Post on the DS board by a lapbander

Post Date: 7/2/07 12:17 pm Let me first say that some RNYers have done a superb job with their weight maintenance  Oh God  I've been looking on the weight loss graduates board  and the amount of regain is incredibly sad and discouraging.  Most people there have had the RNY.   I've not seen any post from DSers, but I know as far as weight loss is concerned you guys win a couple of big prizes.  The Lap Band is not widely represented there neither but I do know that most of us too have not learned eating behavior so well that we could maintain without a Band or fill for that matter.  Well Thank God for ajustability.  As long as my Band stays good, I can have it tightened or loosened if need be.  Which means I could always control my food intake physically if I am losing control mentally/emotionally. What's so sad is that it seems people never realized that they would have to make permanent eating changes, that they would have to work with their sugeries.  That yeah, they would have to exercise and work on the "head issues" "emotional issues"  "compulsions & addiction" Good Lord, I just don't know what I would do.  It is not like they gained, 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50lbs.  Some have gained just about every lost pound back.  I would just not be able to face the world.  Before I had WLS I did all the research I could on people who lost weight and kept it off and there are no secrets - it is intake, exercise, and keeping in a weight range or not going above say 5 or 10lbs of your goal weight  and if that happens, you immediately take action.  Why wouldn't they have taken action before they re-inflated to capacity every single fat cell in their bodies?  So many want revisions to fix what they believe is wrong with their RNYs. Most think their stomas have enlarged or their  pouches stretched.  A lot of times,  further testing proves that they are just grazing all day - eating too much.  God Bless them,  they all seem to be on "diets" to reset their stomachs. Whoa, how gosh darn depressing.  I feel so bad for them.  Where do you go from WLS  I guess back to traditional fad dieting?  Yeah, there is revisions but if  your equipment works and you are just not using it  how will they behave with a new tool.  I could hear it now "yeah I took a break from my supplements"  People say these things.  I know we are not perfect, but must we be on a suicide mission?  We know what is asked of us to have these surgeries.  We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo BLESSED.  Do you see all the obese people suffering out there?  Sometimes the obese make me want to cry - I want to save them all because I was saved.  And because I was saved I refuse to give my gift away even if the day comes and my tool stops working I will work to maintain.  I am so grateful and worthy of this blessing. Best, Liela     My Reply: Post Date: 7/3/07 12:36 am

There are probably a thousand RNY grads *****ad this board, and there seems to be 10 who are posting on the grad board about a regain of 10-20 pounds, some a little more. This is hardly representative of the those who have RNY.  Overall, probably a couple hundred thousand have had RNY in the last 2-3 years,  and the ones I personally have met aren't regaining. You don't see DS post much there because there aren't as many who frequent this site and the number who have had DS is lower than RNY as it isn't a surgery done by that many surgeons.  Also after declaring thier own surgery as the perfect one including the ability to eat thousands of calories without any regain, who do you think is going to then admit they regained 20 pounds at 2 years out?  I have noticed those who denigrate other's surgical choices always have chosen a DIFFERENT SURGICAL PATH than the one you post negatively about. Funny how that works!  Since Lap Band is becoming more popular, you will see many more suscess stories and also you will see those who aren't doing as well as they wanted. This is how it is, we're either fat people, or formerly fat people trying to get or stay at a heathier weight.

The old southern idea that you can say anything as long as you add " God bless them"  is a myth, and I resent the hell out of your post and your attitude. Did you cross post on the Grad board and the RNY board?

I sincerely hope that your choice works for you as well as you need it to, but how sad that you've burned your bridges with this post saying how you will never have a problem with regain. Must be nice to be so superior, how in the world did you ever get FAT ENOUGH  to need surgery????

wow ... I feel very sad for that person.  I hope she never has a problem with lap-band slippage or erosion ... I know MANY who have, and have had to have their bands removed.  Seems like she has ALL the answers ... God bless her.

Yeah, I'm God.  I have all the answers.  I am perfect.  I'll never gain a pound.  I'll never have a single problem. Thanks for the Blessings. I take them from wherever they come from.   God Bless you too.  That comes from my heart

I don't respond much to things like this and am kind of stunned as to what to say except . WOW, what the heck is that about? Shee****'s pretty appauling. The main reason I did end up responding to this is because I went over to the DS forum which I never do, because I did not have DS, and have not really had any reason to. But after reading your post I went to check it out to see what might be said about this post you copied over to here.  I haven't come across it yet, but I did see the "What did you eat" today post. And I'm either confused, or I should be amused. I do not know if that post is a joke or what.  Is it? Am I reading that someone who has DS can eat a menu during the day of a double cheeseburger? Cinnamon rolls? Candies? Fried chicken etc etc all in a day and not be gaining weight?? The foods I saw and the quantities I saw were mind boggling.  I never considered DS, it was just becoming more popular after I had made my decision for RNY and didn't ever really learn much about it. I know you malabsorb worse, etc and food kind of passes through? Its a sleeve? Or is that something different? I think it is, see I told you I don't know anything about the DS,or the Gastric sleeve.  Anyways, was it a joke for us non DS'ers? Or are they really able to eat that and get away with it?  If so, how is that anything but as they say the "easy way out"?  Im not saying it should be easy or hard for anyone. We who have had whichever surgery we chose did it for our health, to live better lives, to have a second chance!  What ever choice we make should be respected, I don't understand the mightier, superior attitude I have seen in posts over the year from people who had DS, or RNY, or Band, that their chocie was better. Isn't the goal for us all to get some control, get that second chance. No one said it would be easy, I know I was told I could regain if I didn't make good choices as I went along.  The surgery got me here, I couldn't do it on my own, it is up to me and only me to stay here.  I'm just mind boggled over the superiority thing. I'm done. Thanks for listening. I hope you or someone has an aswer for me regarding the food they have posted as haven eaten for the day. It has to be a joke! Thanks again! :)

It isn't a joke. We post those every day, and if you read them for a week or so, you'll see the wide variety of foods people have. Some *****ply are new post-ops, some are many years out, and some are in between.  We do eat well. If that makes the surgery superior, so be it. I won't say that, though.  Not everyone can eat everything. Most of it is in moderation. You are more than welcome to ask questions over on the DS board. We hardly ever bite. Jeanie

I just crack up every time I see that "come to the dark side....we have cookies"......LOL - I think that is the funniest thing ever !!  Glad to see some have a great sense of humor..... D

I found it on a chronic pain forum, and I just had to grab it. I think it's funny, too.  J

Hi Jeanie, thank you for your input on my questions. I do appreciate it! Have a great July 4th.  :)

Not a joke...I don't post to the what-did-you-eat threads because I'm still unwilling to publicly admit how much junk (meaning sugar-laden) food I eat. For a DS'er, fried chicken and steak and cheese omelettes are good food because they are high in protein and because we don't absorb about 80% of the fat those foods contain.  I don't do well with wheat flour post-op, so cinnamon rolls, while tempting, carry too high a "price."  (They would probably cause stinky BM's and perhaps diarrhea.)   In fairness to the DS, though, when I had a band the cinnamon roll would have made me barf.  So I guess I can take a small bite and move on! Lemme give you an example...Nutrition Data.com says that a chicken breast (with skin) breaded and fried yields 364 calories with 167 calories (18g) from fat.   If you and I sit down and each consume a whole breaded fried chicken breast with skin, you will absorb 364 calories, 167 of them from fat and I will absorb 230 calories, 33 of them from fat.  It doesn't seem fair, I know.  But that's how it works.  OF course, the vitamins and nutrients contained in those fat calories are ALSO being malabsorbed...so I have to take supplements--in addition to the multis and calcium I was taking anyway--to keep from developing deficiencies. Here's from the OH DS explanation: Like the gastric bypass, the duodenal switch causes restriction: this means that it reduces how much food you can eat before getting full. However, the duodenal switch is also a highly malabsorptive operation. This means that it reduces the percentage of calories that you absorb from your food.

This operation is the most common and successful combined procedure in the United States. First, the surgeon creates a small stomach pouch to restrict food intake. Next, a Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch to allow food to bypass the lower stomach.
*******This reduces the amount of calories and nutrients the body absorbs.*****
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This is taken from the OH definition of RNY... just clearing up any concern out there that RNY does not result in malabsorption. Because we don't absorb everything we consume, albeit DS does have a greater malabsorption rate.

We also have to take supplements.

I personally think that any surgery resulting in a healthier lifestyle is wonderful. I don't want to eat cheeseburgers laden with fat everyday. It not only messes with weight, but tons of other body functions can be harmed by consuming too much fat, or plainly too much of anything. I had surgery to get healthy, live longer, and if I look better along the way.. GREAT!

No matter how I did it! :congrats: to us all!

WLS is a wonderful thing!