jnlebean

Hi my love, I had mine removed 11 months after my lap band surgery, 4 years ago. It was 5 months after my surgery that I started having the extreme pains. I was getting them two three times a week at first then it stopped for a few months and started up again, I ended up in emergency one night and from there they scheduled me to have the surgery to remove it. The best way I can describe the pain is, it was right under my chest and shots right through to my back, it almost takes your breath away. For me it would last an hour or so then go away like nothing happened. It was unbearable, i lived alone at the time but if I was lucky enough to have someone around I would get them to rub my back. Go see your doctor soon, this is a very common thing, very common procedure. Fortunately it is done laposcopicly (Sp?), unfortunately they don't use the same 'hole' locations as they do for lapband so for me I have 6 more scars on my tummy. And I'm going in fora sleeving in 2 months so I will be full of scars. There are two big scars 1" long, one in/ just above my belly button and the other right smack in the middle of my tummy. There are then two more scars 1/4" on the right side of my tummy. The other ones I cant remember but they are 1/4" long. My scars have faded so much I can hardly see them after 4 years. The big ones I can still see. I haven't had any eating issues, digestion, or pain since having it removed. I was back to work the next day. Good luck to you, I hope I answered your questions.

PdxMan is right, for me what he said "hit the nail on the head"! Why is it ok for her to ask you questions that make you feel bad, but not ok for you to ask her questions or requests that might hurt her feelings. Remeber its not your intent to 'hurt her feelings' but you cant let her do that to you. Turn it around on her (like PdxMan said), who knows you might just be great friends in the end.

Now that's funny

Yahoo! Good for you! Remember this feeling when things get hard. You can do it, because you have done it!

Is the attached photo called mom and dad, of you before surgery? Good job, I showed my husband your photos, him and I are being sleeved Feb 12th. Thanks so much for sharing, it's nice to see photos of men on here. Helps keep my husband motivated for the surgery.

Oh my god me too, being stuck sucks!

If my math is right, you have reached more than half your goals already, more than half! I know you said you had more but these are your important ones because you can remember them to recreate this list! Taking the weight off slower means that you LEARN to change your habits. And like I said in another post, the end result is worth so much more to you. I think you are doing amazing for getting this far. Refocus and you'll swipe few more strikes on that list of yours. Looking forward to an updated post in January!

Yahoo! Good job, thanks for posting. My husband and I are having the surgery done together (62 more days) and it's nice to see men's success stories here. It gives him motivation and support to know men are doing this too.

Slow and steady wins the race! Good job on keeping the end result in mind. Losing slower in my opinion means you learn how the change your habits. And the end prize is worth so much more. Keep up the hard work!

Remember this moment when things get hard. You are a success! I am 5 years with the band and 2 months out from getting my sleeve. I know the high you are on, way to go girl. Looking forward to those highs again. I'm so proud of you, hard work and a clear vision pays off.

Thats funny! It's amazing what we do subconsciously. Thanks for sharing. My tree is all Snowmen but that doesn't mean they are all 'snow'men, I have ones that look like smores!

Thanks for posting this, I too am very interested in the answer.

Wow Ok, I'm not so fearful after all. I mean I'm still a long ways away from even needing that procedure done. But to know that the scar looks like that and there's no bulging or puckering of skin, calms my nerves. You look great!

I don't think so. Before I was banded 5 years ago, I was a big beer drinker. After I got banded, I found I couldn't drink beer like I use to be use my little stomach just couldn't take the carbonation of the beer. So now I drink rum, gin, vodka, wine, etc with juice, sometimes with pop. For me it's knowing that that I'm taking in a lot of calories but it's something I only do once every other month at most. Life's to short to not have a good time once in a while.

Hi Everyone, Well I have come full circle, a place I never thought I would be at again in my life. I took the big step on January 15, 2009 to have lap-band surgery with Dr Ortiz. The best thing I ever did for myself, I was young and ready to start living my life. Little did I know 2009 would be a very tuff and awarding year for me, and with that I was not strong enough to continue my weight loss focus. The best thing was meeting my now husband. Problem is we both have the same food demons so it was easy for me to slip back into my old habits. Since meeting December 2009 I have gained 50lbs and my husband has put on 100lbs. I told him a few months ago, I was going to stop loving him to death, and if we didn’t get our demons under control we were going to do just that "love each other to death". Everything we do revolves around food. But we also have dreams and passions and if it wasn’t for our weight we would be living a more active life, I know it, and I know we will. But with change and uncertainty comes many questions. My husband tried to support me in the beginning when we met, I wasn’t quiet a year out from having my surgery, he has seen my struggles, the sometimes embarrassment that comes with not using the band as a tool. When we made the decision to have the gastric sleeve surgery, we made it as a team, but with one big hesitation. We will have eating troubles like I do now with the band? My questions to you are: I currently get food stuck, almost like my band is to tight, although I am completely empty. Do patients with VSG, get food stuck, like Lap-band patients? Do you have to chew the food until there is just nothing left to chew, like you do with the Lap-band? Are there no no foods, like there is with the lap-band? It was years before I could eat a sandwich after having the lapband put in. I still to this day can’t eat dry meat, like steaks or pork. Are you able to drink when you are eating, unlike the lapband, where you should wait at least 30 min. How long was it after your VSG surgery until you could really eat solid foods? How much food can you eat? Let’s say a year after surgery are you still only able to eat 1/2cup of food at a time? I have read that some poeple feel like "they forgot to put the sleeve on". Does that mean that some days you can eat more then you normally can? We know the long term health benefits outweigh all these questions and concerns, but eating is still a part of life. We love to travel and try new foods at the places we go, I would hate not to be able to eat the local cuisine. I guess we need to start looking at food as a survival tool and not entertainment. Thanks for reading, loooking forward to your insights Jnlebean Current: Gastric Sleeve Surgery Date February 12, 2014 Highest Weight 299 November 2013 First Surgery: Lap-Band Surgery Date January 15, 2009 Highest Weight June 2008 – 290lbs Surgery Weight – 270lbs Lowest Weight July 2009 – 242.5lbs Weight Loss Goal 160lbs

Thanks Everyone for your opinions/comments and well wishes. Counting the days....