TLL

How old are you? 33 What surgery did you have? Lapband Male or female? Female How much weight did you lose? 84 so far with a lot more to go! How fast did you lose your weight? Sometimes it drips off me, others it feels like it's going to hang on forever! Was banded late July 2013. If you are female and didn't have cosmetic surgery, are you comfortable enough to go to the beach in a bikini? PFFFFT. lol How much loose skin do you have? My arms are going to be really bad, I can already tell. I'm not shocked though, I've always had huge arms anyway. If I ever get up the nerve and money in the future to have plastics, my arms will def be the first to go. I'm just now starting to see signs on my stomach of how much skin there's going to be, I think it will be relatively substantial but possibly not so much that I will feel like I absolutely have to have a tummy tuck to go on. I'm worried to see how my thighs and legs will end up. I've always had tree trunks for legs. I can't even visually imagine what they will look like if the fat is ever gone off of them.

What a neat idea! It's a bit out of my budget and I really have no use for such fancy clothes since I live in jeans and tees, but I just love the whole concept!

I completely understand where you all are coming from, I've been thinking about this a lot the last of couple of days myself. I truly love that I'm losing weight, looking and feeling better. I'm so glad people are noticing, and now that I've bought clothes that fit me properly, I'm hearing lots of compliments. And it's awesome! It really is, it makes you feel great. But I'm also extremely shy and don't like to be the center of attention, I'd much rather blend in with the wallpaper. People keep referring to me as "skinny". When my dad did it, it was cute. But now everyone at work has started in with the same thing. I'm obviously still FAR from skinny. It makes me feel awkward and I never know how to respond. I've been saying things like "Hopefully one day!" or "I've still got a long way to go before I make it to 'skinny'"! It's definitely a two sided card. I love the compliments, but at the same time, the attention is unnerving!

This weekend we (our family) moved my sister and her husband in with our mom. I was easily able to keep up with everyone and put in 150% effort in help moving heavy furniture, climbing around in the back of a U-haul, etc. My dad kept calling me "skinny", even though I still weigh about 15 pounds more than I did when he first started really backing and pushing (in a good way) me to get WLS years and years ago. haha Of course, I came home sore that night and the next day, but from the sound of things, I fared a whole lot better than everyone else! Lots of complaining about barely being able to move! The ONLY downside, and it can hardly even be called that, is that my bones have a lot less meat covering them now, so I did end up with several nasty bruises on my hips and shoulders from banging them around. I just can't seem to remember that they're there again! I love when the rewards of my weight loss become this evident! And all of that time at the gym with the weights is really paying off, as well!

Try going to Youtube and searching "Chair Cardio". It was about all I could do during the time I had a fracture in my foot. I couldn't even go to the gym because they won't let you in with one of those big walking boots on your foot. You may have to omit the foot movements out of some of them, but maybe you can find something to help.

Yup, definitely varies! My surgery and post-op was a complete breeze for me. I truly believe if I had a office job sitting at a desk all day, I could have went back to work within 48 hours. However, having a physically demanding job with a lot of heavy lifting, I took the remainder of my PTO off and was off a week and a half. 11 days, I believe. Thursday and Friday, weekend, following week, weekend, back to work. I was soooo bored and ready to get back out into the world by then!

Name, real or screen~ Tara Goal weight for March 31st~ 226 Weight on March 1st~ 234 Age~ 33 City/State~ Elizabethtown, KY Dietary goal for March~ Cut out more carbs and control between meal snacking better Exercise goal for March~ NO EXCUSES! No skipping gym days because the weather is too cold, roads are too bad, tired, etc. Personal goal for March~ Spend more time outside as it warms up and start working on building my raised garden beds. Date banded~ July 24, 2013 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~ 84 lbs What are you lucky to have in your life? My husband! <3

Sounds awesome, I've got a spaghetti squash in the kitchen that was just waiting for this recipe! Minus the olives, of course.

I reeeeally want to try Biotin, mainly for my crappy nails. But I'm so afraid of the acne part of it that so many people seem to have trouble with! I had gorgeous skin in my teens, but it has just gotten worse and worse in adult life. Not sure I'm ready to make that trade!

I agree with Cheryl, call your surgeon. They didn't intentionally put any Fluid in my band initially, either, but I was having a lot of the same symptoms you are describing. I couldn't even take the tiniest sip of Water without intense pain. I was crying and telling my husband that if THIS was what the band was supposed to be like...I wanted it OUT! When I finally got in to see someone 7 days post op, they accessed my port and found 1cc had been accidentally left in the band after testing it. As soon as the fluid was out I had instant relief.

Congratulations!!! I'm always so excited for the newly banded...this is your new beginning!!!

Give yourself another week or so to see if your fill "settles", I've noticed a lot of people seem to have a little rougher of a time during the time following a fill. I'm guessing you're a bit swollen and your body needs time to adjust. Try drinking warm drinks in the morning to help loosen your band a bit. If you get a couple of weeks out and are still having trouble with solids and not feeling well, then perhaps it will be time to call your surgeon to get his opinion on things. Good luck!

Oh now he is just gorgeous! Congratulations on your new family member!

You look absolutely amazing! Great work!

I thought my BMI showed to be 51 or something by the Tanita scale, but for the life of me I suddenly can't find my "bariatric bag" I was keeping everything together in. By generic weight/height calculations it should have been 58ish. My doctor never mentioned my BMI being too high, nor did he recommend me having any other type of bariatric surgery. Although, there's a chance that's because he doesn't (as far as I know) do any other types of weight loss surgeries... lol I too believe I would at least get a second opinion. It really can't hurt, can it?

I was having bad headaches a couple of months ago (nothing like what you're describing, though!). I didn't think to ask my GP about it when I saw her, but I did ask her to check my Vitamins when she did the rest of my labs. I was severely deficient in Vitamin D and started taking 5000 UI a day. A few days after beginning to take the supplement, the headaches were miraculously gone. I did some searching and found out there's a link between the two. Does Tylenol help your headaches? They sell a liquid form, that I believe is available at most Walgreens. Good luck at your appointment! I hope they get you figured out!

I think I've been kind of teetering on the edge of the green zone for a couple of months now, and I have had absolutely no trouble with water. I've always been able to take as big of drinks as I want or as much as I want in one sitting with no probs.

In the sense that he finally got his wife back, one who wants and CAN go out and do things with him? Definitely! In a weight loss or health since? Not so much...haha. Yes, he's going to the gym with me all the time, but he had already started doing that on his own before I had my band. Unfortunately, he's kind of become my living, walking, breathing garbage disposal. If I can't finish my meal, he takes over for me. He told me a few nights ago that he's gained ten pounds since my surgery, so he's going to quit eating my left overs and he's already started making better food choices for himself. He came home last night WANTING a salad, which is uncommon for him.

Congratulations, you're rocking this!! Talk with your surgeon and listen to your own instincts. Last time I went in, I wanted a fill, he didn't want to, after discussing it he won and changed my mind... and I'm very glad he did. For the same reason, don't fix something that's not broke! Good luck in the rest of your journey! =D

I sell auto parts, so I'm carrying around cases of antifreeze, big truck brake rotors, 40 pound bags of floor sweep, etc. We run on only two people full time (and one part) and the other full timer had a tragedy in the family the day I came back to work, so I really had no choice but to go back in full steam ahead. I did try to play the sympathy card (poor me! I just had surgery! It's so heavy! haha) and have customers help me with the heavier things for the first week or so, but that didn't last long, and there's not always someone around to help! But just play it careful for a little while, listen to what your body is telling you, exercise proper lifting techniques, and all should be well!

Congratulations! It's such an exciting time! I had relatively short notice with my work as well, I hope yours is as understanding and supportive as mine was! The way my surgeon explained it wasn't just shrinking the fat around your liver, but actually making it deflate and lay flatter so it was easier to work around. I stuck to my doctor's strict two week pre-op diet TO THE LETTER and was SO proud of myself for not even cheating a single time! I really think that was the key to making my entire surgical experience such a breeze. It's great practice for post-op when the diet is even more strict, too!

Hmmm...I didn't have a ton of pain with my surgery in general. The "worst" of my port tenderness was probably gone within a month to a month and a half. But honestly, my stomach area didn't feel completely normal to me until I was four or five months out. No real pain, but I knew it when I held something against my stomach too hard, or leaned against a counter at work, etc. Even now I'm still aware of it at certain times. The one that jumps to mind most is if I'm wearing tighter jeans and sitting more upright, like in a restaurant or some such. I just feel a dull ache or pinching feeling in my port area. I work a job where I do quite a bit of heavy lifting, and have been doing so without any problems since a week out (although I should and would have waited longer before doing anything that heavy if the option had been there). And it wasn't even an "internal" pain, it was just when I had to have something heavy against my incision site while I moved it. I didn't start working out as early on as I should have, it was two months or so post op, but I jumped right in doing crunches, bike, weights, etc. I don't imagine I would have had any real trouble starting earlier, either. And after all that rambling...long story short...my port doesn't have any effect on my day to day life.

When I first got my band in July, my big goal was to be 250 by this coming summer. At the time, it felt like such a reach! Completely doable, but a major reach! I would reach 250, I would go out and buy myself a new bathing suit for the first time in years, and I would swim my butt off all summer! Well, since I floated past that weight goal back during the holidays, my NEW summer goal is to hit 100 pounds lost! That would put me at 218 by summer, another 18 pounds to get there. My weight loss has definitely slowed over the past few months (as I expected it would), BUT I CAN DO THIS! I just can't imagine how it will feel when people ask me how much I've lost, to look at them, flip my hair over my shoulder, stick my chest out and boast "100 pounds, baby!" LOL

Last night I decided to sign up for this year's Color Run with my husband and in-laws! This is a HUGE step for me, since I've been avoiding walking long distances for years. I'm definitely not ready to walk (not run!) 5k yet, but I have six months to get myself there! I'm so glad I feel I can finally put myself "out there" and do things that I've always wanted to!

Have you tried using the "Surgeons" feature at the top of these forums?