Cazzy

I wouldn't make an emergency of it, but would call after the weekend. U won't necessarily not lose weight by having some taken out of your band, as u will be able to eat all your proteins etc without worrying about getting stuck. if we are too tight we tend eat more slider type foods either which contain more calories or we eat more often as we are hungrier. It's all a matter of balance .. Good luck and hope u get it resolved soon.

Just an updater my breast lift surgery is scheduled for March 23rd 2013 .. the final piece of the puzzle for me, I cannot wait to get rid of these saggy lumps on my chest ! at the moment i am a 36/38 DD I am hoping for a C cup. My other surgeries have all healed really well, i need a small revision to the sagging skin still remaining around my knees after my thigh operation, but am really looking forward to finishing having to have all these operations. I never imagined that when i had a lap band fitted i would end up with 23 hours worth of plastic surgery too !

I totally agree with lellow, i have lost all my weight with no protien shakes at all, i think its a marketing thing in the US they certainly dont push protein shakes in the Uk.. Just eat good nutritional food at whatever level calories u burn best at, normally around 1000 - 1200 and u will lose weight but also remain healthy Might be an idea to see a nutritionist tho, these are just opinions from members normally based on experience so its up to you how far you take it, but always seek your own medical / nutritional advice if you need to .. Good luck with the number crunching on the calories

I am over 2 yrs banded with no complications and like other longer term bandsters we tend to drift away but do visit back again sometimes !

''Third major problem: (was not told this ahead of time either) weight gain is guaranteed if you DRINK liquids with your meals, had I been told this I would have never gotten it because I know I drink with nearly every bite I eat. I knew there would be diet changes, etc, but not this! '' In my opinion thats just not normal whether u are banded or not !

Kathy i am so happy for you that u have lost all the weight u wanted to and now face the surgeons knife again to get rid of the excess skin, I have had 2 of my 3 skin removal surgeries and will be going for my breast lift which is the last surgery in a couple of months time, having lost 240lbs myself i know how much hard work you have put in and know how much spare skin u have been left with. All i can say is that this more than anything choose your surgeon wisely, and make sure you have all the information to take as few risks as possible. I am in the UK so we dont have a Mexico to go to but many have gone to europe and been very happy with the results, but our safety net is the health service here that will help if things go wrong, so make sure u get your surgery done and have a safet net to fall back on if u need to good luck !

well done and good luck .. all that hard work and fighting sometimes pays off .

You too Tracey..

From what i have read from previous people on this forum, some insurance companies will cover it but the problems that the excess skin are creating have to be very well documented, i.e visits to the doctors regarding the rashes, plenty of photographic evidence etc .. u need to find out if your insurance will cover this cost if there is a medical need for it, then go about gathering your evidence to prove you have a medical need. I am in the UK but the process would be very similar if we were trying to get the national health service to pay for this. Some companies also require an apron of skin more than 5 inches below the pubis bone, some may require shorter amounts but they are of course all hurdles put there to weed out the masses good luck with it, find the criteria then go about proving need ..!

I am double the age you are and lost double the weight and i like floridays did great, i am sure u will do really well and recover quickly, i had a lot of surgery done and i didnt really get any pain apart from the drainage tubes, once they were out it was just a case of resting. You are young enough to have great results and i am sure u wont regret any of it. good luck ! i am 7 months post op on my abdominoplasty 360degrees and brachioplasty and 10 weeks post op on my bi lateral inner thigh lift. 18 hours surgery so far and breast lift next march to completel the job. I had no problems standing up at all

I am doing well thanks, i got over my stitch abscesses and i still wear compression as i bought myself the leggings in black and just wear them like any leggings, the scars are doing great now i will get to take some pics soon for u, given the state of my legs before the operation they look 100% better now, although will never be perfect The longer u wear compression on any scars the better the results, u must keep them moisturised too to keep the skin from contracting a little. My surgeon is a great believer in natural remedies and insists that u massage the scar skin as often as possible to keep it flat and supple .. seems to work

Dont be so hard on yourself, there are times when exercising or going to the gym just arent possible or practical, as long as u maintain your eating regime and do as the above poster suggested, move more at home, run up the stairs, leg lift while u wait for things to cook or the kettle to boil, this will all keep u on track, if u have a few weeks where your normal exercising isnt possible, your whole weight loss journey wont end, its just a little detour in the grande scheme of things, just pick it up again when u can fit it in, life has to go on I had to stop exercising for 6 weeks after my surgery, i got through it, and now enjoying it again.. good luck !

My BMI was 68.7 and look how much weight i lost with a lapband and there are plenty of others too. The success of the lapband , like all weight loss surgery is down to your determination to make it work, even a sleeve or bypass will fail if u dont continue to work with them. Bypass and sleeve may be quicker solutions but some of us did it just as quick, and not having your internal plumbing rerouted was a big deciding factor for me. There are people who had a bypass and still end up with a lapband, and there are lapbanders who end up with bypasses and sleeves. personally i think its individual choice as nothing is a 100% guaranteed success. good luck with whatever you decide.

I weigh every day and record it once a week, i also need accountability, i got to 400lbs by not weighing myself, i will never make that mistake again. U must make sure u weigh the same time every day, normally first thing after bathroom stuff and without clothes or just underwear, it has to be the same thing every day for u to get an accurate account, some weigh 2 x daily, thats ok too, if u have eaten a lot the nighttime weigh in will show you. The scales are a tool like the band, make them your friend not your enemy and get a good set of scales, preferably electronic ones and dont move them even a different flooring can make them say a different amount..

It sounds like u need to find another doctor or check out your fill level again, to be at 9 1/2 cc within 3 months is very quick, and certainly not recommended by most surgeons, yes there are some people the band just doesnt kick in and work for but this normally comes to light after a year or so, not after so short a time being banded. Ask for the levels to be checked and then see a nutritionist, if u are diabetic, you should be eating on a regular basis throughout the day anyways once a day and taking metformin, is just not going to help you. Good luck with this.......... if your numbers are right , i would ask for a total unfill and start from scratch

My band always tightens up in the cold weather !

Let us know how u get on

Yes they are pricey but the absolute best, lets be honest if your surgery cost $90 dollars more u still would have gone ahead with it, so maybe just get one garment, they dry in a couple of hours so u can get away with just one .. or what i would do is also get yourself some small tubigrip bandage and u can then apply additional pressure on top of the athletic pressure.if u get the right width one, the more pressure the better the scars heal, some scars heal ok without it, but i dont think its worth taking that risk. Athletic compression and cycling compression is good but not as great as the surgical ones .. if i was in the US i would lend you mine lol i wont need mine again till next year when i have a breast lisft done and will use the same garments as my brachioplasty ones. I got the black tops they look like a 3/4 sleeve top .. good luck with the surgery and compression. You will love your new arms !

Am doing really good, i did develop a small seroma top of right thigh ( fluid filled area under scar) i have had it drained a couple of times and am wearing really tight compression on it, the rest of the scar looking really neat and thin, will post some pictures again when i get time. Have started cycling again as i was turning into a couch potatoe !

I had a Brachioplasty in May this year i wore this garment from Marena http://marenagroup.com/garmentstore/product/tabid/199/p-77-low-cut-female-vest.aspx A cheaper alternative would be compression arm warmers which cyclists wear. The hospital paid for all my compression garments so cost wasnt really an issue. Good luck with your surgery tho

The majority of the cutting in an inner thigh lift is a vertical cut, this does not actually sever many nerves. Horizontal cuts like our tummy tuck etc, cut across the nerves and therefore damage them more extensively. I would certainly ask your surgeon about it, but i have never heard of anyone having that problem involving those nerves u mention.

From what i read from the UK people who went to Belgium the fills are done in varying centres around the uk, not expensive at all and there is a telephone help line based in London i think, i know its a long thread but if u go back to the older posts on this thread i remember many people having the same questions u have and people posting answers to them. I dont think anyone has had problems getting fills in the Uk, Ireland i am not so sure about, but the help line numbers would be able to give u that info. Good luck with your surgery Dr. Chris really has nothing but great reviews on here, so it would be safe to assume he comes highly recommended

Way to go Andrew ! good job and keep up the hard work, it will all be worth it in the end, its good to hear you are getting your life back now

Andrews post is a year old ! I am sure he had surgery by now lol !

Might be an idea to post your question in this thread as everyone here has had surgery in Belgium and they can give u all the info u need on what happens and aftercare etc. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/40427-anyone-know-of-dr-de-bruyne-chris I had my surgery with Nuffield Hospital and their aftercare is brilliant but obviously more expensive than belgium. Good luck