1 Yr. Bandiversary Update

Hi Maria.  You are 100% correct; you have as much right to post your update as everyone else.

In this post I will not lay the blame on you nor the band because there is really not enough information for me to see where the problem lies. I am not going to be mean or mean spirit toward you and I thank you giving me the same respect.  My post is not only for you but for general information.

I read where you say that you have had 13 fills and no restriction, yet it seems to me like you are heading in the right direction.  This is just me making an assumption going by your typed words, you said “As far as food I do have to be careful with certain things now........rice/pasta........can do a few bites every now n then. Dense proteins I have to chew very good n occasionally get stuck".  In reading that, I can’t help but to think that you indeed have restriction, granted you are not at your sweet spot, however you cannot honest say that you have “NO restriction"

 

You also said that you don’t know how much you have in your band, so flipped port aside, you cannot determine restriction by the number of fills that you had, it not about the number of fills but the amount of saline. 

 

1.      11cc is the advertised capicity of your band. Depending on the fat pad on a person stomach, they very well could need more than the advertise amount.  I have a 4 cc band.  Right after surgery my doctor told me that due to the fact that I did not have much fat on the pad of my stomach (my explaining this could be a little off, but I hope you can follow me) that it is a great possibility that I may have to have more than the 4 cc and this was ok because my band will easily hold in the excess of 5.5 cc.  and he was on the money.  Before I gotten some taken out, (I got some out due to having surgery and I thought I might have a panic attack in recovery if it tighten up on me while I was under and I did not want to take this chance.  My sweet spot was 4.8 CC. And it was more than 13 fills, because once I got close, a fill was as little as .1cc.  I have not gone back up to that amount because I am not in the states, and I did not want to be fill that much out of reach of my doctor, so right now, yes it is harder for me because I am working harder than what I like but I know my band still work.

 

2.     Now I am not trying to make you change your mind…if you want a revision, then a revision is what you need to do because a working tool is only as good as a person who has it.  I am not saying your tool is working or isn’t working, I have no way to know this but can’t help but wonder how do you know that you can’t reach restriction if you don’t know how much you have in your band and you say that you don’t have a leak, on what are you judging that your band is malfunction.  I too was beyond my 1^st year before I got to the sweet spot but as long as I was losing and not gaining, I was happy with that.

 

   Again, I hope that you get the chance to get revised to the surgery of your choice and that it does for you exactly what you desire.

 

Take care.

By no restriction I mean NO SWEET SPOT! I don't understand why ppl have an issue with me saying that! If someone post on the forum that they finally  have restriction...........that is generally what they post! 80% of the time they don't get on post "I finally have the sweet spot", they will usually say............."I finally have restriction". Therefore...............I use the term as most ppl on here use the term.

Now if u were happy with going over a yr. with no restriction that is fine. I however...........m NOT! Just how many ppl do u think would actually get the band if they were told in advance..........."It may be at least a yr. b4 u get restriction"???????????? Well I would think not many!

I feel that ppl should have access to that info BEFORE they have surgery! That is one reason I post these things! If others, such as yourself want to b happy with going over a yr. with no restriction...........well that's fine. I for one...........am NOT happy with that, and I think most ppl would not b!

Please dont think I am coming at you because normal I reply and then leave it but something you said is very curious to me.  And I want to clear of some myths for the newbies sake. 

A person sweet spot will always involve restriction but restriction will not always involve the sweet spot. That is my issue with hearing NO RESTRICTION and then in the next sentence restriction is define by what you can and can not do.

You can have restriction, lose weight and lose the restriction...I was not without restriction for a year, it took me a year to get to my sweet spot.  I had restriction quite a bit but each time that I lost a good amount of weight, I lost the restriction meaning that I could eat more and got hungry more often or that my weightloss just stopped and then I will have to get a fill to cut down on my volumn of food that I could consume, it was only after I got filled to 4.8 that I hit the sweet spot, which mean I had the ultimate restriction.  Once I got to the sweet spot, I still saw my doctor every 6 weeks but I did not have to get a fill due to the fact that I was losing at a good rate and I was staying full for 5 to 6 hours before I needed to eat again without snacking in between..that is the ultimate restriction that is call the sweet spot.

Where I am not telling you what words to use, I respectful say you are using the incorrect wording to describe your issues.."you dont have enough restriction" "your hunger level in between meals is not that of your liking"  

Being the human that I am, I cant help wonder before the port issue if a fill is not what you need, oh course now, with the port, at the least you would need a out patient surgery.

I know you want a revision, are you close to getting one?

I told myself I wouldnt jump in on this but ...I don't listen very well sometimes. Maria, I have respect for where you are and wi**** were better for you. .  All I want to say, with all due respect, is I too don't understand how you can judge your restriction if you do not know how much saline is in your band, like Luscious pointed out. 

Ty Jolene. I was keeping up with the amounts, but when u have to get so many............it can b easy to lose track after about 10 of them! No one should have to go through that much just to even have a chance at getting what they pay for!

Best of luck with your band!

actually, a lot of doctors do not tell patients how much saline is in their bands - its just another number to focus on (like the number on the scale) that doesn't mean anything.

Restriction is not the amount of fluid in band, its the feeling of satiety and the # of CCs that gets you to that point differs for every person.

Maria,

I am very sorry for your experience with the band.  However, I hope you realize no weight loss surgery is the answer.  It is only a tool to help you in the process.  I know several people who have had gastric bypass who gained back the weight.  Clearly, they didn't utilize the tool that was given to them.  I also know several people who have had gastric bypass and kept the weight off. It seems they changed their lifestyle and utilized the tool they were given. 

It seems to me that your hopes may not be achievable because you are looking for the magic potion.  Based on your posts, it seems like you may restriction (trouble eating some food, etc).  Clearly, you want more.  Fair enough.  The band is not for everybody.  But do you really think presenting such negative information to a bunch of hopeful bandsters is doing good?  Or is it just making you feel better at the expense of so many new (and hopeful) bandsters.  There is tons of information about the band out there and tons of bashing as well....that is fine.  I am a researcher by nature so when I was considering WLS I took into account the postivies and the negatives and was aware that the band doesn't work for everybody.  I also read many of the negatives printed from those who have had revisions (mostly on the sleeve message board).  I am hopeful that others WLS candidates are reading the OH message boards and when they make a decision to get the surgery they are also fully informed.  But coming to a board full of pre-band and new bandsters trying to make a life style change, and then hitting them up with such negative information, is not the best means of spreading your gospel.   Move on and let those new bandsters (like myself) come to these boards for inspiration, hope and answers to our quesitons. Thanks and good luck on your revision. 

Sorry I didn't spell check before posting!

And yes, Maria, in response to your last post, I have only been banded for 3 weeks and know that it may take over a year before I reach my "sweet spot" as you say.  I have read this many times on OH.  However, it took me 37 years to get to my heaviest point so a year (as long as the weight is going down, albeit slowly) doesn't seem that far fetched.  The way I look at it- it gives my skin the chance to catch up with the weight I am losing. 

Please all...refrain from the name calling.  We are all adults!   

I don't recall calling anyone a name on here. Did I?

And yes we are all adults. We should act that way. That would include not attacking and making accusations as well. Don't u think???