PangeaOne

I am thinking of having my lapband removed. Blame myself for the failure. I have not lost one pound. The procedure was done in 2008. I am so fearful that once the band is removed I will gain even more weight. Does anyone know if this is usually the case? Looking for guidance.

Tootsywoots: I'm new to all of this but have gone to bariatric support groups for over a year now and have met many many people who have had gastric rather than lapband and have gained all their weight back and then some and are now either having another gastric or lapband. You sound like you are doing a great job. Your health is improving so much and now you can walk so much better. Do you have access to bariatric support groups? They are really very helpful. Support is so important. Someone gave me good advice when I started. She said that you need three essential things. The band, exercise and emotional support. Keep up the great work. You can do it!!

lynnt1215: Thanks so much for that suggestion. I never knew that! That makes so much sense and is how I am feeling mostly out of fear of a reoccurrence than anything else.

I enjoy hearing about people's lives but I'm a therapist, that's probably why. I retired the end of February of this year in preparation for Lapband surgery and hopefully a new life!! I'm interested in hearing how others are doing now that they are not doing their traditional work as well as how they are coping with their Lapband issues. I have a funny story but am looking for feedback. I had my first fill on the 29th of June (Lapband 15 May 09). For the first few days I felt no hunger and had really no desire to eat so stayed well within the dietary guidelines. But that quickly faded away. Could eat anything and became increasingly hungry Went out to eat two days ago and mistakenly ate a small piece of shrimp! I guess what I was feeling was that piece getting stuck. Hadn't ever had that feeling before. It was very scary, felt like I was going to choke to death! I tried to remember that this was something had that other bandsters had experienced and had lived to tell about it. Thank God the restaurant was empty. As I headed for the bathroom I suddenly had a clear liquid shot out of my mouth. How embarrassing!! Later I realized that I was now a part of the bandster experience! Last night I had a similar experience with ground turkey. Thought I had really chewed it thoroughly but guess not. The day before I had these experiences I had scheduled another fill for the 13th, exactly two weeks from the first fill. The nurse who does the fills told me to call her if I began to feel some restriction but so far that hasn't happened. She also told me that some bandster don't feel restriction for up to nearly two weeks.

I recently when to a bariatric educational group run by the hospital where I had the lapband surgery. The facilitator said that the rule of abstaining from fluids 30 minutes prior to a meal has been eliminated. She said that we can now drink fluids right up until the time of the meal. The following week during my appointment for my first fill my nurse said she had never heard of this change in the 30 minute fluid rule. I am waiting to hear from her since it is confusing, conflicting information coming from the same hospital.

Since I just had the fill this morning I am back to Stage 1: two days on high protein shakes or blended foods. Stage 2: Soft foods for the next two days and then Stage 3: Regular foods of 1000, 1200, or 1500 calories. I never have the full feeling but until I had the fill I didn't feel all that hungry. I had a protein shake a few hours after arriving home from my appointment but was still hungry. It makes sense that the protein shake would just pass through. So I guess what you're saying is that until I get on more solid protein I will probably feel hunger. Thanks so much for the valuable information. I will print it off and carry it with me. Thanks again. All of you are such pros as Bandster.

Just had my first fill. The nurse said it wouldn't really hurt. That's because the needle didn't go into her! LOL I couldn't believe the diameter of the needle!! And it definitely hurt, a lot. Thank God the pain was brief. She said the pain was due to scar tissue. She said I have the Allergan Band. She removed 4 cc's that was in the band and put back in 5 cc's. From now on I can go for a fill every two weeks until I acquire restriction. It's now been 6 1/2 hours and I am starving!! What is that all about? I've had my protein drink, drinking decaf tea. Why am I feeling so hungry? Tell me this will go away. Help!! I never felt this level of hunger since I've had the band.

The surgery itself is very brief: 1 1 2/ hours total from prep, recovery and out the door. I did have very, very intense pain in my shoulder that lasted for at least a week and then less so for another week. They give you a prescription for the pain which you will definitely want to fill. Others never experienced this pain which is caused by the gas that is used as part of the surgery. Never had any discomfort from any of the incisions. You will do great. I am reading a lot of these blogs and have come to realize that everyone experiences the surgery and the aftermath in their own individual way.

Thank you for your encouragement. I have been really discouraged. I am going to cling to the wisdom of those who've experienced this before me. As to the fills, I have no idea what type of band I have or whether there was any saline injected at the time of the surgery. I told the surgeon at the time of my pre-op visit (my only visit) that I had heard that he was using a different band. He was vague and said that they continue to tweak the process. When I go for my fill on Monday I'll ask what kind of band I have.

I am about to have my first fill on the 29th of June. How it is decided how many cc's they inject. Is it the amount of weight you have or haven't lost or your self report of your level of hunger? Since my surgery on the 15th of June I have only lost 5 to 7 #'s.

I am 71 and just banded in May of this year. Now healed and going for my first fill on the 29th.

Protein, protein, protein. that's what keeps me sane, that and being busy and exercising. Why do you have to wait three months for a fill. This is so odd. I quess every bariatric program and every surgeon has there own theory as to how all this works. Some bandster have already had a fill and looking for a second one at two months post-op. Very confusing. Hang in there. BTW: My above theory is a good one but I have to confess that I fall off the wagon on a regular basis, feel like a failure, have no restriction as yet and try to separate what is stomach hunger from head hunger. Hang in there !!

Wow! I can't have a fill until the 29th of June, which is about 6 weeks out from my surgery on the 15th of May. When did you have your first fill? I am envious. I guess to answer your question, I want to believe that the surgeons know best. I have banders report not getting good restriction for 3 to 4 weeks so maybe that's why the wait.

What has helped me is making sure I have enough protein. I use Designer Whey Protein powder and use a scoop and a half which gives me 25 grams of protein. This has helped a lot. But the other side of this is the head hunger which I think is a much harder issue to control. I had my surgery on the 15th of May and don't go a fill until the 29th of June. Now I am battling head hunger with my eating getting out of control. More poor choices rather than high quantity. Which hunger are you dealing with. Sometimes it takes quite a while to figure this out. It's an individual thing.

There is only one Center of Excellence Bariatric program in the state of Maine. This is requirement with my insurance company. Secondly, with this particular program, you never see the surgeon until a few weeks prior to your surgery. This is after a year of jumping through the program's hoops. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of traveling to other states due to finances and insurance limitations. I am 71 years old, with progressively worsening diabetes and needed to get on top of this weight issue. I was very disappointed when I did meet with the surgeon due to his attitude but I felt that I had no other option given my circumstances. I don't live in a state where there are surgeons anxiously waiting to hear from me. Hope that explains my situation. I am grateful that I have had the surgery and hope that the nurses that will monitor the fills will be more appropriately responsive than the surgeon. In his defense, I feel that this surgeon was voicing his opinion, even though it left me conflicted and concerned. I think some of his issues were that: I am older, my BMI is 37.5.

Elayne: I am post LapBand five weeks now and in all the bariatric groups I have attended there is an emphasis on absolutely no snacks. What you are describing makes a lot more sense: 5 to 6 small meals a day. I have started a vitamin regimen. Have you researched how to schedule taking the vitamins? I take all my B's together. Calcium, D-3, Zinc and multivitamin together. I don't know where to include E, A and C's. I take all these vitamins with food. I also include Flax Seed and Wheat Germ with my oatmeal along with a scoop of whey protein (to increase my protein intake). any thoughts??? I have no idea what type of Band I have. When I asked the surgeon he said that they continue to change the type of band they use. I want to thank all of you Bandsters for your invaluable information and feedback.

Elayne: I am post LapBand five weeks now and in all the bariatric groups I have attended there is an emphasis on absolutely no snacks. What you are describing makes a lot more sense: 5 to 6 small meals a day. I have started a vitamin regimen. Have you researched how to schedule taking the vitamins? I take all my B's together. Calcium, D-3, Zinc and multivitamin together. I don't know where to include E, A and C's. I take all these vitamins with food. I also include Flax Seed and Wheat Germ with my oatmeal along with a scoop of whey protein (to increase my protein intake). any thoughts??? I have no idea what type of Band I have. When I asked the surgeon he said that they continue to change the type of band they use. I want to thank all of you Bandsters for your invaluable information and feedback.

Headhunter: Sorry, the doctor I was referring to was the surgeon.

I am reading all of your experiences with great interest. Was banded on 15th of May. I will have my first fill on the 29th of June. Right now I am (what I've read here) going through "Bandster Hell!" So I am listening very carefully but won't really "get it" until I experience this myself. Right now I am very discouraged due to no weight loss and no restriction.

Wendall: Thank you so much for this very detailed information regarding the process of fills. In the year of preparing and finally having my LapBand surgery in mid May of this year I have never read or heard this very valuable information and have instead been very hard on myself since I am having increasing hunger and beginning to gain weight. Your information has helped my stop being so hard on myself. What I am going through is "normal." Again, thank you.

I saw a therapist who specialized with those with eating disorders. As for the doctor I met with him once for about 10 minutes and in that period of time he told me, "I don't think Lap Band surgery is all that it is cracked up to be." WOW! That made me feel so much better!!! Like I had been waiting nearly a year to hear that, after jumping through all the hoops and going to groups and classes at least twice a week. I have not been impressed.

Thanks for your insight. I think I need to go to see the nurse. I was doing well and losing a little weight when I was on the liquid and soft diet. Now the feelings that I have are very much the same as before I had the surgery.

I don't qualify for gastric bypass since my BMI was only 37.5. I am about 75 pounds overweight but have serious issues with diabetes. As the time passes since my surgery I feel more hunger and don't feel any symptoms of feeling full. My concern is that the fill will not address these issues. I'm sorry that the band didn't work out for you. What can you tell me about the tests that you are referring to. I have had no testing.

I had lapband on the 15th of June. Dr. Cobean at Maine Med.

I had lapband on the 15th of May and am scheduled for my first on the 29th of June. I haven't really lost any weight as yet. I only have 70 or so #'s to lose and am older. I have no idea if it's normal. I have no restriction whatsoever since the last few weeks. Very frustrating!! You on the other hand are doing so well!! I am so impressed. Keep up the great work.