Dave_NW

You've only been banded three weeks. The first SIX weeks post-op are supposed to be just for healing up, and getting ready for the next phase, which is the beginning of weight loss. You are getting waaaay ahead of yourself. Step back, take a breath, and relax. Developing patience is a very critical part of successfully having the band. Do not be discouraged by a lack of weight loss right now. You gained it over a long period of time. It will also take time to lose it. Keep working your plan, and stick with it. When your body has recovered from surgery, and you're back on solid food, your metabolism will adjust, and the scale will start to move. After a few fills, and once you figure out how your body relates to the band, you'll start losing. It may be just a pound or two at a time, but if you keep going, the pounds lost will add up, and you WILL be successful. Hang in there, and enjoy the ride. Being banded is a life-changing event. Dave

My ONLY regret is that I waited so long to have the surgery. How many positive memories have I missed out on because I was too obese to enjoy them? Now that I've had the surgery, and done so well with it, I am completely satisfied. Dave

I weigh myself daily, and use it as a barometer for how I'm doing. I correlate the food/calories I ate the day or two before with what the scale reflects today. If things stop moving, I examine what I've been eating, or how much exercise and activity I've had. Over time I've gotten to know my metabolism pretty well. Plateaus have happened, and I've kept weighing, just to monitor how the plateau is going. If my eating and exercise are proper, I know it's just my body readjusting itself, and that the scale will start moving again soon. And sure enough, it does. So no, I don't think weighing daily is a bad thing, as long as you don't let it get you down if things don't move as quickly as you want them to. Especially for a new bandster. After the Water weight goes away, and you get back onto solid foods, your weight loss will slow way down. Don't get frustrated if things don't move as quickly as you'd like. Dave

Congratulations, Jenn! NSV's like that are awesome! I was banded five months ago, and have already cleared out my closet twice. I figure I'm never going to be this size again, so if it's too big, out it goes! The best part is having to replace the replacement clothes I bought after the first go-round. When my old clothes started falling off, I replaced things with new stuff that fit right at the time. And now THAT stuff is too big, so is being replaced again. It's a great feeling. People complain about the cost of clothes, but I figure I'm saving SO much by not eating like I used to, I can use that food money toward new clothes. It's a small price to pay, and I look good while I'm losing weight. One dinner out in the old days is equal to a new pair of pants or a dress shirt now. No more Omar the Tent Maker clothes for me. Dave

Nikki, I agree with previous posters. Getting stuck and such are usually something you can prevent if you eat right, follow the rules, and don't get in a rush. In five months since my surgery I've only gotten stuck to the point of sliming twice. Once was while eating salsa and chips at a Mexican restaurant (and not chewing properly.) The other was while eating raw broccoli (and not chewing properly.) In both cases it was my own fault. I have not vomited once since my surgery. As an aside, I'm wondering what benefit is there to plication with a band? My understanding of plication is they roll the stomach to make a smaller stomach capacity. If the band is working right, it will restrict the volume of food that can be eaten easily anyhow. So what purpose does the plication serve? Seems like a lot of extra effort for not a lot of results. Can you please educate me? Dave

I always liked how Jack Lalanne said it. He ate "whole" foods, and lived to be a gazillion years old. He said when you go in the grocery store, shop the perimeter only and don't go up and down the center aisles. That way you'll get the vegetables and fruit, dairy, meats, and such (in most stores.) The center aisles are all the processed food and empty calories. His other very wise saying was "If man made it, don't eat it." I can't argue with that. Dave

Wishing you nothing but the best of luck with your surgery Jack. Remember all you've researched, trust your instincts, and follow your doctor's instructions. Three major points to keep at the forefront: Walk till you think you'll drop, sip Water till you think you'll float, and use painkillers as needed. You'll be fine. I'll make room for you on the Bandsters Bench. See you there! Good luck! Dave

How's your sleep quality? I had chronic tiredness a few years ago, until I had a sleep study done. They discovered I don't have sleep apnea, but I do have restless leg syndrome. I wasn't getting rest because I kept moving around in my sleep. Dave

This is a little late, since your flight was last night. So you probably already have your answer. But my understanding is that the altitude change and pressure inside an aircraft can cause the band to get tight. But once you've landed, unless you're at an extreme elevation change, things should normalize out. Not everyone has a problem. I flew last weekend on a short commuter flight, and didn't notice anything unusual. Dave

I think you're right to have had enough with comments like that. But it seems most are being expressed by inappropriate people in inappropriate places. The people may mean well, but the choosing of time and place needs to be adjusted. And as for Facebook: I have a FB page, have lot of friends and family members as Friends and I have ZERO posted there about my surgery or the weight I've lost. I know the Internet is a neverending story, and I choose not to hang my weight loss laundry there. If I want to share pictures of myself, I email them directly to the person, with requests to not share the image, or express permission to share it. So far, everyone has respected my request. At the end of the day, it sounds like your friends and coworkers are trying to congratulate you for a job well done. But it seems like they need to understand boundaries. Not sure at all how to handle such a situation... Good luck! Dave

Welcome aboard, Jim. You're in the right place. Be sure to ask any questions that you don't find answers to. Good luck! Dave

I'd say don't be too hard on your family and friends. They want you to succeed, but don't know quite how to approach this sort of surgery. My experience has been that people tend to adopt a "wait and see" attitude. If they've been around me any length of time, it started as a matter of "Here we go again - another diet!" But after surgery, as the weight started to fall off, those same people stepped right up and were quite interested in how I'm doing. After the few "You've lost so much weight, are you sick???" questions some people asked, and I tell them I was banded, virtually everyone asks how I'm doing, if I'm having any problems, how does it work, and such. But unless they have a weight issue themselves, they don't really have a point of reference. So I don't hold it against them if they don't ask a lot of things up front. Where I have to be very careful is about getting on my soapbox toward anyone who is obese and who could benefit from surgery. One woman at work was initially very interested, asked me a lot of questions about it, and all that, but has since done nothing about it. I've lost 85 pounds in 5 months, and she's probably gained 25 n the same period. When I see her in the hallway at work she ALWAYS has some kind of food item or fancy coffee drink in her hand. She invariably says "Hi Skinny!" when she sees me, and it's all I can do ti bite my tongue to keep from saying "Hi Fatty!" back at her. Then I realize that weight loss is a highly personal thing, and I hope if she ever gets to the point where she's had enough with being obese that she'll ask me. In the meantime I just have to allow myself to be "that guy at work who had lap band surgery and lost a lot of weight." And that's a title I don't mind at all. Dave

I think there may be some confusion here. Tricare Prime WILL pay for the sleeve, if it's done at a military hospital. They WON'T pay for the sleeve at a civilian facility. At least that's how they do it here in Washington state. When I started this I could have had the sleeve done, if I wanted to wait for an opening at Madigan Army Hospital. It would have been several months' wait, and I don't live near Madigan, so I opted not to wait, and I had band surgery in Seattle instead. So before you commit to a surgery you don't necessarily want, be sure to check out all your options. Dave

I have pretty good restriction (9cc in a 14cc band) and find that how I'm eating is more crucial than what I'm eating, in terms of getting stuck. If I take too large a bite, don't chew properly, or eat too quickly, I'm headed for a stuck episode with just about anything. But if I slow down, take a proper sized bite, and chew properly, I can eat most anything. If there is a food that doesn't seem to matter, and that usually gets stuck, it's bread. So I usually eat sandwiches without the bread. Or I'll toast it. For some reason, toasted bread rarely gets stuck, where plain bread usually does. Stuck episodes for me are the sensation that I feel the food isn't moving easily through the band. I put down my fork, relax and let things work themselves through. Within a minute or two the item has passed through, and I can continue with my meal. I have never PB'ed, and only slimed once. And that was due to my own reaction to getting stuck one of the first times. (Salsa and chips at a Mexican restaurant.) I have since learned how to deal with being stuck, and it's pretty simple. But now I'm much more cautious when I eat. Don't rule out slider foods as a source of good nutrition. Sometimes you need to eat something healthy and filling without a lot of effort. If that's a slider, then it's not necessarily a bad thing. My go-to food is Wendy's Chili. It's small portion is 220 calories and 18g of Protein. Quick and easy. Even my Nutritionist is on board with it, and she's a seriously tough nut. There are bad sliders, certainly, like ice cream and such, but you don't need to avoid good sliders, if they fit into your eating plan. Dave

Welcome, Josh, to both you and your anonymous wife. Congratulations on your decision to get things in control. I'm retired Navy, and didn't really start gaining weight till I left the military, so I can relate to your situation. There is a wealth of information here from people at all levels on this journey. Don't hesitate to ask questions. The more educated you are about the process, the better time of it you'll be able to make. It takes effort and planning to be successful, but there are many who have gone before you. Have a seat, and keep reading. Good luck! Dave

There are a number of them different people like. My preference is for the Premier brand. They sell them at costco, but I'm sure you can get them elsewhere, too. http://www.premiernutrition.com/ I like them because of their fresh taste, and how satisfying they are. They come in three different types, are quite filling, and most important - they don't taste like cardboard. I really like their ready-to-drink Protein shakes, too. The bars average about 270 calories each, but contain 30g of protein. I use them as Meal Replacements when I'm in the car, stuck at my desk at work, or when I think I need a snack. (I eat about a third of one at a time, and follow bandster eating/chewing rules.) It works well for me, and I find I don't have to worry about what I'm going to eat, if other foods aren't readily available at mealtime. Hope this helps. Dave

I had two hernias repaired during my surgery. One was a hiatal hernia they found during an endoscopy prior to surgery. The other was a ventral hernia I asked to have repaired during surgery. I figured as long as they were going to be under the hood, they may as well do a full tune-up. I didn't understand what symptoms a hiatal hernia can exhibit, but learned after the fact that excess heartburn is one of the primary symptoms. Pre-op, I used to get heartburn regularly. After surgery, with the hiatal hernia repaired, I have had ZERO heartburn events, regardless of what I've eaten. It was like flipping a switch. The ventral hernia was a different matter. That's also called an umbilical hernia, even though ventral hernia is the preferred term. It's where the abdominal wall tears, and part of your insides push through the opening, making a bump. Mine was right above my navel, and stuck out a fair amount. During surgery they cut the rest of the muscles, inserted a mesh across my abdomen, then stitched the muscles back into place, holding everything inside. Combined with everything else I went through, the pain from the hernia repairs wasn't exceptional. But since my recovery was from banding and two hernia repairs, I can't say how bad any part of it would have been. I took three weeks off work to recover, mainly due to the ventral hernia repair, and I was glad I had that much time available. Dave

Yay Rick! Feels great, doesn't it? I love finding clothes at regular stores. As I've been losing I've made a point of cleaning out my closet regularly. If I try it on and it doesn't fit right, out it goes. Life is too short to keep old clothes I don't ever intend to wear again. I was in tight 3X shirts when I started this. It wasn't long before I blew through 2X, and I'm now wearing XL shirts. Pants have followed similar size changes. My blue jeans started out in the 44-46 waist range, but the last pair I bought are a comfortable 36 waist. Needless to say, I'm thrilled. Congrats to everyone who is getting smaller! Dave

Call Tricare back and ask them to tell you who they want you to see IN NETWORK, then make some phone calls and ask ahead of time about whether that clinic accepts Tricare, and if they are an approved surgical center. You might also call known surgical centers in your area and ask which surgical centers take Tricare. If you ask the right questions, you should be able to find out who can help you the most. You should also be able to talk to your medical center on base and ask them who does the surgery under Tricare. I went through something similar up here near Seattle. I got a referral (at my request) to an outfit called Northwest Weight Loss Surgery. I went to their free seminar, and scheduled an office visit. When I called to discuss the scheduled appointment, I was told they'd take the payment Tricare would make, but that I'd be on the hook for the difference, which could easily be over $10,000. I said No thanks, and canceled that appointment. Tricare then sent me to a surgeon in network who does accept Tricare. I went to see him, and had a great visit. Nice guy, and is a sleeve patient himself. It was only at the end of the appointment that I learned his clinic had not yet been approved for performing the surgery. So even though he was a bariatric surgeon who accepted Tricare, he couldn't help me because Tricare wouldn't let him do the surgery. He did offer to do my aftercare and fills, if I wanted him to. That surgeon was the one who gave me names of other surgeons in my area who performed the surgery. I called them and asked whether they took Tricare as full payment for surgery. I found one I'd heard of, did my research, and finally I was on my way. i wasted three months with this rigamarole. But once the ball started rolling, thigns went smoothly. Good luck! Dave

I have the Bodymedia FIT armband. That's the same thing as the Body Bugg, made by the same people, except it also measures sleep quality. Mine used bluetooth to sync with my Droid Incredible phone. I had issues with it at first, because it only would sync to the phone the first time I tried it, and not again after that. But Bodymedia put out a new software version recently, and now it works perfectly. No issues at all. So those YouTube videos may have been made before this latest update. The armband is awesome. I wear it 24/7, and rely on it daily to take care of the "paperwork" part of my weight loss. I log my meals properly every day, including making my own recipes and meals, then adding them to the catalog. I use it to confirm my progress on a given day, and track where my weight loss has been over the last several months. I swear by it, and recommend it highly to anyone who wants to let go of the mundane details of their day to day progress. Dave

Stan, you and I have compared notes offline, and one thing I don't think I've mentioned is that I've exchanged eating anything and everything (sometimes twice as much twice as often) for looking for healthy ways to increase my weight loss. One thing I've done is focused very clearly on exercise. I've made it a part of my daily routine, so much so that I won't let myself eat dinner unless I've worked out first. And if I skip a day at the gym I really feel it. By making my daily stop at the gym part of my drive home after work, I'm "forced" to get my workout into my daily activities. I know once I get home, I'm not likely to go back out to the gym, so I make that part of my overall workday. So in a sense I've traded my daily overeating bad habit for daily working out good habit. It's a win-win for me. Dave

Stan, wait till you've lost a fair amount of weight, and you bump into people who haven't seen you in awhile. I usually get "Oh, you look so different! ARE YOU SICK?" I work at a hospital, so maybe my coworkers are predisposed to thinking that way, but it's kind of strange that they automatically assume I'm gravely ill to have (finally) lost weight. Dave

Thanks, Rachel. I'm sorry the post was so long. I laughed when I read it back and saw where I'd said I'd try to be brief. LOL! Dave

When I was on the liquid diet, everything tasted sweet to me, even if it didn't have added sugar in it. The boredom factor was wearing on me pretty heartily. When I finally started back on solid foods, I literally had to retrain my taste buds, because food tasted different to me. I'd lost my sugar addiction by then, and no longer craved sugary foods. Even coffee tasted bad. It was really strange. Within a few weeks things got back to a degree of normal, and I was more myself. I could even drink coffee again. But my desire to eat sugary foods was gone - and still is. It's funny how we develop eating habits that have little to do with actual taste. (How many people do you know who season their food with salt and/or pepper before tasting it? How do they KNOW it'll need seasoning? Answer; They don't. It's a habit.) Dave

Welcome aboard, guys. And good luck with your surgeries! Dave