After Bariatric Surgery:

Real Results patients are provided world-class aftercare following their Gastric Banding procedure. Our Real Care program is designed to help patients achieve success at maintaining a healthy weight and BMI. Real Results helps patients achieve personal weight loss goals by providing adjustments (band fills), as well as clinical patient care services. If a banded patient is experiencing problems following surgery or simply has a question for one of our friendly staff members, Real Results is there to provide support and help patients achieve weight loss for good.

Real Results Real-Care includes:

  • Consultation with a nurse practitioner to review current health status, satiety and weight loss progress
  • Education and support for issues regarding nutrition, proper eating mechanics, exercise, social interaction, etc.
  • Adjustments to the amount of saline fluid in the Gastric Band – providing customized levels of satiation and satiety
  • Regular updates sent to your surgeon, primary care physician, or other healthcare specialists as needed
  • In-person support groups
  • Free access to the Real Results Online Community

Real-Care Scheduling:

Our Real-Care program is tailored to meet your individual weight loss goals. Therefore, the frequency of visits is often modified to provide a customized weight loss solution catered to the needs of each patient. During the first year following Gastric Band surgery, patients should check-in with our healthcare team at least once a month to reduce the potential for complications and to ensure the greatest possible success in losing your excess weight.

Traditionally, Gastric Band patients are asked to…

  • Visit with their surgeon 2-4 weeks after Gastric Band surgery
  • Schedule visits to our diagnostic centers every 2-4 weeks until optimal weight loss progress is reached
  • Plan monthly follow-ups for the first 6-12 months depending on individual weight loss needs

Real Results Diagnostic Center is located in Atlanta, Georgia. Give us a call at 1-404-236-7555 or schedule an Individual Evaluation to take the first step to achieving a healthy weight and improved quality of life.

Support Groups

Local support groups are designed for patients who have already had Gastric Band surgery. They provide a critical forum for patients to share common experiences, have questions answered, and gain encouragement from peers. For a list of support group dates visit: Support Groups

Vitamins:

Once you have gastric banding surgery, you will need to take a daily multi-vitamin. The most convenient is Flintstones brand chewable vitamins. Any multi-vitamin will do, but keep in mind that it will be hard to take large pills due to the stomach restriction. Some patients prefer liquid adult vitamins, chewable adult vitamins or breaking regular vitamins in half. Real more at Nutrition & Supplementation after Surgery

Activity after Bariatric Surgery:

It is always a good idea to try to get in some walking or other physical exercise every day. Start out slowly and build up gradually, especially if you were not physically active before surgery. Start out walking for 5 or 10 minutes and build to 30 minutes per day. You can begin exercising moderately after a week or 10 days from your surgery date. We will give you a target normal activity date as part of your after care. There are no restrictions on lifting, but try to avoid any lifting for a week or two or you will cause more pain at the incision points. Typically, the port incision will be tender as the port is stitched to an abdominal muscle. This pain will resolve with time as the port site heals.

Sex after Bariatric Surgery:

You can resume sexual activity in 3 to 5 days or whenever you feel ready.

Showering and Swimming:

Showers are fine, but do not rub the bandages vigorously with a washcloth. Blot the bandages dry with a towel after a shower. Sitting in the tub with the incisions above water is okay but do not submerge the bandages. No swimming is allowed for two weeks.

You’ll learn more about becoming physically active after surgery at support group meetings.

Exercise and Energy:

Weight loss gives you more energy, makes you feel better about yourself and motivates you to continue the changes that have made you successful. The success of any weight loss operation must begin with realistic goals. Once established, your motivation will ultimately determine the amount of weight you lose. Weight loss surgery works with you, not by itself. It creates a situation where a small amount of food makes you full and less hungry, reducing the number of calories eaten in a day. If you take advantage of this situation, you will lose weight.

Exercise adds to this by increasing the number of calories burned. When you exercise, you build muscle, which increases your metabolic rate, which burns more calories. We strongly encourage the addition of exercise to weight loss surgery, as the combination of eating fewer calories and burning more calories is very powerful for successful weight loss.

Considerations:

There are patients who do not lose much weight because they expect the gastric banding surgery to do the work for them. Becoming a thinner person requires change, so you must be more active and make wise food choices. An example is a patient who eats a large quantity of high-calorie liquids such as milkshakes or sugary sweets. Sugar is an unnecessary source of calories that you must burn off with exercise. We strongly recommend not eating sweets after weight loss surgery (unless it’s your birthday); try sugar-free foods. Other patients sabotage their success with grazing or emotional eating. If you avoid sugar, high-calorie liquids and emotional grazing, you will increase your chances of success.

Learn More with Related Pages:
Gastric Band
Lap Band
Realize Band
Risks of Bariatric Surgery
Gastric Band Educational Video