angelnurse

I was encouraged by Kareyquilts to start this thread. I had my LBL on 12/20/07 in Post Falls, Idaho by Dr. Mark Owsley. One other person in my weekly support group had this same surgery in April this year. I asked her a few questions and of course asked the Surgeon but nothing totally prepares you for this surgery. My Surgeon compared my lapband surgery as a "mosquito bite" and the LBL as a "alligator bite", I told him after the surgery that he should of said "shark bite". The surgery took about 5 hours. My Surgeon doesn't weigh what he takes off, he says that it's a matter or body sculpting and uses his eyes and hands to get the best results. He did tell me that he took off over a foot on my abdomen and that he was very pleased with the results. The evening after my surgery it was time for me to get up for the first time. I can tell you it wasn't fun. I almost passed out from the pain and only took 4 steps. It was at this point that I thought to myself "what had I done?" Thankfully the second time I got out of bed was much easier and less painful, I actually made to the room door. Each time it got easier. The next hurdle to overcome would be peeing after the catheter was removed. No problem with this thank goodness. I was discharged the next afternoon. A good friend of mine, who is also a Nurse, was staying with me for 4 or 5 days and nights. She was an Angel. Took care of my boys and did everything for me. Well, this is enough of a post for now, don't want anyone falling asleep from boredom. I don't know if I'm brave enough to post pictures yet, but.... I go back to the Surgeon's on Jan. 2nd to get my 2 drains removed, so I'll have more to post after that visit. Thanks for letting me ramble on. JulieNYC, the Ghost and enterprise you have been an inspiration to me and I've followed your stories and look forward to hearing from others who are going down the PS Road.

Karey-Thanks for asking how I'm doing. Got cleared to start back at the gym on the first, so went back this last week. It's been 7 weeks now since my LBL and I'm doing pretty good. If I do too much, on my feet too long or overdo it, I swell and have a little discomfort. I'm looking forward to the day that all the swelling is gone, but I know it'll be awhile. I still have a large area w/o a lot of sensation but some may come back and the doc hopes enough comes back for safety issues, like if I lean up against something hot, that I'll feel it and move before I get burned. Very happy with the results and even with the swelling got into a size 6 jeans a couple weeks ago. No regrets about the surgery just hope I can save enough to get the girls lifted later this year or next. As for the gym, I'm only going 3 days a week for the first couple of weeks, I don't want to overdo it. I've had to cut back on the weights by about 10 -15 pounds and only 30 min. on the elliptiKILL instead of 90 min. I did 200 crunches on Friday and really felt some pulling on the abdominal muscles, so I need to slow down and not try to do it all. That is the hardest thing, not be able to do all that I could before the surgery. I'm not very patient and want to be were I was before. Good luck on your upcoming PS and try to be patient with getting back to normal. Take care and God bless!

1 scoop protein powder, 5 oz skim milk, 2 tbs benefiber, 2 tbs dry sugar-free chocolate pudding mix, 1 oz sugar-free banana syrup and 1 oz sugar-free pnut butter syrup 240 calories, 1.5 gm fat, 24 gm carbs, 28 gms protein and 6 gm fiber

30 min ElliptiKILL 45 min Wt. Training 200 crunches :biggrin2:

Made it to the gym again. 30 min elliptiKILL 45 min Wt. Training 100 crunches

whos,jess and jm- thanks for welcoming me back, missed you guys. Sounds like you all are doing great. jm-I did post b4 and 3 weeks post-op pics on my LBL PS thread and will post new pics probably at my 3 month doctors appointment. Right now will only be going to the gym 3 days a week for a couple of weeks so I don't overdo it. Take care everyone!

First day back at the gym since my LBL. So excited to go back, never thought I'd miss the gym. Treadmill: 15 min. Wt. Training: 30 min. Elliptical: 15 min Sounds like everyone is doing well. Keep up the good work!

Congrats Paula!!! I too am looking forward to getting on with my life. Good luck on your plastic surgery.

Julie- Fingers, legs and toes crossed (just kidding on the toes). Sounds great and hope the left thigh totally resolves. Glad to see all is going so well with you.

Tami- My plastic surgeon used skin glue on the outside, no sutures for me. He said that he wouldn't know if he could use skin glue or sutures until he got into surgery and saw the quality of my skin, that may be the case with your surgeon, but I would ask. Good Luck with your surgery.

Julie, Sorry to hear about your problems with the seromas. Hopefully this new technique will do the trick. I sure hope you don't need to have the drains back in, but I know you'll do whatever is needed to get through this. You definitely aren't a quitter. I'll keep you in my prayers. Take care!

Nana, That's too bad about the garment, I live in the one I got from my doc. It feels weird when I take it off after my shower, like everything is going to fall out. I can start to wear it only during the day next Friday, but I think I'll wear it as long as possible. It helps with the swelling and I like the support. Sorry about the welts.

I made goal this morning, but have changed my "goal" three times, LOL. Originally I wanted to get down to 180 pounds and when I got there I changed it to 170, then changede it again to 160 then my final goal of 155. This morning I got on the scale and it said 154.4. Whoo hoo!!! I started in a size 30 jean or a 26/28 elastic waist jean and am now in an 6/8 jeans. Never in my wildest imagination would I have thought this was possible. I can't say that I have been a perfect bandster, but I have worked hard with my diet and exercise. I'm gonna try and lose 5 more pounds so I have a "cushion" and can figure out how to maintain. Congrats to all those that have made goal and to all those that are working towards it, you can do it!

Yes, I had to have my port revised, it had flipped over and the doctor could not fill it. I had to go under general anesthesia and they went through the original port incision and flipped it back over. The doctor made sure to suture it securely so this wouldn't happen in the future. My doctor doesn't know why this happened and I had to pay $2,125 out of pocket for this surgery. Is your doctor charging you for this or is it covered under the original contract? Good luck!

LJM-Thanks, I went "window" shopping today for a leather jacket I promised myself when I reached goal. Didn't find one but had fun trying them on. It's so much fun to shop when you are in "normal" sizes.

LJM-Weighed myself this morning down another 2 pounds, so I'm actually 2 pounds to goal. Woooo Hoooo!!!

Thanks Karey, you will probably lose at least 2 sizes, so think at least size 6. Looking forward to seeing and hearing about your plastic surgery journey.

Yes, it feels kind of weird without them. After I take a shower, I wear them while showering, I feel loose and wobbley without it. I dry off as fast as I can then get a dry one on. They aren't too uncomfortable except the area where the zipper is, it kind of presses into your skin. You get used to them real quick.

LJM-I know, whodda thunk!

My Plastic Surgeon says that they don't use the skin because it is such "poor" quality. He says because it is so stretched out and thin, it is not the optimum for skin grafting. I don't know that if they were in a "pinch" and needed any skin bad enough that they might take it. Just my "2 cents" worth.

LJM-My doc gave me 2 garments, it was covered in his fees. I looked them up online and I'll give you the address, but they r very pricey. The website is : Design Veronique - Compression Garments The ones that I have are #855 Zippered Full-Body Girdle. He usually gives you one zippered and one pull-up, but one of the gals from my support group had the LBL done last April and she said that it was too hard to use the pull-up one. I asked my doc if I could have 2 of the zippered and I'd be willing to pay the difference, he gave me the 2 and didn't charge me any extra. I would think that you'd need more than just a "binder" after your surgery, but I'm not a doctor. Hope this helps.

JM-Thanks! I'm thrilled with the results so far, I can't imagine how great the final results will be. I'm already down to a size 8 jeans with all the swelling and I started in a size 28-30 jeans. I never imagined that I'd get this small, I was shooting for a 12 or 14. I love my band and my plastic surgeon!

LJM-I am wearing pj's with a drawstring and have no problems and my incision goes up around my hip bones. The incision is pretty well protected by my compression garment.

Tami-Take it from someone who had a LBL 4 weeks ago, you don't need to go up a size for the swelling or the compression garment. I'm down 2 jean sizes even with the swelling and all my pre-op clothes are falling off. Not that I'm complaining mind you, but thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth. Good Luck with your surgery.

Christie-You are so welcome! I wasn't sure if I would post pics so soon, but decided it'll only get better and it's more realistic to see all the swelling. It'll prepare those that want to get this done and let them know that it's "a work in progress". Good Luck to you on your journey!