Smiley

Don't get discouraged because you are not seeing the results you would like, take pride in the fact that you are seeing results. The weight didn't go on overnight and it won't come off overnight. This band is a life long tool for you to learn to use. You said you are eating pretty much the same as before - that concerns me if you are eating the same amount as before. I was told to limit my food intake to 1 cup and if I am still hungry 30 minutes after eating that 1 cup that I can have another 1/2 cup of something. If what you meant by being able to pretty much eat the same now as before was portion size, just because you can doesn't mean you should. In fact, this principle applies to the types of food, chewing and drinking with meals as well. There are a lot of things we "can" do, but that doesn't mean we "should" do them, especially if we are going to be a partner with our band. I didn't really feel restriction until almost a year after I was banded, but for the most part I wasn't hungry either because I had the right amount of protein and water intake and I watched my portion control. If you are having head hunger, that is an entirely different story and is something that has to be dealt with from a mental standpoint and not a hand to mouth standpoint. I don't know that feeling nausous and vomiting twice is normal. When I do PB, I don't necessarily feel nausous, but if it gets to the point that my stomach rolls, it is just a matter of moments before I will have to give it up. When I have a fill I am supposed to be on clear liquids for 24 hours, full liquids for 24 hours and mushies for another 24 before I can go back to regular food. Is this the same with you, as you said you had a salad for lunch. Regardless, I would suggest going on liquids for a little bit as it sounds like you may have irritated your band, and when the band is irritated you need to be at its mercy. If you have not already started doing so, it is definitely time to start paying attention to how well you chew. Since you did your surgery in Kuwait, do you also live in Kuwait?

Had my second follow-up today. The doctor said all of the incisions looked good, took the belly button stiches out and said I am now allowed to drive - Yippee! He did tell me that he didn't want me to take off and go shopping for 5 or 6 hours, so I informed him that I had already been shopping. I got the look, but I guaranteed him that I hadn't been out for 5 or 6 hours and that I spent no more than 30 minutes standing in each of the 3 stores I was in. He also said that my contour was going to look good - guess we'll see about that. I do still have my drains in as there was just too much drainage still to remove them today. I will call in each morning and report in with hopes of getting them out at some point later this week. Other than the fact that they are annoying when getting dressed and that they look funny under your clothes, they don't bother me. The alternative if they come out too soon is having a needle put in my tummy every day for a week to remove the fluid. Needles in my tummy for a fill/unfill are one thing, but needles in my tummy to remove fluid just doesn't sound as fun to me, so I will be content for a little while longer.

I remember those CA hills. About a year ago we rented a beach front house in Carmel. I decided to walk from the house to downtown Carmel, which was up hill all of the way. I finally started zig zagging the streets so that I could catch my breath on the flat parts. My doctor told me I needed to keep my heartbeat up for 30 minutes of exercise. Well, let me tell you, it was up for much more than 30 minutes. Not only was it up while I was going up those hills, it took at least another 30 minutes for it to calm down once I got to the shops in downtown Carmel and started browsing. I only did that one time while we were there, of course I was only 5 weeks post op at that time and had only lost about 15 pounds. Glad to hear that you have turned over a new leaf and that you have gotten back on the exercise bus. Before you know it you will be running those hills like Rocky ran the steps in the movie.

I am not trying to make light of your plateau by any means, because goodness knows I have been there - praying before I stepped on the scale that it had gone down. But, it just hit me how our mindset changes after being banded. A few years ago I would have been ecstatic to step on the scale for months at a time and see that it had not moved, because at that time I was going up up up. But now, with the goal to be going down down down, it is discouraging to not see the scale moving. Have faith, we have all been there, and you will be going down before you know it.

Congratulations and looking good! =D> I hope my results are that good at the end of 4 weeks I am 9 days out at this point and still feeling and looking kind of puffy. I get the belly button stitches and drains out on Monday, so I might attempt some pictures at that point, but a 3 hour shower will be my first priority.

The waitress approaches you with a concerned look and asks if everything was okay with your meal because you did not eat much of it. Your mother buys you the green bags to store your fruit and vegetables in because she has noticed that you don't get them eaten up before they spoil. You can split a child's meal with your five-year-old nephew and still have leftovers. You have more empty hangers in your closet than you have actual articles of clothing.

It has been about 2 years since I started researching the lap band and in the past two years I have never once heard anything about the lapband causing cancer. I don't think his doctor had his information in the correct working order. I mentioned it to two of my doctors before I had the surgery and they were both very supportive, never saying anything about cancer. In fact, my primary doctor is trying to convince his niece to have lapband and his sister-in-law did have it about 2 years ago. I have heard that artificial sweetners can cause cancer, but I sure do put two packets in every glass of tea I consume. I have also heard that the sun causes cancer, and although I do apply sun lotion when I am going to be out in it and then re-apply it, I still end up sun burnt every blessed time. Sometimes we just have to go forward without living in fear of what something might cause. One thing I do know is that obesity causes many other diseases that are also life threatening, some of which I believe have been certain types of cancer.

Check out the "At My Wit's End" post by SValentino. I think some of the post on that thread are very applicable to your situation as well.

Could it be your port? Each doctor places the port in a little bit different area. Mine is at my waist to the left of my belly button, at least it was before my surgery last week. I haven't searched for it since my surgery, but I assume it is still in the same place.

I have absolutely no problem telling strangers because once I walk away I will never see them again. I do totally understand your attempt to "save" them. I see large people eating large platefuls of food in restaurants or struggling to walk down the street and I just think, sweetheart, your life doesn't have to be like that. It isn't that I am judging them, I just know about a tool that could help them if they wanted to change their life.

Yep, Panera did the same thing as Krispy Kreme a few seasons ago, only they gave away bagels. Then, low and behold a few games in they stopped honoring the coupons because they were giving away too many. Hmmm - maybe their stopping the promotion is what caused the Royals to start going downhill during those seasons. I don't know if there are any promotions this year or not, but if so, hopefully they will keep them going because at this point the Royals are doing pretty well. Don't want to be too complimentary and jinx things.

We went tonight and were told that starting at 10:30 tomorrow morning, each store that has been honoring them will only honor the first 100 customers that come thru with a coupon. After that, they will no longer be honoring the coupons. This decision was made by the president of KFC today because they had a lot more response than they thought they would. Hello - free food at a well know fast food establishment promoted on one of the most watched television programs in the country, why wouldn't they expect a big response.

I only told people that I knew would be supportive. After people started noticing and asked me about it, if I felt comfortable telling them I did, and if I worked with them I swore them to absolute secrecy before I told. If I didn't feel comfortable and didn't trust them, I just told them that I was eating less and exercising more, which was definitely true. More than anything, I just wanted to make sure that this weight loss attempt was going to work. In the end, it really is no one's business, unless you choose to make it their business.

I have read the 60% statistic as well. However, I have never really set a specific goal weight as I have no clue I would look like or what size I would be if I were 142 pounds as an adult. The last time I weighed 142 I was probably in 5th grade. Instead of setting a weight goal, I decided to set a clothes size goal. My goal was to wear 12's before my tummy tuck and 10's after. Before my TT last week I would have been wearing 12's, had I purchased them. I tried them on in stores, but continued to wear my 14's instead of buying new ones. Mom and I went shopping yesterday, but I didn't really try on any pants because of my bruised and swollen bum that will continue to shrink as the swelling goes down. I did buy some tops for both summer and winter because they were very cheap and all of them were a size medium. Don't let yourself get caught up in the 60% weight loss statistic. I had about 4 months when I pretty much plateaued around 200 lbs. which was around my 60% mark. Use this as a time to review the basics of the band and determine to be stronger than your scales.

Yep, my mom and I went to a KFC tonight and after waiting for 10 minutes, we left as it was going to be at least another 30 to 45 minutes before we got to the counter. The good news is that the coupon is valid for another week or so, except Mother's Day.

Hopefully you are drinking at least 64 ounces of liquid each day. Even if you are, that may not be enough. I try to have 40 ounces in by 9 am by having 16 ounces of milk between 5:45 and 6:30 am and 24 ounces of water during my workout from 6:45 until the time I get to the office at 8:30. Sometimes I still have to finish this up by 9 am. Then, 15 minutes after drinking I am allowed to eat and will have my breakfast. If I don't have this much liquid in my by 9 am, there is a good chance I will not get enough in for the day. By the time I leave work around 4 I have usually had another 20 ounces of flavored water and then have 16 ounces of tea or something at night after dinner. Before I had my plastic surgery I had hit a plateau and was not getting in the liquids alluded to above. Once I starting be more conscientious to get in this amount of liquid, I was able to start losing again. However, I have had those months when I just simply was on a plateau, the good news is that they do eventually run their course. Keep your head up, you will get there.

I had my first doctor's appointment today and he was very pleased with my progress and how straight I was able to stand for only being four days out. He was shocked to find out that I have only taken 5 pain pills since leaving the hospital on Friday night, and one of them was before the appointment because I feared the additional pain that would occur during the appointment. If it hadn't been for going to the doctor today I would not have taken one at all today. His nurse was suprised that I had color in my face and that I was acting normally, she said most people are pale and barely functioning on their first follow-up. He took all of the bandages off and the staples out, cleaned the incisions and then put tape over them. The pulling of the tape on my skin is seriously the only thing that hurts. The three drains are still in, which really isn't a big problem. I have to call on Thursday with the amount of drainage and he will decide if he is going to take them out on Friday or on Monday. I am now wearing a binder around my stomach, which I will wear for the next 4 to 6 weeks. He also put compression garments on my arms. I don't have to leave these on if my arms start swelling to much or if I lose feeling in my hands. He did say I could cut them a little bit in the armpit if they got to tight - that is the first thing I had my mom do when we got home. He did do some lipo on my arm, not only for a more conformed appearance, but also to get a tighter lift. While he was marking me on Thursday he said that my left arm was worse than my right arm - had no clue, I thought they were both horrible. It was nice to see that I now have a flat stomach, even though it is still swollen. My belly button stitches will come out on the next visit. However, I do think my butt looks even bigger now, although I am telling myself that I am still swollen and things will change as the swelling goes down. He originally wanted to do a Lower Body Lift, but I was the one that wanted the Tummy Tuck only. I hope I don't regret it, but if I do, I can always move in the direction of a Butt Lift when I do the Inner Thigh Lift. I am not really sure how my inner thighs look at the moment as that is one of the areas that is swollen from the TT. He did pull out my before pictures and the change was very noticeable. We didn't take new pictures as that will come later once the swelling has gone down. I also took some the night before surgery, but have nothing to compare them to at the moment. I promise I will post them once I do have something to make a comparison with. My surgeon was Dr. Joseph Barnthouse in Kansas City. My prices will be off a little bit because I combined the Tummy Tuck and Arm Lift, but I paid about $13,000 for the TT, Arm Lift, Anesthesiologist, and one night hospital stay. If I had done the Lower Body Lift only, all of the fees together would have been about $16,000. For anyone in the KC area or anyone willing to travel, I would definitely recommend Dr. Barnthouse - he is very particular and is the only one that attends to his patients. I did some other consults in which I saw the nurses and staff more than I saw the doctor, but not with him, and I spent two hours in consultations with him before I had even given him a committment verbally or montarily. He also called the my nurses at the hospital to check on me about 11:15 the night of my surgery. The nurse said that was a very normal occurrence for Dr. Barnthouse. My parents were impressed with him as well. When I did my consultation he said as long as I was within 15 to 20 pounds of my goal weight he would be willing to do the surgery. Another surgeon wanted me within 10 and a third surgeon wanted me at a stable weight for six months. In my mind, I have steadily been losing for 14 months, compliments of the tool in my tummy, so it isn't like I have just lost a bunch of weight on my own with nothing except willpower to keep me from gaining weight. I was okay with being within 10 pounds of my goal, even though I don't have a specific goal in mind, just a general range, but he wasn't the surgeon I decided to go with, even though his prices would have been $3,000 less, because I would not have had an overnight stay in the hospital. I was okay with the overnight stay for the extra care from medical professionals as well as IV antibiotics and being given more education on my drains and such. I have typed enough for now as it is time for a glass of milk - I finally found fat free chocolate. I will let you know how the next step goes.

Congratulations on your decision to seek out information as well as on the wonderful man in your life who loves you enough to suggest this to you. I have been banded for 14 months now and have lost 70 pounds. Granted, there were some bumps and frustrations along the way, but I can't even remember half of those now. This was the best decision I have ever made and I only wish this had been an option for me when I was 23. Just imagine what your wedding pictures could look like a year or so from now. Continue to read as much as you can on this forum as well as any others out there. Research will help you decide who you want your surgeon to be as well as get you in the right frame of mind to be successful from the beginning. You already have one of the best sources of support available in your fiance. Keep reading and let us know what you decide.

I would stick with the liquids and wait for a few days. Heartburn for me didn't equal being too tight, it equaled a barely functioning gallbladder. I now take Prilosec OTC every other day and do just fine. Although, the last time I had it was Thursday morning before my surgery and so far so good. I may wait it out and see how long I can go before it comes back. Of course, I am being very careful to eat soft foods and still chew the living daylights out of them. Having something get stuck and have to come back up right now would probably kill me, and if it didn't, I would want it to.

I was 172.5 Thursday morning, which was a 70 lb. loss from the time I started this journey. I am also 5 feet 4 and 3/4 inches and large boned compliments of my German heritage. My parents left about an hour ago to do some running around. Mom didn't bring any long sleeve shirts, so she raided some of my new clothes for 3/4 length sleeves. The last time my mom and I could wear the same clothes was when I was in 4th or 5th grade and I am now 36. As of Wednesday night I was one pant size larger than she was, but once I am healed and the swelling has gone down I am thinking we might also be the same pant size, at least in some styles. The problem is my mom is only 5 feet tall, so her full length pants are high water pants on me.

I had my TT and Arm Lift at Menorah Medical Center on Thursday, April 30th. They took my back to the operating room about 7:45 a.m. and the doctor came out and talked to my parents about 3 p.m. They said it would be a six to eight hour surgery and it was. I spent the night in the hospital and finally got to eat solid foods yesterday. Prior to having to get out of bed and sit in a chair, the worst part of the process was having an extremely dry mouth. Once I got to eat that subsided a little bit, as long as I wasn't sleeping with my mouth hanging open, which according to my dad I was because he took a picture. My doctor wanted me to stay in the hospital until late afternoon or early evening. I think it was somewhere around 6:30 or 7 when I left. I have made a couple of trips upstairs to the bathroom and fixed some breakfast a few minutes ago because I was starving, but other than that I have been in my recliner resting and sleeping. I have not been able to see the incisions yet as they are covered by bandages, but I expect to able to see them on Monday afternoon when I go back to the doctor. I have been and still am very impressed with Dr. Barnthouse, and so where my parents. According to the nurse he called about 11:15 on Thursday night to see how I was, which she said was very normal for him to do. He then checked in with me about 7:10 Friday morning. I really am not in any pain unless I try to stand up or change positions in my chair. Just sitting still and I am basically pain free. I have 3 drains that I have to keep an eye on. I am thinking at least one of them will come out on Monday, but I bet the other two will be in there for a few more days. I do have to walk hunched over, but that is due to the way they taped the dressings on. I figure that by taping them that way if prevents attempting to stand up straight and put undue pressure on the TT scar. My arms do not really hurt, but I can tell when the bandage rubs across the incision in the armpit. He said that wrapping the arms is a very difficult process and they getting the incision in the armpit covered can't be done and still allow me to move my arms. Even though I am swollen and have thick bandages on me, I can already tell that I am missing my fat rolls. He told my parents that he took off about 8 lbs. of skin and fat. I was hoping for more like 10, but oh well. Besides, after being on clear liquids starting at 12:30 on Wednesday and not eating or drinking anything at all on Thursday, I may have dropped a couple of pounds Dr. Barnthouse also told me that he tightened my stomach muscles everywhere except around the port so as to allow better access to the port without having to go thru muscle. Time to do my breathing treatment, but I will keep you updated as I go along.

I hope this is the case. If it is, the only thing that could get to my port and cause it to flip would be a jackhammer. I spent a few months in pain because of scar tissue, but it has now subsided. About once a week I feel a slight twinge of the pain, which is my signal to stop doing whatever I am doing because I have no intention of knowingly allowing that kind of pain to start up again. One thing I learned was that taking deep breaths increased the pain tremendously, so I learned to take small shallow breaths and I also catered my exercise to my pain level.

I went thru SurgeryLoans.com to finance my TT and Arm Lift that are occurring on Thursday. They send out your information to more than one lender. In the end I received 3 or 4 loan options which allowed me to choose the best one for me. My credit score is very good, so I don't know how my experience would line up with yours, but it is worth a try.

Oh how I hope and pray that my tummy looks as good as yours after my TT.

I am not sure if I will get to have a copy of the doctor's pictures or not, so I am going to have my mom take pictures the night before my surgery. I did my pre-op today so the countdown is speeding up. I thought the girls and the elbows were supposed to hang around together and be friends - guess that was my mistake. So sorry!