What is it like to be banded?
How much can you eat? How
fast do you lose weight? What are the negative
side-effects? Are there foods you can't eat?
Are there any risks?
Do you miss eating large amounts of food? What
about exercise? How hard was it to make the mental
and physical adjustments? How much does it cost?
Is the band forever? What about sweets?
Discovering the Band | General Band Questions | Questions about my procedure
| Side Effects | Food and Eating Questions | Fill Questions | "What is
that Sensation?" Question | Weight loss question | Exercise Question
| Tips on Working the Band | Discovering the Band
Discovering the Band
How did you hear about the band?
My friend Robin first introduced me to the band in the summer
of '99. She confided in me that she too was sick of being overweight, and
after researching all the WLS options, she decided the band was for her. Took
me several days of soul-searching to realized that I wanted to lose weight
too.
Why did do choose the band? -- See "Why
the Band?"
How did you do your research?
I followed a few links Robin sent my way and joined the Bandsters
group. From there I got in touch with alot of banded people and asked them
their experiences. With time I started searchin on OVID and the NIH websites
for clinical studies -- most studies are published in the Obesity Surgery
journal. Abstracts of many recent studies are available on the Bandsters'
file section -- for members only.
My best suggestion is to join Bandsters and search their websites
and the member websites for detailed information
Good online support groups?
Well, of course Bandsters
is the best place to start. It's an international list of people in all stages
of the AGB process. We have long-timers and people investigating the band.
We have Swedish (SAGB) and Lap-Band patients, and people who have travelled
abroad for surgery.
The list is rather large (300+ as of the summer of 2000), and
the volume can be high. I recommend that unless you are willing to deal with
20-40 messages a day, that you stick to the Digest or Web-Only versions. To
subscribe, go to http://www.egroups.com/group/Bandsters.
There are other specialized lists, usually by region, that might
be more useful to certain people. These include:
Do know that most of these lists are much less active than the main Bandster
list and might not have the depth of information available. I recommend that
people at least join Bandsters through a Web-Only subscription, so that they
have access to private files and can post questions when needed.
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General Band Questions
How does the band work?
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The band, placed around the outside of the stomach, draws
itinto an hourglass shape with a small upper pouch for food. This pouch
gets full with very little food, leaving the patient content with much
less. The food then slowly works through the hourglass and into the
lower part of the stomach. From there the food is digested normally.
No changes are made to the digestive system and the stomach is not
cut or stapled.
The band can be adjusted by injecting saline into the
subtanceous port, which then goes through the tubing to inflate the
balloon.
The port is either attached to the sterum or imbedded
in the lower-left side of the abdomen.
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What are the risks involved?
Risks include:
I'm in the process of compiling complications rates of the band, but they are
generally in the 0-10% range (mostly minor slippage or infection) and are lower
with well-trained and experienced surgeons. The most common complications are
small slippages of the band -- usually treated by emptying the band of fluid
and letting the stomach slip back into place. Although a few patients have needed
a reoperation because of misplaced or slipped bands, this is extremely rare.
Find a competent and well respected surgeons and these risks become extremely
small.
Can the band slip or break?
Yes -- slippage can happen, but very rarely requires re-operation.
I've never heard of a band breaking or bursting inside a patient, although
I suppose it's possible. But these bands are designed to hold many times more
liquid than will every be injected clinically.
What is the difference between the Swedish and Lap-Bands®?
Very little. Swedish bands have a bigger clinical capacity (9
to 11 mls) verus the Lap-Band® which is rarely filled over 5.0 mls. The
SAGB is considered a low-pressure band, although I'm not sure what difference
that has in complication rates or patient experience. On the Bandsters list,
the only time these differences come up is when talking about fill levels.
The SAGB is routinely implanted with 3.0 mls already filled,
while the Lap-Band is rarely inserted with any fill amount. At this time only
the Lap-Band® is in FDA Clinical Trials, and will probably be the only
band used in the US.
I suggest that patients trust their surgeon's opinion on which
band to use, if there is a choice. American citizens may want to give slight
perference to Lap-Bands® as they will be the domestic standard -- and
will be more familiar to any fill doctor they may find locally.
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My procedure
Who was your surgeon?
Dr. Carlos Gracia -- 800-933-0030 or 925-460-9000
Where did you have it done?
San Ramon Region Medical Center -- Northern California
How much did it cost?
$19,000 -- minus some insurance coverage for my gallbladder
removal and hernia repair.
Did it hurt?
The first 24 hours hurt -- but hard to tell if that is from
the gallbladder and hernia, or the band. I felt 80% by the time I was discharge
3 days later, and fully functional within a week.
How long were you in the hospital?
3 days, total.
What kind of pre-op tests did you need to take?
From what I can remember:
-
EKG
- BMI and dietary evaulation
- Routine bloodwork
- Ultrasound to check for gallstones -- I had them, unbeknownst to me, so
they were removed.
- Barium swallow
- Extensic
Were you in the FDA trials? How is that different than going
abroad?
Side Effects
Do you ever feel pain?
Have you ever 'productively burped'?
What about slippage?
Does your port ever hurt?
Food and Eating
How long were you on liquids?
Do you ever diet with the band?
How much can you eat in one meal?
Are you stuck with only soft foods?
Are there foods you can't eat?
Fills
What is a fill?
When do people get their first fill?
How much do you get in your first fill?
I haven't lost weight in several weeks? Do I need another fill?
"What is that Sensation?"
Questions
Weight loss questions
Exercise Questions
Tips on Working the Band