Newbie from Chicago!!!

I am a 36 year old teacher from Chicago.. I started researching the Lap Band Surgery 3 years ago and stumbled upon this gem of a site!! I have to admit, I was a little overwhelmed by all of the info and left for a while..  I've decided to have the Lap Band surgery so that I can continue to enjoy a wonderfully bless and prosperous life! Only recently I have begun to "feel my size"... My knees are telling the story of all 365 lbs of me!! I am just being my 6-month supervised weight loss phase and I will definitely be a "frequent flier" on the board this time..

I'm finally ready!!! I'm open to all info!!! Thanks Guys!!!

I can totally understand the knees !! When I got my surgery I was close to you at 348 and that much weight is rough on the knees.

Just losing 56 pounds from the surgery has made a world of difference in the knees and plus doing exercise every day is helping it to get stronger to .

Good luck on your six month supervised diet. It will go fast and you will be in for your surgery before you know it :o)

THanks for your reply and encouragement!! I really appreciate it... I'm hoping to lose at least 40-50 lbs...Congrats on your success!!!.. How long did it take you to start working out after surgery??

I could start walking anytime I wanted but I will be honest I was lazy the first month and half after my surgery .  I was losing weight and there just wasn't a exercise I really enjoyed. 

Me personaly , I hate going to a gym and workout . I think just working out  on machines is so boring and does not hold my attention at all and if it dont hold my attention then I wont do it .

I found Zumba in the middle of January and fell in love with it and now that is what I do .  It burns alot of calories and it does a major toning workout in the process with 2 - 3 pound weights.

I was allowed to go back to exercise at six weeks and I did go back to bowling on my league around 4 weeks .

Have you researched the sleeve ? It's restrictive like the band with out the malabsorption of the RNY and the DS. The sleeve has a higher EWL and there are no adjustments needed.

I lost 70 lbs with my band, but it was a very painful way for me to lose weight.

I have researched the sleeve and plication, neither are procedures I would consider based on placement of sutures and/or staples and cutting... I don't want any of those...

I'm also concerned about the risk of blood clots from these surgeries..

Why was it painful for you to lose weight??

Thanks for the information!!

Why was it painful for you to lose weight??

I had left shoulder pain every single day the entire time I was banded.There is so much damage to my diaphragm that it may be permanent, unfortunately only time will tell. It's a very real concern with gastric banding and more people need to know that this is a consequence of having a foreign object that close to your diaphragm and the Vagus nerves.

I suffered on and off for years with esophageal spasms, chest pain, ear aches, and neck pain that was wrongly diagnosed as anxiety attacks/panic attacks, which was so severe that I lost quality of life and spent many years in and barely out of bed.

What is esophageal spasm?

Esophageal spasms are irregular, uncoordinated, and sometimes powerful contractions of the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. Normally, contractions of the esophagus are coordinated, moving the food through the esophagus and into the stomach.

There are two main types of esophageal spasm:

• Diffuse esophageal spasm. This type of spasm is an irregular, uncoordinated squeezing of the muscles of the esophagus. This can prevent food from reaching the stomach, leaving it stuck in the esophagus.
• THIS IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND because many banded people think that their food is stuck due to not chewing well or they think they ate too fast.
•  
• Nutcracker esophagus. This type of spasm squeezes the esophagus in a coordinated way, the same way food is moved down the esophagus normally. But the squeezing is very strong. These contractions move food through the esophagus but can cause severe pain.
• Again, this is often explained away by band surgeons and banded patients as eating to fast and/or not chewing well enough.

You can have both types of esophageal spasm.

After many ER visits, doctor visits, specialists, procedures and hospital admissions still being wrongly diagnosed. I was finally diagnosed with dysphagia ( difficulty in swallowing ), and esophageal motility disorder ( difficulty in swallowing,regurgitation of food and esophageal spasms )

Many lap band patients will have a secondary surgery done to fix a flipped port, a slipped band , eroded band and/or esophagus, and any other number of complications within the first 5 years of their original band surgery. There are lap band vets here who will tell you that they have had secondary surgeries done.

There is nothing " Minimally invasive " about being banded. Between my daughter and myself we have now had 6 minimally invasive surgeries due to the band.

My apologies for bumping this thread. I just wanted to add the following information for those who may be experiencing esophageal problems..." Being Stuck "

Check out this link and then see if your surgeon or PCP can order you this test.There is a lot of really useful links here.

What is achalasia?

www.medicinenet.com/achalasia/article.htm#tocb

Esophageal manometry

Another test, esophageal manometry, can demonstrate specifically the abnormalities of muscle function that are characteristic of achalasia, that is, the failure of the muscle of the esophageal body to contract with swallowing and the failure of the lower esophageal sphincter to relax. For manometry, a thin tube that measures the pressure generated by the contracting esophageal muscle is passed through the nose, down the back of the throat and into the esophagus. In a patient with achalasia, no peristaltic waves are seen in the lower half of the esophagus after swallows, and the pressure within the contracted lower esophageal sphincter does not fall with the swallow. In patients with vigorous achalasia, a strong simultaneous contraction of the muscle may be seen in the lower esophageal body. An advantage of manometry is that it can diagnose achalasia early in its course at a time at which the video-esophagram may be normal.

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You'll be so glad you did this at 36 instead of waiting till you're in your 50's like I did.  :)

As to your question about how soon you can start working out.. almost all bariatric surgeons will let you walk after surgery.  More strenuous activity they range in their answers, but it's pretty safe to say that at 6 weeks you'll probably be cleared for most activities. 

I was even heavier than you at 383 on day of surgery, and what I did for exercise after surgery was walk.  I didn't start out at walking 2 miles..lol.. I just walked every day, and each day went a bit further.  I worked up to 1 mile and then 2 miles.

A week came when it rained every..single..day.  I didn't want to walk in the rain, so I took myself to the local gym and inquired about rates.  They had a weekly rate that was affordable, so I did that for a long time .. liked it.. liked the people.  Now I'm basically a gym rat.. still not skinny (not sure I want to be skinny.. not a good look at 53  lol), but definitely lots lots better.  My knees were starting to complain at 383.. and they still are stiff some mornings, but as I get stronger, they're not nearly as bad as they were.

As pumpkin suggested, do look into the VSG and perhaps Gastric Plication (lesser known, but supposed to work like the sleeve without removal of stomach tissue).  Some people have great issues with the band.  I'm not one of them, my band and I get along well together, but still encourage people to consider all their options before surgery. 

Hey Newbie from Chicago!  I was born in Peoria and lived in Champaign for a long time and now I'm down South.  Miss Chicago!!!!  I begun my 6 month dr/insurance thing last July and had my Lapband this past Feb.  I started walked and trying to watch what I ate during the 6 months but I was only able to lose 10 lbs on my own.  SInce my surgery I'm down 66 for a total of 76 lbs.  I feel GREAT! 

I walk 5 (try to do 6) days a week for about 45 to 50 min.  I was going to the gym too for 3 days a week but then baseball season started for my younger son and AAU basketball for my oldest...so walking is about all I can find time for now. 

Your surgery will be here before you know it!!!  Best of luck!!!