Lapband questions

skyraider42 · June 4, 2007

Hi everyone,

Brand new to this web site. Am considering the surgery, but need to find out more about it. Am 65, 6' and 350. I am concerned about excessive skin after weight loss & what other problems down the road that they left out. Oh, i'm a male. Anything anyone could tell me about pros & cons would be greatly appreciated.

Kat817 · June 4, 2007

Wow---quite the open ended question there!!!! All I can do is give you my own opinion on thr banding surgery.

I was banded about 13 months ago. I have lost over 90 pounds and almost 60 inches! I do have excess skin, mostly in my belly, which was my biggest problem area in the first place. I will likely have a Tummy Tuck done for my own personal satisfaction. When I am clothed it is not a big deal, I definitely look better in my clothes than out of them, but chances are that has always been the case. My DH (Dear, Darling, Damned....depending on the mood, Husband) has no complaints, even with the skin.

Surgery for me was easy, it was not a real painful experience, I was up and around within days and back to a normal life, some have it harder, and some go back to work in days---so it varies. I found the liquid diet much easier than I anticipated....I have felt little if any hunger since banding. I was begining too when I started the fill process. I have had 2 fills in the last 12 months, and will possibly have one more to finish off the weight loss, and try to get to goal. The eating for me has been the most wonderful thing! I am not hungry, or starving every minute of every day, so I can make better choices. I have not had to eliminate much in the way of food from my diet, but the portions have reduced in a drastic way! Plus, I eat so much less junk, not being hungry it has improved my health tremendously.

When I went to surgery I was on several meds. 2 for high blood pressure, and one for high blood sugar, and another for cholesterol, one for joint pain, and another for reflux. From the day of surgery I eliminated the metformin for my blood sugar, and the cholesterol meds, within a month the blood pressure meds and reflux meds were gone. I went for several months with no prescription medication at all!!!! I actually still am! I did have a return of the reflux, but treat it successfully with over the counter meds now.

I can walk and exercise, and play with my grandkids! I do have to be careful of how I eat. I eat small bites, well chewed, in small amounts. But that becomes a habit, and with good restriction, is not a big problem. I have on a couple of occasions lapsed into my old behavior, and had problems due to not chewing properly or eating a bad choice of food. When I do that, it hurts, feels like a huge pocket of air trapped in my chest, referred to around here as a golf ball. Then, your body steps up and tries to help you pass whatever you did not chew well, and you begin to "slime". It is the bodies natural reaction to something being stuck, you produce copius amounts of very thick, very gooey saliva. It is supposed to help slick it up and slide it through. The problem, is we are usually already too full, and there is nowhere for all that to go...so it usually leads to a "PB" which is short for Productive Burp. A bandster form of throwing up. A less violent form, and consisting only of chewed food, and saliva, no stomach acids, they are in the lower portion of the stomach. It is hard on the stomach, so you try to avoid this....but it happens!

Not sure what else I can tell you---this site is full of info. Keep in mind the numbers of complications usually seems unusually high, it is because those not having problems of any sort, don't post daily that all is well!!! Your Dr. can give you his/her stats on complications, and they are quite low. Most are dealt with by altering the diet, and the fill level in the band.

Please feel free to ask away any questions in particular---we will be glad to try to help!!!

Welcome to LBT, we are glad to have you!

Kat

goodtimes · June 5, 2007

Hi guys, just wanted to let you guys know that I am getting closer to the surgery day and one more day before the liquid diet:hungry:.

I just wanted to say that I love this site.

I just want to release!!! I spoke with a co-worker who is also obese. 2 years ago, we always used to talk about contemplating about the gastric. so this afternoon he nows talk about how its such a bad idea. a lot of people he knows are having problems with the surgery. so i had to get a little bit more indepth why are they having problems:cry he ended up saying that they don't eat right, they always are sick etc. so i was up here wondering why he would say that umph!!!!

uniqueone · June 5, 2007

Hi guys, just wanted to let you guys know that I am getting closer to the surgery day and one more day before the liquid diet:hungry:.
I just wanted to say that I love this site.

I just want to release!!! I spoke with a co-worker who is also obese. 2 years ago, we always used to talk about contemplating about the gastric. so this afternoon he nows talk about how its such a bad idea. a lot of people he knows are having problems with the surgery. so i had to get a little bit more indepth why are they having problems:cry he ended up saying that they don't eat right, they always are sick etc. so i was up here wondering why he would say that umph!!!!

Was he talking about gastric bypass surgery or the lap-band procedure?

uniqueone · June 5, 2007

Hi everyone,
Brand new to this web site. Am considering the surgery, but need to find out more about it. Am 65, 6' and 350. I am concerned about excessive skin after weight loss & what other problems down the road that they left out. Oh, i'm a male. Anything anyone could tell me about pros & cons would be greatly appreciated.

I've only had my band for a month, however, one of the attractions for me to have this procedure was that if there are any problems at all down the road, it is totally reversible!!

So far I have lost almost twenty pounds, feel great and am so glad I made the decision I did!!!! Good luck to you on whatever you decide!!

skyraider42 · June 5, 2007

Thanks Kat, The info was a big help. I'm getting a lot off this site.

Annicakes · June 17, 2007

Hi Everyone --

This is an awesome site -- in test mode and met with the dietian this week -- moving closer to a surgery date --- looking forward to getting off of the "all I think about is my weigh" train.

I have a question about fills --

Are they painful?

How are they performed?

Many thanks,

-Anni

Dutchgrl59 · June 17, 2007

Annicakes

The Lapband is connected to a port which is near the surface to the skin. Mine is located on my left side, several inches above and to the left of my navel. The fill is done in a drs office where the skin is numbed and saline in inserted with a needle into the port. I'm told this is relatively painless but since I have not had one yet, I can't really say. My band is 1 month old, so I'm new to this process but can already say that having a band is wonderful. Glad to see you here on the best lapband site ever!