Discouraged - aftercare?

[FutureVet 1]

Hi everyone. I was banded in February of this year. The only aftercare I have gotten is going for fills. I have had three fills and I do feel restriction but I feel like I am not losing any weight. I know everybody is different and some people lose weight slower than others, but I still feel very discouraged. I try to keep my calories under 1,000 a day and I try to get in enough Protein. Those were the only guidelines that I was given. I have lost about 30 pounds since surgery and most of that was from the liquid diet before and after surgery.

I am wondering what kind of aftercare other band patients get. I have never seen a nutritionist and I am wondering if that would be helpful for me. I am going to try to go to a support group later this month and I am hoping that that will help some. I think it's hard for me because I don't know anyone else that has been banded so I don't know what is normal and what is not. I would just feel horrible if I went through all of this for nothing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[maclynn 0]

I have been to see the dietician twice since being banded 5/6 with another appointment in two weeks. The bariatric center that I go to includes follow ups with the dieticians as well as the surgeon. Granted my follow ups with the surgeon, except for the week after surgery, have led to a fill but the doctor sits down and talks with me about my diet and how I feel with the band. The instructions that you received seem to be both vague, and from my understanding, not very good since if you are exercising, less than 1000 calories may be too little and your body won't let the weight go.

[lessofm3 0]

I agree with maclynn, it sounds like you have received very vague instructions. The weight loss clinic I went through is very thorough. Before the surgery I had to go to a seminar, then I sat down one on one with the dietician to go over what my eating guidelines would be before (pre op liquid diet), during (diet right after surgery) and after (diet to follow in the weeks following surgery). When I go for my fills, I have to see the program coordinator where I will get weighed and the coordinator will answer any questions I may have. Then I see the dietician to go over what my eating habits have been and to give me ideas on what I can eat that would be helpful in my weight loss. After that I see the surgeon who then fills my band and asks me if I have any questions.

The next time you see your doctor, ask if there's a dietician you can speak with or try to talk to your doctor about your concerns.

Good luck!

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Honestly I was forced to sit thru a lecture by the nutritionist right after I got my band. I tried to pay attention but essentially tuned a lot of it out (she geared our talk to bypassers, and kept thinking I had the bypass. That exasperated me) I have done so many diets, between that and the nutrition class I had for nursing school, I have a pretty good grasp of what to eat and what not to. That doesn't mean I always do it though! LOL

SO my point is you may (or may not) already know "what to do" While I had restriciton at 6 months out, I didn't hit my sweet spot until May (almost 9 months out) and good grief has that made a world of difference.

I think partly you're just being too hard on yourself, expecting too much. "some" restriction isn't the same as the sweet spot.

[suepro 39]

I have access to a dietician and counsellor as part of my follow up but to be perfectly honest, I get most of what I need to know right here.

[greytz 4]

I think if you don't have a good idea of what to eat and what not to eat, you should seek out a dietician, nutritionist or someone that can help you with that. And they can tell you the proper calorie intake for your specific needs.

[pnksteph 0]

I have not had the surgery yet--scheduled for tomorrow!--but I met with my nutritionist a couple weeks back and she went over everything in great detail.

The nutritionist that I went to actually had the bypass surgery, but she mentioned that our eating habits should be similar. She said the thing that has helped her the most is to eat your Protein first, then veggies and if needed have a bite of your starch. She also said the most important thing is not to drink with your meal because it will push the food down. She has lost over 140 lbs with it, so I plan to take her advice.

Hope this helps!

[FutureVet 1]

Thanks for all of the responses. I really appreciate the advice. When I go for fills, I get weighed and then the doctor comes in to give me my fill. He is extremely quick and is not very receptive to questions. I chose my surgeon because of his surgery skills, not his bed side manner so I somewhat expected this. I never got to meet with a dietician before or after surgery. I have done many diets in the past so I think I do have an idea of what I should and should not be eating but I would feel alot better if I had some rules of what to eat and what not to. I'm going to call my surgeon's office today and ask to see a dietician. Thanks again! :tongue2:

[lessofm3 0]

I did buy a recipe book called eating well after weight loss surgery. What I like about it is the recipes are meals that can be prepared for the whole family. At the bottom of each recipe is the serving size for Lapband, bypass, BPD-DS (not sure what ths is) and others (meaning rest of the family). Maybe that will help if you don't have access to a dietician?

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

I have never had any meetings with a dietician/nutritionist. My surgeon offers a monthly support group which focuses on these sorts of issues in a group situation, where you can trade ideas with other patients. For example, one support group meeting focused on menu planning. Another on hydration that discussed activity levels etc. requiring more hydration than a sedentery lifestyle, etc. I've gained a lot of insight from these group support meetings because the professional staff has a lot of information to share but so do the other patients who attend.