ChrisC

Greetings fellow Bandsters, I got a six year congratulations notice from the organizers of this site. It reminded me that I wanted to check back in with the community and talk about how wonderful this journey has been for me. I was banded in November of 2005. It took me two years to shed the 100 lbs (seemed like forever), with all of the ups and downs. I seemed like it took forever to hit the sweet spot with fills. I made a deal with myself that I didn't need to be a "perfect" bandster, just a very good one. If this is you--hang in there. This thing does work. I ate all of my food, never touched any "beaker food" or scientifically engineered food. I decided not to drink anything with calories in it for the first year of being banded. I made it a priority to either be filled enough to be losing weight, or going in to fill, each month until I was where I wanted to be. I think many bandsters never get tight enough to really learn how to use this method well. I reached goal, and made my appointment with my plastic surgeon. He did fantastic work getting rid of my extra belly skin. Since then, I am living the dream I used to have when I was heavy. I wake up slender. My clothes are beautiful and they fit. I never need to pull anything down to make sure anything is covered up. I am no longer self-conscious about how I look--I know I look good. I went from a size 18-20 to a size 4. I never believed I was a small person until after my plastic surgery--I have large bones and nice muscle (many formerly fat people do!) and not much else. When I look at my body in the mirror, I really like what I see. Now that I know people who never knew me heavy, I am careful to represent my former fat community with respect for us all and the struggles we have endured. Yes, I have learned that many thin people sit around congratulating themselves for their wonderful self-discipline and judging others--and I tell them how really lucky they are to have been born thin. Many doctors dont "get" the band. I am an executive in Health Care, so I meet many. They often explain to me that banding doesn't work, people "gain it back", yada yada. Then I tell them that I am a bandster, 100 pounds more than five years ago, never gained it back and they are shocked. They are probably surrounded by successful bandsters who, after learning to use the tool, don't talk about it all of the time--"did you know I used to be heavy" just doesn't come up in every conversation. For me, I gained a huge amount of time not "navigating" being fat. I don't worry about how I look. I don't worry about what people think when I am eating. People automatically assume that I am as intelligent as I am. I fit in any airline seat comfortably, even the middle. I pull on wetsuits to go diving never worrying about if it will fit. If I ever try on anything that doesn't fit--the salespeople, and I assume that the product is not cut for me, not that there is anything wrong with my proportions. I am not out of breath walking up a mountainside, and I am as strong as I was when I was fat (most of us fatties are REALLY strong from carrying ourselves around.) I feel like I have averted the blood pressure and diabetes problems that run in my family. I get a lot of attention from men who say I am attractive. Since I lived my whole life up to six years ago not relying on my personal beauty for my inner peace, I think that is just a bonus. It is fun not to feel I want to avoid having my picture taken. I have learned that if my band is too loose, I gain weight. I allow a ten pound max swing upwards before I go in to get my band filled. Then, gradually I get back to goal by cutting out a few extras like crackers and cheese, caloric beverages and the like. I have never missed fast food--it doesn't stand up to being chewed 20 times. Now, it's high quality or I don't bother eating or drinking it. There is nothing I don't eat, I just can't each much of it. I have cycled back down to goal three times so--I think I know how to do this the rest of my life. People used to say that it wasn't about dieting, it was about lifestyle changes, but for me before the band, it was about self-denial and dieting. After the band took the edge off my hunger and helped me understand portion control, it IS about lifestyle changes. My only regret is that banding didn't exist when I was in my twenties--still getting past obesity at 45 was better than even later--although even that is possible. All my best to all of the newer or wanna be bandsters out there--there is joy at this end of the road. Chris

PB ing is ALOT about not taking small enough bites and chewing well. Everything else sounds like you need a fill. Go for it!

At the Seattle Bandster Bash, the docs there suggested that people who feel pain are sometimes irritated from meals that did not go smoothly the last time they ate. Some foods, like dryer meats, need some kind of sauce or lubricant. Better yet, since you don't eat much, buy the best possible cuts which are more moist.

November 18th-- Lost 42 so far....whoooo hoooo. :clap2: We're all doing GREAT! Chris C 240/231/198/140 pre-op/surgery date/now/goal

Banded November 18th. One fill of 1.5cc. I have lost 30 LBS!!! Yahoo!

I didn't tell anyone at work, and a limited number of personal friends and family. The family I told were all supportive. The only downside about that is that they are WAY interested in my eating. "Is that going down OK? Does that hurt? Did you have to throw that up?" It feels like being someone else's science project. I find I don't want to talk about everything that is happening inside my body. At work when people ask me what I am doing to lose so much weight, I say "eating less and moving more." I don't want to become the subject of office gossip. My fat feels too personal to me. Once I am successful with the band, I may tell people who ask who are heavy and could benefit from the information, if they ask, but telling thin people has no appeal.

I was banded without any problems on November 18th. I was out of the hospital the same night with no pain, just a bunch of weird new sensations. The next day, my stoma swelled shut, and I was unable to keep down water. This went on over the weekend, and I ended up back in the hospital to have fluids put into me with an IV. At the same time, they put in some hydrocortisone, to control the swelling. It did the trick, and over the next few days, I was open for longer and longer periods during the day. I learned a bunch of bandster truisms through all of this. A) Everything works better warm, If liquid will not go down, you are too tight. I have to force myself to drink water and my protein beverages, with whom I have not yet made friends. Things get more regular every day, I am grateful to say. I went from eating too much to being grateful I could sip water. Fortunately I was clear that I wanted a band before I started, so I say my "this is going to be great" mantra regularly while I adjust.

Some doctors put people on Optifast type liquid diets for two weeks or ten days before the surgery. Did yours tell you to try to lose weight before the operation, or is that a goal of your own?

Be careful if you are "close" to the minimum BMI of 40--insurance companies want this consecutive, so if you lose a couple of pounds too many, they can deny you. That is why your previous 20 years or so of attempts are not enough. Sorry to sound cynical, but we are talking insurance companies here!

I am getting banded November 18th. Can hardly wait. Let the journey begin...