tradingplaceswithme

I only told very few people including 3 close friends. They were all supportive before surgery. But one of the friends, after the day I had surgery has never once asked how I did, never checked on me after surgery, never commented on anything post surgery. Its been 2 and 1/2 years and 100+ lbs lost and she has not once commented or even said she noticed weight loss or that I look good. We saw each other regularly before surgery. (several times a week, phone calls and texting) I've seen her maybe 6 times in 2 and 1/2 years since. It's like she forgot I existed. We were good friends? She is overweight (not to the extreme i was though but short and stout.) My thin friends were fine. Coincidence? People have the strangest reactions. It's not YOU. Congrats of your surgery!

As the time goes on, I have shared my surgery with more and more people, as I see fit. Two have had surgery and one is waiting for surgery (sleeve, not band). So I do share..but I am VERY selective. For me, it was a personal thing. I chose to tell only those people who I felt had my best interest at heart. I have lost and gained and lost and gained the same 100 lbs over and over. Nobody has a doubt in their mind that I can lose weight, band or not. My issue has always been keeping it off. So Interestingly, nobody ever asks me "how" I've lost weight, because they've watched me do this a million times. I worked out 6 days a week, have completely changed my eating habits, etc. So people simply don't ask because they see me doing the work, as they have seen me do in the past. I have never felt like I need to preface any conversation I have when I meet someone, "Oh by the way, I have a band." And I'm thankful for that. But I have many different friends who have bands (and know I have mine now) that I guess it's just something that we don't really "talk" about anymore. But in the beginning, I am SOOOOOO glad I chose to only tell my closest friends. Where I hope the band "shines" for me is helping me in keeping it off. I'm crossing my fingers on that one, but I can say I've had such a major lifestyle change in the last 2 years in my eating that I am hopeful I have succeeded the time in making a change that will last me a lifetime. That said, there are still a few people that do not know I have a band and I will NEVER tell them because of how terrible I have heard them speak of others who have one. No thank you, I need only positivity in my Quest for health and I choose not to open myself to that whole can of worms!

Loasing weight is a funny thing. I shared my surgery with very few people. I did share it with about 5 good friends and one of those friends, from the very day of surgery has never, not once asked about my weight loss. (I've lost 99 lbs now.) She has never acknowledged my weight loss nor asked how I am doing or even told me I look good now- NOTHING! At first I felt like maybe my weight loss wasn't noticeable and then I just finally realized she must have an issue with me losing weight. Either way, it took a good 45 lbs for ANYONE to finally notice my weight loss. I'm 5'9 and carried my weight relatively evenly. You will get the compliments as the weight comes off, but I have found there are mannnnnny different factors in play when it comes to people acknowledging you've lost weight. GOOD JOB!

I was thinking about this this morning and something came into my head that might make more sense why those of us who have the plication might feel it helps a little more. (at least for me, every journey is subjective of course) You know how there are those "slider" foods that you can eat a LOT more of, if you "cheat" the band? Well, with the plication...even if you chose to eat a slider food, and a lot of it, you'd be miserable, where with just a band, the food would slide right through and enter a regular sized stomach that holds much more. Lap band was the only surgery I had ever entertained, the plication was something my surgeon wanted to add on (for free, I did not have to pay for it.) He explained it to me extensively, and then I researched it, found there wasn't a lot out about it yet, talked with several people (including a friend who is a family physician) and decided in the end, it would be the route I chose. I personally think that any route to healthy weight loss is the "right" way!

4sweeties--that is how it was explained to my by my surgeon as well. I have no idea if it causes "more" weight loss per se, however, it definitely helped me with hunger. I experienced absolutely ZERO "bandster hell" in the beginning. I was rarely, if ever hungry, even prior to fills. An extremely small amount of food filled me up from the very beginning, which was such an odd thing. I remember calling the doctor and actually questioning it, because I couldn't understand why I would feel SO full, after only having so little food. As time went on, that uncomfortable fullness gradually went away. If I overate at all, I felt like I'd just had Thanksgiving dinner. LOL! I don't have any bariatric experience either, my surgeon and my awesome nurse practitioner are the ones who have been helping me along the way. But even then, they admit they don't know everything there is to know about this combined procedure either. But he is one of the first surgeons to be doing the plications in the trials (our office is part of the trials) and trained other surgeons in the procedure as well. But in the end, it absolutely boils down to how much hard work you put in. I have several friends who have all had lap band and two GB'ers. 2 out of the 3 lap bankers have gained weight back sadly but it's because of their complete lack of following any rules whatsoever...one has kept off over 115 lbs for a few years now and one GB is less than a year out, doing well..the other GB is many years out and is bigger now than she was before she had GB. I definitely think ANY weight loss surgery is still a LIFESTYLE change..and it makes me sad that some people think it's the easy way out. It's still hard...just a different kind of hard.

I too had lap band with plication. I've lost almost 100 lbs (96 to be exact!! Can't wait to hit the big 100) since my surgery date of 8/31/11. I have surpassed my goal weight the nutritionist set for me and now I'm 15 lbs away from weighing what I weighed what I weighed when I was 18! My doctor is now doing them routinely with his lap bands. It helps with the band not slipping and provides extra help by reducing the size of your stomach substantially, without having to have any part of your stomach removed, as in the gastric sleeve. I have no idea if I would have lost the same weight if I had just had lap band alone, however, I've had absolutely NO complications with the surgery and have suffered no stuck episodes, etc. I agree with Carolina girl; it will help you if you let it...and none of these surgeries are the magic bullet, all require HARD WORK.. but I am absolutely SO glad I was able to get the plication along with my lap band. It is my opinion that it only ENHANCES the lap band! One of THE best decisions I've ever made. Good luck!

I forgot that I had found this video in my research. It's a graphic video of the surgery, but it does show exactly what is being done in a lap band with plication. It is hard to find information on the internet about our procedure so this was very interesting to me!

The plication is different than the sewing of the stomach over the band. This video is pretty graphic but shows EXACTLY what is being done. I loved watching it! Are we allowed to post links to youtube? I found this on youtube in my research. I think it gives you a good idea about what is going on in a plication. If I am not supposed to post links, please let me know. I'm relatively new to posting to this forum. Thank you!!

I have not been too concerned about it. I trust my surgeon, and like I said, my surgeon was one of the original surgeons involved in the clinical trials of the plication with the band. I'm not naive enough to think that there couldn't be complications with any of the 3 surgeries I had at the same time I had my lap band surgery either. (I had a large hiatal hernia repair, my gallbladder removed, the lap band placed and a plication done, all at the same time.) But so far, I haven't had a single complication and I don't anticipate anything in the future. I am far more worried about ME failing the band/plication than the band/plication failing ME, if that makes sense. That said, it's really a personal decision. I do know that I very rarely..if ever..feel hungry. I never went through the "bandster hell" I have read about etc. It's just been the absolute best thing I've ever done. Ask your surgeon as many questions as you can, because there really isn't a ton of information yet on this online. I looked and in the end, trusted my surgeon to help lead me in the right direction. Good luck!

I agree with Carolinagirl. It's still truly all about what you put into this band. I'm 14 months out, had 91 lbs to lose and I've lost 89. People who have more weight to lose will of course lose much more weight faster. My weight is coming off at a crawl these last few months because I don't have much weight to lose. It's frustrating but totally normal. My eating habits have completely changed, I stay around 1200-1600 calories a day, I do cross-fit class 5-6 days a week, a cardio class on fridays and kickboxing on Sat's. I am tone, healthy and happy. Do I think this is because I had plication? No way..I think it's because I follow all the rules. Had I eaten and worked out like this pre-band, I would have lost the weight too. The difference this time is, I had a tool to help me stay more satiated. I'm one who has always been able to lose weight. I've never been able to keep it off. I keep hoping that the band along with the plication might be just the tool I need for MAINTAINING this, more so than LOSING it. If that makes sense. My surgeon was one of the original surgeons in the clinical trials. I was lucky enough to be included. Good luck!!

This is amazing. Congratulations. Every day is a victory!

I'm pretty sure that my doctor is now routinely doing the plication with the band. I was told it was probably going to become the new "standard" by my nurse practitioner at one of my appointments. I am extremely happy with mine, zero complications, 14 months out. I think it's all down to personal preference and a good heart to heart between you and your surgeon!

oh it's nothing too funny...I was eating dinner with a group and everyone was talking, etc. I don't know what happened, but I just took a bite of my salad and you know how romaine lettuce has those thicker "edges" on the backside..I didn't chew it enough and swallowed the darn thing nearly whole. Ugh! Once it was heading down, I knew it wasn't gonna be good. So I did the only other worse thing I could do, I quickly took a drink of my ice Water.... and within a few seconds found myself running to the bathroom. I made it...barely. That was my only instance with anything stuck. Honestly, I am very lucky in that I truly do not have to take tiny bites, I can eat pretty much normally. I can't imagine taking an eraser size bite as I see some on here do. I just eat normally, chew chew chew and all is well. I am so happy with this surgery.

I am 14 months out from Band w/ Plication and I can tell you it was the best decision I have ever made. I've had zero complications, no stuck episodes, (well, one time romaine lettuce gave me an issue but it was my own fault!) I do have fill in (Approx 6-6.5cc, as he primed it with 4.5 cc during surgery I found out later.) I'm almost to the goal my nutritionist set for me and then I would like to lose 15 more lbs to get to what *I* set as my goal weight. Good luck, you won't regret it!

I'm a year out from lap band with plication and am down about 88 lbs. I'm happy with the amount I've lost, the time it's taken to lose it and I'm about 13 lbs away from my initial goal. One of the best decisions I've ever made!

Had the procedure a year ago this past August. It was never called "i-band" to me, just lap band with plication. I've had zero complications and am very glad I chose to have it done. Good luck!!

Great advice above. I had Lapband with plication exactly one year ago. Down 86 lbs, have always been able to drink with no problems. (don't have to sip) Choosing to have this surgery was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm almost to goal and so happy with it. Good luck!

Lapband with plication done both at the same time (with my gallbladder removed as well as hiatal hernia repaired during same operation). My surgeon recommended it, I decided I would go ahead with it, and I'm down 86 lbs in one year, nearly to goal! Best decision I ever made. Good luck!

I too had lap band with plication, just about exactly a year ago. I have approximately the same fill as you, maybe even more (I don't know the exact exact amount) and I am still able to eat everything, including bread, as long as I chew uniformly and slowly. I have yet to find a food I "can't eat" which is exactly what I wanted from the surgery. My doctor says we shouldn't be striving to NOT be able to eat certain foods..and another of my nurses favorite sayings is also, "Just because you CAN eat it, doesn't mean you should..." Sigh... Good luck!

I just posted a long post on another plication thread about my lap band with plication progress. I won't repeat it here but just wanted to add that I am very pleased with my surgery.

Just joined the forum today, although I've been a lurker for awhile.. I had lap band with plication almost exactly a year ago. I've lost 85 lbs and it truly has been one of the best decisions I've made. Life changing. I have had 4 fills, starting about 6 months out, I don't know exactly what my fill level is as my nurse never tells me and I never really ask. She says people get so caught up in the amount of fill they have. I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't maybe ask, now that I don't think I'll be requesting any more fills, just in case I ever need to be able to tell someone in an emergency what "should" be in there.. I did ask once in the beginning, and it was around 5cc but I've had 2 fills since then. Apparently, he put 4cc in it already at surgery to "prime" it (seemed like a lot to me?) I feel I am definitely at the green zone after this last fill, which is a nice added benefit although if I'm completely honest, I have always felt satisfied with the smaller portions we are supposed to have and I attribute this to the plication and the small stomach capacity it gave me. I followed my doctors post-op instructions to the T, started on regular food around week 4, and I am able to eat my regular diet with no problems. I watch my calories, I try to stay SEMI-low carb but in no way am I perfect in my diet, but my portions are always usually spot on, so I get a little bit of everything I like to eat and have never once felt deprived. Up until this very last fill, I had never experienced any PB or anything, but about a week after the last fill, I did have a small problem with romaine lettuce that I'd like to forget. I attribute it to me being a little bit too hungry and not paying attention to how well I chewed it. But it hasn't happened since. I also feel that because of the plication, I never experienced what I have read about as far as "bandster hell" goes. Unless I go WAY too long in between meals, I must say I have not really felt very "hungry" since I had the surgery. Of course we all deal with the temptation of good food, i.e. "head hunger" but overall, I am very satisfied with how well I feel my surgery makes me...satisfied. If that makes any sense. I exercise 5-6 days a week, doing cross fit and various other cardio exercises. I truly have become the athlete I was 20 years ago and this makes me very happy. I had originally planned on going with just the lap band, never considered any other options. My surgeon was/is part of the very first patient trials and felt I'd be a good candidate. He still does them and seems very pleased with the results. I recently had a procedure where he put a tube down my nose, throat, etc and checked everything out. Everything looks as it should, no esophageal dilatation, no signs of band erosion, it's exactly where he put it and my stomach looks fine inside. I should add that I also had my gallbladder removed the same time as the plication and lap band as well as a fairly large hiatal hernia repaired. I spent 1 night, 2 days in the hospital. Just thought I'd make my first post a post about something I'm actually familiar with. I read a lot and have gleaned a lot of good information from the site.