Race Report

I did it!  Yes I completed a 5K.  It was tougher than I expected, but that's partly because I have another infection in my belly around my port ( more on that on a future post).  I decided that with my belly swollen I should take it slow and walked the whole thing.  My wife was sweet enough to walk with me.  She has been incredibly supportive through everything.  It was her first 5K and we enjoyed walking it together.  The race started and finished in downtown Tampa on 10/12.  It also took us along scenic Bayshore Blvd, which is one of the nicest streets in America as it hugs the water in Tampa.  It is very exhilarating to participate in a 5K.  There are all types of folks competing from the seasoned runners to those just wanting to give it a try and get some exercise.  You see parents running with their children and strollers; you see seniors impressing with their fortitude.  I dare say sprinkled in among the rest are the Banded, myself included.  Thanks to the Lap Band I was there and I finished!  Thank you to all that made that possible.

We completed the course in exactly 58 minutes; certainly not record time, but prior to surgery walking even half that distance would have been unthinkable.  I feel like I've come along way, but I'm just getting started!  As I get in better shape, I plan on improving my times in future races.  Thanks to my Lap Band surgery, I'm able to participate in activities that were previously impossible.  Completing a 5K just got checked off on my list of goals after surgery and I have a not so lousy t-shirt to prove it.

Thanks,
me  :-)

How Sweet It Is, Not To Be So Sweet!

I had my first follow up with my regular physician since my surgery.  I was very anxious to get the results of my bloodwork.  I'm happy to say that my glucose has gone down 67 points and my A1C has gone down nearly 2 full points!  Although I'm still considered diabetic, these numbers represent a tremendous reduction in my sugar and gives me high hopes for a future free of diabetes.  None of this would be possible without the generosity and support of the wonderful folks at Suncoast Bariatrics and the Palms of Pasadena with their life changing gift of free Lap Band surgery.  Thank you!

me

Swelling, Shorts, and Milk too!

Seems like a while since I've made an update to my blog, so I apologize for the delay.  I was waiting for a more significant event, but in a way I'm pleased that things have begun to seem normal.  I decided to throw a few odds and ends together instead of waiting for a significant event.  Normal life is more subdued; seromas and surgeries don't happen every day after all.

First I did run into a minor issue in the area of my port.  I began experiencing some soreness or discomfort around the port followed by some swelling.  After a few days of no improvement and it began feeling warm to the touch, I called the doctor and they had me come in.  Dr. Ache examined me and probed me with a needle to see if we could drain any fluid.  Fluid was minimal and we took advantage of having the needle already in to give me my second fill.  She indicated that swelling around the port can be a common occurrence when your activity level increases.  I certainly have been trying to up my exercise a notch, so this made sense.  She also told me to keep an eye on it just in case it could be something else.  I could call in and she could write a script for an antibiotic if needed.  Over the weekend the swelling seemed to increase and the area became very red and warm.  Also, I began to have a fever.  I called on Monday and got the script and within a few days of taking the antibiotic, the swelling and redness began to subside.  All told I would say it lasted about a week, so it was no big deal, but still noteworthy.

A small note on milk.  On an earlier post I mentioned Skim Plus, which is a fortified skim milk with extra protein and vitamins and the taste more like whole milk.  This is a great option, but there are others.  If you visit the dairy section of your local grocery store, you will find many products with similar attributes.  There are varieties of these fortified low fat milks, but also some complete substitutes as well.  My friend Ilene made the suggestion of trying almond milk.  I found a coupon and tried Almond Breeze, which came in many varieties itself including an unsweetened original and unsweetened vanilla, both of which are only 30 calories per serving.  That was even less than the Skim Plus milk, yet still had the extra protein and vitamins, even more so in some instances than the Skim Plus.  I've been using it ever since.  Thanks Ilene.  There are of course other alternatives as well including lactose free as well as many varieties of soy milk.  My suggestion is to explore and find one that works for your tastes and needs.  I primarily use it for the shakes and cereals and the almond milk works great for both.

I want to end with a great note and a first for me.  I have begun noticing a difference in some of my clothes.  They are hanging loose and some are even making me look awkward.  One particular pair of jean shorts, I even turned in to Suncoast Bariatrics for their clothes room.  To keep them from falling I had to tighten my belt to the point it would even create a pleat in the front.  Luckily I covered it up with a shirt.  This was a significant break through for me.  Traditionally I would get rid of clothes because they would rip or become unwearable for being too tight or unbuttonable.  Over the years I've given away bags and bags of clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army; all way too small as my midsection would grow and grow.  Now for the first time I got rid of something because it was too big!  It was only one piece, but it was a start and I'm happy to be moving in the right direction!  Thank you Suncoast Bariatrics and Palms of Pasadena!  This is an awesome feeling and it's all thanks to you.

me

Holiday, Vacation, and Anniversary; Oh My!

I'm sure anyone who's struggled with weight loss knows exactly what this post's title is all about, Temptation!  Any of these, or quite frankly a number of other situations like birthday parties, graduations, celebrations of all kinds, social situations galore...in other words life! can jump up and bite you in your weight loss goals.  During Independence Day week I faced the triple threat all at once.  My wife and I decided to enjoy a little time away to enjoy our first anniversary together.  We didn't want to go too far as I was still less than two months out from surgery and had recently had my first fill.  Luckily we live in the Sunshine State, so we headed for the wonderful beach at Siesta Key.  We thought we could do a lot of outside activities and enjoy some of the local cuisine guilt free.  Well, it rained 90% of the time, so much for the Sunshine State!

We did manage one limited trip to the beach where we got a nice long walk along the water and some mini golf, both led to good sweats in the Summer's heat and humidity.  Unfortunately the weather left more time for the local cuisine.  We did get to enjoy a couple Food Network visited eateries in Yoder's, home cooking Amish style, and Jose's Real Cuban Food.  If you ever get the chance, you have to try some pie at Yoder's; it is worth the trip and the 30 minute line to get in.  When I mean pie, any will do, we ended up trying a few varieties while we were in the area, and all were incredible.  Enjoy!  Jose's had an excellent array of Cuban food.  They start you off with a sample of their pork if you are a newbie.  We tried a couple items on special and everything we had was delicious.  Again, don't see where you can go wrong here.

OK, I'm through torturing you with the food.  This is supposed to be a blog about losing weight, not what to eat in the Sarasota/Bradenton area of Florida.  The point is I was able to enjoy eating!  The Lap Band didn't prevent me from enjoying the food, but it did help me not to over do it.  It was a nice change from the vacations and special occasions of the past, where it was always a good excuse to binge myself into oblivion, leaving any diet in waste.  Not this time!  This time the Lap Band was my ally; it limited my portions and was a constant reminder of my ultimate goals and why I shouldn't lose control.

I was even able to enjoy our one year old wedding cake without too much guilt.  It was pretty good too!  Great job freezing it babe!  With the Lap Band, I guess you can say that I can have my cake and eat it too!  Sorry had  to say it.  ;P  Now don't think there wasn't a weight loss cost to this.  I certainly had a weight gain for the week, but instead of the usual complete derailment of a diet, I had a minor setback thanks to the Lap Band.  The setback was easily reversed and I was back on track the following week.  You need to get back to good habits with what you eat and your activity, which is so much easier after Lap Band surgery.

Life happens and it is unrealistic to think you can be on the straight and narrow all the time.  The Lap Band allows you to enjoy the finer things in life without letting them sink your weight loss goals.  Life with the Lap Band isn't harsh and hungry.  Instead the Lap Band allows for a full and flexible lifestyle.  You can have your cake, just remember to run with it too!

Thanks,
me

My First Fill

For those who may not know, getting a fill in the Lap Band world is when you inflate your band with a liquid solution, usually saline.  It's certainly not filling up on lots of food as I might have thought in my pre-banded life.  When the band is initially placed it is not inflated because there isn't a need for additional restriction while you heal from surgery.  Once you heal it is necessary to use your Lap Band tool to make sure you restrict yourself before your body goes back to old eating habits.  I will say that my stomach had begun to feel a little frisky, so I was glad Dr. Jessee began the fill process.  The Lap Band is a very flexible tool in that you can have adjustments done through adding liquid or even removing liquid if you find yourself too restricted.  It can be tailored to the individual's needs.

The process is simple.  As I lay back on the medical table in Dr. Jessee's office, she placed a cylindrical pillow in the small of my back.  This allows your port to be pushed up to as close to the surface of your skin as possible.  The port is the part of your band that is sewn into your abdominal muscle where the needle can be inserted to either add or remove fluid from your band.  This was my first fill, so I confess to be a little nervous, but I had the good fortune to witness a fill at the seminar I had attended, so I remembered it was a pretty straight forward procedure.  The needle was fairly large, but it only pinched for a moment.  Dr. Jessee asked me to sit up before I even realized that she had already inserted the liquid.  That was easy!  Now came the hard part.  I had to drink water.  Yes, it was hard because now I had to judge based on my drinking whether I had too much liquid.  It's tough when you don't know what to look for.  I had this feeling like I needed to burp, but couldn't.  Dr. Jessee realized before I did, that I indeed had a bit too much and the water wasn't going down.  She then had to reinsert the needle to remove a bit of the liquid.  To be honest it was very confusing on what normal should feel like as I still felt a bit too restricted at that point.  I feel it's more a matter of experience and as I get adjustments I imagine that I will get better at reading the signs.  For now I was content in relying on Dr. Jessee's experienced and better judgement.  She was really good at reading the signs, and she wasn't the one swallowing the water!

For the first day you are back on a liquid only diet followed by one day of mushy foods before getting back to solid food.  This wasn't a hardship, as I certainly didn't want to eat anything solid.  I kept feeling like I may have had too much of a fill, but later realized this is exactly how it's supposed to feel.  I had my liquids and had them sparingly for the first day and a half.  Then I cautiously introduced some mushy foods like cream of wheat, soups, and the like.  Before I knew it I had the confidence to go back to solid foods probably by day four and haven't looked back since. It's amazing that I thought for sure that I was going to have to go back to have some removed, but felt just fine and back to normal a mere few days later.  My advice is trust the process.  Your doctor knows more than you do, so rely on their expertise especially at this stage.

I certainly feel restricted on how much I can eat, but that's exactly what the band is designed to do.  It keeps you honest and encourages you to stick to the program.  It is the tool I always wanted to help me on my journey.  I always fell short in my weight loss goals, because at some point I would give in to the cravings.  I couldn't stop myself in time before consuming mass quantities.  No longer.  Now the band will help me not go over the line.  It will give me the strength to persist; I can now see it through; I won't falter.  Thanks to the band, I have confidence in the journey; I have confidence in myself.

Banded,
me  :-)

My Seroma

My surgery was on May 15th.  On Saturday June 1st I was feeling great; I felt like I had really turned a corner on my recovery and it was full speed ahead.  I had a real vigor during my morning walk.  Things were great....until....My Seroma.  Later that night I was having some soup on my recliner while watching some tv.  I got up at some point and my belly felt really wet.  I looked down and my shirt was soaked through and so were my shorts.  Did I spill some of my soup?  I lifted my shirt and there was a small waterfall of fluid coming from my belly button incision.  A scary sight to be sure, but I didn't feel any real discomfort from it.  My wife and I looked at it and decided to give Dr. Jessee's office a call.  I felt bad since it was late and a Saturday to boot, but they have a paging service at her office for emergencies.  Dr. Jessee called me back herself within a few minutes.  I was impressed.  I explained the situation and she knew right away what it was; it made me feel better not only to find out that it was common and not that big a deal, but that I had a great surgeon who cared and was there when you needed to get a hold of her even in the middle of the night on a weekend.

This is where I first heard the word seroma.  Plainly said a seroma is a pocket of liquid that forms in the body often associated with a surgical procedure, which will leak.  The important part was the liquid.  It was translucent of a yellowish tint, which is as good as it gets.  The real danger is infection, which would be a thicker pus like discharge.  Dr. Jessee told me to keep an eye on it and if there were any changes to let her know.  If not I would call her office first thing Monday morning to get in to see her on Monday.

Despite a bandage, nine hours later I woke up to wet sheets with reddish yellow stains.  After some cleanup we discovered that the fluid was changing to a more reddish tint and certainly wasn't abating.  We decided to call Dr. Jessee's office to have her paged again and again she called back within minutes.  She still felt I was probably fine, but just to be safe she sent me to the emergency room at the Largo Medical Center.  I was told to see Dr. Hewitt who she works with so that he can better assess the situation.  If he felt it was more than a seroma, she would come see me there.

We jumped in the car and headed down as it is about an hour away.  During the drive, I drenched a couple of kleenexes and began feeling more discomfort from the area.  It was a bit frustrating at the ER as even though we wanted to specifically see Dr. Hewitt, they have their procedures.  We had to check in and be seen by a couple of nurses to check my vitals and determine my issue; both of which had never heard of Dr. Hewitt..very frustrating.  After some impatient waiting on my part, Dr. Hewitt strolled in the door.  I was very happy to see him.  He took a good look and was able to drain a decent amount with some belly manipulation.  He said it looked fine, but prescribed an antibiotic to be safe.  They were nice enough to give us some bandages and tape, so that we can regularly change it.  He also warned that it would take some time for this to drain and for me to schedule a follow up with Dr. Jessee for the end of this coming week.

We went home with our supplies stopping on the way at Publix to fill the prescription. Unfortunately by that night I started to notice another change in the seroma.  It started to pus.  By the next day it was certainly infected.  I was gross, ooey, gooey, a mess.  Luckily I was already on antibiotics and was free of the infection a few days later.  I continued to drain consistently all week long.  We went through a lot of gauze and tape that's for sure.  I had some discomfort, but too be honest I think my skin took more of a hit from the tape and frequent changing of the bandage than from the seroma.  I also spent some time trying to imitate Dr. Hewitt by squeezing my belly to speed the drain along.  I think this contributed to a general soreness in the area.

At the follow up appointment with Dr. Jessee, she cleaned out the wound further and was very reassuring in that it was quite normal and looked like it was healing really well.  Of course it was still leaking, but she said that it may take some time and we scheduled a follow up for a couple weeks later.  She also suggested I create some pressure with a weight belt or back brace to help the seroma complete draining and the layer of skin could fuze back with the muscle.  The body doesn't like the space and wants to continually fill it with liquid, so we needed to not allow the space.  My wife actually came up with using a pregnancy band to create the needed pressure, which Dr. Jessee endorsed.  Great idea as it turned out to be much more comfortable than the other options.  Thanks babe!  Also, thanks Jen for the actual pregnancy band.  It wore well and was glad it was in the gender neutral black; it would have been slightly awkward to walk around in pink.  Lol!  I'm in touch with my feminine side, but I draw the line at going into labor!

Gradually my leaking diminished and finally stopped altogether just a few days ago.  Today I had my follow up with Dr. Jessee and am happy to say I can close the seroma chapter after nearly three weeks.  She even gave me the green light for any activity including swimming as of this weekend.  Time for me to turn another corner in the journey and get moving!

Thanks to all for all of their help along the way.  It's been very encouraging to have the support of so many along the way.

me

First Banded Days

I've had my surgery; now let's see how my first couple weeks went.  First I want to emphasize that there is nothing earth shattering in those first few days.  I just had surgery and it's more about healing than your new world of eating with the band.  For the first night I was only allowed clear liquids and I was thrilled enough with ice chips and some gatorade.  From day 2 through the first full 2 weeks post surgery, the diet consists of  only liquids.  Broth is the name of the game and some light soups that can be strained of anything too clumpy or solid.  I continued on the bariatric protein shakes, using milk instead of water.  A small note on the milk...my wife found a product called Skim Plus, that is wonderful.  It is essentially skim milk fortified with extra protein and vitamins to be of the consistency and taste of near whole milk.  I've been using it ever since and feel like I'm getting a good deal of bang for my buck with the shakes as a result.  The nutritional value is well worth a little extra cost and I lucked into a nice sale at Publix as well as some coupons at the time.  It has a pretty good shelf life before being opened compared to other milk as the expiration dates I found to be a month out.  Stock piling it in my fridge whenever I catch a sale!

Cream of Wheat is another good item as long as you make it with a thin enough consistency.  Pat the wonderful nutritionist at Dr. Jessee's office went through the suggested menu items and there was a lot of yogurt suggested.  I really don't like yogurt, so this was hard.  My wife did find me these Fusion yogurt drinks that I was able to stomach.  Unfortunately you may want to consider those sparingly as their sugar count was kind of high.  I guess it is a tradeoff, but Pat you can see I'm trying.  ;-)  Juice is a good option, but another spot to watch your sugars.  Wal-mart had some nice no sugar added options including a nice apple and a white grape peach.  Both I found to be very tasty without too much sugar.

The toughest thing is the more you heal and begin to feel normal, the hungrier you get.  Hungry may not be the right word.  I felt like a divergence began between my mouth and my stomach.  They used to always agree.  Now my mouth craved stuff, that my stomach would over rule.  Commercials can be rough;  My mouth would say oh that looks good only to be quickly followed by my stomach saying I don't think so.  I began to feel schizophrenic.  Lol!  I chose the smart choice and followed my stomach's lead.  The cravings would generally be short lived and easily managed, certainly compared to what I used to have to deal with when the stomach and mouth ganged up on me and the next thing you knew I swallowed a pizza or a box of cookies or both!  I appreciated that the Lap Band was taking the edge off and allowing me to act responsibly.

Probably the hardest part of this phase is there is only so much variety in what you can manage with a liquid diet.  The first week I was fine, but the second started to get old, so I started allowing some substance in the soups and allowing for the normal thickness of the cream of wheat.  It's all just a part of the process as you heal.  This was a natural progression into the next two weeks which would allow for a mushy diet consistency.  The biggest advice I can give is it is perfectly normal to start testing your band some in this phase, just proceed cautiously.  Take your time and chew thoroughly.  No reason to rush it.  I may even be enjoying my food better now than ever before as I no longer feel like I'm in a race where I assume whoever eats the most the fastest wins!

Well enough about food.  Lets talk about healing and moving.  At the Palms of Pasadena and Dr. Jessee's office they emphasize you start moving as soon as you can to minimize any chance of blood clots forming.  A couple days I even got a follow up call from the nurse who worked with me at the hospital at the end to check on my progress.  That was a nice thing as it gives you the option for any further questions.  Again, the Palms of Pasadena is a great facility.  I started the first few days with just wandering around the house at a pretty slow pace, but it felt good to get moving and quickly graduated after a few days of that to an outdoor stroll.  Again this was at a comfortable pace and a short distance with gradual increase of speed and distance over the first couple weeks.

There was a certain amount of discomfort in my stomach especially in the area around my belly button.  I was prescribed two pain killers, one that was stronger than the other.  I quickly weaned myself from the stronger to the weaker over the course of the first couple weeks.  By the end of the first week I only needed the stronger stuff at night to help me sleep and by the end of the second week I was down to an occasional weaker or even ibuprofen for at night with nothing during the day.  I'm not a big fan of taking pills and wanted to not become dependent on anything.  My incisions were covered by Durabond, which is krazy glue for surgeons.  They didn't give me much concern except for my belly button where I felt a certain amount of swelling as well as discomfort.  Somewhere along the line I also started to notice some small residue marks on my shirts in that area; more to come on a later post with regards to this.  Through the end of May I was feeling stronger and stronger and able to do more.  Biggest obstacle seemed to be bending over as I felt some pulling in my stomach and I was told not to lift anything over 20 pounds; Good advice as I found groceries to be a bit heavy the first couple of weeks.

I believe it all made for a great start and was looking forward to what was coming, but I feel like it is just a start and I have a long way to go.  It's important to remain patient and not to try and get ahead of yourself and do too much, no matter how anxious you feel to do it all.  At this stage you really need to allow yourself time to heal.  Remember weight loss is a lifestyle journey, not a diet destination!  Thanks to all for their support and wonderful advice along the way.

me

Surgery

My surgery was on May 15th.  The day had finally arrived.  I can't say I got a lot of sleep the night before, but why would I need it?  It's not like I will be performing the surgery;  I'll be in the wonderful care of the team at Palms of Pasadena Hospital and the skilled surgeon team lead by Dr. Jessee.  I should get plenty of rest while I'm on the table and in recovery.  Yes I was nervous.  It's normal.  Selecting elective surgery no matter how minimally invasive it may be such as with the Lap Band, is still not a natural act, you really need to have done some soul searching and be committed to the lifestyle change and believe in the process.  Again there are risks in having the surgery, but I felt there are far more in being obese; my diabetes for example would certainly get me in the long run if I didn't make a change.  Of course the usual questions will come to mind of whether I'm doing the right thing, etc.  The point is that is normal and you just need the fortitude to be confident in your decision and push forward with the change.  It's time for a new me!

I had plenty of time to stew in my nerves on the way over as it's an hour drive to the Palms of Pasadena Hospital from my home.  It was nice to break my mind's tension with some reassuring chit chat with my wife.  She's been a rock for me through the whole process that's for sure!  I'm getting ahead of myself here.  I started the day with a walk.  Figured I don't know how long before I am able to get out there I should take advantage.  It may have been a mistake.  You are not allowed anything after midnight including water, so partaking in any kind of exercise even walking will make you even more thirsty than you already are.  I don't regret it; felt the walk did me some good, but there was a downside to it.  Next was my shower...  I went through my normal routine until the end when I had to use the Hibiclense, which is a strong antibacterial solution they give you to use before the surgery.  It comes in a small bluish green bottle and the solution is of a reddish hue.  I used a wash cloth and repeatedly scrubbed my stomach area and then I had to let it sit for five minutes before rinsing.  I guess the idea is to eliminate as much bacteria from that area before they start poking holes in you as they can.  I got dressed(no deodorant).  You aren't allowed any lotions of perfumes or anything like that.  I took off my wedding ring, which was hard as I hadn't taken it off yet, but jewelry wasn't allowed either and certainly didn't want to take a chance on losing it.  We had already packed a small bag of a few items just in case, such a s a book in case I had some down time(not needed), slippers(not needed), etc.  The biggest thing was the anti nausea medication called Emend.  It was to be taken two hours prior to surgery, which would be approximately on our arrival at the hospital.  We brought a bottle of water and I was allowed just a swallow to get the pill down.  For a single pill the cost was $30 and that was with insurance; expensive but it worked as I never felt any nausea.  Time to walk in and face my future!

The facility is very nice and enjoyably located near the water in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Once you pass the information desk, there is a waiting area next to registration.  During the short wait I took advantage of the facilities down the hall.  Not sure how I had anything to pass with so few liquids, but I've always been a nervous pee-er.  Oddly enough I must have a large bladder as I can often go most of the day before needing to go, but when I'm nervous, feels like every 10 minutes I need to find somewhere for a squirt!  It was a very short wait and they were calling me to register.  The process was quick and painless and resulted in a wrist band identifying myself and my doctor.  Someone came and got me from there immediately to bring me down the hall to the pre-op area.  On the way we passed the waiting room for family where I had to drop off my wife.  I would have rather keep her with me(remember she is my rock and my courage), but I guess they needed to go through the next few steps alone.  She would come back and see me prior to me getting moved to the actual operating area, so knowing that made it not feel too bad.

The pre-op area is large with many semi private partitioned(via curtains) areas each containing a bed.  Each area is numbered and I don't remember which one I had.  The area has nurses and orderlies moving around managing their patients.  First thing I had to do was get a weigh in around the corner.  Next I sat in the chair by the bed and filled out a bunch of medical forms.  The usual what are you allergic to, family history, and release forms. Some of the wording can be alarming, but I suppose they need to make you aware of all possibilities.  Again I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel the benefits of the surgery weren't well worth any usual risks that any surgery and being under anesthesia involve.  I mention this mainly to hopefully reduce the shock value anyone may experience on reading such forms and are standard in any medical facility.  After the nurse went over everything with me, it was time to get naked.  They didn't waste any time; so much for my comfortable clothes.  I was provided with a pair of non slip socks and the customary hospital gown, which I almost choked myself trying to tie in the back, but the nurse was nice enough to help me with after I gave her the all clear to open the curtain.  All my stuff went into a bag until later.  I got in the bed and under the blanket; more for modesty than warmth.  Everyone was very polite and concerned that I was cold, so was often offered more blankets including some that were already warmed.  I am rarely chilly, so politely declined.  While I was waiting for the inevitable next steps of pokes and prods, I took a look around and there were a number of other patients in the same boat I was in.  This was kind of comforting in a way as I didn't feel alone in my predicament.

Here came the needles.  I got a finger prick to check my sugar no big deal.  I needed an epinephrine shot in my stomach to prevent blood clotting during surgery, which wasn't nearly as bad as I had imagined in my mind.  You feel the prick, but not much besides and was over in a couple seconds.  The rougher experience was trying to get my IV in.  They didn't like the looks of the veins in my arms, so even wrapped them in those heated blankets for a while to try and get them to pop.  Those were nice I must say.  Unfortunately it didn't seem to help.  Despite her best efforts the nurse was unable to get the IV into either arm.  I'm sure not being able to have any liquids since last night made my veins difficult targets.  Since she could tell I was in some pain, she thankfully decided to let it wait for the anesthesiologist.  Hopefully he would have better luck.

Shortly thereafter Susan Kay, who is head of the contest and the bariatric department of the hospital stopped by for a visit.  She's been very nice and an inspiration as she is herself a success story.  It was very nice of her to stop by and offer her support.  When you are laying there you feel like you can use all the support you can get.  Finally my wife was allowed to join me and help me pass the time until it's time for them to wheel me into the operating room.  I was relaxed or at least as relaxed as anyone who is about to have surgery can be.  I filled her in on the process up to date.  To be honest I'm not quite sure why she couldn't have been with me that whole time?  They have their procedures, and I'm sure they have their reasons.  I was a little anxious due to the IV not being in yet and I hadn't seen Dr. Jessee yet.  I know she had surgeries scheduled earlier at another facility and I was her first here at Palms of Pasadena, but still wanted to see her. She has this calming affect.  I really get a sense that she knows what she is doing and I know I would feel better when I got to see her.  It was time for the ride to the operating room, so here we go...

My wife was allowed to accompany me part way until we got to a turn where we went left and she had to continue down the hall back to the waiting room.  That was tough, but I had to go the rest of the way on my own.  There was another waiting area before the operating room itself.  I thought of it kind of like being lined up on a runway waiting for your turn to take off.  There were some OR nurses in gowns there and they were all very friendly.  In fact they treated me like a celebrity and were very interested in my story as the contest winner.  I really appreciate their time and attention.  I started to have some heartburn and acid issues and I got to meet my anesthesiologist.  He was a wonderful man with a kind disposition and ordered some antacid to be added to my IV.  As for the IV or lack there of, he went ahead and put it in the top of my hand as was my expectation.  To relax me he told me to think of my lovely wife and walla it went right in with ease.  Thank you very much!  Apparently I wasn't the only one with IV issues as there were at least a couple other patients with similar experiences in the queue next to me.  Now all I was waiting for was Dr. Jessee and my antacid to come up from the pharmacy.  Again the nurses went over my stats and I had more armbands indicating anything from my diabetes to my allergy to penicillin etc.

At this point I confess to being very nervous, but then I heard her voice.  It was the voice of Dr. Jessee and somehow my nerves and anxiety just fell away.  She came over and checked on me and her presence was very reassuring.  I'm very grateful to have such a talented surgeon as Dr. Jessee.  She discussed with me that she had planned to do as much as she could through the incision in the belly button as she knew I was disappointed that the Spider technique wasn't available with the contest.  It was great that she was going to try and accommodate me as much as she could for as good a cosmetic result as possible.  At that point they wheeled me in for takeoff and shortly there after the antacid arrived from the pharmacy, which was added to my IV.  Suddenly I was feeling dizzy and I asked my buddy the anesthesiologist if he had given me anything and he confirmed that he had started something to relax me.  I was groovy.  Then they told me the good stuff was about to go in and I still heard the doctor's for several more seconds before becoming airborne....

I woke up in recovery.  Groggy is just a word, but apparently so much so that I quickly went back into sleep again and again.  When consciousness finally returned I found myself in a large room with lots of beds, one of which I was in.  I felt a little stifled with regards to my breathing, but quickly realized I needed to blow my nose badly.  I tried to get the attention of the nurse who was circling around, but seemed unable to actually communicate audibly just yet, and apparently my ESP wasn't up to snuff.  Finally I could actually hear myself speak instead of just thinking it and he brought me some tissues.  I asked for ice chips and he said just a couple for now to keep from getting nausea.  They were the most wonderful ice chips in the history of mankind.  They must have been made with some fancy exotic waters or sprinkled with fairy dust or maybe I was just so dry I could gag after no liquids for virtually 16 hours.  Oh yeah that's probably it.  I kept asking for more and must confess decided to try and take it easy on them after a few as I did feel a slight stomach turn that quickly subsided when I slowed down a little.  He checked with me a few more times to make sure I was alright before releasing me to the pre-op area from where I started.  My wife came and joined me and she was like an angel.  I went from dazed and confused to just plain sleepy, but was feeling some discomfort from my belly button area.  There was another nice nurse there that brought me some Gatorade and kept checking on me to see how I was doing.  Ironically enough just when I was feeling comfortable enough to really want to take a nap, he was starting to insist I get up and walk.  They can't discharge you to go home until you walk, drink, and pee...not necessarily all at the same time or in that order, but they all need to be accomplished.  I was a bit unsteady and slow at first, but felt pretty alert with a few laps around the room.  I was given a portable container to capture my urine as I headed into the bathroom.  I needed to produce evidence of the event.  He said just a little bit would be enough, but before you knew it I had filled the container with some to spare.  I guess check off the kidneys functioning off the list.  Yeah!

I got some paperwork and instruction on what to do next, which luckily my wife was there to make note of, since I can't remember much of what was actually said.  I also got a nice photo of my insides including the band with Allergan printed on it visibly.  Thanks to them for donating the actual device, looked very shiny and new.  In the picture you could see my liver and also my hiatal hernia before and after correction.  It was a pretty foregone conclusion that I had one due to all of my acid reflux issues and it was very nice of Dr. Jessee to correct it free of charge while she was installing my band. I guess it's like changing the timing belt while you replace the water pump in a car.  It's all close together so it makes sense.  Like I said she is a world class surgeon. Kudos!  It all seemed fine.  I suppose a kind of memento of the occasion; maybe not quite like pictures of goofy at Disneyland, but my banded stomach could have passed for Pluto with a collar around his neck.  ;-)  I even got serial numbers associated with the band.  Good to know just in case something happens down the line.  All seemed pretty thoroughly documented and my wife signed off.  Next she went to pull the car up to the door while I got the standard wheelchair ride out the door with my bag of goodies.  Some where along the line I must have gotten dressed just not sure when at this point.  I'm glad nobody let me roll out of there in a hospital gown!

I confess not to being very comfortable and I swear I felt every bump in the road on the way, but I was glad to be headed home.  This whole process took place in a day and my life was changing.  I have a lot of hopes for the future to which this may be a first...I may actually now have the arrows in my quiver to conquer my biggest foe; obesity was no longer going to control me or my life going forward.  I was in charge now.  But now I wanted to sleep.  Not long after getting home I took some of the pain killers they had prescribed and had some more Gatorade they sent with me.  To bed to sleep and per chance to dream of a bright new Banded Day.  Goodnight obesity...Goodnight!

me

Pre-Surgery

The following was actually my first write-up related to the surgery.  It was written shortly before my actual surgery took place.  As a requirement of winning the contest, we are to submit a monthly write up of our experiences and progress.  I've decided to include it here as the obvious next step in the chronology to which I've put forth in this blog to date.  I should be up to date to my current status within a couple more posts.  I thank you for your patience along the way.  I hope you have found this blog informative and maybe even a little inspirational.

Thanks,

me

Excited and over whelmed!  What can I say?  I won, but now what?!  It has been an incredible ride really.  I've celebrated with family and friends and feel very humbled by the outpouring of support from everyone.  So many went the extra mile for me during the campaign, that it would be impossible for me to thank everyone here, but rest assured I appreciate you all; it was a great team effort.  I would like to briefly offer special thanks to a few.  First and foremost to the Palms of Pasadena, Dr Jessee, and the wonderful folks at Allergan as well as anyone else responsible for donating the Lap Band, facilities, and their time and talent to make this contest a reality.  This is an incredible opportunity especially for those of us that are insurance challenged.  Thank you to my family and friends for their votes, campaigning, and support.  Humberto, Jen, Pedro, Deco, Higor, Mo, and Monica thanks for the Facebook blitzkrieg!  Maria Irene and Our Lady of Fatima church congregation in Hartford thank you for your prayers as well as your votes.  Special thanks to all the teachers who helped get the word out to the next generation.  Thanks to Michelle, Beef's, and all the bikers and truckers out there who took my campaign on the road.  Thanks Dad for spreading the word to all those I didn't have contact info for.  Eric, Paula, Paul, Haley, Jen, Monica, Kayleigh, Humberto, Ilene, Suzy, and my beautiful wife Heather thank you for being my foot soldiers and spending countless hours passing out cards, fliers, and the like to the masses; it is no easy task to approach strangers to solicit votes.  Extra special thanks to Paul for being the guinea pig and showing me how successful you can be using the Lap Band as a tool in creating a new healthy reality.  Now it's my turn.  God bless you all; you may very well have saved my life.

Now it's time to get serious and get down to business.  I've had some follow ups and pre-op items to complete and have checked them off the list.  I would certainly recommend you read through the materials including the binder your doctor provides, because it is a wealth of information.  Some of it can be scary as they have to cover the legalese of risk as is inherent in any surgical procedure, but I have felt that there are far more risks associated with my diabetes and assorted health issues that await me down the line hadn't I chosen to have the Lap Band surgery.  During this last couple of weeks of follow ups I have been on a strict liver reducing diet to prepare for surgery.  I have to confess I was very anxious about this step as I didn't relish the idea of further dieting without the benefit of the band being in place yet.  I considered it kind of a necessary purification, a transition into my new life almost like a baptism if you will.  In the end It really hasn't been that bad.  The shakes are hearty enough that with a modicum of will power along with some dinner creativity(think stuffed peppers with ground turkey) and sugar free jello will get you through.  The secret is to avoid temptation like the plague.  I knew I was in trouble when I was pumping gas and the succulent aroma of the neighboring eateries were making me consider a hideous attack on the next unsuspecting passerby who just happened to have the misfortune of carrying a takeout bag.  At that point I decided to spend as much time at home and out of everyone else's harm's way as possible!  I was lucky.  My incredibly supportive wife actually has done the diet with me to make it easier on me or it may have been for her own safety(just kidding).  She drank every shake and every lean and green meal right along with me and her sacrifice and support has meant the world to me and made every difference.  Thanks babe!

Now I find myself a mere two days from my surgery.  (Thoughtful Pause)  I'm embarking on a journey; one where I hope my destination is good health and sanity.  I will be trading the endless cycle of ups and downs of yo-yo diet after yo-yo diet for the promise of a new reality.  The new reality of a long-term solution.  Dare I say?  Yes, lifestyle change.  Even though I've heard many stories of what it will be like, I won't truly understand how it feels until I've been banded.  It makes me a little nervous I confess, but I have a wonderful support system and for the first time in my life I'm moving forward with an optimism and a confidence, that I hope will lead me to be successful on my weight loss journey.  I'm joining the great fraternity of the banded.  May it welcome me with a new healthy outlook and not a hungry stomach.

The Contest

I would like to tell everyone a little bit about the contest.  This may be very unique to the area and am very ignorant to whether if there are other municipalities that offer such opportunities.  I live in the Tampa Bay area and locally we are fortunate enough to have this contest offered by the Palms of Pasadena hospital in St. Petersburg.  They have a nice Bariatric center and are affiliated with some of the best surgeons in the field.  Their website has a lot of great information on it including info on the contest.  You can access the site at http://obesitynomorefl.com/ .  The contest has been offered yearly and starts in January for a sign up period.  The contest is a great opportunity especially for those of us who are insurance challenged such as myself.  If it wasn't for the contest I wouldn't have had this opportunity to change my health and my life.  Thanks again to all that are involved.

The requirements were simple; I had to attend an informational seminar on the procedure, which is a no brainer as you better understand what you are signing up for.  In fact it was at a seminar that I first heard about the contest.  The only other requirement is to sign up on the website consisting of some personal questions on how obesity affects your life and what it would mean to you to win.  My best advice on this part is to be honest with yourself and spill it.  As much as we have been programmed over the years to be ashamed of our obesity by society, you need to open up.  It is a medical condition and should be treated as such.  It was a difficult chore, but I felt better afterwards.  I'd like to believe that it was this frank honest approach that got me to be a finalist.

Once the period for entry submission closes, there is a committee at the hospital, which will go through all the entries to select six finalists.  I never heard an exact figure, but I heard estimates of upwards of 3000 entries were received.  This waiting period was tense as I'm not a patient person plus had a solid no from my insurance already.  This was my only chance and a recent diabetes diagnosis weighed heavily.  I was very fortunate that on Friday afternoon on March 8th on my way back from the Strawberry Festival ironically enough, I received the call from Dr. Jessee's office.  I didn't know what to say.  It felt like I had just won the lottery.  I may have even shed some tears.  The feeling was amazing!

My next steps were to fill out lots of medical forms to become an official patient of Dr. Jessee.  I had to have these forms completed prior to an appointment on Tuesday March 19th.  I got a brief intro to the process plus a photo session.  This photo would be used on the website for the voting period.  Along with this photo, the site would contain a small synapsis of your story.  This was compiled for me from my answers to the questions on my contest entry.  I also needed to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist that they are affiliated with, which I scheduled for the same day to take advantage of being in the area.  As part of this process, I had received a 500 question questionaire,which is to help Dr. Baum(the psychiatrist affiliated with Dr. Jessee's office), evaluate me as a good candidate for the procedure.  My interpretation of this step is to make sure you are in a mentally good place to have the commitment needed for the lifestyle changes required.

Lets talk about what it means to be a finalist and how the actual winners are determined.  As a finalist, I had come a long way, but I hadn't won anything yet.  Out of the six finalists only two would receive free Lap Band surgeries.  Those two are determined simply by votes on the before mentioned website http://obesitynomorefl.com/.  The voting period was from March 29th through April 14th.  Let me tell you, this period of time was very exhausting and stressful.  You have no idea how you are doing.  There isn't a running total some where that you can check and you have no idea what your competition may be up to.  The whole process gave me new respect for some of these politicians who spend months campaigning for a position and in the end may have nothing to show for.  It's not easy to leave it all on the line without any though of chance of success.  Of course they at least have periodic polling.  I tried to say positive as my chances were one third and those odds are pretty good compared to what my insurance was offering, which was 0.

My advice if you find yourself in such a situation is to go all out.  You don't want to lose in the end and feel like you could've done more.  That would be the worst.  You need to get creative with your outlets.  Of course there is the usual friends and family aspect as well as Facebook, but that won't cut it.  The way I look at it, everyone will do that, so if that's all you do, you are going to lose.  You win on the strangers you can mobilize and those voting circles can payoff big as they are reaching out to whole new sets of families and friends besides your own.  My biggest push was through business cards.  I didn't want to do the usual impersonal thing as just leave them on car windows as through experience most of those would just get thrown away.  Instead I walked the parking lots of malls, shopping centers, and the like and physically spoke to each person I handed a card to.  I handed out thousands!  Let me tell you this was no easy task.  I'm not a social person and am anything but comfortable talking to strangers, let alone asking them for their votes.  I felt I had to do it; I had to get out there and try; I owed it to myself.  This was my life we're talking about after all.  If you can't do it for that, then when could you?  The reception was better than I expected.  Of course I got some no's or just plain walk aways, but I also got a lot of positive responses.  People are very sympathetic if you can get your point across and convey that you aren't asking for any money.  I had a good percentage say they would vote and even get others to vote as well.  Sometimes I would even find someone who was willing to help campaign, maybe by taking some of my cards to pass out, sometimes by putting it on their Facebook pages.  Again this was extremely beneficial as this got the word out to whole new voting pools, that were way beyond my knowledge or reach.  I imagine some of these are what won it for me.  My other windfall I believe was my global reach.  I have friends and family world wide and it is my understanding that I received votes from Brazil, Japan, Portugal, Israel, etc.  I was able to mobilize a greater portion of the globe as a potential voting pool than perhaps others did.  I'm very greatful to all of those who helped in my campaign and will do my best to thank them in another post as this one is already getting long.  Suffice to say that I owe you my life as I view this surgery as my one way to reclaim my life.  No longer do I have to wage the losing battle against obesity. I now have won the tool, Lap Band surgery, that gives me the upper hand or should I say upper stomach? As the upper stomach is where the Lap Band resides in my body.  I also already had a trip scheduled at the tail end of the voting period to visit my family in Connecticut.  I used this trip as a campaigning opportunity.  I passed out cards along the way and when I got there.  I ended my campaign on the last night when I was actually asked to leave a Stop & Shop parking lot by the police.  Apparently there was a complaint that I was intimidating the customers.  I think you always feel like you could've done more, but I was spent and freezing.  My hands had gone numb in the cold wind of New England and I was almost greatful to the officer for sending me away.  I was proud that I overcame my fears and took my campaign on the road and was hopeful I had taken it to victory.  Now I had to just wait and see.

Luckily I didn't have to wait too long as they were to be officially published on Friday April 19th.  To not keep the finalists in suspense until then we all received personal phone calls on Wednesday April 17th.  I was at my honorary niece Heley's dress rehearsal for her upcoming recital.  I confess that when I received the call, I was so nervous I had to run out of the theatre to take the call.  Unfortunately I didn't quite make it and had to call back and play a small version of phone tag.  I got the word from Dr. Jessee's office to schedule my free surgery.  I had won!!!  My surgery was scheduled for May 15th and I cried.  How could I not?  It was a big relief.  I was about to change my life.  I confess to being nervous as well.  For so long I was focused on the contest and campaigning that I nearly forgot what I was doing it all for.  After all of this work and effort, what do I win?  I get to have someone cut me open!  Yeah!  I had nearly a month to adjust myself to this new reality and prepare myself for what lies ahead.  I'm so thankful, words cannot express.

Just a footnote here, but all that I've detailed here represents my experiences and in no way guarantees anyone's future success with the contest or even whether the contest will continue in future years.  That is all up to the Palms of Pasadena and the participants who have donated their time, talent, and materials.  Please check http://obesitynomorefl.com/ to stay up to date on information on future contests.

Thanks again,
me

First Steps

Now that I've decided on surgery and had the confidence it would work, I took the necessary first step of going to an informational seminar.  I already knew what surgeon I wanted.  Dr. Jessee was the obvious choice.  Of course she had a great reputation as a top notch surgeon, but also was one of the few who would perform the surgery using the spider technique.  Probably most crucial in my choice of Dr. Jessee was the old standard of word of mouth.  As I had mentioned in a previous post,  I watched a dear friend have an incredible transformation under her care including the spider technique.  For those not familiar the surgery is usually done laparoscopically, where you have several small incisions around the belly, so they can insert their instruments to perform all the surgical tasks.  This is much better than open surgery as it reduces the risk of infection and speeds up the healing process as well.  The spider technique takes this a step further where they reduce the number of incisions from 4-5 down to 2.  They are able to do that by using a special instrument(the spider), through the belly button, which takes the place of several other instruments.  Although the belly button incision tends to be a bit larger, it's a good trade off as the location hides any scarring well and reduces the number of incisions around the belly in more prominent and visible locations.  Not all people can elect to have the spider, because it is heavily dependent on the patient's size parameters.  A reputable surgeon familiar with the technique such as Dr. Jessee should be able to give you an honest assessment after a quick physical examination.

The seminar took place in a hotel meeting room.  They have them scheduled periodically and in different locations to be able to reach as many people as they can.  It was quite informative and I highly recommend that anyone considering such a step as bariatric surgery, should do some good research and attend one of these seminars.  It was very informal and offered a comfortable environment.  I have to say it was a bit reassuring to see so many folks there in the same boat I was in.  There was also some success stories there who were able to share their stories including my friend who volunteered to have a fill done on his band in front of all of us.  A fill is when they add saline to your band to adjust it to a more restrictive state.  This is another very interesting aspect to the Lap Band.  When you first have it inserted it is an empty hollow tube in essence, which is restrictive enough to start out with.  As you lose weight, it loosens as you heal and you lose some fat in that area and becomes less restrictive, so periodically you go in for an adjustment where they add some saline to tighten it up.  This is done through a needle into your port that resides just below your skin on your belly.  I will try and describe this more in detail later after I have my first one which is scheduled for July.  From what I saw it was a pretty simple procedure.  It also works in reverse.  If you find yourself feeling too restrictive you can have an adjustment where they remove some saline to loosen you up.  Again a very ingenious aspect to the Lap Band, that allows individual tayloring of your band, so it can work for you.

At the seminar they gave a presentation discussing the different options as they offer more than just the Lap Band.  There of course is the traditional Gastric Bypass and the newest procedure I believe is the Gastric Sleeve as well as the Lap Band and a couple other variations.  I like the Lap Band as it is less invasive and doesn't require the usual tinkering of your digestive system as the others do.  I'm a big believer in less is more and I felt the Lap Band was my best option.  There was plenty of opportunity to ask questions and there were lots of them.  Of course some of them are financial, and they offered comprehensive information on that as well as a contact(Ashley) in their office to look into what your options are including a review of your insurance.  Dr. Jessee's practice is called Suncoast Bariatrics and they have a lot of good information on their  website http://suncoastbariatrics.com including procedure info, seminar schedules, and information on the team.  If you are in the area, this is a good place to start.

At the seminar I found out about the contest offered by Palms of Pasadena Hospital.  I was planning on submitting an entry for the contest regardless, but became even more important as Ashley informed me that my insurance didn't cover the procedure regardless of the circumstances.  This was a blow to me mentally I have to say.  It felt like just when I found a solution to my health issues related to my weight, it was yanked from me because of an insurance company was being short sited trying to save money in the short run when they could have had some vision and considered the savings in the long run as who knows how expensive my diabetes or other health issues would mount to over the years.  The surgery in the long run would be cheap in comparison.  Unfortunately I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket as I'm currently unemployed and am too fiscally responsible to incur a substantial amount of debt to cover the costs.  There was still the contest, but I wasn't feeling like it was realistic as I envisioned how steep the competition would be; I thought of it more as like a lotto ticket to be honest.  Of course you can't win if you don't play.  What did I have to lose?  All that was required was to attend a seminar, which I already had and to fill out an entry including answering some questions on what the surgery would mean to me.  Certainly it was well worth my time.  I really took my time and took an introspective look at myself and my life and allowed my answers to flow from within.  In the end it was some what an emotionally painful process, but theraputic at the same time.  In the end it's these first steps that got me to where I am today and am so glad I took them.  Thank you Palms of Pasadena, Dr. Jessee and the kind and helpful folks at Suncoast Bariatrics, and Susan Kay from Palms of Pasadena, who also spoke at the seminar.  Thank you for taking the time to share your stories and knowledge and answering all of my questions; all of the information was invaluable to me and is very much appreciated.

Thanks,
me  :-)

Background

I'm fat...  It's a fact that although obvious in that such a state would preclude the need for Lap Band surgery or some other remedy, it bares some discussion on how I got to this state of bulk.  I don't want to spend a tremendous amount of time on this, as I would like this blog to be more about my slimming journey to wellness than a look back at my climb to obesity, but none the less some time is warranted.

I wasn't born this way, although it wasn't long before the word obese was used to describe me.  In fact it took only a week.  For those who do not know I grew up in Connecticut before moving to Florida in the Summer of 1993.  It was to be the promise of a new life and I wanted to start it right and prepared.  To that end I gathered up my medical records from my family doctor who I had had since birth to bring with me to Florida.  To my astonishment I had been born thin and frail as indicated by the first hand written entry.  Next to this entry were instructions to take me home and feed me to gain weight.  Maybe not the best instructions to give a Portuguese grandmother as the very next entry dated a mere week later read, "child is obese, please stop feeding it!"  Not quite sure how I went from thin and frail to obese in a week, but alas that is history.

My grandmother was an incredible woman, who was my primary care giver at home while my mother was at work.  She had one weakness, probably the same as all Portuguese grandmothers, maybe even all grandmothers in general, that of a hungry and insatiable child.  She couldn't deny me a thing when it came to food.  To say her cooking was the best was an understatement.  I know probably everyone says that about their mother or grandmother, but in my case it is based on many opinions beyond my own.  I still remember as a child the seemingly never ending smiling faces of family members parading through on holidays to get their fill.  I remember a local restaurant complaining that they needed her to provide more of her rice pudding as the several trays she provided would disappear in only a couple hours.  I remember friends coming over and wondering what she may have made or just to partake in her home made ice tea.  She made anything from traditional Portuguese dishes such as bacalhau assado to typical American fare such as spaghetti and meatballs.  I can't even tell you about her chicken cutlets.  To consume them bordered on a religious experience.  Alas, I don't want to go too far down this track as it is making me hungry.  I believe I've made my point.

This is in no way meant to blame my poor grandmother; it is merely to illustrate the backdrop.  She only created an ample delicious supply.  I myself provided the insatiable demand.  I am not going to be the addict who blames his suppliers.  I am responsible.  I alone did this to myself and I alone can change it.  There were plenty of times where my grandmother would tell me I had enough or that I should cut back or limit how much I was eating.  I couldn't seem to stop myself.  I felt like I had an insatiable whole in my belly to fill.  One I was determined to feed, whether it was my grandmother's incredible cuisine or my local favorite haunts such as Pepe's Pizza.  I confess to a particular weakness for pizza.  Weight Watcher's would call it my red light food, one where I would be nearly incapable of having in moderation.  I dare say I owe a large part of my obesity to this one food.  God help me I love it so....

On the reverse side of the equation, I was always an active child.  I was very into sports and loved to participate.  I even lettered as a starter of my high school's tennis team.  Unfortunately I didn't balance the ledger; my intakes far outweighed my activity.  I dare say it may have taken Michael Phelps' prowess in the pool to exhaust what I was eating as a young person.  I was cursed with my mother's flat feet and her fear of water relegating me to limited activity as my bulk grew through the years.  I certainly didn't always proceed with reckless abandon.  I've had many attempts through the years at stemming the tide through diet and exercise.  I even have a weight record that goes back to prior to adulthood in an endless cycle of Yo-Yo dieting.  I've done all manner of methods from Weight Watchers to Adkins;  low fat, calorie counting, point systems, low carbs, low sugars, water, soup, etc, etc, etc...  Not to say I didn't have varying degrees of success along the way on some of these attempts.  In fact I remember once going as far as losing as much as 50 pounds on one combination.  Sadly there would always be something to derail my progress or success.  Sometimes it would be an injury such as when I began my chronic battle with plantar fascitis.  For those who do not know, it is a sever debilitating condition of the feet which renders them useless for exercise.  I would at times have to nearly crawl to the bathroom first thing in the morning as it is when the pain was most sever.  Some times I would get discouraged after reaching an endless plateau weight where despite the best of efforts I couldn't break through.  There was always an excuse to eat; perhaps a holiday, a vacation, any social gathering would due.

At some point I started resolving myself to a life of bulk and an eventual surrender to gravity.  But something amazing happened.  I met the woman of my dreams, who became my wife.  With her by my side I had a renewed strength, a resolve.  Unfortunately the usual methods had limited success.  It appears that even with the promise of a new bride and an approaching wedding date, the pounds wouldn't come off with any regularity.  Perhaps my age was catching up to me, maybe it was slowing my metabolism to a turtle's crawl.  Even worse still was my health started going south.  Not to say I always felt like the healthiest individual, but in general I felt fine or at least as fine as I came to expect to feel as normal.  Over the last several years that changed.  Perhaps my youthful vigor gave way to the stodgery of middle age.  I don't know, but it wasn't good.  I lost my breath; I couldn't sleep; I could barely walk.  My activity level was flat-lining.  I felt like I was eating less yet it didn't matter; the die was cast.  My body had sustained damage, maybe permanent?  God I hope not.  A visit to the doctor confirmed some of my worst fears, I had become diabetic.  This put a scare in me.  It was time for a change.  I needed a change desperately.

I can't say that Lap Band surgery or other bariatric optons such as gastric bypass weren't considered before, but my need was never so grave.  I needed to feel that I had exhausted other options, I had to get over my fear of the surgery itself, I had to know it could work, and most of all I had to be ready.  Luckily someone very close to me had followed a similar path and came to this realization a change was needed in their life sooner than I.  They embarked on their journey over a year ago now and the results for them have been astounding, a real success story.  I can't emphasize enough the difference this has made in my thinking.  To know and see on a personal level the great success the surgery could be is all I needed to assuage my fears and doubts.  I was inspired.  It was time.  Time to make a change, a life lasting change.

me

Welcome to my Blog

Hello and welcome to all.  This is my first shot at the blogging world and I hope to learn as I go.  I'm the proud and fortunate winner of the Palms of Pasadena Hospital free Lap Band surgery and wanted to share my experiences through the process.  I hope this will help others and will keep my friends and family in the loop on my journey.

Thanks,
me  :)