Thinking about lapband surg need advice

[DEANNKUSKE 0]

:thumbup:I have been checking into lapband surg I need to lose 130 pounds and am so ashamed that I have lost weight over the last 20 years only to gain it back each and everytime. I have gotten my referal letter from my Dr and went to and information meeting and am going to a class March 3rd and 16th. I already have the appt with the psycologist and diatition but I really need to get advice from some people who have already had this done. Is it worth it does it really help that much. Wont I be hungry all the time eating a 1/4 cup of food only. How do you deal when your bored I have usually eaten when bored. I hear about stuff getting stuck in bands, bands slipping and eroding and about the liquid diets and just want confirmation that it is all worth it. how fast do you lose weight. A nurse told me you lose weight quicker with gastric bypass and that It takes up to 3 years to lose all your weight with the band. How can that be that it is so slow when you are eating soooo much less then you used to? My sister died shortly after gastric bypass so I dont want that surg done. I know this is a rest of my life thing and want to be sure. People at work Ive mentioned it to dont understand why I cant just eat less and exersise more and think Im silly to get banded but I feel I have an addiction to food and I take meds that make me hungry and tired all the time so its hard to exersise as much as I should. I did join a gym and am trying to walk 30 min a day to get my body in better shape for surg. Please anyone who has the time I would appreciate any and all advice. My email address is deannkuske@comcast.net if anyone wants to email me. Im new to this site and not real good at the computer so dont know if ill find this site easily to get the responses but Im going to try. Thank you so so much Deann

[kiz 1]

Hi Deann. I've had my band for close to six months, and I've been more that happy with my results, and for the help the band has given me. It's very true that the band is not a magic bullet, and you have to use it as a tool.

How it helps me, is that it keeps my hunger to a minimum, so that I don't find myself looking for junk food to snack on when I'm bored and/or hungry between meals. The band helps in two ways. If you're a big volume eater, you're not going to be able to eat those huge meals, and if you're a junk food grazer, the hunger demon is greatly diminished. This only happens when your band is filled to the level that gives you good restriction. The number of fills that it takes to get you there is different for everyone, and it also depends on how aggressive your surgeon is with the amount of fill he'll give you at a time.

Doctors have different recommendations for the amount of food you should consume. For instance, I'm supposed to have three 1/2 cup meals per day plus a snack. The pouch above the band holds 1/2 cup, and once you get to good restriction (it may happen right off the bat, but it probably will take a few fills to get you there), the food travels slowly through the stoma (band opening). Your nerve endings that send a message to your brain is at the top of your stomach, so although you've eaten a very small portion, you should feel satisfied.

I think you can minimize the risk of all those major complications by listening to your doctor. I want to emphasize, minimize, because I know there are people who have been just as cautious than I have, who have had problems. There are no guarantees that I or anyone else won't be that person who has an intolerance to the band. Some things that we can do to help our band are: don't start solids after surgery until your doctor gives you the go ahead, measure your portions and don't overeat, if you get a fill, and you can't hold down fluids or can't move on to solids, call your doctor and get some Fluid removed. The band is not suppose to be so tight that you can't eat. Chew your food well, but not until it's a liquid, eat slowly, and take small bites. I've never had reflux and I've never pb'd. I know I'm not immune to erosion or band slippage (I pray that it doesn't happen), but I'm going to do my part the best I can to take good care of my band.

I also wanted to add that I'm am terribly sorry about the loss of your sister.

Edited February 26, 2009 by kiz

[Jodi_620 37]

Hi Deann and welcome to the site!

I will post my response and email it as well.

All of your concerns are normal and understandable. Let me respond to them one at a time.

Don’t be ashamed, most of us have lost and gained many times before getting surgery.

No, once you have the surgery and get a couple fills to gain restriction you will not be hungry all the time. Although I eat more than ¼ cup of food, I would say it is closer to ¾ cup although I don’t measure.

You have to learn to deal with emotional eating and eating out of boredom. The band will not help you there, but I will say that it is so much easier to deal with when you are not constantly hungry.

Learning to eat with the band is a learning process. Most of us experience getting stuck at one time or another. It is very unpleasant but it is a good way to reinforce proper eating…get stuck once and you don’t forget it for a while. Slippage and erosion are not common but they can happen. But the good thing is that in the rare event that this happens it is either fixable or reversible.

The liquid diet is only temporary, it is necessary both to prep for surgery and while healing after surgery. It was very hard for me but I can’t even begin to tell you how it was very much worth it.

I don’t know about it taking three years to lose. I have been banded for 8 months and am almost to goal and I am certainly not the exception to this timeframe, there are many that lose most to all their weight in the first year. How long it takes depends on how well you can stick with the program.

I am very sorry to hear about your sister, what a horrible tragedy. I understand why you do not want bypass, the dangers are the reason most of us went with Lap Band, it is much less severe and as I said it is reversible if there are any problems.

Some people will judge your decision and that is OK. If you decide to do this, do it for you. I knew before the surgery that this was for me and all of the people that didn’t want me to have it done are very supportive now that they have seen the improvement it has brought.

I have absolutely no regrets and would do it all over again if need be. It looks like you are well on your way good luck in your journey, good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions.

Edited February 26, 2009 by Jodi_620