Leaderboard

I brought a pair of skinny jeans last week. Size 18. I don't ever remember buying that size before its been so long. When I held them up, I thought, well maybe next month I should be able to fit them. But I tried them on, and they came right up and buttoned. No sucking in. I wanted to cry. Literally. I ran and showed my husband. I'm trying on 16 this week just to see how they would feel. There are days I hate this band and days I'm in love with it. Today, I'm loving it like McDonald's. :wub:

Welcome. This blog is dedicated to all the people out there who didn't take the easy way out. It doesn't matter if you had the bypass, the sleeve, or the lap-band, it's not easy going through all the changes associated with weight loss surgery. This is why I wanted to bring some comedy to the table. I can't really bring anything else as I wouldn't be able to get it down but, laughter makes everything better and I hope this blog makes your experience just a little easier during those tough times. I can't promise everything I type will be funny...hell, I can't even promise a little bit will be funny. All I can promise is that I will be honest, blunt, and sometimes I will look at situations a little differently than most people. My name is Tricia and I have been fat my whole life. Even when I look back at photos of myself where I was "thin", I remember still feeling fat in compassion to my friends. However, I was always active and in shape so I didn't really let being the bigger one in my group bother me. Then when I was 20 years old and in college, I developed really bad back issues. In the past 17 years, I put on over 100lbs, began feeling like a blob, and I felt my self esteem fall drastically. Three years ago, I watched my sister, Cherie, go through gastric bypass surgery and I have to admit, watching her loose the weight made me very happy for her but not so happy with myself. I would watch her sit at family dinners and nibble on very little food and then announce how full she was. I remember thinking that I could never give up enjoying food like she did. But, the more she lost the more I thought about giving everything up just too be thin. Then in December of 2010, my back finally gave out and I had to leave work. This was devastating for me as have always been a worker and the idea of going on disability was heart-wrenching for me. After many doctor's apts, I was told that I needed a new disc in my back but the only way to be able to have one is if I lost a LOT of weight. Apparently, fat people can't get new discs as the disc doesn't seem to set right. Who knew a titanium disc was so picky? So, I began the long process of nutrition classes, Life Skill classes, doctor's apts, and finally surgery. On April 12, 2012 I had Dr. Gail Wynn, from Christiana, De., remove a big portion of my stomach. Since then, I have experienced so many funny, strange, crazy things that I figured it would help if I shares some of them. I don't know if anyone will actually read this Blog, but at least I'm getting my thoughts out there. Hope you all enjoy them.

bless your heart, girl I was there too; the ins denied me 3 times and then on the 4th try I had my Rhumetologist call them saying I had fibromyalgia and sure enough i was approved the very next day and my surgery was june 30th 2011. as for pain, I wish I could tell you it didnt hurt...sorry...right when I came too in the recovery room it sucked ass, it hurt so freaking bad I cried. however oddly enough the pain didnt last that long (5-10 min) and it was like nothing happened. lol...girl my point is dont think about the pain, think about the future you will have being smaller. also as for cheating, I did aswell. the only way you wouldnt have it is if you cheated everyday. you will be fine! if you need anything let me know, Ill do my best to walk you through

11 days ago I was wheeled back to the surgery room (yes, I remember this) and I told all the doctors, "Have fun taking the majority of my stomach out. I'm so ready for this...just don't mess up." The last thing I heard before I was knocked out was laughter. If you ask me, that's a great thing to hear before you undergo any major surgery. When I woke up, there wasn't any more laughing. Actually, I had Nurse Hatchet as my post op nurse. I remember thinking, "this lady is in the wrong field." She wouldn't listen to me when I told her how much pain I was in. All she would say was, "of course you're in pain, you just had surgery." Needless to say, the hospital messed up and didn't give me the right meds and that's why I was in so much pain. If Nurse Hatchet would have listened to the half asleep, babbling girl in post op, she may have noticed the hospital's mistakes and fixed them. Instead, I had to deal with horrific pain for 5 hours before my husband finally said something to the nurse who was caring for me in my room. Due to my chronic back pain, I am on some major feel good drugs. Knowing this, they still put me on medication that was lower than what I normally take. However, thanks to my passive aggressive (sometimes there's no passive about it) husband, I was placed on the correct meds and began healing. Once I came home, I was shocked at all the gas I had to expel. While in the hospital all I did was burp a few times but once I got home, the gas couldn't find a way out fast enough. It didn't care why exit it used as long as it escaped. I learned that walking helped me get the gasses out even faster. The crazy thing is that no matter how long I walked, the gas seemed to wait to exit once I was done and in the house. My husband swears I held it in and let it out in the house on purpose just to prove he didn't marry a woman. He has told me multiple times this week that I am a man with a vagina....because no woman expels that much gas. To be honest, there were times I wondered if he was right. Then came the mood swings. My moods were swinging around like the chimpanzees in your local zoo. Maybe even more accurate would be my moods were going up and down faster than any express elevator I've ever been on and the aftermath of my mood swings was equal to any hurricane that has ever passed through the area. To make it worse, all my anger was directed at my husband. He had a huge bulls-eye on him and I aimed for a perfect score as many times a day as I could. The worst part is that I felt myself verbally attacking the man I love and I couldn't stop myself. He could say, "how are you doing today?" and I would unleash my wrath upon him because he was being condescending or just plain overbearing. The poor man became so afraid to talk that even that began to piss me off. Lucky for my marriage, things have calmed down quit a bit. So for now, we are not headed to divorce, but this journey isn't over yet, so we'll see. The other thing that I seem to worry about more than I ever have is my urine and bowel movements. I never thought I would care this much about how much I peed and what my poop looked like or why I haven't pooped. I feel like a mother changing her child's dippers except the baby is me and the dipper is the toilet. I found myself calling my sister and asking if it's normal that I haven't pooped in five days. Apparently it is. Good to know. Now I can sleep better. It seems like in a week and a half, I have experienced some crazy things. I can't wait to see what other crazy things I experience down the road. No matter what they are, I will try to find the humor in them and share. Good luck to everyone else out there going through this. And, to the people who are just thinking about having this done. It's not easy, but it's not as hard as you might think it is either. Just make sure you find the funny in everything. Because if you can find something to make you laugh at it all, it's much easier to swallow than any crushed up pill you have to take after surgery.

YAAAAAAAAY FOR YOU!!!! FINALLY!!!!

I was just trying to give some background. I am sorry you it made you feel sad. That wasn't my goal. As for counseling, I am not sure why you feel I need that but I respect your opinion. I am a positive person and even though my weight and back have caused some hardships I wouldn't change a thing. Everything I have been through has made me the person I am. I will try to be funnier...but like I said, i can't promise anything...what I find comical, some people may not...I will just be honest and blunt and just be myself. Hope you keep reading...and I hope I don't make you sad anymore. I don't want to make anyone sad.

You are doing so great!! I hope and pray to be just like you!! Congrats!

Happy Surgeversary!! Mine was on yesterday. I am glad you feel better and more energized.

I had just talked to my dietition about this. Do you have a support team, nurses, Dietition ect you can call up. Anyways what she said to me is the swelling goes down and the hunger increases because the band becomes looser. She also had asked how much water I am drinking and when. I was drinking only 4 cups of water max a day she told me to increase my water intake between meals taking in about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup or so every 15-30 mins. This will help tie you over longer. It really works and helps flush out your fat that you are burning also. You should never feel full it indicates that you have eaten too much. Slowing down eating is hard she said to divide food on your plate into 4 equall sections and take 5 mins to eat each. 45 sec's - 1 min per bite. I hope this helps you a little it has me.

Your post is disturbing. I've only been banded for 5 months and so far so good. I know and I knew going in that there are no guarantees that this would work. Maybe it won't? However, I've met dozens of people through support groups, Dr appointments and through this forum who would disagree with your heartfelt and passionate comments. Obviously you're disappointed that the band did not work for you and maybe it was the band, the surgeon, or, you? There are so many variables with human nature that it can't be difinitive. People reading your post might interpret your motivation as an angry attempt at disparaging a product that has without question, helped thousands of people regain their dignity and health. But to state that they are "horrible" and they don't work, flies in the face of reality. You're angry and you're striking back. In the future I'd recommend you state this: "Buyer Beware. This may not work for you." But I knew this long before I made the commitment and so did you. D