I thought I would post my story here in the hopes that this would keep someone from making the same mistake I did.
I had my surgery in February of this year. I didn't hit the 'sweet spot' until the second week of May. Since then I have lost about 55 pounds.
I am an occasional marijuana user. By occasional I mean that I will smoke whenever I want for one month out of the year. I do this because I am drug tested frequently for my job, but I have the summer off every year (no, I am not a teacher). In the past I would smoke during the month of June, then quit with a solid 2 months between me and my next drug test. Most literature about marijuana use states that 30 days is the maximum time for your body to process the detectable THC metabolites that are detected by urine tests if you are a chronic every-day user, and/or overweight. Because THC is stored in fat cells someone who is overweight may need extra time to get rid of the toxins. I left myself 2 months every year just to be sure, and I never had a problem with failing a drug test.
This year I took my test after abstaining from marijuana use for 8 weeks. I failed the test.
I can only assume that due to Lap Band and not being able to eat very much my metabolism has slowed down drastically and 8 weeks was no longer enough time for my body to get rid of the toxins. Another reason could be the fat loss was reintroducing the toxins stored in my fat back into my blood stream, although from the research I have done online that seems a little less likely. Either way, the result was the same. I failed my test, and now I am in danger of losing
my job.
I am still waiting to find out what my employers will ultimately do about this, but regardless what happens, I will never ever use marijuana or any other illegal drug again. I was stupid to do it in the first place, but years of getting away with it had made me complacent.
I hope this information will help someone else not have to go through what I am going through right now.
