I was banded in Portland, OR, but I moved to Spokane WA about 3 months ago. I understand that Dr. Lee Trotter does bands in Spokane (not sure if it's at Sacred Heart or Holy Family?) and Dr John Pennings in Post Falls ID does them as well. I have an appt to see Dr Pennings in a couple of weeks, as I now live too far away from my surgeon in Portland to see her in case something comes up urgently.
To answer your other questions, I was banded March 13, 2007. I had 74 lbs excess weight to lose (initial BMI 41) and thus far have lost 53 lbs. I no longer require my CPAP machine so that was a success. My fitness has improved as I have been able to increase my exercise, and my resting heart rate has dropped considerably, which was a big goal of mine since it started out about 105, which is way too high. My BP has come down too, although it was normal to start with. I am also off my antidepressant medication, since June, without any problems.
The unspoken truths: that is a good question. I think I was pretty well informed about the daily life of being banded, as I did a lot of research. But my SIL was banded about 6 weeks after I was, and I don't think she knew what to expect. She spent the first 9 months fighting the band and eating too much, too fast, and vomited every day. She seems to be doing better now that she has figured things out a little more. Some of these things you may read about and know in your head, but not truly realize until you are living it everyday. These things are most important to know before deciding to get banded:
1.
The most important thing is that you might not lose any weight in the first 2 months, and you probably won't have any "restriction" (any sensation of being full sooner than normal) until you have at least 1 fill, possibly more, up to 4 or so is possible. Fills are usually given first at 6-8 weeks, and most people don't get any real restriction with the first fill. They shouldn't be given any more frequently than every 4 weeks after that, in small increments until you reach a point where you are satisfied with a small meal for 3-4 hours and you aren't vomiting or having reflux, and can tolerate solid food. This process, as you might imagine, can take several months and can be very frustrating. You will be HUNGRY. Furthermore, you might have told a lot of people about your surgery beforehand, and they expect to see weight loss like with a gastric bypass because you had WLS. So that can add to the pressure you put on yourself. That was frustrating to me, and I didn't fully realize any of that before I was banded. To give you an example, my band didn't really start helping me feel full sooner until my 3rd fill, which was July, 4 months after my surgery.
(By the way, starting fills early, or advancing your post op diet before you are supposed to, is a bad idea, as that period of time is intended to allow the stomach to heal and the sutures to set, so your band won't slip later. You would be able to "tolerate" solid food just fine a day, two days, or 3 weeks after surgery, but don't be tempted to start real food early, or you could disrupt the healing process.)
2.
The band is only intended to control your hunger and allow you to eat very small meals. My doctor says 1 to 1.5 cups of food at a time. I hear some saying 4 oz or 1/2 cup at a time, but that is more of a RNY type meal. A meal should be solid food, protein first, then vegetables, then starch on occasion. The band is NOT intended to force food out of your stomach when you eat too much. That's what a lot of people are looking for when they talk about "restriction", that and being unable to tolerate foods like bread.
3.
Some people CAN'T tolerate certain foods, like bread, celary, pineapple, shrimp, dry meats, etc, EVER after they are banded. I'm not one of those people. But a lot of people find that when their band is properly adjusted (and even before that) they just can't tolerate those foods anymore; they ball up and get stuck, which is very painful. Then it either has to come back up (they call it a PB, or productive burp; or barfing) or you wait until it goes down, sometimes a few hours.
4.
If you eat too fast or too much or the wrong thing, your band might make you pay for it (see above). Conversely, if you are COUNTING on that to help control your eating, it might not happen. I've never had any of those things happen to me, and I've never had difficulty eating any food I wanted. If I was counting on the band to keep me from eating bread, I'd be disappointed.
5.
Soft foods and liquid calories go down very easy, and if you absolutely cannot control your eating of these things, you will have difficulty losing weight with a band. You can be too restricted to eat fish or chicken or vegetables, but be able to tolerate ice cream and M&M's just fine. Guess what? You won't lose weight that way! Plus you will end up malnourished to boot, on top of still being fat. But, if you are committed to learning how to control what you eat, you can be successful.
6.
You still have to watch what you eat and exercise. The band only helps you eat less food. If you graze all day long, you can defeat the band. If you eat soft junk food or treats that go down easily, you can defeat the band. And if you don't exercise, you might still lose weight, but you will lose a lot of muscle mass, which is more metabolically active than fat. Your weight loss will slow down and you will run out of energy, and then it's much harder to start exercising to get things going again.
7.
The band is on your stomach, not your head. It will not eliminate "head hunger", or emotional eating. If your only response to stress is to eat, the band will not prevent that. It is best to work on these issues starting before the surgery (most of us have emotional eating issues), and ideally with a therapist who is experienced with these issues.
Do I have any regrets? Not at all. For me, this has been ideal. I was afraid in the beginning that I might not be a good candidate for the LAP-BAND
® because I never overate really in quantity of food, but I loved sweets. However, I have discovered that I am a person that requires a lot of activity and very few calories to lose weight, and the LAP-BAND
® allows me to achieve these low calories without starving. I still have to make the decision not to eat sweets often (I do eat them from time to time, but in very small portions), and I still have to decide to exercise. My weight loss hasn't been as fast as a lot of people, but I have never once thrown up, never had any food get stuck, and I can eat whatever I want if I am in public or at some kind of event. So really, it has enabled me to live like a normal weight person, eating everything in moderation and making good food choices 90% of the time. And I am only 21 lbs from my goal in less than a year, so I am very happy.
Sorry this was so long, but I hope it answered your questions. You can PM me if you have any more questions. I won't know more about Dr Pennings until I see him in a couple of weeks. However, there is a thread for Eastern Washington bandsters in the Local Support board:
http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f68/easte...banders-45442/
good luck!
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