startingagain

Hi! I had a band for almost 4 years and lost 120 pounds. I also had 3 slips and 5 surgeries for lapband related issues. After suffering with nausea for almost the last 1 1/2 years, I finally was willing to give up my fight. When I called my surgeon he had a new option for me. It's called a gastric imbrecation or gastric plication. It is similar to a sleeve, except the stomach is not cut, it is folded in on itself. I would like to participate in this forum because, I'm not a bandster anymore. Here is a link to my surgery on utube: I just got off the liquid diet and I'm trying to figure out how to tell when I've eaten enough. It is very uncomfortable if I eat too much. Any suggestions? Also seem to get constipated and then have loose stools all in the same day. I'm on prilesec, could this be a side affect? Since my procedure is experimental, I have no one to turn to. It seems that the sleeve would be the nearest procedure. Thanks for any help you can give me.

I wish I had some information on this, but I don't. Wasabubblebutt might have some. Please keep us informed.

Congratulations on your plication! Sounds like you're doing well. I think some bowel upset is normal, especially if you used pain meds, etc. I have only lost 5 pounds, but I'm very near goal weight. I will check out the other gal and see what's she's doing. How much food can you eat at one time? Very curious. Who did your surgery? Anyway, wish you the best!

I can tell when I've eaten too much, but not exactly when I'm full, too. I'm basically just making myself stop when I think I've eaten a little less than a cup. This seems to be working pretty well, as long as I don't let myself go too long between feedings. (Sound like a baby, huh? LOL). Any way, weight loss surgery is an interesting experience. I'm feeling better every day and getting over being so very tired.

Thanks, I really, really appreciate it. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to eat with this thing. Tonight we went out to dinner and I had meatloaf. I think I had one too many bites. I feel very uncomfortable and my chest hurts. Sound familar? I can't really tell when I'm full until it's too late. I guess I need to eat more slowly? Maybe I should just think about what would be a little less than a cup and just stop before I feel full? My mind wants to eat more, but I'm really not that hungry. Definetely feels different than the band. With the band, I was always a little afraid to eat, take pills, etc. Never knew when my band would protest. Well, I guess life is an experiment!

Hi! DH stands for Dear Hubby, DD= dear daughter, DB= dear boyfriend. Picked it up on lapband talk. About cancer and ulcers: Yes, I can be scoped. My husband is a doctor and he does not believe that this surgery increases my chances of getting the above. According to him and my surgeon, the stomach is a very resilent muscle. I'm only the 2nd person in the states to have the surgery, so I wasn't given any guarantees of anything. My doctor has been participating in a research study in India, where they have done the procedure 25 times. There is a guy in Greece, doing the procedure also. If you search, UTube under gastric plication you will see his surgeries. Also, there are a few articles about the procedure in the medical journals. I believe that my doctor is going to start offering gastric imbrecation as an option for weight maintance only at this time. The reason he will offer it as a weight maintance tool and not a weight loss tool is because they are still trying to decide what size bougee to use for sizing the stomach for weight loss. My doc used a 32 bougee, but he told me that he stitched it loosely, using that as a guide. Hope that makes sense? Yes, I can use NSAIDS. I don't have any restrictions on pills, but I find that taking too many Vitamins and supplements at one time makes me nauseated. My husband was against me getting the sleeve because I am at my goal weight and he felt that the risks would out weigh the benefits (leaks, etc). My DH really felt that this surgery was safer and could be reversed. I guess it was a calculated risk. We had to make the decision fairly quickly because of my slipped band. I'm really happy to have some restriction. I wish I had a little more restriction, but I think it will be good and I'll be able to live a fairly normal life. I would like to use this forum. I feel very a lone with this procedure and would appreciate the support.

I agree with you about the surgery not being reversible. I'm not looking at it as a reversible surgery, though it may be. Having lived through the band, I know the problems associated with scar tissue. I'm still living with the scar tissue issues (nausea) from my "reversible" lap band. What the gastric imbrecation is doing for me, really, is giving me peace of mind that I can mantain the weight loss that I already accomplished. I would have done the sleeve in a heart beat, but my DH was dead set against it. I think that my surgery is very similar to the sleeve. Reading over a lot of the threads, it really seems that way. The grehlin issue is definetly a plus for the sleeve, though I'm not finding that hunger is too big of an issue. I was certainly hungry when I had the band. I guess, for me, I've had to learn the difference between real hunger and head hunger. Dealing with head hunger is always an issue. I appreciate the support. Just wondering how you feel when your full? Do you have an idea about how much you should eat before you begin? (I can eat about 7 oz). What clues does your body give you when your full?