, pasta, anything deep fried, and bread. My Surgeon replied that all these are very common...depending on your band's adjustment. My Wife likes Outback, but being a Bander there is not much of a selection there for me.... Generally chicken at a place like that is very tough, so I never order it when we go out..... So I usually have soup and a appetizer...(plus a cocktail or 2, or perhaps a Beer) There is a "Balance" between the amount of fills, and the types of food, and how we eat..... BTW, all my Dr.'s wanted me to cut way back on red meat...Cardiologist said only once a week....so after lap band surgery, they were all thrilled when I stopped eating meat all together...

For me...My goal weight chose me... This is NOT a Diet, it is a Lifestyle...a new way of eating, inability to overeat, no hunger/cravings etc. I had many goals, met them and kept on going until everything reached a "Equilibrium" I kept loosing untill there is simply nothing left to loose (in terms of fat) You can ignore BMI's, they mean nothing when you start getting down to the nitty gritty....then it all becomes about "Body Fat %" I kept loosing with this new lifestyle untill my body fat % reached the "Athletic" category.. Which means I have burned ALL excess body fat. It was not my goal, it is where my body feels it should be... I keep up my Protein so as not to loose anything but fat. This was all years ago...I have not gained, nor lost any weight in about 3 years now...everything has reached the "New Normal" BTW, there is nothing I could have done to stop it...except maybe get Fluid taken out of my band, which I was not about to do. There is no such thing as "Maintenance" with the Lap-Band, except in my case, I go all liquids for a few days every 4-6 weeks for good Band Health.... I don't thing those with the Gastric Sleeve can relate to what I am saying....

If I feel uncomfortable while eating, it is either I am eating foods not band friendly, not chewing, too large of bites-swallows, etc. It was not from the band being to tight. There are foods that are just too harsh for my band....period. I have read posts where people feel they should be able to eat anything and everything they want, and if they can't, then their band is too tight. But that's not getting stuck...that's uncomfortable while eating.... When you get stuck, you'll know it.....can't wait for the digestive juices to do anything...happens too fast for that....sliming starts big time...that's your digestive juices (saliva) backing up with no where to go...... When that used to happen, I would go into the bathroom and take small sips of Water...speeding up the normal process...and have it al come back up and out.... Then I was fine, and sometimes continued eating...having learned my lesson.... Screwing up is all part of the learning curve....you can run and avoid it, or learn your lessons to co-exist with the band... There was a time when I got stuck 2-3 times a day...could have blamed the band....my Dr. knew better. He knew I had every bad eating habit one could gave...a real pig! I had to learn how to eat all over again and not blame the band so quickly.... I have not been stuck in almost 3 years now....there are foods I no longer eat, I eat differntly now, small and slow...I have learned to listen to my band, recognize the slightest "pangs" and change before I overstep and screw up.....Eventually it all becomes second nature...don't even thing about it all that much.

If I understand everything, you were banded in 2008, and lost a total of 40lbs??? (according to you avatar-profile) Speaking for myself and my experience only, the band does not change. I had it adjusted, over a few fills, to a point where it is working..... For me, I find it next to impossible to fall off the wagon, so to speak...I have thrown caution to the wind, say on cruises, etc, and just went and enjoyed myself...and no matter what, the band still performed it's magic weather I wanted to or not..... It does not change on it's own. Now If i did not have it properly filled, and relied more on my own efforts and will power-dicipline, i could understand how I would fail...just like every time I did before surgery. That's why I had this surgery...to do what I am incapable of doing...... I'm not judging anyone, just reading different posts and comparing them all...seems to be a wide variation including people gaining weight back.... I can only think there is such a variation because the band is adjustable and it too can have a wide variation....and the end user has the final say how they want it to work. But then, what do I know...only what I know for myself....

Why won't it???? First thing a Dr. does is either give a person a complete un-fill, or instruct them to go all liquids for a few days...either way it is giving it a rest and a time to return to normal. For maintenance, I do a few days of liquids every 6 weeks or so, just for that reason...(some call it the 5 day pouch test)......I can pretty much tell when it is stretched, by the size of my portions and ease of eating more than usual....and after giving it a rest I can tell it is back to normal for that same reason....portions back to normal, inability to over-eat. As far as stretching without a fill, my entire stomach was stretched from all the overeating I did before surgery......"Beer Belly" Looked like I was carrying quintuplets.... But now, by eating much less, it has returned to normal and is rock hard with no fat..... The stomach is designed to stretch and contract, and the pouch is still the stomach.

First, you're not actually "Vomiting" No one actually vomits from the band. What is coming back up is what is above the band, unable to pass through either because its too large, wrong consistency which includes not chewed enough, and/or too much eaten to fast to give it a chance to pass through. I have not yet actually vomited since being banded, and it is something I worry about.......

It's a lifestyle...not a diet.

Spoken like a true veteran....if the newbies only understood whats really in store for them.... I had a GREAT time yesterday.

It's 4am, Thanksgiving morning...sitting here having my first cup of coffee. The gym opens at 5, they close at noon.....and I plan on being there when the doors open. Do I feel motivated? Do I feel like I have the energy? HECK NO! It's my day off, it's freezing outside....I should crawl back into my warm bed and enjoy my day off from work. Then enjoy a lazy day of food, family, and football. But I'll go....I have felt this way many times before, and have always come up with good excuses not to before.... I say this because it is easy for everyone to find some reason not to exercise...not to be active....and I have found a few truths I want to share. 1) I know, regardless of how I feel now at this moment, I will find the energy once I start. It comes from somewhere and the more I do it the more energy and motivation comes out. So regardless of how I feel at this moment, it will change once I get out there and start doing it. 2) I also know, as a reward, that I will feel much better throughout the rest of the day after I have a good workout. Otherwise I would feel like crap and lazy. 3) Feeling better, healthier and energized within, will come out and project itself to others around me today....in this case family and friends. Some of which I have not seen in a year. There are some things you can't cover up. Bring it! Looking forward to all that great food and drink....the fun..the fellowship....the football!.....it's going to be a great day! It's my favorite time of year...... So that's my frame of mind this morning....what's yours today? Incidentally, I expect a pretty good gathering there at 5 am....I'm not the only one. As a side note, I'm 2 months shy of 63...when I first started working out in earnest, just before my surgery, I had numerous medical issues that I could and did use to hinder me....but I worked through them and overcame and defeated them.(with all of my Dr's blessings)

Is the Lap Band forum discussions slowly being phased away? Perhaps by natural selection? I always click "New Content" under lap band forums, and find it is predominantly all posts from people with other surgery procedures, such as Gastric Sleeve.... At first I thought that maybe people were not aware where they were posting,and that there are different categories, but lately there seems to be no boundaries between the types of surgery forums. Nothing against other surgery types, but I feel experiences between them are different. And when I see a post, and it is from someone with another type of surgery, I cannot respond having no experience....and when there is a thread concerning the Lap band, people with other surgeries respond giving a less than sincere-accurate opinion. I have heard that most Dr.'s are no longer doing Lap band surgeries and that other procedures are preferred...Least that is what is being said....so is that reflective on this forum also??? And eventually the Lap banders will be over-run and extinct?

No, and sometimes I forget like when I am at the gym....if I drink too much too fast, it will come right back up and out, sometimes from pain which I presume may be the pouch stretching. Again, think of of a funnel....wide at the top the down to a narrow passage....you can pour liquids into it and it will flow ok giving a slow pour.....put Water in fast and it fills faster than it can pass through and overflow the top section.... Add food to that passage, then water, and it compounds the problem 10 fold. I CANNOT drink while eating. Carbonated drinks makes it even worse and trickier still....so much so most Dr.' do not allow carbonated drinks...and we all need to listen to our Dr's......mine lets me now after a few years and knowing (Listening) to my band is now second nature.

IMO all that would fall under "General" weight loss discussions.... Again, I know nothing about other procedures...do they have a "Green" zone? Is their Hunger/cravings diminished? Stuck episodes? Regurgitation? Too tight or too loose symptoms? And how to tell the difference? I don't know. I do know from experience what a person with the band experiences, and it is that area I will share my experiences.... I'm referring to visiting specific "Lap Band" forums....which have specific "Lap Band" issues, not general universal issues for the Obese as a whole and all that goes with it. It is these specific area(s) that I am finding being diluted.... That's all I'm saying and That was my main point in the OP....

Exactly..... It's not about one procedure versus another..... Just a few minutes ago I opened a thread clearly about the Lap band, started by someone who was banded...and a few posts in people with the sleeve are giving answers/advice to the OP.... With all due respect, people with the sleeve do not relate to banders in all things, just as I, as a bander, do not have a clue what it is like to have the sleeve...NOT A CLUE!...so I will not pretend to. I will stay within the lap band section of this website.

I take them along when I travel....easy to pack in luggage.

Guard up! No way...this is my favorite time of year...can't wait. The band has given me a new lifestyle...I eat very little as compared to my old self, and what I do eat I make the best choices I can. So for the holidays, all those office parties, family get togethers, my choices will be a little different than a regular day. And the band will still be the band which means no matter what, I will not be over eating, just making different food choices. Not to mention, there are foods I will never eat...so that leaves out Cookies, cakes, pastries, etc....everything flour based. Then I'll do what most people do...head to the gym and run it of!!! And since I'll have some extra days off, that means extra time at the gym.... Thank heaven for the Lap band!!! It saves me from my old self!

60 lbs on the pre op diet??? If I could do that well at dieting, I would not need surgery...just had to say. Surgery was my last resort because I was unable to loose weight any other way. And my 6 month program proved just that to my insurance...that I indeed needed surgery, nothing else will work. Just had to say...I read these posts all the time and it makes my head spin...I just don't understand the reason for wanting - needing to be successful on that 6 month program.... I know Dr.'s are asking people to be successful, what else would they say other than give it your best effort...which mine did...and I FAILED....and the staff just smiled knowing something????

I work out 5 days a week, first thing in the morning....usually between 5-6 am. I run 3-5 miles, plus weights and core workout. I do all this on a EMPTY STOMACH...No food prior. My thinking is, we store away excess energy as fat for those days of possible famine...... I have all this fat stored up to use for an emergency energy source in days of famine...well, my goal was not to ignore that storage, but to use it that stored fat for energy rather than introduce food and ignore what is stored away. After my workouts I would have a high Protein recovery shake.... AND IT WORKED....by doing this, I have burned up ALL excess fat storage...my body fat % is down in the athletic range...and as far as weight loss, I have reached rock bottom...my body now has no excess weight to loose. Now that I am at that point, I need to have my Protein Shake before my workouts... As far as the body holding onto calories, the so-called starvation mode which IMO for OBESE people is a cop-out....I have never had that to be a problem...If my body did try to hold on, how long could it do so before it started to burn away??? Not very long!!!

Why was a revision needed and exactly what was done? BTW, what's wrong with 5'5 and 113lbs??? Sounds attractive to me. You said yourself it's post op Water retention, etc.

Perhaps the lap-band procedure is becoming less popular among surgeons....however, the point of my post was that on THIS forum...those with the lap band are becoming, if not already, the minority and that when I log in, it is hard to find threads from people with the lap band and discussions limited to people with the lap band. Seems wherever or whatever post I open, even if started by someone with the band, it becomes over run by people with other weight loss surgery procedures.... That may well be indicative of what is happening in the real world.....NOT that I have anything against people with other weight loss procedures, it's really none of my business..... but I have the lap band and I want to have discussions and read posts with people in the lap band community...as I'm sure people in other categories would desire also.

I have been banded almost 4 years, and have NEVER thrown up....I've gotten stuck and had it come up up and out, but that is not vomiting. Truth be told, I'm scared to death of getting violently sick such as food poisoning, sea sickness, etc. Vomiting would come up from below the band..with a lot of force and contractions... Techniquely, with the band, it's called regurgitation....

It can work, similar drugs have worked for people with obessive-compulsive, anxiety addictions such as smoking, gambling, and yes eating. Personally, I will never know, I, (and just about everybody else on this site) has already had surgery to relieve us from over eating. Don't see why we would need both.

My PCP sent me to one once,...I have tried everything over the years to loose weight and nothing worked for me short of Lap band surgery. But there were many people there who had amazing success stories. I just do not have the will power or discipline to loose weight on my own.