Whats your story? Please tell!

[twinmom4]

Hi ladies,
  Seems that when most new comers join that haven't had the surgery yet, they are looking for encouragement threw knowing the process of the surgery and how it changed your life. I thought this would be a good thread to tell "your" story on! This is for people who have had the surgery allready. Please tell us from start till current what made you want to do the surgery, which one you had, how difficult it was(or easy!) for you and your family to make the decision. Please tell all, how it was after surgery, any complications, how you are doing today, how much you eat a day now, vitamins your taking, good and bad that has happened since surgery, it's a "tell all" of your surgery story! This could be so helpful for encouragement, calming pre-nerves, getting excited for whats to come!!  Please everyone join in and let us know your story!
Sherise

[twinmom4]

I think for as long as I can remember I have always been heavey. There were lots of yo yo diets were I'd be "skinny for a day!"  but never lasted. There were many cercumstances that led to the surgery, mostly tired of being fat! I wanted this surgery before I had my twins but age was getting the best of me and didn't want to have surgery then kids. I had some typical problems that come with being heavey all my life and some that wern't related but would benifet from the loss. I had my surgery (RNY, lap) about 10 months after my kids were born. I was 322 lbs.  Here's were my story is semi short and sweet! I didn't have hardly any post op problems. About 3 months after I had emergancy galbladder surgery and thats been it(knock on wood)! Right after I got home I remember probebly the worst (re-entering the solid food stage) to start eating again was eggs! Here I thought a hard boiled egg would be the safest to start with! Every time I ate one it came right back up, blah! I didn't eat eggs for about another 6 months when I got brave enough to try again! Now there fine.... I have problems with meat till this day. The DR's want you to eat your meat first(for protein) each meal, well I get 2 bites in chew very well(yes till this day, I am over 4 years post op) and get a stomach ache, makes it hard to eat anything else. BUT if I start by eating anything BUT the meat first I can eat a good amount. I still use a dessert plate instead of a dinner plate to put my meals on, keeps things in perspective!  I was taking all my perscribed pills and vits. every day till unfortunantly I know longer have health INS. I do take 1 vit. for Bariatric patients, but I really think it makes a big differance to be taking all your pills!! Now zooming forward to today, I had lost 150lbs. but unfortunantly have gained back about 40:(  This is were I'm at now and combined with another health issue, having a VERY hard time taking this 40 back off!!!! Yes weight gain can happen and there is even some that can gain back everything they lost if they don't watch what there doing! This is just a tool and you need to use it well! I am here for encouragement as well, or just a really good stiff kick in the butt to help me get back on the losing side!!!!
Sherise

[dtjohnson7]

The following reads like a journal as that is the way I wrote it while in the process of having an open RNY/Gastric Bypass surgery. I am 29, morbidly obese at 239, bmi 42 and have been since my freshman year in college. I recently had a baby which added significantly to my size and my body does not respond to dieting. What made me decide to have this  surgery is when I saw the pictures from my brother's wedding {which I had refused to be in because all the other girls were skinny}. Until I saw those photos, I didn't realize how big I'd become or how bad I looked. 3/22/00 Went to Bariatric Treatment Center (now Barix) in Grove City. Eveyone was very nice and answered all my questions. They are putting things in motion and will submit to insurance (Cigna) soon. I am hopeful. I have been approved for surgery and the preadmission testing is scheduled for November 7 with the surgery scheduled for November 21. If there is anyone out there close to me who has had the Open R-N-Y or is about to, I would love to hear from you! I just want to get through it and be healthy and happy not only for me but for my 14 month old beautiful daughter Jaden. 11/8/00 Had my preadmission testing yesterday. Everything went well. The respiratory therapist was kind of scary with his descriptions of the breathing you have to do after surgery. Now I am more scared of that then walking. Dr. Christopher Kaczmarski was my surgeon. Also sometime in here, I had my psychiatric testing which I thought was a little funny to do in order to have a surgery. I also had a sleep study during which they found I had sleep hypopnea and chronic insomnia. Hypopnea is gone now but insomnia remains. Had high blood pressure and a lot of migraines before surgery and lots of general pain for my little body to be carrying too much weight. 11/25/00 Had my surgery on Tuesday, Nov 21. It was an open RNY. While they were in there, they did a liver biopsy because it kind of looked abnormal to them and fixed a hernia behind my belly button. My doctor didn't do lap because he likes to see what else is going on in there and if I'd started with a lap, they would have had to open me up once they found the issues anyway. Everything went well. Was in the hospital until Friday, Nov 24. Could have left Thursday but I didn't feel I was quite ready. I am tired and sore. Walking was okay afterwards but I hated the breathing treatments. They hurt worse and make you so thirsty. BTC in Columbus, Ohio is great. I recommend it to anyone. Great people and facility. Had surgery right before Thanksgiving so had to sit at table with people diving into food when all I could have was clear liquids. Ugh. 12/12/00 It is 3 weeks post-surgery. I have one spot on incision that is draining still plus the drainage hole that hasn't closed yet. Diane in Buffalo says they overfixed my hernia as I was worried as to why it is indented a bit there. Other than that, incision looks pretty good. Red in a few places but a nice pink overall. I never take any pain pills unless I overdo it like today when I wrapped a bunch of Christmas presents! :) I am so happy because I started pureed foods today. I hated the liquids stages with a passion. I hate milk so that killed a lot of choices and I got really sick of stuff to the point of not eating or drinking but today I did reall well. Mashed potatoes and chicken salad never tasted so good. :) On the flip side, I started my protein drinks today. I did grape and the punch. Grape is okay but a little strong. The punch is way too strong but if you really like Kool-aid, you will do okay with it. (I don't like Kool-Aid). I have lost about 26 pounds since my PAT. I am around 213 now. I probably could have lost more if I could have eaten and got all my liquids in. I am trying now though with more food choices. I think my face looks a little thinner and my underwear are sliding around a bit (lol). I like it! 12/24/00 I've lost 30 some pounds now. I am somewhere between 204 and 207 depending on what scales I am on (lol). My scar looks really good. I no longer have to wear my TED hose and don't have to wear the binder all the time (yay). I can drive and pick up my daughter now. I told my husband the other day, "I weigh less than you do!" He said taunting him wasn't very nice but hey, that was one of my goals to weigh less than him. My next appt. is 1/5 for 6 weeks and I go back to work Jan. 2. Boo! Feeling pretty good! 1/5/01 Had my 6 week check up today with Dr. K. He is such a nice guy. The goal at 6 weeks, he said, is to have lost between 10 and 15% of your total weight to lose and I have lost 20%; however, he and dietician got on me for not getting enough protein and calories in so I will have to work on that for next time. I knew I had to worry about the sugar and fat but didn't realize I had to keep the calories up also. Learn something new every day. I am trying to get my water level up. Anyway, he said I am doing very well and he is impressed so that is cool. 2/24/01 At 191, down nearly 50 pounds. Labs were all okay for 3 month visit. Don't have to go back until year anniversary but have to have more labs done at 6 months post. Dr. K. said I am losing faster than normal but that the pace is okay and will probably start to slow now. Boo! I just love the Vitalady. If you all haven't checked her out, find her and do so. She is so much help to me and lots of others. Thanks Michelle Curran! 3/10/01 Down to 181. Wow. I was really wondering if I would ever be under 200 there for a while. I am still wearing a size 16. My largest was a tight 22. The 16 fits around the waist but is big in the butt and upper thighs. My butt is getting pretty flat. I told my mom I am going to have a pancake butt like her. :) 5/12/01 Wow, guess I haven't updated in a while. Sorry, must have did the website and forgot AMOS. I am currently 165, size 12-14. Almost 6 months out from surgery. Losing hair but no one seems to notice but me. I am considering a brachioplasty for the Oprah arms and a thigh lift. (And just to clarify on the Oprah arms after someone got really defensive and said I was rude because I had forgotten what it was like to be heavy -- am I not still? My bmi says I am still overweight and my self-image says I am still the same size I was --, I mean where she has gained and lost weight and has the same hanging flesh that many people get that doesn't have anything to do with how toned muscles are. She herself has said before, several times on the show, that her arms keep waving after she stops. It is just how I have viewed my arms since I heard her say that because I thought it was cute, the way she said that. ) A panniculectomy would be nice but I just am not sure I am ready for that at this point. My obsessions right now are the upper thighs and especially the upper arms. The only thing I really can't eat is white rice. And I'm not crazy about potatoes or pasta anymore. Lots of garlic causes bathroom runs. Sometimes I think I am eating a lot but then I think of how and what I would have eaten before the surgery and think, "You didn't eat hardly anything." Co-workers have noticed the drop in eating but think I've just dieted to this size except for the people I've let in on the secret. Of course, the only ones I told are people who could also benefit from the surgery. One has even considered it before I brought it up and they both have relatives or friends who have had the surgery. I have labs coming up next week so will let you know how that goes and a cruise coming next week also! Bahamas. New bathing suit, size 12 dresses, medium shorts. Who would have ever thought? Not me. May 21, 2001 Current weight is 159. Just wanted to update you to my new size 12 world. June 30, 2001 155. Size 10 Levi's. August 26, 2001 142. Still a 10. October 11, 2001 138. 10's are getting loose. :) October 14, 2001 137. Solidly a size 8. Some of the 8's I tried on were too loose. I never thought this day would come. Went to a discount store to buy two pairs of 8's in case I am not in them long. I no longer have any jeans I saved from before that fit. Guess I should have saved those smaller sizes along with the 10's, 12's, 14, 16, 18, 20 and 22, huh? November 21, 2001 133! My one year anniversary. This time last year, I was hitting that Demerol button every 5 minutes! I am very happy with the results. My one year labs came back and the only thing that was low was the iron so I am supplementing iron besides my normal vitamin. 106 pounds gone! December 29, 2001 128. Size 6 Levi's. Medium shirts. The bra I have on now is bagging in the cup area. It is a big change from a year ago. I can cross my legs and put one foot under me. Tie my shoes in the center of my shoe. This is a good size and I hope it is where I stay. I've never been in 4's and that seems a little extreme for my body type so I want to stop at 6. :) June 14. 2002 124. Size 6. Could wear 4's in Lee's but don't like how they bag. I would like to have some aesthetic surgery. First, uncovering the legs from the sheath of fat has revealed varicose veins. Second, I want to get rid of the arm jiggle. Then, maybe upper thighs. Maintaining and happy. :) October 18, 2002 122. Size 4 dress pants and 6 in Levi's. November 21.2002 124.5 October 2005 Pregnant, due December 21. 150 pounds. Pre-pregnancy weight of 123 where I maintain. March 2006 Had beautiful baby boy in November. Didn't go much above 150. Currently at 127. Still size 4 and 6's in pants and smalls to med in tops depending on how made. October 2007 Had baby #3 in August. Went up to 158. Currently at 137. Want to get back to at least a 6. March 2008 Warning: After pregnancy I had Mirena IUD put in so I wouldn't get pregnant again as it lasts 5 years after insertion. I started gaining weight and got up to 159 before I figured out exactly what it was causing me to gain weight. Over a week ago, I removed it myself and the pounds are dropping off pretty fast. I am back down to 148 so that makes me feel better. If you decide to get the Mirena, watch your weight to make sure it doesn't slowly creep back up. I only take a pre-natal vitamin to get what I need. Labs have been fine except low in iron occasionally but I kick up the food to meet requirements and I'm fine. I'd like to get back down to between 125 and 130. Dianna

[aspiemomalways]

Hmmm okay here goes my story.

I have not always been heavy.  I didn't get heavy until after I had my son, I had a severe allergic reaction to the depo shot which i was placed on steriods for.. well we all know what happens when you take steriods.. you eat.. boy did i eat and eat.. then i got pregnant 4 years later and misscarried and got depressed.. at that time I ate more and more until I ballooned to a size 22.  Well, in 2004 we moved to Alabama and I enjoyed all the deep fried foods and finally ballooned to a size 26/28.  I think the final straw for me to have my surgery was I was at Lowe's and i needed help with a plumbing issue.. no one would help me.. i would request help and they would send me somewhere else.. i left the store in tears.  I still didn't have a clue on how to have the surgery but I knew I wanted it.  About 2 weeks later I ended up in the hospital for stomach issues and I asked the doctor that came in to see me about the surgery and get this he told me " I WAS NOT FAT ENOUGH FOR THE SURGERY!".  I thought okay now what. 

Well, I switched jobs and it turned out that one of my new co-workers had the surgery about 3 years ago and she told me all about it.  I immediately called my doctor and he gave me the referral to see my surgeon.

In March of 2007 I went and saw Dr. Pennington at Baptist Health Care in Birmingham, AL with my decision to have the bypass surgery and not the lap band.  I was one of the lucky ones with my insurance I only needed to attend a nutrition class and see a psychologist for that wacky test they give you to make sure you are not crazy.  It was determined I was depressed.. well naw really would of never known.. you know fat people are suppose to be jolly.. screw the test.  I was approved for the surgery and had it on May 29, 2007.

My husband at the time was very unsupportive of me, did not attend any of the support group meetings, did not come with me to the doctor's visit's and did not stay at the hospital while i had the surgery, he said school was more important than my surgery.  He only visited me once while i was in the hospital and picked me up afterwards.  Then went onto work, guess it was more important. 

The only complication I had was my stomach started to feel like someone was stabbing it repeatedly with a knife.  It turned out after being rushed to the hospital that I had muscle spasms, my surgeon put me on Procardia for several months and i have not had any problems with that since the surgery.

I did however get a divorce, my husband is a man who prefers heavy set women and once i lost the weight i was not longer appealing to him.  I moved out of our home 1 week before christmas. 

You would think because of this I would regret having the surgery but you know what I am so HAPPY that i had the surgery.  I realized that my marriage was over a long time before I had the surgery and that was the final straw that broke the camels back... LOL... anyways. I have not regretted having the surgery only that I wish I had it years ago.

To date I have lost 105 pounds.  I still struggle with my food addiction, but I have found a sugar free low calorie ice cream that i can eat and that helps my sweet tooth... I did get remarried a month ago and I am enjoying life to the fullest.  My husband knows about my surgery and is very supportive about me eating healthy and eating smaller amounts. 

I enjoy being skinny and healthy and I so enjoy shopping for clothes in the juniors section at walmart.. who would of ever thought i would be able to go from a size 26/28 to a size 11 juniors.. never in a million years would i of thought.

Okay sorry this was so long.. but it just kept coming.. thanks for taking the time to listen.

[TessaBianca]

Here's my intro from obesityhelp.com. Please visit my profile there for my weekly blog and other musings related to WLS. I'm a really upbeat person and I don't waste alot of time complaining. Instead, I choose to get on with my life! That's why I had WLS. I am well on my way to a new Tessa Bianca!

**************************************************************

I'm Tessa Bianca. I'm a Military Wife and mother of 2 beautiful boys. First of all, I have a wonderful life. My marriage is great and my kids are wonderful. I'm a SAHM, home daycare provider, volunteer and very active in my church. 

The one thing that really bothers me is my weight. I've been researching this surgery for years and thinking hard on it. My mother had WLS in 2000 so I've seen first hand the wonderful results as awell as a few complications. I decided that I want to get this done so that I will have more time to enjoy being healthy. I want to be able to do more of the things that make me truly happy and also to be more active with my family. I look forward to sharing this journey with you! I welcome and appreciate any prayers, healing energy, happy thoughts and blessings you send my way    


http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/tessabianca/

[Suepee]

I had my original bypass (intestinal) in 1978 and before the year was up I had my 3rd baby!  She was fine as I was too after losing over 100#.  I felt great and was able to support my 3 children and  husband as I put him through pharmacy school.  My highest weight was 262#.  My lowest was 131 about 7 years later.
Due to failing kidneys--a common side effect of the intestinal bypass surgery--I had that surgery reversed and the GBP done 4/3/07 and have lost the 60# I wanted to  lose.  I am now 135#, exactly where I want to be, I wear a size 8, and at 65 years old I am still working full time as a public health nurse.  After I retire, I plan to help my daughter care for her children so she can finish college...that will be in 1 year 9 months!  If I had never had the weight loss surgery I know I would not be able to do the things I have been able to do and plan to do in the future.
I have NO regrets whatever for having either surgery...I only wish I had decided to have it sooner.
Just remember:  it is stomach surgery, not brain surgery.  You need to work on WHY you  have been eating to get to your size so you don't do it again.  Believe me, it can happen!!!  Slowly but surely you can regain all your weight.

[meami]

I am scheduled to see my surgeon for my final pre op appt. on April 16th and surgery gets scheduled a few weeks from then.  My husband and I are in counseling together because he does not think I am emotionally ready for the surgery therefore he thinks I will fail again as he has seen me fail so many times before in 28 years of marriage.  To help me overcome this impass with him, will everyone please write in what they think needs to be happening to m ake sure you are emotionally ready for the surgery?  I am not exercising yet because I am just too damn bulky and roly poly to be jumping around.  I PLAN to start exercising as soon as I heal from the surgery.   He claims I should be exercising now to show I am ready to do so after the surgery.  We are also having financial issues as I charged up a storm years ago and he finally dipped into $70,000 worth of his 401K to pay that off, yet I have paid for groceries since we were married a LONG time ago, our kid's college tuitions, etc.  He sometimes says he is ready to "walk out" on me and that makes me wonder if I should go ahead with the surgery in case  he does, or to postpone it since he thinks I will fail.  Please send in opinions to help me!  Thanks!   

[ScrapMolly]

Hi there,

This is my first post on this board :-)

My name is Leanne and I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  I am married to David (10 years) and we have two beautiful daughters, Emma (age 9) and Molly (almost 5).  I'm a full time junior high teacher.


Please tell us from start till current what made you want to do the surgery

I had been overweight my entire life ... following two pregnancies in my late 30's and early 40's I came to the realisation that my weight was going up every year and I was destined to have heart disease and diabetes (like all the women in my family) ...

I began researching gastric bypass in 2004 ... there are not many doctors who perform the surgery here in Canada ... I was finally able to see a surgeon in 2005 and had my surgery May 29, 2006 ...

My highest weight (surgery day) was 220 lbs ... I am 5'2" ...

Today I weigh 125 -127 lbs and have been maintaining this for more than a year ...

which one you had, how difficult it was(or easy!) for you and your family to make the decision.

I had an open gastric bypass ... my surgeon now does it laproscopically but wasn't doing that at the time of my surgery ... recovery was painful but worth it ...

My husband was very supportive of my decision ... he really wanted me to feel good about myself ... I wanted to be able to do things with my family that I avoided as an obese person ... I was nervous about having surgery and not making it through because I had two small kids at home but complications are rare ...

Please tell all, how it was after surgery,

I was in a lot of pain because my surgery was open ... I definitely questioned the whole thing for a few weeks because learning how to eat and live like a normal person is reeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy hard at first ... once things healed I was much easier to be around LOL!

 any complications,
 
No complications at the time of surgery ... I have become lactose intolerant to some extent (common to bypass patients) - I cannot drink milk or eat ice cream but cheese and yogurt is OK - crazy ... I also ended up with gallstones this year and had my gallbladder removed about 3 weeks ago (another thing common to WLS people() ... laproscopically so no biggie ...

how you are doing today,

I'm doing great today ... no regrets at all ... my husband cries when the credit card bill shows up because I've become a clothes-horse ... I never shopped for myself before so I'm having a lot of fun wearing cute things ... even though I'm 41, I'm wearing trendy stuff :-)

My confidence is at it's highest and I have way more energy  ... I can climb stairs without getting out of breath ... I can spend the whole day at the park with no problem ... we bought a boat and so I'll be learning to water-ski this summer ... 
 
how much you eat a day now,

Gosh, I'm not very good at keeping track ... I had this surgery so that I didn't have to obsess about my weight and food anymore ... I only weigh myself about once a month ...

I eat at least every two hours to keep my blood sugar level up ... I try to have protein with every meal ... cheese, egg, meat, fish ... love fruit and veggies more than ever before ... I eat a bit of almost anything ... I sometimes dump on sugar and sometimes I don't ...

vitamins your taking,

I take a multivitamin, B12, B-complex, iron, and calcium

good and bad that has happened since surgery

It's been all good except for the lactose intolerance and the gallstones :-)

Leanne

[mrsbsy]

loved the way you wrote this. Congratulations on your success.

I will use you post as an inspiration!

Deb

[Quoiky]

Hi Ladies!
     I've been in the group for a while, but just haven't introduced myself, so here goes...

     I didn't have bypass surgery, I had the lap-band surgery. 

     Before I had the lap-band surgery I weighed 234 lbs. My height is 5'1", so I was as wide as I was tall.  (My mother used to tell me... "You're short and squatty, all ass and no body!") 

     I feel a little apprehensive about putting information about my problems where anyone can read it.  But, I feel that if my post can help someone else who may be on the same journey as I, than it's worth any embarrassment or apprehension I may have. 

     It seems like I have been 10-15 pounds over-weight since the birth of our second son. I didn’t have a weight problem until after I was injured at work. I would ride my bicycle at least 10 miles every day. I would work out at the gym 3-4 days a week, and for the most part, I felt I was fairly healthy.

     The painful injury at work caused my activity level to drop dramatically. I'm not able to ride my bicycle because my knees swell and hurt like crazy, and I can't put any pressure on either of them. My shoulders and neck hurt constantly, and I can’t turn my head very far to either side. It seemed like all I did was eat, sit, eat, sit some more, eat, and sleep, and repeat the same cycle day after day.

     My health started to take a downward spin. I found out I had type 2 diabetes, my bad cholesterol was in the 450-500 range, my blood pressure was high, my heart was working over time, and I was told I had a growth on my kidney. I started to gain weight because I wasn’t doing the exercises I used to do. The bottom line is, when the activity level drops, and the food intake stays the same or increases, ya gain weight. And I did just that.

     Because of all my health factors, my weight was a major concern and my regular doctor suggested that I have the weight loss surgery. I started to do some research. I researched both type surgeries - the lap-band, and the gastric-bypass, and I felt the lap band was the best route for me. It‘s not as invasive, the person takes less time to heal, it‘s reversible, and it's less costly.

     I didn’t realize that the process I would have to go through BEFORE I had the surgery would take such a long, l-o-n-g time. Actually, even before I could schedule an office visit to see the surgeon, the time it took to obtain all the required forms, information, and clearances was ridiculous. I started the paperwork in June 2005, and I couldn't even schedule the surgery until January 2007. I think this 'waiting game' is done on purpose in order to give the person contemplating surgery a lot of time to think about it. Both surgeries are life altering, and the person having the surgery really needs to be prepared to face these physical and emotional changes.

     When I decided to have the lap band surgery, I received a lot of negative comments from family and friends, i.e., ‘isn’t that the lazy, cheaters, easy way of loosing weight?’ or "Why don't you just get off your fat, lazy ass and do something, and you won't be so fat!?" If only it were that easy.

     My reply to the person making the comment was and still is… “this is a tool to help me get my good health back. It is neither a cheating, lazy method, nor is it easy. The success of this method is entirely up to me, and I plan to rescue my health and save my life.”

     The first two things I had to do was attend an information session, and a group support session. Attendance at both of these meetings is one of the 'requirements', but appointments are not necessary. I had to attend one of the info sessions, and on a different day, I had to attend one group session.

     At the info meeting I found out that I had to meet certain 'criteria' before I would be considered for surgery. 1) I had to be at least 100 lbs overweight;
2) I had to have a BMI -body mass index {weight in lbs divided by height in inches X 704.5} of 40 or higher;
3) I had to get a letter from my doctor stating that my weight was a life threatening condition, and this surgery was medically necessary;
4) I had to find out if I had "weight loss surgery benefits" from our insurance company;
5) I had to have a 'sleep study' done to see if I had sleep apnea; and
6) the most important one - I had to show proof that I had tried to loose weight within the last 2 years, for 6 consecutive months.

     If anyone is considering weight loss surgery, when they go to the doctor to fulfill the 6 consecutive month requirement, they must be certain the doctor records their weight, blood pressure, date, & the method used to loose weight, weather it worked or not. This information needs to be recorded on a separate sheet of paper in their medical folder. It's very important that the person not miss a month, or they will have to start over, because the 6 months must be consecutive.

     The group session was with people who already had either the by-pass or the lap-band surgery. They answered everybody's questions and shared their 'before', 'during', and 'after' photos. They gave a lot of information, but my take on it was if a person didn't know what to ask, the group didn't voluntarily give any information.

     After I attended these two meetings, and I was pretty certain I was gonna have the surgery, I had to pay $750.00 to the doctor's office. The lady at the 'info' session explained that I would get reimbursed for this payment after the surgery. Once they had a claim number from the insurance company, I could file the form to get my reimbursement. They allowed me to split the amount into 3 payments of $250.00 each, but I had to have it paid in full before they would continue with the process.

     In addition to the 2 meetings, I was required to see three other professionals;
1) a nutritionist;
2)my regular doctor; and
3) a psychiatrist.
Also, because of my medical history of diabetes, heart & kidney problems, etc., the surgeon also required that I see two other professionals, my cardiologist, to complete a stress test, and a doctor for sleep apnea to have a sleep study completed. Of course, all of these professionals require separate appointments.

     Once I had all this crap in hand, I got to see the surgeon. yippie skippie. I had the lap band surgery on March 27, '07 - felt like hell till the end of May, especially when the roxi pain meds wore off. I had to wear an abdominal wrap - which looked like a giant ace bandage for your torso- for about 3 weeks.

     I didn't have too much nausea, but I did have a LOT of diarrhea, (soiled myself a couple of times), and if I drank something too fast, I would throw up. I was really, really tired and thirsty all the time for the first 2 weeks. I quickly found out that I had to do exactly what they told me to do, or face the consequences.

     I thought I'd be hungry, but I was surprised that I couldn't and didn't want to finish what I had. I was supposed to have 2 fluid oz. of clear liquid every 30 minutes for the first 3 days. My brain was telling me that I wanted more food, but my stomach was yelling - "I'm in pain here bitch - that's enough!" If I didn't stop eating as soon as my stomach said that's enough - even if it was just one more bite, (I know this is gonna sound crazy) I'd start sneezing. Once the sneezing started, I'd get really nauseous and start throwing up. This happened maybe four times since the surgery. Needless to say, I try not to eat more than my stomach can handle so I can avoid sneezing and throwing up.

     Throwing up was the worse part of the whole ordeal for me. I didn't have too much stuff to throw up in the first place, and my stomach and esophagus felt like they were tryin to do a tango on my spleen. I got really weak and shaky, my chest hurt - it felt like I had a roasted pig stuck in my wind pipe. NOT PLEASANT! So, even if my brain tells me I'm hungry, I physically can't eat any more. It's not that it's motivating because I'm loosing weight and I don't want to mess up my mojo - it's just that I can't eat!

     About the 3rd week, I didn't have the hunger urges any more. I guess that research of the 21 day behavioral change strategy really is true. Now I know how much food I can actually eat before I‘m full. I can eat about ¼ cup of soup every 2-4 hours, and I’m satisfied.

     It has been a little over a year since I had the surgery.  My weight fluctuates between 158 - 163, and doesn't seem to want to go any lower! (Rats!)

     Even though I have hit a plateau, I can honestly say that I feel so much better than before the surgery - as long as I don't try to eat.  I can actually do some gardening without getting winded bending over, and I've dropped 10 dress sizes. 

     For the past three months, I have been having some problems with becoming nauseated with everything I try to eat.  Since my last fill in February my diet has consisted of soup and potted meat.  If I try to eat anything else, I get the 'roasted pig stuck in the wind-pipe' feeling, and the pain is awful. 

     Also, sometimes I will get a pain in my lower abdomen that feels like appendicitis, but I know it's not because I don't have an appendix.  The pain will be so bad that I will have to lay on my side in a fetal position with an ice pack on my stomach until it subsides.  Sometimes, it lasts more than 2-3 hours.

     My surgeon did an upper 'G.I.' test on me and discovered that I now have an esophagus hernia because the band slipped.  The pain I experience is from the food accumulating in the hernia, and eventually trying to pass.  Isn't that special!

     I have an appointment with my surgeon July 7, and I'm sure he's gonna suggest I have the band removed.  I don't see that happening!  As far as I'm concerned, that little round sucker is now part of my body, and it's stayin right where it is! 

     He can remove all the liquid from it, and hopefully this will alleviate the hernia pain, but I am not going through that surgery again.  If this is not life-threatening, than I think he should just leave it alone.

     I'll keep ya'll posted on what he recommends, and what I decide to do.

     That's my story... and I'm stickin to it!

[Aspiemom-Karen]

My name is Karen and I am waiting for surgery , just have one more hoop to jump though.  I have been over weight all of my life, since puberty...lol.  And morbidly obese for 10 years  heaviest 350 on my 6 foot body.  My reason for having the surgery is my son, he has Asperger's syndrome and he needs me.  I am terrified to have the surgery but  equally terrified not to.  I injured my back in 2005 and have been out of work since 2006....my body is falling apart and I am only 44. 

Hoping for surgery in August or early September.