tangerine

Hi everyone! What a nice place Alex has set up for us here! As much as I love Spotlight and the Yahoo groups, it's nice to have a message board format just for us Bandsters. Let's spread the word! Alexis :twisted: :shock: Fun emoticons too. lol

Let's get this party started! I'm Alexis, from the New Jersey shore, sharing my house with a 5 year old Great Dane and two cats. I'll be 31 next month (August 18th for those inclined to give gifts ) and have been banded since February 3, 2003. I was banded in NYC at Lenox Hill Hospital by Dr. Marina Kurian. The hospital was great, Dr. Kurian is amazing, and my surgery went off without a hitch. I'm a restaurant manager and just love my job, as tiring as it is! In October, I weighed 345lbs. Somehow managed to lose 25lbs before surgery, despite many, many last suppers at the likes of Wendy's and McDonald's. Yes, Virginia, I AM a fast food freak. Although, not so much anymore. As of my last doctor's visit on July 11, 2003, I weigh 259lbs. So, if you count from my highest weight, I've lost 86lbs. Went from a size 28 to a size 18 and I'm not nearly finished! I just can't say how much this band has done for me. Simply put, it's given me my life back.

Tonia was kind enough to compile the Banding 101 thread from Spotlight and organize it into FAQ format on a website. Visit http://hometown.aol.com/texasrosey/ to answer some of your questions!

Estela, congrats on your upcoming surgery! You too, deyanne, I hope the band works out to be an amazing tool for you. I stayed one night in the hospital, my surgeon insisted on it since I had a 2 hour ride home. He didn't want me to have to endure that mere hours after my surgery. Most tummy tucks are done on an outpatient basis, though, so you would have to ask your doctor to be sure. You'll have to ask your doctor about the stitches/staples as well. My surgeon doesn't believe in staples for a cosmetic procedure, so I had thousands of dissolving stitches underneath the skin, and then steri-strips holding the external incision together. The only visible stitches that I had were the two holding the drains in. My scar is extremely thin and nearly perfect; in some places you can't even see it. Ask your doctor where your scar will be as well. Mine is just above my thighs, from hip to hip, so you can't see it even with the tiniest of tiny undies on. Pain. That's so relative! I never had incision pain. Since so many nerves and vasculature is cut, you will be numb. I'm still kind of numb in some spots, and every once in a while, I get little twinges or tingles in the incision area. The incision burned a bit about a week or so after the surgery, but it wasn't really painful. Your abdominal muscles will hurt though, and if you have horrible swelling like I had (I sure wish you don't!), the pressure is painful. The doctor will give you good drugs though, so use them! You'll learn new ways to get up from a sitting position, and you won't be able to lay flat or walk upright for a couple of weeks. The most pain I had was in my back from walking bent over for so long! :cool: I'm a bartender, so I was out of work for about 6 weeks total...I tried to go back earlier, but I had to keep leaving early...but I could definitely have done a desk job at 3 weeks as long as it didn't require a whole lot of walking. My lifesavers were kotex pads, believe it or not! One of my drains was leaking out of the hole instead of into the drain tube, and kotex pads are much more absorbent and cheaper than gauze pads. My incision drained for a long time too, from the seroma (Fluid collected under the skin), so the kotex saved my life. You may not need them, but I recommend that you buy a bag of the "overnights" and have them in the house just in case. I don't know if you've ever had drains before, but it's really kinda funky when the doctor pulls them out. Not painful per se, but really, really weird. I wasn't quite prepared for how weird it would be. The drain holes were tender while the drains were in, but mine were only in for 4 days, so they never got too bad. Once the drains were out, the holes closed up in about 2 days. I'm glad that you will have help! You will need it, and make sure you ask for help even if you don't think you really need it. And make your mom stay in the bathroom with you when you shower the first few times! Showering was very tough for me, because I felt so weird and unstable without the binder on. Now my abdominal muscles are stronger than ever, but those first 4 weeks or so it was SO hard to be without the binder. Don't push yourself, definitely use the pain medication, but don't be aftraid to let your body feel *some* pain so you know where your limits are. I think I've covered most of it, if I haven't bored you to tears already. Just make sure you follow your surgeon's instructions and make sure you find out about follow-up care. I could call my surgeon's service at 2am and get a call back from him within 10 minutes if I were having a problem. Make sure your surgeon will be available to you for any problems that may arise. Oh! I asked for a script for Roxicet in the hospital. It's the liquid form of percocet. It works almost immediately and I was able to swallow it with ease. I didn't get unfilled before my surgery and I was SO afraid of how my band was going to react, and I didn't want to try to swallow pills. Turned out that my band was fine and I could swallow pills, but I'd ask for Roxicet instead of percocet in a heartbeat again next time since it just made life easier. Percocet is not fun to try to eat crushed up in applesauce if you're having a cranky band day! If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask here, or PM me. I'll answer anything I can!

Marie, there's always hope! A lot of surgeons will also code the TT as a panniculectomy and then perform an abdominoplasty. You really have to find a surgeon who knows his/her way around insurance issues and then have a primary doctor who recommends an abdominoplasty instead of a panni. Doesn't always work, but a lot of the time, as long as the doctors know what they're doing, it does!

Thank you girlies! I haven't had any kids, but being fat since I was 5 years old and carrying most of it in my belly wasn't too kind to my skin. My belly wasn't going anywhere either, no matter how much I lost. The thighs still need to be done, unfortunately. I cropped them out of the after picture, but the inner thigh still hangs and gives me a horrible look in clothes. I work out like crazy, yet my thighs still have that lovely inner roll. I'm saving them for last though, since they're supposed to be the worst procedure pain- and recovery-wise. Bikini panties, YES! I love, love, love wearing them. I always hated wearing underwear because of how they looked on me, now I'm breaking the bank by visiting Victoria's Secret all the time. I just took a side picture today, hadn't taken one of those yet. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. It really wasn't bad, and it was SO worth it.

Hi Vera! I'm doing well, as I hope you are. Been extremely busy with work as usual, so I haven't been around any of the boards at all lately. I keep vowing that I'll spend more time, but it never happens. lol I just posted fairly new before and after TT pics on another thread here, "I want a TT". I'm glad to see you! I haven't gotten to poke around the other forums here yet, but I'll make some time to do that tonight after work. It was so nice to have the time off for the TT, that I want more plastic surgery NOW!

I had my tummy tuck on October 29, 2004. The surgeon removed 17lbs of skin and fat and tightened the abdominal muscles. My recovery wasn't particularly painful, but it was long. Since the surgeon removed so much skin (and I still have more to go!), my body panicked and compensated for the loss of the skin and fat by filling up with Fluid. The swelling was awful. It wasn't painful as much as it was uncomfortable, from the pressure of the swelling. I went into the surgery a size 16 and came out a size 20! I'm back to a 16 now and in some 14's. I got very tired easily and wasn't able to go back to work full time for about 6 weeks. I'm a bartender though, and am on my feet for at least 8 hours a day. That wasn't easy right after surgery and I found myself having to leave work early quite often in the first few weeks. My best tips are to have someone with you for at least the first week and to sleep in a recliner. You will NOT be able to lay flat for a couple of weeks. The recliner was my best friend. The recovery really wasn't bad though, despite the swelling and the extra time off of work. And the results are amazing. I can do so much more now that I don't have all of that skin hanging off of my belly. It interfered with everything and now it's not there. Now to get my thighs, breasts and arms done!

My tummy tuck (not panniculectomy) was covered by insurance. I had to have documentation of rashes and back/hip pain from doctors. I also had to write my own letter of how the extra skin had adversely affected my life. I was approved for and received an abdominoplasty, so it is possible to get insurance to cover more than just a panniculectomy.

New York City? I can't recommend Dr. Kurian highly enough. Her website is www.nomoreobesity.com all of her contact information is on there. There is also Dr. Ren, who is supposed to be wonderful.

I posted some pics in my blog...check 'em out if you wanna. I have a before at 350, one at 260 and today at 220. http://www.xanga.com/scarletini

Thank you Sue, Debra, Vera! It really is so hard to see your progress until you put a few pics up together. Debra, I've been thinking I looked older! The fat in my face smoothed out all of my wrinkles! lol At 31, I have a neck waddle to die for! I didn't think I'd wind up with loose skin on my neck, but it's nothing that a lil neck lift somewhere along the line won't take care of. Thank you for the compliment though, I certainly do *feel* younger.

Thank you Alexandra! I used to fret that I'd never be petite. Petite girls are always so *cute*. But, there's no surgical cure for my height, so I decided that being "willowy" is just as good as being petite. At my highest weight, I always felt stumpy and dumpy, even though I was still 5'10". Now that so much of that weight is gone, I can see that I'm not stumpy. I still have a ways to go, but now I marvel at my long fingers and arms and legs. I even have a nice long neck now. Never had a neck before...just a head and two huge shoulders. lol Even my toes are longer than some peoples' fingers. I thought it was ugly for so long...but it took a nasty drunk lady to teach me that it's not so bad! It's been a weird trip for me. Joisey girls unite...big hair and all!

I have a hard time with the initial portion size myself. Ordering a small anything is awfully though, even now, and like Donali said, especially when I'm hungry. I just posted this in my blog the other day, might help you understand some of the feelings you'll go through: I've come to realize that even when I *think* I'm eating a lot, I'm really not. Last night we went to the diner after work and I was dying for a hot open faced roast beef sandwich. Of course, it comes with salad, potato and a vegetable. I was starving, but wound up eating the cucumbers off of the salad, a few green Beans, about 1/4c of the mashed potatoes and three small bites of the sandwich. I was completely satisfied and happy, feeling like I ate like a pig. I really didn't. Being able to have a taste of everything makes me feel like I'm eating the same way I did before surgery, just a lot less. I think it's a mental thing...I'm not depriving myself of anything on the plate, but the difference is that I only need a taste of it now, as opposed to eating every last bit of everything they brought me. I love to share food now too. I never shared food in the past, coming close to growling if someone tried to take some of my food. Now I offer my food to everyone in my vicinity. If people at adjacent tables wouldn't think I was nuts, I'd offer it to them too. I still struggle though. I miss the binging days sometimes. If someone wants to split a sandwich with me, I get panicky, thinking that a half of a half of a sandwich isn't going to be enough for me to eat. I'll wind up pulling the insides out of that tiny bit of sandwich, eating most of them and eating a bite of the bread that it came on and being completely full. I *know* that I won't be able to eat the whole thing myself, and that I can barely eat half of it, but my brain says I need to eat the whole thing. I want to eat the whole thing, but can't. Once I eat my piece of it, I'm fine, I usually won't try to eat the whole thing, but it's before that gets me. I *need* to have that whole sandwich in front of me, so I can leave it behind. Or give it away of my own volition. But if I start out with just a piece of it, my brain doesn't think I'll be satisfied, even though I always am in the end. I really don't know if I'm making sense, or if I even have a point to make here. I'm just kinda rambling. It's really quite freeing to pick at my food, to push it around on my plate, to give most of it away. I'm not afraid to eat in front of people anymore. I'm still fat, but I don't feel like people are looking at me while I eat and thinking, "holy shit, lookit the fat girl go!" Most likely, if they're thinking anything of me at all, they're thinking, "jeez, she's a strange eater"..lol But the point is, it doesn't really matter anymore. I'm proud when I eat three bites and push it away. I feel like the skinny girl. I feel that food isn't so important anymore. And it really isn't, even though I've just dedicated a whole post to it.

Donali, I'll be right over. What movie do you want to go see? Or doesn't it matter? lol

I have no problems with popcorn. Gummy bears are usually okay, but sometimes they give me problems. I'm a bad girl at the movies...I get a child's size popcorn and a box of raisinettes and mix them together. I eat about half of the thing of popcorn/raisinette combo, then give it away. Before surgery, I would have eaten a tub of popcorn and various chocolates. I still allow myself that stuff, just in much smaller portions now. Relax, you will be normal!

And you most certainly shouldn't have to! Having fun is a part of life, and that's why we had the band...to experience *life* again!

7-11 has Crystal Light slurpees now too! They're very good. I get them sometimes when I'm in the mood for something cold and sweet. I can only drink about 3/4's of the small ones though. However, since I can't drink a huge slurpee like I used to, if I don't like the Crystal Light flavor of the day, I get a regular slurpee. Hmm, maybe I'll have to stop at 7-11 on my way to work.

Oh heavenly nectar of the Gods! Bawls is a high caffeine soda with guarana, they taste a little bit like cream soda. Oh so good! They're what keep me going at work.

Some people say that carbonation stretches out the pouch, some say it's fine. Just follow the instructions that YOUR doctor gave you. I dunno about carbonation on a very new pouch though. Like Alexandra, carbonation bloats me big time, and I would think that it might be painful if you've just been banded. That said, I do drink carbonated drinks, mainly sugar-free Bawls, but I have to pour it over ice to get rid of some of the carbonation, and even then, I'm full for hours after one 12oz bottle!

Good luck, DeLarla! I'm sure you'll come through with flying pigs...err...colors!

My restriction varies too greatly to give a definite answer on this question. Sunday night I was able to eat 5 buffalo wings and half a loaf of garlic bread (!) and yesterday I was done after a few bites of taco salad. There's NO way I could have even had a bite of bread yesterday. I can eat a burger, but no bun. I don't even try fast food burgers anymore, they're nasty without the bun, so I stick with salads when I go fast food. Pasta for me is never a good idea. It doesn't chew down well and gets stuck every time. I can eat an open-faced sandwich if the bread is toasted and sliced thin. Most days, anyway. Then there are those days when a half a loaf of garlic bread goes right down. :cool: I pull apart all of my food now. Especially sandwiches. Off comes the top, I eat a few bites of what's inside, eat a small bite of bread, eat some more insides, etc. So no, to someone watching me eat, I don't eat normally, and probably never will again. However, this doesn't bother me. Most people are amused by my food quirks, and I'm actually much more comfortable eating in front of people now that I pick at my food instead of inhaling it. It's really not a bad thing, this band!

Sue, I think you should go for it too! Why should you put up with rashes for any longer than necessary? I had my PS consult 2 weeks ago, and even though I'm not at goal, I get rashes and infections and hip pain so frquently, that he's willing to do it now. Luckily I had a rash the day I went to see him, so he took pictures of it and the office is working on getting me insurance approval now. I'm not looking forward to another surgery, but I can't deal with these problems anymore. Not to mention how freakin' awful I look in clothes! Good luck. I may have to borrow that cheap, used recliner when you're done with it. :mad:

I'm cranky, I'm clingy, I'm needy, I'm bitchy, I'm bloaty. I'm hating everything about being a woman right now and I'm hating my band even more. After all this time, I've learned some ways to deal with my emotions rather than stuffing them down with food, but PMS is hitting me hard this month and nothing is working. All I want to do is eat. I CAN'T EAT! I figured I'd drive 20 minutes to get a take out salad from the new Saladworks. Normally, I'd just pop through Wendy's or go to Subway or something to get a salad, but I figured I'd treat myself with a trip to Saladworks. I got a nice garden salad with extra cucumbers and broccoli, diced chicken and balsamic vinaigrette. Two bites, gets stuck, goes down after much spitting saliva into the sink. Decide maybe I need something a little easier to eat. Drive to Taco Bell, get a crunchy taco with fire sauce. Three bites of taco, I'm done. It's stuck. Repeat steps above. Hate to vomit and will happily drool until it goes down or I have no other choice. Taco goes down, the rest gets thrown out and I give up. I should be happy that my band kept me from binging, but I'm not. Usually I am, usually I'm ecstatic, but damnit, I had NO restriction yesterday, but I wasn't feeling nearly as PMS-y so I ate normally. Today I'm totally PMS-y and I can't eat. Grr. GRRR! I'm sure I'll be happy later that I didn't go hog wild with the food, but right now I'm just pissed. I couldn't even enjoy the food that I did eat, because each bite hurt. Guess the head issues never really go away and the only thing we can do now is deal with them, instead of eating. But, totally whiny, I don't *wanna* deal with them today. Hmmph. Thanks for letting me vent. :mad:

Better today. Thanks, ladies! Shopping would have been nice, but the dog had to go see a neurologist today and I needed to save every penny I had! Donali, this total frustration and pissy-ness only happened to me once before too. I was only two weeks out and found myself sitting in front of my computer crying because I wanted a Wendy's big bacon classic. It was *horrible* and I was so thankful I'd only gone through it that one time. And yesterday. Wonder how many more of these days I have ahead of me! Sucks though, when you have no money to go shopping and even ice cream hurts. I wonder if it has anything to do with the bloating...