Tips and Tricks of Living with my band for over 5 years

One thing to remember the Lap band IS filled with fluid, this is why you may get different feelings of restriction depending on what you do and where you are, such as the following:

1. If you drink COLD liquids or cold things the band will tighten up

2. If you drink hot liquids the band will loosen up.

3. Most women that have mentrals cycles tissues around the band will tighten therefore causing the band to tighten up while menstruating and then loosen up right before or after a cycle.

4.The band will tighten if you get stressed about something, always leave a little wiggle room for unexpected tightness of the band, otherwise those who are very tight may find themselves not able to swallow their spit and cause irritation.

5. The band will tighten during flying or even high elevation, those who live in mountainous terrains above sea level may experience a tighter band than those who live in flatter areas.

6. The band is tighter for most in the mornings, when you lie down this cause it to tighten further, something about how the saline moves around in the band which causes it to get tighter when you lie down.

7. When you have a GOOD FILL level you will notice you can't eat as much while sitting down, so don't cheat and stand up and eat!

8. When you have a GOOD FILL level, you will NOT be able to eat and drink at the same time, trust me, this will cause PBing and vomiting and cause the food and liquid to stack up and there is no where to go but back up.

9. When you are tightly restricted avoid, grilled chicken IN PUBLIC, make sure your meat are moist, example when I eat salads I add lots of dressing in order to eat this at work without getting stuck, but salad dressing is fattening, but it' not fattening only if you are only able to eat about 5 bites of it and get full/satisfied.

10. To avoid slimming and frequent vomiting (which may cause slippage or a stretched pouch if done daily) make sure you take pea size bites and chew and wait until you feel the food go through, the food IS SUPPOSED to gently ease down your esophagus slowly without PAIN, if you are having painful eating, you are not eating properly OR you are way too tight. Also if you are in public and eating at a restaurant you may want to order a hot tea or soup to prevent first bite syndrome, typically the first bite is the toughest. Some people disregard this and they may vomit and if this is done regularly you will be on your way to become a revision patient.

11. Eating with the band will become very easy when you learn your band and signals of how tight you might be, your restriction WILL NEVER BE THE SAME EVERY DAY, you will have some days a little bit looser than others, THIS IS WITH ANY RESTRICTIVE SURGERY INCLUDING RNY OR THE SLEEVE, but the band is a bit more finicky since it is filled with saline so you have to eat accordingly based on how tight you are, BUT...restriction should NOT vary a great deal, meaning one day soup and one day 2 whole Big Macs...lol, if your restriction varies that much you got a problem and need to see your doctor to make sure you are properly restricted or if you have a stretched pouch.

12. Clearing the pouch out daily -- THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR LIVING with your band in peace! this is what I do to clear my pouch out daily, I make sure I drink water after I eat before I go to bed, also chew about 2 papaya tablet from (GNC) this also helps clear my pouch out and avoid any indigestion while I lay down at night and I have a good nights sleep even if I eat very close to bed time. But this will NOT work if you have a slipped band or esophageal issues or band damage.

13. Some foods may irritate you more such as spicy foods, chocolate, mints, onions, coffee, these things may cause heartburn in some and may not in others, I can tolerate them as long as I don't over do it, but taking a pepcid or other heartburn meds will help.

14. Getting food stuck - I've been stuck several times and it is not a good feeling so I try to avoid it as much as I can, the first thing I would do if I get stuck is excuse myself in go somewhere private and raise my arms and take deep breaths and message the middle of my chest this has helped me many times to prevent vomiting and when I message my sternum between the breast this will help move the food down, the food will either slide down or you will throw it up.

15. You you are truly stuck you may have to see your surgeon for an emergency unfill, you will know if you are truly stuck, this may cause breathing problems and can be quite scary and repeated vomiting, but as soon as the food becomes unstuck, most of the time you will feel better immediately.

16. You should ALWAYS be able to eat solid food, even if it's only 5 bites at a time you should be able to eat solid food with your band, if you get a fill and you have trouble with liquids, you are too tight and this will eventually caused problems.

17. It usually takes about 3-5 fills until you reach your sweet spot safely, If you can never get a good fill level, sweet spot, meaning too tight or too loose,  you may want to change surgeons and seek a band surgeon only -- your fill giver may not be filling you properly, it should not take that much time to reach your sweet spot, your sweet spot should not be painful or have nightly reflux or pain or vomiting, the sweet spot should allow you to eat a few bites of solid food and you get a signal to stop eating like a hiccup, burp and you may feel like you have eaten a thanksgiving dinner on about 4-5 oz of food.

18. The band will restrict dense solid foods better than soup or liquids, you will get fuller on these foods quicker, the band is desinged to restrict solid foods, if you are too tight you may not be able to eat healthy foods that are required, which may result in no weight loss.

What to eat and how much should be discussed with your Nutritionist, but most who have success with their bands walk or exercise DAILY, eat lean proteins first and veggies and drink water, it's just that simple.

This is how I've kept my band band working going on 6 years.

Good luck

My tips for the New Year

 

 

 

Thank you so much for posting this!  I think I'm going to print it out and put it in my wallet to always have with me!  Congratulations on your success with the band, it's people like you that are part of the reason I made the decision to get one.

Thank you Nana for posting this.  I will be banded on 1/18 and this will come in handy.

Denise

Thank you Nana!  And Congrats on your jouney!

Thanks Nana, what a wonderful post and very useful information. 

 Hi Nana,
What you wrote was GREAT
I have my band for 3 yrs. and I love it.
Last Jan I got sick and I had to take prednizone. My  band did not like the prednizone.
I could not keep a fill in. I had lost 115lbs in 18months.
So this last year between being on the meds and no fill I gained 40lbs back. 
I am finally coming off the prednizone and I should be off completely in 1 more week.
I got a fill last week of 3cc. The doc wants to see me in 2 months. He says the pred
needs to completely be out of me. so far this fill is staying and I lost 4lbs this week
So far so good.
I have to get back to to all the band rules.
I really enjoyed your article.
Thanks,
Colette

Great info !!!! I loved the part about avoiding chicken in PUBLIC !!!! LOL

Great tips!  I so agree with being able to eat solid foods -- for some reason, (and thankfully!!) these types of foods tend to go down best for me; what most people call sliders I have a hard time getting down.

My surgery is next week and there are SO MANY things on there that I have not even heard nor thought about! Such great timing thank  you so much!
How do you KNOW when you have your sweet spot?