gkeyt

I think the specific transfer to alcoholism is more common in surgeries like RnY and DS because they can get drunk VERY quickly with their rearranged anatomy...I'm SURE it happens with bandsters too, but there isn't quite as much physiologic incentive. I don't really know how I feel about the idea of food addiction itself, but I know that a lot of people are compulsive overeaters and they do have to deal with the root cause of that or they are at high risk of either continuing and not losing weight (totally possible with the band) or transferring addiction to something else. I am pretty compulsive about working out now, but I don't think it's really unhealthy, it doesn't interfere with the rest of my life. just the size of my butt, heh heh. I do love to shop, and that can be a problem since it is soooo gratifying to buy cute clothes in smaller sizes when you lose weight. I have to be very careful with that one and I try to only shop when I need something. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. That's great that you have a year of counselling preapproved! I don't think a lot of insurance companies have that much foresight. I'd definitely take advantage of that! The popular saying is that they put the band on your stomach, not your head...emotional eating and compulsive eating are NOT prevented by the band. But, the desire is diminished somewhat, and when you have weight loss happening, it reinforces your good behavior and helps you stay on track somewhat. Good luck. These are very good questions to be dealing with before you have surgery.

One of my instructors recently repeated some old wise wisdom to our class: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results! That's why (in a nutshell) a lot of us end up going this route. The old way wasn't working. It works for some people and that's great, but the statistics do show that 95% of people who lose a significant amount of weight regain it all. In the end I just didn't have the energy to do it anymore, and I didn't want the toll it would take on my body to keep that up any longer. But, all that said, there are some common reasons that spouses seem unsupportive or even angry over our WLS. The most common one, I think, is that they are scared that something will happen to us in surgery. Others include: afraid you will leave them after you lose weight they have their own weight (or other) problems that they might have to face they enjoyed eating together the way you always have, and don't want that to change they didn't know what to say to be supportive they don't want you to think they didn't love you when you were fat they don't know what will change about your future life together they don't want the surgery to fail and see you disappointed I'm sure there are lots of others, but those are the ones I've seen the most. My husband went through most of them too. Once I got through surgery without any problems, he was great. And he's been extremely supportive, especially since he's seen how my life and my health have improved so much since I've lost weight. There is a lot of insecurity and fear. The only thing to do is talk to him and try to make him see why you are doing this (for yourself and for those you love) and just wait it out. He'll come around when he sees you are healthier and you are still there. It's hard, though. Good luck, keep coming here for support in the meanwhile, and try to help him through this. He's going through the surgery as much as you are, it will affect him almost as much, so just remember that. And if it's something that would benefit him too, later, maybe he'll make that choice when he sees it work for you!

Alicia, Good for you! Life a year later is nothing like before. Most folks around here would probably say the same thing. It's still a daily project. I still try to make the best choices every day, and if I do it 90% of the time I am doing great. I still have to exercise and keep increasing the intensity so I can continue to progress. But this is life now, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. Good luck to you and your surgery. I just moved to Spokane in November. I had surgery when I lived in Portland. I think there are 2 band surgeons in this area--Dr Trotter and Dr Pennings, right? I'm seeing Dr Pennings in a couple weeks since my Portland surgeon referred me. There are several Spokane area bandsters on the local Eastern Washington board, and they're very nice. Thanks for the nice comments and I hope everything goes well for you!

I do know what you mean. But your best friend hasn't been a great friend, has it? I know it wasn't for me. Eating the way I was eating might have had some good things, but it made me morbidly obese. I could choose to keep those eating habits, or choose to live a healthier life and have a better quality of life. I know it's easier to think this way in your head than make it real in your heart. I think it's normal to go through these anxieties and grief before having surgery like this. It will definitely change your life. The best thing you can do to prevent reflux AFTER banding is to work with as little Fluid in your band as you can while still losing weight. If you are tight enough (after you get a few fills, which will be a few months after your surgery) that you are getting food stuck or vomiting more than very occasionally, you are too tight. People get in the trap of keeping too much fluid in the band because they are losing weight and the tight band is forcibly keeping them from eating very much food. But the band is actually designed to prevent hunger, not actively kick food out of your stomach! Listen to your body and don't rely on the band to do all the work for you, and you will be fine. And you might consider getting a therapist who is experienced in the issues of obesity and emotional eating if that is a particular problem for you (as it is for most of us). The band doesn't cure emotional eating and most of us would benefit from having some addtional help with these issues. Good luck, you will do great!

You might not meet the anesthetist/anesthesiologist until shortly before your procedure. Make sure you let them know your concerns specifically, so they can do their best to give you the best experience. All anethesia personnel have the goal of keeping you as comfortable as possible, not just pain but anxiety as well. They want to make sure you are in a good emotional state as well as physical. If you are concerned about remembering, or waking up, or feeling the endotracheal tube, let them know. If you have had post op nausea or vomiting, or have had weird reactions to certain medications in the past, let them know. There are lots of things they can to do optimize your particular experience. As another poster mentioned, being intubated and under general anesthesia is required because this is a laparoscopic procedure. They will fill your abdomen with a certain pressure level of CO2, and if you don't have a breathing tube in place, you have a risk of getting stomach contents into your lungs, which is very bad. With this kind of surgery they tend to give a couple different kinds of nausea medication, since it is on your stomach and it is a lap procedure, but let them know if you have a particular problem with nausea. They definitely want to avoid any nausea after surgery. The good thing is that nowadays general anesthesia is extremely safe. You will be asleep before the tube goes in, and won't remember it coming out. When you wake up in your bed, you might have some soreness from your surgery (everyone's experience is different, but I had little pain) but your anesthesia will probably not even enter your mind. And the great thing is you'll have your band and will be on your way on your journey. I hope this helps a little. Good luck!

Funny, I've just been thinking this way as well. I started running a month ago (after 2 years of lower impact cardio workouts), and just got a heart rate monitor yesterday. I highly recommend getting one, already I can see it's a huge help! The standard equation didn't really work well for me because my resting heart rate is relatively high (84, and when I had surgery a year ago it was over 100!). I'm including a link to a WikiHow page that gives another way to calculate your target HR that takes your resting heart rate into account. This seemed like a much more reasonable range for me, since using the standard equation gives me a target heart range that I could recite the entire Declaration of Indepencence at--clearly not working hard enough! (By the way, using this method, it would make sense that you would need to recalculate your target range as you become more fit and your resting heart rate decreases.) Here: How to Calculate Your Target Heart Rate - wikiHow hth, Gwen

The 4 week minimum healing period is required for the sutures around your banded stomach to heal. If you start filling your band before these sutures have healed, you run the risk of destabilizing the "groove" that the band needs to settle into in order to stay in place. More fill puts more pressure on the band and on your stomach underneath. Filling too quickly or too aggressively puts your band at risk of slipping, probably not now but down the road. Everything that is required for banding is there for a reason. It has nothing to do with what we have a "right" for and everything to do with your stomach's health and keeping your band long term. Follow your doctor's advice. A few extra weeks waiting for a fill is nothing in the long term. We have ALL been there. It might be hard to accept this, but it really is in the best interest of your stomach and your health.

My5--wow, you look just beautiful. What a great before and after! You must feel so great. Dems--I'm so glad things went better with your unfill. 51 lbs is nothing to be unhappy about! But being too tight can slow your weight loss--glad you were able to get some out and keep going! You are so close to goal now...things WILL probably be slower, that happens when you get close (or so I hear, I've never gotten anywhere near my goal weight before!) but it should move a little better if you aren't too tight. I have to see a new band doctor next week. I moved to Spokane from Portland and my band surgeon is just too far away. I considered just sticking with her and hoping I didn't have an overfill emergency, but on top of it my new insurance won't cover any of my band expenses, and the doc here is a little cheaper out of pocket. So I'm having my yearly upper GI and an overall check to make sure all is well. I don't think I need a fill. I'm feeling pretty good at my current adjustment. Hopefully he's good. :drool: My bandiversary is tomorrow! Woo hoo! Great job everyone, it's been a loser year for us!:tongue2: We all have ourselves to thank for all the hard work that brought us this gift of better health. :tt2:

Thanks for the nice comments, guys! Pictures really are encouraging when you are feeling like you should have lost more by now. Whitepants, get someone to take some afters for you! I think you'll be feeling a lot better when you see them with your befores. And I know what you mean about the pants drooping in the crotch, lol. And about using your clothes size to gauge your weight loss. The nice thing is that as you get smaller, it takes fewer pounds to drop a size. Even a 5 lb weight loss is a bigger deal when you get smaller since it is a larger % of your total weight...does that make sense? Let's see some more Marchie befores and afters, to Celebrate our bandiversary month! I love seeing them. Mrs H, you are up next! My stats: band date 3/13/08 start weigth 234 current weight 181 total lost 53 lbs Goal weight 160 (might change it to 150 when I get there) Have a great day everyone!

OH Juli, you just look fantastic. What a difference a year makes! You've inspired me to post my pictures. I can't get a picture small enough for LBT to accept it as an avatar... ...but I'll post some here. I am so glad I took "before" pictures, even though I avoided the camera like the plague then. I look back and realize it was worse than I even realized then! :eek: Let's see if this works....

All of the weight loss surgeries have complications. Most of the complications with lap band have more to do with keeping a too-tight fill than with the lap band itself. Most slips, ongoing vomiting etc are related to keeping the band too tight. That's something that you have some control over. We should always be trying to work with the least amount of fill possible that keeps us from being hungry but doesn't have us barfing or having reflux or any other problems. I didn't really consider the sleeve. It would have met my main criteria for surgery, which was that I didn't want any malabsorptive procedures (bypass, DS). But I also liked the fact that the band does not permanently alter your anatomy, and I liked the adjustability factor. I hope to be pregnant in a couple of years, and I like the fact that my band can be loosened to allow a little more food for a pregnancy. With the sleeve, what you get is what you get. The sleeve can stretch out, just like the pouch in a RnY. I like knowing I'm not just "stuck" with whatever food restriction the sleeve leaves me. Good luck with your decision making.

Mrs Husker-- big W00T for breaking your plateau! That always feels good. OH Julie--WOW great avatar pic! You look hot! And you are so close to onderland, you will get there soon I'm sure. Everyone--we are doing great at 1 year. Big props to all! I finally got into the size 8 jeans the other day, that was a big NSV for me. :clap:Running really seems to help. I can only run for 6 minutes at a time so far, and last night I did a total of 17 minutes in 4 blocks over a 49 minute session on the treadmill. It's getting better, easier (a little). About sizes, I think it's funny that the sizes we hated when we were gaining weight, we LOVE when we lose weight again. I remember MANY years ago getting to a size 10 and being disgusted that I was in "double digits". Wow, that was probably 15 years ago? I never saw size 10 again until a couple of months ago, and it was like a long lost friend. Of course, sizes are a little bigger than they were 15 years ago...(shhhh!) OK, ladies, have a great weekend and happy bandiversary to the early Marchies!

Sounds like a good doc! She gave you her best advice based on what she knows, and supports your decision whatever it is. :tea: She's right about exhausting all your options. There have been more than a few people who decided to give "diet and exercise" one more try before WLS and were able to succeed. But most of us, by the time we get to this point, have truly exhausted all our options, and then some. I was 33 when I was banded, that's not too young at all. And you are not rearranging your guts like with RNY. At least you have the green light from your PCP to make the best decision for you. Good luck!

If doctors wanted to make more off your fills, they would have you come in more frequently, and then you could pay for unfills, too. You don't want to get too much too fast. Fills can "settle" in weeks later, and the stomach gets pissy if you irritate it too much with too much fill or too soon. Getting too much too soon is a setup for being too tight. Patience is part of the lap band game.

I was banded in Portland, OR, but I moved to Spokane WA about 3 months ago. I understand that Dr. Lee Trotter does bands in Spokane (not sure if it's at Sacred Heart or Holy Family?) and Dr John Pennings in Post Falls ID does them as well. I have an appt to see Dr Pennings in a couple of weeks, as I now live too far away from my surgeon in Portland to see her in case something comes up urgently. To answer your other questions, I was banded March 13, 2007. I had 74 lbs excess weight to lose (initial BMI 41) and thus far have lost 53 lbs. I no longer require my CPAP machine so that was a success. My fitness has improved as I have been able to increase my exercise, and my resting heart rate has dropped considerably, which was a big goal of mine since it started out about 105, which is way too high. My BP has come down too, although it was normal to start with. I am also off my antidepressant medication, since June, without any problems. :tea: The unspoken truths: that is a good question. I think I was pretty well informed about the daily life of being banded, as I did a lot of research. But my SIL was banded about 6 weeks after I was, and I don't think she knew what to expect. She spent the first 9 months fighting the band and eating too much, too fast, and vomited every day. She seems to be doing better now that she has figured things out a little more. Some of these things you may read about and know in your head, but not truly realize until you are living it everyday. These things are most important to know before deciding to get banded: 1. The most important thing is that you might not lose any weight in the first 2 months, and you probably won't have any "restriction" (any sensation of being full sooner than normal) until you have at least 1 fill, possibly more, up to 4 or so is possible. Fills are usually given first at 6-8 weeks, and most people don't get any real restriction with the first fill. They shouldn't be given any more frequently than every 4 weeks after that, in small increments until you reach a point where you are satisfied with a small meal for 3-4 hours and you aren't vomiting or having reflux, and can tolerate solid food. This process, as you might imagine, can take several months and can be very frustrating. You will be HUNGRY. Furthermore, you might have told a lot of people about your surgery beforehand, and they expect to see weight loss like with a gastric bypass because you had WLS. So that can add to the pressure you put on yourself. That was frustrating to me, and I didn't fully realize any of that before I was banded. To give you an example, my band didn't really start helping me feel full sooner until my 3rd fill, which was July, 4 months after my surgery. (By the way, starting fills early, or advancing your post op diet before you are supposed to, is a bad idea, as that period of time is intended to allow the stomach to heal and the sutures to set, so your band won't slip later. You would be able to "tolerate" solid food just fine a day, two days, or 3 weeks after surgery, but don't be tempted to start real food early, or you could disrupt the healing process.) 2. The band is only intended to control your hunger and allow you to eat very small meals. My doctor says 1 to 1.5 cups of food at a time. I hear some saying 4 oz or 1/2 cup at a time, but that is more of a RNY type meal. A meal should be solid food, Protein first, then vegetables, then starch on occasion. The band is NOT intended to force food out of your stomach when you eat too much. That's what a lot of people are looking for when they talk about "restriction", that and being unable to tolerate foods like bread. 3. Some people CAN'T tolerate certain foods, like bread, celary, pineapple, shrimp, dry meats, etc, EVER after they are banded. I'm not one of those people. But a lot of people find that when their band is properly adjusted (and even before that) they just can't tolerate those foods anymore; they ball up and get stuck, which is very painful. Then it either has to come back up (they call it a PB, or productive burp; or barfing) or you wait until it goes down, sometimes a few hours. 4. If you eat too fast or too much or the wrong thing, your band might make you pay for it (see above). Conversely, if you are COUNTING on that to help control your eating, it might not happen. I've never had any of those things happen to me, and I've never had difficulty eating any food I wanted. If I was counting on the band to keep me from eating bread, I'd be disappointed. 5. Soft foods and liquid calories go down very easy, and if you absolutely cannot control your eating of these things, you will have difficulty losing weight with a band. You can be too restricted to eat fish or chicken or vegetables, but be able to tolerate ice cream and M&M's just fine. Guess what? You won't lose weight that way! Plus you will end up malnourished to boot, on top of still being fat. But, if you are committed to learning how to control what you eat, you can be successful. 6. You still have to watch what you eat and exercise. The band only helps you eat less food. If you graze all day long, you can defeat the band. If you eat soft junk food or treats that go down easily, you can defeat the band. And if you don't exercise, you might still lose weight, but you will lose a lot of muscle mass, which is more metabolically active than fat. Your weight loss will slow down and you will run out of energy, and then it's much harder to start exercising to get things going again. 7. The band is on your stomach, not your head. It will not eliminate "head hunger", or emotional eating. If your only response to stress is to eat, the band will not prevent that. It is best to work on these issues starting before the surgery (most of us have emotional eating issues), and ideally with a therapist who is experienced with these issues. Do I have any regrets? Not at all. For me, this has been ideal. I was afraid in the beginning that I might not be a good candidate for the lap band because I never overate really in quantity of food, but I loved sweets. However, I have discovered that I am a person that requires a lot of activity and very few calories to lose weight, and the lap band allows me to achieve these low calories without starving. I still have to make the decision not to eat sweets often (I do eat them from time to time, but in very small portions), and I still have to decide to exercise. My weight loss hasn't been as fast as a lot of people, but I have never once thrown up, never had any food get stuck, and I can eat whatever I want if I am in public or at some kind of event. So really, it has enabled me to live like a normal weight person, eating everything in moderation and making good food choices 90% of the time. And I am only 21 lbs from my goal in less than a year, so I am very happy. Sorry this was so long, but I hope it answered your questions. You can PM me if you have any more questions. I won't know more about Dr Pennings until I see him in a couple of weeks. However, there is a thread for Eastern Washington bandsters in the Local Support board: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f68/eastern-washington-banders-45442/ good luck!

The only other possibility I can think of, besides needing a small unfill, is if you have a new hiatal hernia. Whatever the cause, any reflux is a reason to go see your band surgeon ASAP. Reflux in banded people is usually a sign that something is wrong, and most often it's too much fill, even though you have times when you don't feel restricted. Your band surgeon can sort out the reason for your reflux, but don't delay in seeing him/her. good luck!

First, don't let anyone near your port who doesn't have lots of experience accessing them. If the ER can't reach your local band surgeon to come unfill it, and the hospital doesn't have one of their own that can do it, you could ask them to call an oncology RN in a pinch. They access portacath ports frequently and that is not the same, but similar enough. They use a non coring, huber needle. Do NOT let the ER doc try to access your port! If for any reason someone needs to pass an NG or OG tube (nasogastric/orogastric) you need your band unfilled first, or they need to do it under fluoroscopy if your restriction isn't too tight and they can't unfill it for some reason (or quickly enough). Don't let anyone blindly pass any tube into your stomach, or you could end up with a perforated stomach. HTH.

Reflux is almost always a sign of something wrong with the band. Usually it is a too tight fill and a slight unfill will resolve it. You will have to see your band surgeon about it. Letting it go, or just starting meds to alleviate the symptoms without finding out the cause, can be bad for you and your band in the long run. So many people who end up having to have their bands removed start out with these kind of symptoms and ignore them. If you have it treated promptly, you can avoid this. Good luck.

The most important reason that they want you off of it is to reduce the chance of getting a DVT (blood clot). We are at high risk for DVT when we have this surgery anyway, and the estrace increases that risk.

My PCP told me, without me even mentioning that I was thinking of surgery, "I don't believe in weight loss surgery." So I never discussed it with her. Luckily, my insurance did not require a letter from my PCP, so it didn't matter in that respect. It was kind of a bummer, though.

I make do with a lot of knits that fit multiple sizes (Target, Old Navy)--t shirts, skirts, dresses all fit pretty well even when I am technically a little too small for them. The only thing I have insisted on getting at each size is the correct size of jeans. I have 2 pairs of jeans in sizes 12 & 10, and just got a size 8 pair that fits. I'll probably buy another, but maybe not since I just started running a month ago. I buy Old Navy jeans, nothing really pricey of course. But I just can't stand when jeans get too saggy in the butt. That's just me. It also bugs my hubby, lol. I am not terribly worried about having multiple sizes, though, and I haven't gotten rid of a lot of my big clothes, because I hope to reuse them (hopefully not the biggest ones!) as maternity clothes when I finish grad school. :tongue: If my band works as I hope it does, I won't gain more than 20 lbs with a pregnancy...but we'll see when/if I get there. (fingers crossed!)

Hi peeps, So I started running intervals last month. I had already been doing 5-6 days per week of good solid cardio, 45-60 minutes per session, and I've been weight training for about 3 months now. I needed to start doing something more to keep improving, though, so I thought running (jogging, I guess) seemed like a good next step. I think my pace is reasonable and I am up to running for about 6 minutes at a time (the most I've done is 7) and interspersed with brisk (3.5-4.0mph) walking, am up to a total of about 16 or 17 minutes per 45 minute cardio session. I do this 4-5 times per week. This is on a treadmill at a 2.0% incline. My running/jogging pace is about 4.8-5.5 mph which I think is probably an okay place to start. I want to increase the time first (I guess like the couch to 5k plan does) and then work on my speed later, although I'm not planning any races. I just want to prevent getting injured by pushing myself too fast, so I'm asking you experienced people: how best to prevent injury? Should I only be doing this 3 days per week? Or does anything else in what I've described seem like it might be harmful? I've never been a runner before (or any kind of athlete) but I find that I love to exercise since my banding last year (actually I found that out about a year before I was banded) and while I don't LOVE to run, I do love what it does for me and how I feel afterward. I certainly don't want to be sidelined by an injury just because I wasn't careful in the beginning. Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

Your requirements for thyroid medications are going down because you have lost 39 lbs. This is a good thing! I know it is scary to think you might have to go back to the effects of having a low thyroid. But the thyroid hormones are complex things, and just a little bit too much or too little can have big effects, especially now that you weigh significantly less. As other posters have mentioned, you really don't want to have too much synthroid on board, that can be just as bad. You'll probably have to change your dose a few times while you lose weight. Just try to work with it and let the doc know if it feels like things are going too far the other way. If it were safe to lose weight by just taking too much synthroid, we'd all have gone on that instead of getting banded. Congratulations for losing so much weight and being able to decrease your medication dose! This is actually a good thing, and you're reaping the benefits of the lap band!

Thanks for the reply, neveragain! I'll back off the frequency a little bit, and keep challenging in the intensity. I ran and lifted yesterday, and today I can tell I need a day off. You were banded 2 weeks after me, and look how close you are to goal! That is awesome. I hope you are still recovering well from your little spill a couple months ago. Thanks for the input.

I love NSVs... Today, size 8 jeans! I'm so stoked. I still have 22 lbs to lose, so I have no idea what size I will end up. I mean, I've never even thought of wearing a size 6 as a possibility...but if I lose another 22 lbs, surely I will be lower than that, even. Crazy! I'm also excited that my bra band size has gone down, from 38C when I started to 34D now. So cool! Also, I've started running in the last month. Totally an NSV...I never could have done it, even 20 lbs ago. So there they are, my lastest NSVs! I love my band. :shades_smile: