vinesqueen

He's been banded for about two years, I don't know the exact date. His starting weight was officially 596 pounds, and he's now down to about 420 pounds. He's been at a plateau for the last three months, but he's started to work with a personal trainer. He had a BMI of over 80. To give you an idea of how big he was, he could not walk thorough a normal doorway. He had to squeeze through every door way he past through. For some of us, that is 1 to 2 addtional people our size that he had to carry around with him every single day. I believe that he is off all his medications -- he was diabetic and had high blood pressure to name just a couple of his issues. He had an enlarged heart. (I told him that when he was told what a big-hearted fellow that he wasn't supposed to take it litterally) He also hasn't had a single bout of celulitus, which is really scary when that hits. (celulitus is an infection of the skin. Very nasty, and he always ends up in hospital when it hits. The last time he had a temp of 106F. Yeah.) He had an sore on his calf that just wouldn't heal, and had to have a portion of the skin and tissue removed. He had a skin graft placed, which given his weight and the placement of the graft, it is totally amazing that it worked/took. As a present for getting the Band, I enrolled him in the motorcycle saftey course. A year after his band, his bike broke down and he had to push the thing 3 miles. That was an amazing NSV.. he had gone from not being able to walk more than a couple of yards to pushing a fairly big bike 3 miles. And we aren't talking flat land.. he had to push it up a hill.

no gain, no loss. *sigh*

What’s in a name See if you can come up with any: If Yoko Ono married Sonny Bono, she’d be Yoko Ono Bono If Dolly Parton married Salvador Dali, she’d be Dolly Dali If Bo Derek married Don Ho, she’d be Bo Ho If Ella Fitzgerald married Darth Vader, she’d be Ella Vader Of Oprah Winfrey married Depak Chopra, she’ be Oprah Chopra If Cat Stevens married Snoop Doggy Dogg, he’d be Cat Doggy Dogg If Olivia Newton-John marred Wayne Newton, then divorced him to married Elton John,, she’d be Olivia Newton-John Newton John If Sondra Locke married Elliot Ness, then divorced him to marry Herman Munster, she’ become Sondra Locke Ness Munster If Bea Arthur married Sting, she’ be Bea Sting In Liv Ullman married Judge Lance Ito, then divorced him and married Jerry Mathers she’s be Lim Ito Beaver If Snoop Doggy Dogg married Winney the Pooh, he’s be Snoop Doggy Dogg Pooh If G. Gordon Liddy married Boutros-Boutros Ghali, then divorced him to marry Kenny G., he’s be G. Ghali G. If Jack married Andy Cappy, then Jack Parr, then moved onto Stephen King, he’s be Jack Handy Capp Paar King If Woody Allen married Natalie Wood, divorced her and married Gregory Peck, divorced him and married Ben Hur, he’d be Woody Wood Peck Hur If Ivana Trunp married, in succession, Orson Bean (actor), King Oscar (of Norway), Louis Bey Mayer (of MGM), and Norbert Weiner (mathematician,) she would then be Ivana Bean Oscar Meyer Weiner.

I sort of thought that being a size 12 would be all the reward I needed... I was looking farward to all the NSVs that I would collect along the way, like merit badges or blue ribbons from the county fair. It never occured to me there would be stuff like DAY SPAS!!!!!!!

The band literally saved my marriage. <o =""></o> <o =""></o>Before my husband got banded, we were heading right towards a divorce. Before the band, all intimacy had left our relationship. I’m not just talking about sex, but the emotional and spiritual connection that are key components of a healthy and loving relationship. He had gained nearly 200 pounds in the first year we were married, and that was too much for our relationship to handle. He had brought in a whole second big person…. We had ceased to be husband and wife, and instead became roommates who had little interaction. He had even stopped sleeping in bed with me. Part of the reason for this was that at 600 pounds he couldn’t breathe lying down, and would sleep sitting propped up on the sofa.<o =""> </o> Well, Mike is currently sitting at minus 180 pounds, which puts him back at 420 pounds. He is once again the romantic man that courted me and won my heart, despite my shallowness at not wanting to date someone that freaking big. Once again, he is emotionally available to me. <o =""></o> When I go home to visit, we are now constantly going and doing! Movies! Shopping at HomeDepot! Other fun activitied too...<o =""></o> <o =""></o>It is amazing how a relationship can grow when you aren’t waiting for the other person to drop dead…<o =""></o>

Wow! what an amazing NSV, don't you think? This is really wonderful, wonder-full. I'll be chearing you on from Idaho!

The scale liesssss! It liiiiessssssessss! Nasty evil scaleses! (Other than that, I don't have anything constructive to say. I've been on lasiks for 3 weeks...)

Woot! way to go! this is phenominal!

Hey Navymom, there is a sticky thread under the "Food" forum, called "LapBand food Stages Lists Suggestions." There is a list of foods that belong in the various stages, as recommended by one of our bandster's neutrisionalist. (your milage may vary) Good luck and congrats!

I'm very glad you are doing so well! I had no idea it would take so long. Do you know the time for each surgery, or is it not possible to break it out that way? Sorry about your arm. It is pretty funny some of the things that happen during surgery... (not funny ha-ha, but funny odd...) thanks very much for sharing your experiences with this surgery. I am quite nervious about my DH having his super panni surgery, but that is a few years off, so I have time to work myself into quite a lather...

Gee Paula, I generally keep these in the cupboard or freezer... That would be all I needed -- get trail mix with raisins stuck in my hair!

When my son was 5 years old, he came into our apartment just crying his little eyes out and was absolutely broken hearted and inconsolable for a while. He crawled up into my ample lap I let him cry, cooing to him and stroking his hair and back. Finally he was able to settle down and I as able to find out what was wrong. He was upset and crying because he had just come to a realization. His little friend “Katie would never have a fat mamma.” He and his friend Nick got to have fat mammas, and he didn’t think it was fair that Katie wouldn’t get to have one. He wanted to know if maybe I could be Katie’s mamma too, and then she could have one. (Katie’s mamma was bulimic.) My mother has been in the upper 200 pound range my entire life. My father was always in that same range until the end of his life, and both of his sisters are MO as well. I have a couple of pictures of one of his grandmothers, and yup, you guessed it, MO as well. Two of my mother’s aunts were MO as well. So you see, to me, it is “normal” to be MO. I have to admit that I am shallow. When I realized that I was falling in love with my now husband, I was horrified. He weighed 450 pounds! Ack! Here was a man who had almost all the qualities I was attracted to, smart, funny, kind, insightful, generous, silly and sweet. All those wonderful qualities, and he weighed 450 pound! I was horrified, I tell you. What would people think? Sex would never work! I spoke at length with my girlfriends and our mutual friends, and eventually I got over myself. I’m oblivious to a lot of things that go on around me. Part of the benefit of growing up blind I guess. (My first eye exam for kindergarten said I needed glasses, but I didn’t get them until I was 15. Wolves don’t understand the concept of poor eyesight or glasses.) Most of the time I know I am fabulous and act accordingly. But most of the time I know you’re fabulous too, and act accordingly. About 15 years ago we were at a Water park and I saw the most amazing woman. She was wearing a black and white polka dot bikini. She was about 5’10 and she weighed well over 300 pounds. And here she is in an honest-to-god polka dot bikini. I wish I had half the poise and confidence she had. There were lots of people who were being unkind, but she and her family didn’t care. Until recently, I’ve never personally felt the stigma of being MO. Sure, when I was with Mike, especially at his heaviest, I certainly felt it—getting the crappiest table in a restaurant after being made to wait longer than anyone else, watching the expression people when they look at him. Little children are fascinated by him of course. (One little boy wanted to know if he was pregnant.) Until I moved to ID I don’t recall having ever directly experienced discrimination based on my size. It only seems to be women that I’m offending, especially on airplanes. The first time it happened I just figured that she was having an off day. But the next flight I was on to Pocatello, the woman I sat next to seemed personally offended that she had to sit next to me. After a few of these experiences I realized that it was probably my size that was offending them. I certainly don’t hate fat people, but then I don’t hate anybody except maybe bigots. Even then, it isn’t hatred, but a frustration with their attitudes and belief system.

I beleieve the "tantania" scales measure body fat percentage. Once again, I murdered the spelling... There is a link on the "scales" thread... from last week. Kathy's suggestion about going to a gym is right on the money. I don't know where you were banded, but my doc has a scale that measured my BMI, not went off a chart. But I'll have you know that when I have my socks on, I'm no longer MO.. heh, the scales use an electical current to measure the bodyfat. You might contact your local college's athletic depatment, they could probably help you too. Depending on where you are, they might be able to provide a resource so you can be measure under water.

Yay! another March bandling!

It looks like you are ahead of the *ahem* curve! I think your excersice level is great right now. Having never been to a Curves, I don't know if you are doing weight training and cardio, or just cardio. Perhaps you don't need to add any more but perhaps add duration? (I'm not a fitness expert... I suppose if I was, then I wouldn't need a band!!! )

Kelly, you might want to have your body fat percentage measured. It might be that you are actually sitting pretty with a good body fat percentage! Please have this done as soon as you can. Sometimes we get so focussed on the number the scale says that we lose track of other measures of fitness. You also need some new pictures taken. Look at your Avitar!!! Looke at your chin and neck! Wow!

Eli, it may be that you are putting on muscle weight. Has your sized changed? In the fall, I gained weight after starting a piliaties class and working harder on my activities. I was REALLY depressed, because I had cut way down on my sweets and stuff... I didn't gain a size. I didn't gain fat, only muscle. Gaining muscle is good news. Perhaps this is going on iwth you too? (scales lie.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about food lately, and how I interact with it. The more I read this board, the more I gain a better understanding. Of myself, of others, of my husband. Lisa, I was thinking about what you said about going to the grocery store, and how you hate it there. Not me, I love to go grocery shopping. Back at home we have an upscale market chain called Larry’s Market. Oh, man, I love shopping at Larry’s market, even if I’m just going in for basic stuff. A trip to Larry’s is like going to a bookstore or a small toy store; I get the same sort of relaxed feeling when I’m there. Wow, isn’t that interesting. Hmmm, I’ll have to think on that some more. The feeling I get at grocery stores is one of … possibility, especially at Larry’s. “oh, I could make that for dinner” or “oooh, truffles” (no, not the chocolate, the mushrooms…) “I could make ciopino and invite people over!” (it’s a spicy Italian seafood stew) I always have a candy in the house, or an open bar of chocolate or bag of M&Ms. I buy the medium sized bag of Peanut Butter M&Ms.. and it will last me about a month and a half or two. I have a can of Pringles I’ve had since December, unopened. It is all about the possibility. If I have these things near me, I don’t need to eat them. Talk about your comfort food. Now ice cream on the other hand, well ice cream = love. This I learned also from my Dad. And a feeder boyfriend--he called it “ice cream therapy.” Whenever I was feeling especially depressed or down, he would take me out for ice cream. Hmmm. Oh yes, good ice cream is a drug of choice. I used it when I was in such pain from carpul tunnel, chocolate chocolate-chip ice cream… Ice cream never seems to stay in my freezer long. I just realize that I haven’t had any in a month, and that is saying quite a bit for me… One of the things I am doing to get ready for the band is learning to chew-chew-chew every bite I eat. I realized that I was a gulper, hurry and eat fast. (Part of that is no doubt because if there was food on our plates after my dad would finish his, he would poach off everybody’s plates…. He didn’t do this all the time, but often enough that it caused action.) I’ve noticed that some of the food I regularly eat isn’t worth eating. It isn’t worth the time and effort it takes to chew it to smithereens. And like Lisa, I’m a night eater if I don’t eat Breakfast. And lately I’ve gotten into the bad habit of only having coffee for breakfast. I still don’t know how my relationship to food will change once I’ve had my band installed. I suppose all I can do is continue to look at my current relationship with it. Otherwise, how will I know how it changes, or to change the behaviors that have lead me to needing the band?

please forgive my ignorance, but what is there to hurt? I had my gall bladder out laproscopically, and I don't remember any tummy pain in the incision points... Is it because there is suddenly "extra" stuff in your tummy and your body is still trying to figure out what to do with the new pasenger??? One of the reasons I've been really dilligent about doing my crunches is so that my tummy won't hurt after surgery...

Thanks for the update Penni! I am so glad Sue is doing well! Wonderful about not needing any pain meds! (or is this an approprate time to say "Onederful?"

Warm and healing thoughts your way!

thanks for all the positive energy! Heh, unfortuantely they sort of want you to have sharp analitical and math skills to do statistics... Oh why couldn't it be something easy, like writing? I believe I aced the final! This has been a VERY difficult subject for me, and it is one of the hardest classes at our university. The running joke is that the prerequiste for the class is the class... (so many people have to take it two or three times...)

Actually I'llsucceed, our excersize tracking thread is called "join me..." Well... it seemed like a good idea at the time...

okay, just about anything by the Ramones: they get me moving! I love "Keep Keep Movin" from the Dub pistols, "don't stop keep on doin' what you're doin' ...gotta' keep movin... " It is on the Mystery Men Soundtrack...

okay, they are now playing a commercial that is just wrong... They are selling some red box thing using a remake of Nena Haggen's punk/new wave classic 99 Luft Balloons (99 red balloons) sung all soft and sweet... It's just wrong! Wrong I tell you. My son came to me a few months back with a similar gripe. He goes roller skating every friday, and said that they wer playing doing a Rap version of "If you're happy and you know it" He said "it was wrong, just wrong!" And then he launched into several bars of "itsy bitsy spider" sung death metal... So, what do you find wrong?