2muchfun

Oh yeah! Your body stores extra fluids when we get sick. So, the lining in your stomach can swell a little which can make a difference in the size of your stoma. If your rings feel tighter, so will your band most likely.

Well, that's a new one on me? Thanks Blue, as you know, this is one of the major topics posted every week and it's good to have one more painkilling tool in the toolbox

My only offering is to not weigh yourself and expect a lot of weight loss till your body rids itself of all the fluids pumped into your body during surgery. Be patient, follow Drs orders and let the healing begin!!

"First off I feel almost guilty because I've had no pain, no gas, went back to work after 3 days and I'm doing fantastic" Shame on you Obviously you're doing something wrong?

Most everyone worries about surgical afterlife. It's only human nature. Most of us feared losing our comfort food/blanket. But, that passes and the thrill of losing fat exceeds those negative feelings.

So, I just spent some time looking back on some of your past posts and struggles. I feel for you. Being so young, it has to be very difficult to fit this WLS lifestyle into your life? Family pressures seem to be so much more exaggerated at your age too. From what I gleamed from your last 3 years is that you've had a difficult time eating like a bander should eat? Maybe eating too many slider type foods, or fast foods? And your band slipped? Abscess? No matter which surgery you decide on or if you decide on one, they will all require you to avoid fast foods, slider foods, unhealthy foods. None of the WLS can stop you from eating around the surgery. I can't really recommend just the band for you though? I would think the band with plication or just the sleeve would be a better choice? And only if you eat healthy and within the rules for each. Maybe your family understands your weaknesses better than you and certainly better than anyone here? I'm sure someone else has recommended this before but here it is again. Seek some professional help(counseling) before you make your next decision. I'd recommend someone your bariatrics doctor recommends. Best of luck. tmf

You wouldn't be human if you aren't a little paranoid and afraid. tmf

Let me add one more item. This is just my opinion. If you're a patient who feels like they can't control their binging or cravings, the sleeve may be a better choice. I like to think of the satiety or feelings with the sleeve as more tangible than the band. The band relies on patients to feel a very subtle signal that they've eaten enough. This is somewhat intangible for many banders. Some of the patients in this group do not succeed with the band and revise to another surgery(one of the benefits of the band).

I don't understand? If you're not experiencing the green zone now, why fear another fill when it's what you obviously need? People who are too tight can always go back and have a little taken out. Digesting food is not a real problem for any of us. Not losing weight is also common if your band is not adjusted properly. Keep going back for fills/adjustments till you get the fill that helps you feel more satiety and eat less. I didn't feel any restriction/satiety till my 3rd fill, 4 months after surgery. And then it took another 3 fills to reach the green zone. Best of luck.

Lapband usually runs around $10,000. wwled makes a good point. The two surgeries are so different. Besides the obvious foreign object(band)around you stomach and the fact that with the sleeve you lose 85% of your stomach, both WLS operate differently to persuade you to lose fat. The band is more voluntary. The band helps to dim your appetite so that you feel satisfied with smaller portions. Where the sleeve forces you to eat smaller portions due to the smaller stomach. Some people like wwled(banded) seem to never feel that satisfied feeling. Some feel it but choose to ignore the satiety signal and continue to eat. Therefore, patients can continue to eat even too much healthy food and never lose or not lose enough to be considered a success. As I understand it, the sleeve only has room for 4-6 ozs of food. As long as you follow the eating rules, you are forced to eat less and you lose weight. But, like the band, you can eat around the surgery by consuming ice cream, chocolate, nacho cheese sauce and so on. You can't feel the band in your body. Tightness is a term we use to describe how small the hole(stoma) is between the pouch and lower stomach. The tighter the stoma is, the harder it is to push food through to the lower stomach. This process is the means by which the band helps us feel satisfied with less food. It's somewhat intangible. tmf

This study is specific for lapband patients but I have to believe this cuts across all WLS techniques? AE=Aerobic Exercise EWL=Excess Weight Loss PubMed Commons home Obes Surg. 2013 May;23(5):608-12. doi: 10.1007/s11695-012-0826-6. Aerobic exercise is associated with improved weight loss after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Shada AL , Hallowell PT, Schirmer BD, Smith PW. Abstract BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) is a common surgical treatment for obesity. Evidence for and against the association of aerobic exercise (AE) and weight loss after LAGB exists. We hypothesize that aerobic exercise is associated with improved weight loss and resolution of comorbidities after LAGB. METHODS: A review of a prospectively collected database identified patients who underwent LAGB over a 3-year period at a single institution. Body mass index (BMI), comorbidities, frequency, and duration of exercise were collected preoperatively and at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months postoperatively. Excess weight loss (EWL) was calculated. Groups were analyzed using Fisher's exact test and ANOVA. RESULTS: Of the 145 LAGB patients, 120 had adequate data for analysis. AE had no association with weight loss at 6 months. At 12, 24, and 36 months following LAGB, patients who reported 150 min or more per week of exercise had an EWL of 35.5, 47.3, and 54.1 %, respectively, while those reporting 0-59 min per week of AE had an EWL of 25.3, 32.1, and 33.0 % (p = 0.03, 0.03, and 0.02, respectively). BMI and age was not statistically different among groups. Diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea were significantly improved in patients exercising at least 60 min per week as compared to those exercising 0-59 min. CONCLUSIONS: AE is significantly associated with weight loss and comorbidity resolution after LAGB. We propose that patients who perform more AE will have higher levels of EWL. PMID: 23196991 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Notice the Conclusion at bottom. Something we harp on all the time! Something to show banders who have fallen off the Bandwagon maybe? Since this is a voluntary survey, it's not really scientific, but it is indicative of what we see on this forum every day. Patients' experience and outcomes after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding in Washington state. Lin VW , Wright A, Flum DR, Garrison LP Jr, Alfonso-Cristancho R, Sullivan SD. Abstract BACKGROUND:There is very little evidence regarding the real world experience and outcomes after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB). Our objective was to estimate the amount of postoperative weight loss, change in co-morbidity status, and complications after LAGB. The setting was LAGB surgical centers in Washington state. METHODS:A cross-sectional survey was developed to collect primary data from patients who had undergone LAGB in Washington state from 2004 to 2010. The survey contained questions on patient characteristics, weight change, co-morbidities, and complications after LAGB surgery. We used descriptive and other statistical tests to evaluate our key research questions by the period since LAGB. RESULTS:A total of 1556 surveys were sent out, and 790 were returned (response rate 50.8%). Responders were categorized into 4 groups according to the follow-up period: <2, 2-3, 3-4, and >4 years. The corresponding average body mass index reduction in each group was 21.0%, 22.5%, 21.3%, and 20.4%. Of the respondents, 21.7%, 34.8%, 44.6%, and 38.7% indicated they did not have any adjustments in the year preceding the survey. The percentage of respondents who had undergone additional operations related to LAGB was 8.6%. Specifically, 3.6% of the respondents had undergone either band removal or conversion to another type of bariatric operation. CONCLUSION:We found that although LAGB appeared to be beneficial for weight reduction and improving co-morbidities, the underuse of band adjustments and significant rate of treatment failure might limit the long-term effectiveness of LAGB. Copyright © 2013 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Congrats and welcome to "the easy way out" NOT! Be prepared, this will be one of the hardest things you've ever done but will also be one of the most self rewarding journey's in your life. Medicare has paid for some bands but there's one person, and I can't recall their name, whose hospital or clinic would not do the band under Medicare but would allow the sleeve? Seemed suspicious to me(the clinic) but that's what they were saying. Your doctor's insurance person would know more than I anyway. tmf

FYI-This is and has been an incredibly hot topic. There are some folks on all sides who hate one type of surgery over the other. Here's a video down below that sums up my personal feelings about the different surgeries. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VmvWFu79Ik#t=99 I can't find myself recommending any surgery over another but I do recommend WLS to anyone who has tried everything possible and found no success. The band is more of a voluntary method of losing weight. The band dims our appetites but does not stop us from eating too much food. It's being satisfied with eating less food that makes the band work. The sleeve and bypass force the patient to eat less. The sleeve obviously is a tool that will allow the patient to eat very little food where the band will require the patient to exercise some judgment as to when they should stop eating. tmf

Usually hiccups are a signal to stop eating. Are you eating too much? Or, did you just get a fill and maybe your stoma swelled?

Helen, did you intend to post the link to Dr O'Brien's video? I've seen all of his videos so I think I know what it will look like, but for some of the newer forum members it would be educational? tmf

This explains it: http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&p=plication+video http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&p=plication+video

Isn't it though! Whoda thunk a measly .5 CCs could make your stoma open and close so much. My doc gave me a .25 fill when I went in for my 6th fill and that took me to the green zone.

I don't need a buddy but just curious, what part of town and who was your doctor. Mine was Frank Chae down in Skyridge. You should fill in your profile so we know you better? And welcome to our forum. Lots and lots of people ask for help everyday here. If you're on a PC, the recent topics are on the right. Usually we see 3-4 helps every day. If you're on a device like cellphone or Ipad, I wouldn't know how to navigate. tmf

I just eat normal healthy food. Last night it was salmon on brown rice with black Beans. Night before was chicken breast on spaghetti squash with bruschetta sauce. Night before that was a 6 oz 96%non-fat burger with a salad. Breakfast is usually an egg beater omelet with a splash of cheese and turkey sausage, or a real egg with ham and slice of cheese of flat bread. lunch is usually leftovers. Today it was half a red stuffed pepper. The fun part of this whole thing is how well we eat. Sure, pizza, ice cream, fried foods are gone, but I don't give a rip anymore.

Discouraging when you don't lose more and actually understand why, isn't it? OK, tomorrow the M.D. will wave his wand over your band and let the losing begin

It's a super confidence builder isn't it?

http://www.5daypouchtest.com/ This is meant for bypass patients but works fine for we banders.

It's not a study, it's simply a survey. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22578289

2-3 lbs may be unrealistic. You have to burn 3500 calories to kill 1 lb. 3 would be 10,500 calories burned. It's possible but highly unlikely unless you're a marathon runner or long distance cyclist. 1-2 is more realistic. If you're consuming only shakes for breakfast and lunch, you're not doing this right. You will be hungry with a diet like that. Shakes are a slider food and you should be eating normal foods now. Like an omelet for breakfast. Or, an egg/ham/cheese flatbread sandwich. eggs or egg beater omelets are low calorie and solid enough they fill your pouch long enough to stimulate the valgus nerve so you're not as hungry. Turkey sausage is also a low cal meat substitute. Most of us took 3-6 fills before we felt restriction so keep up with the fills till you feel the restriction or satiety. A visit with the nutritionist would be good for you about this time too.