The Big Boy

Alright Gentlemen, I have a question regarding drinking water during the day away from meals. I do remodeling for a living and work up quite a sweat. Add in the fact I live in the desert where temps regularly hit 115 degrees during the summer, and that I am pushing 400 pounds, dehydration is a real concern. I usually consume 2-3 gallons of water a day and I need to know how easy it is to drink lots of water away from meal time. I am 8 days away from my surgery and am trying to get into the right mindset so that success will be my only option. Thanks for your help.

Put it on a spoon!

Thanks for the responses guys. There may be hope yet. Joe, hope you had a great round yesterday and a better day tomorrow! Keep us updated on your surgery.

I am interested in how long it took those of you who play golf to get back on the course after surgery? I searched the archives of past posts and only found one thread from over a year ago so I thought I would try and update it. I am scheduled for a June 8th surgery and have family coming to visit the first two weeks of July. We usually manage to get 3-4 rounds in and I am hoping that I might be up to playing a couple the last week they are here. But I am unsure of just how sore I will be or how much my mobility will be limited 2-3 weeks out from surgery. Do you think I’ll be able to pull it off?

Congratulations! I was just given my surgery day today so I am really paying attention to those of you who are going through it right now. Stay hydrated and get well.

Well, it's official, I am a June Bandster!! Word came down today that I am approved and scheduled for surgery on June 8th. Congratulations to everybody on taking the first huge step on our long, but successful journey that we are about to undertake. Let's keep each other motivated. Giddy up!

Ebay! Buy em, sell em. A good short term solution until you get to goal.

Congratulations! What a great way to start the weekend. I am at the point you were when you started this thread, just finished the endless consults and testing and ready to submit. Keep posting your progress so we can keep up with you.

It sounds like to me he was using your surgery as an lame excuse to repeat his previous behavior that caused your breakup before. If he is willing to be this much of an ass after only two weeks, think about how much worse it could have been. Kick him to the curb if he reappears, your better off without him. You made a hard decision to get the sugury and you need to have somebody in your life that is supportive of that decision and wants to be with you for you. His loss.

Pardon me for intruding into the powder Room, but I was trolling and thought I would put my two cents in as the lesser sex. When my wife (then fiancée) and I were going through our pre marriage counseling that our church "encouraged" us to take, the minister said something that has stuck with me the last 15 years. He said the people that you and your wife are now will completely change every five years or so. And for the most part has proven to be true. Our life experiences have driven us apart and then back together many times. But the one thing that always got us back on the right track was talking. When I look back on the trying times, things were at their worst when we were in our opposite corners battling each other but we weren’t communicating. Things finally got better when we just started talking about what was going on, sometimes all night. I know it is a lame cliché, but as men we are taught to bottle it up and keep it in. I was lucky enough to have a mother who was a social worker and taught my brother and me not to be afraid of communication. You just have to keep talking. Talk, Talk, Talk, until you actually start talking about what is truly going on. You don’t want to give up on a relationship, knowing that you didn’t do absolutely everything to save it. Just keep talking.

I would suggest going to your local library and talking with them about their reading programs. They should also have great ideas about how you personally could help him at home. It's never too late to learn to read. Good for you for helping him out. Good Karma!

I had a pacemaker implanted near my left shoulder in 2000. 18 months later I pulled a 1 1/2" stich out of my hairline. :smile: Absolutely freaked my wife out. I thought it was hysterical.

Not to bad today, only 115 degrees. Love it!:thumbup:

I picked up from your first post that you get a little intimidated by the doctors. I have had a pacemaker for almost a decade, so I have been dealing with doctors regularly for years and I have a hard and fast rule that I live by. Your doctor is a tool for you to use for your better health. Period. And I have told every doctor that I have been to that exact thing. They are not a god that we must worship. They work for us. If a doctor has a God complex or isn’t willing to make the time to sit down and talk with you, kick them to the curb and move on to the next one. Life is too short not to work with someone who has your best interest at heart. You wouldn’t take that crap from a mechanic working on your car, don’t take it from a doctor. Take your time and find a Doctor that will be a partner for this journey that you are about to begin. That is exactly where I am right now in the process and I have faith that we will both be successful. Keep us posted.

Hello Everybody. I have been lurking around here for awhile and figured it was time I said hello. My name is Scott and I am 6’3” and weigh 395. I am just beginning the process of finding my surgeon and have learned a lot from reading all the posts. I am interested in some personal experiences from people living in and around the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, CA area). I live in La Quinta and have no problem driving to Riverside or San Diego for the right doc but would obviously like to stay close to home. I have already heard some great things about Dr. Coon at Parkview Community Hospital (Thanks Rose) and will be attending one of his seminars soon. I am also interested in any program fees you were required to pay. I have Anthem BCBS and they cover 90% of the cost but I have heard of additional program fees from zero to $8000.00. I know there is a lot of discussion on this board about the legitimacy of program fees, but let’s keep those conversations on the other threads. I am just craving information here. Thanks everybody.

I am very glad they got you all fixed up. This just sounds like a very unpleasant thing to experience. I wanted to ask you which surgeon you ended up going with. You and I both posted on a thread asking about Dr. Coon a little while back but the thread never received any further response from anybody. I am still researching for my doc and would be interested in your decision. Thanks and I hope you heal up quickly!

Your Doctor is just like your band, a tool for you to use for better health. Never forget that. I tell every doctor I have ever been to that exact thing the first time I have meet them. And the one time I felt I wasn't getting the appropriate attention from the doctor, I told him how I felt and moved on to the next one. Your life is too valuable and too short to screw around with somebody who isn't truly interested in helping you. Good luck.

I live in La Quinta, near Palm Springs. I relocated out here in 2003 from Kansas City. Got tired of living through 4 seasons every year so I traded it in for one long hot summer. Love it. Thanks for all of your posts Headhunter, I have read many of them during my lurking period and they helped me learn a lot from a different perspective. It sounds like your journey has been an interesting one. Hopefully mine will be less adventurous yet very successful. Knowledge is a good thing.

I am also interested in everyone's experience with Dr.Coon. I noticed that this post was started last year and I would like to know, now that you are all almost a year away from surgery, would you still recommend him? What was the follow up experience like?

Hello Gentlemen. I am a newbie around here and have been lurking for about a month now, getting a feel for the board and learning a lot about the band. I am a self employed remodeling contractor here in So Cal and am wondering if there are any other contractors here that have been banded? I am a one man shop that subcontracts a lot of the specialty trades but do most of the work myself. Obviously, I will discuss this with my doc as I proceed, but am interested in any personal experiences. Thanks.