ghostbuster

I am just 10 weeks pregnant and the last 5 I have had terrible constant morning sickness and I've been throwing up. I've gone from 180 down to 174. I feel tired and awful all day. I'm dizzy and it's even hard to hold down water. This is my first pregnancy and I want to enjoy it but I feel miserable all day and night. Help!!!

I have chosen to keep my WLS private. Only my family and a few best friends know about it. It's just something I want to keep personal, I don't want to talk about it and get questions/judgement/unsolicited advice all the time. Sooo WHAT do I do about dating? I have a friend setting me up and it will just be weird when i can't eat anything at a restaurant. What do I do?! If I was in a relationship I would tell him, but I don't want to share on a first date.

DON'T TAKE IBUPROFEN it's horrible for your stomach. Liquid Tylenol or generic is the best, it works fast, it's amazing!

I am having an awful time! I pay $333 for the platinum plan in covered CA. I have huge deductibles and copays. My lap-band leaked so I need to get it replaced. They approved the surgery and the surgeon, but none of his hospitals or the pre-op doctor. It's insane. So i've spent hours and hours on the phone with my insurance call center in INDIA (So thanks Obama for creating a lot of jobs in INDIA). And they don't care about me or my issues, they don't help, they keep saying "my supervisor will call you back in 10 min" or "This is an access to care issue and we will call you back in 24 hrs" they haven't called back at all. Thank goodness the ladies at my surgeons office are working tirelessly to help me. I was supposed to have surgery on Jan 27th 2014. Now I don't know when it will happen but I am so tired and frustrated! "President" Obama is a liar and a cheat. He certainly doesn't spend hours on the phone with India to get adequate health care that costs a lot more and provides nothing.

Hi, I just moved to Santa Monica and my band has a leak. Any suggestions for a good surgeon in the area? I've gained back almost all my weight- it's the worst!

Hi, I just moved to Santa Monica and my band has a leak. Any suggestions for a good surgeon in the area? I've gained back almost all my weight- it's the worst!

My port is underneath my abdominal muscle so I have to go all the way under to have anything done/fixed. I have only ever had fills done at Dr. Ren's office by either her or her PA's. Sometimes they have a hard time getting to the port because it's under the muscle and that's the only thing I can think of that could have caused it. I haven't had any pain, thank goodness, but I have gained back so much weight and now I don't fit in any of my clothes! I am hoping to get insurance in August and then I will have a revision done. It's so frustrating. I want that feeling of restriction again sooooo bad!

Hello Friends, I had my original Band done by Dr. Ren at NYU in 2007. I LOVED her and that office. Unfortunately at the beginning of the year my band malfunctioned and it has a leak. It's basically like having no band at all. I haven't felt restriction in almost a year. So I have gained back 48 pounds already and it's awful!! I need to have a revision done but I just moved to LA and I need a surgeon here. I would fly back to NYU but I need an office with aftercare close by and fills/unfills...you guys know the drill. So any suggestions PLEASE!!!! I'm so desperate!

Have you seen this article? http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/05/business/la-fi-lap-band-death-20110205

This is just terrible to hear. I noticed that I didn't have any restriction and started gaining weight and Dr. Ren said I have a leak. I don't know where the leak is yet but I don't have insurance anymore and I can't really afford to have it fixed yet. I have gained back 35lbs and I could just die. It's been great for 5 years and now this? SO MAD!! Please keep an update if your friend gets her band replaced. Thanks!

I don't post often, and I don't come here often enough, especially when things are going good, and they are going pretty good. However, I developed a big adhesion on my port scar which tugs at my skin, especially when I am running or stretching. It can feel like someone is trying to rip my skin off from the inside. So I am having a little revision done this next Monday. Not only will they be releasing the scar tissue though, my doctor is also going to move my port (already a low profile) behind my abdominal muscle. This move is scaring the bejebes out of me! Just because I know they will need to go through muscle for adjustments which means pain and lidocain and it's a little scary. I'm also pretty sure the muscle will hurt like crazy after the surgery. The pain and recovery are not that frightening to me, and certainly not a reason to delay or put off the procedure. But has anyone else had this problem? I'm including a picture so you can see. In the middle is my belly button and over it and to the left is the scar, it looks like a second belly button! To the right is a tiny scar for the original surgery. So please let me know what experience you have had with port revisions or ports behind the muscle, can you still see it / feel it sticking out?

I am definitly in. I would also prefer NYC but either one is fine.

Sorry to be a Debby Downer, but, here goes. So the weight loss has been pretty slow but consistent, so I don't have to many complaints there. I guess I just hoped that I would get skinny and maybe guys would notice me and ask me out. That does not happen. My guy friends and most of the guys in my "social circle" will tell me how great I look and compliment me over and over, which is great, but it gets really old when you just want someone to back up that compliment with a date. Is that too much to ask? Maybe I need to move somewhere where no one knew me fat. I'm an easy size 12 now and I guess, I just hoped for a change. Maybe some of my "fat" issues was that I was hidding behind my weight. I could always say that I didn't date because I was fat, but I can't say that anymore and it scares me a little. Maybe it's just me that guys don't like. How sad is that. I swear I hear violin music in the background. I'm sorry to be so cheesy about this, I guess I'm just wondering if I'm the only one feeling this way...

Thanks for all of the support everyone. Annie - I did write that original post on a down day. I'm not going around hanging my head and bemoning my social life. It's just... not what I expected. But things keep changing and all I can do is hope for the best. If you asked my friends they would probably say I was confident and fun, but like a lot of people, I'm a good actress. I often feel unsure and self-conscience. It doesn't matter how much I tell myself I look good. I won't believe it till I get some back-up. The proof is in the pudding, when I get a date, I'll believe that guys see me as more than the funny fat friend that is great at hooking them up with other girls.

Wow, that is a lot of advice to take in. I feel like I should try to condense it down into a list. I do try to be positive in my thinking, I really do. But every now and then I pull out all the decorations and have a pity-me-party. I wish I had the guts to ask a guy out, the fear of rejection thing is huge. Plus, I just want to feel like someone wants me. I know I could ask a guy out and we would have a great time. I just want to feel wanted is all.

I took off 2 full weeks. I had only expected to take off 1 week but I always have a hard time just recovering from the anesthesia. Plus I live in NYC so I have to walk and climb stairs EVERYWHERE so I just wasn't up to getting around yet. But when I did come back to work I felt really good and I was glad that I didn't look sick and helpless because I told everyone I was getting an cycst removed from my ovary and they were all really nice to me and didn't treat me like an invalid, but helped out when I needed it. Like picking up something I dropped on the floor (because bending over will be death!) and lift anything heavier than my water bottle. I did not want to risk a flipped port or tear any stitches.

Hello Dr. Schulman, I've mentioned before that I have an adhesion from my port scar. Is it normal that it causes pain when I twist or bend or strech? If it is causing pain do I have a chance of getting my insurance to cover the surgery to fix the adhesion. It does look like an extra belly button, but that's really not the main problem. It's hard to exercise when you feel like you are tearing you insides out everytime you jog. Any suggestions? Or how much should I expect to pay if I just had to get it done at my own cost? - Thanks!

Thank You, Thank You! Hopefully I'll be close to my PS goal weight in the next few months!

Hello Dr. Schulman, I have a few questions about TT/LBL's. Does a LBL always include a TT? I have been lucky enough to hardly have any loose belly skin, but I do have quite a bit of skin on my butt/hips/thighs that I want to get rid off and it seems like a LBL would be the way to go. I plan on having kids someday so I didn't really want to do to much of a TT since it will probably just get all stretched out again in the next 5-10 years. Also, the scar for my port incision seems to be "stuck". It looks like I'm growing an extra belly button. Have you ever seen this before? Would I have to get a TT to fix that? Also, if I were to get a LBL/TT could I get my breast done at the same time? Sorry, I have been all over the place. I'll sum up Does a LBL always include a TT? Is it worth it to get a TT if you plan on having kids in the next few years? The scar from port is "stuck". Have you ever seen this before? Would I have to get a TT to fix that? Can I get my breasts done at the same time as the LBL/TT? Thanks!

:biggrin: I have never been so excited to be overweight. My BMI hit 29.9 today and I am no longer obese! Thank you lapband!!:biggrin: I have hit so many plateaus and this has been a lot of hard work, but putting on a pair of size 12's at the Gap is a sensational feeling!! So worth it. To everyone out there who is loosing slowly or hitting total plateaus, keep on working, it's worth it and you'll feel great!:biggrin:

Congrats on getting the surgery, it is the best decision I ever made, I wish I did it 5 years ago.

You are well on your way, good luck! Be ready for a rough and glorious road.:cursing:

Yeah, you haven't even gotten near insane yet. How about this, I'm starting to think about Plastic Surgery and when is the right time to get it so I don't end up too skinny...TOO SKINNY...not a sentenced I thought would ever enter my vocab!!

Wow 87 pounds?! I'm IMPRESSED!! You are doing great.

Congrats to you! It is so much work to get where we are, people who haven't been banded don't always understand...It's just great to make any progress!!:scared2: