Scott F

My surgeon does not require a special diet prior to surgery. He says that with two of his 250 patients it would have been nice to have shrunk the liver before the op, but its not worth putting the other 248 patients through the trouble.

I guess I'm going against the flow on this one. I would look for a surgeon who has done many more than 13 lapband procedures. I have seen a couple of medical studies which compare, for example, the first 200 lapbands done by a surgeon with the second 200. The results, mainly erosion and slippage are much better for the second 200. One such study is posted on the FAQs and References forum. However, besides the doctor having more practice the lapband surgical technique (as practiced by all surgeons) may also have changed during this time. Of course surgeons new to lapband would be using the latest surgical procedures.

I had surgery one week ago and would like to hear from others about their first week. Would you like to share? From you older banders it would also be nice to get a preview of what the next few weeks will be like. My First Week__________________ I was pretty tired on surgery day, but able to resume a half day at the office the day after surgery, and to resume a full work day on day 5. The pain was minimal. Once, I took a dose of the tylenol w/codein, and other times took half doses of children's tylenol. I had no nausea. That terrible, bloated feeling lasted only 2-3 hours after I woke up from surgery. The only sign of having done something wrong was on day 7 when I ate a scrambled egg. I have had no hunger this week, probably only eating 200-500 calories a day, and have lost 16 pounds. However, today (day 8) I ate 2X-3X what I've eaten on any other day (1/3 Protein drink for Breakfast, cup of Soup for lunch, and 2/3 cup of soup for dinner) so maybe hunger is returning. I was worried that after banding I would forever lose the enjoyment of food. But I'm finding that enjoyment of food is probably a relative thing. Vegetarian broth was delicious, and when I ate that egg (cold, left over by my daughter) it tasted like foi gras (I love foi gras). I understand that if I am restricted now it is only because of swelling and won't last, but I really like this feeling.

My surgeon says he believes that eventually the lapband program will include the use of diet drugs. I use Meridia with phentermine, trading off every other day, and it certainly helps. However, I intend to stop with the diet meds once I reach restriction.

Please tell us about lapband in the UK. How popular is it? What is the pricing? How long have surgeons being doing it?

Fen Phen worked wonderfully for me. I lost 60 pounds, all my extra weight. This made for two wonderful years of biking, hiking, etc. I still take the Phen (phentermine) part, with Meridia. It is somewhat effective in this combination. For sometime after the Fen part was taken from the market I was able to get it from Cambodia via the Internet, but no longer. I had no heart damage.

We need a forum on this board for posting lap-band medical studies, and for discussion of these studies. On this board we have wonderful forums for General Lap-Band Discussion, for Complications, for Support, etc. As a newbie I've learned a great deal from these, particularly about "soft" subjects like "How do you know when you are restricted?", "What is the first week after banding like?", and "Is my doctor acting appropriately?". However, for other lap-band issues we can only look for answers in the medical studies - "What is the mortality rate of lap-band vs gastric bypass?", "What is the incidence of erosion with lap-band?", "How do outcomes improve as the surgeon gains experience?", "Are outcomes better or worse with the swedish band?", "What is the mean weight loss after 1 years, 2, 3?", etc. I am aware of dozens of studies that deal with questions like these, and new studies are appearing all the time. I propose that on this board we need a central repository for these studies and for member discussion of them. We need a forum dedicated to medical studies on lap-band and other weight loss surgeries. Your thoughts?

Yes, we could use the References forum for posting medical studies. It doesn't get much use otherwise.

If there were enough support for a Medical Studies Forum, as evidenced by replies to this thread, then I'm sure the operators of LapBankTalk.com would setup this forum. So, alongside the forums for General Lap-Band Discussion, Lap-Band Support, Insurance, etc. would sit the Medical Studies Forum. My thought is that whenever someone runs across a new medical study it is posted to this forum as a new thread, preferably with the summary of the study pasted into the initial message. Then discussion about this study would take the form of replies to this thread. There are, at a minimum, dozens of interesting medical studies on lap-banding and other WLS that would be readily available to users of LapBandTalk.com.

Strawarts, Thanks for posting Dr. Spivak's diet. I was banded three weeks ago and switched from liquids to soft foods after only the first week, contrary to my doctor's requirement of liquids for 2 weeks, then mushies for 3 weeks. These past two weeks I've been feeling guilty, although I've had absolutely no problem with soft foods. Now I don't feel guilty anymore!

My wife fought hard against me getting the surgery. She used every possible argument against it. However, after the surgery she has been very supportive.

I take phentermine one day and Meridia the next. These are effective (for me), but I probably would not bother after banding except that I have a large supply left over. My surgeon believes that eventually the lapband protocol will include the use of diet drugs.

I was just banded recently. My plan is to use Meridia and phentermine diet drugs when I am not restricted. For me these work very well for short periods of time.

To donali, WOW, that was quite a response to Charlotte! How do you know all this? I want you in my corner if I have a problem with my band. Scott F

I worked a half day the day after surgery, and full days after that. Played tennis on day 8 and racquetball on day 9.

I'm eight days post op and it just occured to me that I can enjoy a juicy steak, if I swallow only juices. I suppose this is better done at home than at the Outback.

Has anyone had food poisoning since their lapband? If the food has moved past the band, and you are well restricted, how do you vomit?

I told co-workers I had lapband surgery. Otherwise, they'd be asking why my eating habbits are so strange, and be wondering why I've gotten so lazy. (I went back to work the day after surgery.) The people I particularly avoid telling are obese acquaintances who can't afford the surgery. Seems like it would be doing them a real disservice.

My wife and others told me I'm not big enough for the surgery (BMI of 36). But my feet hurt, I could no longer do the biking and hiking that I love, and I was getting some negative reaction from people I'd meet for the first time. Eight years ago I lost all my excess weight on phen/fen and had a wonderful two years, doing things I hadn't done since college. It was great to be thin and trim. On the other hand my heart suffered slightly from the phen/fen. I'm just four days after surgery, and hoping to avoid complications and get thin again.

Apparently not. Of the ten or so who've responded to this thread none have used diet drugs with their surgery. However, my surgeon says he believes that eventually the protocol for lap-band will include diet drugs. (I couldn't tell whether this was his individual opinion or had broader basis.) I was only banded this past Monday, but intend to use Meridia and phentermine as needed - perhaps just because I already have a supply. From what others have said it seems like there are long periods when the fill is not right and you don't feel restricted, therefore hungry. If you find the diet drugs effective, as I do, then maybe they'll help through these periods. Anyway, it sounds like I may be about the only one trying diet drugs with the lapband - so I'll report on the experience.

There are many scary stories posted on this site about post-op pain, bloating, nausea, etc. I'm sharing my story to provide another perspective to the many pre-banders who visit. I had surgery yesterday, 2/20/06, and the first 24 hours were a breeze. Started surgery at 8:30 am and I walked out of surgery center at noon. (This must be normal because at noon I said "I'm not ready to go", nurse said "yes, you are, go". She was right.) Had that uncomfortable bloating - just for 2 hours. No nausea. Half dose of children's Tylenol has been enough for the soreness. Sleepy that first afternoon, but I could walk and drink just fine. Today I went shopping with wife to 4 stores in the morning and worked a half day at my desk job in the afternoon. Comparison for those considering RNY - My business partner had a very miserable fist month after RNY. Couldn't come to work at all for the first two weeks, and only worked half days for the next two weeks. He was absolutely misrable. Also, at three years post-op his pouch has stretched a good deal. Now he eats almost as much as any big person. (But of course with RNY a lot of it goes undigested.)

Psychology/personality certainly has a major influence in how much we exercise, in how well we comply with instructions on drinking with meals, in whether we get regular fills, etc. At the same time, these are all things we can control. I will work much harder on not drinking, on exercise, and on getting regular fills if these things prove to be highly correlated with weight loss success.

I have moderate to severe sleep apnea and have used CPAP for the past five years (pressure of 10). My surgeon also asks that I bring the CPAP machine to surgery. This seems to be the common practice. However, I've had surgeries recently to repair a fx femur and a tib/fib fx (under general anesthesia about as long as the WLS) and there was no mention of bringing a CPAP. It seems like a good idea to have your CPAP going during the operation. When the sleep apnea is not treated your body jerks (partially) awake as it needs oxygen. It seems like this jerking could give the surgeon some difficulty if timing was bad (or do they have you tightly strapped down during surgery?) I'd guess that the anesthesiologist can duplicate CPAP during WLS, but why not use the mask that you know fits and the pressure setting that is well tested.

$12,900 in Utah if done in surgery center. Includes follow-up for 1st year. $14,300 if done in hospital.

I'm in the pre-surgery process with Dr. Darin Hansen at AltaView Hospital. He seems good. I believe he's done about 230 lap-band surgeries. His partner also does the lap-band surgery. Sounds like his office has a great follow-up program with nutritionist, exercise guru and nurse.