Life being banded.

Ever since I started thinking about getting Lap-Band back at the beginning of last year, my family & friends have showed me an entirely different side of our relationship.

They are either,

A. Bombarding me with questions or...
B. Quiet and are not saying much.

I know the ones that are quiet have a couple of dozen questions. My aunt Shirley has become the queen of voicing her concerns. Some have asked me when we have been alone, I'm sure this is not to embarrass me, or even themselves by asking something aloud which other people would be like "oh my god, I can't believe she asked that!"

It's concern, and I would rather them ask me and discuss than for a mind to wander.

I had an acquaintance ask a friend if I had it. She said she didn't know if I wanted people to know. If that was true, you wouldn't know. I have nothing to be embarrassed about, I have nothing to hide. While I done good on my own, I needed a tool to help me get health.

Everything from what happens when I reach my goal ("Do they remove the band?") to how many calories I consume a day (400-700) to what it feels like when food gets stuck (like a fist being pushed into your back) has been discussed.

Star Jones tried to say she lost her weight with diet & exercise. While that is part of it, you cannot lose 200 pounds in a year without help. Use your celebrity to help people, you heifer.

So, this is a drawing of what it looks like.

Pretty cool if you ask me. The part above the band is my actual 'stomach' now. As long as their is food in that portion, my brain gets a signal that I'm full. Soups, liquid, ice cream all that soft stuff goes through a lot faster. Hearty stuff, chicken, beef, porky, they all remain for awhile.

Right now, I am about where I need to be. I can eat a cup of solid, protein-y food and remain full for four hours. If I wasn't not here yet, I would have to get an adjustment where they insert saline between your band & stomach. This tightens it, causing you to remain fuller longer. I am at 3ccs of saline right now.

Of course, like with anything, I have complications.

Sinus drainage is probably the worse. The mucus covers the port around my stomach making me 'signal' that I'm full and if I get food that cannot break it up...well, let's just say, it's not pretty. This is what I get living in a place where it is 103 degrees one day, and 50 degrees the next.

I am also dealing with some social pressure. Not from my friends, who are fantastic, but from the fact that when you are in a social setting and people are eating - you want to eat as well. It can make you feel very different when you are sitting in a restaurant and the person you are with is chowing down, people around you are chowing...and you have just ate three bites of chili.

Just being in that setting makes you want to eat. Makes you want to keep consuming. And more than once, that has bitten me in the ass.

But, besides the small complications, I have enjoyed this experience so far. It has been three months and I'm at 25 pounds lost since surgery. I'm not trying to look at the actual poundage, my nurse said to focus more on how I feel - which is better. And I have lost a massive amount of inches.

My life is different now. Everyone who is around me has had to adjust to my new relationship with food. It's weird, you never know how much you miss it until you rarely eat.

If you have any questions, just ask me.