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#1
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Adjustable gastric band
I got the adjustable gastric band installed in June and I've gone from
330 to 270 in the meantime. It's not a magic wand, I have to be invested in using it as a tool (eating right, getting some excercise), but I've been very satisfied so far. The most important reason my wife and I both had this operation was because of the low mortality rate and the fact that it's reversible. Your mileage may vary, of course. Both my wife and I agree that the gastric bypass is probably appropriate for some people, but the adjustable band was right for us. We used Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana for the operation, and it was an excellent experience. I've been lurking here for a few weeks. Great advice, and not as many trolls as I thought there'd be. |
#2
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Just how difficult would it be to reverse it?
As I understand, it'd be a 10 minutes or shorter laparascopic operation. The adjustable band is just wrapped around the top of the stomach and stitched once to it, so removing it should be as simple as just cutting the stitch, unlatching the band, and pulling it out. That's one of the things we really liked about it versus the gastric bypass, that it doesn't involve replumbing the stomach. The alimentary canal is un-violated. I am curious about something. Gastric bypass, more or less, forces you to eat less for mechanical reasons. Do you feel hungry most of the time? This works the same way, I think. The 'squeeze' is made just below the top of the stomach, essentially making a little pouch at the top that the doctor called the 'stoma'. When I eat, the food enters the stoma and then slowly filters through the tiny hole that the squeeze point makes (visualize the midddle of an hourglass). When the stoma is full (a few ounces), the stomach FEELS full, so I can eat a little bit and then have no more hunger. My understanding is that people who try and starve themselves by eating just a little bit often fail at weightloss because their body feels the hunger and puts them into 'famine mode' (where it holds onto every calorie like it's a diamond). The gastric band works by fooling the body into thinking that it's full on less food. The thing that makes this really work is that it forces you to chew the hell out of everything and be picky about what you eat. For example, the body needs protein, so I HAVE to eat protein first, anything else second. I don't really eat breads anymore, and cutting those carbs seems to really make a difference. Second, since you're spending extra time chewing (there's no wolfing down a meal with this) your body has a chance to indicate 'yo, I'm full'. If you're cramming food down your gullet because you're eating fast, you could eat another half pound before the signal makes it to your brain. This enforces better chewing/slower eating. Here's the million dollar question: _HOW_ does it enforce this? If you don't chew something enough, it gets stuck. And it stays stuck just long enough for you to get the message that this is a bad thing. I ate a boiled egg once and didn't chew enough, and a piece got stuck. I pulled over (I was driving) and sat at the side of the road for about 5 minutes while I was breathing fast, covered with a fine sweat, and feeling a big pain right at where the band was. Eventually, it passed through the constriction point, and I immediately felt better. Another time, I didn't chew and I ended up spitting up the food. My mouth slimed up, I felt uncomfortable, and then the unchewed piece of food 'burped' up and I spit it out. This has happened only a couple times in the last 5 months. You CAN 'outsmart' it and keep the weight by eating the wrong things (eg, lots of sugar, calories) but it IS a very useful tool. I'm down 50 lbs so far, and it feels great. |
#3
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Absolutely, I agree 100% that it's not unusual. Like I said, it's just
a tool to help give structure to some normal, good dietary habits. The one area that it differs from a non-assisted diet (and this is a small thing) is that I'm not hungry, and by not being hungry, my body never goes into starvation/famine mode so I have a lot more energy. Anyhow, just sharing in case anyone is interested. Losing weight with a straight up good diet/excercise program is the best, I just hope that people don't go from that straight to the barascopic surgery without reading up on less invasive alternatives. |
#4
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"Ignoramus21494" wrote in message ... Most of the trolls here crosspost to sci.med.cardiology or soc.support.fat-acceptance, Yes, or such as yourself, to life extension wierdo groups. Martha |
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