No Wonder The Majority Of Us Had Regain With Our Old VBG's
I had my VBG back in 1987 in Toronto, Canada. I went from 260 lbs. down to 113 lbs. in two years and then had to diet to keep the weight down till I lost the battle nine years later during my bedrest pregnancy from hell. My surgeon operated with the following advice back then:
Don't overeat
Take a Flintstone vitamin daily
Be careful some people become bulimic (No elaboration on any of the above.)
People would come to his office from all over Ontario and further and we'd be sprawled out 30 - 40 at a time waiting to be seen hours later. It truly felt like we were a bunch of obese cattle crammed in the waiting room and spilling out through the building corridors.
Three follow up visits and then he lost his license for several years so was unavailable to obtain any further follow up. The way the staples were done back then almost always resulted in staple line disruption THUS causing us to want to overeat again. There was no true aftercare, support or suggestions on how to deal with head hunger. No advice to not drink carbonated drinks, etc.
I was never told at the time not to have MRI's due to the stainless steel staples (not sure when MRI's started being used though) or that we shouldn't have gastric tubes shoved down our stomachs. The first year out I ended up with heart attack like pains where I would be tested for it in the emergency room as no one including myself had any clue that the stapling could cause this with food that was unable to be digested.
Thank God there is now the internet, so much support out here and us patients are so much more demanding and less ignorant regarding what is done to our bodies. My Lap-band surgeon and his clinic have been terrific, what a change from my first weight loss surgery fiasco.
Don't overeat
Take a Flintstone vitamin daily
Be careful some people become bulimic (No elaboration on any of the above.)
People would come to his office from all over Ontario and further and we'd be sprawled out 30 - 40 at a time waiting to be seen hours later. It truly felt like we were a bunch of obese cattle crammed in the waiting room and spilling out through the building corridors.
Three follow up visits and then he lost his license for several years so was unavailable to obtain any further follow up. The way the staples were done back then almost always resulted in staple line disruption THUS causing us to want to overeat again. There was no true aftercare, support or suggestions on how to deal with head hunger. No advice to not drink carbonated drinks, etc.
I was never told at the time not to have MRI's due to the stainless steel staples (not sure when MRI's started being used though) or that we shouldn't have gastric tubes shoved down our stomachs. The first year out I ended up with heart attack like pains where I would be tested for it in the emergency room as no one including myself had any clue that the stapling could cause this with food that was unable to be digested.
Thank God there is now the internet, so much support out here and us patients are so much more demanding and less ignorant regarding what is done to our bodies. My Lap-band surgeon and his clinic have been terrific, what a change from my first weight loss surgery fiasco.
starrgirrl
on 12/21/08 2:09 am - los angeles, CA
on 12/21/08 2:09 am - los angeles, CA
Hi Donna-
I'm so sorry to hear about your expeirence with VBG -- it must have been so different back then. No internet to do the research, you really had to rely on the doctor for all your information. You were truly pioneering bariatric surgery at the time. Because if the experiences of you and all the others along the way, doctors have been able to cultivate new methods and have made vast improvements in bariatric surgery. I'm just sorry you had to go through the challenges you did.
It's great to hear that you're having success with the band. May you continue to experience grace on your journey!
I'm so sorry to hear about your expeirence with VBG -- it must have been so different back then. No internet to do the research, you really had to rely on the doctor for all your information. You were truly pioneering bariatric surgery at the time. Because if the experiences of you and all the others along the way, doctors have been able to cultivate new methods and have made vast improvements in bariatric surgery. I'm just sorry you had to go through the challenges you did.
It's great to hear that you're having success with the band. May you continue to experience grace on your journey!
Thanks starrgirrl,
Though we wls veterans were much better off than those who had the even earlier surgeries in the 60's & 70's. I forget the name but they were precursors of the malabsorption surgeries and people had ongoing debilitating diahreaha, ect.
For me personally the Lap-band has been nothing but wonderful and I'm thrilled I decided to go with it and my surgeon who I can't say enough good things about. The difference this time round thirty two months out is nothing but positive.
Though we wls veterans were much better off than those who had the even earlier surgeries in the 60's & 70's. I forget the name but they were precursors of the malabsorption surgeries and people had ongoing debilitating diahreaha, ect.
For me personally the Lap-band has been nothing but wonderful and I'm thrilled I decided to go with it and my surgeon who I can't say enough good things about. The difference this time round thirty two months out is nothing but positive.
On December 21, 2008 at 7:07 AM Pacific Time, DonnaA wrote:
I had my VBG back in 1987 in Toronto, Canada. I went from 260 lbs. down to 113 lbs. in two years and then had to diet to keep the weight down till I lost the battle nine years later during my bedrest pregnancy from hell. My surgeon operated with the following advice back then:Don't overeat
Take a Flintstone vitamin daily
Be careful some people become bulimic (No elaboration on any of the above.)
People would come to his office from all over Ontario and further and we'd be sprawled out 30 - 40 at a time waiting to be seen hours later. It truly felt like we were a bunch of obese cattle crammed in the waiting room and spilling out through the building corridors.
Three follow up visits and then he lost his license for several years so was unavailable to obtain any further follow up. The way the staples were done back then almost always resulted in staple line disruption THUS causing us to want to overeat again. There was no true aftercare, support or suggestions on how to deal with head hunger. No advice to not drink carbonated drinks, etc.
I was never told at the time not to have MRI's due to the stainless steel staples (not sure when MRI's started being used though) or that we shouldn't have gastric tubes shoved down our stomachs. The first year out I ended up with heart attack like pains where I would be tested for it in the emergency room as no one including myself had any clue that the stapling could cause this with food that was unable to be digested.
Thank God there is now the internet, so much support out here and us patients are so much more demanding and less ignorant regarding what is done to our bodies. My Lap-band surgeon and his clinic have been terrific, what a change from my first weight loss surgery fiasco.
I know they are still doing a form of that surgery, do you by any chance know how it differs today vs. in the 80s?
Not really though I know they have supposedly improved the placement of the staple lines so there is less chance of disruption. I would still prefer the Lap-band I have because I have had excellent results with great restriction with my fills. In Canada the VBG is no longer performed at all though I know it is to a much less degree in the states. When you check out the VBG forum here it is pretty dead.
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