I've been spending a lot of time in Rants & Raves since I joined LBT, partly because it's fun, but also because for the most part it's very GLBT friendly. Unless I haven't looked in the right place, I don't think there's a support thread for us, so I decided to start one!

A little about me. I'm Eddie & I'm a 42-year-old Gay man. I have a partner of just over nine years (henceforth referred to as DH), a 17-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter. DH and I are stupid. Don't believe me, just ask our kids. DH has hypothyroidism and had not been able to lose any weight after his thyroid "went nuts" several years ago. I've just been overweight all my life. He was banded on 2/21/07 and I'm getting mine next Wednesday (5/16). I can't wait!

Anyway, I would love to hear from all the GLBT folks out there. Hopefully this can be a place for us to freely discuss our unique issues and get support we may not be able to get elsewhere.

The fill is interesting. LOL! The nurse has to jab it into the port and mine kept missing! It is kind of surreal getting stabbed repeatedly but it didnt hurt that bad. Just like getting a shot really. They do this in front of an x-ray machine and that s kinda neat. they make you drink barium (again) to make sure the adjustment is good. Im not sore at all and I have know judgment on the after affects because i am on liquids right now. love, peace, and Gary Sinese!

The fill is interesting. LOL! The nurse has to jab it into the port and mine kept missing! It is kind of surreal getting stabbed repeatedly but it didnt hurt that bad. Just like getting a shot really. They do this in front of an x-ray machine and that s kinda neat. they make you drink barium (again) to make sure the adjustment is good. Im not sore at all and I have know judgment on the after affects because i am on liquids right now. love, peace, and Gary Sinese!

Ouch, sorry you had to get poked so much (and not in a good way!). Now I almost feel bad that mine haven't hurt...

Eddie,

I'm sure you can find some sadistical nurse who'd happily give you a painful fill.

Congrats Stevee on the pre-op, woo hoo! I', glad your insurance at least covers most of the bills. Mine wouldn't cover a thing

I've been back in the pool, but it has been SO hot here in the last few days that the water has been uncomfortably hot. I've been swimming after dark, but it's still pretty warm. I just ordered a water-tight iPod case and waterproof earphones so I can listen to music while I swim. It's AWESOME.

Hope all of you are doing well. Have a great weekend!

Morning Family~

Wow...what a long strange trip it has been! I am in Reno now, we left Vegas on Wednesday! (AND YES, COUNT ME IN FOR FEB). We are visiting my parents here. Today we are going to Pryamid Lake for a picnic! We will hit the road about 6am tomorrow, and should be home about 5 pm. It has been sooooo long to be living out of a suitcase! We will be home for 3 weeks, then off to Ptown...can't wait. Juli, when are you gonna be in ptown? Would be great if we could have dinner there.

Welcome Kenti!!!

Congrats Kathy and Stevee...it is a long road, but sooo worth it!

I've been eating out nearly every meal (except the last few dinners at dads, but we are going out tonight). I get my second fill on Wed. and can't wait. Want to get back on board before the trip.

Anyway, I've missed everyone (your all my favorite freaks)!

xoxox

We are going to P-Town Aug 4th through the 9th. How about you? It would be so cool to meet you before Vegas.

Glad to see you back!!!!

Eddie,

I'm sure you can find some sadistical nurse who'd happily give you a painful fill.

That's funny because there's a nurse at the doc's office that we call Nurse Ratchett! She never smiles, barely speaks, has her hair pulled back into a very proper bun - she just presents a very severe image. Good thing is, his nurses don't do fills. <WHEW!>

Kenny,

apparently my surgeon doesnt use an xray or barrium.... he just makes you swallow yogurt as he's doing it & that gives him an idea of how much restriction you need. I did ask him how he finds the port & he just said that he has magic fingers. I do hope that he wont need to stab me a dozed times to find it.

Eddie,

Driving up to Canada sounds really lovely. Best of luck with that. The only part of Canada we're see is Niagra Falls - which we enjoyed very much. I wish we could get married here..... when our government changes (hopefully later this year).. we think that the new government might allow us to have at least a "civil union"...well it's a start to some rights. The way I look at is after 14 years together we deserve as much rights as the so called "straights"... our neighbour has been married 3 times and if you put them all together to doesn't make it as long as Des & I have been together. By the way Des' surgery went fine & he's ok & not in too much pain....finally repaying all his kindnest after my surgery.

FIRST FILL THIS WEDNESDAY !! BRING IT ON BABY !!!

Love to everyone - have a good weekend !!! XX

:help:

Ok family, I need your help. I'm VERY frustrated right about now. As you know I've had two fills and have good restriction. Even before my 2nd fill I was eating only a fraction of what I used to eat pre-band. I lost 11 lbs on my pre-op diet, then 13 more the first 2 or 3 weeks post-op. Then I gained about 6 back and have finally lost those again. But the scale has pretty much not moved in almost 6 weeks! I should be very happy, because I'm off all my diabetes meds and my clothes are fitting really poorly (I'm losing inches) but damn it, I need to see the scale move! I'm eating VERY low-carb (in deep ketosis for anyone who has lo-carbed), and moderate fat. I'm getting in all my protein and am trying to drink as much water as I can. I'm not taking in many liquid calories either. In fact, about a month ago I switched from making my protein shakes with Carb Countdown milk to using half CC milk and half water. I started logging everything into FitDay.com to make sure I wasn't deluding myself with what I'm eating. Yesterday I consumed 1055 calories (59 g protein, 22 g net carbs, 82 g fat). This is a generous figure, because I don't actually weigh my food and I overestimate what I'm putting in there. So far today, I'm at 493 cal (10 g protein (no shake yet today), 3 g net carbs, and 49 g fat). The reason the fat % is so high is because I just started using coconut oil in an attempt to break the stall. And when I calculate net carbs I only subtract the fiber because sugar alcohols have the same effect on me as the real thing so I try to avoid them as much as sugar. I haven't gone to the gym in about 3 weeks, mostly because I was going 3-4 times a week and working my ass off without any weight loss so I got disgusted. And no, I wasn't doing anything much beyond cardio so I haven't been adding muscle weight. I'M JUST SO PISSED RIGHT NOW AND AM STARTING TO REGRET HAVING THE SURGERY! I've hesitated to post any of this because of the newbies here, but I figure if I can't share it with you guys I can't share it with anyone and I'll go nuts! In the meantime, my dear husband is dropping pounds like an ice cream cone in an oven. It's like he's the f***ing Lap Band Poster Child or something. It just makes me feel even worse. I really thought I was going to lose like he is, and it's just not happening. I really wonder if I should have gone the RNY route...

Bueller? Bueller? Anyone? Anyone?

Ok, Eddie, so a couple things to consider. First of all , you made the right choice!!! No RNY bull, that would not be any better from what I've seen with others that I know who have had it. that said, you should probably be checking in with the nutritionist. they make me go there first before the fill. My past knowledge would tell me that you might be lowering your metabolism by not exercising for 3 weeks. combind that with the lower calories and the body is conserving them for the next depression. You also don't really have that much to lose which always makes it harder. Also , fat makes and stores fat. fat cals. are not equal with protein. extra protein is not stored in the body. Fat and carbs are! You need to lose the high fat and eat more protein. My nutritionist told me to lose the shakes. Not sure why, but I have and now am starting to lose again. I think they are more cals than we need. How are you doing with the salt?? High sodium will retain fluids in the cells and will replace the fat with fluids that will make it look like you haven't lost. Back to the exercise, you also said that you were not weight training at all, well, exercising with weights burns fat and preserves muscle so that nearly all the wt. you lose is fat and not muscle. it's the muscle that burns the fat, if you lose muscle, well, your got the picture, its harder . the wt. training also decreases your insulin levels so you are in better balance and thus.....lose easier!!! you don't have to kill yourself doing it, just do it! :kiss2: it's a bitch I know, and now that I've said all that and know it to be true, I got to bite the bullet and do it my self!!!:eyebrows: Hope this helps.....:cheer2:

:omg:Wow Cheri-You sure know your sh*t!! I'm impressed!

:)Hang in there Eddie-you'll get there. The weight didn't go on in a matter of months, and it's safely not going to just drop off in a matter of months. Everything we know tells us that a nice, slow weight loss is one that is more likely to stay off. You've done a great job getting off your meds, and the weight will follow in it's own time.

Eddie,

I'm going to double up what Cheri said and add a little more.

You should only be drinking Protein drinks after fills to be kind to your band, otherwise you should eat your calories. Also, get you ass back to the gym. Don't kill yourself but do atleast 30 minutes of cardio consistently. And this isn't Atkins. I think you were probably successful with that once upon a time, but dude, you should be eating some carbs here and there.

So remember the rules.

Protein first, then veg, then whole grain carbs

Drink plenty of Water and SF, caffeine free, fizzy free liquids

Eat 3 meals and 2 Snacks. Keep them small.

Keep the calories under 1200

Move that cute boy booty of yours regularly

Write it down, write it down.

And stop thinking RNY, now you're just being silly. You know that's a death sentence.

I know you're doing a lot of the write things, just get it all aligned and you'll see the weight start to move.

Kisses and hugs.

I hate the edit option on this thing....right things Eddie, you are doing many of the right things....not write.

Oi

I am following the rules! That's why I'm so frustrated. I'm doing the same thing Sean's been doing (except before I quit going to the gym I was going about 5 times more then he was!) and he's losing like crazy. I'm not getting much from my shakes other than Protein (203 cal, 2 g fat, 6 g carbs, 30 g protein, once a day, and those calories are included in my daily calorie counts) so that's not the issue. Plus my nutritionist told me to keep drinking them so I get enough protein. I don't drink anything at all with sugar, nothing fizzy and almost zero caffeine.

I'm already eating my protein first, then veggies, then I do actually eat carbs - just not many because I'm usually about full by then. The low-carb thing is really more by default than by design. Even so, I need to eat less carbs than most people because that's the only thing that keeps my diabetes in check. My body doesn't metaboloize carbs properly. My doc knows that and has given me his blessing to eat that way. And I've only just started adding the coconut oil to try and get the weight loss moving. Before that I was eating fairly low-fat (again, by default). My calories are always under 1200, sometimes under 1000 and I do eat a couple of small mostly protein Snacks. I only quit going to the gym because I was already annoyed that the weight wasn't moving.

Don't get me wrong, I don't regret being banded, I'm just frustrated that it's not moving. If my clothes are getting baggy (I mean, really baggy) and people notice a difference on a daily basis, why is the scale not moving? Where are the inches going?? If it's not coming off as fast as Sean, that's ok... i just want something to come off. I feel very disappointed everytime someone says how much thinner I look than last week and asks how much more I've lost and I have to tell them that I haven't lost an ounce. Now I'm noticing myself being nasty to Sean and the kids, because I'm getting depressed about the whole thing.

I'm going to make a psych appointment next week to try and work through the emotional issues. In the meantime, does anyone have any ideas what else I can do that I'm not already doing? Aside from getting back into the gym obviously...

Eddie, it strikes me that you have lost quite a lot of weight - 24 lbs in 2 months is nothing to be sneezed at, you know. It also seems to me that you will continue to lose weight. The fact that your mate is losing weight much more rapidly than you may be blinding you from seeing the positive aspects of your own weight loss. You have mentioned that your clothes are getting really baggy and people who know you are commenting on your weight loss. This means that you are losing inches as well as having lost those 24 lbs and all of this is really great. I have also heard that sometimes those inches start melting away just while the scale seems to be stuck. Our bodies really are very weird!!!

Some people lose weight more quickly than others. This depends on body type. It seems that you and your mate have different body types and because you both have undergone the same surgery and have engaged on the same mission this difference is hurtful to you. I know that I would be having the same feelings right now if I wearing your shoes but do try to focus on how far you yourself have come. You might wish to remind yourself that a slower weight loss is generally considered to be less stressful on the body, the skin, the metabolism, and the internal organs, and thus more healthy. It is also said that folks who lose weight more slowly are less likely to regain. Try to remain your happy, charming, loving self and remember that Sean and the kids love you and you love them.

By the way, we miss your voice in Rants and Raves, eh..... :kiss2: