Leaderboard

I promised myself, that when I hit a year, I'd post a "success" story. A year ago today, I lay in the "big" hospital bed at 274 pounds and completely miserable. The two days prior to surgery were the worst ever. I called my Dr's nurse the morning of surgery and told her "I think I need to cancel, I can't do this." She told me that she wasn't going to listen to me and that she expected to see me at the hospital in a few hours. I'm so glad I did. There are very very few things in my life that I'm more happy about than my decision to have Lapband surgery. I was 32 and miserable. Couldn't stand to look at myself, even more, couldn't stand to have my husband look at me. We got together when we were 17. I was fit then, always the bigger girl, but very active. Softball, cross country, track, etc. Almost immediately after HS, the weight just piled on. When we got married at 20, my wedding dress was a size 16. I hated my wedding photos, they are horrible. To this day, very few people have actually seen them. I still have them in proof form, in a box underneath my desk. I have no pictures of my wedding out on display. For that matter, I have very few pictures of myself in the last 14 years. We have two kids, two boys, who are very active. It was so hard to want to do anything with them. My husband, thank goodness, is one of those people who could eat the world and couldn't weigh more than 160 if he tried. So, while I always took the pictures or sat on the sidelines, they had the fun. I spent my 20's with no sexual drive whatsoever. I was disgusted with myself. If I couldn't even look at myself, how could my husband want to. It made him sad, he always said he didn't see me the way I did. I couldn't believe him. So, after three years of research, I initially tried to get the band in 2007. My insurance changed at year end and no longer covered it. So scratch that. In 2010, I went to my GP and he asked if I'd thought about it. Yeah yeah, I did, but insurance. He encouraged me to call and check again. Unbeknownst to me, they covered it again. I cried and cried and cried. That was in Feb 2010. I quickly researched the two Dr's that I had chosen and decided on one. Went to the seminar, got my 6 month supervised diet in, all the other pre-req's and next thing I knew, I'm laying in the hospital bed seriously thinking I shouldn't be doing this. Recovery was HARD, not hard hard, but not what I expected. The first week, I was sure that this was the worst decision I had ever made. Only a clinically insane person would put themselves through this, I was sure of it. However, things started getting better. I was losing weight and I was losing it quickly. When I was around 3 weeks post op, I started walking/running. Eventually, I was running a mile, then two, then three. I was actually able to RUN and ENJOY it!!! There have been some bumps along the way. Mainly mental. Around September, I was sure I was going insane. I was okay, but, it wasn't until then, that I actually realized my crutch, my addiction, was food. I was going through a "detox", lol. It made me for one very very grouchy and irritable woman. I believe, I finally hit onederland on December 8th. 75 pounds gone since July 29th, a little over 4 months. By the end of 2010, I was down 80-85 pounds. Now, today, I'm down 106 pounds. I still have 15-20 pounds until I reach goal but I'm happy. I'm so happy! I'm plateaued, but I'm happy. I run 5k's WITH my kids and husband now. I have energy. I'm the person, I think I always knew was inside of me. Make no bones about it, it is difficult. It is a huge mental mind screw. There are days I look in the mirror and I don't see me now. I see me as I was a year ago. It's hard. But there are days, I look in the mirror, with the biggest smile on my face and I see me as I am now. I've made it and I've done it. Hugs to everyone who does this journey. It's well worth it. I was going to post some pics from my gallery, but they were insanely too big. Here is the link. http://www.lapbandta.../7195-new-pics/

Lately I've been having the urge to organize and clean everything in my path. Last Saturday I rearranged my closet, drawers, make up kit, my kids closet, their drawers, and washed every bit of laundry that was in sight. Today I reorganized all the file cabinets in my office and rearranged my desk. This may not sound so out of the ordinary to some of you, but for me, doing all those tasks (cleaning tasks) all at once in a fell swoop like that is a rarity. In fact, the only other times I've gotten the energy and gumption to clean so fervently was in those last few weeks of all my pregnancies. There's something instinctual in a woman that gives her the drive to "prepare the nest" when she's expecting a baby. I KNOW that I'm not pregnant, so I'm guessing that my behavior may be because i"m anticipating this surgery. The birth of the new me is coming and I guess I'm just gettin my house and job life in order. Another theory that I have is that this is all stemming from my CPAP machine. My energy levels have improved greatly. Initially I wasnt convinced. I guess I was in denial about my apnea. But I"m so grateful now because I'm able to get things in order and I dont feel as sluggish and as cloudy as I used to. Everything seems to be falling into place. I'm even more ready for this sleeve than before. Just wanted to share my insight and positive attitude with yall. Thanks for reading! Sorry about the typos and/or grammatical errors, it's kinda hard typing on a telephone keyboard sometimes! lol By the way, check out my vlog on YouTube. My channel's name is "Sleeviewonderland". Please comment and subscribe, I'd really appreciate it! Here's the link: My Vlog - Sleeviewonderland

The thing I always think, but rarely say when someone posts this - the help me, I've gone off track threads - is that the very act is indicating the fact that you're still not facing the responsibility and consequences of your choices. The very decision of how to frame it - not "what are some motivational tips" but "someone please help me" is telling - its more than just a coincidental choice of words, its pleading for someone to come and make it all right so that you dont have to do it yourself. And that inability to accept responsibility is a prime trait in every single overweight person. The ones who succeed are the ones who suddenly understand that weight loss really IS simple, if you simply accept the fact that you make choices and you wear the consequence. But read through this board and you'll see its endemic - I'm fat for this reason, for that reason, I cant lose weight because I'm stressed, or I have a bad hip and cant exercise (so somehow that means I'm excused for my diet as well), yada yada yada. That victim mentality is alive and well, whether it causes obesity or is a result of obesity I cant figure out, but one thing is true - ditching it is the single most important step towards a thin life. You do sound like a fill might be a good idea though - this tool doesnt work that well if you dont keep it tuned up. Honestly, everyone here has sympathy for the situation you're in, everyone here has been there, and everyone here knows what its like. But only YOU can fix it. Think about it, on a deep level. We can all give you support, which you deserve like everyone deserves. We can all tell you what works for us in this situation or that, which can sometimes give you food for thought or even lead to a lightbulb moment where you suddently get it. But we cant truly help you, you have to do that yourself. What do you want more - ice cream or a healthy thin body? Its that simple. You just have to choose.

It's time to stand up for yourself, remember why you started this journey and what you wanted to look or feel like when you reached your finish line. Think about how you felt when you were at your heaviest and then how you felt at your lightest. Which did you prefer? Why? Can you remember some of your NSV's and how great those moments make you felt? Take one step forwards and you are back on your road to success. Don't wait for tomorrow to start, do it right now. Decide to make a healthier food choice or take that first exercise step. You know you want to do it. After all, isn't that why you posted here?

Dolce, I would suggest that you get a therapist who specializes in eating disorders or check out FAA or OA. You may have a food addiction.

Enjoy your resting while you heel. So enjoy yourself. Your ready for a New Life ! So happy Birthday !

I had the band put in yesterday and am home today. Was walking right away and feel some pain and have lttle desire to eat. I was so focued on my liquids before that I think it help be recover faster than any of the 4 other patients who went in the same day. My doctor told me (after the surgery) that people sometimes second guess themselves and want it removed right away but that passes. I hope sp because I can not believe all of the reserach is done, the surgery is done and I feel lost. Thanks for being there because people like you guys make it that much easier.

I absolutely love this post and am so happy that I found it (Big Thanks to the author, DougNichols). I realize that everyone's experience may be different, but it was great to get a general jist of what to expect when I finally get my surgery done. It's long, but well worth the read, and pleasantly laced with humor. If you're like me and really curious about what you may experience on your day of surgery, take a look at this... This is my step by step guide to what you'll probably experience getting sleeved. I'm writing this because I really wanted a step-by-step experience before I went and couldn't find a detailed one. Keep in mind, this is what I experienced but written to help you understand the overall process. Your experience will vary based upon complications, previous surgeries, etc. That said, here we go: After not eating or drinking anything past midnight, you'll arrive at the hospital early in the morning, probably like 6am'ish. Personally although I could eat the day before, I only drank soups because I imagined the pain of pushing out a BM immediately after surgery would hurt - bad. And I wanted none of that. My plan worked perfectly. Advice: Eat nothing the day before. You're guided to a lonely little room and given a hospital gown to put on plus some cute socks. Your family can hang out with you, and be there until you're actually wheeled away. The operating room nurse will come in, asking questions about your medical history, allergies and all that. Followed by another nurse who is charge of inserting your IV fluid line. Then the Anesthesiologist shows up, asking the same questions both other nurses did. Almost like nobody reads your chart. You might get a surgeon visit, asking if you're ready to go and telling you a little about the surgery. He can meet your family members, and after an hour or so they wipe off your belly with a pre-OR towel to clean it off and begin the cart race down the hall. The Anesthesiologist says he's giving you something to warm you up - it'll actually knock you out LOOOONG before reaching the OR. You'll wake up to an excruciating pain in your stomach, like someone stabbed a sword completely through your chest. You can't breathe in fully because of the pain, and might panic a little. You're in a well lit room with several nurses and other people, but separated by thin curtains. You can hear the person next to you very clearly as your nurse hooks up your morphine and hands you a little black button to press. You'll press it - A LOT. It beeps once if successful (every 10 minutes), and three quick beeps when you got nothing. Then they roll you into your room where family is already waiting. You'll tell them that it hurts really bad, but God bless morphine as you begin watching the clock to see when the next fix will be. Press, beep, sleepy time. Whirrr blip bop beep leg warmers. Press, beep, sleepy time. Whirrr blip bop beep leg warmers. Repeat for several hours. Another sound vibrates through the room. A whizzzz blip blop beep every few seconds. That's the leg massager. It's attached like a bandage wrap around your knee down to your ankle, with wires connecting to the end of your bed. The funny sounding device mashes different parts of your leg, like a weak blood pressure machine, every few seconds to ensure deep vein thrombosis doesn't set in. When you're ready to walk around (which won't be for a while), you can either yank your leg up and pull the plug out or have the nurse disconnect manually. Keep in mind that it'll start beeping like a flat-lined heart monitor if you do it yourself, and they might get annoyed. Now comes your primary nurse who'll write her name on a little chalkboard along with your "tech". My tech was Sunny, which was an awesome name! The tech rolls around a little cart containing a blood pressure machine and thermometer. You'll hear the squeaky cart roll in once every few hours, at which time she'll ask you your name. You already know my name from 2 hours ago, did you forget or what? Like someone else snuck into your room? After she leaves, along comes the "breathing nurse" who has a third-grade toy with a ball inside. She instructs you to stick one end in your mouth and suck on it until you reach 2800. Of course, you still can't breathe in all the way because it hurts like the Jesus, but she makes you try. You say "dude I can't breathe, hurts" and she's like "whatever". This is to avoid Pneumonia so be sure to not skip this, even though you want to bounce the plastic toy off her forehead for putting you in so much pain. Every couple hours I played with my new plastic ball toy, pressed my black button and sat around in pain. You won't be able to roll over on your sides because it hurts A LOT. The main nurse will instruct you to do it however, in order to get out of bed. After some time the marching, way too happy, morale officer of the floor will arrive with something like a cute dog. Mine was eating a candy bar, so I wanted to slap her too. She asks if I wanted to pet the dog - uh dude I can't reach down that far. Show him to my mom. You'll get a menu with a number to call for some chicken or beef broth. I chose chicken my first round, along with a powdered protein packet and apple juice. No way you'll eat the whole thing, maybe like 1/4 the bowl and 1/3 the apple juice container. It was quite yummy, and I didn't realize I was hungry. If you need to pee, they force you to use this big plastic jar to see how much fluid is coming out. Once you fill it up, they get all excited and measure it then dump into the toilet. Twelve hours goes by, and you're bored. There's only so many reruns of American Choppers you can possibly watch on television, so it's time to get up and walk around. You beep the tech to unhook your legs, then roll onto your side (OUCH) and get out of bed like some 108 year old man in violent pain. I had timed a morphine shot before attempting this, just in case. But it made me really dizzy, not recommended. You'll also have 2-3 new friends during your walk: Catheter, On-Q pump and Drain. The catheter is where your pee goes. Personally, I didn't need one but many people do. In that case, there's no need to pee into the large tupperware container. Second is your drain, which consists of bright red Kool-Aid looking stuff the nurse will squirt out every few hours. And finally a big ball labeled "On-Q Pump". MAKE SURE these are clipped to your hospital gown. You do not want any of those items hanging free, because they will pull out of your body over time, leaving a nasty mess on your stomach. And that's bad. Now they unplug your morphine/IV mini-tower and you begin a journey down the hallway holding onto it in tow. Everybody leans on the tower, no biggie. Just don't expect it to carry you, or that tall monster topples over like Godzilla at the end of the movie. There's a spot to hang your pee jar on, but don't do that or nurses get really pissed off cause it might spill in the hallway. I figured everybody would be excited to measure it, so I'd take it to them as I walked. They weren't at all enthusiastic. After two laps, it's time to return to bed. It hurts a lot, so you'll mash the black button like a Pavlovian dog until the morphine kicks in. By now, 12 hours have elapsed and it's time for bed. Be sure to get some food before the kitchen closes, which was like 7pm for me. I knew I stayed up until like 1am, so I wanted reserve food. Into the nurses' refrigerator it went to be heated up later. Now here's an important point: Those protein powder packets turn into nasty floating white stuff in your broth when microwaved. Don't add it to your last meal of the day that you're planning on reheating. After watching Craig Furgeson be silly on the television, it's sleepy time! Or not - the squeaky cart rolls in, and Sunny tech girl asks your name AGAIN. Honey, it's still me for the love of God. Then the nurse checks on you, ok I'll breathe into my toy now that I'm up. And finally more sleep. At 6am yet another nurse arrives to take your blood. I'm sleepy, whatever - just hurry up. Sunny's back AGAIN asking my name. It's rush hour traffic. They unhook your morphine and switch to oral pain killer liquids. Everytime you get dosed, they ask your name and birthday AGAIN. I should have had it tatooed on my arm before I arrived. Time to eat, walky time. BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP! While I'm laying there, my mini-tower new walking buddy starts behaving like he's having a seizure. I never plugged him in after the last walk, and his little battery is getting low. Be sure to re-plug! How many nights you stay depends upon your insurance and pre-arrangements. I highly recommend you stay as many nights as possible. Can't stress this enough: Trying to get fluids in at home (which hurts!) vs. the IV fluids is a huge leap. Don't be in a rush to leave. You're given a large stack of papers describing the medications they prescribe upon exiting the hospital. You'll need someone to drive you to the pharmacy to get all of them filled. You MUST have these meds, they include the pain medication which will be vital that first night out. You also need someone to drive you back to the hospital in case of any complications. Things to have at home BEFORE you arrive: - A thermometer (mandatory). If you feel horrible and need to call your surgeon, he'll ask your temperature. "I don't know" is the wrong answer - have a thermometer at home. - A blood pressure machine (mandatory). You can buy these for like $40 that go on the wrist in case your arm is too fat to hold a standard velcro wrap. If you've been on blood pressure medications BEFORE surgery, they will knock your BP into the very-low-danger-zone afterwards, so this is vital to keep your eye on. If this happens, call your primary doctor immediately to see how you need to adjust those drugs. - A heating pad. Absolute God-send after you've just painfully rolled out of bed to pee. Anyways, this was my experience! I hope this assists someone who wants more information about what happens behind the hospital doors. Source: Step by step guide to the VSG experience!