2muchfun

I didn't feel any restriction/satiety till my 3rd fill. It's usually rare that someone finds satiety with just one fill. Sometimes it takes a few days or even 2 weeks before the feeling sets in? I called my doc and got back in within 30 days for fill #2 and another 45 days for fill #3. No harm in asking for more fills.

Not if your doc is OK with it. Most docs won't allow their patients to make that decision. A good doctor will query you about what you're eating and if you're losing weight and exercising? Sometimes patients feel like they're not tight enough but they're eating slider foods. If you're following the rules and do not feel satiety for 4 hours I see no reason to not ask for another fill. I know I did, 6 times.

Every day is new. This won't be the last time you over-indulge but let's hope it's the last time during your healing phase? Just mark it up to experience and start anew. You have a great attitude.

Doubtful. Not even close to any muscle groups.

You can get your Protein through shakes. Premier shakes are 30 grm per serving. Maybe 2 or 3 shakes a day?

There's a saying here that fits your situation. "Till there's restriction...It's just another diet" Most of us were very hungry till we got enough fills to feel restriction/satiety to not be hungry for up to 4 hours. It's a tough time you're in. We call it Bandster Hell. I got through it by eating as much healthy food as I could so I rarely felt hunger.

If the broccoli is in your pouch, stomach acids will break it down and will pass within an hour. Now don't you wish you would have taken the nutritionist more seriously when she said fingernail sized bites and chew, chew, chew? But, for some, broccoli in any size or shape won't pass so add that one to your list of don'ts till you learn to eat like a Bandster.

Congrats! But, the days are going by too quickly for me. I want it to be June 1st all over again. Summer is just disappearing too fast.

Allie, I'm not sure what you're reading but I've never addressed anything you've said have I? I've tried to carry on a civil dialogue with everyone(Bandarella excepted). I've not called anyone names or threatened to beat people up or demeaned them in any way? There were some posts that made false claims about the band. I was only attempting to correct these false claims. Some posts violated the forum rules and I also tried to bring this person back to a civil conversation. I'm sorry you had complications with your band, but there are many others who want the band and allowing false information to stand could mean these people would choose to not have any WLS if they believed these erroneous assertions. I'm not sure why you're berating me? I've never said a word to you have I?

Can't complain about losing weight can we. I'm in the same boat. Should take me about 3.5 years to finally reach my goal and I'm good with that. Well done and high 5s to you ^5^5

Looks like you're about 6 weeks out so you should be able to eat most anything now. What do you mean you're eating foods with a lot of liquid? At some point you will have your first stuck episode. I recall one of my first. I had bought a Wendy's chicken sandwich and was trying to drive and eat at the same time ( Not a good idea). I was eating way too fast and the 2nd bite never cleared the stoma(band) and I continued to gobble my sandwich. Let me tell you, it takes some time to learn how to chew a lot and how mushy the food needs to be. Anyway, I was sliming all over the side of my car and trying to gag these huge bites out of my esophagus. I survived. Normal stuck episodes start with a little pressure under your breastplate(ziphoid) and will continue to increase in pressure to the point of pain if you continue to eat food. And once your stoma is blocked, no amount of chewing will help the pain go away. Don't drink, it can't get through and will only back up into your esophagus. This is where the sliming(slime like in Ghostbusters) comes in. It's your esophagus trying to lubricate the channel to allow stuck food to pass through. You can hock it up in gobs but spit it out. Sorry, that was rather visual and disgusting but it will happen. For me, it's not real painful, mostly just very uncomfortable. Hope this helps and didn't make you regret your surgery ;op

"they don't return for doctor's appointments and fade from online and IRL support communities" So true. We've had at least 3 new band members post just last week that they're failing or have failed with weight loss and/or slips due to failing to follow up with their surgeons. Can't say it's all their fault, many people go into this on the cheap and have no money for aftercare and have no insurance or have lost their insurance. We see this every week. Aftercare with the band is vital. tmf

Chris, relax buddy, this topic is under the "General Weight Loss Surgery" forum. Even if it wasn't we're all welcome to comment as we see fit. Allergan sold the device last year Chris. My deal is passing along information so people can make educated decisions about their health. I provide my opinion and try to back it up with facts. I'm not bashing anyone Chris. Just trying to have a civil dialogue with forum members. Why don't you give it a try? You seem very angry? Take a deep breath or two and try to inject some value to the thread.

Cowgirl, yes, the band was oversold in the beginning and expectations were high. Too little of how the band works was communicated to patients and even now most surgeons have no clue. I think if there's a fault with the band it would be in the bariatric support and aftercare. It seems the clinics who educate and stay on top of their patients have a much higher success rate. It does concern me how many bands are out there and how many of these patients don't understand their bands and it's the bariatric medical community at fault.imo. Patients like you were led to believe it's a miracle tool but the medical community themselves didn't understand how to help you make it work. And, in many cases, the band won't work for some people simply because their bodies reject the foreign object. Regarding under reporting complications? I think the folks between the 12-15% failures and the 50%(approx.) who succeed would all fit into that category. Just thought it was obvious?

CowgirlJane, First, I've read many of your comments and your velvety smooth criticism of the band is admirable albeit naive. I don't say that in a facetious or malicious way. For some reason many sleevers-to-band want to compare a product(yes the band is a product) designed and installed(yours right?) over a decade ago to the better quality and more effective products available now. And that includes surgical techniques. Many band failures cozy up to some facebook sites that specialize in band bashing. It's a way of venting. But the math of bands placed to band fails on these sites is a tiny %. Knowing of hundreds or even thousands of band haters on one of these sites doesn't sway my opinion. But wouldn't it be more productive if just a few would accept some or even all of the responsibility for their failure by confessing they weren't compliant? Are all failures caused by this little plastic band? Why does it work so well for some but it's the devil for others? Jane, why did you not go for RNY or the sleeve initially? Let me guess? It was the reversibility of the band? Or, you didn't want your guts rearranged? If there were no band would you have went for bypass? I wouldn't have. That's why the band is a very important tool to me. I'll accept the slightly higher risks with the band. And I've never vomited and only once have I PB'd. I feel more normal now than I have for 15 years and that's all due to the band. Just my opinion folks.

Thank you Alex.

No, you can view this anyway you want Chris. I'm just trying to show you the light but you insist on keeping the blinders on. Let me do the math for you? 9 of 100 sleeve patients underwent additional surgery in the study. 12 of 100 band patients underwent additional surgery in the study. 9 from 12 equals 3 more band patients(per 100) had additional surgery. And as I conceded, this is more than the sleeve by 3 people per 100. It's acceptable to me. In this study it's 12% for the band and 9% for the sleeve. Get it now? FYI-Like I keep saying, this is a support forum, not a forum to bash or disparage any of the WLS. I'm just trying to lead you towards a more constructive method of persuading people to understand WLS.

Do you have a surgeon in CO? I'm not sure what you're asking? Are you asking if Medicare will cover you with your weight and co-morbidities? The answer is yes I do think you'll be covered if this is your question

"But I'd like to hear from other bandsters on what you eat, what amounts, how long u take to eat, when do u know to stop? I've heard that some people have signals that tells them to stop but I don't. So, sometimes I eat too fast and get that painful sensation mid-sternum - till it slips thru the band. But I'd like to have some pointers that I can use to not have that feeling. I know that everybody is different but everyone with a band has some secret tips" I eat almost everything. I take about 30 mins to eat. I probably eat 1-2 cups of food. I stop when my mind tells me I'm no longer hungry. I sometimes get the soft stop signals like burping, runny nose, hiccups. I also eat too fast but I've developed a sense of when my food may be backing up into my esophagus so I stop and allow it to pass before I continue. If I'm having food like chicken, pork or some beef that may be dry and could get stuck I'll sip Water or, I'll make sure I lubricate the food so that it doesn't get stuck. I use salsa, hollandaise sauce, alfredo sauce, catsup, BBQ sauce, green chili stew. There are ways to make these so they're low fat and low carb. tmf

Making mashed potatoes or being hungry? You won't feel satiety until your band is adjusted and that could be 1 fill or 10. Until then it's just another diet. Be careful with eating foods not on your list. Your band is sutured into place and eating solids or any food that needs digestion can cause the sutures to tear away. Follow your doctors orders.

The website must do that automatically? We have no control over how we're described. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/291785-new-jama-surgery-study-shows-weight-loss-surgery-is-getting-safer-and-more-effective/ If this isn't enough for you then there's not much hope for you to learn how this all works? "By procedure, gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy resulted in the greatest weight loss, but had a higher rate of complications and mortality than adjustable gastric banding. Gastric banding had the highest reoperation rate (12% in randomized trials), while gastric bypass had the lowest at 3 percent, followed by sleeve gastrectomy, which had a reoperation rate of 9 percent. The new meta-analysis included sleeve gastrectomy, which was not available in the 1990s. Of note, sleeve gastrectomy had comparable weight loss to that of gastric bypass at 5 years." We can quibble over 3 out of 100 more patients requiring another operation with the band and I'll concede that the other surgeries have less overall risk. But, it's not the pariah you make it out to be. I googled lapband surgeons in the Los Angeles Ca area and come up with 244,000 hits and 10 surgeons on the first page alone so it does look like the lapband is still available in Ca. Since doctors earn less with a band and aftercare is so much more time consuming, surgeons want to do surgery, not doctoring, so it's understandable that a surgeon would recommend the sleeve over the band. Don't let the facts get in your way Chris? As I've said over and over again, many of us would not have had any WLS if not for the band. And I don't know who you were addressing above but I don't consider anyone attacking me. It's the band procedure that is being attacked and this forum is not the place to do it. Obesity Helps or Facebook maybe, but not here. We're here to support all forms of weight loss surgeries. We're all trying to get healthy so no need to disparage any of the WLS techniques. Good luck to you in your new sleeved journey.

Only the obvious flawed ones Chris! Tell me? Why can't you failed bander's accept it didn't work for you and move on? You're part of the 10-15% the band didn't help? This is supposed to be a support forum for all WLS isn't it? Why disparage we banders who have been successful? Are you really this bitter? There are many more WLS patients who would not have any WLS if not for the band.

Fyi- the sleeve has more first year surgical operations than the band! Now what?

Yeah, we may be wrong almost all the time but we kick butt when it comes to losing weight

This is just the same study that you band deniers keep regurgitating and it was a very small study of patients who received the band in it's infancy. Good grief, do you think all kidney transplants worked 100% when transplants were first performed? Or hearts, or total knee replacements? 1994-1997 was 20 years ago, before the device was even cleared by the FDA here in the states and before the newer devices were introduced and a new procedure. Here's a recent study that blows that one out of the water: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23235396 If you're going to disparage my WLS, please try to use recent facts and studies and not antiquated old news stories.