CP-Mike

Time has really gotten away on me. I suppose that is a good thing though. I've been more active and keeping busy... Let's get right to the juicy details.. Adjustments: I think I've had two since my last posting. I believe I am at 2 or 2.5cc now and I think it is about right. If I do things correctly (as in no liquid), I can't eat squat. But I usually use a little liquid, sometimes too much, but I am losing weight.. Weight: As of this morning I was at 264.5. It's progress, and I do see real differences, but it's not what it could be. I am not being as exact as I should be.. Exercise: I found something I can stick with. I started taking Karate with my son. We go twice per week and it's a pretty decent work out. It's not as much as I should do, but it's 100% more than I was doing.. And I enjoy it. I actually should maybe go 3-4 times per week, but the normal schedule is 2. Who knows, maybe I'll kick it up a notch. Work: About the same. Enjoying it, mostly routine 9-6, M-F stuff, but occasionally hectic. Other stuff: Not a lot to report there.. Just keeping on and watching the scale slowly more in the correct direction. I have managed to now move down a size in pants, so that's good. I also ran across some pictures of my from Thanksgiving '06.. oh CRAP I was a tubbo!!!! Good grief... These 39 lbs have really helped. I can't wait for the next 40 lbs! That's about it for now.. I'll try to write more frequently. I am always happy to answer PMs too.. Cheers! Mik

Crystal: It is good to hear you didn't have to battle Cancer! Even the scare is bad enough.. With regards to bruising, scaring, and time away from working out.. I have to be honest, it makes me wonder if you are trying to talk yourself out of the surgery.. If you are, that is fine, but you might want to look deeper to see why. I don't know how much you need to lose or your overall health, but I can tell you that I would do it all over again even if it took 3 weeks away from work/exercise and caused more scaring. (I'll have to post some early and current scar pics). Take a look around at the people who have been successful post-op and ask yourself if the journey was worth it for them. There is no reason it can't be as successful for any of us. One of the profound successes is Puddin.. She has a link to her pics in her profile.. Browse those.. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/members/puddin/ My point is that as long as the surgery "does no harm", once you are a year post-op and losing weight month over month, will the time away from the gym matter? Will a couple of scars matter? Just my thoughts... for what little they are worth.. CP-Mike

Howdy from Cedar Park Lins! I have had plenty of PBs. I have to admit, 99% of them were 100% my fault. I was not paying attention, in a hurry, took too big of a bite, etc.. The vast majority of mine are very small, not too unpleasant, and it's clears fast. Sometimes though, oh man.. The worst have been bread related.. As you can imagine.. It forms this "plug" that hits the stoma and smooth blocks it.. I'll share a bad experience.. I had to catch a shuttle to the airport, and had just snagged a grab-n-go Breakfast burrito... It stuck.. I couldn't get to a bathroom.. That was a very very bad 30 minutes.. very hard to hold.. Just like we all know, small tiny bites, and chew chew chew.

Time has really gotten away on me. I suppose that is a good thing though. I've been more active and keeping busy... Let's get right to the juicy details.. Adjustments: I think I've had two since my last posting. I believe I am at 2 or 2.5cc now and I think it is about right. If I do things correctly (as in no liquid), I can't eat squat. But I usually use a little liquid, sometimes too much, but I am losing weight.. Weight: As of this morning I was at 264.5. It's progress, and I do see real differences, but it's not what it could be. I am not being as exact as I should be.. Exercise: I found something I can stick with. I started taking Karate with my son. We go twice per week and it's a pretty decent work out. It's not as much as I should do, but it's 100% more than I was doing.. And I enjoy it. I actually should maybe go 3-4 times per week, but the normal schedule is 2. Who knows, maybe I'll kick it up a notch. Work: About the same. Enjoying it, mostly routine 9-6, M-F stuff, but occasionally hectic. Other stuff: Not a lot to report there.. Just keeping on and watching the scale slowly more in the correct direction. I have managed to now move down a size in pants, so that's good. I also ran across some pictures of my from Thanksgiving '06.. oh CRAP I was a tubbo!!!! Good grief... These 39 lbs have really helped. I can't wait for the next 40 lbs! That's about it for now.. I'll try to write more frequently. I am always happy to answer PMs too.. Cheers! Mik

High calorie liquids are of course a bad deal.. BUT why does it have to be a "large" glass. If you are drinking it because you really enjoy the taste, then can't you get the same sensory input with 4 oz of it taken a tiny sip at a time? If you view it like a treat, have a tiny bit, and just account for it in your overall daily intake, then why the heck not.. Of course, I know I wasn't so good at the whole moderation thing pre-banding, but it's really help me cut back so I'm not stressing over 4 oz of something I really like, as long as I am still losing. Of course Your Milage May Vary. Good luck..

Wow.. has it really been that long since I have written here... DOH.. Yeah, some of it I was "busy", but to be completely honest, I was hiding.. I had plateaued and didn't want to post that fact.. Well, there, I've gone and done it.. Okay, so what's been up... Well, I'm feeling good. -0- discomfort now, scars look great. (I need to post some pics). Got my first fill even, but I'll talk about that in a sec.. Let's talk about my plateau.. Well, it has been 100% my fault. Of course the swelling has gone and I've been able to get more down.. BUT, I also am still cheating by not stopping water with my meal. I knew this was going to be the hardest part, and it is. I have at least been good about avoiding liquid calories, for the most part.. I have had a glass of wine, or two.. and a beer or two, but those are special occasions and I try to allocate those empty calories by cutting back at other times on things. I have to just keep working on the complete chewing and limiting liquid at meal time.. This can and will work, I'm just still cheating a bit.. Okay, one more not so pleasant thing to talk more about.. PBs... Still having a few of them, but like I posted before, they are 100% self induced and they don't bother me. I am still learning what works and doesn't. Again, if you follow the directions (not my strength) you should not have these issues. But if you do, it's not the end of the world. Okay, on to the good stuff.. The scale is moving again (in the correct direction) and I am seeing some better fit in clothes. I was right at the upper edge of my pants being too tight, but now I'm almost ready to go down a size. Five more lbs should get me over that hump. I would like to bust 270 by mid-April. Ah, my fill.. lol.. man o man.. So check this out, Amy, my wife, gets the royal treatment when she goes in for fills.. Staff fawns over her, Dr. Clark is as nice as ever. (I know all this because a fill for her was my pre-op final exam, so we were there at the same time..) She gets the topical, then the local lidocain, then careful application of the bic pen sized needle for the fill. I was in awe and couldn't look away.. kind of like a bad car wreck.. Anyway, so this is her life.. All giggles and smiles.. So I go for my first check up and first fill on Friday, March 23rd. Staff is nice, but pretty matter of fact.. of course this is the general surgery office and not the bariatric office he goes to on Monday, so they don't know me, but I digress. I go back, weigh in (I do NOT like their scale.. evil vile thing), and then wait for Dr Clark. He shows, is great as usual, but it's pretty routine stuff... I lay back on the table thinking, oh yeah, piece of cake, I know what's coming. I feel the swabbing.. cool.. next should be the tiny lidocain needle for a little topical action.. Doc grabs a nice roll of fat over the port and says "okay, little stick here"... now I'm not new to this game.. right here I know... "uh oh, something's not right", and then WHAM... he pops me directly with the bic pen looking needle.. This isn't at all the peaches and cream I was expecting.. this in fact hurts.. I try to "man up" as we say and just inquire "uh, is that the lidocain or the fill?".. Doc's like, "oh, that hurts? usually in the scar it is numb so I just went for the fill"... of course he says this while at the same time groping around trying to find the center of the port where the needle actually does some good. "No doc, I feel it, and it isn't pleasant!" He apologizes and opts for the lidocain now, but I'm already amped up on adrenaline and none to cool. In pretty short order I'm now numbed up well enough he can continue to rooting around in my fat roll / scar tissue without my whinning. He opts to put in my first full CC of fill, which is a very odd feeling. It doesn't "hurt", but you can certainly tell something is going on deep in your gut. I get up and drink some water for him to make sure I can swallow okay. After some more chit chat and a reminder to back down to liquids for day or two to make sure I can tolerate things, I'm off. An interesting experience, certainly not up to Amy's high standards, but hey, she's a lot better looking and arguably nicer... such is my life.. I hope I can do a better job of keeping up here, and if anyone has any questions or suggestions, feel free to PM me. I'm pretty much an open book. Good luck all! Mike

Wow.. has it really been that long since I have written here... DOH.. Yeah, some of it I was "busy", but to be completely honest, I was hiding.. I had plateaued and didn't want to post that fact.. Well, there, I've gone and done it.. Okay, so what's been up... Well, I'm feeling good. -0- discomfort now, scars look great. (I need to post some pics). Got my first fill even, but I'll talk about that in a sec.. Let's talk about my plateau.. Well, it has been 100% my fault. Of course the swelling has gone and I've been able to get more down.. BUT, I also am still cheating by not stopping water with my meal. I knew this was going to be the hardest part, and it is. I have at least been good about avoiding liquid calories, for the most part.. I have had a glass of wine, or two.. and a beer or two, but those are special occasions and I try to allocate those empty calories by cutting back at other times on things. I have to just keep working on the complete chewing and limiting liquid at meal time.. This can and will work, I'm just still cheating a bit.. Okay, one more not so pleasant thing to talk more about.. PBs... Still having a few of them, but like I posted before, they are 100% self induced and they don't bother me. I am still learning what works and doesn't. Again, if you follow the directions (not my strength) you should not have these issues. But if you do, it's not the end of the world. Okay, on to the good stuff.. The scale is moving again (in the correct direction) and I am seeing some better fit in clothes. I was right at the upper edge of my pants being too tight, but now I'm almost ready to go down a size. Five more lbs should get me over that hump. I would like to bust 270 by mid-April. Ah, my fill.. lol.. man o man.. So check this out, Amy, my wife, gets the royal treatment when she goes in for fills.. Staff fawns over her, Dr. Clark is as nice as ever. (I know all this because a fill for her was my pre-op final exam, so we were there at the same time..) She gets the topical, then the local lidocain, then careful application of the bic pen sized needle for the fill. I was in awe and couldn't look away.. kind of like a bad car wreck.. Anyway, so this is her life.. All giggles and smiles.. So I go for my first check up and first fill on Friday, March 23rd. Staff is nice, but pretty matter of fact.. of course this is the general surgery office and not the bariatric office he goes to on Monday, so they don't know me, but I digress. I go back, weigh in (I do NOT like their scale.. evil vile thing), and then wait for Dr Clark. He shows, is great as usual, but it's pretty routine stuff... I lay back on the table thinking, oh yeah, piece of cake, I know what's coming. I feel the swabbing.. cool.. next should be the tiny lidocain needle for a little topical action.. Doc grabs a nice roll of fat over the port and says "okay, little stick here"... now I'm not new to this game.. right here I know... "uh oh, something's not right", and then WHAM... he pops me directly with the bic pen looking needle.. This isn't at all the peaches and cream I was expecting.. this in fact hurts.. I try to "man up" as we say and just inquire "uh, is that the lidocain or the fill?".. Doc's like, "oh, that hurts? usually in the scar it is numb so I just went for the fill"... of course he says this while at the same time groping around trying to find the center of the port where the needle actually does some good. "No doc, I feel it, and it isn't pleasant!" He apologizes and opts for the lidocain now, but I'm already amped up on adrenaline and none to cool. In pretty short order I'm now numbed up well enough he can continue to rooting around in my fat roll / scar tissue without my whinning. He opts to put in my first full CC of fill, which is a very odd feeling. It doesn't "hurt", but you can certainly tell something is going on deep in your gut. I get up and drink some water for him to make sure I can swallow okay. After some more chit chat and a reminder to back down to liquids for day or two to make sure I can tolerate things, I'm off. An interesting experience, certainly not up to Amy's high standards, but hey, she's a lot better looking and arguably nicer... such is my life.. I hope I can do a better job of keeping up here, and if anyone has any questions or suggestions, feel free to PM me. I'm pretty much an open book. Good luck all! Mike

Puddin, Great post and I wonder if it might really be a great new thread to start! I have often wondered what I would do if I could "snap my fingers and be smoking hot".. I too have always been the "big guy" in the bunch and "just like a big brother" on the dating scene. I can certainly understand the desire to be flirted with and just smile and walk away. That will be my only option now as a married man, but it'll still be fun if it happens. I have a great wife who also recently was banded, and honestly I think she is going to start seeing a lot more attention. She disagrees as she already gets flirted with, ring and all, lol. As long as no one is crude, I am fine with it. We are both big flirts anyway. As for using the super-hot guys and sending them packing, at the risk of being crude... BRAVO on you.. Having always been heavy too it's easy to see how pathetic and shallow so many people are, they reap what they sow. The challenge for you will be turning that on and off. You might just find that good looking guy that really is a great catch. I don't know about you, but I have found that over the years I've developed perhaps a 6th sense about people by just looking into their eyes. I've seen such inner beauty hidden in overweight bodies. It's really cool to look around the pictures on this site because you can just see it. All sorts of great people finally shedding the weight and letting the inner beauty out. Let us know how all the NLP work goes. It might well be something that many of us could benefit from.

Wow how time flies! It's been a pretty good week. I think I'm at about 98% now. I can sleep on both sides and I only have pain a tiny bit, and usually just at the port site, and usually only when I bend over at the waist.. So basically nothing to think about. I have had a fair # of PBs this past week, but they are 100% my fault for trying to eat a wide variety of things.. Right now I am using water and LOTS of chewing to take "regular" food and make it conform to the "mushy" stage I should be at. From time to time I catch myself not doing it right, and then it's PB time. Honestly that just highlights the bad eating habits that got me here in the first place (eating fast and not paying attention). I see it as part of the re-education process. Still haven't tested out beer yet, but that is coming too. All of the scars, except for the port site, are going to just fade away nicely. The port site has scared a bit, but it looks like it's going to settle down and maybe just take longer to fade. But honestly, if I get to lose 80-100 lbs, I can suffer through one small scar on the belly!! I continue to slowly lose, but it certainly has slowed recently, but that is fine. 1-2/wk is the target, and I am still without a fill. Cheers!

Wow how time flies! It's been a pretty good week. I think I'm at about 98% now. I can sleep on both sides and I only have pain a tiny bit, and usually just at the port site, and usually only when I bend over at the waist.. So basically nothing to think about. I have had a fair # of PBs this past week, but they are 100% my fault for trying to eat a wide variety of things.. Right now I am using water and LOTS of chewing to take "regular" food and make it conform to the "mushy" stage I should be at. From time to time I catch myself not doing it right, and then it's PB time. Honestly that just highlights the bad eating habits that got me here in the first place (eating fast and not paying attention). I see it as part of the re-education process. Still haven't tested out beer yet, but that is coming too. All of the scars, except for the port site, are going to just fade away nicely. The port site has scared a bit, but it looks like it's going to settle down and maybe just take longer to fade. But honestly, if I get to lose 80-100 lbs, I can suffer through one small scar on the belly!! I continue to slowly lose, but it certainly has slowed recently, but that is fine. 1-2/wk is the target, and I am still without a fill. Cheers!

I want to know how it reacts if, God forbid, you ever need diphibulation. That certainly will introduce a lot of voltage into the body, I would think best case it would burn the system out causing the need for a replacement (should you survive the heart issue). Worse, what if it causes the band to contract dramatically and then burn out... OUCH! hmm... Saline sounds good for now.

Dreamer, That is a really tough personal decision. I too had never been "put under", so I didn't know how things would go. I was in the surgery center of a good hospital, so that did ease my mind. I also spoke with a lot of people pre-op, some of them with good knowledge in the medical area. One reported that the technology used now in anesthesia is so much better and more exacting that they wouldn't hesitate to go under in either location. My "day of" experience was pretty good actually.. I was sooo wanting to get the "versed" pushed I was almost begging for it.. However, just having a loved one with you and trying to distract yourself is enough to get you to the versed.. I used humor, I was joking with every person I interacted with. I don't think I was too bad, but I didn't care, humor was my drug. Versed is only pushed in the IV by the anesthesia specialist who is the last person you see before heading into the surgery suite. Once they push that, you can forget about any worries in the world. Someone could tell you the IRS was auditing you and you would not care.. Complications are rare, however, we made sure to get the most experienced (# of bands installed) surgeon in Austin. Best wishes for a smooth procedure.

Man, I just can't find a brotha who either has been able to enjoy one, or will admit to it.. Oh well, in a couple of weeks I'll find out myself.. Who knows, maybe I can't..

My_o_My, NOTE: I'm new, so I am really asking so I understand, not because I've been there done that.. Before this fill, what did a day look like for you? I am speaking of calories in the mouth.. Also, did you drink liquids with meals? (I am worried about this for myself). Most of us got here with either just bad eating habits, or more serious conditions (food addictions, chemical/hormone balance issues, etc). Those issues don't just go away with the installation of the band. I found out the hard way yesterday when I got wrapped up in the hustle of a busy day and popped something in my mouth, didn't chew well, and then in 2 mins was in the bathroom for a PB. Also, I've exchanged messages with other people who seemed so "afraid of failure" but in fact, they were subconsciously causing the failure because they were in fact "afraid to succeed" and very accustomed to "failing".

A pretty good couple of days. I are back 100% at my desk jockey job so that's good, I suppose. Moving around now with no regular pain, just a little at the port site, but that is very minor and not even worth medicating. I am still unable to sleep on my left side, but no problems on my right. I've been experimenting with different types of more solid foods, but have had a few PBs (productive burps), which is not as bad as barfing in that it’s not deep and gut wrenching.. It’s still too early, but I’m bored with soup, and want to explore my range of tolerance. I did manage to accidentally slow my loss with too many carbs one day, but that was easily fixed.

A pretty good couple of days. I are back 100% at my desk jockey job so that's good, I suppose. Moving around now with no regular pain, just a little at the port site, but that is very minor and not even worth medicating. I am still unable to sleep on my left side, but no problems on my right. I've been experimenting with different types of more solid foods, but have had a few PBs (productive burps), which is not as bad as barfing in that it’s not deep and gut wrenching.. It’s still too early, but I’m bored with soup, and want to explore my range of tolerance. I did manage to accidentally slow my loss with too many carbs one day, but that was easily fixed.

Nice work on the 35 lbs! Bruce I understand what you are saying, I really do.. I too have done some HB'ing (not recently).. Since I drink for taste, it is totally reasonable for me to have 1 good beer with dinner and that's it. I also don't mind cutting down on volume, or giving up some cals other places as a trade.. all of those are fine.. BUT, saying "no more ever", or switching to liquor, I just don't see it. I have tried many many different distilled spirits and I have not enjoyed any of them. If it takes me an hour to drink a 6-8oz of good beer before I get to eat my 3 oz filet, I'm okay with that.. But the point is noted.

Jack, I am sorry to hear about your situation, that stinks.. I do very much understand that we all make sacrafices of things we would not normally have based on medical needs... my band comes to mind.. I have some pre-op Guiness in the fridge so I will just have to test it out myself in time. I'll report back, but it's likely be several weeks..

Everyone should give a big shout out THANKS to Alexandra, the moderator. She agreed to make this thread sticky!

When I am having trouble like that I get some Lifeway Kefir. Sooo many times in the past when I had lower GI issues, it helped. Lifeway Kefir During my pre-op diet I was on Atkins shakes and had normal, but less frequent BMs. Just before surgery things softened up a bit, but never like what was described here.

Margi, It's really hard for us to comment too much what's best for you without knowing more about your situation. For me, I had the discussion about "going open" and what should happen.. I told him under NO circumstances was he to do anything other than a LapBand.. NO bypass, etc.. period. If things fall apart, fix the damaged parts, close me up, and then let's review the situation. BUT, I choose that path because I am not heavy enough (in my opinion) to get a bypass. Cascadian might have offered a nice compromise.. Perhaps research that..

Well tomorrow is one week... WOOT! So today I felt pretty good. 2nd day back at work and I wasn't as wiped out by 5pm. Yesterday I left about 4, I was "done" and sore. In general things are still progressing well. Sleeping on my right side now and uninterrupted. Still get some stomach spasms, but most are short and not too painful. I did go to a work lunch today. Ordered the Baked Potato Soup and even eating slow I didn't get much down before feeling very very full.. It was nice to see the band working. (I even used water to help make sure the soup was thin enough) I did start feeling more pronounced pain on my port site incision.. Not sure what all that is about.. I'll give it a could of days, I might have tweaked it off by twisting funny or bending over.. Oh, and Steri-Strips... arghh.. I want a numeric answer someone.. I want to know the "minimum" length of time recommended to leave them on, and then a "maximum" when more time gets you no more benefit.. I don't like these "leave em until they fall off"... that varies too much...

Surgery on a Thursday, was able to "work from home" on Monday and returned to my desk on Tuesday (wished I waited one more day).. If you have a job on your feet, TAKE A WEEK!

Jillrn.. The pre-op diet seems to do 2 things.. 1) shrinks your liver (so they say), my surgeon was impressed with mine 2) proves you can follow important instructions An important part of this journey is making the needed changes in our lives to work with the band in a healthy way. As we all know, regaining the weight is not the worst thing that can happen if we don't follow instructions.. There are serious negative results for doing the wrong things. Part of my pre-op testing including a psych eval to make sure I was in the right mental state to learn and follow the instructions. I did cheat some on the pre-op diet, but it was really pretty minor and obviously worked since my surgeon reported a "nice and small" liver to my wife in the waiting room.

Well he has to know it's not "quick, simple, or easy", but it is worth it, at least at this point.. lol... We'll see in a year, but I doubt my attitude will change. I want my next 20 years to be better than my previous, and it wasn't heading that way. The gas pains can be tough, I had some pretty tough ones the first couple of days while I was on pain meds, but by day 3 I was able to drop back to liquid tylenol, and then nothing. Are you moving around enough? I've read that you need to "walk them out". OH.. almost forgot.. heating pad.. Amy found that a heating pad behind the right shoulder on medium would really help, she set that up for me, and YES MA'AM! The constant hunger surprises me.. For the first several days I felt not only not hungry, I felt like I had a huge lump in my throat.. I did "eat", if that's what you call Atkins shakes and Apple juice, but real "hunger" was not an issue. Thanks and best of luck on your recovery! We'll rock this thing! My work is desk jockey stuff, which honestly I could work from home, but the project manager I am "working for" is an ex-marine, so I only worked from home on Monday, and now pretty much just sit, type, talk, and drink 3 Atkin's shakes.. weeeeee With a physical job, no freaking way.. I'd still be out of work, but restless at home. Get your hubby on the guys thread so we can talk some sense into him...