Fill Fill Fill

kdk123 · February 28, 2008

My gf has lap-band but I struggle all the time trying to understand what it is really doing for her. She has had the band for several months and hasn't really lost anything. So I started looking at how many calories she was eating and it was very low. Her body was starving so I told her she needed to eat more. Her dietician also told her to eat more so her body would not be in starvation mode. Well ... the reason she hasn't been eating is because her band is tight. Her surgeon is aware she hasn't lost anything either and is also aware that her calorie intake is low. But he is recommending another fill! If she can't eat because of the band and isn't losing because of her caloric intake why would he fill again?

Also, they say with the band you need to eat "right" and exercise. Shouldn't you do that anyway? Personal trainers tell people in order to lose weight you need to eat right and exercise. If you are doing this with the band is the band making you lose weight or is it your new diet and exercise.

I just don't get it. She doesn't even need lap-band and all I see her do is struggle and suffer since the band.

shortgal · February 28, 2008

Before the next appt have your gf record everything she eats and drinks. Everything including quantity and have her bring it with her to the next appt. Does the surgeon's office have a nutritionist or dietican she can talk to and show them what she's eating?

The band should be only be tight enough that solid Proteins go down (small bites and well chewed) and a small portion of 1/2 to 1 cup should keep her full for several hours. She needs to understand that "full" will not feel like her old feeling of a full belly, but rather a feeling like she can resist eating more at the moment and feels satisified. She should not drink anything for one hour after eating, so the food stays in the pouch and allows her brain to understand the "new" feeling of full.

She should also be eating Protein first with some veggies and eating very few carbs. Is she tracking her daily Protein intake? It's important the the majority of her calories come from protein not carbs.

Another fill does not sound right, but rather a slight unfill would help.

Diet and exercise helps everyone but the advantage of the band should be limiting the amount of food we can intake to maintain our weight loss.

TheGh0st · February 28, 2008

I admire the initiative you are taking to understand what your gf is going through. Not many men, even husbands take such an active role.

As far as shortgal's response I agree completely. It doesn't really sound like she needs a fill from what you are saying but we are not medical staff. Another tool I've seen bandsters use to help their doctors better decide if they are ready for a fill is to take quick photos of their meals with their cell phone. It's faster than logging and gives the doc a visual image that is sometimes easier to understand.

On your second point about whether she is losing weight due to the band or from diet and exercise she could be doing without the band. That is a bit harder to answer. Again I don't know your girlfriend to know what her starting weight or BMI were or what co-morbidities she may have had due to the excess weight to even begin to address the idea that she "didn't need surgery".

What I can say is that the band is strictly a TOOL not a solution or easy fix. It helps both control the individual portions we can eat in any one sitting and when properly adjusted will help us not feel the terrible hunger pains between meals. These two benifits of the band have been shown to help bandster not regain the weight as so many of us had afer previous successfull diet & exercise regimes.

My last paragraph brings up two additional questions you might have.

One - What is a proper fill and why can't/didn't she get it on the first fill? The answer to that would be that the band is not placed strictly around the stomach muscle but also has varying amounts of fatty tissue inside it depending on the patient. Therefore as your GF loses weight that tissue inside the band will shrink and cause the band to feel looser and need to be tightened some more. Also, especially at the beginning the doctors are purposely cautious with their fills. Some patients need to be tightened slowly so they can have time to adjust to new eating habits (especially the chewing) and some patients stomachs are more sensitive to being squeezed by the band and can swell for a couple days after the band is adjusted. The docs don't want to risk filling someone too agressively and having the stomach actually close off so that even Water won't go through.

Second question I would have if I were you is back to why can't she just lose the weight with a similar diet/excersize program and learn to keep it off without the band? There have been a couple of studies that have found that over 90% of people who have gotten over a certain BMI threshold (I think it is 40 but can't remember) then lost most of their excess weight through diet and exercise alone regained all (and usually more) of their wieght back within 3 years. At least one of these studies included strictly patients that were closely monitored and guided by doctors and fitness trainers and yet the long term failure rate was still OVER 90%. But with the Lapband they have found nearly the opposite to be true where the vast majority are able to keep the weight off over the long term.

Finally, this is not a gastric bypass surgery. She will not and should not be losing the weight quickly. Most doctors won't even give someone a fill if they are losing over 3 pounds per week on a consistent basis.

Again Kudos to you for taking the time to look for answers to your questions. I wish the two of you all the best.

kdk123 · February 28, 2008

Thanks for look at my questions as me trying to understand. There are times I show my frustration regarding the lap-band because I see how upset she is when trying to deal with it. She takes this as me being upset with her when I'm frustrated with the surgery and the doctors.