Dave_NW

This article describes a phony "doctor" who was arrested in Oregon. if you read the article, the woman who ended his charade was someone who had given him "several thousand dollars for gastric bypass surgery." Now maybe it's just me, but don't you think a potential patient for this kind of surgery would do a smidge of research into her potential surgeon, before letting just anyone cut them open? Strange how trusting some people are. Or how easily they can be duped, I guess. Good thing the surgery never happened! Dave http://abcnews.go.com/Health/lucas-orlin-ebert-poses-doctor-dangerously-treats-patient/story?id=13922730

Pre-banding, I ate like I was on fire. Speed was everything. (Blame the 20 years I spent in the Navy - there was always a lot of food, but never enough time to eat it at normal speed. I could clear a full tray of food in a matter of five minutes.) Now, I eat much more slowly, because eating fast causes me to get stuck. I don't have the time to wait a full minute between bites - that just wouldn't work for me. But I can feel when food passes through my band, so I know when I can have another bite, or at least when to slow down. I try to chew well, but it doesn't always work so easily, especially at different times of day. So each meal is a matter of swallow-and-feel-how-its-going. If I feel food hasn't passed through the band, I put down my fork and wait till I feel the pressure change as it does move through. It's a new feeling for me, but seems to be a good indicator of where I am with that meal. I also can't do just three meals a day. I get a hypoglycemic thing, and my blood sugars drops, (I guess?), and I get shaky if I don't eat. But if I eat a few ounces of dense protein about every four hours or so, I'm good to go. I don't snack or graze, in the "junk food" sense of the word. If I need a snack, I make it a healthy one, or part of a protein bar, or something that matters. And I count those calories in my daily tally, because I know there is no such thing as a free lunch. (Or mid-afternoon snack, or nighttime munchies... ) When I read about people who say they're "cheating" with junk food, or grazing on bad food all day, I just don't see how that's possible to do. At least for me - everyone does things their own way. (I have a banded cowroker who eats junk food all day, drinks soda like there's no tomorrow, and never exercises, then complains that he isn't losing weight. Duh!) Given how much my stomach growls and roils and rumbles throughout the day since banding, Jacqui's comments about food passing up and down through the band all day makes sense. I don't remember my system ever being this loud before, and since I'm eating way less than before, I couldn't figure out why there was so much going on. Must be a quantity of food thing. And the incredible, long, loud, deep belches? OMG!!! Jeez, sometimes I feel like I should be a trucker or something. LOL! Dave

Welcome! Search the forums here. There are numerous threads about Tricare Prime and getting approvals. They are one of the easiest insurance carriers to work with, and approvals are pretty fast. I have Tricare Prime, and from the time my surgeon submitted my request for surgery to the day of approval, it was three business days. I met my surgeon twice before surgery, but still had an evaluation with him, a psychologist, a physician, a nutritionist, and an insurance coordinator. I had extensve blood work done at a lab, an endoscopy, and an evaluation with another surgeon for repairing a ventral hernia. Despite all of that, the entire process took less than three weeks. If you meet the Tricare requirements, approval will be very fast. Yes, they pay for fills, as well as followup visits. They also paid for the entire surgery, with no deductible. My total out of pocket since starting this is less than $400. That includes copays. Good luck! Dave

Boy, am I out of touch. I read the title of your post, and thought you were eating the seeds that come with a Chia Pet! LOL! Dave

That's quite different than my experience. My fill nurse and I discuss my diet every time we meet. I tell him I drink a Protein shake every workday morning on my way to work. He says that's a great way to kickstart my metabolism, gets my protein started for the day, and gives my system something to work on other than my muscles first thing in the morning. About an hour later I eat a fried egg, sausage patty, and slice of cheese. (Think "Breakfast sandwich" without the bread.) It fills me up till lunch. No problems from my nurse, and he says I'm doing everything right. (I don't drink protein shakes other than that one. The rest of my diet is "real" food.) My weight loss would support what my nurse says. Goes to show once again that there are many ways to live with a band. Dave

Or add single-serving Crystal Light to a bottle of water at the game. I've found if people see you drinking a colored liquid it means more to them than if you're drinking just clear water. And if you're drinking a colored liquid, they aren't likely to notice you're not eating. People are funny about sharing their eating habits with others. Dave

While youre checking out the Bodybugg, go to Bodymedia.com and compare options with the Bodymedia armband. They're both made by the same people. The Bodybugg is the black armband worn by contestants on The Biggest Loser. Dave

Sure did. And nobody is more surprised or pleased than I am. I owe it to a consistent eating plan (I follow a modified South Beach Diet kind of thing), an hour or so in the gym four or five days a week, a good night's sleep, lots of Water, and trying to stay as active as possible. That's it. I don't binge eat, I don't graze or snack, and I rarely drink alcohol. (Half a glass of beer a time or two a month in a restaurant doesn't count as much alcohol.) If I decide to have a sweet treat, I'll have a bite or two, and stop. I don't have room to eat a whole dessert after a meal, and I don't really have the desire to eat one. And if I do eat something like that, I don't do it often - certainly not like I did pre-surgery. I feel great, I have a ton of energy, and I look ten years younger. I'm able to do my work much better than before (I'm an IT guy for a large hospital), and I intend to take this as far as is reasonable. The biggest thing my band has given me is my life back again. I was a spectator on the road to an early grave. Now I feel energized, and ready to face the rest of my life head-on. I'm 57, but haven't felt like this since I was in my 30's. By the numbers, I've reached 66% of my ultimate goal, which is another 49 pounds down from where I am now. I don't expect to get that low. I may stop at 25-30 pounds more, depending on how I look and feel. Hope this helps, Dave

Congratulations, Jess, and everyone. You are all doing great! The idea of a weight loss plateau is normal, as is the little stall when you enter a new range of weight loss (I like the term "decade" you used.) The way to think about weight loss is that it is not a steady, smooth downward-sloping ramp. (Imagine a triangle with a sloping side.) No matter how perfect you are, weight loss is never that even and uninterrupted. Your metabolism needs time to adjust, and may cycle up or down a pound or two, before starting down into the next loss phase. A better image to keep in mind is the side of a staircase. You're on a horizontal line for a bit, then drop down to the next step. You continue on that step for a bit, then drop down to the next step. And so forth. The period of time you may be on those horizontal steps will vary, and may feel like a plateau. But if you stick to your routine, when your metabolism adjusts, you'll drop weight and be on that next step. I mentioned this in another thread: I was recently at the same weight for 16 days, but then I dropped six pounds in a week. I weigh myself every morning, just because I need to know how to deal with my day, and I was a pound lower each morning. Felt great, let me tell you! So, don't think "ramp," think "staircase." Dave

Depending on how fancy you want to get, maybe take a powdered protein shake with you, get a carton of skim milk or botted Water (depending on what works), and mix your own? Push comes to shove, maybe take a ready-to-drink protein shake? Muscle Milk makes reasonable ready-to-drink Protein shakes in various flavors, and they'll fit in your purse or coat pocket. Or using your sugar free pudding idea, maybe take an instant version of the mix, get a carton of skim milk, combine, and have at it? May not be too hard, and as you say, you may not be all that hungry yet. And depending on the amount of time between your team meeting and your ball game, you may have enough time to eat something. You'll be two weeks post-op at that point, so if you do eat something soft or a slider food, I wouldn't think you'd be damaging yourself. You may want to run it past your surgeon and ask for advice on that score. In my case, they wanted me to be on liquids only for three weeks after my surgery, but the Christmas holidays got in the way (the medical staff was all out on vacation that week) - so they advanced me to "liquids and mushies" in the third week. My choice, but I was allowed to have both, then step forward to soft solids in the next week. So they really blurred the lines they'd drawn for me. Good luck! Dave

Fair enough. I just learned something. I didn't know scarring inside the pouch occurred, and that being sick was the result. That must be awful to deal with. And to be honest, I've had such an easy time with this whole thing, I guess I expected everyone else should, too. I hope you can get things sorted out, and hopefully get to where it's working right for you. Thanks for sharing. Good luck! Dave

I've been banded just over six months. I was a borderline diabetic before, but my blood sugar is totally normal now. I was on two meds for high blood pressure before, now I'm on one, and working at being on none. My cholesterol was medium to high before - now it's normal. My blood tests were all moderately high before -- now everything is in the Normal range. If you see trouble in your future, I'd vote for having the surgery. You have plenty of better health to gain from it, and nothing to lose but health risk. Go for it. Dave

I've been wearing mine since January. It works very well, but you may need to tweak the settings on it to get the most accurate results. (You do that from the Bodymedia website under the Settings tab at the bottom of the screen.) I find mine is pretty good about recording what I'm doing, if I'm honest about what I'm eating. If your diet is out of balance, and you eat more calories than you think you are, your results will be skewed. You'll quickly get the hang of it, and learn how to interpret what it tells you. I have mine set to lose two pounds a week, but I find as I get more active (as I lose more weight) I actually burn more calories than it predicts. If I check the graph under the weight section, my actual weight loss is ahead of their graph. By that scenario, I'll hit my goal weight long before they say I will. Also, be aware that weight loss is not a linear thing. Even if you do everything perfectly, you will not lose exactly 2 pounds every seven days (or whatever you have it set to.) Your body will play tricks on you, and hang onto weight for awhile, then drop several pounds all at once. Recent case in point: I was at the same weight for 16 days a few weeks ago, but I've dropped six pounds since last Monday. So instead of the graph being a steady sloping line downward, like a ramp, it's more like the zig-zag shape of the side view of a staircase. Does it work? Yes. I like that it does the bookkeeping for me, so I don't have to. Is it perfect? Not totally. Would I give mine up? Not for a second. Dave

Sorry, I wasn't being critical. It just seems that if you're often being sick like that, then _SOMETHING_ is not right. It's a mechanical device, and you're having an excessive issue with it. The way the band is supposed to work doesn't include problems like that if you're eating right. That was all I was trying to say. I hope you get it figured out. Good luck! Dave

If you and your doctor agree you're a good candidate for banding, then yes, it'll be a great tool. You aren't off the hook, though. It's all about how you use it. Just as a saw will cut wood, the way the workman uses the saw can make all the difference. The band is just the same. Listen to your body, learn how your band works, and then work it to your best advantage. It can be a great helper in your weight loss, but it is not a magic bullet. @Jeepygurl: If you are having such issues as getting stuck and sliming so often that you feel you should have been warned about it, you may want to look closer at how you're eating, or talk to your doctor about physical issues with your band or fill level. The ONLY times I ever get stuck and start sliming is when I'm eating too fast, not chewing properly, or swallowing too large of a bite. If I slow down, chew better, and take smaller bites, there is no getting stuck, and I can eat anything I want. Dave

I think this forum is a micro version of any group of like-minded people you'd find anywhere. If you walk into a room full of people, you'll find some who are nothing but positive, some who are nothing but negative, and most who "go with the flow." The personality types who are strongest will lead the conversation, and try to convince others in the room to think the way they do. It's human nature. For me, the LBT forum has been a great resource, not necessarily because of just the good posts, but because of ALL the posts. Even those who are all doom and gloom, who SCREAM EVERYTHING IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS WITH SIXTEEN EXCLAMATION POINTS AFTER EVERY SENTENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It isn't because I agree with everything being said, but because I can take that post and step back, comparing it to how my own journey is going. I'm not going to experience the same things everyone else does. My band is my own, and my body's response to my band is also my own. I can learn from the experience of others, and not have to experience that problem to learn from it. I consider the general aspect of the post, whatever its topic is, and compare it to how my own journey is going. I may or may not reply to the post, if I think I have anything to contribute that may help talk that person down off the ledge a bit, or help to allay the fears of a newbie who is not sure just what the heck is going on. Time and experience brings perspective, and sometimes all people need to hear is a few calm words, so they can relax a bit. My experience with the band is often that what I was told pre-banding is a bit (or a lot) different than what has materialized post-banding. The people I talked to pre-banding at my surgeon's office are medical staff, but none are band patients. They have theoretical experience, but no real-world experience. I immediately realized their comments have to be considered in that light. I made some friends here at LBT that I communicate with offline, whose experience I can compare notes with, but who are having their own journey with this. I found my own experience is very personal, so I turned the mirror inward, and I focus on what is working for me, and how to avoid the pitfalls I see others fall into. Things have worked out well for me, because I've been able to understand what is happening inside my own body, and I've been able to respond to my own situation. I'm a generally positive person by nature, and I find I'm someone a lot of people come to for advice. (Not just about banding, but about a lot of things in life.) I try to be helpful, but usually turn the freaked-out person around to step out of their crisis of the moment, to step back, and think of things with a clearer head. Most of the time, people find their own answers, and they're appreciative that they had someone to consult. In that room full of people I first mentioned, when I hear the totally negative person trying to recruit kindred spirits, I'll tend to keep my mouth shut, or I may offer a pointed comment to give others something else to consider. If someone asks my opinion I'll share it. But throughout I'll consider the source, and cut the negative person some slack. I've learned some people try to make themselves feel better by gathering a crowd who'll stand with them and cheer them on. The advantage I have is being able to set aside such comments, because I know the person is only being emotional about the topic because they're highly invested in the situation (especially as a bandster), and things are not going as they expected it would. Those same people tend to come back later much more relaxed, once the crisis has passed. So for me, it's all about listening to my own experience and common sense, taking things I read here with a grain of salt, and considering the source. If someone is repeatedly negative just for the sake of being negative, I just stop reading their posts. Life is too short to try and educate those who won't learn. And when absolute push comes to shove, I try and follow the sign I saw on the wall above the desk of a former boss, who was a shoot-from-the-hip, damn-the-torpedoes, seriously contrary person of the highest degree. The sign said: "When they're running you out of town, try to get in front of the crowd and make it look like a parade." Dave

You may or may not feel hunger pangs with the band. I rarely do. But I eat about five or six times a day, roughly every four hours. Not a big meal, but a few ounces of a protein-based meal. Doing that keeps my blood sugars level, I never get those 2 PM crashes, I never binge eat, I never have cravings. For me, hunger is never an issue. But when combined with the kind of food I'm eating, my exercise plan, and a good night's sleep, my weight loss has been pretty consistent. There is no perfect answer for everyone. It's a personal journey. Listen to your system, and learn what works, then do what works best for you and your body. Good luck! Dave

Hi Adrian, Welcome to the Forum! You're in the right place. There is a ton of successful stories here, and loads of advice from folks who have been right where you are. If you've been banded four years, and have had only sketchy success, you need to step back, look at the big picture, and ask yourself a number of questions: How filled is your band? Do you have proper restriction? Are you eating right? Are you exercising right? Are you sleeping right? Are you sabotaging your eating plan by eating around the band? Do you track your daily food intake? Are you eating "bandster-sized portions?" What does your doctor have to say about your situation? If the answers to the above questions is Yes, then you need to figure out WHY you aren't losing. Having a band is a mechanical tool thet works in response to how you're dealing with it. If you're eating right, sleeping right, and exercising right, then you should be losing weight. One trick I learned that may help you is to figure out how many calories you should take in daily to maintain your existing weight. Factor in your calories burned and calories eaten, and see if you have a deficit every day. If you burn 500 calories more per day than you need to sustain your current weight, then in seven days you will have a 3500 calories deficit. It takes 3500 calories burned to lose one pound, so a 3500 calorie deficit equals one pound lost. I have my life set up around a 1000 calorie deficit every day, which equals a 7000 calorie deficit every week. That 7000 calorie deficit translates to a two pound weight loss each week. Once you figure out how your body responds to your routine, weight loss is just that easy. Good luck! Dave

Congratulations on your successful loss! I'm working on being right behind you. Nice to see my own little discoveries fall right in line with your tips. I'm doing much the same as you've described, and it's working for me quite well. Dave

My only pre-op diet was clear liquids for one day prior to surgery. I was on liquids for three weeks after surgery, then a week of mushies, then "gradually" back onto solids after that. Every surgeon is different. Good luck with your surgery! Dave

Melissa, one of the biggest things to develop after banding is patience. Saying you wish you'd gotten one of the other surgeries because you don't have restriction two weeks after your band placement is a wrong way to look at it. You need to figure out that like all good tools, you need to learn how best to manage it. It takes a bit of fine-tuning to get your band to work at its best, and a lot of that fine-tuning is in how you manage it. The way you eat, and what you do with your time every day will determine how well you lose weight with a band, but the first six weeks or so after surgery are supposed to be about healing, not about weight loss. That comes later. I'm living proof that if you manage the tool properly, you can and will lose weight with your band - probably more weight than you ever considered you'd be able to lose once and for all. Having a different surgery brings its own set of issues, none of which are pleasant. You're far better off having had band surgery, where you can control how your life goes, not so you'd be at the mercy of how the body parts that remain function. hair loss, dumping, constant diarrhea, and such, are not a pleasant way to live your life for the long term. Not saying those surgeries aren't appropriate for those who need it, but if you're a good band candidate, you're probably better off on this side of the fence. As has been said here many times, you didn't gain your weight overnight, so it's not reasonable to expect to lose it overnight. Give yourself time, experience, and perspective, and you'll see that banding was an excellent choice. Wishing you great success with your weight loss over the coming months! Dave

LOL! No, it's not that scary. But in this case, I'd become quite accustomed to a certain way of working my weight loss, and I took it all for granted. Suddenly none of that was available to me, and I had to forge off on my own. It was like a bird learning to fly. It was cool to see the end result was not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. Proof that good habits work, I guess. @lakegirl88: Absolutely true! The hiking I did this time was enjoyable, and I had a lot of fun. In my previous existence, the only hiking I'd have done would have been to get my fat rear from the refrigerator to the sofa. LOL! Dave

I've been banded six months, and so far have done pretty well. I've been able to stay on track, and keep myself focused on how to live with my band. My weight loss has been pretty consistent so far, and I've been pleased with my progress. I've also been pretty spoiled by my ease of contact with the outside world. I take my instant-access Internet usage for granted, I spend a lot of time at my full-service local gym, and I enjoy eating a select number of band-friendly foods. So my band journey has been very straightforward. But then, life happened and gave me a reality check: Vacation plans that were made over a year ago, long before I was banded, finally came about. It was a week's trip to a mountain cabin near Glacier National Park in northern Montana. Hiking, spending a lot of time outdoors, and generally getting back to nature. What a wonderful vacation! But when these plans were made I hadn't decided to get banded, and it never occurred to me that I should reconsider my vacation plans. So I went. Suddenly I was away from my entire post-op bandster support system. No cell phone service most of the time. No Internet access. Even my Bodymedia armband wouldn't work there, as there was no Internet available, required to sync data. I was freaking out! I'd have no way to gauge what I was doing, and I was pretty hesitant about it all. How was I going to manage to eat right and not gain a ton of weight? After thinking it through, I used the time as a test to see how well I'd do out in the real world. I didn't measure or track anything I ate. I ate as smart as I could, using common sense, and avoiding foods I knew would be a trigger for me to overeat. I was able to eat in restaurants several times, but a lot of the foods I ate weren't part of my normal eating plan. I ate more than I would have otherwise, and I was concerned about the long-term affect of eating that way. I got home late last night, and after unpacking, I had a great night's sleep in my own bed. This morning I stepped on the scale to face the music - and see how much weight I'd put on. Imagine my tremendous surprise and total mental backflip to see I weighed a quarter pound less than I did the day I left! Yeah!!! If you look closely, you can see me doing a little happy dance here... Dave P.S. In retrospect, I guess it was a bit of a Scale Victory, too.

Hi everyone. I'm Dave, and I live in a small town north of Seattle. I've been lurking for a few weeks, reading and researching. I finally decided it was time to step up and say Hello. I've been working up to this for awhile now, have attended several seminars for the various WLS surgeries available here, and have decided on the Sleeve. I'm a month away from a marathon day at my surgeons' clinic, where they do all the assessments in one day. I expect to have the recommendation for surgery that same day. I'm told my insurance is quick to approve after that, and surgery could happen within about four to six weeks later. So I could easily be post-op by the end of the year. Your stories are amazing, and I'm really encouraged by all the variety I'm reading here. It tells me everyone's journey is unique, and there is no one perfect way to go through this. I really appreciate the candid posts I'm reading. I'm hoping as I get to the point of having events to share, I'll be able to pass along encouraging words to those walking the path after me. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of this with you. I'm looking forward to being a shadow of my former self. :scared0: Dave

My six month date was last Monday. I was at 90 pounds lost on the actual date, but I've since lost another pound as of this morning, despite being on vacation all last week. It was amazing to come home and find I'd actually lost a bit of weight during my week away. Overall, I've had no issues. Learning how my body works, and what it takes to make the most of the band, has been the biggest learning curve. That, and finding out what gets stuck, and why. What I haven't sorted out is why a food gets stuck one time, but not the next, and vice versa. Kind of strange. I'm really pleased to see such high loss numbers from the rest of you. The people in my group at my surgeon's office haven't done nearly as well. You all deserve to be very proud of your success so far! Keep it going! Dave