The Journey after Lapbanding - 6

Readers of The Trad Pad will know that back in December last year Miss Eagle had the gastric lapbanding operation. She is the third person in her extended family to have this operation done. Below is a comment by a member of her family, a young man in his twenties, who has had the operation too. Miss Eagle thought readers might find his remarks of interest and, perhaps, helpful.

The difference the band has made in my life is remarkable. The only downside is I now get gas, which is just a side effect of my digestion process being slowed down. If you ever get this problem, which I’m told is reasonably common, I suggest a product called Mintec. It's just peppermint oil in a capsule, but it's a bit of a miracle cure for me. The freedom to indulge my love of clothes and shop where I like has been wonderful, and the difference in my fitness is amazing. I'm training for a marathon at the moment, not something I would have ever even conceived of pre-band. I rarely get sick anymore, I had a minor cold early last year, but that's all, I used to get flux and chest infections at the drop of a hat.

It's not just that I eat less, I find myself mentally better equipped to make different food choices, I don't have the same appetite for heavy food that I used to, and enjoy fresh veges more than I ever thought I would.

The difference the band has made in my life is remarkable. The only downside is I now get gas, which is just a side effect of my digestion process being slowed down. If you ever get this problem, which I’m told is reasonably common, I suggest a product called Mintec. It's just peppermint oil in a capsule, but it's a bit of a miracle cure for me. The freedom to indulge my love of clothes and shop where I like has been wonderful, and the difference in my fitness is amazing. I'm training for a marathon at the moment, not something I would have ever even conceived of pre-band. I rarely get sick anymore. I had a minor cold early last year, but that's all. I used to get flux and chest infections at the drop of a hat.

It's not just that I eat less, I find myself mentally better equipped to make different food choices, I don't have the same appetite for heavy food that I used to, and enjoy fresh veges more than I ever thought I would.

Food has become something that on one hand I don't care about anymore and on the other care deeply about. I no longer care much about the fat content or how 'fattening' food is anymore, because I know it's not going to put on weight. On the other hand I have become quite passionate about the quality of my food, I have no issue if something is dripping in cream, just as long as it's high quality cream sourced from an ethical dairy. The guilt of eating something like that in the past meant that I couldn't care less what the quality of it was, just the quantity, now that the guilt and loss of control are gone, I can focus on really enjoying it. I no longer see food as good or bad, just high quality and low quality.