hello lapbanders

bigman1 · 06-09-2008, 02:13 AM

Hello everyone - my name's oren. Been lurking around here for a while, figured i'd introduce myself.

I am 26 years old, currently weigh ~375lbs (6'1") and having my LAP-BAND® surgery on June 19th. I can't believe how soon it is. Doing it at Cedars Sinai in LA, with Dr Ted Khalili, who came highly recommended, and they seem to have a really good post opt support program.

I think I am ready. I fear that if I think about it too much I'll back out, so i've done all my reading and I think I am prepared, but just want to get it done and worry about everything after. Probably not the best way to go about it, but I AM ready to make changes in my life.

I am scared sh*tless of the 3 weeks of liquid, I am not going to be a very friendly person. I am also not looking forward to cutting down/eliminating drinking, as i have been working in entertainment and it has been part of my social life as much as eating has. Just one of the many sacrifices I guess, but I do hate feeling deprived.

I am meeting with my former trainer this week to get that part of my life back up and running.

So thats about it. If anyone has some good tips that I might have overlooked, feel free to share!

O

Fenton · 06-09-2008, 07:48 AM

Hey, Oren - it's a piece of cake! Surgery just whizzes by, and recovery is just a question of honouring the restrictions your body is telling you about. Mark my words, afterwards, you'll be asking yourself what you were worried about!

The best advice is to take it easy after surgery for a while - again, listen to your body - but to keep walking. YOu'll probably experience some gas pain for the first few days (usually in the tip of your left shoulder or in your back), but that too will ease with walking. You'll be a bit stopped up at first, so taking a fiber supplement like Benefiber is a good idea; I started when I got back from the hospital. Pain is pretty minimal, but you can help yourself in the first few days by clutching a pillow to your belly as you get out of bed or out of your chair.

In the Master Thread on the March 2008 bandsters forum in the Monthly Bandster support area, I detailed explicitly my experience, starting a couple of days before the procedure (I was banded March 6) - I posted every day for a while. It might be worth a read to know what to expect.

One things for sure: you've made the right decision. You have a life-threatening condition, and this is the most effective and safe way to take care of yourself. Welcome aboard!

**Jack** · 06-09-2008, 08:14 AM

Congratulations on your choice.

And re: "Just one of the many sacrifices I guess, but I do hate feeling deprived"

There IS no sacrifice and deprivation...there is change, there is choice.

I celebrate the light of the postOp dawn that replaced my preBand darkness and chaos of unrelenting ineffective attempts to feed a non-physical hunger by over eating.

There is rational living/rational eating/rational drinking....or continuing the private hell the Morbidly Obese face daily.

This is opportunity to live your life as you have always wished, rather than the 'hand=me=down' behaviors of over eating and over drinking which has imprisoned us all for so long.

None of us started out with the goal of depriving ourselves into being Morbidly Obese or sacrificing our health and happiness by taking up residence at the donut shop.

IMHO not just the reasons for but the actual act of continual overeating is a delusion based on fear/anxiety/apprehension/anger/frustration/loneliness/boredom/uncomfortable feelings...

Overeating distracts us long enough to pretend that illusion is reality.

While I did it for many decades, I can not actually recall a SINGLE episode of overeating that really did anything to satisfy my soul.

Cheers on your journey.

mediummike · 06-09-2008, 01:34 PM

Lets face it - social eating and drinking has led many of us to the LAP-BAND® in the first place, so you probably are more the normal rather than the exception. I certainly fall into that category. I work in Finance, in NYC, so there is a lot "go out for a couple after work" situations. You know what - I still do - But instead of a couple more, I literally stop at 2 - or more ofter, 1, and not as often either. I find my self making better choices now, but mentally and physically - by physically I mean the band wont let me drink more than 2 beers without the signs coming on (usually the subtle pain in the shoulder is my first indication to back off). You will still be able to go out socially (its a band, not a bubble) and enjoy yourself. And you know what, the perception that people will act/treat you differently - is nonsense for two reasons 1) they dont notice/care 2) if they do, they will be happy for you (if they are not, you dont want to be around that person anyway).

Good luck to you. I think you will find this a powerfull tool and a great choice.

plain · 06-09-2008, 09:55 PM

Good luck, bigman. Soon you'll have to change your username to "averageman".

Fenton · 06-09-2008, 11:10 PM

Haha, plain!

I think something similar happened to mediummike, didn't it?

mediummike · 06-10-2008, 10:55 AM

yes, the guys at softball one night said they have to stop calling me big mike and start calling me medium mike !