TheCascadian

Hello all, I got the email and figured it would be nice to stop by and say hello and give a long-winded update. Feel free to skip the boring parts! I got my band on 03/28/07; four years ago this month! Feels like I've had it longer, actually. I'm still overweight, but my weight is very steady around 300-310lbs (6'6" tall) for years now. This is down from my all-time high of 420+ lbs., although constant Atkins dieting and exercise were keeping me well below that weight in the years prior to the surgery. I think I was bouncing around in the 360-390 range in the months before surgery, but I tell people I lost over 100 pounds with the band because without low-carb dieting and running that would be very true. The band did what I wanted- it stopped my ravenous hunger and stabilized my weight so I wasn't CONSTANTLY gaining pounds or dieting back down. Ironically, what it changed most was my mind, not my body. I feel like a normal person now, somebody who should really hit the gym and drop that beer gut, instead of somebody haunted by a fatal metabolic disorder and a love/hate relationship with food. I'm at 9.6cc fill on a vanguard, reasonable restriction. I never got the hang of eating without fluids and in fact I drink lots of Water with my meals. I know I'm flushing the band but it works for me. I can and do eat normal-sized meals, just very slowly. This is a big change from my pre-band diet where I would eat a meal for two- or three- and still be hungry after. I'm a bit picky about what I eat now; my friends and I joke that I have "surgical bulimia" on those bad-band days (no, we are not very p.c. and I do understand that's a serious eating disorder), but I have had a couple of somewhat-comical upchucking/spewing events that won't be described here, usually after trying to down some tasty but heavy / glutinous food. For some reason hamburger patties and hand-tossed pizza crusts are utterly intolerable to my band no matter how much I chew them. Thankfully about a year after surgery I found lettuce/spinach/salads could finally go through the band just fine. I do not religiously avoid sweets. I just eat these things in normal amounts now. As far as band side-effects or issues go, like I said I have very occasional bad days where I hurl most food up. These days are always solitary and they never prevent me from taking water in, there is no associated pain with this other than hunger. I don't think my band has ever slipped. I don't have any heartburn issues. Sometimes I bump by port and it gets sore but overall I would say I've had no serious complications and I'm very happy with my band. I've had the flu twice, promethazin suppositories kept the retching to a minimum. I do have a standing arrangement with my surgeon that if my band ever messes up and needs further surgery, he will take it out and revise me to a vertical gastrectomy.

I'm glad my pain can bring some joy into your lives, people! LOL. Had a similar experience today: My Starbucks cinnamon roll for Breakfast (I know, I know, poor choices!) was going fine: I had one bite... Two bites... Thre- DUDE. DIDN'T WE JUST TALK ABOUT THIS? REMEMBER THE BURRITO? KAY THANX BAI, YOUR STOMACH. The rest of that breakfast fiasco is sitting on the kitchen counter in a ziploc awaiting my hungry and unbanded roommate... Gotta love restriction. WASA- steal away, I'm not getting royalties for it or anything.

So I'm up to 8cc in my 10cc band. And I think I just may have finally gotten some restriction. I was eating out the other night with friends at some mexican food joint. After having a handful of chips and salsa, I ordered a beef burrito- ala carte (no rice or Beans or anything else). It was a small one, not one of these jumbo three-and-half-hand monstrosities that are so common these days. I'd say it was 6 inches long, about 1 cup of filling inside plus the tortilla. I am used to eating about a normal-sized meal since getting banded (no restriction, but my hunger just isn't there and I get satiated now, thank god). Prior to this latest fill, I could easily eat MOST of a 1/4 pound burger, a small handful of fries and maybe a bite of somebody else's dessert. ((( Now, I'm giving this as an EXAMPLE OF QUANTITY, not an example of what I normally eat, mind you. ))) So anyway, I was fully planning on finishing this small burrito and got halfway through with it when I suddenly started getting a strange new message: DUDE. THIS IS RESTRICTION. STOP EATING NOW OR I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET IT. FONDEST REGARDS, YOUR STOMACH. So, with a last mournful glance at my half-eaten meal, I pushed it away. Three meals later, the only thing I seem to be able to really pack away is sushi. I ate an entire salmon and avocado roll without an issue, but I did drink with that meal (wasabe is HOT, people, very very hot! LOL.) So I guess I'm also getting the dummy's education about drinking with the band and how it affects your portions. I'm down about 65 pounds now in 2.5 months, but it has been slowing wayyyy down. I need to exercise, too, dammit. This band is the best thing ever. Now to conquer my own stupidity.

Hmmm... Dealbreakers? The key phrase here is "everything in moderation". I don't mind a girl who smokes weed, just don't want an addict. Hard drugs call into question the sanity/maturity/health of the user, of course. Again, the key idea here is "no addicts". I hesitate to lay down too many firm rules or qualifications that a potential partner must meet or avoid simply because people handle things so differently. What is a disastrous event or quality in one person is merely a picadillo or quirk in another. Obviously, as a single twenty-something male with no children and no prior marriages, I am VERY leery of other people's little kids. I'm not a father and don't want to jump into that role with some other guy's offspring- I'll make my own in due time, thanks. But, wouldn't you know it, I had a wonderful time on a date with a divorced mother of one child just a few days ago. If I had been unwilling to date this woman because of a hard-and-fast "rule", I would have missed out on somebody really special. I get to know people and if we don't match up I move along. It's a big world, no hard feelings and I try my best not to make enemies or to miss out on great opportunities.

Right on, thanks for the advice and experiences, everybody. I cannot eat anything like what I used to... I'm eating half or less and staying full longer. But those first few weeks of "four bites and I'm done" sure were nice. I have monthly fill appointments and phentermine (hunger control/weight loss pills) until I get good restriction. The pills will probably continue until I am at goal weight. As the Doctor pointed out, weight loss pills work great until you stop taking them... Then you gain it all back. Unless, of course, you have a properly-restricted lapband installed. LOL.

Actually, I had my fill about two weeks ago! LOL. Hasn't changed, other than the usual daily fluctuation on "tighter" when I get up and "looser" later on.

After surgery, I found I wasn't very hungry and couldn't eat much more than a small chicken breast, a can of tuna or maybe a small dinner salad. Not all three mind you, one of those would fill me up completely. Then I got my first fill. 5cc in a 10cc band. Now, when I don't eat I am STARVING and I can actually eat an almost-normal-sized meal. For instance, I ate all the meat and most of the veggies off a fajita skillet at Chilis Restaraunt today, as well as some appetizer... My body is so damned wierd... Thinking about having the fill removed and seeing if my hunger goes away again! LOL.

Lost a lot on Atkins back in the day, at 23 years old. Stomach and ass tightened back up flat with horrid stretch marks (electric red), they faded and then I regained it all. This time, skin is tightening up a bit already, but not like it did the first time. Thankfully, I kept 12 inches off my waist by working out LAST TIME, so there is not soo much extra skin anyway. It's all just front lower belly hanging a bit. Just a roll that looks nasty, that's all I've got that is hanging "wrong" off my frame. But I was blessed with 6'6" of frame, so I carried my morbid obesity better than most... Arms, legs, chest and back are tightening up just fine and look normal.

Yeah, I can't disagree with anything that was said- better to follow doctors instructions. I determined that I needed to ignore them and I may very well suffer problems down the line from that decision. Or I may end up just fine. Time will tell. For now, I'm feeling awesome and losing weight.

Banded on 03/28/07. No complications. I felt almost completely healed at two weeks out. My Doctor wanted me to remain on Clear Liquids and Protein Shakes for two ADDITIONAL weeks (until one month after surgery). He said this was for weight loss as well as to let adhesions develop around the band. I could lie and say I was following his rules, but at the two-week mark I started on full liquids, then mushies. Never felt a twinge from the band on any of it. Couple days later, I was on solids again, chewing well and feeling great. I've got a valid excuse in that the Protein shakes were making me gag- literally. Seven different brands of powder and can, all nasty. Plus, the only clear liquids that tasted good to drink were sugary fruit juices- I am not a broth/soup person at all. I was genuinely worried that I would "sugar" myself out of losing any weight. I wasn't getting enough protein, felt weak and tired. Now, my doctor and I had already discussed me doing Atkins on the band until I'm done losing. He also put me on Phentermine (appetite suppressant) to speed this whole process and help me through bandster hell. Anyway, I've been doing Atkins with only a couple minor cheating incidents. I get my protein from real meat. I avoid sugar. I feel FREAKING AWESOME. Today is exactly one month out and I'm down almost 50 pounds. I know, I know, should have followed doctor's orders... I know, I know, could have lost more already w/out the food. And yes, I have been exercising a little bit and taking my Vitamins. My portions went from tiny to almost-normal as my body got used to food again, so that I can just about finish a chicken breast, burger patty or can of tuna and I feel very satisfied with that. But even in supposed bandster hell with no fill, I just am not that hungry. I have to force myself to eat, most days. Some of that is the Phentermine working (you can feel it when you're on it), but even without the pills my hunger just isn't like it was. Don't doubt, I already pushed myself once, trying to eat the old way: I overdid it on on chinese spicy beef and the band let me know about it! Just ate too much, felt like I was bloated and it was pressing up UNDER the band? Wierd, but it went away when I took a gas-x tab. Regardless, I am so glad I had this surgery done. I plan on going under 300 pounds next month. I can't wait to get a fill (on 05/10/07)and watch my portion size drop back down again. Oh, one last dark little confession because I am a bad man: In order to avoid stressing the band, I've been drinking with meals to keep it flushed. I don't have restriction ANYWAY, but I wanted to let the adhesions form like the doctor talked about. He said food sitting in the band would push it down, that was the reason for the long liquids period- I tried to get around it my own dunder-headed way. So, it's time to buckle down and stop drinking with my meals. Thanks for reading this novella, please berate me for being pigheaded and breaking the rules. I know I deserve it. *ducks and covers*

Good for you! That's awesome.

Banded on the 28th, about 1 week out now, feeling OK except for port pain. I'm VERY hungry, gassy and constipated. I'm supposed to do 3 more weeks of clear liquids! Argghghh. I'm going to lose 100 pounds just from the stupid liquid diet- If I wanted to do that I wouldn't have had the surgery! *grumpy* *sigh*

Whenever I've had an IV or a blood draw, that's all they use. Why wouldn't it be enough? Also, where can I find out more info? I'd love to have an "emergency unfill kit" handy, just in case.