KateP

A week early. But I was bored so wrote this anyway Well, nine years ago I weighed 248lbs at 5' 4" tall and 55 years of age. I didn't have any significant co-morbidities except moderately high blood pressure (which had to be controlled by meds) but my knees ached, walking was not enjoyable, even going upstairs was an effort. I felt lethargic and bloated all the time, I seemed to have a constant mild headache and had bad migraines every month or so. I was ashamed of my size. My all-time highest weight was around 290 and I had lost around 40lbs by a calorie-controlled diet a couple of years earlier and kept it off but I was starting to lose control again. Fast forward 15 months and I weighed under 140lbs, was full of energy, starting to do 5k runs, enjoying mountain walks and very active holidays. I felt healthy, headaches were a rarity, my knees etc felt fine. OK so I haven't stayed under 140lbs, but I didn't want to be! It made me look older than my then 56 years. Now at 64, I am perfectly happy around 160. I now consider this my mid-range point; a comfort zone of between 155 and 165. I still love food but I am no longer obsessed by it. I no longer plan my days in advance around eating. If I am busy, I forget to eat; if I am not occupied, I get the same urges to eat I always did! But rarely the physical hunger. Yesterday was a very busy day and when I sat down to eat at around 6 in the evening, I realised all I had had all day was a medium skinny latte for Breakfast. But on quiet days, I still need all the will-power I can muster. And very often I fail! The band gets bad press on some boards, and with reason! Some have had horrendous experiences. But for me, it has done exactly what I hoped. It has never stopped me eating, rarely causes me even to bring food back up. If just helps me to eat more mindfully. And for me, that was all I needed. For many people, that would not be enough. I know many doctors are now choosing not to implant bands because of high complication rates. I don't deny the bad experiences people have had. Interestingly, those I know in real life, as opposed to online, have almost all had positive outcomes, I can't explain why this should be. I admit I have lost touch with some and others have not lost as much weight as they hoped. But only two out of around 50 have, as far as I know, had their bands removed and one of those freely admits she abused her band, keeping it ridiculously tight and deliberately regurgitating food so she could eat more. The other had non-band related medical issues. I did have a leak at around 4 years out which required a surgical repair but it has been fine ever since. I have had three episodes of regain, twice gaining around 28lbs (sounds a rather exact figure but we measure weight in stones in the UK and 28lbs is 2 stone, so that's when panic sets in and I get back on track!). The third was 20lbs and I have lost most of that over the last two months. Why has it worked for me and not for many? Who knows? Luck may well enter into it; the nature of my body, how it heals, reaction to an implant. Some follow every rule and still have awful complications. But I did and do everything I can to minimise risk. I had an excellent surgeon, good band education, excellent after-care. I don't follow every "rule" all the time as far as eating goes but I have always followed every medical instruction to the letter (post-op diet etc.). I am also paranoid about being tight and have never had my band tight enough to physically make eating difficult. I probably have it loose enough for many people to find it insufficient help - but it is sufficient for me! Will I be writing a post like this in a year's time? I have no idea! But all has gone well so far. And I am a glass-half-full kind of gal so hopefully I will be!

Do you mean they have told you you can swallow tablets but not vitamins? Or are they just too big? Cut them in half? I never got any specific instructions. But do be aware, even though I am not and never have been very tight, I do find anything other than small tablets a problem.

Not sure which surgery you have had. I am banded and find it easy to get all my protein from foods.

This is my view, there are people on here who will disagree with me! With my doctor's instructions, I keep my band tight enough to slow my eating so the oesophageal can register movement but not tight enough to stop me eating foods! In my nine years, I have never experienced real pain, I rarely bring food back and I have never had an episode which lasted a long time. There are some foods which I have found difficult because of their texture and some of these I know require ridiculous chewing if they will not go through, things like rump steak for me.

Might just be the result of the hamburger? I assume no bread with it? If you get some thing really stuck, it can cause irritation which lasts several days. Have you tried sticking to thick liquids or soft foods for a couple if days to let any inflammation down down? In your shoes, I might phone the doctor on Monday.

Sorry you have had such a difficult time. Back in 2009, you won't have had the warnings which were just starting to be talked about at around the time. Like me in 2006, things like the build up of scar tissue simply weren't know . Hope you manage to get whatever help you need.

I drink carbonated drinks. Can't remember when I started post-op, maybe a couple of months out. I always let it settle a bit begins drinking, my doctor is fine with this

@@Invictus I'm nine years down the line, not quite ten! What's my life like? Well, I am slim. Not quite as slim as I was two years post-op. I have never in all my time in this and another much busier board come across anyone who after six or seven years didn't have to work at staying slim! But I still wear US size 10 which at age 64, 5' 4" tall and a stocky build us absolutely fine. I am physically active and in good health. The majority of the time, I don't worry about what I eat. I don't eat much of it and I thoroughly enjoy what I do eat. Like all those people who appear to be "naturally" slim, food is part of my life but not all of it. My relaxed approach means the pounds do creep on and then I go on a relatively short period of very careful eating.

At one time there was "fashion" for people with bands to take papaya enzymes when something got stuck. The theory was it helps break things down. I must admit I never saw any reason why that should work! It's hardly going to work instantly, if it did it would be alarmingly strong! And if it doesn't do it instantly, things are going to work themselves out anyway!

My apologies. The dangers of cut and paste. My answer was copied from one I posted on another board and I left in a chunk which was NOT applicable to this board. The board I originally posted on is extremely anti-band; this board is not. So my apologies to those who read it and to our Admin and sponsors. I have deleted the section.

@ the 5DPT was supposedly to " test" or " shrink" your pouch. Neither of which it can do! So for that, it was pretty useless, no scientific evidence supported it. However, for some people, who struggle psychologically to get back on track, it can be helpful. For others, it takes them right back to the "diet" mentality which we had surgery to conquer. Sort of "it hurts so it must be doing good". It is basically a back to post-op eating squeezed into 5 days.

Please bear in mind that I am a very happy and very successful bandit now 9 years post-op. I do not regret my band, would do it all over again and if I ever have to have it removed, I would hope to have a replacement. You shouldn't be sick unless you eat too fast. I can feel my port if Intouch it but, being a lot older than you, I have kept some fat round my middle which means it doesn't show. It has never hurt when I lie on it, When I was banded in 2006, it was a miracle surgery. And for some people, who accept that they will still have to work hard, it is just that. It was and still is for me. But over the years it has become clear that serious complications necessitating further surgery are much more common than originally thought. Some of these are avoidable by careful eating and by not keeping the band tight; unfortunately others are beyond our control. We used to be warned about band slips, leaks and about ( very rare) erosion into the stomach tissue but it turns out that a build up of scar tissue round the band (causing it to tighten) is quite common. It can be very difficult to get the right level of restriction and some people are tempted to keep it tight enough to physically limit food, in fact it was once thought this was how it should be. But this causes food to back up into the oesophagus and that risks problems such as oesophageal dysmotility which may be irreversible. It can also damage the vagus nerve. Some doctors have stopped implanting bands as they found the removal rate was unacceptably high and it was too easy not to lose enough weight. Revision from band to sleeve is not uncommon! EDITED TO REMOVE A CHUNK. This was a copy of a post I made on another site and this section referred to the other, very anti-band site. My apologies for including it. The band makes it easier by dimming hunger, but it does nothing for head hunger and, contrary to popular opinion, it does not and should not physically stop us eating. If it does it is too tight! Having said all that, I love my band, I know many successful long term bandits in real life. My own experience has been good and so has that of almost all those I actually know and have met. I know IRL around 50 banded people; all over four years out, many over 8 years. I admit I have lost touch with some but of all those I know about only two have lost their bands. One of these admits she abused her band deliberately, the other had a no -related medical condition. My own doctor tells me he has removed a very small number of bands. He didn't specify what that meant but, unlike US doctors he is salaried and has no financial incentive to perform band as opposed to other surgeries (which he also performs). He still believes banding is a good option. No surgery is perfect. I know two sleeved people whose lives are now truly miserable because of their sleeves and one bypass patient who very nearly died because of her operation and two years later is still severely affected by it.

@@Weighting2BeFree fair enough. I should only speak for my own surgery. Banded people are told, after the first phases, to get their nutrients from food, not shakes. Never right to speak for surgeries I haven't experienced personally! I only based it on what the sleeved people on the board I usually go on say. They advise against shakes as a major food source after the first few months. But they are all many years out.

I don't know which surgery you have had, but in general drinking food isn't that helpful post-op as it doesn't make us feel full.

@ AnotherBrit!! Two (apart from me) in two days! Unheard of on here! Although NICE has listed banding as one of the wls surgeons an offer, some NHS clinics are no longer doing so. I currently am looked after by the All-Wales Bariatric Unit in Swansea. Mr Barry, the consultant and surgeon, no longer does bands as he says he was removing more bands than he was doing all new bypass and vsg operations together. The 40% band success rate is unfortunately the one found by most recent studies. Success is measured by loss of 80% excess weight, keeping that off and not requiring further operations. It is very easy not to lose enough weight once the initial motivation wears off. Over 30% of people according to some studies require a second operation ( personally I had a leak repair at for years out) and the removal rate after the first three or four years is very high. BUT I love my band. I have had it for nine years. I,lost all my excess weigh quickly and maintained with ease fir around six years. It s much harder nowM but I am still winning the battle so far. I hope my band is for life as we were once told it was! But Zinhave seen too many removals to be over-confident.

@@nickelbv it's hard! It can take a long time to really understand the feelings of having eaten enough. I got it wrong quite often at the beginning and used to eat until I felt pressure abive the band. Which is not we should feel. Until you get there, explanations don't help! The closest I can get is saying that if I eat a reasonable amount and then stop and walk away, my stomach (the intestines really but that area round the tummy button where we feel"full") feels comfortably full. Even though it can't possibly be as I haven't eaten nough to even partly fill my "real" stomach. I never physically have no choice but to stop. If we get there, we have eaten too much, too fast. If I bored and surrounded by food, I will have to fight not to eat. If I am busy, I can forget meals altogether.

This sounds daft, but think about it and hopefully it will make sense. Fills don't make us lose weight! The only thing which makes us lose weight is a calorie deficit. By dimming hunger, a good level of fill makes this easier. So how much and how fast you lose is down to you, not any fill! It is really common with all wls to have an early period of no loss. But, as long as there is that calorie deficit, the fat will go. Sometime!!! And exercise is important for good health but it is the junior partner of food intake in losing weight! You can lose weight without exercise. You ant lose weight without a calorie deficit,

@@TheProfessor has said it all for me!!!!

Wow! I am so lucky! I thought it was standard, obviously not! I was with the NHS in Berkshire and now in Wales. But in both, I had/have the name, mobile number and email of a specialist nurse. Anything I want, I just email or phone and she gets back to me almost immediately with advice. And the once I needed an appointment, she arranged it for two days later. That was with her but she said if we decided I needed to see the consultant, he was on site and we could see him! But he did say that they would remove or reposition or repair if needed. But I wouldn't meet criteria for revision if I needed that!

Not everyone counts carbs. I don't. I have had oatmeal ever since it was allowed post-op. But I never have the instant varieties. Partly because I don't like them but also because they wouldn't make me feel full. I use large, usually stone-ground oats.

Without realising it, I replied to a topic under the Recent Topics List (about clothing) having no idea it was on a Men Only Board. Today, again under the Recent Topics, a thread has appeared saying that women are not respecting men's privacy and are daring to post on the Guys' Room. Please don't assume I, or any other poster is deliberately infringing your privacy or trying to find your manly secrets!!! When you open a Recent Threads topic, it goes straight to the thread and the "Women Keep Out" post does not show. Because of the timing, I can't believe the thread showing concern about breaching your privacy wasn't a response to my accidental post! Don't worry, boys. Your secrets are safe. I haven't read any of your threads. Will double check the source of posts before daring to answer anything. But if you don't want women to read your posts, maybe you should ask the administrators to make sure they don't appear in Recent Topics,

Nicinoo, just seen you are a fellow Brit. Only come across one other on here! I paid for my band but the NHS took over my care about five years ago, and the care I get is every bit as good as the BUPA hospital!

I've only just seen this thread. My heartfelt best wishes to you and all your family.

Between a week and six months. In fact, most people say it isn't a stall until three weeks.

Yup! We know it is going to happen! We expect it to happen! But it is still a bummer when it does! I never had one of those really long stalls some people get but there were plenty of weeks when the numbers didnt change!