RevyD

I sleep on my stomach and have not problem with the port bothering me at all

Debbie

This is a question for all you post lap banders. I am getting banded next week and have a few questions.

Does it feel like you have something around your stomach? Not sure if that make any sense but I am sure you all know what I mean.

The other thing that I am worried about is the port. Can you always feel it I side of you?

Anything you can provide me would be great.

Thank you

Hi Debbie. I cannot feel it all around my stomach unless of course you eat too much or too fast then you know it is there. The port you can feel through your skin. When you have lost all your weight you can usually see the bulge as well. Some people choose to have the port moved deeper at that time so it cannot be seen.

Debbie

Debbie

Shelby you have done an amazing job, you inspire me

RevyD

You look awesome girlfriend!

Where did you get your tummytuck and other work done?

Did you go back down to Mexico for that?

Thank you. I had my plastic surgery done in Maple Valley ( about 30 minutes from Seattle) by Dr Christopher Nyte. He is amazing and a real artist to say nothing of being a fantastic person. I would highly recommend him for any work you might need done. Just google him and it will take you to his web page. He has lots of before and after pictures as well as prices. Lots of people have used him on the forum.

Debbie

Good for you. I am so excited for you. I arrived by myself the day before surgery. I was taken to the clinic where I had bloodwork, talked to Dr Miranda about diet , and had lung function tests and ECG. Talked with the aneasthitist. I then went back to the Marriott and had a nice evening. I only ate a healthy dinner because did not want to pig out and then end up nauseated or full of gas post op.

I was nothing by mouth after 10 p,m

The next morning I was picked up and driven to the OCC. Was taken to my room where I changed into a gown and sexy paper panties ( NOT hahahaha). Also they put compression stockings on me. I then had an IV started. Dr Ortiz came and talked to me and answered any final questions. I was given an Ativan to relax and taken to the OR. Once on the table everyone was so friendly. Mask was put on my face with oxygen and that is the last thing I remember. Iwoke up in my room a few minutes later. Surgery took 12 minutes .

Since I travelled alone I chose to stay at the OCC overnight. As soon as I was awake they had me up walking. It was no problem to move at all. I did not feel any discomfort mind you I have a high pain tolerance. Perhaps I could say it was a dull ache. As soon as I had some water they removed the IV. I was given popsicles and broth and just walked as much as possible. They had computers there so I was able to send emails etc. Also they had a phone in your room with free phone calls to anywhere in the USA.

Had a good sleep that night, Minor gas discomfort but I found walking and lifting my hands above my head got rid of it. I would lift my hands up an move them around, belch and things were dandy.

In the morning I showered and was driven back to the Marriott. I spent the day relaxing, ate their chicken broth which was good for meals and flew home the next morning.

All in all it was a breeze and I have no complaints about anything.

Debbie

Hi Jenni. I have very thick hair as well. I lost a ton of hair to begin with and it was scarey. Used to come out in clumps. I don't lose hair anymore it just stopped . Probably lost hair for the first 6 months then it was fine.

LIke I said my hair is really thick so it was not too much of an issue. If I thin hair I would have been freaking out probably

Debbie

I am sooooooooooooooooo excited for you. I love my band and it changed my life completely.

How exciting that you can exercise again.. Maybe you can send some of that excitement down my way... LOL

I went to the gym the other day and could only force myself to to 10 minutes on the bike and 10 minutes on the treadmill. I know I need to make myself do it because I am not losing weight. I will go for fill #2 the end of this month and hopefully I will feel some restriction and start to lose some weight. I hear so many people feel better about it when they loose some weight... Hope that happens for me.

HI Sherri. You will definetly lose weight if you follow the rules that were given to you by Dr Ortiz and Miranda. The key for me was exerise. Dr Ortiz said that I had to exerise for a minimum of 30 minutes, 7 days a week. Once I started doing that and feeling better and seeing the scale go down it was easy to up my time. I aso found things I had never done before such as hiking. I love hiking mountians now but would have told you that your were insane had you told me a year ago would be hiking

Exercise is a huge part of your new lifestyle. If you read the posts you will those that are really successful with their bands stared exercising and still are doing it at goal. Believe me when I tell you. Once you start doing in consistently you will begin to look forward to it because of the rapid results you and how wonderful you start to feel. You start to sleep so much better and it is easier to make healthier food choices when you just exercised . My brain says Hey I just worked my tail off so there is no way I am going to screw that workout up by eating junk now. It helps keep you motivated with your eyes on the goal.

Give it some time and you will be like the rest of us just loving exercise.

Hope this helps you

Debbie

I totally understand. Instead of stress eating this morning, I went to the gym and got on the treadmill for 40 minutes and then onto the elliptical machine. I know I will be there tomorrow morning. Love it. And a great way to get rid of some stress.

Paul

Way to go Paul. You keep that up and the weight will melt off

I have an 11 cc band

You rock Shelby !!

Well today is the first day I am aloud to start exercising again post op,. I have missed it so much. I never thought in a million years I would say that

I am supposed to start slow so I walked for 30 minutes and did my strength training with bands on upper body. It feels sooooooooooooooooooooo good to exercise again. I can hardly wait till tomorrow. Dr Nyte had to give me strict quidelines because I run, bike,hike and walk and of course I wanted to start doing it all as fast as possible again so I would not lose muscle mass or cardio ability. I feel good so part of me wants to take off and run but he said it will be at least 6 weeks before I can even attempt that. I am on week 3 now. Anyways thanks for listening to my speel. I am just so dog gon happy I could do some exercise today I could scream. Wanted to share with all my buddies.

One more week and I can swim and I am really looking forward to that as it is hot hot hot up here on Vancouver Island right now .

Have a great day everyone.

Debbie

One day at a time. Keep your mind on the goal and don't dwell on how long it is before you can eat food.

Try variety of liquids etc. Things you have never tried before. Be creative and remember you did this for a lifestyle change. This 21 days is the beginning of your new lifestyle so stick with it no matter what. It is key to your band healing properly

Debbie

Congratulations girl. You stuck with it and are reaping the benefits. I know what you mean about BMI, I have doctors at work tellling me to stop loosing weight because i look perfect and yet according to my BMI I am still overweight. Go figure.

Anyways you are a true inspiration. I have been following you since I started on this forom and you have been a great encouragement and supporter.

Keep up the good work !!!!!!

Debbie

From all the research I did and questioning Dr Miranda and Dr Ortiz I was told that if you go more than 2-3 weeks without loosing anything or maybe just a pound then get a fill.

I was banded Sept 29th last year and have never had a fill following these quidelines. Mind you I have followed the rules , exercised and was very heavy to start so pounds consistently came off. I feel good restriction with my band , have never plateaued or gone more than one week without loosing so I could never justify a fill.

Everyones body is different though so I just feel blessed to be one of the few that have never needed a fill. I did reach my goal set by Dr Miranda in June which was awesome. According to the medical charts I am still classed as overweight at 175 which ticks me off. I am going to try to get to 159 because then I am not classed as overweight at all and my BMI will be normal. My body fat percentage is normal right now and I feel great but it really gets me that I am classed as overweight on the charts so I am going to try and hit 159.

Debbie

Dr Miranda told me 50 grams of protein daily so that is the minimum I eat. I always have a bean salad in the fridge because it is easy to make, tastey and fast to grab for work etc.,

I eat alot of chicken, fish, beans but very little red meat.

I just had major surgery and am healing better than expected so my protein intake must be fine. You need protein for wound healing

Debbie

Good luck. It will be over before you know and your new life style will starting.

Debbie

Well, the time has come. We fly out to San Diego tomorrow morning for surgery on Monday. So excited but I think the reality of my life changing forever is starting to hit me. I've heard such positive feedback from so many people regarding the surgery, the hospital, and even life after banding...I just hope I have all the same experiences. I will post again after surgery...wish me luck!!

Good luck. Tomorrow is the beginning of your new life and you are going to love it

Debbie

Thank you so much Debbie for the support. I dont know what happened, i just lost control. I have done so well and not had this problem until now. will this get any easier once I get my first fill ?

I have never had a fill so cannot answer that question for you. I have been very lucky that I feel restriction without a fill and with just following the rules . I am sure there are others who will respond to your post and be able to answer your questions on fills.

just hang in there okay

Debbie

I was banded 7/2/2010. Things had been going great, Ive lost 22 pounds and feeling good. I blew it tonight, I am soooo mad and disappointed with myself. I completely LOST control and started eating everything in sight. I ate mac a roni and cheese. / I ate half of a cheeseburger patty / then even though i felt full, I ate 2 bites of a polish dog and bun. I dont think i have hardly any restriction ( althoughim not even sure I know what restriction is yet ). I ate the food and didnt vomit or have an PB. I couldnt control myself and am paying fot it now. I feel so bloated, and my stomach hurts, and I have gas. I feel like a failure, I have done so well until now. Im worried i stretched my pouch or that the band is not going to be able to help me........ PLEASE HELP SOMEONE.

Just get back on the horse and learn from this. Alot of us have been emotional eaters and food addicts so you need to learn how to deal with those emotions. When I want to eat I exercise instead and it passes or I drink water and it passes or I review my journal and it helps . You need to find out what you can do to replace those urges. You must be extrememly careful with the band ....you do not want to stretch your pouch and that is a valid concern. Walk it off tonight , gas strips, water and start right now , this minute following the rules set out by Dr Ortiz. The band is a tool to help you make good decisions and control your eating however it is just a tool , you must do the work.

Hang in there and start fresh right now. YOU CAN DO IT

Debbie

On March 1st of this year, I was in the studio for the morning show on the radio station I work at. I was there because we were all going to weigh-in, on the air, for a weight loss competition. As each person stepped on the scale, I watched the numbers. It was clear that no one else was going to be anywhere near where I was. When it became my turn to get on the scale, I stepped up and watched the numbers shoot up to the moon. When the dust settled, I saw that I weighed 420.4 lbs. This was just an unbelievable number to me and acted as the catalyst for my decision to have WLS. I remember at the time wondering if I would be successful, what I could expect, how I would feel. It was all a big mystery, however, one thing I knew for sure was that 420.4 lbs. was enough.

Fast forward to May 7. That morning I had lap band surgery with Dr. Ortiz. He was positive, supportive and made me believe that I could accomplish anything. He didn't judge, he didn't criticize and he didn't make me feel like I was a failure at life because I was so big. I felt like I was making the best/smartest decision I had potentially ever made.

Now we arrive at July 23, 2010, 143 days since I stepped on the scale in the studio and announced to the entire listening audience my inflated weight, I have arrived at a pretty big milestone. On March 1, I weighed 420.4. On July 23, I weighed 318.6. In 143 days I have lost 101.4 lbs. I feel like a million dollars and know that I am still on my journey. I am excited for the continuation and look forward to the future and where I am going to go.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice and help over the last few months.

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go and keep up the good work. I am so proud of you

Debbie,

You look like your healing excellently. Congrats.

I know I have told you this in the past, but you really inspire me.

Thanks for posting pics and giving us your update.

Hugs,

Kristi

Thanks Kristi. I am just trying to pay it forward. I was inspired and still am by so many people on this forom. I am still pretty swollen so I can hardly wait to see what it looks like in 3-4 months

Debbie

WOW !!!!!

I'm AMAZED. it looks awsome. you sure are paying it forward !!! you are such an insperation and can't wait to see follow up pictures.

Thanks Genie . Can't wait till the swelling goes down. I will take more pictures in about 3 months.

Debbie

You look wonderful I am so jealous (in a good way of course!)! I can't wait to see you once your swelling has gone down!!

I can't wait to see me once the swelling goes down to

Debbie

Wow.. and WOW!! What a transformation!! Is there any estimate as to how much (in lbs) Dr Nyte removed? Everything looks so smooth and pretty. Congratulations, Deb!! (Six months will go by like nothin' )

Hi Tootsie. He did not weight the hip or thigh skin but the abdominal skin that was removed was 5.75 pounds.

Deb

Slowly, the weight is coming off...I think I have found my sweet spot...It took a year to get there...I have lost more weight in these last few months than in my entire first year.

If you think your to tight, your probably right. I think for the first year I thought that tighter was better..NO NO NO... Took out one tiny .5cc and it has made the world of diffference. Its a mind game that we all play with ourselves...If you are to tight and not losing, remove some fluid...and let he weight come off...Dr. Ortiz knows what he is talking about!!

Happy Bander here...

Kim

Great post. You are looking good woman

Debbie