Sweet Spot

[GirlBarb]

This is copied from another forum, it is written by a gastric band surgeon, I was surfing the internet and came across this, I liked it and it made me laugh.

#58

DrWatkins

Gastric Band Surgeon

Join Date: Dec 2007

Posts: 130

City: Cincinnati

State: OH Opinions differ about how gastric banding actually works.

My opinion is based on the fact that stretching the stomach wall shuts down the appetite hormones. When your stomach size is reduced from a football to a golf ball you are going to get stomach wall stretch and appetite hormone diminution on much fewer calories.

Also, the food takes a while to empty through the restriction so the full feeling lasts longer. Some patients will forget to eat dinner because they are still full from lunch.

We know about some of the appetite hormones floating around but we know that there are many more and that the way the stomach and the brain communicate is very complicated. The drive to eat is a very powerful biological drive. If the brain thinks for an instant that you're trying to starve yourself it will take drastic measures.

The small stomach pouch above the band fools the brain into thinking you've just eaten a Thanksgiving meal.

In some patients the appetite suppression is very powerful and some patients say they are never hungry after band surgery. Some patients deal with lots of "head hunger" which is a complex process and not easy to deal with sometimes.

As you lose weight, the stomach tissue inside the band loses weight and that is why you need additional fills as you lose your weight. At your goal weight, the stomach tissue thickness stabilizes and the need for fills diminishes quite a bit.

I read a lot of posts where patients do not have their bands perfectly adjusted.

Here's my version:

Perfectly adjusted - full on small meals, not hungry between meals, easy to lose 1-2 pounds per week, amorous feelings toward your surgeon and staff, send them a Christmas card that will bring tears to your eyes

Too loose - hungry, can eat large amounts of food, hard to lose weight, feels just like you are on a diet.

Too tight - everything wants to come back up including liquids, hurts to eat or drink, bad heartburn especially at night (when you lay down), the only thing that wants to go down is Cheetos and ice cream (bad stuff)

I think if you don't fit the "perfectly adjusted" description you should call your band surgeon to make it perfect with an adjustment.

Also keep in mind that each patient's band journey is very individual.

Hope that helps

brad

__________________

Gastric Band Surgeon since 2002

www.SynchronyHealth.com

"There are no secrets to success. Don't waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure...and persistence." Colin Powell

Remember that every band patient's journey is individual and that reaching your goal is far more important than how long it took you to get there.

[yoyodieter]

Great post.. Not quit ready to send a christmas card to the OCC but maybe after my next adjustment. LOL

[JazzyJude]

NICE post...thanks for sharing and perfect timing for this!

[labella]

NICE post...thanks for sharing and perfect timing for this!

Interesting observations...thanks for sharing!

How is the cost of the fill determined ?and what are the costs for fills at OCC?

[GirlBarb]

Interesting observations...thanks for sharing!

How is the cost of the fill determined ?and what are the costs for fills at OCC?

It varies, some USA doctors include fills and all follow visits for a determinded amount of time.

OCC in Mexico will do fills for free and you pay 100 for the fluro machine

I pay 50 each fill to my local bariatric doctor and the PA's do the fills.