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I wasn't trying to scare you. Nor was I being mean. I am telling you the facts out of genuine concern. If I was doing something that was a major potential risk to my health, I'd pray someone would be honest and tell me. I would be scared if I were you too, btw. But it's obvious you got some very bad information before surgery otherwise you'd have never agreed to an ancient,outdated band that's no longer used in the US due to the very high complication rate. Now that you know the truth, you have the power to seek help from someone locally to help assure you don't run into serious problems in the future. I wish you nothing but luck on your journey. I truly hope it all works out.

Welcome Kelli! At least the things you cheated with are healthy. And, losing a pound in 4 days is nothing to sneeze at. I strongly suspect you'll see the scale drop even more and quicker, too. If I were you, I'd stick strictly to your pre op diet for the next 7 days then let your doctor decide what's best. I'd be willing to bet you lose enough to go ahead with the surgery. Best wishes

If your doctor says it's ok, then it's ok. Enjoy

Just because you don't like the truth doesn't make it any less true. Good luck

I'm not trying to scare you at all. I'm genuinely concerned for your well being and health. It's very scary and unfortunate that a doctor would use such an outdated device- and it is seriously outdated. This is directly from the Allergan site. The band you have was made in 1986. That is 27 years old and extremely outdated: HISTORICAL TIMELINE -1985 o Professor Dag Hallberg, in cooperation with a Swedish medical equipment company, developed the first concept for the gastric band. His work was followed by Dr. Lubomir Kuzmak, who pioneered the technology in the United States. -1986 o June marked the first use of open adjustable silicone gastric banding (ASGB). -1990 o In April, ASGB was used for the first time in Europe. In December, the first FDAapproved ASGB clinical trial started in the United States and the first ASGB workshop was held in Europe. -1993 o The first laparoscopic banding procedure was performed in Belgium. -1994 o U.S. based medical device company, Inamed Corporation, created the first workshop for the LAP-BAND® System in Europe. -1995 o The FDA approved the Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) for a clinical study of the LAP-BAND® System in the United States. -2001 o The LAP-BAND® System received FDA approval for commercial distribution. -2010 o To date, more than 650,000 LAP-BAND® Systems have been distributed worldwide. Again, I'm not at all trying to scare you. If I were in your situation and someone knew I had a potential problem, I'd pray they were honest and compassionate enough to tell me for my own good. That's all I'm trying to do for you. What you choose to do is your decision, but please keep in mind in matters of health, your body is worth more than any money can buy. Don't let money stand in the way of the best care- which you deserve. Best wishes.

Not trying to scare you, but non-adjustable gastric bands haven't been used since the early 1990's because of the very high complication rate. I've heard of Mexican surgeons using the outdated adjustable 4cc band (which also has a high complication rate) but never a non-adjustable band. This is strictly my opinion but If I were in your position,I'd be seeking the help and advice of a local surgeon, not the one who banded you in Mexico. If he did actually use an ancient non-adjustable band on you, I wouldn't trust him to be in your best interest at all. Good luck and I hope everything works out ok.

No need to buy the book. Here's a link on it, too: http://5daypouchtest.com/plan/theplan.html

Wait, you have a non-adjustable band? No saline and no fills?

Here's a great article by a leader in Lap Band surgery: The Lap-band is NOT about Restriction When talking about the band, some patients talk about restriction. Let's first be clear about one thing: the purpose of the band is not restriction; the purpose of the band is to lose weight by suppressing the appetite. When band professionals talk about restriction we are talking about something totally different than "restricting what a person eats." In fact, many band surgeons avoid talking about restriction so as to not confuse patients. The band works by dimming the appetite, and this provides a conscious control and decision made by the patient, it does not work by "making" a person do something, or keep them from eating too much. The Lap-band works by suppressing your appetite As a result, you are less interested in food between meals, making it easier to resist temptation. The analogy is when you are near a vending machine when you are hungry-- what do you do? Probably find yourself with some junk food that is not a part of your plan. But, when you pass a vending machine when you are full, it may not even catch your eye. Having the appetite dimmed makes you less tempted by the many food choices modern living throws at you - -this is what the band does, by suppressing appetite you become less interested in food. What you should not feel, with the band, is the sensation of being "stuffed." When you eat Thanksgiving dinner, you can feel stuffed. Contrast that with the sensation two hours after you eat your big meal, at that point your appetite is suppressed. It is the subtle dimming of the appetite that the band should provide. Being stuffed after a large meal is a complicated sensation of the abdominal wall stretching and a lot of gas in the bowel, in addition to feeling a diminution of appetite. You will not, and should not, feel the abdominal wall stretch with the band. You should not feel the "near nausea" and you should not feel bloated. Key point: You should NEVER eat until you feel full. It is best to stop eating before you "feel full." If you do eat until you feel full you will most likely be overstuffed. This leads to the universal key to success -- patients who eat a small volume of food (which, if you measure, is consistent) will be successful with the band. If you want to succeed, you need to know how much you are eating, and then stop eating -- it is in your control, but the band will help you -- not by stopping you, but by allowing you to feel satisfied after the small volume. Early on, most Lap-band patients do have a sense of "restriction" ...particularly after the first fill. When we place the band on a patient the stomach above the band typically will hold one to two ounces (by volume, not by weight). The stomach has a lot of muscle fibers, and the wall of the stomach is fairly thick. When food is consumed, it arrives in the pouch, and meets some resistance, first against the newly adjusted band, and then against the stomach which does not stretch easily. People love this feeling! It is a sense of control over food -- a leash. But it is not permanent. It makes it difficult to eat more, because the top part of the stomach and the band will resist it. If you over eat you will feel uncomfortable. This is the honeymoon phase, you feel full with less, no appetite, and if you try to eat more it doesn't work. They eat a small amount of food, they feel satisfied, and they are losing weight. For patients who rely on this sensation, they will find it will take ever increasing volumes of food to obtain this sensation. The initial response is to have their band adjusted so that they can "feel full again." Against a tighter band, the upper stomach stretches a bit (and if they eat fast it stretches more)and they again have the sensation of "feeling full." This becomes a cycle, a tighter band, the stomach stretches more-- and then instead of going back to its original size, the stomach stretches more and more to where it takes more to fill it. The person who continues to eat until they have this sensation, will find that it takes more and more food to obtain this feeling. Two things happen -- first the stomach stretches to where it accommodates more food, and to stretch it means you have to eat more. The second is that to "feel full" it takes the brain time to register this sensation -- this is not the sensation registered by the hypothalamus, but registered in the conscious cortex. So your stomach can be full, but your brain won't register it for a while, and if you keep eating you can overeat. As a result, the pouch dilates. Similar to a balloon, when you first start to blow up the balloon it takes a bit of force. As you continue to fill the balloon, the wall of the balloon stretches (thins out), it is easier to blow it up -- the same is true with the upper pouch. Early on, before the pouch is stretched, it takes a little bit of food to cause it to stretch, but with chronic over-eating the pouch will accommodate more and more food. The stomach wall is thinner, it is easier to stretch, and to get that sensation it takes more food than at first. Often patients will complain that they "don't feel restriction," and wish to have the band made tighter. There are two potential results to this: one is the patient will passively stretch the stomach and esophagus and not be eating a small amount of food. These patients simply do not lose the weight that the surgeon expects. The other is that the band will be forced down the stomach, the band will slip, which generally requires operative intervention to reposition it. For those patients who are rigorous about the volume of food they eat, and do not let the stomach to tell them when to stop eating - they do very well. This is one of the keys of successful patients, only eat a certain portion of food - period. If the band is properly adjusted, the appetite will be dimmed for several hours. Once your brain realizes that a small amount of food keeps you satisfied, then your eyes will adjust to the amount you eat. Some describe a "soft stop." Where before a sense of fullness occurs, there is a signal from your body -- this can be a runny nose, a sigh, or a subtle ache in the left shoulder. Patients who find this "soft stop," do very well with the band. The other advantage of eating small portions is it becomes a lifestyle change --you will have the ability to gauge the amount of food you can comfortably eat, knowing it will keep you satisfied for several hours. You can always -- always, always, always, -- eat more food, because, contrary to what we believed for a long time-- food passes by the band within a minute and then into your stomach. But the key to successful patients is not how much they can eat, but how little they can eat to suppress hunger. The band goes around your stomach, not around your brain, or your lips This simple concept, of eating a specific volume of food -- eating it slowly, and then walking away, is the key to successful eating habits of patients. This means that the band works with effort from you -- not by it doing everything for you. You have to make the decision to eat a small volume of food, and let the band work with you. The sensation that we would want the band to produce is the "soft stop." The soft stop is when you eat a small portion of food and walk away. Sometimes this is difficult, like most things, practice makes perfect. To set yourself up for success -- we recommend you use smaller plates, along with smaller utensils. If you go out to eat, ask for the to-go bag immediately, and remove the excess food from your plate. You can physically always eat more food, but the advantage about practicing small portions and walking away, is ultimately your eyes will get use to what the stomach is telling it, and it will be much easier to eat smaller portions as time goes on. It isn't uncommon for patients to want an adjustment because they say they can eat more The first question we ask is, "Why are you eating more?" The typical answer is, "Because I can." The typical response, "Just because you can does not mean you should." Since the band's job is not to restrict the amount of food you eat, do not leave that to chance -- that is your job. Part of personal accountability is to account for, to measure, to know how much you are eating at a time. The band is empowering; if you eat an appropriate amount and make appropriate food choices, you will be satisfied for several hours. This results in either weight loss, or weight maintenance (if you are at your goal). The purpose of the band is to assist you to lose weight -- and this occurs only with active participation by you: you chose what to eat, you choose how much to eat, and you practice walking away after eating that amount. The band is a tool to allow you to eat less and have your appetite dimmed resulting in weight loss, or maintenance. It is a tool to help you adopt a healthy lifestyle -- you still have the choices to make, but the band allows you to be satisfied with those choices. "If I could eat less and walk away, what would I need this band for?" -- a common question we are asked. Without the band, if you eat a small amount of food and walk away your appetite would rise within a couple of hours -- you would find yourself hungry and wanting more food, possibly leading to unwanted snacking. You would also find, if you willed yourself to withstand the hunger, that your weight loss gradually decreases. The band fools your brain into thinking you ate more. Think of it another way -- the hypothalamus does not have eyes -- it doesn't know how much you ate, it doesn't know if there is a lot of food around and you are not eating it, or if there is a band on your stomach. The hypothalamus reacts very simply to the stimulation provided by the upper part of your stomach. Stretch that thermostat, it thinks you are eating a lot -- do that consistently over time, and it behaves as if you are eating a lot all the time and will allow your body to release fat stores and not cause your body to go into a metabolic slow-down. Conversely -- if you go on a diet, without the band --and that part of the stomach is not stretched, your hypothalamus thinks you are in a famine -- it doesn't know that there is a lot of food around you. The purpose of banding is weight loss. Patients who are successful do not "feel tight," or "feel restricted." Instead, successful patients report that they rarely have an issue with the band, they do not "feel restriction." Successful patients come for adjustments when they notice that their appetite is returning between meals -- patients who are not successful rely upon the band to tell them when to stop eating. The band, in successful patients, is empowering. While, on occasions, the band is "fickle" the proper way for the band to work is for it to allow you to eat less and not be moved by an appetite. There is another group of Lap-band patients who do not like any sensation of restriction --a group we call volume eaters. They want to eat a lot, when they want to eat, and they do not like the sensation of a "hard stop." Nor does this group want to eat a small volume and walk away and allow their appetite to be suppressed. One patient even asked for pills for nausea, because she could not eat "a quart of chili." Yes, this person thought a quart was a normal serving size -- not a cup, a quart! Sometimes these patients come in for an adjustment, then come back thinking that the band is too tight, because when they overeat they become acutely uncomfortable, or feel as if they are "obstructed." Often these patients will come in for a fill, then an unfill, then another fill. It does take a bit of work to change a person's perspective about the volume of food they eat. For some there is a feeling of deprivation, a period of mourning, but ultimately the band can become a tool to overcome this sensation, and allow the patient to eat. Remember, if you want to be a 125 pound person, you have to eat like one. The band allows your body to re-set the thermostat to the amount of food that it takes to keep you satisfied between meals. To be more specific - food does not stay in the pouch above the band for a long period of time. Typically it travels through this area fairly quickly, usually less than a couple of minutes. The effect of the band is NOT to have food stay above the stomach in that small pouch - the effect of the band is on your appetite after a small amount of food stimulates that. Does this mean you can eat more -- yes, you can. That is always in your control. So the first lesson -- Eat a specific, and small, portion of food, and walk away If you can measure it -- you can manage it. original text: http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html

Wow, what an amazing success story! Congratulations!

What size band do you have? Was saline put in at surgery? What phase of the post op diet are you on? Every surgeon and patient is different regardless of where the surgery was done. When do you follow up with a local surgeon?

It depends on your insurance, actually. Not all will cover it. In fact, most won't cover a tummy tuck at all for any reason, only a panniculectomy (skin removal). A large number that will cover a panniculectomy will only cover it if the pannis hangs below the pubic line and/or there's a documented skin breakdown because of it. Some will cover it for massive weight loss, too. But unfortunately, it's all dependent on your insurance company as well as your employer's stipulations on the policy.

If you're only on the mushy food phase I wouldn't worry about being short on calories. Once you're back on regular food and healed, it'll be a lot easier to get in the necessary daily calories. Also, don't go by My Fitness Pal (or any other app) to tell you how many calories a day you should be eating. Go by what your nutritionist or doctor advise- which in most cases is significantly less than MFP recommends, anyway. Best wishes.

You have to remember, the weight didn't come on overnight and it won't come off overnight either. The average weight loss with the band is about 1-2 pounds a week. Plus, the first 4-6 weeks after surgery are for healing not losing. It's very common for people to not lose during this time or even gain a little. Just keep exercising, eating right, and staying in your daily calorie allowance and the weight will most certainly come off. It just takes time.

Statistically speaking, unless you have one of the old 4cc bands, you only have a 5% risk of serious complication as long as you follow your doctor's instructions as well as the band rules. That means so long as you do what you're supposed to do you have a 95% chance of not having any complications. I'm curious why after almost 3 years you're suddenly doubting your decision? Have you had a problem of some sort? As far as weight loss, you have to remember it all boils down to simple math. When you're burning more calories than you eat you lose weight. The band won't magically make you lose weight. It's there to control your hunger and allow you to be satisfied on less food but it's not magic. The work will always be yours to do. If you want to lose more weight I'd start eating right, exercising, and tracking your calories. Best wishes.

That's simply horrible, especially since the poor girl was only 14 years old. If I were that girl's mother I'd have someone's head on a platter for being so cruel. Who is the clerk to decide she's "too big" to shop anywhere? I don't care if the girl was a size 32W, if she wants to shop somewhere that only goes up to size 6 it's no one's business but her own. When I was 400+ pounds I was often in young, trendy, small sized stores with my daughter. I couldn't even fit my ankle in their pants in those days and it was painfully obvious to anyone who saw me there. But still, if someone had told me I was too fat to be there? I'd have gone off on them big time.

It depends on your insurance, actually. Not all will cover it. In fact, most won't cover a tummy tuck at all for any reason, only a panniculectomy (skin removal). A large number that will cover a panniculectomy will only cover it if the pannis hangs below the pubic line and/or there's a documented skin breakdown because of it. Some will cover it for massive weight loss, too. But unfortunately, it's all dependent on your insurance company as well as your employer's stipulations on the policy.

What's wrong with you is the fact you're putting yourself in serious jeopardy. You're supposed to be on liquids and you're eating hamburgers and shrimp?? I'm sorry, but why bother going through a surgery if you're not going to follow your doctor's instructions and put yourself at a very high risk for a band slip just 4 days later? What you want doesn't matter all that matters is that you follow your doctor's orders and give your body time to heal. Your stomach has been sutured and seriously injured. By not following your doctor's post op diet you are seriously risking ripping those stitches and hurting yourself severely- not to mention causing your band to slip. Call your surgeon, tell him what you did so he can make sure you didn't hurt yourself, and get back on your post op diet.

You do not want to take a laxative, believe me. They can cramp you up and so soon after surgery, it could cause you a lot of pain. A stool softner would be fine. But, just take it as directed on the packaging.

You raise a very valid point, especially with the 400 pound nurse. In my opinion, she should've lost her job for inability to perform it. If you have a physical issue that makes doing a certain job impossible, especially when not doing that job puts others' lives at stake, then you have no business doing that job. I look at it like this: I'm a woman with MS. My limb strength isn't good, I get dizzy often, and have been known to fall on smooth flat surfaces for no reason. If I'd have been a firefighter before getting MS then developed these symptoms, I'd have no business continuing my job as a firefighter because it would be impossible for me to carry out that job as required. The same is true if I'd been a nurse when I was young, gained 200 pounds, and could no longer give the patients the standard of care they deserve because of my weight. In both situations, it's ridiculous to think an employer would allow me to compromise the well being of others to keep a job I can no longer perform.

Our healthcare costs are completely ridiculous. I have MS and the medication I need to control it costs $55,000 per year. In Mexico, it costs literally half that. It's the exact same medication, made by the exact same company, but there's a $20K different in price. Americans have the highest medical costs in the world because unlike other countries, our government doesn't have legislation against inflated medical charges for both services and product. As a result, costs here are ridiculous.

Yup I've seen the same. I used a cane all the time when I was at my heaviest. Thankfully, as I've lost weight I've been able to build the strength in my legs so that I no longer need the cane. But, I have Multiple Sclerosis and this past May I had a bad relapse and needed the cane again for a couple weeks. The difference in how I was treated with it was nothing less than astounding. People were eager to offer help, hold doors, and give me empathetic kind smiles. When I was over 400 pounds and used the cane, I swear people would just let doors drop shut in my face and no one cared. No one offered to help and people would look at me with disdain. ...but in all fairness, I'm treated very differently in all aspects of my life since losing weight, not just when I had to use the cane. It's awful but people very much judge on appearance and make assumptions based on it.

Mine was covered but that is because it was deemed medically necessary. I've had a history of very large hernias for the last decade. Last August I even had one become strangulated. Because of the severe damage to my abdominal wall due to the recurring hernias, losing 200 pounds, and the fact I had excess skin that hung below my pubic region my insurance covered a full tummy tuck combined with hernia repair. From what I understand, my case is definitely the exception not the rule. Most people struggle just to have their excess skin removal covered by insurance. It's extremely rare that a full tummy tuck is covered. Best wishes.