Worth the read

[Melissannde 41]

the purpose of the band is to lose weight by suppressing the appetite.

Lap-band weight loss surgery is not about restriction

[zeniada 9]

Thanks very interesting....

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1.03.01

[spoiltmom 44]

That is a good read. Thanks for sharing!

[TracyNYC 4]

Very interesting.....Food for thought....so to speak

[Cleo's Mom 257]

So, let me see if I got this right

1) The band is not about restriction

2) The band is supposed to suppress your appetite

3) The food in the pouch above the band passes into your stomach within a few minutes and is not made to stay in the pouch

4) And somehow this is supposed to trick your brain that you are not hungry and your appetite is suppressed.

Huh?

The way the band was explained to me is that without the band you feel full when the food reaches the top of the stomach. With the band pouch the food is already up there - thus the sense of fullness.

If it only stays there for minutes I don't know how it creates that sense of fullness.

But anyway, the band has never reduced my appetite, provided me a sense of fullness or worked like it is supposed to. So all that is a moot point.

I would imagine that whole "not relying on tighter restriction" will surprise all those on here who do just that. Those are the one who ask "how many times a week do you vomit?" or who can only drink their Breakfast, etc...

[sunflowergirl 0]

I've only been banded since 09/16/10, and haven't even had a fill yet....what do other bandsters who have been banded for a while think of this?

[missez 0]

WOW!!!!! This is so true to me, I was banded on 9/30/10 and im in bandster hell, I feel like I can eat a lot and sometimes I think I might eat too much. I have had the feeling of stuffed and that is not good. That doctor is right. I need to stop myself at a half of cup and just deal with not feeling full. A lot of people on youtube say that they just feel so so after eating and they are barely satified at first but after a while they are not hungry but are not full. Its really a mental thing and I'm going to have to work on that! Good luck my fellow bandsters!

the purpose of the band is to lose weight by suppressing the appetite.

Lap-band® weight loss surgery is not about restriction

[missez 0]

WOW!!!!! This is so true to me, I was banded on 9/30/10 and im in bandster hell, I feel like I can eat a lot and sometimes I think I might eat too much. I have had the feeling of stuffed and that is not good. That doctor is right. I need to stop myself at a half of cup and just deal with not feeling full. A lot of people on youtube say that they just feel so so after eating and they are barely satified at first but after a while they are not hungry but are not full. Its really a mental thing and I'm going to have to work on that! Good luck my fellow bandsters!

[jguttery 0]

Very interesting acticle! I'm on day 5 of my pre-op diet, and just 12 days away from surgery. One thing I realized the other night is that it's going to be a lifestyle change....... I'm the one that controls what and how much food goes in my mouth, the band is just there as a guide and tool.Thanks for posting such a great link!

John

[Melissannde 41]

I've only been banded since 09/16/10, and haven't even had a fill yet....what do other bandsters who have been banded for a while think of this?

I don't know about the long timers on this board.. but I got the link to the article from Jessie Ahroni. This is how she approaches life with the band.. to see how little she can eat, not how much.

Jessie is a long term bandster (12 years now) and works in the bariatric field and has written a book about banding: "Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding: Achieving Permanent Weight Loss with Minimally Invasive Surgery".

She is also one of the moderators at the yahoo group "Smart Bandsters".

I posted the link for a reminder to myself.. to stop eating when my measured portion is gone (or even sooner if I start feeling my soft stop). I've been pushing the limits just a bit too much recently.

[ElfiePoo 109]

So, let me see if I got this right

1) The band is not about restriction

2) The band is supposed to suppress your appetite

3) The food in the pouch above the band passes into your stomach within a few minutes and is not made to stay in the pouch

4) And somehow this is supposed to trick your brain that you are not hungry and your appetite is suppressed.

<snip>

I would imagine that whole "not relying on tighter restriction" will surprise all those on here who do just that. Those are the one who ask "how many times a week do you vomit?" or who can only drink their Breakfast, etc...

This is pretty much what the nurse at my bariatric clinic told me last Tuesday when I had my last fill...and something I've learned over the last 6 months when I went right past my sweet spot without even realizing it.

The band, when it's at the right restriction, should allow you to eat most foods if you take small bites and chew well and eat slowly (putting fork down between bites). It will give us that initial sense of fullness because when we take that 'one bite too many' we go from fine to uncomfortable.

What it also does, is to send a signal to the brain that we're 'full' and gives us that satisfied feeling that eliminates the desire to eat. This article put it so much more clearly for me and I realize now that at one point I was at my sweet spot...but at the time was looking for the wrong thing.

If someone is constantly sliming or urping up their food, then they may be taking bites that are too big, not chewing enough, are eating past the point of 'full' or are overfilled.

Don't give up Cleo. We've both struggled with understanding this band and trying to get it to do its job. I think a big part of that is understanding what it is actually doing and then paying attention to our bodies so we recognize when it actually is working. :wink2:

.

[LapBandBobbi 8]

I enjoyed the article. It was never really explained to me that way, but it does make sense. I know the band does not do all the work for you, but is to be used as a tool. Very interesting. Thanks for posting.

[BetsyB 9]

This actually is not consistent with the peer-reviewed medical research associated with the band.

[MLBL 2]

I think this is one way to use the band. If the loss of the hunger feeling is enough for a person to lose and make progress, that is definitely for them. Other people need to have actual restriction, and that is another way to use the band. I am personally aiming for something in the middle. I want to be able to eat 1 cup of food and stop with getting stuck of PBing, but I do not want to be able to eat 3 cups of food with no problem at all.

[Cleo's Mom 257]

It is my opinion that bariatric doctors are all over the place in their guidelines for pre-op and post-op diets, testing and follow up care. You see that from the many different posts on here. Some can eat full meals up to the day before their surgery and start mushies soon after surgery - I was put on a liquid-only diet for 2 weeks prior to and after surgery. Some doctors require the 1/2 cup only of food at each meal, others are more lax.

All that being said, if the pouch loses the food in a few minutes I don't understand where the feeling of fullness comes from. Just because it was in the pouch for a few minutes the brain thinks you're full - even though the pouch empties into the larger stomach? I would like to see the scientific evidence to back this up. I was told the purpose of the pouch was to keep the food there and empty SLOWLY to keep you feeling full for several hours.

Also, if that is true, then why the "no liquids before or after eating" for 30 minutes? Another area the WLS doctors are all over the place about. If your food empties out of the pouch in a few minutes, then why no liquids for an hour afterward like my former doctor required?

There is much about this article that just doesn't ring true for me and I suspect many other banded patients and it's also clear that many on here rely very much on more fills to restrict what they can eat and live with the consequences of heartburn, reflux, etc..as the price they think they have to pay for weight loss.

Edited October 21, 2010 by Cleo's Mom