Throwing in the towel

[bibytz 0]

Wow! I just read this thread which is by far the most challenging to grasp.

I am scheduled for LB in 8 days and therefore am very interested in learning as much as I can on the subject. I heard both positive and negative aspects of living with this tool. I thank you all for your input and for sharing your experiences. That is a lot of "FOOD" for thoughts...

Yes I am very excited about getting a tool that should help me keep the weight off. Yes I do want to beleive that all will go well and that I will be a lucky person without complications. In my moments of confidence I also think that I will stop eating when full and that I will for once be able to consume "normal" portion meals. Of course at this time in my journey I think I will be able to avoid some of the problems by using other bandsters suggestions. I guess that all those feelings are necessary to go thru with this surgery...

No I do not want to even think that this tool will not work properly and that I will not lose enough weight to be in a healthier shape. No I do not want to think that I will gain all the weight back + some and feel like a second class citizen. No I do not want to think of failure in any way, shape or form.

So here it is, I do not have all the answers. But it has been my life experience to make the 2 columns list before taking any decisions. The pros on one side and the cons on the other. In this case, I have to go with it because of one factor: BEING HEALTHIER. For me it means the elimination of medication for diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol. I am not a young chick anymore and I have a young daughter (6 yrs old) who deserves that I try to add days, weeks, months and/or years to my life.

Again, thank you all for sharing your experiences. I do not have words to describe how valuable your words are. This is by far the best thread I have read so far. Good luck to us all, good luck to me.

Ciao... for now.

[DevilMayKare 1]

I don't know how to interpret this part of your post: "I thought I would feel satiated with less food and I do NOT. That being said I've been on a Protein fast for the past 20 days and have been losing nicely while feeling FULL."

...by 'protein fast' do you mean NO protein or ONLY protein? Is the protein making you 'feel full' or NO protein doing that? And is it solid protein or liquid?

Oh, sorry Jack. That was a little unclear. I'm doing a Liquid Protein fast (kinda like Optifast). I'm less hungry just drinking the Protein Shakes than if I try to eat solid Proteins with this band.

It seems like you and a lot of other people feel "Full" but I don't. Do you get that choking feeling in your sternum and did you just manage to retrain body to a different feeling of fullness?

I've been banded a year and a half now. If I haven't figured it out by now I have serious doubts that I ever will.

[rachele 0]

1.) Even some of LapBanding's biggest success stories--people featured in commercials and on websites for YEARS--are talking gastric sleeve because the reflux issue has become too much to deal with.

2.) (And, no...I do NOT get paid a recruiting bonus for drumming up DS patients,

3.) Anyway...do whatever you need to win the WAR...the battles are irrelevant.

Sue

1.) She's telling the truth here, folks.

2.) You didn't get the check from my Doc's office? :heh:

3.) :clap2:

[marys 2]

I just wanted to say i recently had two meals where I felt full after a few bites - it was an unbelievable feeling and if that is what the successful bandsters are talking about - maybe it was a temporary feeling of that sweet spot then 1) i know why they are successful at losing weight and 2) i know why they are so happy with the band. I got so excited to think i might be feeling that i almost cried (pitiful i know)

but alas it hasn'nt been back since. now its back to pbing and fighting to stop eating at satiety - i figured out what hunger is - i wait until my stomach is growling and i do think my fill is definitely tightening up - i have to be very very careful in the morning - just Protein Shake or oatmeal it seems - the rest of the day varies day to day and meal to meal so who knows. if for some reason i can get that full feeling with a small amount of food i'll pull the towel back out, you know?

[BJean 16]

There's so much good stuff here that I want to claim for myself! Like the whole mindset of "satiety" versus "fullness." Genius! I love it. We have to get to a whole new place, both mentally as well as physically. Jack, you're giving me some fuel to fire up my guns so that I can blast into this thing wholly in charge!

I have been so devastated to read all the negatives about the LB. I too hoped the LB would be a "silicon fist" that would do all the decision-making for me. Now I understand why I really wouldn't even want it that way. I'm not a victim! It's way past time for me to take charge. I'm not an underdog.

I am one very fortunate being to be able to make this decision at all. Some people aren't able to get the LB for miriad reasons. What if they told me tomorrow I couldn't have the LB, you ask. Well now that you ask, I'm realizing I would be very disappointed because I would not have that little "fist" in my corner, giving me support. Not taking control of my life, just giving me some support in my very strong resolve to not be MO any longer.

Your assessment of the carb-hunger cycle is absolutely true for me. When I am strong enough to deny myself carbs, especially sugar and bread, I am just not as out of control starving. Why sabbotage the LB with those things? It's just the worse possible outcome if you don't follow the plan and you wind up with surgery and a hitchhiker, for nothing. I know I can diet, but I also know I re-gain the weight. The Band should give me the help I need to keep my resolve. I need to work WITH the Band, not against it. That is, if I love myself.

And by gosh I think that you, Jack (and Mr. Ford), have given me something to put in big letters up on my wall, "Whether you think you can... or whether you think you can't... you are probably right." I love it.

[juliegeraci 7]

Its been a really big up and down road for me with the band as well. I was banded on June 6th and so far I'm down about 15 lbs. I am getting restriction finally and hope that I will continue to lose weight. Its just been difficult without having restriction.

[cashley 0]

I think we should come up with at good list of the pro's & con's of the band... everyone could contribute and it could help others with their personal decision.

Would I get the band again? I'm not sure - it's worked some (stalled some) - it's been hard - it's been fickle - and it's kind of weird to adjust too.

My list would start out like this....

* The band doesn't prevent hunger but helps you stop eating solid food sooner and thus should prevent overeating. The "STOP Sign" could be fullness to some, pain to others or somewhere in between.

* If you are addicted to candy, chocolate, milk shakes and / or ice cream the band will not help with that addiction. You may still lose weight if you can avoid those foods but you will not feel them or get that "Stop Sign" from the band.

* The band helps you eat smaller portions if you continue to make good band food choices (which is still basically being on a diet). If you think you can eat anything you want with just smaller portions you are mistaken.

* Even with the band and eating less then 1000 calories a day and exercising a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes per day you may not lose or you may lose very slowly. (I don't know why). You also may lose in spurts and then stall for several weeks to several months. It's sad I know!

Anyone else have bullet points that you wish you would have known before banding?

[em1125 0]

All of these posts have been very helpful. I will be banded on Tuesday and although very excited, I am very nervous that I will have gone through this for nothing. Not to lose weight would be very upsetting. I plan on dieting with my band to lose the bulk of my weight. I know I have read many posts that say we don't really need to diet b/c the band will enable us to eat less. But after reading that insightful chart that StrawartS put on (see wesite below). According to the chart, bandsters should be consuming 800 to 1000 cal/day. If you consume that amount per day and excercise, there is no way I couldn't lose the weight.

The other issue that's gotton me very nervous is the idea of PB'ing all the time. That's not very healthy for the esophagus. I hope and pray that this will not be a frustrating journey. I don't mind working hard to lose the weight. But to eat healthy and less than normal and PB anyway is something that would frustrate the hell out of me. I am so sorry for some of you who have had such a difficult time with your band. I truly wish you all the best.

I hope that I can go through this journey and not feel like this will be the most life altering experience. I know it will be difficult. I just want to lose my weight. I have 80 pounds to lose and my goal is to lose it in about 16 months.

Wishing all of you the best. Thanks for all the positives and negatives. I want to go into this with my eyes wide open.

http://www.lapsf.com/weight-loss-surgeries.html

[BJean 16]

Jack posted the best answer I have read about not losing when you're banded. The point he made in response to some other posts, was that if you don't curb your carbs, you're going to have the same amount of hunger than before the band when you weren't curbing the carbs.

I know that if I eat carbs, especially in the form of Desserts, I will soon get out of control again. If I can keep myself at optimum heath by eating the right foods, and if I can stay away from the foods that instantly make me happy but then turn on me in the form of fat, then I should be successful.

If the band really doesn't help with appetite though, my dilema right now is that if I can stay away from the carbs without the band, which is very hard for me after about 3 weeks of avoiding them, then why do I think that the band is going to work over the long haul? Somehow we have to get to the mindset that we want to be "normal" more than we want to eat dessert and overeat other high calorie foods, I guess.

I keep bouncing back and forth - wondering if I'm kidding myself and just helping to make my doctor rich. I understand what it's going to take, and some posts I read say that they love the band and it is getting them right where they want to be. Other people say they are having PBs all the time and that they aren't losing weight.

Which one am I? Pretty hard to figure without going ahead with the surgery. That's why it is so scary.

[housecatgirl 0]

Hey Mary, Don't give up yet girl.:faint: Just think of the diet as a part of the whole process.:scared:

I am worried myself because I have 2.9 cc in a 4 cc band and I have very little restriction. I had my TOM when I got my fill last week and so the first few days I felt restricted but now I can practically eat anything. I still haven't had my first pb. Not that I want to, but I really don't think I am restricted...not much anyway. Is it possible to max out to 4 cc and still not be restricted? I am worried this will happen to me.:huggie:

[BJean 16]

Jack, no wonder on one of these threads I read tonight, someone was saying, "Where's Jack?" You're definitely the voice of reason around here.

I can't believe you mentioned DeBussey's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. It was the first classical music piece I ever fell in love with - at the age of 12. You reminded me that I need to revisit the feeling of beauty and tranquility that classical music can bring. It seems like I'm forever thanking you.

I've taken notes on some of the things you've said. I'm sure I'll forget those pearls in the heat of battle in 2 weeks, if I don't.

But one comforting thought is that perhaps you'll still be here when I need a voice of reason when I'm trying to adjust to life after the band. Maybe even if I panic between now and then. I sure hope so. Thanks again!:nervous

[stella 0]

BJ

I have the IMED band, 4 cc.....

[Tootarts 0]

Dear Mary's,

Reading your threads was like looking into a mirror. Thank you.

I have felt for a long time that I am a total misfit bandster. This thread has really opened my eyes. I would not have had the band knowing what I know at this point.

My GP suggested he didn't think it was such a good idea for me to get banded but I was scared to have the other types of surgery so the band looked the best for me. As it turned out for me the surgery was no so 'Easy", surgery is surgery after all, and I wish I would have taken the plunge and gone for another kind.

Thanks for being so honest, it makes me feel not so alone anymore.

[BJean 16]

Tootarts: My GP doesn't want me to get banded either. Says I can defeat it. I didn't understand that until I came here.

When you think of complications, you think of the surgical complications, not the one that allows you to eat all the wrong stuff and not much of the good stuff. Now I understand about that. :paranoid

Plus, there's always the chance that the band just never gets to the place where you can use it instead of it abusing you. Which is what it sounds like has happened to you. :phanvan

What can you do at this point? Do you have to have it removed? Did you have your surgery stateside? Is the doctor you can consult nearby? Does he have a support staff that you can talk to? What are your options? This is important information. Knowledge makes you strong, they say. Anything you can share is appreciated.

[Pete53 0]

Jack thank you for such an easy to understand explanation and answering questions that I did not not know I had.