Questions

 Hi everyone I was considering the lap band. I have loads of questions. I am 21 yo and I have been obese since I was 13. I decided to look into the lap band because my mom had gastric bypass and now she has the have iron treatment and b-12 shots for the rest of her life because they cut out the parts of her stomach that absorb those. I know it limits food but does it limit liquids as well? Does it ever get removed? And how much weight is normally lost in the first year? ( I know that, that will very from person to person) I have not talked it over with my mom yet I just wanted to get some feedback from people who have had it done! Thanks.

Hi, I can drink fluids just like I did before the band.  I don't drink fluids after eating for 45+ minutes per my surgeon's plan to not wash the food out of the upper pouch.  The band can get removed, but I would say the majority of people would gain a lot of weight back.
One thing with the band is that "slider" foods go down easily. Like ice cream, chips, cookies etc and you could eat soft foods and drink and wash the food on through, soooooooooooooo, it doesn't stop you from eating that stuff. It takes a lot of hard work and willpower not to snack.  I have had no problems, but more and more people are posting about complications, not sure if there's more problems or just more people posting.  Please research all the WLS's.  Have you looked into the VSG?  All of the nutrients are absorbed unlike the bypass.  Since the band is a mechanical device, there's always the chance that something can go wrong.  The VSG wasn't available when I had my surgery, with my insurance.

Hello, I have been banded for 2yrs + I have only lost 27lbs and then I became pregnant. I had the fluid removed during pregnancy and I gained a total of 45lbs during pregnancy I am 297lbs to date and I have started back getting my fills I am @ 5.6cc's of fluid anything else I feel fully restricted... I have a ? I can fell no restriction and with a little fluid I go to full restriction I cannot get to a comfy point with my fills I want to be restricted so I can start losing weight I have been just so overwelmed with the band I just need some pointers... I am not exercising @ the moment just to heavy to move... pls help with any ideas... I just joined bootcamp here @ work so hopefully that helps and I am also looking into joining WW.... 

Hi I cant help you with the banded part as I haven't done that yet due to ins process, but if you have never done WW IT WORKS!!! IF YOU DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU AND TRACK  you can and will lose weight. I have done WW for a few years off and on that's my problem OFF AND ON so I haven't made it very far. I'm now about 330 and last time I did WW before I started and rejoined I lost 47lbs bout 8 mos.  gained it back :(  Look into your job maybe they will reimburse you the cost. I work in the medical field and they pay us back the amount we spend so why not. I just need track and stop eating out and ill be OK!  I'm looking forward to the band even thou lots have say it hasn't worked or they wouldn't ever do it again, I guess I'm taking a leap of FAITH!  wont be until next march or April so we will see.  Good luck and I hope it works for you!

The Lapland is different with everybody weight wise.  Some people lose 100 pounds and some people lose 50 .  The way I look at it though it dont matter what the number is at the end of the year.  If you lose 50 pounds that is 50 pounds of fat off your body.  You are healthier from losing that much weight.

We was talking about this last week and it was a very inspiring post .  The numbers isn't all that matters when you lose weight.  Its how you feel, your eating better, self confidence is starting to come out , your blood work numbers are better. That is what is important .

The lap band is the hardest and slowest of all the weight loss.  The band dont stop me from eating chips, ice cream and cookies (trust me been having to deal with this for the last six weeks),  it dont stop me from eating unhealthy food choices, it dont make me get up and exercise  the band dont stop you from eating when you have head hunger, or emotional eating .

For you to lose weight its just like before you got the band , It's YOU that has to stop yourself from eating the chips, ice cream , it's YOU that has to get  yourself up and exercise, it's YOU that has that has to cook healthy foods for you to lose weight,  This is with any WLS you have done though .

All the band does is help with portion control and help you stay fuller just a little bit longer that is it nothing more nothing less.

Basically, it comes down to what you want to put into it   I have been a standstill for a good six weeks and its not the bands fault it's all my fault.

I got very frustrated and discouraged and I went back to eating some bad foods again that I hadn't touched in 8 months since my surgery, ( I never went over my one cup of food though )I got lazy in the exercise dept and I'm up 8 pounds.  I dont have nobody to blame that on but myself it's not the band's fault its my fault for doing it .

My doc told me when I first him was to things .

1. You get what you put into .
2. If you think the band is going to do all the work and you do nothing , then you need to leave my office right now .

I  am glad I got the band ,  even though I have screwed around the last six weeks in the back of my mind I still watched my portions and I still was watching my carbs in many ways.  I would have never done that before .  I am learning how to eat right, I am learning to watch my carbs, and calories and that is what I wanted from the band so its working . 


You wont be perfect through this trust me , and there will be many on here that will tell you the same thing .  You will have your days that you eat to much, you will have your days that you eat everything you shouldn't be eating, but IMO that is how we learn. .  The  mistakes are not as huge as they was before we got the band .

Steelerfan1,

Im new to all this as you know... You have posted on questions Ive asked before... I want to know how is it that you get the Lap Band but some people dont need a fill??? How does that work or not work??

Congrats on your weight loss!! ps how long has it taken you to lose that 63lbs? If you dont mind me asking!!

Jennifer

HI Jennifer,

There are several of us on here that has never had a fill and my doctor has several patients also that has never had a fill.  There is a guy in our support group that has lost over 200 pounds in 2 yrs that has never had a fill in his life and when he talked that one night in support it really got to me mentally and emotionally and because of his story it has helped me also

There are many reasons why I haven't had one yet.

I had some restriction right off the bat with my surgery , and I was so mentally prepared before my surgery knowing that I all I needed was a cup of food and two healthy snacks a day if I wanted them.

I keep a image in my head that the band is around my stomach and I dont need to eat that much food at a time and to be honest that has worked wonders for me . I am very mentally strong person when I need to be.  I quit smoking cold turkey 30 days before I had this surgery and to be very honest that was ten times harder then trying to lose weight.  I was a two pack a day smoker sometimes three and I will never want to go through that again that was so hard and I think in so many ways that helped me mentally to be a stronger person for this surgery .

I'm not perfect at this . Like I said in my previous post I have struggled the last six weeks and I came very very close to getting my first fill BUT , I really sat back and looked at what I was eating, not exercising and to be honest a fill dont  help with the emotional eating, a fill dont help with head hunger that stuff is all still there for us to deal with .

When I got to looking at what I was doing I just felt like I didn't need a fill because it was all me doing things wrong not the band .  Even if I got a fill it wouldn't help with what I was dealing with .

I have lost 64 pounds so far and over 30 inches since my surgery in Nov 2010. I am losing  about 7 pounds per month and I am very happy with that :o)    . I have went down a size in shoes lol, I am down almost two sizes in shirts. I was wearing a 26/28 now I'm down to 22/24's and can get into a 20 but still to tight , I'm down in size in pants also. 


Could I have lost more with a fill probably but I am happy with what I have accomplished so far. In less then  a yr I have quit smoking , down a size  in clothing , lost over 30 inches, and have lost 64 pounds. I will take that :o)  I would have never done any of these things without my band especially the smoking part .

wow 2-3 packs a day that's awesome!! Ive never been a smoker but I live with one... So that's great!  That's where I lack... The WILL POWER!!  What support group are you talking about? is it one you go to or someone on here. 200lbs that's crazy! I need to lose bout 155 lbs Id be what I was before I had my daughter. maybe one day I'll see that lol for YOU and THE GUY that lost 200lbs do you know what type of foods he was eating? what type of exercise did he do and for how long. I suck when it comes to that.. Ive done gyms, home, outside I just don't seem to have the will power to stick to it! :( any suggestions to jump start me before the time comes and I do the Band???

Thanks For all the input
Jennifer

Jennifer,

My doctor does a support group every month .

The guy in my support group was  a huge believer in not giving up his foods he loved.  He told us that he didn't get the band to give up  his favorite foods, but he got the band to love his favorite foods in moderation and not to eat them favorite foods all the time and I am a huge believer in that  !!!  That is how I went into the lap band also thanks to him and his thinking.

I went to a support group meeting before I had my surgery and he was talking that night. It really opened my eyes up on what the band is suppose to do and how to live with it  He said he eats healthy and then every two weeks he picks a day to eat what he wants to eat , but in  moderation .


I love pizza, I love french fries and yes those foods got me fat in some ways BUT , it was eating them foods 5 times a week or sitting down and eating a half of a pizza with a large Italian sub.   That is what got me fat .  Now I eat pizza once a month sometimes twice and I eat two slices and I am happy .

He did not give up any foods at all. His favorite food was McDonald's french fries and McNuggets.  He said he would eat one of them every day 7 days a week sometimes two times a day . Now he eats them every couple of weeks and gets a Happy Meal instead.

The band isn't in us to give up our foods , its in us to teach us proper portion control .  If you notice most thin people eat like a bandster . They eat about 4-6 oz of protein, some veggies and a starch .  That is why its so important to learn proper portions because we all know the band might not be with us forever . I could lose mine tomorrow, n ext week or five yrs from now.  If I dont learn these lessons that the band is teaching us then I would feel like I wasted my husbands money on this surgery because I didn't learn a darn thing from it :o) .

As far as exercise .He was very dedicated to the gym .He would do the gym four days a week for a hr and he would walk ont he days he didn't do the gym.

He is more dedicated them I am.  I got very lazy the last month but I'm getting back on track. I do Zumba with 2 pound weights two days a  week, I bowl in a bowling league one day , and I will be doing my Richard Simmons two days a week.

Have to be honest with you Jennifer exercise is the key to weight loss. There are few people never do have to exercise, but 95% of the people have to exercise in order to lose weight.

I can eat right, I can cut my calorie back to nothing but if I dont exercise then I wont lose weight . 

 Thanks you sooo much for all your thoughts and telling me about your journey... I really do want the Band and my instinct says to do the band so we will see... I'll just have to take that leap of Faith!  I'll keep you posted and I'll keep doing my research!

 

Gook Luck Jennifer