KateP

@@Julie norton Me too! I am nine years post-op and doing well. But I always have a lurking fear! I just know of too many people who develop problems.

You are a doctor, I am not. I am, however, an extremely successful Lapband patient with a tendency to research things throughly and seek explanations from my medical team . It is my understanding that a correctly adjusted lapband will not and should not prevent over-eating. If it is tight enough prevent more food passing, the food is building up above the band which risks damage to the oesophagus. I follow the medical advice I have been given which is that well-chewed food passes through a well-adjusted band in under a minute. It is therefore physically possible to eat more. That we can resist doing this (because the increased number of movements of the oesophageal walls signals satiety) is thanks to the band. But it is our choice not enforced by a restrictive band, As I rarely feel physical hunger, I, like many banded people, do not require bulky vegetables to fill me. Isn't it rather contradictory to say banded people cannot over-eat but need bulky vegetables to fill them? I am aware that many processed foods are healthy but I do not personally need them.

I am one of the lucky ones but it is increasingly clear that for quite a lot of people the band simply does not do what they hoped. My first suggestion is - get some saline out asap. Then, at a lower level of restriction, try again with good "band eating" . Small bites, starting with dense Protein, allowing time for each mouthful to pass before taking the next, walking away when the measured amount has been eating. I obviously don't know if this is the case, but with all your problems, you may have forgotten what it feels like when the band is well-adjusted. We can always eat more, we never feel stuffed, we are never physically unable to eat. Hope it gets sorted. But don't wait too long - get some saline out!

Actually, to add: I just read your longest post more carefully. I was interested to see you disagree with my own doctor. You say "Take small bites of solid, healthy foods (fruits and vegetables and healthy processed foods)". My own plan required dense Protein first and the avoidance of processed foods which are often high in salts and sugars. And, of course, many wls people limit fruits which are often high in sugars.

My apologies! Not clear from your posts! I shouldn't be cynical! Your help may be very useful for some as education is often the key factor which is lacking when people, with no physical complications, fail to lose weight. There is often too high an expectation and, worryingly, some people still appear to believe that the band should physically prevent them over-eating and talk of " filling the pouch". Whether they are basing this on anecdote or (and I hope this is not the case) being poorly informed by medical staff is not clear.

Sorry. My iPad garbled that. I initially supposed you were doing research. Are you in fact looking for business?

May I ask why you are posting? Ibinitslkybassmed you were fount done dirt if research. Now I think you are looking if business?

I notice quite a few people who have replied are not banded and you say on your profile that you are getting the band. Do be aware it is harder for us! I am living proof it is easier than without surgery. But banding is the option which gives you least help as you still have a fully functioning stomach etc and the band only slows eating, it should never stop it. It is more common for banded people not to reach goal than for people with the other surgeries.

As the OP says - define " normal". Also, in your title, define "permanent" as that word seems to be an odd adjective to link to long term! Surely it eirher is or isn't permanent? Hopefully at nine years post-op, my loss will prove to be permanent but I would never be foolish enough to so call it as I presumably won't know until on my death bed. For a physician, you seem to be taking a rather non-scientific approach.

Are you too tight? Otherwise why have saline out?

Sorry. My last post somehow got entangled in the quote! Hope it made sense!

1. It's not easy! Believe me! Especially with the Lapband. We work hard! For me the first year was easy while my motivation was high. Then came maintenance! I am nine years post-op now and I have to warn you, I am pretty unusual! There aren't all that many old-timers around! Many lose their bands because of known complications but many simply cannot maintain the effort long term. By the way, I know nothing about the meds you take, but do be aware that many banded people can't take large tablets, so make sure yours are eirher small or can be split or crushed. Some have no problems but you don't know until you get there! 2. Why is easy bad? Even if it were easy! I like my life easy, if I need shopping and the shop is more than a mile or so away, I use my car. If I want to blend my Soup, I don't use a fork and sieve, I use an electric blender.

You mean by the port? No, that has never happened to me! In your shoes, I would phone the doctor/nurse although I am sure there is nothing to worry about,

Definitely too tight. Try the trick my doctor always used. After a full, before leaving the office, not only drink water but also try eating a thick, smooth yoghurt. If you can eat half the pot and feel it went down without probiem, you are probably ok.

If you can eat what you want but have some feeling of restriction, you are in the right place now, I can eat virtually all foods and, if I choose to do, can eat large quantities. The trick is to eat the "right" amount and then walk away. Then, if food not in front of you, you won't have physical hunger and so don't think of eating.

Only by asking your surgeon or reading your medical notes! You shouid have been told at the the of the op.

Depends on the size of the band! There are quite a few! Most people now seem to have the 10 or the 14 cc models. There is no clarity about how full full is! Some doctors won't fill anywhere near capacity. Other fill right up to it! My fills never took time to kick in, the way I felt as I drank my Water and ate my yoghurt before I left the hospital was how it kept on feeling. Every time.

Because the band does nothing except slow our eating and reduce our hunger, we don't lose any faster than someone following a programme like WeightWatchers. Averages are pretty meaningless, but a loss of between 1-2lbs a week is on track. So as low as 4lbs a month may be disappointing but is not unexpected. Restriction does not in itself make us lose weight, it just makes it easier for us to eat less. So to lose before we get to the desirable level is as hard as it was without surgery but perfectly possible. How long did it take you to gain the weight? Not just a few months! It isn't going to come off in a few months either. In terms of the rest of your life, the time since November is just a blip. Be patient!

I'm sure I have answered this somewhere else?????? You are much too tight, dangerously tight. You need some saline removed as soon as possible.

You shouid never, ever be that tight. By the band being so tight you are at risk of oesophageal dilation, oesophageal dysmotiliy, damage to the vagus nerve. All these things are nasty and can be irreversible. Night time reflux can lead to aspiration pneumonia. You should not wait two weeks to get some fluid out. You are putting your health at severe risk. Thus is NOT the green zone, it is way beyond it.

I am so sorry! I hope your removal goes smoothly. Are you revising?

Sadly you are not alone. The band has not proved to be the safe effective device we were promised when I was banded in 2006. Some people undoubtedly contributed to their problems: many did everything as they shouid and still had awful problems - like you. Surgery cares risks. Simple as that. And in our desperation to lose weight, we can lose sight of that!

I wouid suggest sitting down with a nutritionist and working out a plan. I haven't experienced this personally but online I know several people who have been pregnant with the band. Some had fill removed, some didn't. It all depends on how tight your band is and how you can eat. Although not pregnant myself, I am sure I could eat a properly balanced diet for a pregnant woman with my band as it is. A well-adjusted band shouid never stop us eating and so it really shouid not be an issue. The only reason I can see for removing saline woukd be if you had bad morning sickness and were continually vomiting,

I was really lucky in that, even back in 2006, my doctor taught me what is now the current aporoach. Not many did then!