WASaBubbleButt

This is the section on food. You probably won't get a lot of takers on this one so you might want to read this section, it will answer your questions: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f78/

Eggs are evil.

Yeah, it sounds like this is a miscommunication somewhere. There is a non adjustable band but the success rate is very low and very few docs do the procedure. I think your friend is confused.

There is a difference between living life and eating your way through it. Once you can't eat your way through it anymore you are forced to stop and smell the roses. You find other things to do. The idea is to guide yourself to better addictions such as exercise. It's possible, you just have to do it.

Well, yes... that's why we know the answers. If we didn't experience the same thing none of us would have gotten fills.

Oh my goodness, YES YES YES! I relate to everything and especially that fat thing sticking out of my stomach above my belly button. How gross is that? As soon as that is gone is when plastic surgery is coming. Sitting on wooden benches hurts my butt. People comment on my weight loss and I know they are just trying to be nice, they don't really mean it. Mirrors are evil. Yes, I relate to everything.

Sure, it's not hard at all! Plug your nose, close your eyes, and swallow quickly.

There are 23 amino acids that combined equal a chain. One chain equals one protein. What they are saying is that they take a cheap protein that does not have all 23 amino acids and combine it with a quality protein (whey) and then they can claim it is a quality protein. It's like taking a porterhouse (a steak) and combining it with mostly bone meal (dog food) and claiming you have a quality steak. It's not, it's partly steak and mostly bone meal. But it passes FDA guidelines because it isn't a food item, it is a supplement and supplements are not required to follow the same rules and regs as food items. The problem with collagen is that it tends to rob other sources to make a full protein, those sources are your own body. You already have protein stores in your body, they are a given. You wouldn't have passed your surgery labs if your protein stores weren't good. If you take THEIR collagen and YOUR protein, it can make a full protein. You don't want to TAKE from your protein stores, you want to add to - and maintain them. The FDA disagrees that it is highly bioavailabe (how much your body can absorb and use), that is a company claim and not a fact. There is an FDA study out right now that I just read a few days ago that demonstrates this. I probably wrote about this previously in this thread, I forget. There were 17 people that reportedly died from protein only diets. They didn't consume anything but high protein drinks. 13 of 17 people were taking ONLY collagen based proteins. Nothing else, no food, no whey, no anything. Just collagen based proteins. They depleted their protein stores. (All liquid protein diets have to be medically supervised, it's just not wise at all, not long term.) You could drink Jello and get the same thing as collagen. Jello is a collagen. You know that texture that is in the test tube products? It's not a clear water like substance, it's cloudy and kinda slimy. That's why. They are taking the cheapest sources of protein on the market and charging the most for it by making it concentrated, convenient, fruit flavored, and cute packaging. Those companies make me so angry, people are paying a lot of money for a really horrible product and it isn't going to do for them what they need. When you lose massive amounts of weight you WILL lose muscle mass regardless of what you do. The reason you are keeping protein levels up is to maintain as much muscle as you can during the weight loss phase. The more muscle you have the better your metabolism. The better your metabolism the more you lose and the better you feel. The downside to whey protein is that it is cheese type product. It can stink to high heaven! That's why you have to find a brand that you like. That's hard to do, everyone has different tastes and opinions on what tastes good. Try to find products that are in samples, call the manufacturers and ask for samples to try before buying a full container of their product otherwise it can get expensive buying a bunch of products that end up being disgusting. What one likes, another won't. Some people LOVE Isopure, I think it's vile and it's the first thing that I ever barfed on after getting banded. I finally got it down but there was no keeping it down. Yet some love it.

I adore him. Honestly, I did my research long and hard before choosing a doctor. My insurance would have covered the procedure but the wait was too long and I have a $5K deductable anyway. It cost me about $2K more to go to him vs. using my insurance in the states and if I had it to do all over again, I'd go to him in a heart beat. I still go there for fills, I doubt I'll ever go to anyone else for follow up. You made a great decision.

I agree. In order for them to have been studying those 10 years out the people would have had to be banded 10 years ago. Figure another year for them to compile data and put it together that's 11 years (and that is conservative). The most common banding procedure done ANYWHERE at that time was the crappy band that was not adjustable and never worked well. It would be like getting a band today and never having a fill. What you came out of surgery with is all the restriction to be had. We call it "bandster hell" today. Those that have the non-adjustable band would be in bandster hell forever.

Next time you see her outside of work and in street clothes mention that you didn't realize her scrubs made her look so thin.

I think a key point here is the following in bold: The second study, led by researchers at Gothenburg University in Sweden, involved 4,047 obese volunteers, 2,010 who underwent some form of bariatric surgery and 2,037 who received conventional obesity treatment, including lifestyle intervention, behavior modification or no treatment at all. Ten years after surgery, researchers report, the bariatric surgery patients had lost more weight and had a 24% lower risk of death than the comparison group. Though the overall number of subjects in this study is much smaller than the first, the results confirm general benefits of bariatric surgery, and gastric bypass in particular: after 10 years, bypass patients had maintained a 25% weight loss, compared to a 16% loss in patients who had stomach stapling, and 14% in those who underwent a banding procedure. It does not state which banding procedure was done. Unless we know all the details of the study it's hard to form an opinion. I was just reading a study yesterday that claims diet and behavior mod are successful for losing 100lbs. What the study does not say is who kept it off. Lots of people can lose weight, very few MO folks can keep it off.

No, the reason is because Morbid Obesity is every bit a medical diagnosis as the the joint problem causing your bad knees. If the correct diagnosis code is used then all expenses for WLS (in or out of the US) can be deducted.

I guess it is always easier to spend the money of someone else. When it comes to tax dollars it appears that it is a bottomless pit of money to be spent at the whim of ... anyone but the taxpayers.

That's a great point. Ten years ago that is the only band that was available in the US and it had a poor track record. It was not adjustable and it was a pretty extreme procedure with a lot of complications and failures. They would staple down a majority of the stomach, place a ring around the stomach and that was ALL the restriction there was. It was a horrible band, horrible procedure, and a big flop. Bypass has a high failure rate for a few reasons. The two biggest are the pouch stretching and the fact that after 18 months to five years the inside of the intestine begins growing back so the patient can absorb fat and calories again. But they never absorb nutrition properly. When the adjustable band has been around for a bit I'd love to see those 10 year stats.

Mine was great about it. If he doesn't sign off on the procedure find out why. Is there a medical reason you can't have surgery? If he simply does not understand fat people then find a doc who does.

I went to pick up my 2nd tube of Density Therapy Shampoo today. While I recognize it really isn't going to do anything at least I feel like I'm doing something about it.

I have little choice but to be strict with myself regarding white carbs. If I start eating them I finish whatever I'm eating. :huggie: The more you eat the more you want. The less you eat the less you want. Going below 10-20gms daily for a few days to get out of the cycle of binging on carbs is what I do because for me it's all or none.

Have you following your doc's post op diet? Were you supposed to start solids that soon?

Welcome to the world of having a port. :huggie: It's the first thing to hurt and the last thing to heal. It will go away, it takes time.

BTW, the nurse practitioner I referred to in the above post is in the US. Arizona, matter of fact.

I've had an unfill in my nurse practitioner's bedroom before. As long as they use sterile technique it really doesn't matter if it is in an MD office or if it is in a hotel room. Honestly, I keep reading your post and although I don't know Dr. R I have to say that I think it is pretty cool that he even saw you in the middle of his vacation. I know US docs who MIGHT do that for an emergency unfill, but I don't know a single doctor that would think twice about you during their vacation let alone do a routine fill in the middle of their vacation. So no, not scary at all. As for size of band, I can't say one way or another if that was appropriate or not. I know people your weight and smaller that have the large band. It doesn't just depend on overall size, it depends on your unique anatomy. My doc is Aceves and he has no idea what size band he will use until he is in OR and is looking at your stomach through the incisions. Seems to me you are doing the right thing by working your band now. It's not too late this far out, but it is time to get to work and that is exactly what you are doing so that's a good thing. You are taking responsibility for your own weight loss now and that's a GREAT thing! There are people who never do it, so you are doing fine. I would encourage you to read this entire website, it will answer all your questions: Tracy's FAQ

I said, "Don't break anything." He laughed, then I saw the OR lights and said, "Wow, cool lights." Then I woke up.

Even with airfare, hotels and fills (really, no hotel needed) you are still better off with CO or Mexico. If you get a loan and credit is an issue that is more money on top of everything else. No way would I pay $17K. Let the doc pay for his own pool.

There is no such thing as banster rules, only guidelines. We all do what works for us. Each person is unique and they have different needs. Whatever works for them is what is right.