starting to freak a little

[Guest christi67]

Hi everyone, I am a newbie in every area. New to this site as well as to the banding procedure. Right now I am in the process of doing all my pre op stuff; wow, so much to do. I dont even know if my insurance will cover this yet. But what is really making me question this surgery is some of you. I dont mean to offend anyone, but I see from quite a bit of you that you arent losing much weight at all. I want to lose 100 lbs. I sat here last night reading the posts and almost cried after reading that some of you are frustrated. I want this surgery, but if Im not gonna lose, then why do it? I dont understand; is this something that the individual person is doing or not doing, or is this means something is wrong? plz help.....im freaking

[donali 57]

It is true that some people do not lose with the band, or do not get to their goal. However, I have not read ANYONE's posts on this board where this is true.

Most of the people who are complaining that they are not losing REALLY mean that they are not losing "fast enough" - there's a big difference.

And of those, most of them are pre-fill. Some people lose well pre-fill - many don't. The "bible" saying is pre-fill is for HEALING - not for losing. If you lose, that's a bonus. However, the band is REALLY designed to be adjustable, and MOST people will need several fills before they reach that happy medium between being able to eat enough but not too much - the "sweet spot".

I was banded 1/23/03. I have lost 60 pounds. I still have 108 to go. That's 60 pounds in 9 months - an average of slightly less than seven pounds a month. An AVERAGE. Some months I haven't lost ANYTHING. I am not dieting, or even exercising consistently. I consider those 60 pounds gone FOREVER, because as long as I keep my band at its current restriction, there is no reason why I should gain that weight back, because I'm not doing anything "special" that I might stop doing later on. I do try to eat healthy most of the time.

60 pounds in 9 months does not sound like very much to many people, but my journey has been very peaceful. Do I wish I could be at goal tomorrow? Of course! But that is not realistic or reasonable. And you know what? It's not even necessary. I KNOW I am on the right path now, and as long as I keep up with my fills when I need them, I WILL get to my goal. This is my LIFE. This is forever (God willing).

Many, many, many people have lost in great excess of 100 pounds with the band. Some do it faster than others. I expect the majority of my journey to take 2 years.

This Saturday I go in for fill #4.

Good luck! Make sure you have reasonable expectations. This is a process, and for most of us it takes time.

[shellyj 5]

hey christi!

Donali is right! i was banded 8-20 and i have been posting what i can eat 2 - 1 1/2 cups of food per serving and halt in weight loss so other newlie banded people will read these and know that it happens to almost everyone! from the post op diet i have been eating carbs which i didnt do for 3 1/2 months so my body is gettting used to the carb overoad!

i have 200% confidence that my will to lose combined with the band will have me slim and trim before i hit 30!!! i am 26 now so really probably 28...

i am going to do the Atkins diet once i reach proper restriction. my goal is to get to 199.99 then i will introduce the carbs...and plan to take my time loosing the last 35!

[bbrecruiter2000 1]

Hi Christy,

I am down 50 lbs in slightly over three months. I have 100 more to go. I won't say that I am typical, but I work hard at the loss with consistent exercise and food modification, so I am averaging 3 lbs a week lost. I know that the weight will never come back and that is the important part. I have no doubt that I will be at goal in less than a year and a half at the pace I am going.

This is a support board and you will find that although 99% of us are losing weight, we all want to lose faster and will complain a lot when it isn't happening. I have been known to do this on occasion. That is human nature. It took me 20 years to put it on but I want it gone in a day if that was possible!

Also, lots of people on the boards are new and are learning how to use the tool they have been lucky enough to be given. Thanks to modern science!!

Most of the lapbanders in my area have lost weight. SOme will lose 10-30% of excess weight and some will lose 100%. I havent seen anyone who hasn't lost any weight at all and it is extremely rare to see anyone gain weight with the band as long as there is proper restriction. The same could be said of any WLS surgery. At lot has to do with effort, exercise, proper restriction, food modification. You get what you put into it. My best advice is educate yourself about the band and understand that it is a slower and more healthy way to lose excess weight than other WLS surgeries.

Babs in TX

334/284/180

[ldauph 8]

Christy, I was banded on 8/12/03 and I am down 33 lbs with just one fill.. I want another as I do not feel that much restriction, but very happy with 33lbs gone forever and my journey has just began.

[mkcarpen 0]

I was banded on 9/15 and am down 17 lbs (this includes 2 weeks of pre-surgery diet). I am following the banding rules for the most part and am exercising. I am speaking for myself but I think alot of us use this forum as a means of support and a way of communicating our frustrations when we are at a stand still or need some guidance. After 2 1/2 weeks with this band I would not look back. GOOD LUCK!

Kathy

[Guest christi67]

Thank you all for your replies to my freaking post I could really use some insight from you guys.........where can I find good useable info on this banding?? I want to know everything I can. Someone was talking about a guidance book from inamed? Can anyone elaborate on that? What is the website addy? Give me what you got....Im ready

[Bright 9]

Hey Christi - I too am pre band but have a surgery date - I learnt so much from people on this message board and from the internet in general - there are loads of really great sites out there to learn from: to start you off, you should definitely read the Inamed book - they are the people who make the Bioenterics or Inamed band - here's the link:

http://www.inamed.com/pdf/health/94829E_LB_Patient_Book.pdf

also the link below is a brilliant one - I think it's from Tonia who often posts here! It's basically lots of faq's plus links to other great info sites!

http://hometown.aol.com/texasrosey/

hope this helps

[FDATrialGuineaPig 7]

Christi,

I have lost 148 lbs but it has taken me ALL THREE YEARS to get here. The band is NOT an overnight solution but when your use it properly it is very effective and very permanent.

It has only been approved in the US for 2 years so it is still very new, and a great deal of people here posting are still very new to banding. In my opinion their weight loss has been stellar!

Sometimes it's people's expectations that need tweaking more than their eating choices!

Hang in there and learn all you can. You should be comfortable with your decision before you go through with it.

Good luck!

[GeezerSue 7]

Let me paraphrase what I think the "FDA Lab Rat" expressed elsewhere in an earlier post. (I hope I get it right.) Everyone who has any variety of WLS has to learn new habits and new behaviors.

With the bypass surgeries, patients lose the weight and if they learn the new behaviors, the weight will stay off. If they don't learn the new behaviors, the weight comes back.

With the band, it's learn-as-you-go. Band patients have a small intital weight loss, but then the rest comes off as we learn. Band patients who don't adopt new behaviors never lose any substantial weight.

So, two or three years out, here's what's left:

1) Bypass patients who lost it all within months and kept it off; and,

2) Band patients who took two years or so to lose it all, and are at about the same place as the bypass patients; and,

3) Bypass patients who lost a lot of weight, but regained all or most of it; and,

4) Band patients who lost little or no weight.

Two different roads, each splits, leading to only two final destinations, "the loser's circle" and morbid obesity. IMHO, learning new behaviors is the essential issue. I didn't need a speedy weight loss and then the devastation of "failing" yet again. I need to learn as I go. It is only human to compare, and when I read that Jane Doe, RnY patient, has lost as much in six weeks as it has taken me a year to lose, of course it seems a good thing to accomplish the same thing in less time. Then I read about the toll it often takes on Jane's body...the gall bladder, the impacted colon, the malabsorption of essential nutrients, the dumping (which is a bad thing being promoted as a good thing), the "revision surgery" (which means "we screwed up and you need another surgery,") and the rest. I don't need those problems. And besides, maybe I'm a slow learner who really does need a couple of years to incoprporate everything I'm learning into my daily life.

I hope that didn't further confuse anyone.

Sue

[Alexandra 55]

Sue, that's a wonderful post. Learning a new way to eat--eating to live--is the hardest thing in the world to do. If it were easy, no one would be fat.

Bypass surgery does nothing to instruct and reinforce new eating behaviors. Well, except dumping, but there's no guarantee that any given RNY patient will experience that.

EVERY band patient with proper restriction will have the negative reinforcement of an obstruction that prevents gulping, gorging, or overeating. That's a sure thing and exactly what I knew I needed. I know that by learning to avoid these behaviors, I will inevitably lose weight. THAT'S what the surgery is doing for me. I'm losing the weight myself, my new behaviors at the ready. And they will be with me forever, whereas bypass surgery gradually but inevitably loses its effectiveness as the body adjusts.

For me it's not about how fast the weight can come off. It's about gaining the control to keep it off, about internalizing a completely new way of eating. I've only been banded two months, but I can tell I'm definitely on my way.

[quakergirl 2]

Thanks Sue and CoffeeWench for giving us newbies reassurances from the long term post op perspective. :cool:

I definitely agree that the lap-band seems to make it easier to learn good habits. It's easy for me to see what works and what doesn't for me, since my loss (or lack thereof) each month depends solely on what I'm doing and what I'm eating - rather than intestinal malabsorption doing all the work for me. That is, the malabsorption helps in the SHORT TERM. In the long run, malabsorption doesn't really help you. Eventually the intestines adapt to being bypassed and they start absorbing more calories. Then what? If you haven't learned good habits along the way, you start regaining all the weight. Either that or you have to go through the whole thing again with a revision surgery. Not something I want to have face!

[bobby_hamrick 0]

The way I see it is nobody knows what to expect until they exp. it I felt the same but then I noticed its a process. People get scared at first and ofcourse the weight isn't falling off. It takes adjustments by the Dr. and yourself. If you will notice as the procedure mature on the people here the understanding comes along with that of just how this was intended to work in the first place. My first fill still not much restriction. I know for sure my next one could be where I need to be and I am not worrying. Evan at this pace I drop weight every week because the amount of food is dramaticly reduced before you realize it. You will have the motivation to eat better and exercise too. I don't believe this was intended to be fas t remarkable cure for us. I do believe its remarkable but takes time to comprehend exactly how it works. You can read and read but living is believing. There are a few people here I know for sure had no more will power than any of us and believe me after a couple years these folks aren't heavy or big boned as folks like to say they are slim and trim and living life good. Thats enough for me. My impatience and not understanding just caused me to worry. I belive the FDA and all the other places this is being done wouldn't back it if it weren't close to fail safe.:cool:

[Calli 20]

the lapband.com site is good. You can sign up as a member which gives you access to track your weight before and after surgery, help you with a list of questions for your doctor, and there aretons of other things available on that site.