veteran Bandsters - questions for you

michaelms · September 18, 2006

Hello All,

I'm seeing my doctor about banding on Thursday 21st Sep, but I have a question for people who've already who've been banded for a while - say 2-3 year and have reached or are close to their targets.

What is your current diet now? Do you still eat everything or is it still retsricted?

Do you still have PB's

What about fills? How often do you need to fill/unfill - 2-3 years down the line?

Is the hunger pangs any different?

Will you keep the ban din always or will you take it out?

I quite concerned about what happens after recahing the target and how to maintain.

Regards

Michael

Alexandra · September 18, 2006

Hi Michael,

The first thing you learn about banding is that everyone's journey is different. There are people who reached goal in one year and have never needed another tweak, and there are people three and four years out who are still struggling to find their own sweet spot. All I can share is my own experience.

I'm three years out and have lost 130 lbs. Am I "at goal"? According to the weight charts I'm still a good 30 lbs overweight. But I haven't been actively trying to lose weight for almost a year now, so I guess I fit your description.

In MY experience, there is a status quo reached that allows me to eat whatever I want, in small quantities. My hunger pangs have never approached what they were prior to banding, although since I'm human I will get hungry if I haven't eaten in several hours. The only reason I will PB is if I eat too fast or too much, which is honestly easier to do now because some of the sensation seems to have disappeared over time.

I had an unfill back in March to deal with persistent reflux, and an endoscopy and other tests showed everything was in fine order. Just recently I had a small fill and it's proving to be quite a challenge. I've sort of forgotten what real restriction feels like and I'm having to learn all over again. In the next several weeks I imagine I will lose a few pounds, and if I can get back to that status quo of effortless maintenance I will be as happy as can be.

The long-term goal is to maintain without having to TRY every single minute to control my intake. I want my band to help with that by lowering the desire and impulse to eat. It's doing a wonderful job and I hope to keep it in me the rest of my life.

Tired_Old_Man · September 18, 2006

I was banded 4 years ago. I went from 327 to 232, but due to a problem with holding food down, I had to have my band emptied about 3 months ago. I have gained back 30 pounds. I should weigh about 170, but 185 would make me happy. I will be making an appointment to get a fill soon.

When I was doing well, I ate a normal diet. The quantity of food was the only difference between my diet and my family's diet. Cutting back on % of fat is dangerous because the body needs a certain amount of fat to regulate itself. I think sugar is more dangerous than fat.

If I went to dinner with my wife, we would order one meal between us. I would take about 1/4 of the salad, the entree and the side dishes. NO bread. Nothing to drink.