VBLOC Therapy
 

I have been hearing more and more ads for lap band surgery. Seems every other ad on the radio is for some sort of band surgery. The other day I heard about VBLOC Therapy. They are doing some free clinical trials in my area. I haven't found anything negative about this on the web, perhaps I'm not looking in the right places.

Do any of you know about it or have done it?

http://www.rechargestudy.com/

TIA.

Interesting that this was posted today. I turned on my radio for the first time in months today (love my ipod!), and it was the first commercial I heard. I do not know anything about it, but I find it...odd...that radio ads are how they are advertising a new surgery for weight loss.

this sounds like a new version of gastric pacing. there were some studies in the US about 10 years ago, but for some reason, they didn't work. HOWEVER, Europe has had a fair amount of success with the technology. So, docs in the US were/are confused about what happened.

other than that, I know very little. I have a friend who was one of the US subjects, and she had to have it removed - too much pain.

i'm hoping that there have been improvements since then.

Wow. I can see why they are confused if it worked in Europe. I'm just concerned about having something implanted. I had an IUD once and it decided to go on vacation. I've never been in so much pain in all my life.

Thanks for the input.

I am in the study.....just had the surgery on Sept. 29th....so far so good.

Auddy,

Would you please tell us what all is involved? IU if you don't want to share but I hope you will.

Auddy, I'd love to hear your story too! :)

VBLOC therapy
 

I will have the surgery as part of the ReCharge study next Wednesday. I would be happy to share my experience and journey.

I've very interested to hear about this also.

Please do. I got my initial call yesterday and will have a phone interview from the nurse on Wed. So, please do share. Thanks for offering.

So far I'm impressed however it is a bad impression. I took the morning off work for this phone interview which was supposed to happen at 10AM. It is now 11:30. I guess I'll go on into work. I didn't get a phone number to call them so I guess I won't be in the study if they don't reschedule and stick to the schedule.

I'm still interested in hearing about the experience.

I just had surgery done the other day for the ReCharge Study. I haven't been to the doc for post op followup yet, but so far things went well. I'm excited about it.
I put up a blog to chronicle my experience with it. I'll try to keep it up to date as much as I can. the site is VBLOC Weight Loss if anyone is interested.

Thank you chubbyhubby. I just read it. Were you a little concerned about the size of it? The thought of something the size of an ipod being inserted into my body is a bit disconcerting. Please keep us up to date with your progress. Where do you live?

I'm still interested. We'll see if they left a message when I get home from work. I gave them until after noon to call. I'd forward my calls from my home to my cell phone but I'm in too many involved things at work to take an indepth personal call.

Wouldn't you know it. I got home at 8 tonight and there was a message left at around 12:30. Over 2 hours late. At least they left a message. I'll call before going to work tomorrow and see what they have to say about not calling in the time they blocked off.

yeah, the size was a little bit of a concern, but not too much. Now that it's implanted, initially it is visible. It's outline can be seen around my skin and I can feel it there. I think it's more obvious now because it is a new incision. I think once the healing settles in, my body will incorporate it better. There's going to be some initial swelling with any wound, and I don't think it will be a big deal later. Right now it's definitely apparent to me though. I can feel it. My youngest daughter get's a kick out of touching it.

If you have any more questions, please let me know!

Like chubbyhubby, I had my surgery on October 19. The day after I developed bronchitis with a a fever, so overall feeling pretty crappy. I stayed overnight in the hospital, per the study protocol and all went well. I feel constantly full and am on a soft food diet until my post op visit next Wednesday. I weighed in at 254 the day of surgery. The main feeling for me right now is uncomfortably full. I don't know how long or to what extent that will continue. Looking forward to feeling better soon.

Thanks chubby and citizen. Chubby, if you are near San Diego, then you are near Gary (EZ Money). He is extremely supportive.

Citizen, I hope you feel better soon. Bronchitis is no fun even when you aren't recovering from surgery. That coughing must be even more distressful. Did you read Chubby's blog?

I called and left a message with a time for them to call. Needless to say, they didn't call. I called in and got on hold for about a half hour. Someone came on and verified all my contact info and promised to have someone call me soon. Not sure what day or anything. I did give her my cell phone this time and told her that Tues and Thurs are bad. I got called into work on Monday and I'm hoping they will call on Wed when I'm home.

yeah, I was searching for info prior to my surgery from people that actually went through this and couldn't find anything at all. A lot of corporate stuff and press releases mostly. I hope the disclaimer on the bottom is fine. I don't want any issues with them, I just want to be able to share my experience with others and help people avoid any anxiety prior to their surgery. I'm happy with everything so far and hope others can benefit from my experience.

cbmare, don't worry, I'm sure they will call. I missed an initial phone call as well and left messages in return. Things finally got sorted out and all went well.

Veronica, I had my surgery at the U of MN too. Hope all goes well for you. A few things I didn't know before surgery -- clear liquid diet 3 days after the procedure and then soft foods like cream of wheat and yogurt until the post op visit.

I feel fairly confident that I have an "activated" device as I feel uncomfortably full most all of the time. I hope that goes away because it makes me feel lethargic.

Hopefully we will bump into each other someday at one of the later group meetings. Best of luck and keep us posted.

Veronica and Citizen, you two should arrange a meeting at a park or some place. I love meeting people on the boards I'm on.

Chubby, I met Gary a year ago. He and Angie met my husband and me at a restaurant near where we were staying and had a wonderful visit for several hours. What disclaimer? I reread your blog and I didn't notice anything labeled a disclaimer.

Veronica, thank you for your input. I look forward to reading your blog and comments here.

I got my 2nd call this morning at 7:15. Wouldn't you know that it came on a morning when I'd had an absolutely awful (rate thing for me) night's sleep. I finally started dozing off between 3 & 3:30. I go for a meeting on Wednesday evening. It is at a hotel. Any inputs as to what it will be and how long?

Keep posting, folks! I'm learning a lot about this new form of surgery, and i'm sure everyone else is as well!!!

Mare, is your ticker up to date ? If so are you considering surgery for 20 pounds ?Looks like you have lost 34 and want lose another 20.

No it isn't up to date. I thought you were asking about my heart at first. After using those blasted Icy Hot Patches, I developed A Fib and had to quit exercising. I put on most of the weight I lost.

Mare,

As I recall, the informational session I attended was about and hour and a half. I think the presentation was about 45 minutes with the rest of the time devoted to questions. They will actually pass around the device so that you get a feel for the size and weight of the thing.

I am feeling well enough that I may attempt a couple of half days of work this week. All this sitting around isn't good and I am not good with no schedule! LOL

Take care all.

Thanks citizen. I'm glad you are feeling better.

Chubby, have you returned to work?

I thought surgery sounded kind of drastic for 20 pounds. I understand totally about regaining I have been there I promise you. Let us know what happens.

I took my daughter to a field trip all day today and heading to work tomorrow

Feeling pretty good. A little uncomfortable at times but not really much pain anymore unless I really do more than I should

Do you feel uncomfortably full all the time, or just after you eat?
I feel really full after a small meal and not full or hungry between meals.
I used to be able to eat a lot more and not feel this full, but I don't have that full feeling all the time though.
I don't get that "really" hungry feeling during the day anymore. The other night I was up late and had some hunger pangs. And I know my device was off at that time of night.

I wasn't given any special diet after my procedure. No restrictions at all.

Hey Chubbyhubby,
Glad you are feeling well and off to a speedy recovery.
I was feeling uncomfortably full all of the time; today is the first time that I felt a little more "normal". I haven't been hungry much at all, even when I know I should be because I am not eating much of anything. Maybe just part of the recovery from surgery for me. I do have to say I will be glad to be able to eat some veggies and real food again.
Good to hear from you. Keep us posted on your weight loss and recovery. It's good to know I have company in this journey.

Chubby, I'm so glad you can start resuming your normal routine. I take it your job is not an overly physical one. I'm glad you could go on that field trip.

Your device was off at that time of night? It has to sleep too?

I wonder why you had no dietary restrictions and citizen did.

The device is on for 13 hours per day. They schedule it for the hours that you are up and active. also, it is goes on and off every 5 minutes. Apparently if it blocks the vagus nerves constantly, the body learns to reroute the signals through other nerves. So basically this device tricks the vagus nerves to not signal enough to block the hunger sensation, and to also keep the body from learning about it and 'fixing' itself.

I'm going to the meeting at the hotel tonight. I have a notebook for notes and a list of all my meds.

What are some of the questions I should ask? I'm asking this based on those of you who have had the procedure and how you are feeling now compared with the info you got before the surgery.

I'm getting nervous and it is only a meeting! LOL.

Good luck, Mare.....if they try to get you to put on a hospital gown....get out of there.

Mare, how did the meeting go?

just a little FYI about the device implantation. Apparently men store their fat inside the abdominal wall and women store their fat outside the abdominal wall. Since the device is implanted outside the wall and under the fat, women probably won't see or feel the device as much as men, since we don't have as much fat in that area to cover it. I didn't know this prior to surgery. My device sticks out right now kind of a lump on my side. A lot of it hopefully is swelling due to the surgery. I hope it goes down in time. It's getting a little less defined under the skin, so we'll see.
Any of you that have the device already notice anything like this?

We will be getting an ID card as well that you can carry around with you. The card will also be useful for getting past the metal detectors in the airports (hopefully)

Mare, how did the meeting go ?

I don't think they are going to pick me.

The meeting was about 1 1/2 hrs. For some reason, they did not bring the device. He said it was about the size of a deck of cards, smaller than some of the cell phones in the room. There was confusion in the room because the dr. said there were 5 small incisions. None of us could figure out how a rigid device of that size could go through a 1" incision. Turns out there are 6 incisions. The 6th is for the device. OK. Now it makes sense.

They are going to choose 10 people. I'm no where near the obesity rate as most of them in the room. In fact, my BMI isn't 35 which is nice for me but not for the study. Also, my A Fib may preclude me. I can't exercise. Don't ever use Icy Hot Patches. They give you a heart condition for life.

I should be getting yet another call today and I should find out. I'll let you know.

Oh, I did mention you 2 (not names) and what you've told me here. The dr said that in the study he is doing, there won't be any dietary restrictions after the surgery. He guessed it had to do with what the dr wanted.

I was surprised to find that the weight loss rate is about half, in the same amount of time, as that of the lap bands, etc. This one has a history of just about 2 lbs/wk, which is a very safe way to lose weight. Also, in the previous study, people who had the device removed, regained their weight.

I want to thank everyone here for answering my questions and not making me feel stupid for asking them. If I'm not chosen, I'll still come in here to check on your progress and cheer you on.

Mare, must be a bit disappointing. I am interested in these things even though I am at goal. I am interested in all things regarding weight. Weight, gain, weight loss, maintaining weight loss, dieting, surgery, I haven't had surgery but I am sure I have done everything else.

I had my post-op visit yesterday and all was well. I also had my first (and hopefully last) bout of reflux/vomiting that lasted almost two hours. Sorry to disgust, but this is my first experience of reflux ever. Most likely my own fault for eating too much to quickly. It was horrible. I was at the clinic for most of the afternoon and should have planned ahead by bringing something small. I will start carrying a granola bar or something for such occasions.

I am going to try to eat more frequent smaller meals which will require more planning on my part. So today, I have had coffee and yogurt for breakfast, and at noon today I ate half a frozen meal and some green beans and am still full at 4 p.m. I don't know yet how I will get 1500 calories a day in. Luckily for me, I have plenty of fat reserves, LOL!

All part of the learning process, I guess.