Hiya Pookie,
I was surprised that they are spotlighting Ann Wilson as a model Lapband patient. You are right - if the average was 30 pounds a year, I'm not sure I would be having this procedure done (in exactly 16 days - yikes!). While it is true that bandsters do not lose as quickly as bypass patients, weight loss is generally a whole lot more significant than Ann Wilson's. I think the fan they showed who lost 56 pounds in 6 months is much more typical than Ann. My doc says an average of 1-2 pounds a week is optimal, which would be 52 - 104 pounds a year. On another forum I frequent, there are lots of people who have lost way over that and some who have lost less than that average. The band is a tool that you have to work with. The trick is hitting your "sweet spot" with restriction, making good food choices (protein first, veggies second) and exercising. We don't dump and it is possible to eat "around" the band by choosing high calorie, soft foods like ice cream. It's definitely not a quick fix, it just makes it a whole lot easier to be successful when you do make the right choices. And, key for me, once you lose the weight, you can really and truly keep it off. You will always have your band in place to keep you from the dreaded regain.
I was pretty disappointed in the show. I think by showing Carnie Wilson and Ann Wilson in the same show, they showed LapBand Surgery in a bad light. I mean, who wouldn't compare Carnie's 155 pounds to Ann's 60 pounds and wonder why on earth you'd choose banding over bypass. Of course, all of us here are aware that neither surgery is the "easy way out" and each has their merits and drawbacks, but the average tv viewer is clueless. I think the show was a pretty bad portrayal of a typical person's experience with the band.
The "embarassing episodes" they referred to were probably "PBing". It stands for productive burp. What that means is that there's a lump of food that's too big to go through the stoma and it's just sitting in the small pouch. The body produces a lot of saliva and foamy goo and the food comes back up, in pretty much the same shape is went down. It's not really vomiting because there's been no digestion, but I understand it's pretty unpleasant. That is why we need to chew, chew, chew.
As for slippage, it's not a huge problem with bands. When banding was first approved in 2001, some doctors were not sewing them into place the same way they are now and sometimes patients had a problem with slipped bands or ports. According to my surgeon, that is quite rare now because doctors are perfecting their techniques.
The thing I really, really like about banding is that my insides are not going to be rearranged. One reason I like that is because there is way less to go wrong after surgery. Many doctors perform the surgery on an outpatient basis. Mine doesn't though, I'll be in the hospital overnight. Recovery time is much quicker and the chances of problems are very small because there's been much less done to the body. And, if I ever need, the band can be removed and I'm back to normal (God forbid!). I won't lose weight through malabsorption either. I'll just lose weight because I can't eat as much. I really wish the show had compared and contrasted the two surgeries, or just shown more facts about banding with more typical patients.
So, if you've read this far in my mini novel I hope you understand a little more. Good questions!
Chickadee
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