Jim1967

I went to one of my Wife's mandatory preop band class last week and a young lady walked in with one of those Starbuck lattes and I was just sitting there amazed. Just sucking down the high calorie sugar drink in a support class. I really wanted to walk over there look at her and point at it and say 'REALLY??'

What??? I got this band strapped around my stomach and I still have to watch what I eat?? Can't we just tighten that thing up to the max?? I heard that one from my Father In Law about 7 months ago.

Patience for me was probably one of the toughest aspects of this process. Like everyone else has said you just need to give your body some time to adjust and change will come. It will be slow and steady. That is just how it works. Hang in there and do what you supposed to and the weight loss will come. Good Luck!!

Thank you. As for lighting fires...while my Wife was supportive she felt she didn't need it or want it herself. That was then and today she has her last appointment and is hoping to get a surgery date. It is great we can do this for ourselves but it is also rewarding to know that we can be an inspirational motivator and help others. At the end of the day though if they're are not committed then success will be very difficult. You can show them the door but only they can walk through it.

Losing is a challenge but keeping it off is an even bigger challenge. I worry all the time about whether or not I will keep it off with the band let alone the thought of not having the band at all. Long before my Band days I had lost 175lbs between 2003 and 2004 and got down to 219. I somehow managed to put it all back on plus an additional 90lbs. Even now when I reflect back I am not totally sure how I managed to let myself go and let it get so bad. I think perhaps I felt so good about myself and that life was grand that had I slipped back into habits and then begin making excuses for not taking corrective actions. So as you can see I am very nervous about keeping it off long term as I had already failed before. Band or no band but at least with the band I am hoping my weight issues forever stay on the forefront of my mind so what happened before will not repeat on me. From 2003 to 2004 I went from 394 to 219 back up to 488 by 2011. Completely disgusting and inexcusable and to this day I haven't forgiven myself. I wish you all the luck in the world and hope it works out but if it were me I would revise to something else if possible.

That's just so wrong. Now a days a Teacher would be sued for something like that. I could not begin to imagine making the same journey I made then in these modern times. I was a School Kid in the 70's and 80's long before Internet and social media. Kids today have so many resources to utilize in their bullying tactics.

If only WLS was an option for me back when I was 13 or 14. I imagine I could/would be a very different person today. My self esteem would be different. Maybe less shy and perhaps I would not have hated School so much and who knows what could've been. I was 150 pounds in 5th grade. I was teased a lot and was the heaviest kid in my class. I can even remember the gym teacher snickering when he weighed me. I dreaded School and did not have many friends. I often thought my biggest problem in my life at the time was my weight and suicide thoughts came and went and if it weren't for my family I don't know if I'd be here typing this. I agree it is a case by case situation but I think it would require a full staff of Docs, Nurses, Nutritionists and Counselors with full involvement of parents.

I will always be a recovering soda addict. I have been dry for 14 months. My Doc says if I really want it he was OK with it if I drink it flat but he finds patients who tend to go back to drinking soda (whether it be diet or not) tend to put weight back on. I don't touch it and I even avoid the chance if smelling it. It makes me sad the grip food/drink can have on a person. My Wife has a friend who had the band and said it failed him and he only managed to lose 20 pounds in a years time. His Doctor would not do the revision because he felt he did not follow the program and another surgery was pointless if it meant more non compliance. He went and got a new Doctor who would do it. Last week he revised to full gastric bypass. Three days later he spoke to my Wife and said he was considering blending crab rangoon cause he had such a craving for Chinese. I told my wife that is some serious head hunger right there and he needs some real help or he will fail again.

I've been in your shoes with this. I started the process in October of 2011 and had to jump through those insurance hoops but I can tell you it is so worth it. When I was doing those 6 months it seemed like the longest 6 months ever but now I look back at what a fantastic ride it was. I learned so much and attended so many meetings and met good people that I wouldn't change a thing. In fact when my 6 months ended and I had no other appointments left until Surgery day it felt like something was missing. Researching, learning and having time to digest information is never a bad thing. Use this time to develop habits to help make you a successful bandster. Stick with it. You can get through this. I hit 200lb loss mark this morning and I wouldn't change a thing with my journey. All the benefits of losing this weight would have been worth a year wait as oppose to 6 months. Stick with it and don't give up on the dream.

hmm..never heard that. I'll have to ask my Doc. You know how they are all different.

Surprised you take ibuprofen as it is an NSAID....

I only miss it on St Patty's day when I typically had a pint or two of Guinness. Darn carbonation....

Another great article Jean!! Thanks. Btw my wife is starting on her own journey and is now reading Bandwagon and loves it. We call it the Band Bible. :-)

I got hung up on calories for a while cause I had a hard time hitting 1000 a day. I went to my Nut and she told me not to focus on the calorie count because the reality is my stomach is smaller now and I am going to end up over eating or grazing just trying to hit those numbers. She told me just to keep making good food choices and stay away from trigger foods and sliders and if I start to feel hungry to stop and think about whether or not my body needs it or if it's in my head. Head hunger is the worse battle to over come but it can be done. Her advice seems sound to me as that was 80lbs ago.

Agreed. My First week I was on straight liquid with no lumps. Week 2 I was allowed mushies and protein shakes. Though every Doctor has their own method of madness...

Agree with Steph. You should be able to swallow. If you cannot get anything down at all then call your Doc. If you just getting full quickly then that is normal. You're swollen inside and out.

Congratulations on your Surgery! I actually only had the anti nausea patch on behind my ear just before surgery and removed the next morning. It did not affect my vision however,,,they put the patch on me in the room 30 minutes before surgery and my wife noticed it was falling off so she pushed back on. Well she forgot to wash her hands and while I was in surgery she rubbed her eyes. Her eyes dilated and her vision blurred. She had completely forgot about the patch she touched. When I got back into my room she came to me and made sure I was OK then told me what was happening. My Nurse looked at her and said I need to get you to ER right now. Her BP was up and they were concerned about a stroke. She had an MRI and everything and then in the end she remembered she touched the patch. Scary day for her. Sorry that was a bit of a long story... Having difficulties getting liquids in was definitely a challenge. Just have to do the best you can to prevent dehydration or you can end up back in the hospital. As for the swelling you'll definitely have that inside and out for a while. It take a bit to heal but each day should get better. It is very important to get up and walk as often as you can. Believe it or not walking will help you heal and discard the gas they use to inflate your stomach to do the surgery. For pain meds they prescribed liquid percocet. I didn't need any after day 2. I felt pretty good.

Congratulations to all you big losers