Lap Band Doctors in Elyria (Mansfield: how much, live, food)

[MommyV]

Does anyone know of any Lap Band Doctors in or near Elyria. The closest I've found is in Mansfield over an hour away. My 24 yr old sis lives there and is very reluctant about going to an information session especially one that she has to drive an hour to get to. She's over 300 lbs and gaining despite her numerous attempts at weight loss. Our family has offered to pay for everything if she just goes, but she's scared because of the 'surgery' word.

If there isn't a doc in the area, is there a support group, clinic or other type of group that I can have her tap into? I'm sure it's hard to accept all this pressure from me and our family because while we're not all skinny, none of us are obese. Perhaps, being among people that are going through the same thing can ease her fears a bit.

Any help would be appreciated.

[aquila]

Did a quick Google search and found this site: Bariatric Surgeons in Ohio performing any Bariatric Surgery Type

FWIW, my sister-in-law had this done a little while back, and it has helped her tremendously. She's lost a lot of weight. However, something for your sister to keep in mind is that she will still have to watch what kind of food she eats, and how much. For instance, according to my SIL there are certain foods she simply won't be able to consume because they can "lump up" in the stomach and block the passage created by the lap band. The system works by literally restricting how much food can go into the stomach. Eat even a bit too much, and it can cause regurgitation. And when you have the saline injections done to tighten the band, you have to maintain a strict liquid diet for the first 24 hours after tightening. Then the next 24 hours it is soft foods such as pudding or yogurt. Then after that, stuff like oatmeal...until finally being able to resume the regular lap-band diet - which STILL doesn't include foods that are very bulky, such as heavy cuts of meat or doughy substances.

[MommyV]

Originally Posted by aquila

Did a quick Google search and found this site: Bariatric Surgeons in Ohio performing any Bariatric Surgery Type

FWIW, my sister-in-law had this done a little while back, and it has helped her tremendously. She's lost a lot of weight. However, something for your sister to keep in mind is that she will still have to watch what kind of food she eats, and how much. For instance, according to my SIL there are certain foods she simply won't be able to consume because they can "lump up" in the stomach and block the passage created by the lap band. The system works by literally restricting how much food can go into the stomach. Eat even a bit too much, and it can cause regurgitation. And when you have the saline injections done to tighten the band, you have to maintain a strict liquid diet for the first 24 hours after tightening. Then the next 24 hours it is soft foods such as pudding or yogurt. Then after that, stuff like oatmeal...until finally being able to resume the regular lap-band diet - which STILL doesn't include foods that are very bulky, such as heavy cuts of meat or doughy substances.

Is she totally hating the food restrictions? How is she handling it?

[aquila]

She really hasn't expressed anything negative about the restrictions themselves.....just "passing comment" about what she can or cannot eat. The way the lap-band works is that it tightens across the upper part of the stomach, preventing it from stretching the way the stomach normally does if you overeat. So basically you have a small "pouch" above the location of the lap-band, and the rest of the stomach is below it. Well, just like any belt that tightens around something, it can be tightened up or loosened. When tightening the band, it's done using saline injections, or loosened by draining the saline. And when the belt is tightened, it narrows the opening between the upper pouch and the lower stomach....and that passageway doesn't stretch. So any food that comes into the upper pouch is basically held there until it digests. The fuller it becomes, the quicker the "full" sensation is triggered. Normally if someone is full, they can still eat a bit more and the stomach will stretch to accomodate it. But if you do that with the lap-band tightened up, the food will back up your esophagus and basically you'll start throwing up. That alone prevents people from overdoing it.

Apparently there are certain foods that take longer to digest than others, or for some other reason will "lump up" into a ball. "Doughy" foods (bread, biscuits, pasta, cheese, brownies, etc...) will do that, so my SIL can't eat them. Other foods, such as steak and other lean cuts of beef (no fatty cuts), have to be consumed in very small amounts, and in small pieces, or else they will clog up the passage between the upper pouch and lower stomach. She does say there are certain breads that don't bother her....I think Aunt Millie's whole grain bread is one of them. Not sure what else she can eat.

But to basically answer your question.....she really hasn't expressed any hatred about the restrictions. But that doesn't mean she wouldn't love to eat certain things at times. She simply knows she can't, and is in a position now where she's forced to control her diet. She doesn't have a lot of willpower on her own. She's tried in the past to do the different diets, and exercise, etc....but she just doesn't have the self-discipline to stay the course. So she has to handle it because she made the decision to force herself into a position where she has no choice now.