Alan Brooks

My band is working great in terms of weight loss. I have almost constant mild reflux and the incidence of gushing big amounts of phlegm has increased (perhaps I am eating too fast). I am concerned about the effect of the reflux. I have lost over 110 pounds, have about 50 to go. I am considering asking my surgeon to remove the band next year and going for a gastric sleeve. He offered to do this some time ago when we had problems getting the band in the sweet spot (no longer an issue). At least the same surgeon that put the band in will be taking it out (and he is a great surgeon with a great reputation). Any advice on this course of action? Thanks!

G'Day Banders... I was banded in 2010 by a very good Bariatric Surgeon in Australia, Dr Paul Caska. The preparation on an Optifast packet/powder diet of 900 then 600 calories per day was gruelling (especially as I cut booze and coffee at the same time) was very successful. I lost around 30 lbs in six weeks. The operation went very well, two nights in hospital and home I went. The liquid phase went fine with some more weight loss. Over the next four years, I had minimal success. I visited the surgeon for adjustments and food advice. My weight hovered around 300 lbs. The band restricted my meals sizes but I was hungry between meals. I was still c. 50 lbs lighter than before this journey began, most of the loss occurring in the preparation stage. I was disappointed that the results were not better. Finally, after me avoiding the surgeon for a while, I went back and laid my cards on the table "I want to get this band working better or it is time to remove it and go for a sleeve". I did not want more surgery and expense but I did want to loose more weight. The surgeon suggested we use radiography to determine the maximum the band could be adjusted to and check the positioning. We did this. The band was perfectly placed and we did a big tighten. The next day I could not even swallow fluids. I was at my nephew's graduation from the Police academy and it was a Friday. A hurried trip back to the surgeon saw me arrive just in time to get an emergency adjustment. The new adjustment worked and I lost 10 lbs. Things seems to loosen again and they made another small tweak. This was early 2014 and I was off to live in Toronto, Canada for a couple of years. I still felt the band needed adjustment. Finding someone to maintain the band in Toronto turned out to be a nightmare. Surgeons don't seem to want to work on bands placed by others here. Even though I have a common band that they approve, they want a king's ransom to stab me every now and again. This was very depressing. Through the Bariatric Pal Forum, I learned of a doctor who would take "stray" patients for band maintenance. Dr Hazrati is wonderful. He made the extra adjustment after doing some checks and the band is working perfectly. I am now down 88 lbs and have 79 to go. I feel great! I did get a little reflux when the band was tightest, but it seems to have gone. I am the lightest I have been since 20 years ago. I hope you find your path to a healthier weigh as well. Thus, I once felt the band was coming out, now I have the band back together Some pics... The aftermath of the surgery The scars six weeks later

Yes you can!!! I was banded at 52, down 88 lbs at 56. There has been some slow Patches but I am still losing weight. If I lost no more, I am very happy to be down by 88 lbs.

I was banded in May 09. I was off alcohol for 2.5 months around this time - preparation. When I had my first drink (2 glasses of red wine), I was very tipsy (I am an Aussie so I used to drink a lot more before :cool:). You need to be careful to make sure you have healed well, especially if you are inclined to vomit with too much booze. Booze may catch you unawares if you are now desensitized to alcohol. My doctor says no booze is best because of the effect of empty calories. He acknowledges this is not for all of us and suggests wine (1 glass per day). I tend to stay with this guideline (plus the occasional dram of single malt scotch). I just came back from 3 weeks vacation in Canada where I got stuck into the beer with my old buddies (I used to live there for 5 years). I put 4 pounds on, the first gain since May. No more beer for me!!! Cheers! Al