MY BAD_the post disappeared!- OK here goes...

Lapband or Realize? Has anyone out there had experience with either? I was leanign towards Realize but now Im wondering abt the LapBAnd

and nutrition-wise. I had my 1st class tonite and i am wondering if this is forever:
no gum
no caffeine
no soda
no shrimp, corn, celery or nuts
no straws

Can I alter this a year out or is this forever and ever amen?

Okay I can't comment on the difference of the two bands but I would suggest that you go over to the Lap Band forum and ask them too.  With respect to diet, well I have not had a piece of gum in almost 7 years.

All doctors are different but the soda is thought irritate and stimulate your stomach making you susceptible to eating more to quiet it.  My doctor advocates caffiene; but I am not a fan....I can see the sense in the straws, introduction of air on the other hand drinking through a straw taught me how to sip instead of gulp.  I would be interested in hearing the answer on that one and the shrimp, corn, celery or nuts I have no clue, although even now shrimp sit on my tummy and make me miserabl...I never liked corn but I could easily live off celery and I love nuts so again...interested.

Are these the only restictions the doctor put you on along with a calorie restriction?  Did you ask the class leader how long this typical diet is sustained for and why?

Hello,

I had the "regular" lap-band surgery and I am able to have the following: gum, caffeine, soda, shrimp, corn, celery, nuts and straws. 

On my doctor's no-no list was soda.  So, I wasn't supposed to have it otherwise I can tolerate everything else.  I would say follow whatever your docotor/nutritionist advises you to although I don't quite understand why you wouldn't be able to have some of the things listed here.  Good luck with your decision.

I have the lap band and some of the people in my support group have the realize the actal band part is the same the ports are made different the lap band is sutured in place and the realize has clips that hold it in place. the realize band has on line support and diet guides .the lap band does not. I guess I'd go with which one your surgeon likes best.  then when it come to diet every surgeon seem to have his or hers own rules at first I would go with there rules the after time adjust as needed ( like 1-2-years out.) My doc. says no caffeine because it cause an increase in hunger and can lead to fluid loss maken you more at risk for dehydration and is irratiting to the new pouch and your stomach in general.No gum if you swollow it it may clog you and the only way to get it out is to go in manually and remove it. at fist it won't be a proble but as you get fill and the band gets tighter !!!!! with that said I know several people who chew all the time they just make sure not to swollow. also no soda/pop its the carbonation the gas can expand your pouch over time and can lead to problems with reflux and slippage . this usually takes a long time to happen so at first you think all is well then a year or two down the road look out.  on the food I know people who can and can't eat those food. what I see is every ones band is different and so each person can and can't eat the differernt foods celery and really stringy bean seem to be hard for most folk also raw carrots the fibers in these food are hard to chew to apple sauce texture which is what you need to chew your food too.try food at home and see how it goes and if you can't chew it up don't eat it and if you can I say good for you go for it  and raw verses cook does make a defference FYI I eat shrimp , mussles  and nut with out any problems.  the  no straw my doc. said was only for the first few months post=op so as not to swollow to much air and irratate  and over stretch you new pouch it needs to heal. like i said you may here other ways cause every doc has his/her own rules so follow to your best good luck sorry to be so wordy but hope the info helps

Greetings Soror,

I was just banded (Lap) weeks ago, but in my nutrition classes they tell you what the makers of the bands tell them as food to avoid that may have gotten stuck (or other issues) at some point with other cases. So for the shrimp, corn, celery, and nuts, I do believe this is the case.

As for the soda I believe it is a carbonation issue. You so do not want to introduce this back into your diet to quickly after being banded, but I have heard others drinking soda.

Caffeine does not really hurt the band, but does sometimes complicate surgery.

Straws and gum introduce more air in your stomach so you may not all the calories you need when you are banded for you may be full faster and have more gas.

We all have different ways of how we work with our band. It is something that is trial and error as well.

I will not be able to speak on the Realize Band, but good luck on your search.

At some point, I believe that you can alter the whole diet, but you really want to stick to the basics in the beginning.

Good Luck!

Hello there,

I have the Realize band. The nutrition doesn't change for either band and the same rules for success apply. I would suggest following the rules your surgeon gives you to the letter! This will help you to discipline yourself and to optimize your band for maximum success.

As you progress and get the weight loss ball rolling, you will be able to add things back into your diet IN MODERATION!!!! The reason they tell you no gum is because of the risk of swallowing it which would cause major problems if it got stuck. I'm not sure about the other things you've listed, my nutritionist and surgeon didn't have objections to any of those things.

Best wishes,

D

Oh, I forgot...NO SODA!!!! It gives me gas and causes me to bloat. A bunch of empty calories anyway!!!

Hi Zeta. The nutrition is pretty much the same for both. Surgeons plans are different so your best bet is to follow your surgeon's program. Someone on the band board had to go to the ER after they swallowed gum by mistake and it got stuck. My Nut says decaf for coffee, no soda because of the empty calories (some people drink diet soda flat), corn, celery and nuts are later out. Shrimp is fine later out. No straws because of the gas from using one.

Hope this helps.
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THANKS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!