I was diagnoised with IBS last year, after a bout of what I thought was food poisioning two weeks ago, the doctor sent me for an abdominal scan where I was diagnoised with Gall Bladder sludge, a conditon that calls for removal of the gall bladder, because of my symptoms and the condition.

The surgeon that I am going to is a specialist in Laproscopic surgery and he also has a bariatric clinic out of Cedars Sinai here in Los angeles, his office is a bariatic clinc and one of the doctors introduced the lapband procedure as a possibly to help control my weight, since I was going to be having surgery anyhow & I just meet the required BMI I am 42, but I am losing weight right now because of the condition. I am considering it but am also feeling that after the GB is removed I will be able to control the IBS and then get the weight loss under control I am kind of torn...

The doctors think that I may have been suffering with this for the last four years, most doctors I was seeing before writing it off to stress and the weight, with being advised to lose weight, one doctor just wanted to me have gastic bypass, which I don't feel comfortable with, although I have seen such great results and responses with. While I was not considering having a separate surgery as I am concerned about going under, I have had bad results in the past, Since I have to go under anyhow, this kind of fell into my lap.....

I am afraid that post surgery I will not be able to enjoy things that I like (and I may sound like a brat just wanting it all) but I do enjoy my diet soda, I love spicy foods and on occassion I do like some good home fried chicken, and I have been hearing that with the lapband, those things are not possible. I also am not a fan of protein shakes, but I am open to considering all options, just working through it all in my head right now..

Any input would be appreicated.

RB

Rowan,

I had Lap-Band surgery 6 weeks ago today after 5 years of reaserching it (I heard about it before it was even available in the US).

You may have to give up soda. Some doctors say never drink carbonated beverages. Some doctors say drink them if you can tolerate them. You may or may not be able to tolerate soda. What can be tolerated by each patient is a very individual thing. What you can eat can cause someone else huge problems. What you can't eat may be easy for someone else.

No one can tell you what you will and won't be able to tolerate before you have surgery. But the same can be said for every type of gastrointestinal surgery from Gall Bladder removal to RNY to DS to Lap-Band to bowel resection.

I haven't had a soda in 8 weeks and I don't miss it at all. The list of ingredients beyond carbonated water is nothing but chemicals and crap. I choose not to pollute my body with toxic waste if I can avoid it.

Spicy foods are generally not a problem and I haven't heard of any doctors telling their patients to stay away from spicy foods. I was banded 6 weeks ago and I ate Indian food two days ago.

Fried chicken may indeed cause you some problems. Again though, this is very individual and varies from person to person. The breading could cause problems and the meat of the chicken is not usually moist enough to chew down really well. And honestly, if you're trying to loose weight I can't think of too many meat dishes that are more unfriendly to weight loss than chicken coated in refined white flour and fried in a ton of oil. To some degree it depends on how badly you want to loose weight.

As for protein shakes. Generally speaking Lap-Band patients do not need to supplement with protein shakes. Perhaps during the pre-op diet (if your surgeon requires one) or maybe during the immediately post-op recovery phase before you're allowed to eat solid foods.

But since there is no malabsorptive component to Lap-Band surgery protein supplementation is not generally needed.

The thing you need to realize though is whether you choose to loose weight with the assistance of WLS or not you have to commit to some serious lifestyle changes. And that may well include kissing goodbye forever some of your favourite foods that contributed to you being morbidly obese in the first place.

If you are not willing to commit to those changes in lifestyle then you're better off not having surgery. You have to be willing to be honest with yourself. If you know that you are not willing to make the changes you have to make then you're better off not having the surgery. There's no point in incurring the surgical and post-surgical risks, enduring the pain of surgery and the trauma to your body if you aren't willing to do the work to make it work.

Best of luck in your decision.

Thanks Carole...all wise words....I know that the lifestyle changes need to happen, my fear is that once I meet my goals that I will still be restricted from the things that I enjoy now....I know the worst thing in the world to not have a diet soda I would live....but my fear is the forever factor, and the never possibity....of course the upside is the weight loss which I know would make me happier in the long run....see I am flip flopping and I don't feel well right now and I don't have much time to make the decision, so I am feeling a bit of pressure....

RB

Hi RB,

I was banded almost two years ago. I love my band. That being said, I think it it's essential to go into the surgery fully committed and fully informed about the procedure.

My first reaction to your post is that you need a whole lot more research time before you get banded. In all my research and reading, it seems to me that the people who do best with the surgery are those who really, really understand what they're getting into and are aware of the issues which can come up. I hope this doesn't sound negative, because I think the band is great surgery. I would say the same thing about RNY or DS. Research can not be underestimated!

I think it's important to go into surgery without any doubts that you're doing the right thing for you. Again, this is where the research and time element come in. If you get banded, I hope you're able to fully commit to the surgery and not have doubts as to whether it was the right choice or not. Again, not trying to sound negative, just trying to put reality as I see it out there.

To answer your other concerns: I can drink carbonated drinks without any problem. Fortunately for me, I've never been a big pop drinker and I hate diet soda, so I very rarely drink them. If I do, they're fully leaded and non-diet. Mike's Hard Limeade goes down without a problem at all!

Depending on my restriction level, I can eat most things, but fried chicken almost always is a problem. I love it, but the dang stuff just hurts. Spicy foods are no problem at all. If I couldn't eat Mexican food, I'd be a very sad Chick. I hated all protein shakes until I discovered Unjury. Even at two years out, I still use them sometimes. When you're really restricted, eating in the morning can be a problem, so being able to do a shake is a good thing. As soon as I finish this post, I'm going downstairs to make a frozen banana, skim milk and chocolate Unjury shake. Delicious!

Good luck in your decision making! You've been thrown a huge decision to make in a short amount of time. If you do decide to get banded, I'm always here to help.

Chickadee

I totally flip-flopped as I got closer to surgery and I spent years researching, praying, thinking and debating with myself. Wanna know what my big "freak out" factor was? Beer. I rarely drink beer but when I do I really enjoy it. Not cheap American beers, but finely crafted micobrews and imports. I am a beerophile!

I couldn't believe I was risking giving up the ability to drink ale and stout when I finally get to Ireland for a pub crawl.

I went through that just days before my surgery and almost two weeks into a liquid protein pre-op diet. I nearly backed out because of beer and bread.

Then common sense grabbed me by the throat and throttled me like cartoon character.

I realized that if I didn't get this weight off I will very likely die prematurely. I had a BMI of 50.0. I was "Super Morbidly Obese". My life expectancy as a SMO person is about 55 years. Which means I stand a real chance of not living long enough to see my daughter turn 30 let alone meet my great-granchildren.

I would rather never again have beer, artisan baked breads, fried chicken, steak or asparagus than remain SMO. I weighed 310 pounds an my weight was creeping up every year.

For me, personally, there are some things worth sacrificing for. Living a longer, healthier, more productive, happier, less pain-filled life is definitely one of them.

Oh and one the idea of still being restricted from froods once you reach goal ...

Most morbidly obese people who loose a significant portion of their excess weight gain it back. 95% of them as a matter of fact. Why? In part becuase once the reach their goal they think they can ease off and start having those things that they didn't eat in the loosing phase. The problem is that many of these foods are "trigger foods" that trigger excessive eating.

Being restricted from them even after goal is a way of helping to ensure that you don't put the weight back on.

Thinking it through and talking about it really helped me put things in perspective. No matter what you decide we're here!

everyone is absolutely correct - research research research, and figure out what you're willing to do - or not do. now, having said that, i'm going to confess that every couple of months, i have a diet soda, poured over ice and sipped. some of them taste GREAT, but others taste HORRIBLE and leave me wondering why i EVER bothered!!!

and i've even had a beer! but it's VERY VERY hard to drink beer and eat something, at least for me... wayyyy too many bubbles for me.

i can have fried chicken, sort of. i remove most of the skin [not all]. and i go for a thigh rather than a breast. the meat is moister.

Just wanted to chime in as well. The band (and other WLS) is just a tool. It definitely helps with portion control and satiety signals but you've still got to make the lifestyle changes (EXERCISE?!?).

I just got banded and go for my second fill in a week and I agree with the other ladies - you've got to feel you're making the right decision for YOU. So far, there are no foods that I don't tolerate - I just eat less of them. I have had a few sips of soda without problem but don't want to push my luck - a can of soda just isn't worth it to me. That said, everyone is different and you may or may not tolerate the same foods as someone else with a lap band (it may even change as you get more restricted).

However, I gotta say that one of the things we all struggle with is putting food into perspective. It's just fuel and one high-quality fuel source is as good as another. I LOVE the taste/texture of sweet/salty/crunchy/yummy food - that's how I got so heavy in the first place. Do I wish I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever I want? Yeah, but welcome to the real world . One of the things I had to come to grips with, and I'm still working on it, is I get to choose between a world where I'm healthy and active and a world where I get to eat chips and cookies and drink soda. Do I wish the worlds overlapped - of course!! But they don't for me and that's the choice each of us has to make.

One of the things helped me make my decision were some recent studies that should obese people fail to lose weight 95% of the time and another that showed after you passed a certain critical weight (250? 300?) your weight gain continued to accelerate and you can end up one of those people who can't leave their house.

So, research and what you feel is RIGHT for you. Good Luck and feel free to ask us lots of questions!!

Thank you all for your words, I am going to see a friend this weekend that had the surgery with this doctor and will keep researching it. I go from complete elation of saying yes and then I am not sure....I wish that I had more time, but I am going to do the best that I can do right now. I am also going to see about the costs next week, and also if the insurance will pay for it. My insurance company is pretty liberal with authorizing wls... so we will see. Thanks again....I will keep checking in here for more wise words....

Rowan, just do what your heart tells you.

Good luck

Rowan,
I'm new year and decided to have the lapband. I'm scheduled for March 20.
I was diagnosed with IBS about 10 years ago and after about 1 year later I had my gallbladder removed. This has not helped in any way with controlling my IBS, at least for me. My physician recently told me she has something that can control my IBS and I need to send in a stool sample to a lab that's located in NC. Apparently this lab knows how to do the proper test for problems causing IBS. I have not done this yet but I also understand that WLS will help control IBS. I really hope so and if it does, I will be as equally thrilled as losing the 150 pounds I plan to lose.

I love my coffee in the morning and will have to give it up at least initially (I think). Giving up on my favorite foods is just a small sacrafice in comparison to the great rewards I have ahead of me.

Even though scared of surgery, over 15 years I have struggled with obesity and have tried every diet that exists and failed. I don't know if this is your situation but I believe everyone that made the decision to have WLS, had tried other many other options before choosing this one.

Good luck to you.

pssst - debra - you can have decaf!!! the deal with the caffeine is that it's not used as efficiently as a water source as are things like, well PLAIN WATER! sooo, after the first bit of healing, the rule of thumb that many of us have heard is that for each 8 oz of caffeinated beverage, you get to drink ANOTHER 8 oz of water! and for most of us, especially at the beginning, caffeinated beverages DID NOT COUNT towards our liquid quota...

I have a friend that had the lap band surgery in June. At first she ate very little and very slowly. Eight months later, she eats anything she wants but still stays away from red meat because she says its too hard to get down. She even is able to eat bread which she thought she would never be able to eat again.