Manatee

Woot! 'Grats, Laura

-Still- trying to find the right spot in the fill levels. Thought I finally had it, but it has tightened on me in the past week. Night reflux, pb and eating chips and junk just to get calories in. I've emailed the doc's office asking for yet another unfill. :tongue2: Looks like it's Atkins Time

The slip can be fixed without removing the band. I had a serious slip, and the doc ended up removing the band, repositioning the stomach/pouch and placing the same band back on all in the same operation. It's been working fine since (normal post-op procedures apply, it's just like getting it the first time).

I was on a liquid diet for 10 days pre-surgery and lost 10 lbs. The rest came off since then. See sig for details.

MMMMMMM Cherry limeaid and onion rings

Foxglove -- lost the 10, and tell your husband you weight more than you do Seriously, this is your deal, and you're the one that needs to feel comfortable in your body.

By default, this whole place is a female forum. Just my $.02

I once got 'trapped' in a restaurant because I was too big to maneuver back through the tables and chairs to the door. It had filled up after we came in. It was embarrassing to have to ask people to move out of their chairs so I could get by. :laugh:

Why would I NOT expect people to treat me differently? I look different and my personality is emerging from the prison of "the fat guy". It's not surprising that people (ladies) will not be viewing me in the same way. Trust me, the visual/physical thing is definitely present in both genders!

Ok, I know this is going to catch flak, but so be it... Y'ALL created the BBW label. That's a female thing to somehow minimize the impact of being obese. You will never see a guy calling himself a BBM. Fact are, for the majority of folks out there, size does indeed matter. One can either rage against the machine, or just deal with it and move on. In both cases the world will remain the same, so it's only your time and effort you're wasting. And yes, fat guys get rejected for our body size too. You think the ladies aren't visual?

You're not the first, but welcome to the group!

This is one area where I really envy the ladies. Guys don't get to have "goal outfits." All our cuts are about the same, they just start taking more fabric :blushing:

(disclaimer -- this post is going to piss some of you off. Some of you are going to say "that's not true!' Sorry, but this is Life As I See It) According to my LapBand coordinator who ran the familiarization sessions, divorce, infidelity and increased sexual adventuring are very common after massive weight loss. When one thinks about it, those stats shouldn't come as a surprise. Those of us who have been buried in blubber for years or decades become used to NOT being objects of desire. We become good friends, good providers, good listeners, great compensators. What we tend to not be is great lovers. That mindset wears on one, and does manifest itself in the personality. Flash forward and the weight is rolling off, and now there's this whole new element in one's life. Suddenly people are using the words "hot" and "attractive" and "sexy" and they're talking about YOU. How amazing, and baffling, and disturbing. People who've been skinny forever know how to deal with this, but a lot of us don't. Body dysmorphia is real and common with WLS. When the 'fat person in the mirror' is coupled with unexpected interest, that's bound to destabilize the personality a bit. The two common options at that point are really "wahooo!" or "run away!" Depending on how that manifests, one can either end up in a new sexual relationship (for better or worse, usually worse), or one ends up shunning the advances (which if this occurs in a marriage, causes issues there) So that's our side of it. What causes the partners to run? Let's go back to the fat-bound personality. Like it or not, we do tend to change personalities when we lose weight. Look at the before-and-after pics thread. 95% of those people are displaying radically different personas in the post pictures. They're visibly more confident, outgoing, smiling, etc. That's all great news, right? Well, yes -- but maybe the partner doesn't agree. There's comfort in familiarity. As radical a change as we're experiencing, they're dealing with the same thing secondhand. Their partner and friend is suddenly someone else, and they have to get to know this new thinner happier etc. person who is in their house. This new person shares memories and a name with the person that was there before, but really isn't the same anymore. Is it unreasonable that some would be very uncomfortable with that? Some people just really can't handle change.

So......I'm thinking of cheating. I'm considering using lipo and such to eliminate the spare tire. When I take a good look at my body, I'm only really bothered by that part. The rest of it is reasonable for a middle-aged dude. Anyone have any experience with abdominal lipo?

I figured I might as well say hi, for the few months I'll be allowed in this thread :rolleyes2: (Yep, another Texan)

Favorite: chin/neck/face, and surprisingly, the forearms. Worst: fat belly still, I really want to grab a chainsaw and just take it off.

Another guy here -- and I'll tell you that I won't say ANYTHING, negative or positive, about a female co-worker's appearance. It's not safe to do so, and I like having my job. I'm sorry that you're disappointed that people aren't saying anything, but given the 20 years of hammering that the men have taken in the workplace and the courts, you should not be surprised.

The thing about guys is that it's very difficult for us to admit we need help. We're taught from an early age to be strong, solid, & stoic, and it seems your brother learned those lessons well. To admit that one needs surgical intervention to lose weight is a huge sign of weakness. One's house is not in order, and furthermore, the intervention means you're admitting you will NEVER be able to control it on your own. The loss of face is incredible, especially if other men find out. Most guys would rather drop dead 10 years early than admit they're powerless over some aspect of their lives. Consider for a second if the situation were reversed. Would you appreciate someone who use to be fat striding up and effectively saying "get thee to a hospital, fatass?" Probably you'd take the opposite path just to spite them. All you can do now is be a good example, and be willing to share information if he asks. If you bring it up too frequently, you will become a nag and harpy. Is there any chance you can enlist his wife in the recruiting effort? She can more easily bring in the "we want to spend more time on this world with you" statements than you. Regarding the letter itself -- go ahead and write it. Then sit on it for a week, rewrite it again. Repeat. Just don't mail it. You won't be able to have the discussion you need with your brother via the letter, but writing it will make you feel better and help you organize your thoughts for when you do have the verbal discussions. I don't know if any of this helps, but there's my thoughts. If you get into the discussion, tell him I said as a guy "This is the best thing I've done for myself in a looooong time."

Band day is tomorrow for me, but I might not be online. So, here's the anniversary pics. That's a 36 waist pant and a medium shirt in the top pics, 48 and 3XL in the bottom ones

Band day is tomorrow for me, but I might not be online. So, here's the anniversary pics. That's a 36 waist pant and a medium shirt in the top pics, 48 and 3XL in the bottom ones

Whilst sitting in a waiting room for many hours (fill problems, blah blah blah), I had a surprise visit from the coordinator of the Lap Band program at the hospital. I had dealt with her about a year ago, when setting this thing up. She runs the local support group meetings, but as of yet I have not attended any of them. So she sticks her head in the room, and asks "do you know me?" Strange question, but I do in fact recognize her since she's "in context" in the hospital. She then says that she doesn't know who I am, but that she had been told by the nurses that one of her lap band patients was in the room. At first, she didn't even believe that I was a lap band guy, but I pulled out the driver's license and she recognized me from that photo. We had a long discussion about the journey, and what this has been like. She was taking copious notes, apparently she's trying to get follow up info for patients to meet some regulatory guideline. I told her I was blogging about this ("what's a blog? Do I use Netscape for that?") and that she could read that if she wanted. Normal platitudes, "ya look great", etc. She's trying to get me to come to the support meetings as a speaker. I'm thinking that one over, not sure that I want to get in front of anyone to talk about this stuff. Talking physical changes is easy, but if they ask about the emotional/mental ones I'm not sure what to say. Besides, my complications would scare the bejeepers out of the newbies.... So my Q to the group, and the reason for the post -- has anyone been put in the position of talking to support groups and potential WLS people? If so, was that worth doing, and would you go talk to them again? I'm not a big fan of public speaking, but a small group might be ok.

Ran into my Lap Band Coordinator today Whilst sitting in a waiting room for many hours, I had a surprise visit from the coordinator of the Lap Band program at Presbyterian. I had dealt with her about a year ago, while setting this thing up. She runs the local support group meetings, but as of yet I have not attended any of them. So she sticks her head in the room, and asks "do you know me?" Strange question, but I do in fact recognize her since she's "in context" in the hospital. She then says that she doesn't know who I am, but that she had been told by the nurses that one of her lap band patients was in the room. At first, she didn't even believe that I was a lap band guy, but I pulled out the driver's license and she recognized me from that photo. So we had a long discussion about the journey, and what this has been like. She was taking copious notes, apparently she's trying to get follow up info for patients to meet some regulatory guideline. I told her I was blogging about this ("what's a blog? Do I use Netscape for that?") and that she could read that if she wanted. Normal platitudes, "ya look great", etc. She's trying to get me to come to the support meetings as a speaker. I'm thinking that one over, not sure that I want to get in front of anyone to talk about this stuff. Talking physical changes is easy, but if they ask about the emotional/mental ones I'm not sure what to say. Besides, my complications would scare the bejeepers out of the newbies....

Otay, went in for an emergency unfill assisted via the xray machine. I was so swollen that we had to drop back to 5.5 cc from 8, well below the 6.5 I already had. I think all my fills from this point will be barium assisted, because I could not feel anything different between fully stopped and flowing free. I'll be back in a week or two for a refill

Maybe too tight......pb'd on broth.....will see how this rides tomorrow :smile2:

Got in for a fill today, up to 8 cc in the 10 cc band. This is tighter than when I had the problems, so I'll keep a close eye on it. I've already scheduled another one 4 weeks out. Time to get aggressive, I want to be back down to 170 soon.