Wheelchair

Hello everyone! I'm getting banded tomorrow at 10:30. Gosh...it's a bit overwhelming. I had my initial consultation with my surgeon three weeks ago and I'm already scheduled for surgery. I don't know how I feel about it all... I'm very stoked about having the surgery date and am looking forward to a better future... but there are things that weigh my mind. I am no stranger to having surgeries...and....quite frankly, I'm not looking forward to it. It conjures up too many bad memories and I just hope the first few weeks will fly by. My surgeon doesn't do a pre-op diet and I found out two days ago that I'll have the surgery tomorrow. I've been put on a clear liquid diet for 24hrs prior to surgery... and wow I am hungry . I was doing some yardwork this morning and almost passed out... Well..I've seen some great information and support in this site and I hope I get to know many of you a lot better. Wish me luck!!!

Oh gosh...i felt the same thing when I first started. For me...it took around 3 weeks from my initial consultation to my surgery. But I spent about 2 months prior to that just researching, reading, and attending seminars with various surgeons. Now I'm 2 months post surgery...and it all went by so fast.

Through a friend of a co-worker of mine, I got to adopt a 1 year old purebred long haired german shepherd. I was looking for a German shepherd for a couple months now.... buying one from a reputable breeder would cost over $1500...and the ones at the shelter didn't fit my lifestyle. But the one I just got is pure sweetheart. She gets along with my current dog, who is a 30lb Beagle/Dashchund mix. I'll have to take some pictures of her. She's gorgeous. 100lb shepherd..which is REALLY BIG for a female German Shepherd...(average male is about 80lbs). We expect her to fill out to about 120lbs. So why is this relevant? I hope to do some training with Bella and get exercise with her. She's already got me waking up at 4:30 this morning to let her outside. I'm in front of the computer, getting some much needed work done..and now I'm taking a break to write this post. She's already a good influence on me....

Without deciding on surgery, a person has to follow a certain regimen in order to lose weight the 'correct way'. This way should minimize the yo-yo effect and teach the person a new way of life. I'll stop the babbling and get to the point. How does living with the band affect our metabolism, more specifically, our resting metabolic rate? The 'correct' way of weight loss, to which I keep referring to, requires a person to eat small meals many times a day. This makes sure that a person is never really hungry and should prevent the person from over-eating out of hunger. Additionally, eating small meals every 3~4 hours means that the body is ALWAYS digesting and naturally, the metabolic rate increases. During my freshman year in college, I lost 75 pounds by exercising hard and eating right. I would eat every 3 hours on the dot and would run 5~8 miles a day. At that point in my life, my metabolism was fast enough to maintain my weight loss. After my motorcycle accident and the subsequent years spent in the wheelchair, my metabolism has dwindled down to a near-stop. I definitely eat less than I used to... but the mere fact of my limited mobility meant that I kept gaining weight. Now that I'm banded... I've read up on the lifestyle after surgery... but it got me wondering if the post-surgery diet is actually conducive for long-term weight loss. Eating small meals only 3 times a day means less caloric intake.... but what about its effects on the RMR....on how the body spends the calories? I'm starting to think about diverting from the surgeon's diet guidelines to one where I can increase my RMR. Of course, I will have to increase my weight-lifting to further enhance my weight loss...

I did the same hump in 55 minutes! This is including the detour we took to look at some horses. I was afraid a horse would drop kick my Bella... but it seemed like the horse was more scared of Bella...

EVERYDAY!!!!!

I wonder if aquatic exercises wouldn't benefit you. Drastically decreased impact on your joints, and increased resistance under Water would make sure it's a good workout routine for ya. Are you taking any meds for your neuropathic pain? Vicodin/Lortab does wonders for me.

happens to me all the time... I'll eat too fast and then I'll have to slime and PB... if I drink water...that makes it A LOT worse

OP... how much weight loss are you expecting at this point?

I have no idea on the insurance aspects.. but are you also wanting to stay overnight? My surgeon requires an overnight stay but I was VERY ADAMANT about going home as soon as I was able. I had my surgery at 10am... and I was relaxing at home before 3pm. I just don't like staying in hospitals...

This. If i lost 36 lbs...i'd be more than halfway to my goal... i'd love that Be a turtle.

Are you taking any medications? Dry mouth is a big side effect for a lot of drugs...

Welcome! The best thing you can do is gain knowledge and then make an informed decision. The band has given a lot of us a second chance at a healthy life and it might do so for you! Just remember...the band isn't the solution. The solution lies in the life you choose to lead after the band. Balance your pros and cons... and I hope you make the best decision!

hahha...toitle...i love it....KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!

True true. My favorite shopping destination is NORTHERN TOOLS and SUMMIT RACING. Everything else is blah...

You do know that statistically, the overall EWL is comparable among WLS.

OP...could you expound on why you find it insulting? I'm not trying to be a smartass or cynical... I would just like to know....better "understand" women . Because in my way of thinking... why wouldn't they do it? It makes a lot of more sense than putting the maternity section right next to the pharmacy... or the pet section... or even lawn and gardens. Why not right next to the baby section? Well....that does make more sense... but perhaps it's because people that already HAVE babies (no more in womb) don't really need to go to the maternity section. (That is... to your disappointment your baby wasn't born 75lbs like you wished for.) Maybe I'm reaching here... but it does seem understanding the opposite sex is an exercise in futility.

Gosh...I haven't drank alcohol in months... but this week I've had about 6 drinks spanning over 4 days. This isn't much by any means but even 1 drink is too much after surgery. The company I work for had a big breakthrough and we had plenty reasons to Celebrate so I allowed myself to indulge. No more from this point though...

hippa is actually....HIPAA...but the point is...your health information is safe and secure. Plus....like cindy mentions... disregard the release forms... HIPAA's sole purpose is to protect your information. Or... let the gossip happen... and then you can SUE!!! I'll just ask for a modest 10% finder's fee

Very important post indeed! I honestly won't listen to anyone complaining about not finding the time to incorporate workouts to their daily routine. This is purely nonsense. You found time to gorge and pig-out...you can find time to exercise. I'm not a big fan of 2~3 hour workout sessions. I think it's too much and cannot be sustained for a long time. However, I do believe in doing various 15~20 minute exercise sessions throughout the day. Being a paraplegic, I'm only able to work out my upper body... but I try to do as much as i can. Even pushing my manual wheelchair, I can change the style to isolate different muscle groups. For instance, I can lean forward and focus on my pectorals... or I can lean back and work on my front deltoids. I can also go uphill backwards in my wheelchair to work out my traps and some triceps. I'll try to go around my neighborhood (about 1 mile) with my dog at least once a day. It's pretty tough because we have pretty steep hills. My mother ails from rheumatoid arthritis and absolutely abhors working out... but I am so adamant that if she'd lose 30~40 pounds, the impact on her knees would be so much less. I guess it's much easier said than done.

All you ladies are such sweeties... taking this type of stupidity with such grace. It's a good lesson for me to learn from all of you But back to the OP's statements.... what is the PURPOSE of your post? Who (or what) are you calling dumb? Your post is so ambiguous and vague that I can't discern a reason why someone would waste their time to start such a thread. Are you reaching out for support because you're not getting the results you wished? Or are you just venting because AUNT FLOW has come to visit you?? (Yes...I see that you're a male.... ) I haven't bothered to look at your profile... but others have said that you're 25? Well....so am I. At your age (and mine)... if you're so sick of dieting and exercising... why are you expecting ANY weight loss? I'm sure your surgeon and his team told you that diet and exercise would still be needed to facilitate weight loss even after LAGB surgery right? Or did you buy a band on Fleabay and have one of your homies put it in for ya? Also... do you have a problem with surgeons making a lot of money?? Do you have any idea the grueling education and residency they have to get through to be where they are? To me... 4 years of med school with 4+ years of residency (not to mention 100Ks in debt) to become a surgeon SHOULD warrant a high paycheck. I apologize for being harsh... but if you need support... ASK for it. There are great people here willing to walk with you every step of the way. But please don't insult everyone's intelligence by boldly (and idiotically) stating that LAGB is a scam and a joke.

That sure is odd. I, too, had 2 ml during surgery (6/3) and received my first fill of 2.5ml this past wednesday. I feel a whole lot of restriction now... a lot more than I had before. Relatively, do you feel LESS restriction after the fill? Are you still on mushies or have you progressed to solids?

You may need to ask your doctor to write you a prescription for an anti-emetic. You should have been given some at the recovery room post-op... and it would have been nice for your surgeon to prescribe one to take home. I was feeling fine during recovery... but I had a very difficult time with nausea the first two days after surgery. Unfortunately, I wasn't given an anti-emetic to go home with... and my surgery was on Friday so I had to wait until Monday for a script. But by then, I was feeling fine. I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering from nausea... for me...it's one of the worst feelings in the world. Severely diminishes your quality of life. I hope you feel better soon!

Hmm... good question. I wonder if insurance wouldn't pick up the tab. I figure it's a medical complication from surgery... so if insurance has paid for the surgery... perhaps they would pay for the revision. I'd also like to know if anyone can chime in with some info.

I don't understand...how much weight loss are you expecting at this stage? You're only a couple weeks post surgery and you've already lost more than 15 pounds. To me, that's doing better than awesome.