KatW

Hey. I was banded on the 13th. I feel ya! I am tired and light-headed too. I made a batch of 1/10 Oj to 9/10 Water to drink. I get a litte sugar with each drink- just enough to keep my BS stable. It seems to be helping. Also, I need to listen to my body when it asks for rest. In my case, it is a nap every 2-3 hours. I drop like a rock! We are in the healing mode! When I had my gall bladder out, I felt pretty bad for about a month, so I am asuming it will be the same for this. Good luck! KatW

I agree that this site seems plagued with a lot of negativism. I have said this on a number of threads here. I can understand frustration when other people write negative things that upset me. What I can't get my head around is that the "I hate xyz" threads spawn more negative threads- like this one. This is another negative thread. How does this change the climate here? I have never found negative words to lead to positive consequences. Perhaps my reply will lead to another round of attacks and personal criticisms. That would be very sad to me. How about instead, we turn this around to a gratitude thread, or a joke thread, or a "you go girl" thread, or a how can we reach out to others who are struggling thread, instead of a "I hate people who don't feel like I do thread? KatW

A great friend of mine told me recently that what other people think of me is not my business, what I think about myself is. I no longer discuss my weight or any other aspect of my appearance, my actions, my thoughts with others. It has helped alot to get rid of all the people who think that their opinion of me is my business. We live in a culture that has very few boundaries. I used have very few and I was always getting hit with lots of information, "advice", etc that I didn't want. All these people with opinions about what you should or shouldn't be doing need to look away from you and your life and focus their razor gaze on themselves. If you are busy critiquing someone elses backyard, I guarantee you haven't had time to mow your own! KatW

I was banded Friday! Hang in there! You will feel better! I keep telling myself that this is a process, not an event. Today may good, tomorrow may suck, bt if I just keep moving forward- I will get where I am going. Hang in there! ps ANESTHESIA REALLY CAN MESS WITH YOUR HEAD! KatW

I am also one of the thin ones getting the band. I have only 85 lbs to lose. I finally chose to do it because I am no longer able to do the things that are important to me. I had developed a chronic limp from a foot that wouldn't heal. I don't know why we all have different levels at which point we say enough. I say congrats to anyone who chooses to take a hard look at their life, dream of what they want, and seize the day. I wish all of you out there who have further to go than me the best of luck. I am rooting for you and I hope you root for me too! KatW

Just wanted to say- I am banded and feeing great. It has been done and I am not sorry that i did. Now....the journey begins. KatW

I did ONE race in 60 degree water-NEVer,NEVER AGAIN! KatW

Thanks! i needed to come back to some words of support! I am feeling great- no lie! I recovered really fast. My anesthesiologist used methadone instead of morphine -I got to kick my heroine problem at the same time as getting banded. Apparently, the recovery is easier with methadone. Who knew! I walked 60 minutes on friday, and 4 miles yesterday. Holy cow! My doctor decided to change his mind about full exercise when he remembered who he was talking to. So now I can do cardio of my choice- no weights, no swimming. He freaked me out before surgery by calling me smal. I said," Small for a fat person small?" He laughed and said,"If you want to phrase it that way!" I wasn't sure how I would feel about what I did, but now that I have done it, I know I have made the right choice. Looking for some tri dates so I will keep you posted about my training. KatW

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I had surgery on Friday, so I was out of the loop. WHy vitriol? I don't think that I was speaking of anyone in particular- just comenting on my own perception of the thread. I agree that this is not as bad as other threads I have read on this board. I was focusing more on my perception that an individual had been very hurt by some (in my perception only) hurtful comments. I also think that I have a perception that debate need not be so agressive and personal always. I am sorry if how I phrased my comments bothered you. They were really not meant to excite more debate but to offers some support from another corner. That was all. KatW

Hey! Sorry that this happened to you! Sorry for how this made you feel! Don't leave-......unless you really want to. You did open yourself up to what other people said, but you are still not responsible for what they said. They are. So much vitriol. DOn't sweat it. All those hurtful words are not about you at all- it's about them. I know in the past when I have attacked so hard, I generally have some fear around the issue- in your case, maybe it was easier to attack than give understanding. After all, if you understand......you might be the same as this person who is struggling, and with lapband and weight loss ON THIS WEBSITE- hot button issues. You did open the thread, but we are all always responsible for what we say and do. You asked for it is not a rationalization to me. Luck KatW

Rant and rave away! I know we can all relate. KatW

Sometimes people just ask a question - or post a post- as a means to reach out. Perhaps they know the answer, but they just need to feel some reassurance from others who have been there before them. To me, many of the posts I see on this forum, and every forum that I have spent time on- even this particular post- seem an effort to connect to people in some way. I am not sure that is is the question that is so important, but the sharing and affirmation that we are not alone in this crazy process. We don't necessarily need the answer, we need the contact and that you don't get from reading an old thread. Even this post mirrors many similar threads throughout this website- Couldn't you have simply read what other people have written that mirrors what you are feeling on this topic-ie. irritation with others for not doing/behaving as you think they ought? Or do you get a different experience from the interaction from writing your own and hearing what people think today, this moment? KaW?

Great PiX. I am getting banded on Friday, so wish me luck! My DR says I can return to training the day after the surgery- Hope is is true. KatW

OK reread the posts and I get it now. I am having surgery on Friday, but my DR says I can resume my current exercise program the day after So.... My goal for the 2 weeks following surgery is to walk 3 miles every day, and strength train on Tuesday and Thursday. After that I want to get back in the Water 3 x a week and do 2000 meter swim WO in addition. There. It is in writing. Kat W

I would love to join, but I am not sure what the challenge is! Could someone break it down for me? Kat W

I don't know much but what has worked for me! That's why I keep going back to meetings- to hear from others. As to the history, I don't know the whole story. I know Alanon was started by the wives of the original group started by Bill W and that ACOA started after that. I find ACOA and Alanon meetings radically different from one another and OA is another beast entirely. My shorthand version would be to say that Alanon (at least my home group) feels like a gentle, warm bath of acceptance (Overtones of co-dependency) and ACOA more like a bracing shower (more wicked, funny, and sharp). I get something from both. I don't always want to be there. A cliche saying is- How do you know when to go to a meeting? 1. Whne you want to go. 2. When you don't. I have just made it a habit like brushing my teeth. Sometimes I am bored, sometimes someone says something that stays with me for years. I just go. KatW

By the way. I love my therapist. I also have learned to love listening to the stories of other who have been there before me- wisdom sometimes comes from the unlikeliest places and I realize that I have a lot to learn. I can take lessons from all corners. KatW

AbsoBLEEPINLutey! Your history is your history. All the people in my life who are no longer here still play big in how I relate others. For me ACOA and Alanon have helped me to recognize my own behaviors that stem from a disfunctional past and begin to understand them and hopefully- with help from my sponsor and Higher Power- change them. I have a 2 YO and I am terrified about what I might unwittingly teach him, simply because I react as the child of a drug addict and alcohoic, instead of as my best self. In my home group, our oldest member is 83- he is kind of like the grand vizier in the room- Lots of wisdom and humor. KatW

I love me a good antidepressant and prescribing therapist. Have that too! Glad that you have found the answers that work in your life. All that matters is finding what works and working it. KatW

You are already helping yourself. I am free to talk anytime. Email me- whatever. First things first- Find a meeting and go. If there is not one in your area, you can go to Overeaters Anonymous: 12-step recovery program from compulsive eating - they have a list of online meetings that go on every three hours. Also Yahoo has an excellent OA group. I get email from it everyday. I have found amazing hope and recovery through working the steps. Not always on my timeline or according to my plan, but recovery. As they say in my OA home group- Welcome to OA, welcome Home! Kat W

I can't speak for everyone, whether a 12 step program works for everyone. i know for myself that when I feel swept into the abyss, working a program has helped me recover my equilibrium, if not allowed me to brush it off. I know that I have found understanding by talking and sharing with other people such as yourself who have had similar experiences to my own. As an ACOA, it is hard to find understanding from a person who has not experienced the craziness of a household in the grips of an addiction, but very easy to find understanding from someone who has also lived it! I have not always enjoyed it, but I have found over the years some space for myself outside the chaos that was childhood- and sometimes, still now- and I am grateful for it! I didn't at first like the meetings- after my first one I didn't return for 6 years. WHen I went back, I thought I had nothing in common with so many of the people there. Over time, I realized that in my case, I was wrong. i have never left again in 6 years. Kat W

OA is not just for those of us who binge- it is for anyone who feels that they are powerless over food. It doesn't specify degrees. I have found a great deal of ecovery in 12 step programs. It is not so different than th eband. It works if you work it! It is not my business to tell you what step you are at, but admitting we are powerless over food is a good start on the first step. By the way, I spent 3 years on the 1st step! I am a slow learner, but my Higher Power takes all kinds. Kat W

I am also an adult child. For me, working through the issues of growing up in my family origin has been an ongoing process. I have a great deal of recovery from the pain of my childhood- and the ongoing issues of being an adult child with the same parents as I have always had. The answers I have found have come from attending Alanon and ACOA meetings and adressing what is within the realm of my responsibility. I can change noone but myself. I spent many years blaming myself and others for what was difficult in my life- it got me nowhere. I have found some peace and serenity by letting go of some of my questions and the anger and guilt by learning to care for myself, forgive those in my life who could not give me what I needed from them, and by making a 4th step. 5th, 6th and 7th and then doing it all over again. I would love to talk to anyone who is intereted in this topic. PS i don't mean to imply that forgiveness means I forget, rather it means I try to let go of the emotions that are not serving me today. I never do it perfectly, but I can always try again. KatW

PS I don't think this public figure did anything wrong. Even with the Lap Band, success and failure still depends very much on the commitment and effort of the individual to work the program, so to speak. She DID do it through diet and exercise. Lapband doesn't fix, it only aids. Katw

what beautifully put advice! KatW