JessS

Hey there! Congrats on 13 years of positive change! I would try and find a bariatric surgeon in your area and be seen just to make sure everything is still functioning right, even if you don't decide to do removal. It's a bit concerning if you can't eat fruits and salads. Might have a bit too much restriction.

If an artist buys a really expensive easel to do their painting on, we don't then say that it makes the art of painting easy or takes away the hard work. It's just a tool to help achieve beautiful ends.

Does your bariatrics team have a nutritionist? Might be time to have a chat with them if so. Be honest with yourself, log your food and exercise accurately, and see what your Dr thinks for next steps. Good luck to you.

Banded May 2014, only lost around 65lbs. I've only had a couple stuck episodes but last week I had a bad one, brought on by a sip of soda and a bit of saltines I shouldn't have had. My body tried to throw up but couldn't three times. Ever since then had some mild night time heartburn which isn't bad but I notice it and is unusual for my body. Going in on Tuesday with all the fears of dilation or slip. The stress doesn't help my symptoms. I always have this vague sense of unease, bloat and a little burn. Need some comfort but my husband is too stressed out with work and school things and it'll just stress him out more to talk to him about it, which stresses me out more. Need some third party support from peers before my appointment.

Should also say that I am very active. Massage therapist by trade, does walk training year round, multiple relays and half marathons, and am trying to get back into swimming laps.

Hey Melissa! I got the band through Dr Patterson back in May (~60lbs down so far!). I'm in Tualatin.

First before and after! It's amazing what just 50lbs will do.

From what I understand the wraps are very temporary because they work via dehydrating the skin. Great if you're going to an event where you want to look your best but the effect doesn't last long. There are also sleeved outfits (called something like wonder sleeve) that gather up loose underarm skin. However, the best long term treatment (aside surgery) is to tone those loose parts. Filling the area with lean muscle.

Hey everyone! I'm sure someone has already posted this interview, but just in case you haven't picked it up yet there is an astounding interview on Weight Loss Surgery Podcast hosted by Reeger Cortell that interviews Dr. John Dixon. Dr. Dixon is a researcher and professor in Australia. His name crops up in a lot of WLS related research papers a lot, and he has some interesting findings to share, some which hasn't quite caught up to common practice here in the states. For those what wish to listen to the podcast in its entirety it's available here: food from traveling through the stomach at normal speed and how it isn't true. And uses trial studies that showed no delay of food emptying into or out of our stomach, and that the Lap Band does not really work based on restriction but based on sending signals of satisfaction with smaller meals to the brain that last longer than without the band. So, because food is moving in normal time, drinking with meals will not change the effectiveness of the band. And they tested this by separating controls into three groups, where each were given equal calories in three forms: A Breakfast bar, a breakfast liquid shake, and a bar with Water. And results showed the patients that had the solid bar and the solid bar with water showed no difference in level of satisfaction. Now they did three more groups, who had bands, and it showed that people who had water with the bar had more satisfaction and longer than just people with the bar. So, while I'm not saying that anybody should do differently from what their surgeon's instructions are, it might be worth keeping an ear open and some communication with your surgical staff as this whole 'no drinking before or after meal' may be based on non-science and will eventually be deprecated (if it isn't already with many of you.)

Everyone's body is different and your mileage may certainly vary. But personal experience is the herald of all sorts of pseudoscience. I think the data is worth considering, because my personal experience may be wildly misinterpreted, as is so often the case when I've been shown my body is working differently than I always thought it was. In any case, the people in these studies are having all sorts of success (with less complication revision surgeries) and still eating and drinking fine. And their scans show the food exiting the stomach no slower than the control group.

If I'm being bad with my carb intake my hunger surges with a vengeance. So when I'm feeling too hungry long term, I go back to a super dooper high protein low fat, low carb, low sugar for a while and my hunger drops away. Make sure you're getting your multi and extra D + calcium too.

Hey guys. I am about 7 weeks post-OP and everything had been going very well until Thursday evening. I choose to wait an extra month before getting my first fill because I was going out if state for a reunion. I ate something that disagreed with me. I didn't eat too much or too fast, I think it was just some bad fruit or something. Anyway, that evening I got sick (of course was too far away from nausea meds) and vomited from below the band and ejected everything. Since then I've been scaling back to liquids but my stomach where I presume the band is, feels sore after eating and I feel a bit more gurgle and gassy with some nausea related to that. I have my first fill apt on the 30th but I'm wondering if I should go in earlier. I know a one-vomit occasion doesn't usually cause slippage but because my surgery was so recent and it was a full vomit if there might be a risk...

Nice Pdx! I am now one month post OP with Dr. Patterson and would love to chat and share my experience with other bariatric patients in the area. looking forward to hearing about it.

Always keep in mind that it's a marathon, not a sprint. My surgeon didn't want me to do ab related exercise for six weeks to minimize injury and allow for healing

Hey guys. I started mushie foods this week and notice that I usually get a sore throat that I can feel swallowing for a while after eating. Liquids don't do it, just anything more dense. I know getting nicked by the breathing tube during surgery can cause sore throats, but what I've read says it should clear in a few days. Did anyone else have sore throat post surgery this long after?

Gasx strips didn't help me, because the chest pain gas wasn't in my gastrointestinal system but from the surgery. Walking plus a heat pad helped the most. Every now and then is have my husband give me a few swift but not too hard karate chops to the back and it helped.

Hey guys. The big day is tomorrow!! Check-in at 9am. Got a question. I know walking is one of the things you must do for gas pain post-OP. So I was wondering how much walking you guys were able to manage right after surgery and how often?

Thanks guys. Surgery went well. The first day I had considerable shoulder pain from the gas, but it feels 80% better today. What worked for me is walking, plus a heat pad whenever I sat down, plus some milk of magnesia to help my body with any narcotic related constipation and gas.

Checking in and seeing how everyone is doing. Has mine today. I was on the unlucky side with immediate gas shoulder pain. So I'm walking a lot. But otherwise doing well. Drinking liquids and near to no incision or port pain.

I'm being banded May 5th. Tequila counts as a clear liquid right? Kidding!

Hey guys. I'm scheduled to be banded with the Lapband on May 5th. I live in Tualatin.

Hey guys. I'm a licensed massage therapist to be banded in May (on Cinco De Mayo! Vodka is a clear liquid right? Jk). My job is, as you might expect, very physical. I'm fortunate where I'm in a good place to take several weeks off, but I'm curious if anyone else here does physical work and how fast your recovery was? If you have a desk job, how long was it until you could do (gentle) core exercises?

Super inspirational. Thank you for taking the time to encourage others, including beginners like me.

Very helpful! I'm working on my blog now and will probably make or link a LapBand glossary. Will help friends and family interpret what I'm saying. Lol.

Hey guys! Long time member first time talker. I finally, after years of waiting for the right insurance and financial situation, got my surgical date for May 5th for the LapBand. I am super dooper excited! To help my family and friends understand what's going down and also track my recovery and weight loss, I've made a blog. It's still in Beta mode, the template is done but it's not populated with much content yet. But while I get the site launch-worthy, I'm wondering if any other banders out there would like a shout-out link, and maybe link back to me. So many of you have already motivated and inspired me, and I'd love to be able to network. Let me know what you guys think! Here is a sample preview of what the blog looks like so far: LapBand Bandwidth