Post-Op Reflections

[Trav]

When I first heard about this "lap band thing" I was like, "wow, that's pretty cool." I had just finished losing about 100lbs via the "Atkins" thing, and never thought, "yeah I might wanna get that some day". I never saw myself as "the fat guy" even when I was. It took seeing myself in my sister's wedding photos to say, "wow, who is that guy?"....which lead to the Atkins diet mentioned above.

time passes, I get down to around 220lbs. I start getting dates again. Everything seems pretty cool....go through some major relationship problems, lost my job, had to move, and I get back up to 275lbs.

I go back on "the diet"....(I affectionately know as "the Devil")...get back down to around 240.

rinse repeat, with various other events, but the theme is generally the same.

So here I am back up to 325lbs. My joints kill, I can't work a job where I'm on my feet all day. I'm miserable, and can feel myself falling apart. (physically, not mentally)

It's especially hard for a male to reach out for help, whether it be through a friend, loved one, or medical device. I'm hoping that this is the cure for my ills. After seeing all the success stories, I'm quite confident that it is.

I really despise hospitals, the idea of being cut on, needles, foreign objects in my body.....it's a pretty big hurdle for me to get over. I often found myself in the pre-op area blocking things out and saying, "I'm going to sleep, and when I wake up, I'll have the tools to get my life back."

My first impression was (before all the research, and all the questions, and answers, and deep thought) "Yeah I'll just run down to Mexico, and get this surgery thing and it'll all be okay."....but knowing what I know now, it's not that simple. You have to focus on your goal, you have to have people to support your decision, and you have to want to succeed.

This all happens so fast, once you decide to do it. You're down there. You're cut open, your banded. Before you know it, you're back home, and everything's different.

It's a lot to absorb, it's a lot to digest (no pun intended), thankfully we can all get together and talk about things and gain strength from that.

[AmberLam]

When I first heard about this "lap band thing" I was like, "wow, that's pretty cool." I had just finished losing about 100lbs via the "Atkins" thing, and never thought, "yeah I might wanna get that some day". I never saw myself as "the fat guy" even when I was. It took seeing myself in my sister's wedding photos to say, "wow, who is that guy?"....which lead to the Atkins diet mentioned above.

time passes, I get down to around 220lbs. I start getting dates again. Everything seems pretty cool....go through some major relationship problems, lost my job, had to move, and I get back up to 275lbs.

I go back on "the diet"....(I affectionately know as "the Devil")...get back down to around 240.

rinse repeat, with various other events, but the theme is generally the same.

So here I am back up to 325lbs. My joints kill, I can't work a job where I'm on my feet all day. I'm miserable, and can feel myself falling apart. (physically, not mentally)

It's especially hard for a male to reach out for help, whether it be through a friend, loved one, or medical device. I'm hoping that this is the cure for my ills. After seeing all the success stories, I'm quite confident that it is.

I really despise hospitals, the idea of being cut on, needles, foreign objects in my body.....it's a pretty big hurdle for me to get over. I often found myself in the pre-op area blocking things out and saying, "I'm going to sleep, and when I wake up, I'll have the tools to get my life back."

My first impression was (before all the research, and all the questions, and answers, and deep thought) "Yeah I'll just run down to Mexico, and get this surgery thing and it'll all be okay."....but knowing what I know now, it's not that simple. You have to focus on your goal, you have to have people to support your decision, and you have to want to succeed.

This all happens so fast, once you decide to do it. You're down there. You're cut open, your banded. Before you know it, you're back home, and everything's different.

It's a lot to absorb, it's a lot to digest (no pun intended), thankfully we can all get together and talk about things and gain strength from that.

Trav-

You are precisely in the right state of mind to make a band work for you. Best of luck and enjoy the ride!!

Amber

[Kimmy in MD]

Congrats on your Surgery Trav! Best wishes for much success in your journey!! YOU WILL DO GREAT

[Jann]

When I first heard about this "lap band thing" I was like, "wow, that's pretty cool." I had just finished losing about 100lbs via the "Atkins" thing, and never thought, "yeah I might wanna get that some day". I never saw myself as "the fat guy" even when I was. It took seeing myself in my sister's wedding photos to say, "wow, who is that guy?"....which lead to the Atkins diet mentioned above.

time passes, I get down to around 220lbs. I start getting dates again. Everything seems pretty cool....go through some major relationship problems, lost my job, had to move, and I get back up to 275lbs.

I go back on "the diet"....(I affectionately know as "the Devil")...get back down to around 240.

rinse repeat, with various other events, but the theme is generally the same.

So here I am back up to 325lbs. My joints kill, I can't work a job where I'm on my feet all day. I'm miserable, and can feel myself falling apart. (physically, not mentally)

It's especially hard for a male to reach out for help, whether it be through a friend, loved one, or medical device. I'm hoping that this is the cure for my ills. After seeing all the success stories, I'm quite confident that it is.

I really despise hospitals, the idea of being cut on, needles, foreign objects in my body.....it's a pretty big hurdle for me to get over. I often found myself in the pre-op area blocking things out and saying, "I'm going to sleep, and when I wake up, I'll have the tools to get my life back."

My first impression was (before all the research, and all the questions, and answers, and deep thought) "Yeah I'll just run down to Mexico, and get this surgery thing and it'll all be okay."....but knowing what I know now, it's not that simple.

This all happens so fast, once you decide to do it. You're down there. You're cut open, your banded. Before you know it, you're back home, and everything's different. You have to focus on your goal, you have to have people to support your decision, and you have to want to succeed.

It's a lot to absorb, it's a lot to digest (no pun intended), thankfully we can all get together and talk about things and gain strength from that.

It is a lot and it does happen quickly. Homework is key to success and even then when you get home it's like walking for the first time, there's so much learning curve. It's not just have the surgery and the band takes over. So now, we know intellectually what we have to do but we have to put it in practice, not so easy. It really is a process! They say it takes repeating a behaviour 500 consecutive times to cement a habit. Having said that, your foundation is going to dictate your success rate. If you are going to cheat, cheat within band rules.

You summarized beautifully what this is all about -- You have to focus on your goal, you have to have people to support your decision, and you have to want to succeed.

Jann

[mlgpdx]

Welcome to bandland! We all look forward to following you on this journey! Keep us posted.

[julieburns]

Travis, welcome to this forum and Bandland. Thanks for a very insightful post.

I look forward to your future posts and being on this journey with you.