parisshel

I'd like to ask my surgeon how soon after surgery can we start up with the sex? But I'm too embarassed to do so. Which is incredibly stupid, since I live in France where people talk about sex all the time! Hey...after you have a baby they tell you without you asking! It should be the same of LB surgery!

Hehe. The Lapband Chronicles is uniquely for this experience and is not my prinicipal blog (of course!). I, too, am not [yet] ready for an across-the-board public witnessing of this. I suspect that will come, however, after I've lost some weight. Then I'll be all dancing in the street naked, shouting "look at me! look at me!" Glad we are almost band sisters!

Hi! I'm in Paris, France. Not a lot of EU members on this site, but I find it helpful nonetheless.

Rosie, I feel EXACTLY the same as you! I just wrote a blog post about this. I've been overweight since third grade--with some moments of being less fat than now--but never under 165 pounds in my adult life. I have great sadness at the idea that I have never seen what the real, organic "me" was supposed to look like. I am thrilled that the band will give me a chance to be this person that I've always wanted to be but I agree that I may been a qualified and understanding therapist to help me let go of the sadness I feel that I wasted so many years in this body which was never the body I was meant to have. Think about it. What is my face going to look like? (I can picture my body because that's easier to imagine...bodies are bodies more or less, but our faces are unique to us). Will I FINALLY be able to see if my children look like me? (My features are so blurred by the fat...who can tell what familial traits lay under them?). To live in this world in a thin body, after 45 years of living in it in a body that was not within normal limits...it's going to be a wild ride. I know I want this---I hate moving through the world at the weight I am currently at---but at the same time I am reflecting deeply on what my new identity (physically-speaking) will be. Everything is going to change. Everything.

Very helpful and thorough. Thanks for walking us through it. I'm going to print this out for myself.

That must have felt tremendous! It's a huge accomplishment. OMG regular clothes. (I can't wait.)

Well done! Must do some "before" pics tonight, which I will lock up until.....6 months from now?!!!

Thank you! As I pre-op, I've always wondered why people recommend this--it just didn't make sense. (I remember gas pain from my two c-sections way back when, and I know that no form of gas med would've taken that pain away, for precisely the reason you cite here.)

I just read your "History." You are a fighter! Much more than I. I would've had the band taken out long before this. You put up with a lot! Good luck as you move forward. You seem to be quite strong and I'm sure will be fine whatever you decide post-band.

Great thread and I'm having to refrain from laughing loudly at work. Thanks for the levity!

I've found this to be quite true in my case. When I was first considering a lapband, I didn't tell anyone. When I decided on a lapband, I told 2 people. When I got my surgery date, I told a few more. With two weeks until my procedure, I'm telling everybody! The pharmacist, the flower merchant, my neighbors! The only people who don't know what I'm doing are those in HR (they work in another country so they don't see me anyway); all they know is I'm taking some medical time off. This is only because I don't want any comments about taking time off for elective surgery. They know I'm having a surgery, but they don't know it is elective.

I'm also being banded two weeks from now and having lots of food funerals. (I'm not a drinker, however. At least there's that!) It's not making me any happier, believe me, and my weight is up 6 pounds from the day of my initial consultation. Lordy I'm fat enough already and didn't need to get any fatter. I am SO looking forward to getting banded and ending this behavior. It's stupid behavior, too, because it's not like I'm never going to eat again. But the drive to say goodbye to these foods is very strong. BTW, I have no pre-op protocol in terms of diet. Anyway, I totally get what you are going through.

Great link. Thanks for pointing us to it. And Molly40P: Don't feel badly. It's good that you are taking this very seriously and making an educated decision. You may just need more time for reflection. Or you may truly feel the band isn't for you. Either way, take care and give whatever path you need to take time to reveal itself.

Hi! I'll be following you with my band on March 20th. It's an exciting and nerve-wracking time, isn't it? I, too, and viewing this as the end to my inability to maintain my weight loss.

Aw. I'm sorry that you are going through this alone. That can't be easy. I hope you surround yourself with good friends that will help you through this.

My surgeon says you can take all pills, just take each one at a time. That said, I think I'll break my larger pills in half because they are pretty big.

This is precisely what the psychiatrist said to me when I went through my eval for this surgery. Me, who had never had a depressive day in my life! She said to be mindful (prepared) that depression may occur even in those people not predisposed to it, for the reasons you cite. It's important for me to be attentive to this--and to know it is normal-- and I'm glad she included it in my sessions.

Everytime I post and see my ticker counting down, I'm "OMG....it's finally happening!" Excited, apprehensive, projecting and imagining all the changes that are going to take place...and...I'm stopped reading the horror stories because that is not helpful as I get closer to my surgery date. It was a good thing to do when I was gathering education to make my decision, but a negative thing to do at this point. Decision made, date set and now my mind needs to imagine the "Best Case Scenario". Good luck to all as we move through "our month."

My sense is once you get to the "more interesting" food stage, this will be a distant memory. Who could get excited about watery grits? That's normal! When do you get to introduce more palatable foods back into your diet? I'd wait to see what turns around for you then...it could be that your cravings are all gone simply because there is nothing in your diet lighting that part of your brain up. And imho that's a good thing, as long as it doesn't persist to the point that you merely live on Protein drinks. That wouldn't be good and that's not the goal of a lapband AFAIK. Sounds like you are getting enough Protein and Vitamins from your drinks + supplements for now.

Wow! Such a short hospital stay! I hope you are comfortable and remain painfree! Good luck with this new chapter in your life.

I think everybody fears the anesthesia aspect of surgery, any surgery, not just WLS. And really, the only way to get over it is to go through it. My advice would be to not read any "bad anesthesia" stories on any forum or blog, because it will amplify your fears. Also, bring this up at your consultation because your MD can address it and knowledge of how anesthesia works may help you be less afraid. Many hospitals will give you a pre-sedative before bringing you into the OR as they are very mindful of how stressful psychologically surgery is for some patients. Inform yourself and see if this is a protocol you could have for your situation. Lastly, know you aren't alone with your fear. I don't know of anyone who goes into a surgery fearfree.

Hi! We are bandtwins; my surgery date is also March 20th...three weeks away! Getting excited and I actually dreamt that I got the surgery....the dream was so vivid from start to finish. It was a cool dream, but now it's like I have to go through it a second time! Three weeks will go by in a flash...it will be great to be on "the other side." Wish a smooth an uneventful pre to post-op to all March bandsters!

I read on a blog (OK; not the best or most reliable source) that 85% of couples split following a significant weight change in one partner. That can be weight up or down, btw. I can understand why a couple might split with a big weight gain in one of the people, because with big weight gain comes lack of mobility, socializing, community activities, etc. Then a downward spiral begins, as the normal-weight partner either goes and does their own thing, or stays at home to be with the inactive person, but resents becoming cut off from their formerly active life. And I can understand why a big weight loss would also impact a couple. Change is often a scary thing to navigate, and when one person is threatened by the other's change (vs being supportive of it), it doesn't bode well for the couple. For me, I am very aware of how my upcoming surgery and resulting weight loss may put my relationship at risk. My BF already has a very low level of energy---much lower than mine even though his is not obese and he is younger than me--and it's always been something that bothers me. I also blame a lot of my weight gain on the fact he never moves, so I don't either (lame, I know, but it's not a lot of fun doing stuff on my own.) I know that I need to be active to be successful with my lapband. I know it will mean doing it on my own. There will be some resentment there, and I am quite aware that this may mean the demise of my relationship. But staying fat and inactive is too high a price to pay to remain in my relationship, so let the cards fall as they may. I have one life and am fed up with letting the days slip by while there is just so much to do OUTSIDE IN THE WORLD!!!!

I'm not sure which chemical the anesthesiologist use that cause it, but for a lot of people it can cause some really serious depression and emotional instability. This is true. It is extremely common for people to experience depression after anesthesia. I read about this after my BF had a heart attack and had to have a couple of surgeries to place stents in his arteries. I noticed that he came home from the hospital depressed (and he is not a depressive) and found that this was more the rule than the exception following general anesthesia. The only time I've had general anesthesia was when I had surgery following a broken ankle. 2 days post op I was crying and crying. Well, I was sad to be in a cast for 2 months, sure, but I suspect it was also the consequence of the anesthesia. Something about it releases emotions.

As WLS gets more and more democratized, a certain type of patient will have access to it. Prior to its large-scale availability, the type of patient who would undergo the procedure was willing to do whatever it took to succeed. He/she was knew his/her life was at stake. Now, with WLS criteria being lowered, and more insurance companies covering it, or loans being made available to cover it, the patient base is much much larger. And with that, you get some people who slip through the pre-op psych evaluations...or don't even have to get a pre-op psych eval. So you get people like you report here...people who really don't have the mindset that is necessary and fundamental to success with the lapband (or sleeve, or bypass). People who will game the tool. (This is analogous to people who lose weight with something like Weight Watchers, but take all their points in chocolate, alcohol or other not-healthy foods. They may make it to goal, but they won't stay there long.) These are the people who skew the success rate statistics due to their non-compliance with post-op rules. It's a shame but it will become more prevalent as the procedures become democratized and normalized and available to a wider market. I would definitely speak up because misinformation is being diffused by this person, and that misinformation is harmful not only for the person hearing it (who won't question it, as you did), but also for the success rate of the band in general. The person delivering that information needs to be trained correctly, so the practice who is employing her should know about this. Ultimately it does no good for the practice if their patients don't succeed with the band, so they will want to hear your feedback.