At What cost??

Aussiegirl · June 29, 2005

Hi Everyone,

What an interesting thread. I think my surgeon may need an attitude adjustment! I am nearly 18 months post band now and see him every 8 weeks. Last visit, I communicated to him that I thought that I was too tight - I was having regular, but not daily, occurences of heartburn at night, was not able to eat any food at all before lunch (liquids only in the morning), felt uncomfortable whenever I ate any solid food, and tended to have excess saliva production and would often PB when I did.

His response - he didn't mind if I was restricted to fluids and mushy food at this point until I reached my goal weight. He then proceeded, with my extreme reluctance, to put another 0.1ml in my band.

Perhaps I'm the one that needs the attitude adjustment - perhaps I need to assert myself more.

La_madam · June 29, 2005

His response - he didn't mind if I was restricted to fluids and mushy food at this point until I reached my goal weight. He then proceeded, with my extreme reluctance, to put another 0.1ml in my

Tell your surgeon to go and read the Inamed Handbook Page 3 where it clearly states and I quote

" solid food is more important then liquidfood. The Lap Band system will have little or no effect if you only eat liquid foods liquid food passes through the stomach outlet very quickly anddoes not make you feel full"

Aussiegirl · June 29, 2005

I totally agree with you Michelle. I started out the conversation with him by saying that I thought that I had been going about this all wrong and that I needed to be eating small amounts of solid food. I had only lost 1 or 2kg in the previous 8 weeks and I thought that was because I was consuming too many liquid calories and that I needed to eat small amounts of solid food and then the weight would start shifting again.

However, like I said before, his response was to tighten me up even more.

Thank you for this thread. It has given me the confidence and determination to broach this subject with him again at my next appointment (in 2 weeks). I have an awful sinking feeling I know what will happen though. He'll put me on the scales, see that I have lost more weight and tell me I'm doing just fine!!

HamuChan · June 29, 2005

Sorry everyone is not perfect but...

Not everyone can get a perfect fill everytime. Sometimes it's too tight, yes. Those people need to see their doc quick. But some of us swell more then others so it takes longer to get off of liquids after a fill.

Some people don't realize that not everyone's bodies are the same. I, for example, swell extremely easily. So if I am going to have this band work then I am going to have to deal with liquids when my stomach acts up. If I go and get an unfill everytime my stomach swells then I'll be at my Dr's office waaaay too much.

I do agree that people need to be held responsible for their own behavior. If someone is taking too big of bites or eating too fast then whining about PB's doesn't make since. On the other hand, it may be taking that person longer to adjust to a new style of eating.

Everyone is different, keep that in mind. After reading this post many people will feel uncomfortable about writing about their problems for fear of being judged. I know that I will never complain again on this board knowing that all I am doing is "frustrating" people.

Interesting post. But, I must say that I wholeheartedly disagree.

Alexandra · June 29, 2005

HamuChan, it's absolutely true that everyone is different. I hope no one feels judged, but rather Enlightened. What I think is MOST important is that we know our bodies and know when something is not right. A close and open relationship with our doctors is the most important factor in long-term health, our own and our bands'. What you describe may indeed be right for you, and that's fine. Your knowledge of the way your body behaves after a fill means that you will know if a problem occurs. That's good!

As your banded life proceeds you will experience lots of changes; overall, caution is always the best approach. Sometimes it's easy to forget that in our eagerness to lose weight and show the world that it's working. All we're saying is that we shouldn't lose sight of the long-term benefits of appropriate band management.

sassaay · June 29, 2005

All -- I appreciate this thread and want to thank (especially) Michelle and Alexandra and others for posting your thoughts and comments. I have learned a lot about what may be normal and what may be more of a concern from reading about others experiences. But I have to agree that we must not lose sight of the long-term benefits of appropriate band management and do our best to stay in close communication with our doctors for the most experienced and healthy advice.

Thanks for this great thread!

vinesqueen · June 29, 2005

Yesterday Jessie said something interesting to me. "The Band is NOT meant to be surgical bulimia."

dishdiva · June 30, 2005

I'm going to go a little against the popular vote here. I totally agree with the premise of taking care of your health, being responsible for the band, being "good" to the band, etc.

However, sometimes there are reasons why we don't act. For example, I'm a single working mom and my doctor is a hike. I've taken off a lot of time from work for doctor's appointments recently... and it's tough. Getting there isn't always easy. (I recently found a doctor a little closer to home/work and that helps.) Second, some people are cash-paying patients... some surgeons don't charge for an unfill immediately after a fill...but will charge if a few weeks have passed. In some cases this can be several hundred dollars. It's the broken-down health care system...where insurance companies don't cover the cost of the band...

And sometimes the office staff at Dr.'s offices might not take the issue as seriously as we would like. When I called once about an unfill, I almost felt like I had to justify the need to come in for a second unfill in three weeks. If they had a sense of urgency, maybe I would too. It's amazing to me how different doctors offices have different views on what's important and what's not. And often, patients follow the lead of the doctors in terms of attitude.

Sometimes we rationalize that what's happening to us (i.e. reflux) isn't all that bad and is bearable for the time being. I'm not saying that's appropriate, just reality. In my case, things change so often that if I wait a day or two, the problem often resolves itself.

Anyway, want to emphasize again that I agree with the whole self-responsibility thing...but just wanted to share some of the possible reasons it can be a challenge.

Elizabeth

8-28-03