Manatee

I've been pretty much stable for 6 months or so, been banded 14 months. For me, the band helps me keep from backsliding when I get tired of being good. It's simply externally enforced willpower :girl_hug: I could always lose weight, it was keeping it off that was hard. The band helps me from being VERY bad when I do go bad.

You -know- that these people are given full medical workups during the casting period. It's completely irresponsible for the producers to put a gentleman who is that sick on the show. Not only is it unsafe, it gives the yellow team a disadvantage (or advantage, depending on your viewpoint) in the challenges. re: the weight loss -- a lot of teams water load before the start of the show, water weight comes off easy early on. What really bothers me is that some of those folks don't weight a lot more than I did at the start. Surely I didn't look like -that-, right?

Pre-op meeting with the plastics guy Had my pre-op meeting for the Monday surgery. I was given a ton of prescriptions for pain control, which concerns me quite a bit. In addition, I found out that I'll have to be in a full-body compression garment 24-7 for at least 3 weeks following the surgery to control the swelling, and then have to sleep in the thing for another 6 weeks afterwards. That's fun. I made the decision to buy a few extra, seems only civilized No exercise for at least 3 weeks, no weight lifting for 6, only "light physical activity" for 3-6 weeks -- and yeah, that leaves out exactly what you think it does :thumbup: On the positive side, he's very confident that we'll get the results we want, and if there's a little bit of dog-ear left on the sides he'll go back in later to clean that up, included in the original price. It turns out he's done band patients before, so there's no worries for the tubing and port and such. Speaking of, I managed to get in today for a complete unfill of the band. Thank the (non-existent) gods that the pressure is finally gone. I'd forgotten what it was like to not have constant pain in the stomach. The acid is gone, the pain is gone, and not a moment too soon: I was vomiting blood again this morning :frown: Turns out that my band doc knows the plastics guy and had good things to say about him. That relieved a lot of anxiety for me. So here we go!

Pre-op meeting with the plastics guy Had my pre-op meeting for the Monday surgery. I was given a ton of prescriptions for pain control, which concerns me quite a bit. In addition, I found out that I'll have to be in a full-body compression garment 24-7 for at least 3 weeks following the surgery to control the swelling, and then have to sleep in the thing for another 6 weeks afterwards. That's fun. I made the decision to buy a few extra, seems only civilized No exercise for at least 3 weeks, no weight lifting for 6, only "light physical activity" for 3-6 weeks -- and yeah, that leaves out exactly what you think it does :thumbup: On the positive side, he's very confident that we'll get the results we want, and if there's a little bit of dog-ear left on the sides he'll go back in later to clean that up, included in the original price. It turns out he's done band patients before, so there's no worries for the tubing and port and such. Speaking of, I managed to get in today for a complete unfill of the band. Thank the (non-existent) gods that the pressure is finally gone. I'd forgotten what it was like to not have constant pain in the stomach. The acid is gone, the pain is gone, and not a moment too soon: I was vomiting blood again this morning :frown: Turns out that my band doc knows the plastics guy and had good things to say about him. That relieved a lot of anxiety for me. So here we go!

Just curious. For those who have had lipo, did the doc have to do anything special to protect the port or tubing? Thanks T

My parents are now on the path to RNY instead of the band. I want them to be able to talk to people who have had it done. I know about Obesity Help, but was hoping there was a less hostile site to which I could direct them. Any help?

Scheduled for another surgery This time, it's purely cosmetic. Every time I drop into the low 170s I start looking and feeling sick, but the damned roll won't come off the middle. I finally broke down and went to talk to a plastic surgeon today. He said that I've done a great job, but that the best way to get rid of that roll is to take it out via lipo. Fortunately my skin has rebounded well, and so no major cutting will be required. His work looks good, his own staff has had him work on them and is happy, and the price was pretty decent. So, I'm scheduled for 9/22 -- which is just under 2 weeks away! We'll see what happens.

Nobody else posting? Ok, fine.... Traded one clothes hanger for another So, I had a garage sale a few weeks ago, and sold the Bowflex and the ElliptiKILL. That gave me enough money (almost!) to buy this It's a brand new 2007 Fuji Professional 3.0, all carbon and other goodness. My buddy J has been trying to get me into this for a while. This poor thing was sitting dusty at the bike shop, and since the 2009s are almost out and the 2008s on discount, I got a pretty good deal on it. All together it weighs 20 lbs. Took an easy 11.25 mile ride on it right after I bought it, will have to work up to real distances. I also got the geeky padded shorts and a jersey. No, I will NOT be posting pics

Traded one clothes hanger for another So, I had a garage sale a few weeks ago, and sold the Bowflex and the ElliptiKILL. That gave me enough money (almost!) to buy this It's a brand new 2007 Fuji Professional 3.0, all carbon and other goodness. My buddy J has been trying to get me into this for a while. This poor thing was sitting dusty at the bike shop, and since the 2009s are almost out and the 2008s on discount, I got a pretty good deal on it. All together it weighs 20 lbs. Took an easy 11.25 mile ride on it right after I bought it, will have to work up to real distances. I also got the padded shorts and a jersey. No, I will NOT be posting pics

Is this thread still about bicycling? Or is there another one I should post my new ride in? Thanks

Honestly, I don't think most people realize that their album pics can show up on the front page. Until recently that didn't happen. But to the original poster -- the stuff in my albums are for me, and my buddies on the forum. Sometimes stuff gets thrown in there for use in the chat room or whatever. Sorry it doesn't meet your standards, but I'm afraid you'll just have to deal with it.

Firefox + adblock == :tongue2:

I'm beginning to think that I'm done on this weight loss thing :party: I'm down 100, but still have a spare tire that's just not going away, and the weight has been stable for about 8 months now. Should I just abandon the washboard abs dream, and just accept that at 40 most dudes are chubby? bleah :thumbup:

Wow. Attack Harpies, in squadron. Impressive... :tt2:

Next stage? Well, I went ahead and made an appointment next Tuesday with a plastic surgeon. Going to see if this blob about the middle is something I can fix with more work and even less eating, or if it will need a chainsaw and hoovervac. Not throwing up much anymore. Reflux is still bad, but not keeping me up at night anymore. I actually got a small chili/cheese potato down (or at least most of it). Best part -- I, me, myself -- made it in my very own kitchen. For those who know me, you know what a step that is :crying: Weight is STILL stuck at the 180-185 range. Seriously, WTF?

Yeah, been there done that, got the emergency band reposition as a bonus. I'm working my way back to the right fill level. Fun....

Just posting to say that reflux-induced insomnia just freaking sucks. Also, taking time off between jobs to just relax -sounds- great, but gets really old in a hurry.

It's all about the lighting I don't -really- look like this, but I surprised myself in the mirror this morning and had to take a pic. Now I'm starting to understand why the celebrities always look like hell in real life -- there's an art to that photographic stuff

It's all about the lighting I don't -really- look like this, but I surprised myself in the mirror this morning and had to take a pic. Now I'm starting to understand why the celebrities always look like hell in real life -- there's an art to that photographic stuff

Legster, It's not that they overfill, it's just that I always have a pretty severe delayed reaction to a fill. The stomach swells almost shut for a day or two. I seem to be past it now, the reflux has eased off and I can now eat small portions of solid soft protein.

Beware. Excess use of Nagging 5.3 will result in the installation of Mistress 1.0, Mistress 2.0, Mistress 3.0 and possibly even Wife 2.0

Well, first things first: Congrats Melissa!! As for me, I've been stable in the 180s. I decided to kick it in, and so got a fill 2 days ago. Last night the reflux came on HARD, and the restriction is very definitely there. Liquid times for a few days...

Ya know, I don't buy the whole "I get wls for health reasons only" statement I see a lot. I think that the vanity thing really plays into it too, and will fully admit in my case vanity drove my decision. That said, I don't think most people consciously think of it that way. However, the end result tends to bring the physical element back to the forefront if it's been suppressed.

My take on it: http://killthefatman.livejournal.com/32994.html