Gastric Banding - How it works

I didn't realize until talking with a friend recently how little I've explained just what the Lap Band is or how it works.  So, I thought I would share a little about that. 

I have a silicone band that is placed around the upper part of my stomach which creates a very small stomach pouch.  The band restricts how fast food can flow into my stomach.  It kind of works like a funnel.  When I eat, the food goes into the pouch first, and then moves past the band into the rest of my stomach and digestive system.  Inside the band there is tubing that can be inflated.  The tubing is attached to a port under my skin that can be accessed with a needle.  Over the next year I will be going for an office visit to have saline solution added through the port to gradually tighten or "fill" the band and make the opening smaller, thereby slowing down how quickly the small stomach pouch empties.  There are 2 types or brands of bands used in the United States.  The Lap Band and the Realize Band.  I chose the Lap Band because it has been around the longest and I know people who have had success with it.

Here is a link that tells more about the Lap Band:  The LAP-BAND® Device & How It Works

So, right now the band has been attached to my upper stomach.  It has not been tightened yet, so it's just there and is giving some restriction, but not a whole lot yet.  I go for my first "fill" to have it tightened for the first time on June 25th.  I'm anxious to see how much difference it makes!

4 Weeks Post Op

The last week has gone a little better.  I have lost a total of 29 pounds since the very beginning of this journey.  Woo Hoo!  I think walking (almost) every day is helping a whole lot.  I have found myself thinking that I can just eat whatever I want and then getting some kinds of meat or bread "stuck".  It's pretty painful when that happens and you only have the options of waiting for it to go through the band or throw it back up.  Most of the time it goes through and luckily I have not been sick very many times.  When I have something that doesn't go through I stretch and/or walk around until it goes on past the band.  For the most part, though everything is going down pretty easy.  Too easy, I think.  My first band fill is on June 25th.  I can't wait to see what difference that makes!

3 Weeks Post-op

This has been a frustrating week.  I am able to eat just about anything I want to now.  I don't really feel any restriction at all.  I am still tracking my food intake and have started walking on my lunch breaks at work.  I am really anxious to have the first fill, because right now I am hungry a lot and just feel like I am on another diet.  I know the band is not some magical cure-all, but it is supposed to help and right now I don't feel like it's even there. May calorie range has been between 950 and 1200, I'm trying to keep the carbs below 100 and trying to get 60 grams or more of protien a day.  It has not been easy.  The scales are not moving, either.  I haven't lost anything this week.  I was told that from weeks 4 - 6 I would see progress stall, but I didn't expect to see it at week 3.  I am bummed, but still plugging along!

2 Weeks Post-op

The last week has gone OK.  Physically, I feel like I am completely back to normal.  I have no pain or discomfort whatsoever and my incisions are doing nicely and are just about healed.  I am able to eat increasingly more  at a time and do feel hungry between meals now.  I wasn't expecting to feel this way for a couple more weeks out.  I don't feel a whole lot of restriction; however, I still cannot eat much meat.  I lost 3 pounds last week, which is 23 overall, but the weight loss is not as rapid as I had anticipated.  I am tracking my food intake on a website called Spark People so that I can monitor the amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat I am taking in.  I have used this website before when dieting, and it really is useful to see exactly what you are eating.  For me it helps to see it in writing, all broken down throughout the day.  I am still drinking some protein shakes and trying to eat a high protein - low carb diet.  It's not that easy when the protein options are a little limited right now and mashed potatoes go down really easy.  I had way too much cheese last week and ended up needing laxatives this weekend.  So, I'm focusing more on having tuna, eggs, and cottage cheese for my protein and laying off the cheese now.  And I know that exercise is going to be the key to losing more weight as well as watching what I eat.  Today I start walking! Even if it's just a short distance at first. :)

One Week Post-op

Last night and tonight I have been able to eat some soft foods without any trouble.  I am glad that I can finally have something that tastes good and that I can chew!  Yesterday I had about 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes with gravy and some Banquet turkey chopped up into tiny tiny pieces.  Had no trouble getting that down.  Tonight I had a very small baked potato, just a little bit bigger than the size of a large egg, and a little bit of cheese.  Later I had 2 scrambled eggs.  The eggs were about the best thing I have tasted in a while!  Everything is going down pretty easy.  The potato was probably the most difficult, but it didn't hurt or make me feel sick.  It just kind of felt stuck for a little bit.  I hope it doesn't keep getting a lot easier, though.  I certainly want to keep losing weight and it's a long time until I get a fill.

I will only be updating every week now for awhile, as I don't think there's going to be a lot to say daily.  So, see you next week! :)

6th Day Post-op - Dr. Follow up

I had my follow up appointment at Dr. Rohrscheib's office.  I am happy to say that my scales at home do not match the doctor's scales.  According to their scales I have lost a total of 20 pounds since beginning this journey (beginning being the first consultation).  I lost 5 pounds before my pre-op visit on May 2nd and have lost 15 since then.  I am so happy about that!  I met with the dietitian again to go over what I can and can't have.  She said I can go ahead and start some pureed / soft foods.  So, I can start having things like applesauce, mashed bananas, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, and tuna now.  She does want me to keep drinking 2 shakes a day and have one "food" meal of which 1/2 needs to be protein.  One example she gave was 1/4 cup of cottage cheese and 1/4 cup of green beans for dinner.  Anything that can be easily mashed with a fork doesn't actually have to be blended and she said meats like chicken, beef, and pork shouldn't really be tried just yet.  I also need to be taking a daily multivitamin with iron and a calcium supplement.  The nurse looked at my incisions and said they look really good and I can start pulling the steri-strips off tomorrow if I want to.  Great visit!

5th Day Post-op

Well, today has been a good day.  I am feeling good and almost "back to normal."  I've been off work since having the surgery and am ready to go back tomorrow.  I have lost 16 pounds all together so far since beginning everything.  Not 16 pounds since surgery, 16 since initially seeing Dr. Rohrscheib at the very beginning.  I am happy with the progress I'm making but am still a little disappointed that the 2 week pre-op diet didn't yield more results, but if my scales are right I've lost 6 pounds since Tuesday.  That is impressive!  I don't feel hungry ever.  But I am a little tired of shakes and soups.  My daughter made a frozen pizza for lunch today and I really wanted to eat a piece!  It looked and smelled so good!  But it's still going to be a little while before I can have anything like that.  I have a little over a week left of just liquids and then 2 weeks of eating blended foods (the consistency of baby food.)  Compared to what I've already accomplished, this shouldn't be that hard.  But it's weird how appealing even pureed food sounds right now.