lellow

I don't count calories when my band is working either. I let my band control my hunger and I control what I put in my mouth and it all works out fine. I guess for some the whole calorie counting thing works for them. Like you B-52 I don't knock it. I can actually see some good in it in that it can teach someone who has no clue what is actually in their food but I can't see doing it for a lifetime. Though I will stand by the science that if you are in a BIG calorie deficit, you will lose weight, it just won't all be fat, but muscle too. That's a fact. If you want to gain or keep muscle, it won't happen while on a large calorie deficit. But when losing with the band, muscle growth is often not the goal, so it doesn't really matter I guess if a new bandster is eating only a small number of calories per day. It only matters if, like me, you're trying to actually build muscle.

Losing weight and losing fat are two different things. You can lose weight when on a big calorie deficit but the fact is you will lose fat and muscle, and may end up 'skinny fat'. If you want to retain muscle and not lose it (as you would if you were trying to strength train) you can't be on a large calorie deficit. You need eat well to build muscle. My BFP is lower now at a BMI of 24 than when my BMI was 21. That's because I lost muscle and fat when I was on a large calorie deficit. I also did a lot of cardio as opposed to strength training. Now I'm strength training, doing minimal cardio and my BFP is going down but not my weight. Because my body composition is changing instead.

I just think it was a case of the ports that were provided in the early days were of a higher profile. And it also depended on the make of the band. I had a high profile port when I was first banded 5 years ago. It stuck out more, and that was about the only difference I could see. I now have a low profile port because that's what now comes with the newer bands. I don't think there are medical reasons for replacing with a lower profile port if you have a high profile port, only that when you've lost a lot of weight, the old high profile ones can stick out a fair way out of your stomach and look like you have a goflball under there. It's just not that aesthetically pleasing. My low profile port is deep in and I still look like I've got some weird swelling going on in my tummy if you look at me side on.. :/

It's actually good that you're reading about the complications. You need to be informed of all the risks. Then you weigh it up with the possible benefits (and there are many as well), and decide what's best for you. Not everyone around you, not your husband, but you. I got the 'you don't look big enough to have something as drastic as wls'. I was 5'4" and around 215 -225lbs at the time. People get used to seeing you a certain way and can't imagine you any other way. Now I've lost all the excess weight an kept it off for 5 years, those same people look at pictures of me when I was heavy and say 'I don't remember you being that big'. Really? Coz the pictures don't lie! Losing with the band isn't easy. It's easier. But if you're in pain wouldn't you take painkillers? If you twisted your ankle wouldn't you bandage it? If you need help, you need help. I'm not ashamed to say my band helped me achieve my goals. I'd be sillier not to use any help I could get. Good luck. Do this for you if that's what you want to do. Go in well informed and ready to take this on. And ignore those who are not invested in your choice. Because only you will be invested in you.

I went from being the person who sat on the sidelines almost all the time to being very active. My kids complain that I go and go and go and they get tired just watching me.

What a great story! You look great!! I have to admit that even though I've had success with the band, and live with it easily, if push came to shove and I wasn't able to live with it anymore, I would be looking at what else in terms of WLS was available to me. I don't think the bandster lifestyle is for everyone for sure, and I love that we all have different choices that we can make to find our way to our own success. I'm glad you finally found your perfect solution!

Ha, yes, I know the feeling! But now I look back at pictures of my son's first 3 years and you'd think he didn't have a mum, just a dad. I regret that, that I am absent from all those memories, but like you, I was mortified of having my picture taken. But you're down 25lbs now, and it's only going to keep going down if you work at it. So take pics, and document where you've been, because all going well, they're the last time you're going to look like that ever again.

Ok wait. Can you eat solid food? Or is it just that some days you can't hold anything down but others, you can? Just from the little you've said, I'm wondering if you may be too tight. In some cases, lapband patients can be at green zone with no or little fill. Putting MORE fill in in those cases would make things worse, not better. If you're too tight, it is a miserable feeling, I agree. Been there. You can't eat solids and therefore are hungry all the damned time. Because what keeps the hunger away is being able to eat solid food. It helps to satisfy you in small amounts and at the right fill level, should keep hunger away for 3 - 4 hours. So if you're at the point of not being able to eat solid food, a small unfill might actually help. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but it's completely possible that you're in the red zone now and your care-givers just don't know it.

Take pictures! I don't have pics of me at my biggest either because like most heavy people, I hated how I looked. I regret that now. Because the best advice I got from a fellow bandster was to take pictures, every week, without fail. And in the weeks where the scale didn't move, those pictures kept me going.

No problems nursecheryl. Good luck with it all. It's totally doable, don't get me wrong. You just need to be prepared for the part you have to play in it.

The short answer is yes, you can stretch the pouch above your band by over-eating. While the band (when filled to a good level for you) will 'kick back' and tell you that you've had enough, you can ignore it and continue to eat OR wait for a little while, let the food pass through the band and then continue eating OR eat until you're sick etc etc. There are lots of ways to work against the band instead of with it. The desire to overeat doesn't disappear when you get the band. What is does is control your hunger but obviously not what you put in your mouth. If you're an over-eater, you know that even now you're eating even when you're not hungry. The band isn't going to change that for you. That's something that happens in your head, not your stomach. What it will do is help you to NOT get hungry after eating a small amount of food. For some (like me) not being hungry means that I don't feel like eating. But if you eat even when you're not hungry, that's something you'd need to address within you because the band doesn't stop you from doing that.

I agree with you in that I believe discussions can be respectful. Or they should be. And that is regardles of whether or not someone has a complication, because I've seen it in other threads too and both sides of this have not been respectful on occasion. It's certainly not one-sided at all. I don't have any apologies for the way I've posted just btw just to be clear. I came into the thread to read about complications (as I do often, and yes, I've seen all those other threads too) because as a long term bander, I like being informed of any new possible complications that come to light. But like I said, I don't respond well to fear-mongering. I've said this before and I'll say it again, give me your experiences, tell me your story and I will be the first to hold your hand. Don't give me hysteria, because if you do, then being an open and public forum, I may have to call you out on it.

I do have friends who have complications, some have had their bands removed or suffered damage. One I used to know recently had hers removed due to an erosion. She doesn't say things like 'the band doesn't work' and 'the band is a lie' or 'it's all the band's fault' which is surprising because in her case, I don't think it was anything she did that caused the erosion to happen. It was bad luck, plain and simple. The support she has received from LBT has been wonderful. And I personally think she made a bigger impact in her low key, factual story than anyone else I've seen here in recent times. It's one thing to have complications. It's another to then tell everyone else that it will happen to them, or that they're been sold a lie, or that life with the band is a miserable existence for everyone, because it promotes an atmosphere of fear, not knowledge or support. It's sensationalism and it's not actually true either. And if someone says something that isn't true, you kinda have to expect that someone will call them out on it, whatever side of the discussion they're on.

It's actually common that as you lose, the band can get looser too, so you're right in that respect. Plus exercise can make you hungrier too, so yes, it's a double whammy!

I swear, some doctors... Mine said 'on average lapband patients lose 60% of their excess weight. This statistic includes those who lost all their excess weight and more, and those who didn't even try and lost nothing. You decide which one you want to be'. So I did. I was going to lose it all. And I did. I agree with Mis. Find someone who is more supportive because support and aftercare is incredibly important with the lapband and you want someone who will have your back, not undermine your decision.

I credit my band with helping me lose, but I did the bulk of the work to lose. I will not discredit by band for my gain, coz it doesn't choose what I put into my mouth. You think it's sad that people take responsibility for not following the band rules and gaining? Who else is responsible if not them? I'm more saddened that anyone thinks that nothing that happens to them with regards to their weight is their responsibility. Maybe that's the difference here, and I'm glad that I don't think that way. Anyway, back to the topic, I'm 5 years banded now, did spring a leak about 18 monthsw ago, had 2 port replacements and 1 band replacement to finally resolve it. I gained 35lbs in 10 months when the band wasn't working and I lost about 40% of it when I realised how much I'd strayed from my initial goals. I then got rebanded. The reasons for chosing a band over sleeve are in this post: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/165592-full-band-replacement-experiences-sought/ I won't say that initially it was an easy decision to make, which way to go in terms of revision. But when I talked it out with my physican and my family, it then became a no brainer. The band gave me a great, easy 5 years and if I get another easy 5 years out of it, I'd be grateful. If it lasts longer, than yay for me! It worked the first time and is working just as well this time for me. So I am absolutely sure I made the right decision.

People with a lot of weight to lose generally lose faster. And it depends on whether they're exercising, whether they feel any restriction etc. So absolutely everyone is different. I lost about 7 - 10lbs a MONTH, not a week. But with only 80lbs to lose that was a lot for me, but I won't lie, I exercised like a dog and ate like a bandster even without restriction. I lost all my weight in 7 months. And I would have people tell me I was lucky coz I was losing relatively steadily and quite fast for a low BMI bander. No, that wasn't luck, that was work. SO I think people should align their expectations with how much they actually put into it. That's realistic. Look at what someone else is doing and before you compare weight loss, maybe compare how much work they're doing compared to how much you're doing too.

It's pretty great, I agree. I forget how good the people are here sometimes. I've been here over 5 years now and generally speaking, it's a great place to be and connect with others. I think sometimes the negativity is actually people really wanting to get their points across and they view any opposing opinion as marginalising their suffering, and that's tough for anyone to take. So for me in the past, it's seemed smarter for me to walk away and not keep engaging. So I have left the forum on many occasions. And I almost did again a week ago, but then decided that without voices like mine, the newly banded would be bombarded with nothing but unhappy stories. So I sucked it up and stayed. If I get too jaded though, feel free to slap me upside the head. Coz posts like this make me think it's worth me staying.

One doctor's opinion is just that: one doctor's opinion. I got told by my doctor that average weight loss with the band was 60% but it didn't mean you couldn't lose 100% of your excess weight (and I did), that 60% was the average across ALL banders including the ones who didn't lose a lb due to non-compliance. That's why it's called an average. In Australia the lapband is still the most used wls in the country, and Australia surgeons have been placing bands for a lot longer than US doctors. And in Australian studies, the prognosis for banded patients, and the longevity of the band, come up very favourably. It often makes me wonder why there is such a difference? Is it anything to do with the fact that Australia has socialised medicine and most private insurance usually automatically cover the band that we get focussed, frequent aftercare that doesn't cost the earth? Or the fact that we don't have to suffer with complications because we can see our doctors NOW if something doesn't feel right? Or that our surgeons give us rules we can live with for life that makes Australian banders generally do well? I hear ALL the time how the longevity of the band is in dispute but talk to any premier Australian bariatric surgeon and you'll probably get a different answer. Weird, huh? My suggestion is if you want a band, make sure you get the best, most supportive physician you can. That's absolutely crucial. Aftercare and experience is important with a band, so you want the best team backing you up as you can possibly afford.

You're kidding me right? WHY doesn't he want to fill you if you're not feeling the band's help yet? Getting a band and not filling so that it assists you in hunger management it is like buying a bicycle and not pumping the tyres up. The only thing I can think of is that he sees you losing and thinks that it means your band is working. You need to disabuse him of that notion and explain that you're struggling with hunger and need help with some fills. Especially seeing as you're going to have to pay for fills soon. I lost most of my weight before getting to the green zone but getting there meant that weight loss became easy. That's what both you and your doctor should be working towards.

But I HAVE lost. And so has many thousands of other people. I'm not sure how you not losing means that the band doesn't work. Can you please expand on that? And can I just say I read ALL the complication posts. Because I'm not at all resistant to hearing about possible complications. I like being aware. But you can't MAKE me say band things about the band when I'm not experiencing bad things. It's like saying 'men are pigs and will cheat on you, and while you think you have a good man, just wait until he cheats on you, because he WILL cheat on you." Umm, how about you treat me like the responsible, capable person I am and allow me to weigh the (so far considerable) benefits of my choices with the risks they pose? Everyone should be doing that. Everyone. But both sides of the story should be told too. And every time I come in and say 'oh look I don't have pain, I lost all my weight, I did great with the band" i get this "you just wait, you're going to find out soon' rubbish. Except I have NONE of the problems that people talk about when they suffer these types of complications. Seriously, I accept that you have complications, can you not accept that the band has and continues to work for me?