REALIZE Band vs LAP band

I'm wondering if there is any reports of one being better than the other? I had the REALIZE band placed recently, so far so good. My Surgeon asked if I had a preference and I didn't  I asked him to use his preference and I go the REALIZE BAND. I registered my band and Per thier website it's the better band and has a better track record. just wondering if any of you veterans can give me more info or your thoughts on this topic. is one really better than the other or does it depend on the individual?

You know I often sit and wonder what the difference is. I asked my doctor right before he did my surgery which did he use...the realize band or the Lap band...He said Realize band really fast. I asked why, what was better about the Realize band and all he said was that the port had something like little hooks that hook onto the muscle or something like that. Instead of having to sew it on it hooks itself or something. Didn't really understand what he was talking about, but I will say this. I've had the Realize band and never in a thousand years did I think it would have worked out this well for me. If you find out what the difference is let me know. Best wishes

IMHO I tell folks it’s like getting either a Honda or a Toyota.

 

No matter which band you chose, each band is good and will help – AS LONG AS YOU FOLLOW THE RULES!!!!!!!! It’s not the BAND that makes a person a success or not. These are only devices, and we must adhere to what is required from us.

 

Good luck, and remember we’re here for you

 

Hi Tom,
I notice you are on here a lot. I've posted but have had no response. I got the Realize band on May 3rd and have had two fills. I have not resistance at all yet. I am losing a little weight, but only because I am following all the rules. Do you have any advice for people like me, I am quickly getting discouraged and don't want to give up. I feel like I just on another one of my "diets" and they would only last a few months. I was hoping to get some help from the surgery but as of yet, nothing. It scares me to death that I will start putting weight on again like I have every other time I have been on a "diet". I have had 6 cc in the two fills I have had so far. My husband had the Lap band 1 month before me and have had 5 cc and has a lot of resistance and is losing weight easily, and had about 90 pounds to lose, I have about 150 to lose. I might add that he is a diabetic and I'm happy to say that he is down to 1 shot a day, that is something to really celebrate. Any advice?
Thanks,
Betty

 

Betty,

If you truly read my posts, you know I can sometime be long winded. Well this is one of those times, so you may want to take a nap before reading this.

The “sweet" spot you are looking for will be different on everyone. There is no magic number. There are many factors you need to take into consideration about obtaining “the sweet spot"

Fills: Fills are very different for everyone. The first thing to remember is how the fills are done. Some doctors do it under fluoroscope (x-ray and barium drink), while most do it “blindly". If under x-ray the Doctor can “see" exactly how ‘tight’ the band is, compared of a Doctor who puts in .5 cc in at a time. Sometimes it takes fewer visits to get to the “sweet" spot with fluoroscope then with blind.

Band: Realize has two size bands. 9cc and 11cc. Hence it could take more saline in one band to get to the “sweet spot" (ex. It will take 4.5 cc for a 9cc band to be half-fill, compared to 5.5cc for a 11cc band to be half-filled). Now before you freak about the “size" of the band, remember this: all bands (no matter what brand or size) all “close" to the same diameter. It may take a longer time (more saline) for the “larger" band to get that diameter then a smaller band.

Sweet spot duration: It is common for someone to lose their “sweet spot" – sometimes quickly. Remember, the stomach is a muscle. As we lose weight, the stomach will shrink. Since the stomach is a ‘smaller’, we lose the restriction around it. Thing of the band as a belt around your waist. If you lose enough weight, the “notch" that once was perfect for the belt is no longer doing the job, so you need to move to a lower notch. Also, when a fill is done, sometimes the stomach get’s irritated, which causes swelling, and gives a “tighter" restriction. After a day or so, the irritation will go away, the swelling will subside, and that “sweet spot" feeling will be lost. You may need to go back to the Doctor for a real tiny fill.

Then don't forget that stalls are natural part of weight loss. It seems the body “catches on" to what we have been doing, and holds onto everything. After a while, the lost restarts and things go well.

However, stalls can also because by eating (a) too much (b) not enough. I know it sounds a little contradictory, and I will try to explain.

Too much: While we need to make sure we hit our protein requirements (60-80 grams, or whatever your Doctor told you), we need to make sure the carbs, calories, etc are “acceptable". Remember, you don’t want to make your 80 grams of protein by eating 4 gallons of ice cream or a starchy carb.

Not enough: Again, make sure you are meeting your daily protein requirements. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WEIGHT LOSS. The body is a marvelous machine, and it will protect itself. If one doesn’t eat enough, the body’s metabolism will slow down - in order to keep itself functioning. If a person intake is less then what it expels, the body will start to “store" food.

Here are some tricks I do – maybe they can help:

Studies show it takes 20 – 30 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain you’re full. So the slower you eat, you will feel full – taking in less food. For me, during meals I take a bite of food – chew for 30 seconds – swallow – then wait another 30 seconds before I put another bite in my mouth (so every minute I eat something). My eating slowly, a plate of food lasts longer, and basically when I am done with my plate of food, I feel full.

Make sure you’re not drinking: 30 minutes before; during eating; or 30 minutes after you meal. (A) liquids can “fill" up the stomach fast. While you may feel full quicker, liquids get expel quicker then solids, so that full feeling will go away quickly. (B) liquids causes solids to pass through your “band funnel" quicker. When you have a band, think of your stomach as funnel shape. Now think of a kid at the beach playing with a funnel. If they put sand (food) in that funnel, and fills it up – it takes a while for the sand to run out of the funnel. Now if that kid fills the funnel up with sand, then pours water on top of it, the sand become more liquefied, and runs out of the funnel quicker.

Use smaller plates and/or utensils, so the amount of food seems larger – and then it may give you a false sense that you ate more then you did.

Also make sure you are hitting your protein amount. Protein will keep you full – longer. When I first had the operation I noticed if I ate 4 ounces of protein I didn’t feel full - however if I ate 6 ounces I did. I spoke to my Doctor about it. FOR ME he said that those “numbers" are somewhat guidelines. He went on to explain there are some folks who feel full on 2 ounces of protein while some need 6 or 8. He also explained that the calories intake should not be too much of a concern in the beginning. The way he explained it to me was: Prior the operation I may have been taken 3,000 calories per day. After the operation, with the amount of food I was taking in - I may have been taking in 1700 calories. While that’s 500 calories more then the recommended daily allotment - it was actually 1300 calories less then what I normally took in. So not only was I losing weight, but was also feel full. We need to worry about calories when our weight slows downs/stops or starts going up. ADVICE WARNING: TALK TO THE DOCTOR/NUTRITION BEFORE INCREASING /CHANGE YOUR INTAKE

Remember when eating: you eat it's Protein first, then fiber, then (if room) non-starchy cabs, then fats (very little). Again, it’s the Protein that will make you full.

I know we are a generation of instantaneous results, however remember we didn’t put all the weight on at once, it took years. So don’t you think losing it would take just as long? This isn't one of those miracle instantaneous weight loss programs. Those types of programs always fail. This is a way of life. Plus in all my years of losing weight I’ve come too realized with instantaneous weight lost comes instantaneous weight gain.

Many may compare their lost to someone else’s, and get discouraged. The amount of weight lost is affected by many factors. Everyone loses weight at different rates. It has to do with age, gender, one’s weight, exercise, etc.. A 10 pound lost to one person could be as affected as a 40 pound lost to another. Think of it this way: If a 400-pound person loses 40 pounds; a 300-pound person loses 30 pounds, a 200-pound person loses 20 pounds, and a 100-pound person loses 10 pounds – the 400-pound person didn’t necessarily loose more weight than the others. All three lost 10% of their body weight. Noticed, I started at 435 pounds. So my weight loss, while number wise may seem a lot, could be the “same result" if someone started at a lower weight and lost less “total amount" of pounds

And sometimes it is not the number of pounds that someone loses in a specified period of time that is important. Remember, if you are toning up muscle – your weight loss may seem to have slowed (or stopped), when in fact you are replacing fat with muscle. Muscle is heavier then fat. Someone weighing 200 pounds with a body fat percentage of 25 is carrying around 50 pounds of extra fat. That same person weighing 200 pounds with 10 percent body fat would be carrying only 20 pounds of fat. So it’s not the number that is important.

Be proud of your lost. No matter how small it may seem. Remember, it’s better not to lose a pound then to GAIN an ounce.

OK – now that I have that off my chest, I need to ask a few questions (and you need to be honest with yourself): Are you following the rules (not some of the times, but MOST of the time); Are you drinking your 64 ounces of non-carbonate decaffeinated liquids; Are you taking in your recommended allotment of protein (60 to 80 grams – unless your Doctor said otherwise); Are you grazing in between meals; are you eating fatty or starchy carbs; are you exercising; are you going to support group meetings and/or websites; have you spoken to your Doctor; have you followed-up with your nutritionists (many insurance companies will allow you X amount of visits per year); are you eating enough?

Tom,
Thanks for all your time in answering my post. I will try and answer all your questions. It may take two posts because my computer acts weird when I write too much in a reply. First I want to tell you that my first fill was blind (4 cc), the second one was flouroscope (2 cc), as will the rest be from now on. I have the 11 cc realize band. The doctor did ask me if I wanted another cc but he said he didn't advise it so I went with his wishes. Now I wish I had taken it. I do go back on Sept. 21 which seems like a life time away to me.

Now to answer your questions: I am following the rules "most of the time". During the work week I drink more than 64 ounces of liquids. I only drink water, crystal lite, and Minute Maid light lemonade, it is mostly water, at least 40 oz of it is water. On the weekends I have a harder time getting my liquids in, mainly because I have trained myself to drink 20 oz or water in the morning, and 20 oz or water in the afternoon at work and in between that and on the way home from work I drink 16 oz of Crystal lite. At home I drink mostly lemonaide. Drinking before, after and during meals I don't do that unless we are at a restaurant eating and then I just drink water with a wedge of lemon. We eat at a restaurant maybe 3 times a week. I no longer drink soft drinks or caffine (I was never really into caffine). I'm sure that part of my weight loss is not drinking soda because I used to drink a lot every day. My husband and I have things that we just don't allow in our house anymore, soda is one of them. Another is chips. That was my real downfall, eating chips almost every night while watching TV. Another is bread is not allowed in our house, because I bought one loaf of bread since we had surgery and my husband had problems not eating peanut butter sandwhiches. So no more bread. Of course now he wouldn't be able to eat bread because his lap band too tight. 

The protien I'm really not sure. I think I'm getting enough but I don't count it. Our dietitian said we both were eating plenty of protien. I usually have a protien bar for breakfast. I can't eat eggs. I don't eat protien first, then fiber etc. I will start doing that and counting my protien. I'm eating under 1000 calories a day. Maybe that is not enough. There is no grazing between meals except for a snack at work. I have breakfast at 6:30, snack at 11-either oz of cheese, piece of fruit, or sugar free pudding. My lunch is at 1 p.m., then we have supper about 7 p.m. Now that summer hours are over I will start work at 8 a.m instead of 7 a.m. and I might be able to give up that snack. One thing that we do is have a snack at night while watching TV. Mostly cheese, fruit, nuts, no sugar added fudgicles, or surgar free pudding or jello. I eat most of my calories after I get home from work. We probably do eat more starchy carbs than we should in our meals. I know we need to start eating more veggies. I'm not sure what fatty carbs are. The meat we eat mostly is chicken or fish, once in awhile we have pork or beef.

Exercising: No, I'm deterimined to get started today with an exercise program. I want to do it with my husband but I don't think that is ever going to happen so I need to start doing one on my own.

We were going to a nutritionist once a month but have had problems with their billing and I have told them we will not be bac****il they get the bill straight. It's too bad too because we really liked the person we were seeing but I can't keep going and having them bill be more money I don't owe them. We went to one support group that really wasn't a support group. It was a psych talking to a large group of people where there was no chance for interaction. The room was way too small, especially for all of us "large" people, too hot and he started his talk out saying " I hope you can all hear me because this is as loud as I get" he didn't have a speaker system he was working with and we didn't get anything out of it. I would love to go to a small support group, maybe 10-15 people where we can just get together just to support one another. I have not been able to find one yet. I tried this site when I first had surgery and got no responses from anyone. I hope this is different and this site can give me the help I need and I in turn can help others.

I'll be real honest with you. I had knee surgery about 5 years ago. I weighed some where around 287 pounds. The doctor wanted me to lose weight, I went to physical therapy and worked a year to get down to 214. After surgery and through recovery I hit 204, never got under 200 pounds. I did that through doing the same things I am doing right now. But it didn't work, I put the weight back on. My husband and I started our venture of bariatric surgery in August of 2009, I once agan was up to 287 pounds. With all the requirements our insurance company made us go through we were finally approved for surgery. Because our doctor wanted some time between our surgeries my husband had it on April 19 of this year and I had surgery on May 3 of this year. My fear is that history is going to repeat it's self and I will lose some weight and then put it all back on because the surgery is not helping me at all yet. I have no restriction and I'm afraid it just won't work for me. According to the doctor's scales I weighed 280 just before I went on the liquid diet in preparation for surgery. The first time I went to the doctor for a fill including the 2 weeks of liquid dieting I lost 19 pounds, That was in a 6 week span of time and I had lost half of that with the 2 week liquid diet. Two months later I went for my second fill and I had only lost 7 pounds. I've lost a total of 26 pounds. I'm hungry most of the time, I do get a feeling of not being hungry for maybe 2 hours after a meal.

I'm going to watch my protien, eat protien first, start my exercise program, and pray that my next fill will give me some resistance.

Thank you so much for your support and time in talking with me. I think that it will help a lot. I'm sure other people have gone through the same feelings of fear, and anger, that the surgery won't work that I'm going through right now and I know that I'm not alone in this.
Betty

Thank You all for your response! I will work my band to the fullest!

Thanks