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I have been overweight for years and obese for the last several years. I left the Army in 1989 and weighted 174. I work at a desk job and I have worked long hours over the last 18 plus years which has added to my weight. I also seem to eat a lot during the time our children were in the womb. I ate when my wife ate during this time which was at all hours of the day & night. I gained weight with her. She had the children (a girl in 1997 & a boy in 2000) and lost her weight. However, I did not. I have been over 250 lbs for the last at least 6 years. I can not seem to lose weight through diets. If I do lose weight, I always seem to gain twice the weight back once the diet fails.

I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and severe obstructive sleep apnea. About three or four years ago, I was diagnosed with Obstructive sleep Apnea or OSA. According to my sleep study, I was having 109 episodes per hour and my oxygen level was falling below 70%. My sleep doctor put me on a CPAP machine. After trying for a year and failing to be able to sleep with the machine. I was referred to an ENT for surgery. This first surgery was an uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP, which is intended to enlarge the airway. This is completed by trimming or removing the uvula, tonsils and adenoids (if present) as well as part of the soft palate or roof of the mouth. While doing this procedure, the doctor tied my tongue down a little and straightens my bent septum (Septoplasty) in my nose. After this surgery, I had a second sleep study. We saw some improvement as I only had 103 episodes per hour but my oxygen level continued to fall below 70%. Again, we tried CPAP which failed. I changed to a BIPAP machine, which will breathe with you. I still felt like I was suffocating when I was on the machine. The doctor reduced the pressure and added oxygen, but I continued to have difficulty. On December 5, 2006, I went for my annual check up at my sleep doctor. With my severity of OSA and not able to sleep on the machines, my doctor recommended more surgery. He referred me back to the ENT office. On December 20, 2006, I went to see my ENT doctor, where I had a consult for surgery with two of the surgeons in the ENT office. We discussed my options of either maxillomandibular osteotomy (MMO) or a tracheotomy. An MMO is a procedure to extend the lower jaw bone to align the teeth and provide a larger airway. The recovery period is 8-10 weeks with 6-8 weeks of having your mouth wired shut. The benefits of this surgery for me would be minimal in the doctor's view versus the pain & recovery. It was determined my best option for immediate relief would be a tracheotomy. This is considered the most effective procedure for OSA. I had surgery for the tracheotomy at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham on December 26, 2006. I was released three days after surgery. The benefit of the tracheotomy has been to provide immediate relief to my lack of air, increase my oxygen and provide me with a good nights rest while sleeping. I keep a cap over the Trach tube during the day to talk. I uncap it to sleep & breathe at night. This Trach could be removed once I lose weight and complete a sleep study to show I no longer need it.

My ENT and Sleep doctors would like for me to get qualified with Blue Cross Blue Shield for a gastric weight loss surgery. I have done much research and decided the Lap-Band would be best for me. I have begun my journey. I have selected a surgeon, Dr. Stephen Britt. I completed my 6 month doctor directed diet. I was required to complete a consult with a dietitian and with a physical therapist to get approved for surgery from my insurance carrier. I will have surgery on February 14, 2008.

:tt1:

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Holy smokes, Andy, what an ordeal you have been through. I'm reading your post late, I picked it up in the unanswered posts section.

So you will be banded by now. I hope all is going well.

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Holy smokes, Andy, what an ordeal you have been through. I'm reading your post late, I picked it up in the unanswered posts section.

So you will be banded by now. I hope all is going well.

Devana:

Yes I have. I am now banded. I am 79 days post-op. I have lost 29 lbs since surgery. I have 2 fills so far. Each were 2cc. !st fill on MArch 20th and the second fill on May 1st, 2008. So I have 4 cc in my 14cc band. Things are going well. This second fill has provided some restriction at least it appear to have. I am not able to eat as much as before the fill. Of course, I am only a few days post fill and I know it will take a week or two before I can really tell how well the fill is working.

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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