IrishHurler

Get yourself a vitamix. You can put veges in there and make smoothies. You can also make foods that are good for you like hot Soup made from whatever you choose to toss in. I got banded as one of a class of three. The one who has thus far been the most successful became a vegan afterwards. She is pretty much at goal weight now and it's been three years. My band helped me keep the weight off when I was clueless about the importance of the hormone leptin and learned about nutrition, metabolism and how to keep the weight off. After going to the Biggest Loser Resort I've learned a lot and have lost anther 10 pounds at least since I returned home at the beginning of February. The third person did not follow up with any fills, did not do anything to change his lifestyle, and is as heavy today as the day he got his band. I guess my point is this. 2 of the 3 of us have made lifestyle changes. The band was part of that earlier but to be honest, not as important now. If you don't make lifestyle changes you won't succeed.

Yeah, I hate my band too. It never did for me what others said it did for them. I did however find that veges go through my band fairly well. meats and starches can cause me great pain. Bread is right out unless I smother it in butter which kind of defeats the purpose. I did find success by going to the Biggest Loser Resort though. They taught me a lot about nutrition and exercise and I have lost weight since. I wish insurance would have covered it.

It's frustrating. Nearly 2 years have passed and I've lost only 30 pounds. Now I'll admit that I haven't been vigilant about getting fills. I only have about 5 cc's in my 10 cc band. But there's a reason I don't get more. It sucks. I have no idea at any time how my band will react. One thing is consistent -- it is always the tightest in the morning. I've actually felt a bit uncomfortable when drinking a V8 quickly in the morning. Other times, it seems like it is almost not there. I don't understand it. My expectation was that I would be able to eat small meals and get the sensation of fullness. That has never happened. I don't know why but I think that it is possible that my doctor put the band too high so that I don't have a pouch to fill. If I eat something that doesn't want to go down it hurts. Sometimes not a little -- a lot. I have to wait. I eat my meals in 2 to 3 times the speed of my family members. If I stop eating early I do not have that sense of fullness and I never have. I fear that if I have more put into my band that I will simply experience pain on a more frequent basis without the benefit of feeling full or satiated. There is no way to tell when my band will choose to act up. Sometimes I can eat a teaspoon full of food and it will make me feel like I almost cannot catch my breath. Other times I can eat as much as I want. I have resorted back to traditional dieting (Atkins, low cal) with about as much success as I had before the band -- that is to say little to no success. This all leave me wondering if there are other people who have not felt the benefit of fullness that they were anticipating.

First, you owe it to your spouse to tell him. I prefer to be supportive but if you hide such a big thing from him, what else will you hide. Also, if he discovers this and realizes you have been lying (by omission) to him, he may consider it a justification to start lying to him. Overall, that's a bad idea. As for your co-workers, someone clearly spilled the beans. This is very bad behavior on their part but it's also not very honest on your part to point to your successes, and give false hope based on those successes, when the reason has little to do with soup. That being said, I told very few people. Unfortunately I have a friend who works in my doctors office who told my entire network of friends. That's right -- she violated HIPPA. I was irate and I'm still irritated by her. The reality is that most people don't understand bariatric surgery and they certainly do not understand that people with the band will have results that vary greatly from other procedures. The bottom line is that your health decisions are between you and your family -- not to be broadcast to the world if you choose not to tell them.

Yeah, don't sweat it. Talk to your doctor. You'll be fine.

Just keep in mind that this surgery will not solve the problem for you. It is a tool, not an easy solution.

Congrats on your decision. I hope it went well.

15 days post-op and I'm relieved. Why? Because I was starting to be concerned -- concerned that this surgery meant I would no longer be the strong guy. I would no longer be able to do hard manual labor. Today I pushed it. Yes, I know, doctors orders and all that and yes, it was in the back of my mind. But today I had some heavy pieces of a tree that needed to be moved. I split them and tossed them in a wheel barrow and hauled them down to the curb. I know -- bad, bad man. But this was more than just a household chore for me -- this was me being able to tell whether I would ever be able to do hard, physically taxing tasks and I completed them without ripping my guts open. Well, maybe not completed. A small dose of sanity crept in and after I hauled some of it down to the curb I took an hour break. Then I moved more down to the curb and I think I'm done for the day. There will be other days to finish the task but it felt good to be able to accomplish this task -- really, really good. The day before I went in for surgery that was one of my major concerns. Will this surgery compromise my ability to do what I identify as a mans responsibilities. Will this surgery essentially neuter my ability to be a good provider and do what needs to be done around the house. That day I worked to split and stack about two cords of wood. It felt good, but I was worried that it may have been a last hurrah. Nope. I'm not going to push it anymore today. After all, I do recognize that my body still does need some rest. And while we're on the issue of rest, I was able to sleep in my own bed last night. Yeah, that's right -- my own bed. It was really, really nice. As much as I appreciate the comfort that the recliner gave me for the past two weeks, to sleep in my own bed was a major milestone. I'm looking forward to more milestones as the days, weeks and months progress.

15 days post-op and I'm relieved. Why? Because I was starting to be concerned -- concerned that this surgery meant I would no longer be the strong guy. I would no longer be able to do hard manual labor. Today I pushed it. Yes, I know, doctors orders and all that and yes, it was in the back of my mind. But today I had some heavy pieces of a tree that needed to be moved. I split them and tossed them in a wheel barrow and hauled them down to the curb. I know -- bad, bad man. But this was more than just a household chore for me -- this was me being able to tell whether I would ever be able to do hard, physically taxing tasks and I completed them without ripping my guts open. Well, maybe not completed. A small dose of sanity crept in and after I hauled some of it down to the curb I took an hour break. Then I moved more down to the curb and I think I'm done for the day. There will be other days to finish the task but it felt good to be able to accomplish this task -- really, really good. The day before I went in for surgery that was one of my major concerns. Will this surgery compromise my ability to do what I identify as a mans responsibilities. Will this surgery essentially neuter my ability to be a good provider and do what needs to be done around the house. That day I worked to split and stack about two cords of wood. It felt good, but I was worried that it may have been a last hurrah. Nope. I'm not going to push it anymore today. After all, I do recognize that my body still does need some rest. And while we're on the issue of rest, I was able to sleep in my own bed last night. Yeah, that's right -- my own bed. It was really, really nice. As much as I appreciate the comfort that the recliner gave me for the past two weeks, to sleep in my own bed was a major milestone. I'm looking forward to more milestones as the days, weeks and months progress.

Well, maybe not magic, but it certainly did the trick and I don't feel like I've just run a half marathon. Earlier today I was feeling light headed and ill. I had felt weak since the surgery on Monday and have been just dealing with it. My doctor told me I was to be on liquids this week -- mostly broths and jello, that sort of thing. Simply put, I was not getting in the nutrients and calories I needed to allow my body to heal. So I veered slightly off program tonight. It started out with me making a chicken stock. I baked a chicken for 70 minutes at 400 degrees. The idea behind the overcooking was I wanted the chicken to be golden brown and the skin to be carmelized and a little dry when I followed it up by boiling it in water. That way I could get a richer, better tasting broth. But there was that frozen broccoli in the freezer.... I decided to change things up. It's been 5 days since the surgery. I made the broth, then I mixed in some chicken, some broccoli and some broth and blended it together with the hand blender. It made a creamy soup that kicked ass. I ate about 3/4 of a cup and within a few minutes I was no longer light headed or dizzy and I felt good. Actually good. In fact, the best I've felt since before the surgery. There was about 2 talespoons of chicken in what I ate tonight as well as 3 tablespoons of broccoli. The rest was broth. Do I feel guilty? Not really. I've been vigilant and I believe what I did tonight will put me on a healing path. I have gone 6 hours without pain meds and I'm very pleased with how I feel. I think I wasn't getting the right stuff in me and now I'm all set to start the healing. Before, I just felt like I was treading water. Now the healing begins.

Well, maybe not magic, but it certainly did the trick and I don't feel like I've just run a half marathon. Earlier today I was feeling light headed and ill. I had felt weak since the surgery on Monday and have been just dealing with it. My doctor told me I was to be on liquids this week -- mostly broths and jello, that sort of thing. Simply put, I was not getting in the nutrients and calories I needed to allow my body to heal. So I veered slightly off program tonight. It started out with me making a chicken stock. I baked a chicken for 70 minutes at 400 degrees. The idea behind the overcooking was I wanted the chicken to be golden brown and the skin to be carmelized and a little dry when I followed it up by boiling it in water. That way I could get a richer, better tasting broth. But there was that frozen broccoli in the freezer.... I decided to change things up. It's been 5 days since the surgery. I made the broth, then I mixed in some chicken, some broccoli and some broth and blended it together with the hand blender. It made a creamy soup that kicked ass. I ate about 3/4 of a cup and within a few minutes I was no longer light headed or dizzy and I felt good. Actually good. In fact, the best I've felt since before the surgery. There was about 2 talespoons of chicken in what I ate tonight as well as 3 tablespoons of broccoli. The rest was broth. Do I feel guilty? Not really. I've been vigilant and I believe what I did tonight will put me on a healing path. I have gone 6 hours without pain meds and I'm very pleased with how I feel. I think I wasn't getting the right stuff in me and now I'm all set to start the healing. Before, I just felt like I was treading water. Now the healing begins.