Matt Z

I noticed that there hasn't been any activity in this forum since 2014. So, if any of your 2011 bandsters are still around. Sound Off! I was banded on Friday, Nov 18, 2011. I was 370 before the whole process. Right now as of Wed May 24, 2017. I'm still between 300 and 310 (ish) and I'm in the middle of getting revision to bypass surgery.

Check into getting a new mask. I know I wasn't sold on most models. Having a beard makes my choices more restrictive (I found nasal pillows work MUCH better for me). I also found that using a hose management hook made things MUCH easier to sleep with. Check out cpap.com for some hose management items as well as a hose and mask covers. Makes them MUCH nicer to have pressed on your face all night. I'm to the point where it's weird NOT to use it. Like when I can't take it with me, when I go camping etc. LOL My old machine has been to Nicaragua twice now. Good luck!

You can absolutely have dumping with VSG. In fact you can have dumping without any WLS at all. Are RNY more prone, sure. But saying it isn't a potential problem is just incorrect. Terri, you say you want to lose 120 lbs. VSG reports 50-60 (some 70)% loss of your total overage. RNY is upwards of 80%. Yes there are more potential complications with VSG over RNY. As someone that was banded 5 and a half years ago. I wish I would have went RNY off the bat. The band had all these amazing results reported. But the truth didn't follow the marketing. Sure, I lost 60ish lbs total already. But I'm stuck at around 300-315 lbs. Have been for 4 of the 5 years I've had the band. I'm currently in the progress of revising to RNY. Look at all your factors, how much you have to lose, etc. Understand that restriction alone will ONLY get you so far. That's why the RNY has a greater long term success rate, because of the malabsorption. I figure, I'm almost 40, over 300 lbs. If I don't do something to drop 100+ lbs now, I might not see 50.

You really should be at 100% CPAP usage. As a CPAP user myself, I understand that it can be tough. If they state that you need to be at or above a certain usage, they very well could deny you for not meeting that level of usage. Why are you only at 69% usage of your CPAP? What about the CPAP are you having issues with?

I can relate to this. I was banded back in Nov of 2011. Whereas I did lose about 60 lbs in total, I only lost 38 or so after the band. I tried my hardest, tracked all intake and expenditures. I just couldn't break 300. I'm currently floating between 300 and like 315. I felt defeated. I felt like a failure. I stopped going to my surgeon for check ups. I just kinda gave up on the band. Recently I decided that I have had enough of the getting stuck on good for you foods and was just done with failing at weight loss. I was nervous, anxious, and a bit scared to step foot in my doctor's office. But with my wife in tow, I did just that. I was relieved to find out that my experience, wasn't abnormal at all. I wasn't a failure. The band was over hyped and typical results were WAY less than promised. My doc told me that some companies have stopped making the band or replacement parts all together. One is in the process of selling their part of the company that does bands altogether. So, please do NOT take all the blame! I'm currently working towards revision to bypass. I thought about the sleeve, but my doc will not do band to sleeve revision due to scar issue build up under the band being directly in line to where they staple when they sleeve. Scar tissue doesn't heal to scar tissue the same way that healthy tissue heals to healthy tissue. So, if I wanted the band she would refer me to another surgeon in her office, but she wouldn't do it because the increased risks of leaking were just too great for her to justify doing the procedure. That and going from a long term band installation to sleeve will *not* have the same outcome as those going from nothing to sleeve. As I'm already used to the restriction, it won't be as effective. So, I'm going to revise to the bypass. Just understand, that the band was not the product that it was reported to be. You are not alone in the failure. The band failed you, not the other way around. Stay strong. Stay positive. Stay focused.

I've got GEHA as well. I'm trying my hardest NOT to have to do the 6 months of dieting... because I've had a band for 5 and a half years now. That should count in my opinion.

Under armour compression shirts are a good option. Decently priced as well. You should be able to find them at any sporting goods stores.

What was the purpose for the drain?

If you get hard candies, you shouldn't get any dumping at all given the small amount of sugar and the fact that you break down and absorb a good portion of things in your mouth while sucking on the candy.

I don't want to dissuade you from the band, having the band myself for 5 and a half years. But there is a lot changing with who makes bands. Allergen is getting out of the band business altogether, I was just told by my surgeon that one company isn't making replacement parts anymore. I see your goal weight is 185 lbs, has your doctor advised you of the realistic weight loss you can expect with the band? I haven't seen many people hit over 70lbs lost, let alone over 100. I'm in the process of trying to get my band removed and converted to the bypass. I can't go with the sleeve because of scar tissue from the band. Honestly, you will do MUCH better with the sleeve than with the band. And much better with the bypass. Just something to think about, and talk to your surgeon about. With there being a mass exodus going on with band manufacturers, you might want to look at what would happen if you need a new port or connector hose and the company doesn't make them anymore.

Hello Brandon, Your story isn't far off from my own. I hit an "unofficial" 370 lbs at my largest, and I'm only 5 foot 9. I grew up in a large Italian family where eating was just what you did, all the time. If you didn't have seconds then the food must not have been good enough. I've had my band for 5 years, 6 months and 7 days now. I lost 60 lbs total, and that's it. I'm currently working with my insurance and surgeon to get a revision to the bypass. The band just isn't your best option, in fact a lot of places won't even do it anymore at this point. Even lap band companies are selling off product, selling whole sections of their company and a few, won't make new parts at all. Overall, it wasn't the worst decision I made. But I do wish, in retrospect, that I went with the Bypass first. (Didn't have the option for a sleeve when I had my band installed) I would recommend not doing the band. For your height and weight and eating situation, you'll see more benefits from gastric sleeve surgery. With less issues as well. If you are still hard up on getting the band. 1. I personally do still feel hunger, no different than pre-band. 2. I eat about 1/3 to 1/2 as much as I used to before being "full" 3. The band can erode your stomach lining and penetrate into your stomach wall. You will get stuck on foods, I get stuck on most of the foods that are supposed to be good for me. Leafy greens suck, lean meats are tough, fibrous fruits and vegetables hurt. If you can't keep water down, then the band is WAY too tight and needs to be adjusted. I can't take a good portion of pills or vitamins because they are just too big and will not pass through my band opening. Something to take into account. The band can slip too. 4. Pain before surgery? whatever you are feeling right now. Pain after surgery. Wasn't horrible. I had a tough time for a week or 2, you don't realize how much of your upper core you use for basic things. But put 4 one inch holes and a 3 inch hole in there and you'll feel it. Band adjustments weren't all that bad either. They will put a special needle that has the opening on the side into your abdomen and then into the port itself to insert or remove fluid as needed. 5. My opinion. It doesn't sound like the band is "for you". You'll get more out of a sleeve without having to deal with intestinal changes. But you won't see as much weight loss as with the bypass. Hunger, it's going to still be there, so far only the sleeve and bypass change your hunger sensitivity. Binge eating, dude, doing anything too much or too quickly with the band only leads to throwing up, and I will tell you, throwing up with an object around your stomach pouch preventing things from the lower area getting into the upper area, sucks bad. It's hard to describe, but I get afraid I'm going to pass out when I do have to vomit, the pressure in my head caused by the band is scary when actually vomiting. Purging from being stuck isn't that bad if you can control your gag reflex and not let it turn into full on vomiting. I've gotten good at that part, still sucks but not as bad as a uncontrollable vomiting situation. So all said and done. The band is MUCH better than nothing at all. But at this point, it's not the best option for weight loss surgery either. Hopefully this helps. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

First. 93 lbs is AMAZING! Whatever you do, DO NOT ignore that amazing feat right there! Now, a little tip that a LOT of people miss out on. Muscle building. Larger muscles require more energy at rest than small muscles do. Cardio is great, but it's only going to do so much, because those muscles aren't needing anything more (and weighing 93 lbs less means you are working a LOT less to do the same cardio) Try to do some muscle building on your gluts and quads as well as your triceps (which are around 3 times larger than biceps but most people forget to work them out). Add some muscle building to your work out and you should start seeing more fat / weight coming off. Just remember, the larger the muscle, the more fuel it needs. You might see some weight gain due to muscle mass, but as long as you keep up your intake routine, those numbers will start to drop again. Muscle does weigh more than fat as well. But you have done amazing. Don't stress too much!

You can make your own or buy no/low sugar versions. Only thing required in an edible is oil since THC is oil soluble. So if you can eat a small candy, cookie or brownie with no issues, then you shouldn't have any issues with *any* edibles. Normally edibles are fairly small.

I'm talking to my surgeon about this right now as well. I've had my band for a long time and I've hit a plateau that just won't budge. You have 3 options really. Removal with no revision. Removal with revision to a sleeve (if your surgeon will do that, mine won't) and Removal with revision to bypass. I was told that going from the band to the sleeve won't have the same effect that going from nothing to the sleeve would. Because you have already reduced your intake through lap band restrictions. So the effectiveness isn't the same. The bypass would add the malabsorption to mix increasing effectiveness. Now, here's why my surgeon won't do band to sleeve revisions. With the band, you will have some scar tissue build up (unless you've only had the band for a very short while) and the cut they make for the sleeve differs from the bypass. The cut they need to make for the sleeve, passes right through where the band, and scar tissue is, so, this greatly increases the risk of leaking and in a location that's tougher to work in due to it's location being higher up in the stomach cavity. Scar tissue doesn't heal to scar tissue quite the same way that healthy tissue heals to healthy tissue. Do doctors do band to sleeve revisions. All the time. Do some people have no issues with this, sure. But... it does increase your risk, so you should be aware of that risk. I went into my follow up / revision discussion appointment, pretty much set on the sleeve. I left leaning towards the bypass. And after doing my own research, review of both procedures, factoring in the different prospective losses with each. I'm pretty sure I'm getting revised to a bypass. Just my inputs, but worth sharing.

I'm a regular cigar smoker, I was told flat out that I didn't have to quit. The reason isn't the nicotine, it's the pulmonary irritation. Nicotine itself isn't addictive, which is why cigar smokers don't have cravings and withdrawls like cigarette smokers, it's the 500+ other chemical additives in cigarettes that cause the dependancy. They are quite simply designer drugs. Cigars contain only 1 or 2 things. Tobacco leafs and vegetable gum which is used to "glue" the wrapper leaf in place so it doesn't unravel... that's it. Cigars contain around the same amount of nicotine as a full pack of cigarettes, so saying that nicotine is the addictive chemical is daft. If they want you to stop. Stop, deal with how much it sucks however you can and after surgery, if you want to return to smoking, feel free. I've smoked clove cigarettes for YEARS, never had an issue walking away for one reason or another, joined the military, couldn't smoke for almost a year, how did I deal? Altoids mints, gum and exercise. I went back to smoking them, gave them up again for some other reason of which I don't recall, did the same thing, changed the addiction to something different. People have a hard time understanding that addiction isn't purely chemical, there is a mental aspect within the addicted that doesn't want to give it up. If it were purely chemical, than it would be very easy to treat and there wouldn't need to be psychiatrists in rehab centers. Decide what is more important to you, is continuing smoking worth it right now? Prob not, so stop. This video pretty much sums it up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLMTvxOaeE

That pain is called "getting stuck" stop eating so quickly and make sure to chew 25-30 times PER BITE, as a rule of thumb, or pinky as it may, don't put anything in your mouth that's larger than your pinky finger nail. Making yourself purge is very very bad as it increases the chances of slippage and errosion. Just take your time, meals should take 30 mins to consume NO LESS! and don't swallow anything that isn't chewed to an applesauce consistency. From your post it seems all of your recent pain issues are caused by improper eating.