Anyone tried VBLOC therapy??

This company has an add at the bottom of the page on this board. ANyone know anyone who has tried it? Either fresh or as a revision? Does it work?

I have heard ads on tv and the radio.  they are doing clinical trials now.  I know there is a trial in boston at tufts nemc.

Like the other poster, I have heard the radio ads.  I believe one of the exclusion criteria is having had any type of weight loss surgery. check out clinicaltrials.gov for more information.

thanks for the info. I will try that. Your avatar is adorable. I am a cat-lover like you!

Hi there! I'm new here and was looking in to what others thought of about the VBloc therapy.  I have extensively looked in to the medical reports of findings (the study has been on going for 3 years now, not only in the US but also in England and Australia).  What has been misrepresented here, I believe, is the excess weight loss numbers.  The initial excess weight loss has been an average of 29.3% in the FIRST SIX months, post op.  They have found in the past 3 years of the study that the VBloc therapy is a good 'middle ground' surgery for those not wanting such invasive procedures as R-N-Y, etc.  It also has thus far proven to have a faster pacing of weight loss than the lapband system.  Although the first generation belt was rather cumbersome, the second generation is much smaller and the company is working on eventually working it to where there would be a self regulating (as for the study they're trying to figure out which rythms/ time pacings would be most ideal for maximum weight loss.)  I figure I've been lugging around my gut for years, the least I can do to help lose it is wear the belt!  The way it works is they attatch a little pacemaker type device inside and wrap the coils around either side of your abdominal vagal nerve.  What then happens is it sends signals to your brain making you feel fuller sooner, when to eat, etc.  HOWEVER, unlike what some people  have said 'it's only for people who overeat', it also slows the rate of food absorbtion, breaks it down differently, etc.  so your body isn't taking on every calorie.  The best part, IMHO, is it's only a 45 minute same day surgery, you don't have to keep going back and forth for resets/ fills, and if you so choose to, you can have the implant easily removed.  Thus far there have been NO adverse events reported, and the only 'side effects' are being a bit more gassy with some foods, less ability to handle sugary/ fatty stuff, and the typical post surg stuff you deal with after laproscopic surgery.  If, when the trial ends and they get the full FDA approval, it goes on the market they are expecting it to cost roughly $20000 or so...    I'm a HUGE research and info nut, so I hope it helps clear up any misinformation!
 "and now stepping off her humble soapbox, ME!"

Hi Earthy-Mami:

So glad to see your post and you are absolutely correct in your assessment above.  I had the vbloc surgery a week ago Friday and am still recovering.  Took a little bit longer in the recovery part than I had originally anticipated but everyday I get better and hope to be close to normal by this Sunday before I go to work on Monday.  I will be given my band to wear next week on Wednesday and then we are off to the races.  There is a 1 in 3 chance (due to the need to measure the placebo effect) that my device will be turned off for the 1st year but then in years 2 thru 5 everyone has theirs turned on.  I had my implant done at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, CA.  I feel very fortunate to be a part of this study and am looking forward to seeing some significant results over the next 6 months initially and then over the next 5 years.  I love the fact that this study is for 5 years because that means that I have access to the top Drs and nurses at Scripps to talk to me about my eating and exercise program.  I was surprised to see in your post that the lap band rate of weight loss is similar to the vbloc because I thought that the v-bloc was the slowest of the three (gastric, lapband, vbloc).  My nurse has warned me that vbloc is a marathon compared to the others that may be considered a sprint.

Best of luck to all out there no matter what method of weight loss you choose.

Hi Socalgal140!  Thank you for your reply!  Like you I had my implant done last week as well (on Monday, the 11th).  I went home on Tuesday, just had some super low Blood Pressure issues, but that's about it!  Got my "gear" at the follow up yesterday (thursday). I was pretty stoked as I had already managed to lose 4lbs since surgery!!  I am super excited about the dietician portion as well, even in journaling (and having that ever so handy calorie king book & very nice new scale!) it's amazing what one can consume in a 24 hour period!  I don't know about you, but it's taking a little getting used to having the belt positioned 'just so'. Any suggestions?  Hope everything goes well with you & thank you again for your reply!!

PS- from the lapband website, the average weight loss the first year is from 2 to 3 lbs a week, with 1 lb a week being more likely... 

Hi there Earthy-Mami!  How cool that we can go thru this journey together - I am so excited that you are doing this too!  I got my implant on the 8th but my first doctors visit is not until next Tues the 26th.  Still pleased with the results so far even without the belt - down 12 pounds but it seems to have stopped there. I still have so much to lose... I am hoping it picks back up again once I get my belt on Tues.  My starting weight was 291 (Lord help me) and my goal weight is somewhere between 140 to 160. I had an awful time with constipation and I finally resolved that with Miralax and colace from the advice of some on this site.  It took me a while to recover to be able to go back to full time work because it is difficult to sit at a chair 8 hours a day after surgery.  My first day back to work will be this Monday.  I am a little nervous about getting the belt next week as my tummy is still a little sore from surgery.  Is yours bothering you at all with the belt on so soon after surgery?  Sounds like you got some cool stuff on your first doctor visit - I hope I get some of the same stuff :)  As for what the effects felt like after the surgery, it kinda felt like my esophagus (sp?) was full very shortly after I ate and not necessarily my stomach.  Do you have a full feeling in your esophagus or in your stomach area?  Also have had a bit of an issue with burping in the beginning and wonder if that will start back up again with the belt.  I look forward to tracking our journeys together! :)

 Please both of you, keep posting with updates.   I am very interested in seeing if this V-bloc therapy works.  Thank you for posting what you already have.

Hi ShielaC!  Will be more than happy to keep posting for you!  However, with it still being in the clinical trial phase, for the next year we don't know which of us is 'on' (receiving therapy) and which is 'off' (not receiving therapy).  The programmer said there's no use in trying to guess also as it's always recording info from us, so we will feel sensations from time to time (plus in past studies those who guessed only had a 50/50 ratio of getting their guess right- half were right, half were wrong.)  At the end of the year then we find out if we were or werent and then EVERYONE gets turned on.  In the interim, we all are in the medical weight management program (everyone gets the same stuff) so hopefully we'll all be losing at various rates- some a lot, some a little, and some possibly none at all...  The on/off rate is for every 2 people on, 1 is off.  UNLESS you are of the type 2 diabetes group, then it's a 1:1ratio.  It is SO EXCITING to be given the privelege of being a part of something that could potentially help thousands who are hesitant to do the traditional forms of bariatric surgery...  Soooo, long story short, we 2 could be on or we could be off, or one of each, so take what we said in stride and we'll all get the surprise of knowing the truth this time next year!!  AND WE'RE OFF!!!!