BillyTheBear

Thanks for the reply Alien. I guess I wasn't really comparing it like it was a numbers war, just more of a curiosity thing to see if I will indeed eventually need more, but as you said. . no real way to tell, we're all different. Just guess I'm glad to have the restriction I do. . cause I know with 5 I was basically free to eat whatever, and it's why I failed for so long. Thanks again for the reply, and good luck to you!

Really no advice one can give on insurance policy or strings that can be pulled. I know some people are able to save and have the surgery done cheap in certain areas, so that's an option you can consider.

Hey all. I was banded 2 years ago and sadly to say didn't stick with it and only went back for 1 fill. I could give a million excuses as to why I just "quit" with it all but bottom line is I'm wanting to get back on the bandwagon and wanting to lose this weight once and for all. I'm wondering if I just need to make an appointment with my doctor and go in for a fill or if there's more steps involved since it's been nearly 2 years since I've really done anything with it. I don't really have a lot of restriction right now, and never reached a sweet spot. So I know I definitely need to get back into my doctor. I'm just ashamed I guess and kinda embarrassed to take the leap. is this common at all or am I just a tool that copped out of weight loss? Any help/advice/confidence boost would be appreciated, lol. Sorry if this is wrong forums but hoping to get some help here. Thanks all <3

Good deal, thank you :wink2: I'm gonna call them first thing in the morning. I definitely need some support in getting back on track. I'd love to find a local support group I could physically attend.

I can't even believe it! I had my surgery last monday, and for the FIRST TIME in over a year I got on my scale today and it didn't say ERROR!!!! I'm down 25 pounds since weighing in 3 weeks pre-op. I'm not sure how much I lost when and where, a lot has been this past 6 days on the full liquid diet I'm sure (which I've followed very strictly). But anyway, I just wanted to chime on my short-term success and provide support and advice to anyone who needed it. If I can do this, ANYONE CAN! -Billy "The Bear" (soon to be cub, lol)

Also, I'm up to about 6-8 ounces of soup on my two week full liquid. So if you are feeling like you aren't eating enough, I would definitely get in touch with your surgeon or clinic and see if you should maybe come in for a looksy.

I think a lot of people take this surgery as not being so serious, but I mean come on. . it's STOMACH surgery. Heh. I'm still a bit sore too and it's been over a week now. But everyday it gets bettery. I'm sure our full recovery is right around the corner!

That's fantastic!!!! Truly inspirational. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for all your replies. I had my post op follow-up yesterday, down a couple more lbs..the doctor said I was doing great, and very "text-book success" whatever that means. So here's to all our our continued success!!!! -B

yeah, it's definitely a different challenge for a man we gotta wait :biggrin:

Thanks all, have my follow-up this afternoon and I'm down 2 more pounds! Weeeeee. I love liquid diets! (lol)

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to all! I enjoyed my day in bed resting up, while trying to move as much as possible. I'm on day 4 (had surgery on monday) and still find it very hard to do much. I'm sticking to my strict full liquid diet. . . but when I get up and walk around I just feel like throwing up, the only thing that seems to make me feel "normal" is laying on my back, is that pretty standard? I dunno if the pain is gas related or what. It's certainly tolerable as long as I'm laying down, but the moment I get up to pee or stretch it becomes on the overkill side. Any advice/medicine recommendations (gas-x?) would be highly appreciated. Happy holidays! -Bill

I was banded this past Monday 11/24/08. Overall the experience was OK. I stayed up the previous day as I had to leave at 5am to get the Holzer Weight-Loss Clinic which was an hour and a half away and they had me scheduled at 6:30am. That was my first mistake, as it would do more bad than good later. Anywho, I got there at about 6:20am and they started right away, as I was the first surgery scheduled..so within 10 minutes I was back in my room and putting on a gown and little footsies. Within 10 minutes after that I had a nurse doing bloodwork, and then within 5 minutes had an IV in my hand. The staff was a pretty prompt one, I couldn't have asked for a more professional mannered staff, and they had some good humor too which took the edge off of things. 8 o'clock rolled around and I spoke with the doctor and everyone was ready to rock, so they wheeled me out to the bathroom, asked if I had to go (Lets be honest, I probably could have went, but there were 4 people wheeling me and the back of my gown wasn't tied, LOL). Which in the end didn't matter cause once I got to the OR, they had me get up and get in a different table anyway, DOH!!! Haha. Next step was the air bags being hooked up on my legs and all vitals being hooked up, then I got a shot of some vodka (lol) in my IV and remember talking to the anestesiologist about the bloody mary she just gave me, and that's all she wrote. The surgeon told my wife it couldn't have went any better! And I woke up a couple hours later in my room, but since I had stayed up the day before I COULD NOT and WOULD NOT stay up, my body woulnd't let me. I said hello to my wife and then passed back out. Overall i wasn't in much initial pain. They let me sleep it off for about an hour then brought in an xray machine to take an xray to make sure the band was in place. They take the x-ray and have me sit up to put the film behind my back OUCH. . first pain. . . that's not very pleasant. After that I laid back down and passed back out. Within the hour the x-ray tech came back and said they didn't get a good shot so they wheeled me down to the elevator and took me to x-ray to try again. They had me standing and doing all kinds of stuff, trying to get a good shot. . after 4 tries they got one. The x-ray tech was like "i'm so embarassed, I've been doing this for years." I remember spouting, "You're embarassed? My ass is hanging out, lol." Anywho, after that I was wheeled back to my room and given Water and walked around for the nurse. And then was released. I probably was only awake for a total of 30 minutes afterwards til getting in my car with my wife for the ride home. . that's how tired I was and how often I was drifting off. Overall the surgery went great, this past couple days has been very challenging, with managing the pain and all. Thanksgiving was hard today too. But overall...No regrets, and I look forward to my new life starting soon!!

I know, right? Lol . . my sleep schedule is all out of wack. I'm doing okay. Unfortunately the pain is about the same today as yesterday, feels like I have a big bruisy bubble in my stomach. . but otherwise I feel it could be worse. . . and I'm feeling great about it! How are you doing? Earlier this month I see you got banded. . . . what phase you on, how's it workin out for ya. .. . I want to know everything! -Will

Hope all goes well for ya this morning! Just had mine done yesterday morning. Prepare to hurt like you've never hurt before. .. until you get some pain meds in ya Then it's smooth sailing. I know what it's like to get bored with diets and want my carbs and unhealthy foods. . but you have to think of it like this. We were given the oppurutnity to get a tool to change our live around, and we can't give up on ourselves after going through such a dramatic change in our body. So I am just telling myself that, and telling myself i will use this TOOL and be a better ME...and once I lose all the weight, it will all be worth it! Once again, hope all goes well! Keep us posted!!!

Thanks all. I'm doing better now that I've bee able to rest quite a bit. Certainly doesn't hurt having a nurse as my wife who took a couple days off to be with me Heck if it wasn't for her I probably woulda never went through with it. Still in the pain phase. . but I'm hoping I'm one of the lucky ones and that stops within a few days. Everything else has went so perfect.

Hello all. I've been meaning to get on some forums but I've just been so busy with life. I'll start with the basics. I'm Bill (or Billy). I'm 25 years old. I've been overweight all my life (atleast ever since I could talk. . . grandma and mom loved feeding me bisquits and gravy!). Anywho, this year I got married and my wife and I found out we were having a baby early this year. . . she's due NEXT MONTH!!! (SO EXCITED!) So after I found out the good news, I started researching weight loss options. I've never wanted to lose weight more than I do now. I want to be an active and healthy father, and be here as long as I can be for my wife and daughter. With that said, after doing all the research, I chose LapBand. Fortunate for me, I am under Federal BlueCross BlueShield. . . I started the process in October, and have been completely finalized and scheduled for surgery for November 24th!!! (12 DAYS AWAY!!!). I'm very excited about my journey I'm about to take. I tell ya what though, day two of this pre-op is KILLIN ME!! But I can and WILL do this!! Hope to get to know all of you and share my journeys ups and downs here. Regards, -Bill

Thanks girls! And good to luck to the rest of you November banders! Please message me if you need a friend to talk to directly. I have my laptop by my beside, so I"m here for ya! lol You can also message me on yahoo: superman853 and aim: fenderstrat18 Happy Holidays!

Had my surgery this morning (had to reschedule for today). I'm doing really well considering. On the liquid pain meds now. . . . not having any problems really with gas or swallowing. . . and drinking a good amount of water. . just having the after surgery pains. No regrets. . . today start my new life

I'm home now. The surgery was a success. .. unfortunately staying up over 24 hours beforehand due to nervousness is not recommended...i could not shake being tired after the surgery so i just no woke up! and had the hardest time communicating with the nurses after surgery, i kept falling asleep mid-sentence, LoL other than that i'm in a slight amount of sore pain, but nothing unbearable..i'm laying on my side right now and can swallow my Water here fine. . .. overall . . . no regrets.....and good luck to you all who are having it done soon as well!!!! YOU WON'T REGRET IT