BandedPlicatedDude

Wow! Thanks for the update. And a job well done to you! I did my band/plication in July of 2011, and have lost 110 lbs. since then. I had my gallbladder removed at the same time and had my severe hiatal hernia fixed as well--not fun, but looking back, I have no regrets whatsoever... I started at 253 and I'm down to 143 now which is about 10 lbs. below my goal. Again, great job & thanks for the update!

Hi there Spice, Did my Bandication (as someone referred to it once...) on July 14. I had a GB filled with stones for a few years and my doc knew that it had to come out; at first he did not want to remove it until months after the surgery after weight loss... Apparently it's a lot easier to remove it laparoscopically if you weigh less. I was ok with that except that my insurance did not cover any type of WLS & being broke and all I thought if the surgeries are combined, since the insurance will have to cover the GB removal part, it'll help me a lot. So I convinced him to do it. Fast forward to the day of the surgery now... Went in the OR at around 9:15 a.m., expecting to be out by 11 or so... When I woke up in the recovery room, it was 6:15 p.m. Later i learned that the surgery ended at 3:30... Almost 6.5 hrs of anesthesia... It was brutal indeed & I ended up staying at the hospital for 3 days as my heartrate was high & my potassium was low & some other things due to the length of the surgery and the GB. Surgeon later said the removal of the GB was to be blamed. It took him the most as it was "gigantic" but he still managed to do it laparoscopically, for which I was grateful. He had to fix a huge hernia which obviously contributed to the lengthiness of the surgery. It took me a good month or so to shake off the whole anesthesia and a bit more to just get adjusted to the new me--I had no nausea really and took very little liquid pain med; had 0 gas pain; but did have lots of what I want to call discomfort around my incision areas in general, but that was expected as I've always been in a wheelchair (rare birth defect totally unrelated to any of this), so transferring myself from bed to chair and other places was excruciating for a while... Look, I am not going to sugarcoat this... It wasn't easy FOR ME at all, but I'll do it ten million times over (except I'd wait on the GB removal until after the WLS surgery) again as the prize has been well worth the trouble... I've been losing an average of 11 lbs. per month. I've lost a total of 48.5 lbs. since I started this journey in June. I'm only 33 and still cannot remember the time I weighed around 204... Been fat all my life pretty much. I'm now so used to eating very little and also to avoiding carbs and all the nastiness they offer. My carb intake is never more than 30 grams per day. I try to drink plenty of Water and eat lots of animal Protein. It's been much easier than I ever imagined to avoid sweets, etc. and it's been so rewarding... Still working on my strength to be able to add more physical activity to my routine, but definitely getting there... Having said all this said, do not worry at all for good things (really good things) are in store for you and you don't even know the beginning of it yet... Put off the GB removal until after your WLS surgery just like your doctor suggests and I think you'll be good to go. Good luck and keep us posted please!

Good job, Mednar. How much did you lose during the first two months following the surgery if you don't mind me asking please? I haven't read all your posts, so was wondering if you did the plication alone or the band + plication... It's very easy to get discouraged... The way I see this whole thing, it's a total lifestyle change, and requires big commitment. My doc is HUGE on keeping the carb consumption down to 30 grams per day and adding 20 minutes of physical activity (any activity) to your daily routine. If I eat my Protein, there's normally little to no room for anything else, and with the added 20-minute per day activity (going for a walk around the block, etc.), I can definitely see the pounds coming off. I have good days and not so good days. When I deviate from the new lifestyle's routines, i can be sure the scale will remind me of it. Anyhow, keep up the good work & keep us posted please.

Hi there, I am really happy for you and your weight loss journey. But I do not appreciate your spamming messages in ALL threads and forums here! You can just start a thread and talk about yourself and promote your blog, but please stop these chain postings in every single thread in this forum... Let's please stay relevant and also courteous of others who take the time to start a thread to talk about a particular topic... That's just my personal opinion and may not necessarily reflect those of SleevePlicationTalk.com's administrators.