Manatee

Don't you all wish you could get the newbies to -really- understand what this process will be like? I was reading my old blog the other day, and frankly I had forgotten just how painful the journey was. 2 bands + a sleeve, and I'm still technically overweight. 208 at this point, which is 45 lbs(!) up from my low, and 80 lbs from my high (so yes, at one point I had lose 100+ lbs)

The lapband was worth it in other ways -- I met my wife here -- but I cannot recommend it for anyone these days.

Is there anyone out there with their original band, and that band is effective at this time?

Let's see, May 21 for me. But it's not 5 years with the band. Both of mine only lasted about 2 years total. So ~290 to ~170 with slips and vomiting blood, then revised, then out, then up to 250, then a gastric sleeve and down to ~200 and holding. I still want to lose about 20, but frankly haven't put the effort into it.

Below is the biggest thing I got from the band: I met PigsRFlying in the chat room, that's our wedding photo . . .

<edit> Well heck, it won't allow an attachment. Bleah. See http://killthefatman.livejournal.com/60517.html

I am just wondering does anyone have regrets getting the lap band, or what's your regret leading up to the lap band. Or what do you regret now that you are BANDED?

See http://killthefatman.livejournal.com/27690.html

I had the sleeve after two slips, a revision, and a band removal.

I strongly recommend those considering the band to go look at the 2005,2006,2007 etc forums and see how the thing holds up long-term.

Nimbleban,

I too had a sleeve revision after the band slipped. If you can in any way make that happen I would strongly recommend it. It's just a volume restriction without the absorption issues of the bypass.

See my blog for all the good and bad.

just got back from the doctor- still having heartburn, regurgitation and weight gain. Doc removed all of my fill and wants me to be on a "band-vacation" for a month. YIKES! I'm afraid. I am really going to have to recommit to the rules and exercise to keep form going out of control. I really hope that I can do this. My confidence is not very high that I can. I am going to the CMA Awards in April and want to be able to fit into last years dress. :-)

Wish me luck.

How were the CMAs?

I had the lap-band done back in 07, and while I don't have it anymore (long story) I was blessed with a good doctor and support function.

My friend got one in 06. He hasn't seen as much success as he would like. The doc and support staff are inaccessible and refuse to admit there may be anything wrong despite years of adjustments, pain and disappointment on his part.

We have found it impossible to get any other physician to take him on as a patient. We get the same story everywhere: if we didn't put the band in, we cannot touch it. "Liability, don't ya know."

Right now he's having all the symptoms of a too-tight fill (reflux, vomiting, coughing, etc). We contacted the emergency rooms of the two local hospitals. Both do bariatric surgery. Both told us that their bariatric doctors would NOT do an unfill on someone who hadn't been banded there.

God help you if you get a physician who moved, closed, is incompetent or died.

Did anyone else receive an email via LBT from this guy/company?

@Tamjpjb: You sound like you're too tight. Go get a checkup under fluro and see what the band is doing. Barium swallows suck but they're necessary and you can immediately see what's happening. We used it to diagnose the second slip on my former band.

It sounds like you're slightly too tight.

I can't give much advice beyond that.

@the whole world: As an update, I continue to stay right around 185, which is a healthy weight for me.

Just an update. Post-sleeve I've been doing fine. Weight is holding in a healthy ~3 lb range. I'm not 100% happy with my body shape but who ever is? I'm finally getting a permanent place and will put a home gym to help that.

Since the truest pictures are ones where you don't know you're being shot, here's a before-and-during comparison. White shirt is late 2006, at about 300 lbs and a 42" jean. The brown shirt photo is April 2010, at 187 lbs and a 36" jean.

Why the red hate? They are playing the game.

Remember? This. is. a. game. With $$$ waiting at the end. Hell, if they had really played it right, they should have both laid up this week.

I think green has had a piss poor attitude the whole time, and them attacking red when the extra weight made absolutely no difference just looks bad.

I also don't like Jillian's attitude this season. Maybe she's burnt out or something, but I'm rapidly losing my Jillian Love, and I've never really liked Brother Bob.

No, I don't want to see a death but I don't know how they made it this far without one.

Well, it -is- edited for TV. How do we know there wasn't a team that simply doesn't show up in the final cut?

(*shhhhh* everyone, here's some $$$)

Interesting. To me it's the exact opposite; these folks are so big that even massive weight loss doesn't come across as that dramatic. Sure, they lost 150 lbs on the show, but they're still morbidly obese. Is that success? Is that inspiring for the mass majority of the viewing audience that is likely overweight/obese, but not at these extreme levels?

I think they've gone too far in casting, IMHO. This was a better show when it was a little closer to most folks' real circumstances.

Well....

Nasty gimmick to play on the teams early on. As far as eliminations go, they might as well flipped a coin. Freaky though that both twins weighed within a pound of each other and lost the same weight.

Crazy losses this week, but you know everyone was waterloaded like a camel. Besides, I haven't run the numbers but I suspect those high numbers actually translate into similar % losses as earlier seasons.

How long before a 600lb contestant shows up? Jillian's right, these folks are starting to be too big to safely 'beat on them'.

Wasn't Allen from Big Medicine just a bit bigger than some of these folks?

Here they go again, on Jan 5.

Place your bets: The Biggest Loser - NBC Site

Frankly, last season was a bit of a bore after the Tara Machine and Ronfather, but hopefully it returns to form.

The great thing is that the show only takes 15 minutes to watch, once you skip the crying

So...

I thought Rudy had won this thing, and Danny thought that too. He looked ready to cry before the weigh-in. Danny turned out to be really handsome under the fat suit. Rudy....not so much I think Rudy's in better shape overall though.

Liz obviously gave up, she didn't lose much of anything at home. Wonder how that bad marriage is doing? Oh -- and get some hair dye, lady.

Speaking of, Rebecca looked really bad in that hair color and streetwalker outfit. I wonder if she's going though the post-weight-loss promiscuous phase that is so common? Still, congrats on the win.

I think Tracey looked -better- than Rebecca, certainly more toned, but gaining muscle is bad for your chances of winning this game.

A lot of the contestants were flat unrecognizable. I wonder sometimes if this is all a scam. Get fat people for the start, and then hire other folks to play them at the finale. Too paranoid?

Amanda? Meh. Still Anonymous Blond, and she'll be back to 280 by the time she pops out the third kid.

Danny already looks sick in the face, but I guess he needs to thin out and impress the girlfriend Liz.

Those two still creep me out a bit, so I guess I'm hoping for Rudy. Amanda is still Yet Another Anonymous Blond, and will no doubt plump back up after finding a man.

This season has been pretty boring, after the Tara Machine and Ronfather last season.

I didn't notice it and doubt it is for real. Bob is gay

Maybe 'Amanda' is a dude...that would be a twist!:confused:

You might call your local big hospital and see if they have a bariatric division. If so, they can probably pull a little bit out.

Get some taken out. Too tight can be dangerous to your health. Too tight cost me my band.

This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Unexpected side effect

Well, it's the holiday season, and that means one thing: Eggnog is available!

I -love- eggnog and always have. I was very excited to see it in the stores, and picked up some.

Now, I know it's bad for me, but a little can't hurt, right?

As it turns out, even a little was enough to make me very sick to the stomach. That stuff hit like a rock and made me miserable for hours.

I'm still trying to figure it out, because the sugars weren't the issue. Perhaps the stuff was just too rich, or maybe there's some form of lactose intolerance coming into play now.

I suppose it's all for the best, really.

Month followup

I had my 'two week' followup yesterday -- which actually put it pretty close to a month.

Basically everything is fine. I got fussed at for not getting in enough Protein and Water, as I expected. I'm now cleared to eat pretty much anything I want, as long as I'm careful with introducing new foods.

I'm down 25 lbs, almost back under 200. With luck I'll be back to fighting weight by February.

So far, I like this a LOT better than the band.

Buh-bye Rebecca.

At least she turned out to be a hottie. The best revenge is living well. Nothing can help Liz, not even the makeover.

Rudy looks a LOT younger without the beard. Unlike others, I have no problem with his gameplay. Take out the threats.

I do wish we had been able to see the trainers' reactions to Shay and Daniel being gone. I wanted to see that vein burst in Bob's forehead.

Ah well. The nice thing is that this episode only took about 15 minutes to watch via DVR.

I was really sad to see Shay go and was specially disappointed with Rudy. I believe he voted her off because she was a bigger threat..

Why disappointed? He did precisely what he should have done to Win.The.Game.

I'm sick of the "big happy family who all deserve to be here" hypocrisy from some of the contestants. You are all broken in some way (or you wouldn't have been selected) and you should be playing the game to win.

I can't believe Danny's only 39. Liz, who is 49, looks ten years older to me too.

I didn't realize that Danny is younger than me. Holy cow, the dude looks ancient. Liz even older. I would have put Danny in the mid 50s and Liz late 50s.

Ding, dong, the Orange team is gone....Jillian will blow a gasket next 'week'.

Oh, and I think the producers and contestants have no concept of basic math. "Fastest to 100 lbs"? Well, when you start at dang near 500 lbs, then yeah, you're going to lose some of the weight quick.

I still think this whole show & the yellow line should be based on total % loss since the beginning.

It was interesting that the young/old alliances finally showed on TV -- there's been discussion of those ties in other forums for a while. Also the Daniel/Rebecca thing shows up for a moment too.

No, they didn't show Shay's new look.

Did anyone else get the feeling David and Daniel have moved pretty far apart since they're no longer eating buddies?

My overall thought on this whole season is 'meh'. No fun contestants like the Ronfather and the Tara Machine. It's all just a bunch of estrogen-overload drama queens -- including the guys.