Rainbow_Warrior

About a week ago, I posted that before seeing my GP (family doctor). Good news ... I am NOT OFF the medication. The GP said that I could halve the dose again. So 2006-2015, I was on 20mg of Felodipine and 20mg of Ramipril daily. From late 2015, I was on 10mg of Felodipine and 10mg of Ramipril daily. From August 2017, I was on 5mg of Felodipine and 5mg of Ramipril daily. Starting this week (Dec 2017), 2015, I am now on 2.5mg of Felodipine and 2.5mg of Ramipril daily. I have my surgeon's two-month post-op follow-up next Monday, 18th Dec AND I have a further GP appointment before Jan 23rd ... I am hopeful that I'll be off hypertension meds by AUSTRALIA DAY (January 26th), our version of the fourth of July!

This defies logic as a reason to complain. You have been carefully refuted with multiple evidence and clear justification.

You really live in a sad state of denial. You are argumentative in the face of reasoned debate and justifications. You may be a direct descendant of Canute! That is plainly against the record of WEIGHT LOSS WARD (UK-TV on ITV) and the case of Terry Gardner which I cited for you. What I said and described and provided evidence for goes against your WRONGFUL assertion that the British NHS does not ever do gastric balloons for people on higher BMIs. I clearly mentioned Dr Paul Jaminet's role and his decision to use gastric balloons for people with BMIs over 40. I also presented you a Newspaper reference to a story backing what I said about the weight loss ward at Sunderland AND Terry Gardner AND Dr Jaminet ... and still you bleat like the Black Knight in Monty Python and The Holy Grail. Your ability to be educated by reasoned presentation is sadly lacking. I probably have a better chance of teaching my wife's cat Astrophysics 101 than getting you to accept clear evidence. You remind me of the anecdote of the frog in the saucepan on the hotplate on the stove. You won't know until it's too late how your apathy and ignorance holds up your chance to learn from OTHERS WHO HAVE TAKEN NOTICE and tried to share with you. If you don't get it, try the 1970s advice of foad!

Probably a relief to the whole Sunderland community given your obvious abrasiveness, apathy and ignorance.

You are a loud-mouthed, small-minded and vindictive user. Even when you are plain f**king wrong, you do not know when to stop. It's actually "YOU'RE" but you're too f**king stupid to know grammar, spelling, history or fair-play. It's no wonder so many people arc-up when you engage them. Your ignorance and bad manners seem to know no bounds. - - - Even when you are presented CLEAR evidence which refutes your current knowledge or assumptions, your ignorance and stupidity seem to take over. If you find the opinions and evidence presented by others too distasteful to deal with, why don't you just leave others be? I can see the soul-destroying stuff you have written to some really nice users in a number of threads. If you don't care for the thoughts and ideas of the others you launch your flames at, just bite your tongue and leave us all alone!

Try this then. It seriously undermines your beliefs and assertions. https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/weight-loss-ward-saved-47-stone-dad-1-5233376

You may want to disagree because of a CURRENT general NHS policy but, on "WEIGHT LOSS WARD" (UK), the senior weight-loss surgeon/registrar (DR PAUL JAMINET) at the Sunderland Hospital has approved several (more than three) gastric balloon interventions. One was for a man who was over 27 years old and at 47 stone with a huge BMI. His name was Terry Gardner. It (and the ones to other recipients on other episodes the show) was given as a kick-start to a man with huge eating disorder issues to overcome. The decision, in his case. was made as an extreme incentive to help the man who had a wife and quite young family. You may scoff and dispute this info but we watched it twice. It's not as though the documentary evidence does not exist. It's still on the WEIGHT LOSS WARD Youtube channel. I just went and watched it again to verify that I was correct in reporting it to you. I don't disagree that, right now in 2017, they may not be giving MORBIDLY OBESE people gastric balloons but the history, pre-2017, is correct.

Well, it's pretty much only for the privately insured here in AUS ... or those who can afford the $AUD1700 without insurance. And, to correct you, at Sunderland in the UK, lots of people with BMIs over 40 get the balloon to help them start the process for WLS. We get the UK's "Weight Loss Ward" and "Fat Doctor" here in AUS ... and the two main doctors use balloons on a selection of patients. In fact, that's where my wife got the idea to try a balloon about 19 months back.

You must hide all the tubes of CLEARASIL in that case.

Re being sedentary, can I respectfully suggest that the best non-threatening exercise to a sedentary person who wants to lose weight and tone muscle is SWIMMING. Once you get into the water, your joints are relaxed and under minimal pressure. You can float, paddle, swim, wade ... even deep-wading in chest-deep water. I won't address your other issues as others seem to be covering them. But I do hope you'll consider the diversion and the assistance EXERCISE will bring and I recommend swimming as the lowest impact EFFECTIVE form of getting into regular comfortable exercise.

My wife has FARED well. On her second balloon now ... first one in eight months, this one nearly five months. Dropped from 126 kg to 85.6 kg. For non-metric countries, that's 277.8 pounds to 188.7 pounds. No nausea for her but she has had issues with the need to chew food to pulp, especially on the first balloon. The procedure to put one in or take one out is quick. Requires about a two hour post-op stay to confirm 'no problems' then be sent home.

JUST THREE words, men! Swim! Vigorous breaststroke. It's worked wonders in just 24 days for my chest. Firmer by the day!

Can I respectfully suggest that you go to the pool now? "Why?" you might ask. Well, I tried walking and gyms when I was over 400 pounds. I tried all manner of exercise ... but my joints, especially my knees and ankles were under too much stress. Someone suggested the pool. I worked up the courage and bought 9XL swim shorts and a 7XL rash vest (so no-one would see my rolls of fat) and headed down at 5am one morning. It works. No joint stress while you're floating or wading. The lap-swimmers were amused the first couple of times but I kept coming back and they egged me on. Some of them became great encouragement over the last two years. The best part is, despite the initial fear, I have enormous lung capacity now. I can swim nearly three times as fast as I used to in 2015. And now, it's a great assistance post-op in keeping my shrinking mass somewhat firmer. Swimming is a good fitness choice.

No ... not just anything. Some limits apply to some liquids and outright bans (for good reasons) on others. Diet jellies/jellos are allowed. Be judicious in how much you swallow. It's easy to overfill yourself.

Yes, do a local search for a bariatric clinic/doctor and spend an evening at a seminar. It could prove to be a catalyst, one way or another to your decision.

Watch a version of your op on Youtube. Maybe see an episode or two of "Fat Doctor" or "Weight Loss Ward" or "The Obesity Myth" ... you will glean a great deal if you want to learn.

My half/double comparison is a little different but I'm quite proud this week. I started at 174.6kg ... round that off to 175 ... My target/goal is my so-called natural weight for my height which is about 74.6 kg ... round that off to 75kg. So, I had a HUNDRED KG to lose to reach approx. 75kg. So, I was SEVEN-THIRDS (or 2.3333 times) my goal. This week I passed 25kg lost. So I am now DOUBLE (or 2.0000 times ) my goal weight. I have as much to lose as my goal is. 75kg to go to reach 75kg. THE GRAPHIC VERSION =

Not unlike my plan. PRE-OP: At least two weeks of three protein shakes per day to shrink liver PLUS one lighter NORMAL meal. POST-OP: 1) about ten days clear liquids THEN 2) about 14 days at almost 100% liquids THEN 3) about 12-14 days of pureed foods THEN 4) small meals of solids; liquid foods optional; Two litres of water per day. Meals should include 90 grams to 115grams of protein. Proteins should outnumber carbs 3:1 or 5:2, IF POSSIBLE.

1) Ending my HYPERTENSION medication. (Surgeon says that's days away). 2) Widening the gap between my lower abdomen and the steering wheel when driving. It's already shifted from 15mm-18mm in mid-October (0.6-0.75 inches) to 75mm (three inches). Pleasing. 3) Steering clear of Mr Big in Target and the local "Big & Tall" shop. Aiming for regular clothes shopping. Already down from 7XL/6XL to 4XL in shirts. Have already dropped 120mm-130mm from my waist (4" to 5") 4) Not having to leave EXTRA space to open my car door. 5) Gaining the stamina to keep up with my seven grandkids.

This week, today, Wednesday 6th Dec, I register as 147.8 kg which translates to 325.84 pounds. Not too bad! Thank you!

Wednesday 6th Dec at 4:30 pm here in eastern Australia. Just in from almost three hours breaststroke and 25 minutes chest-deep "wading" at the local pool. This week, today, I register as 147.8 kg which translates to 325.84 pounds. Not too bad! Thank you!

Well explained.

I can assure you that most people don't have eight horrid days on an eight-day liver-shrinking liquid high-protein diet. (Nor does someone on a 14 day diet, as I was, have 14 horrid days.) There is a period of, typically, 18 to 55 hours of numb headache pain as one's body adjusts. Before and after those hours of pain is quite all right for the overwhelming majority of pre-WLS patients. I would counsel you to think that, despite the distasteful few hours, the long term outlook for a new slimmer future is worth almost any pain.

I not only think it. I know it. My wife's only worked there a few months and it was the very first time I'd met any of them. My cover is not blown.

I had my first restaurant night out since surgery (51 days ago) last night (Saturday 2nd Dec) when my wife's retail staff had its xmas gathering at a Thai restaurant. It galled me a little paying $AUD40 when I knew I was "eating small". Out of an 11-course Thai banquet, I was very picky. One small curried vegetable samosa, one medium battered prawn tail, one small crab money-bag, one small vegetable spring roll. I than waited about 15 minutes and sipped a large glass of Water. Round Two: I picked out one medium prawn from a stir fry and a chunk of salmon (about 50 grams). Then, over the next hour and a half while sipping more water, most of the other 25 people offered me more of the mounting 'left-overs' on the trays and plates ... each of which I declined. When pressed, I just said (truthfully) ... "I had a long day in the pool trying to reshape my body. I'm predominantly eating small Protein hits and few carbs for a while." That seemed to pass! [n.b. I swam three hours breaststroke Saturday morning plus half an hour of chest-deep 'wading'.] - - - As my first major outing after surgery, I was very pleased that I passed scrutiny. As I said a few weeks ago, we do not have Thanksgiving here in Australia so waited longer than most of the early October sleepers for the test of my resilience at dinner.