Jim1967

If only WLS was an option for me back when I was 13 or 14. I imagine I could/would be a very different person today. My self esteem would be different. Maybe less shy and perhaps I would not have hated School so much and who knows what could've been. I was 150 pounds in 5th grade. I was teased a lot and was the heaviest kid in my class. I can even remember the gym teacher snickering when he weighed me. I dreaded School and did not have many friends. I often thought my biggest problem in my life at the time was my weight and suicide thoughts came and went and if it weren't for my family I don't know if I'd be here typing this. I agree it is a case by case situation but I think it would require a full staff of Docs, Nurses, Nutritionists and Counselors with full involvement of parents.

I will always be a recovering soda addict. I have been dry for 14 months. My Doc says if I really want it he was OK with it if I drink it flat but he finds patients who tend to go back to drinking soda (whether it be diet or not) tend to put weight back on. I don't touch it and I even avoid the chance if smelling it. It makes me sad the grip food/drink can have on a person. My Wife has a friend who had the band and said it failed him and he only managed to lose 20 pounds in a years time. His Doctor would not do the revision because he felt he did not follow the program and another surgery was pointless if it meant more non compliance. He went and got a new Doctor who would do it. Last week he revised to full gastric bypass. Three days later he spoke to my Wife and said he was considering blending crab rangoon cause he had such a craving for Chinese. I told my wife that is some serious head hunger right there and he needs some real help or he will fail again.

I've been in your shoes with this. I started the process in October of 2011 and had to jump through those insurance hoops but I can tell you it is so worth it. When I was doing those 6 months it seemed like the longest 6 months ever but now I look back at what a fantastic ride it was. I learned so much and attended so many meetings and met good people that I wouldn't change a thing. In fact when my 6 months ended and I had no other appointments left until Surgery day it felt like something was missing. Researching, learning and having time to digest information is never a bad thing. Use this time to develop habits to help make you a successful bandster. Stick with it. You can get through this. I hit 200lb loss mark this morning and I wouldn't change a thing with my journey. All the benefits of losing this weight would have been worth a year wait as oppose to 6 months. Stick with it and don't give up on the dream.

hmm..never heard that. I'll have to ask my Doc. You know how they are all different.

Surprised you take ibuprofen as it is an NSAID....

I only miss it on St Patty's day when I typically had a pint or two of Guinness. Darn carbonation....

Another great article Jean!! Thanks. Btw my wife is starting on her own journey and is now reading Bandwagon and loves it. We call it the Band Bible. :-)

I got hung up on calories for a while cause I had a hard time hitting 1000 a day. I went to my Nut and she told me not to focus on the calorie count because the reality is my stomach is smaller now and I am going to end up over eating or grazing just trying to hit those numbers. She told me just to keep making good food choices and stay away from trigger foods and sliders and if I start to feel hungry to stop and think about whether or not my body needs it or if it's in my head. Head hunger is the worse battle to over come but it can be done. Her advice seems sound to me as that was 80lbs ago.

Agreed. My First week I was on straight liquid with no lumps. Week 2 I was allowed mushies and protein shakes. Though every Doctor has their own method of madness...

Agree with Steph. You should be able to swallow. If you cannot get anything down at all then call your Doc. If you just getting full quickly then that is normal. You're swollen inside and out.

Congratulations on your Surgery! I actually only had the anti nausea patch on behind my ear just before surgery and removed the next morning. It did not affect my vision however,,,they put the patch on me in the room 30 minutes before surgery and my wife noticed it was falling off so she pushed back on. Well she forgot to wash her hands and while I was in surgery she rubbed her eyes. Her eyes dilated and her vision blurred. She had completely forgot about the patch she touched. When I got back into my room she came to me and made sure I was OK then told me what was happening. My Nurse looked at her and said I need to get you to ER right now. Her BP was up and they were concerned about a stroke. She had an MRI and everything and then in the end she remembered she touched the patch. Scary day for her. Sorry that was a bit of a long story... Having difficulties getting liquids in was definitely a challenge. Just have to do the best you can to prevent dehydration or you can end up back in the hospital. As for the swelling you'll definitely have that inside and out for a while. It take a bit to heal but each day should get better. It is very important to get up and walk as often as you can. Believe it or not walking will help you heal and discard the gas they use to inflate your stomach to do the surgery. For pain meds they prescribed liquid percocet. I didn't need any after day 2. I felt pretty good.

Congratulations to all you big losers

Jan 2011 you posted this status: "I had my second fill like 3 weeks ago". Have you had one since then? For some people it requires quite a few fills. It took me about 6 I think. I used to have it in my signature but took it out. I do have 9.5cc in a 11cc band. If you could please share with us your band history it may help us provide you with constructive opinions. Edit: I am home now where I had my fill info in a text file. It was 6 fills for me with the first being the largest. 1st fill 5/29/12 5cc 2nd fill 6/12/12 1cc 3rd fill 7/02/12 1cc 4th fill 8/14/12 1cc 5th fill 9/4/12 1cc 6th fill 1/29/13 .5

Suzzie when is the last time you had a check up from your band doc? Last fill? If you haven't been in a long time you should probably get checked out and make sure your the health of your band is good. You could just need a fill.

I was really bad first 3 days post op. It didn't help that I was sipping apple juice and adding to the problem....not pretty.

Yes, and in fact my wife is having the very battle herself as she is now going through the process. I went through it but at 488lbs I didn't feel I had many options as I was a walking time bomb. For me it was all about health and being around as long as I can. Let me ask you this, What is the hardest part of losing weight for you? For me it was not about losing weight. It was about keeping it off and maintaining it. I lost 170lbs doing Atkins years ago and I gained it all back plus another 90. There is nothing wrong with feeling like you do but I will go on to tell you this is NOT the easy way out. There is no such things as easy WLS. You will still need to make good choices and have discipline. No form of WLS will force you to make good choices. Even with this band I could go to McDonalds and suck down a 1500 calorie milk shake. Band is a tool and that is all it is. You have to do the work and it will help you but you have to control it.

Did they go straight from 7 to 8.5 in one fill or was it slow and steady? 1.5cc jump when already at 7 would be insane. I would definitely call as CG suggested.

I understand what you're going through. I've lost close to 200lbs and all I see is that fat guy in the mirror. I wonder if my brain will ever catch up to my body.

Hi there...actually my drive has increased big time since the band along with the large amount of weight loss. I had issues pre-band but they're all gone now. My testosterone is still a bit on the low side of normal but still within range. I would definitely see what the doctor has to to say. Probably will need to do all sorts of blood work and perhaps send you off to a Specialist. Good news is they have meds now to take care of these things.

I have actually never tried. I usually bring home the left overs or I just don't bother. I probably should try it or see if I could order from the kids menu. Funny thing is I think I would be embarrassed at nearly 300 pounds asking to order from the kids menu. As for the cruise the way I understand it is meals are generally included?? At least it was on the Carnival cruise I did in 2008. Maybe Disney is different.

I bought a Tanita 10 years ago and it is still going strong. I needed a good scale because of my weight at the time. I also liked the fact it had 5 different memory slots so multiple people could use it and it will remember your last weigh in. quite expensive but it was worth it. http://www.amazon.com/Tanita-HD351-Digital-Memory-Function/dp/B0000U6F2M/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1370022277&sr=8-11&keywords=scales+tanita

BCBS MA is billed $130.00. I pay 20 bucks out of pocket. Not sure if the cost would be different if I was uninsured.

Moving right along.....I've made many strides along the way and I am happy to say I can actually walk those strides now as the weight no longer holds me back. Still I have a ways to go but I now have the confidence that I am going to get there. I could not do it alone and Alex words cannot express how grateful I am to have your wonderful support site. Thank you!!

It can be a little frustrating in the beginning but stick with it! It is so worth it...

Taking a drink is the last thing I would do. Drinking just increases the episode in my opinion and experience. I have had my share of stuck episodes and the two times I did add Fluid it made the pain worse and the vomiting more forceful. Vomiting should be avoided at all costs just as stuck episodes should. It increases chances of a band slip 10 fold. I would suggest talking to your Doctor about stuck episodes and the recommended action but in my opinion adding fluid to an already plugged funnel is a no brainer. What happens when you keep flushing a toilet that is plugged?