Persimmon

Target rate of loss is 1-2 lbs/week on average. Fill was 3 weeks ago, you've lost 6 lbs. That's averaging 2lbs/week, on the high end of the target range. Sounds perfect. You cannot expect the rate of loss you had on the liquid post-op diet. Faster isn't better and it's not what banding is all about. Nancy 394/270/180

That's a lotta Iron. Did your dr. prescribe that high a dose? My chewable iron (1 tablet) is 27mg of iron and that's 150% of the RDA...iron is VERY hard on the stomach. Why are you taking such a megadose? Nancy

Yup that's me too...I know lots of women get much tighter right before their period starts, but not me...wide open...makes trying to ignore the cravings during PMS very difficult LOL ack Nancy 394/270/180

Folks basically need to ignore the FDA trials study...very flawed with inherent problems, primarily due to all the surgeons participating being very inexperienced. Inexperienced surgeons (and that means aftercare as well as initial placement), generally have poor results...less weight loss, more complications, etc. Nancy 394/270/180

Yup...that's one of the many reasons gnocchi isn't considered a particularly good choice for bandsters...exactly the right consistency to get nice and stuck in a ball... Protein first, then produce, then, if there's room, something starchier or a small treat. Sounds like your stoma is very irritated. Drinking on top of something stuck is, for most folks, the worst thing they can do...will cause a puke more likely that not... Nancy

While some slippage might be the fault of the patient, not all is, so this generalization cannot be made. Nancy 394/270/180

This is the standard technique...it merely reduces chances of slippage, doesn't eliminate it...the reason one of the symptoms of slippage is a sudden tightening unrelated to any recent fill is that the portion of the band not where the stitches are slips, the angle changes, because the stitched portion stays put...and thus the band ends up at the wrong angle, increasing restriction and often causing reflux. Nancy 394/270/180

I assume by "side effects" you actually mean complications? Zero complications here...over a year and a half out... Nancy 394/270/180

Has your surgeon checked for slippage? Classic symptoms of one... Nancy 394/270/180

13-14 lbs in a month is way ahead of the curve. Remember, target rate of loss with the band is 1-2 lbs/week on average. And you're prefill, so ANY loss is a bonus. If you were expecting more/faster, then your expectations weren't properly set prior to your surgery. Don't expect perfection...the human organism isn't capable of it, so that's setting yourself up for failure. Nancy 394/270/180

Shouldn't hurt...your fillgiver can numb the area out first if you want it. I don't need it, but my port is very easy to access and my fillgiver extremely experienced, so it's not painful at all. No way to predict if it will change anything or how much. If you're PBing now, you really need to master your current level of restriction before getting a fill. It will only make it worse. Nancy 394/270/180

The mini-bypass is an old procedure...abandoned for a long time because of many additional problems with it that don't tend to be as common with the RNY. Only a couple of surgeons do it now and market it aggressively. I've seen some really bad problems with it and there's good reason why it didn't become commonly done. It actually has more in common with the old BPD than the RNY and is very distal. It always amazes me that folks will go with something that the vast majority of the medical community has long abandoned. Nancy

Sounds to me like you're not eating enough. Are you getting in 1200-1500 cal/day? Nancy 304/270/180

Awesome quote...and sums it up perfectly! Nancy

Is your fillgiver someone other than your surgeon? While yes, your chart should've had which band size was installed, you should have also taken some initiative regarding your treatment and made sure you knew which size was installed. We patients have some responsibility to know what's going on so we can monitor our aftercare. All band patients should know which model was installed. The VG band holds 10ccs...4 ccs is a very small fill in the VG (the first 3cc merely "primes" the band). You simply need more fill because in terms of this band's capacity, you've only just begun. How did you select this aftercare giver? Is he affiliated with your original surgeon or did you travel for surgery and are using a local fillgiver? Weight loss isn't going to happen until adequate restriction is in place unless the patient is just strictly dieting. Nancy 394/270/180

Texture and amount of processing. How much saline is in your band is irrelevant in terms of us determining your restriction because it's so individual...which is why we see some folks with proper restriction with .5cc and some with 4.1cc and everything in between. Highly processed foods (both tuna helper and rice crispy treats are highly processed) will generally go down more easily than whole foods closer to their original form. Tuna helper is practically a mushy...and honestly, not a particularly good choice...if you make it per the instructions on the box, look at the nutrition label...not much Protein there. Tuna salad on whole grain crackers or WASA crispbread would be more filling and more appropriate in the protein department... Nancy 394/270/180

Firstly, in regards to the WISH center, make sure they are VERY experienced and know the difference between the aftercare for RNY and Banding (very different). Most of the WISH centers are quite new to banding and we've seen some aftercare problems because they haven't differentiated between the 2 procedures in terms of instructions. Foreign object...the RNY puts hundreds of metal staples into your body...they are foreign as well. If you needed a hip replacement, would an artificial hip piece weird you out? What about if you needed a pacemaker for your heart? I can feel around for my port, but no, I can't "feel" my band unless I eat wrong LOL At least your doc is telling you you're not likely to get properly adjusted first time round...the typical range is 3-5 fills. Mine take 1 stick (don't even need any numbing) and done. But my surgeon is very experienced with fills and I have zero fear of needles (my mom is a Type I diabetic, so I grew up with needles being very normal and not scary). They can numb the area out first, and it's up to you as the patient to limit the number of attempts if they don't hit the port first try...I recommend the "3 strikes" rule...if the fillgiver can't hit the port in 3 tries, that's it...make an appointment for having a fill done under flouro. Your doc is also quoting out of date stats...studies show that 2-3 years out, bandsters and RNYers lose about the same % of excess weight. It's just a slower losing curve with the band. There are many bandsters who've lost 80%+ of their excess weight and yes, it's pretty much up to you. Proper, experienced aftercare is key, plus commitment by the patient. All WLS require a complete lifestyle/behavior change...permanently. Any long-term weight loss does. WLS just gives us additional tool to assist in making those changes. Your body would be healthier with less soda and more Water, for example. Surgery won't do it for us but does make it easier by addressing some of the issues that make some of the changes too hard to manage long term (such as managing portion control and hunger/satiety issues, which is specifically what the band addresses. Nancy 394/270/180

ROFL I'm gonna have to remember that...:banana :banana :banana Nancy

I've been on various bandster boards/lists since early 2001 and have only heard of 3 banding-specific deaths. 1. Congresswoman who ignored pain/symptoms, didn't want anyone to know, ended up in the ER of a hospital that knew nothing about banding...either her stomach or liver had been nicked during the surgery. Had she not ignored pain/symptoms, they may have caught it in time to save her. 2. Man in Boston area with the anesthesia error, woke up mid-procedure, heart attack 3. Woman overseas who became too tight to get fluids down (don't recall if she'd just had a fill or if something like a slippage had occurred) and did not call her doctor and died of dehydration. Common sense would have saved her. Scenarios 1 & 3 were cases where symptoms were ignored...lesson: do not ignore symptoms. It's better to call the surgeon/doctor if there's any doubt than worry that they might think we're being hypochondriacs. Never rely on internet boards for actual medical advice...we can help you guess what something might be but a call should still be made to the medical professionals under whose care you have placed yourself. Nancy

Whether or not it's swelling, sounds like you got a bit overfilled. In terms of costs, you need to ask your surgeon what his policy is for unfills in cases where a new fill is a little too much. Nancy

I will correct misinformation, and refer them to bandster-specific resources and use the analogy: "Would you go to a Toyota dealer to find out about a Honda or vice versa??" But it really is amazing what RNY and DS patients think they know about banding...it's usually cr*p their surgeon, trying to sell them on their preferred procedure, tells them to convince them not to consider banding. Amazing how ill-informed many surgeons are as well. Nancy

LOL 'cept dumping isn't diarrhea . Nancy

Fully out like any real surgery. Mine took 50 minutes, and per my surgeon that was 10 min longer than it should've but she had a glove break to had to stop for a few minutes to deal with that. It was like time travel to me...one minute I was saying something and I woke a while later trying to finish the sentence in Recovery... Nancy

6-8 oz? We did a poll on the main Bandsters list on yahoo about a year ago...there are around 8000 members there...the average meal size for longer-time-out bandsters who were doing well was 1 to 1 1/2 cups...so you don't need your meals any smaller, in all honesty. If you're getting full on that amount, you have plenty of restriction...you just need to re-evaluate what you're eating and the order, etc. We all need to touch base with the basics now and then... Nancy

Ann Wilson was never a particularly compliant bandster from what I was able to read about her, so her results have been pretty mediocre. I believe she didn't keep up with getting fills as they were needed, etc. Carnie...regain...yes, you can regain with the RNY. The body starts to compensate for what was done. After about 18-24 months, the pouch will become more elastic and so the person can eat more than right after the surgery and the intestines still in use will grow denser villi which increases absorption of calories (ironically, the ability to absorb b12, Iron and Calcium never improve, but they start absorbing more and more of the calories eaten). After rapid loss and massive loss, there's not a whole lot left of the metabolism (few RNY patients really do much in terms of weight training to preserve/increase muscle mass). So add together: being able to eat more, having greater absorption of what is eaten and a slower metabolism and that = regain (or at least a heck of a struggle with maintenance). The best way I've been able to sum up a primary difference between the RNY and the band is that with the RNY, the most restriction you'll ever have is immediately after surgery, and with the band, the least restriction is right after surgery. You can't tighten up the RNY without a whole new procedure/revision. Nancy 394/275/180