male only For Just Us Guys

[RowdyReptile 2]

Thanks Harlito. I guess I was more concerned about stretching the pouch out, than getting sick.

On a manly note, I hate this time of year. SO long until football season starts. I enjoy baseball and golf, but football season is awesome. Going to see the Gators spring game with my 2yr old son Saturday. Will be his first trip to the Swamp....

[396power 2]

So once you have a band how hard is it to slip or erode or ect...

[daveintoronto 0]

Well it has been a week now since my surgery so I thought I would recap my experiences in hopes of either helping someone else or to learn if everything is normal.<O:p</O:p

Day 1- Surgery was at 3:30pm on April 5<SUP>th</SUP>. I was upset that I had to stay overnight at the clinic after the procedure, you see to me the easier is it to do the less serious it is. Or at least that is what I thought. Woke up in recovery and struggled with the grogginess but overall felt good. I was glad to hear that there were no problems and my little friend had been install. In the end I was glad that I stayed at the clinic, I drank a little Water through the evening, got a demurral shot and a little pill under my tongue to help me sleep and off to dream land I went.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 2 – Up and about by 6:00 AM at the clinic, they have to have us out by 6:45 AM, I don’t understand that, maybe they would have to pay the nurses more…. Went home by Taxi, no real pain, water still going down fine and urinating regularly. Took my pills (I take something for Diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure as well as thyroid) by mixing them with water, swirling it around in a small glass and taking gulps, taste terrible. Napped in the afternoon, walked the dog a couple of times to get some walking in. Added clear fluids like cut apple juice and flavoured water, everything is fine. That night I crushed up a couple of pain pills and put another little pill under my tongue (I have my own supple, that’s another story) and off to sleep I went. Oh yeah, took my blood sugar and it was under 7 so no need for insulin tonight!

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 3 – Much like day 2 – just clear fluids and lots of peeing. Felt good but tired quickly in the afternoon. I would take pain pills and lay down when I felt pain or nausea. Did my homework (taking a Master course on-line), it was tough to focus and read. Sugar was under 6 tonight so no insulin.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 4 – Almost a copy of day 3, I added a few full fluids like <ST1:p<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comCampbell</st1:City></ST1:p’s Soup-in-Hand, very well. Felt a little nausea all day, like I was on the verge of being sick. Did not feel much like eating but started to worry about not eating enough, I was not coming anywhere near the 1,500 calories recommended.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 5 – The morning was the new normal, felt a nauseated all the time, force myself to drink. That evening I jumped on a plane<ST1:p</ST1:p. The flight down was rough, I felt sick to my stomach all the way down and I had terrible gas. Now let me explain, since having my little friend installed I have two types of gas now. Gas above the band and gas below the band. I seem to have lost the ability to burp on command! I use to gulp air and burp whenever I wanted, it was a great way to assist the gas that was having a hard time making its way out, and it does not work any more. It hurts if I tried to gulp and it hurts if I burp. Gas-X and Tums helps but. Now there is the gas below the band, all I have to say is wow, did I have gas. I think they must have charcoal in the seats because I did not smell anything but boy was I letting them rip. All the way down, it was helping with the pressure and the nausea as well. I made it into Dallas <ST1:p</ST1:pokay; I was hungry so I bought all the wrong things at the hotel, ice cream, chocolate (I deserved it) and Apple Juice. I did not each much of the sweets but it was enough to keep me up most of the night. I just could not sleep (sugar high).

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 6 – Meetings went well and I heading back to the airport early. I bought some milk, apple juice and water and oh yeah, a smoothie. The smoothie was great, the milk was filling and good Protein intake and I mixed the apple juice and the water. I was full! I got on the plane with my half bottle of milk and my mixed apple juice and we took off. I could feel this horrible pressure in my stomach. I started to feel sick and knew I was going to vomit, I grabbed an airsick bag and headed to the back of the plane. A few dry-heaves later and some gas (from both ends) and I felt better. What the hell was that I thought? Turns out that they pressurize the plane to 8,000 feet which is the same as a high mountain, my full stomach was under pressure and I was lucky I did not get sick. Lesson learned, do not go on a plane with a full stomach!

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 7 – Normal day, still fighting nausea, no wonder this stupid thing works, who wants to eat when you are always feeling sick to your stomach! Started drinking Protein Drinks to get the nutrient I need in my diet. I was at a reception that night and they were walking around with crackers, mini hamburgers and I did want any of it.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 8 – I am feeling better, I had some chicken noodle Soup and ate the very soft noodles and contents and kept it down. I had some very moist salmon and the inside of a bake potato, it was great and it felt good to eat something, I was taking sips of water between bites to get the food to wash down (I know this is not what bandsters are suppose to do, kind of defeats the band eh?). Slept well.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 9 – today, started the day with coffee and oatmeal mixed with milk, it was great! I feel great! I do not have the nausea I had before, am I healing? Is this normal? I believe that between now and the first fill I basically do not have a band in the sense that I can get food past it now. Between now and my first fill will require me to eat soft food but the quality does not seem to be limited by the band, is this correct?

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Cheers guys<O:p</O:p

<O:p</O:p

Dave<O:p</O:p

[Brewa2000 1]

Congrats Dave, looks like your on your way!

Reptile-it is that 'tweener time of the year. I'm not a big baseball fan and don't care for pro basketball at all. I haven't attend any big league games of any sport since the mid 80s. Got tired of supporting a bunch of big babies. I still enjoy college football, basketball, and wrestling. I do go to the local minor league baseball team games. *Chuckle* I used to love those big polish sausages. It'd be a three meal deal now, even minus the bun.

396- I believe that slipping and eroding are rare problems. It is much more common for the pouch to be stretched.

Didn't get to go to the ticker factory to change my weight today. It sure was fun losing a lb a day while it lasted. Had a big dinner (for me anyway) last night. Wife gets her first fill today. She wanted another "last supper".

Stand Strong Brothers!

Bruce

[NowNotSoBigGuy 0]

Just checking in guys; I sure like our own thread. Had my sixth fill yesterday, another 0.5cc to take me up to 9.3 total. Hadn't had a fill in 2.5 months, although at 8.8 since 1/30, I was wary of more. Problem is, even though I had begun exercising in earnest the first of the year, I hadn't lost any significant amount of weight. Granted, my body composition had to have changed dramatically and my wasit size continued to decrease, but the real problem was that I was still overeating (surprise, surprise!). In fact , the fluoroscopy showed I had stretched my pouch, not a great deal but enough to be noticieable.

So, a word of caution for those traveling behind me on this banded journey: don't count on the band to force you to stop eating. You have to take responsibility to eat sensibly. Too much food is still too much food, even if you manage to chew it thoroughly and eat it slowly enough not to PB. Your stoma (pouch) can stretch if you cram food into it, just as our stomachs did when we overate in the pre-band days).

I'm not discouraged, just Enlightened. I knew I was eating more than I needed to; I was just hoping the band would protect me from me. Turns out, while the band does its best, the responsibility of determining what I should eat and when I should stop is MINE and MINE ALONE.

So, I have 5 months until my one year Bandiversary. I am determined to lose 10 pounds each month and weight 225 on 9/13/2007, for a total loss of 125 pounds from 350. If I have to workout 5 times a weeks, that's what I'll do. This is my last chance to achieve anything approaching normal size.

Keep up the good work, my brothers. We are truly blessed to have been banded.

[bigdaddynomo 0]

Well it has been a week now since my surgery so I thought I would recap my experiences in hopes of either helping someone else or to learn if everything is normal.<O:p</O:p

Day 1- Surgery was at 3:30pm on April 5<SUP>th</SUP>. I was upset that I had to stay overnight at the clinic after the procedure, you see to me the easier is it to do the less serious it is. Or at least that is what I thought. Woke up in recovery and struggled with the grogginess but overall felt good. I was glad to hear that there were no problems and my little friend had been install. In the end I was glad that I stayed at the clinic, I drank a little Water through the evening, got a demurral shot and a little pill under my tongue to help me sleep and off to dream land I went.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 2 – Up and about by 6:00 AM at the clinic, they have to have us out by 6:45 AM, I don’t understand that, maybe they would have to pay the nurses more…. Went home by Taxi, no real pain, water still going down fine and urinating regularly. Took my pills (I take something for Diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure as well as thyroid) by mixing them with water, swirling it around in a small glass and taking gulps, taste terrible. Napped in the afternoon, walked the dog a couple of times to get some walking in. Added clear fluids like cut apple juice and flavoured water, everything is fine. That night I crushed up a couple of pain pills and put another little pill under my tongue (I have my own supple, that’s another story) and off to sleep I went. Oh yeah, took my blood sugar and it was under 7 so no need for insulin tonight!

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 3 – Much like day 2 – just clear fluids and lots of peeing. Felt good but tired quickly in the afternoon. I would take pain pills and lay down when I felt pain or nausea. Did my homework (taking a Master course on-line), it was tough to focus and read. Sugar was under 6 tonight so no insulin.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 4 – Almost a copy of day 3, I added a few full fluids like <ST1:p’s Soup-in-Hand, very well. Felt a little nausea all day, like I was on the verge of being sick. Did not feel much like eating but started to worry about not eating enough, I was not coming anywhere near the 1,500 calories recommended.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 5 – The morning was the new normal, felt a nauseated all the time, force myself to drink. That evening I jumped on a plane<ST1:p</ST1:p. The flight down was rough, I felt sick to my stomach all the way down and I had terrible gas. Now let me explain, since having my little friend installed I have two types of gas now. Gas above the band and gas below the band. I seem to have lost the ability to burp on command! I use to gulp air and burp whenever I wanted, it was a great way to assist the gas that was having a hard time making its way out, and it does not work any more. It hurts if I tried to gulp and it hurts if I burp. Gas-X and Tums helps but. Now there is the gas below the band, all I have to say is wow, did I have gas. I think they must have charcoal in the seats because I did not smell anything but boy was I letting them rip. All the way down, it was helping with the pressure and the nausea as well. I made it into Dallas <ST1:p</ST1:pokay; I was hungry so I bought all the wrong things at the hotel, ice cream, chocolate (I deserved it) and Apple Juice. I did not each much of the sweets but it was enough to keep me up most of the night. I just could not sleep (sugar high).

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 6 – Meetings went well and I heading back to the airport early. I bought some milk, apple juice and water and oh yeah, a smoothie. The smoothie was great, the milk was filling and good Protein intake and I mixed the apple juice and the water. I was full! I got on the plane with my half bottle of milk and my mixed apple juice and we took off. I could feel this horrible pressure in my stomach. I started to feel sick and knew I was going to vomit, I grabbed an airsick bag and headed to the back of the plane. A few dry-heaves later and some gas (from both ends) and I felt better. What the hell was that I thought? Turns out that they pressurize the plane to 8,000 feet which is the same as a high mountain, my full stomach was under pressure and I was lucky I did not get sick. Lesson learned, do not go on a plane with a full stomach!

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 7 – Normal day, still fighting nausea, no wonder this stupid thing works, who wants to eat when you are always feeling sick to your stomach! Started drinking Protein Drinks to get the nutrient I need in my diet. I was at a reception that night and they were walking around with crackers, mini hamburgers and I did want any of it.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 8 – I am feeling better, I had some chicken noodle Soup and ate the very soft noodles and contents and kept it down. I had some very moist salmon and the inside of a bake potato, it was great and it felt good to eat something, I was taking sips of water between bites to get the food to wash down (I know this is not what bandsters are suppose to do, kind of defeats the band eh?). Slept well.

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Day 9 – today, started the day with coffee and oatmeal mixed with milk, it was great! I feel great! I do not have the nausea I had before, am I healing? Is this normal? I believe that between now and the first fill I basically do not have a band in the sense that I can get food past it now. Between now and my first fill will require me to eat soft food but the quality does not seem to be limited by the band, is this correct?

<O:p</O:p<O:p</O:p

Cheers guys<O:p</O:p

<O:p</O:p

Dave<O:p</O:p

Sounds pretty common. I had to learn to sip and not gulp liquids during the first two weeks. I had extreme stomach pain from gulping and the gas above the band is from the big gulps. Once I stopped and sipped then that all went away. Also, the stomach swells a bit right after surgury and it almost won't let anything pass and that's why they like us to stay with liquids and soft mushy stuff till that subsides. Mine lasted two weeks. I had a PB sliming thing one morining at the airport that was caused by me gulping and eating to fast trying to get Breakfast in before the flight. Good Luck

[Brewa2000 1]

Just checking in guys; I sure like our own thread. Had my sixth fill yesterday, another 0.5cc to take me up to 9.3 total. Hadn't had a fill in 2.5 months, although at 8.8 since 1/30, I was wary of more. Problem is, even though I had begun exercising in earnest the first of the year, I hadn't lost any significant amount of weight. Granted, my body composition had to have changed dramatically and my wasit size continued to decrease, but the real problem was that I was still overeating (surprise, surprise!). In fact , the fluoroscopy showed I had stretched my pouch, not a great deal but enough to be noticieable.

So, a word of caution for those traveling behind me on this banded journey: don't count on the band to force you to stop eating. You have to take responsibility to eat sensibly. Too much food is still too much food, even if you manage to chew it thoroughly and eat it slowly enough not to PB. Your stoma (pouch) can stretch if you cram food into it, just as our stomachs did when we overate in the pre-band days).

I'm not discouraged, just Enlightened. I knew I was eating more than I needed to; I was just hoping the band would protect me from me. Turns out, while the band does its best, the responsibility of determining what I should eat and when I should stop is MINE and MINE ALONE.

So, I have 5 months until my one year Bandiversary. I am determined to lose 10 pounds each month and weight 225 on 9/13/2007, for a total loss of 125 pounds from 350. If I have to workout 5 times a weeks, that's what I'll do. This is my last chance to achieve anything approaching normal size.

Keep up the good work, my brothers. We are truly blessed to have been banded.

Thanks for the info, NotSoBig. I get concerned about that too. I try to just put my food on my small plate and put the rest away. It's very tempting to go back to the fridge and go for seconds. You're so right, the band will not do it all.

Stand Strong Brothers!

Bruce

[jerrymax11 0]

I am thinking of having lap band surgery I am 68 and a little scared.Somebody give me some incouagement please.Will it be difficult to loose weight after surgery. whar about all the nasty protien and Vitamins they make you take? signed jerrymax11

[squale 0]

Welcome Jerrymax11,

I am a new bander and must say, Go man go... I would do it again in a heart beat. I am one week 4 days out and down 25 pounds. The Vitamins are nothing and most come in chewable and the protien shakes are crucial but there are so many too choose from the best way to figure it out is to buy a few now and drink them before you invest in a case.

Good luck,

Pat

[Brewa2000 1]

I second what Pat said. I'm a little closer to your age and have had no problems. I'm feeling better every day. Today I caught myself RUNNING up the stairs at the post office! I thought to myself, I haven't run up stairs for decades!

There was a guy about 65 in my group who had the surgery around Jan 20. Last I heard, he'd lost 45 lbs. Not as fast as some of the young bucks, but not bad...

Bruce

[RowdyReptile 2]

hey brew. when did you have your 1st fill?

[Brewa2000 1]

Hey Rep! First fill was March 9. Got 4.5 cc. This last fill (4/6) made it an even 7 cc in my VG band. Still feel fair restiction. Not losing like last week, yet anyway...

You should be getting close to your first fill.

Bruce

[BigMike 0]

Just a reminder--If you guys want to get your hands on some great Protein Shakes shoot me a e-mail and I will get you the info.35 grams Protein 3 differnert flavors and all come right to your front door, and if you happen not to like them just send them back and get your money back. terri.mike@sbcglobal.net

[RowdyReptile 2]

they scheduled me for May 8th, but I called in today and they're letting me come in tomorrow afternoon. I'll let you know what they say. Can't let you get to far ahead of me....I gotta break that 200 mark before you

[bigdaddynomo 0]

I'll like to get in on the competition. I was banded Jan 8th. Had two fills. The last one really has slowed me down. I can't eat much or drink too fast or up it comes. Exercise is really getting easier. I do about 50 minutes on the ellipitical trainer and the dr. is after me to start weights. I'm sorta in a plateau so I need a kick to get going again.