Sue Magoo

Your surgeon did a fabulous job! Congrats. Sue

Once you look down and don't see the excess skin you'll be so glad that you spent the money, had the embarassing pictures taken, and went through the discomfort from the surgery. It'll all be so worth it! Take care and look to the finish line! Sue

Hi: It's hard to say what my recovery time was. I was unemployed at the time, so I didn't have to hurry back to work. I think I would have been able to go back to work after two weeks, but I was very tired for months. I do desk work, not physical work. The fatigue was surprising. I had to wait 6 weeks to do any exercise other than walking. It is painful, but so worth it to sit down and not have your lower abdomen touching your legs. If you click on my name you'll go to my profile. Click on gallery and you'll see my pics. Let me know if you have any other questions. Sue

I had a complete unfill because I get nauseous with anesthesia. Thank goodness I did get unfilled because it was hurl city from the anesthesia and pain meds. Best wishes to you. Sue

Hi: I had insurance coverage for a panniculectomy years ago. I opted to spend the extra money to get a full tummy tuck. Personally speaking it was so worth the money. I love my cute little belly button. Is there any reason why he won't do your belly button? Even though I was almost 50 when I had my tummy tuck I still wanted a belly button. There are pics on my profile page of the before and afters. The procedure is quite painful, but worth all of the pain. Best wishes to you. Sue

Hi: You didn't mention how long you've been banded. You should do all liquids for a couple of days to calm things down and to rest your insides. If you can keep liquids down you'll be okay until you see your doctor. If you cannot keep liquids down you need to go to the emergency room. Hope you feel better soon. Take care. Sue

I got banded at 47 and am almost 52 now. My face didn't have any wrinkles prior to banding, and it's not so bad now. The place that my wrinkles show is under my chin on my neck, but thanks to losing the weight I don't have a gobbly thing like turkeys. I found that when my weight was at the lowest my face looked gaunt. I like my face better at 185 to 190 than I did at 174. The best part is feeling 15 years younger than I did before banding. Best wishes to you. Sue

A hot shower helped me. Try to get the Water as hot as you can stand it and try to focus it on the sore areas. Hope you feel better soon. Sue

One trick that works for me is to bend over and touch my toes. Hope you feel better soon. Sue

Best wishes to you without your band. Did you already have a revision to something else? I think that the old small band has been replaced for alot of people, me included. I got band #2 almost 3 years after band #1 (small band). Take care. Sue

Hi: How are you feeling? What did the doctor say? Hope all is well. Sue

Jackie: A few questions that you've probably already got on your list. 1. Will you be installing a pain pump that goes home with me for the first few days? 2. What kind of stitching do you do? Will I be able to see the stitches or are they mostly internal? 3. Do you recommend any special pre-op Vitamins that will help me heal? My surgeon recommended extra Vitamin C. 4. Can I have an extra compression garment? (If you only have one it will need to be washed - good to have an extra). 5. You should ask if he/she has pictures of some other patients that he's done this procedure on. 6. You should ask if he/she has done this surgery on alot of weight loss surgery patients. This is not an easy appointment. He/she will probably take some pictures that are very unflattering and embarassing. Just count to ten and know that it's so worth it in the long run! Good luck! Tell us how it goes. Sue Sue, Thanks for responding! I've been up since 4:26 this morning..i'm guessing it is just nervousness...I go today! I was looking for answers that were lap-band related. I appreciate the help. If you have any other just general PS questions that you feel are on the top of the list and I may not have thought about them...by all means please shoot them to me right quick! I've written a few down...but apparently i'm gonna be scatter brained today and not operating on a full night's sleep! Thanks, Jackie

Hi: I would ask if your surgeon can tighten your stomach muscles with the port in it's current position or not. If not, I would request having it moved and what that would entail. You may have to get your lapband surgeon to attend and assist with that part of the surgery. There are alot of plastic surgery questions I would ask that are unrelated to the band, though I don't think you asked about that. Let me know if you'd like to know. Best wishes to you. Sue

Hi: I live in MA, where medical costs are very high. My panniculectomy was approved and paid for by my insurance, but my out of pocket was more than $7k. I believe that my total surgery cost was $21k with overnight stay and the post op appointments included. It was so worth it not to have my belly hit my legs when I sat on the toilet, etc. My weight loss was 150 pounds so I really did a bad job on myself and because I was 50 years old my skin wasn't very resilient. I had mine in May 2009 and I had drains. My surgeon did these wonderful stitches that I couldn't see at all. I'm not sure what they're called, but it wasn't glue. She did almost all of the stitching under the skin. My scars are very thin light pink lines. Is he going to reposition your belly button? I highly recommend that. Also, ask if you can have an extra compression garment because you'll need to wash them and you'll wear them for quite a while. Sounds crazy, but after the initial healing you'll feel more comfortable with the compression garment than off. Somehow it gives comfort being there - probably because it holds everything in place and it can't jiggle at all. Let me know if you have any other questions. If you check out my profile you can see my pics from just after surgery, before tummy tuck, and after tummy tuck. Take care. Sue

Hi: I would recommend waiting until your weight is stable for 6 months before doing anything. During that time do some weight training and some ab work and you'll be able to see if you can make any progress. Looks to me like you're young and your skin isn't already covered with stretch marks, so I'm thinking that it's possible that you can get the look that you want without a tummy tuck. A tummy tuck is major surgery with alot of pain if you have the abdominal muscles tightened too. Try and see if you can avoid it. Take care and best wishes! Sue

Hopefully you'll have that same -15 years side effect that alot of us feel after losing alot of weight. Congratulations and best wishes! Sue

Hello: If you had an awful experience with a hospital you should share it with the forum because it may help another person considering that hospital. Hope you're okay. Sue

Hope you feel better soon. Like the other posters said, get yourself to a doctor asap. Please let us know how you make out. Best wishes. Sue

Many insurance companies pay the doctors a discounted rate. Have you asked your doctor if you can pay what the insurance companies pay for the same service? It may be lower than $250.00. Good luck! Sue

Katie: Congratulations! I remember you from support group. I hope the big event happens very soon. I cried big crockodile tears the morning I stepped on the scale to 199. Was exactly one year after my first appointment with Dr. Glasgow. Way to go! Keep up the good work. Sue

Hi Nicky: If you can go a little bit south of BIDMC, try Norwood Caritas hospital, with Dr. Adam Glasgow. He and his entire SWLS group are fabulous! Check out their website at www.massweightloss.com Best wishes to you. Sue

Truly the "icing on the cake"! You look fabulous and you're so fortunate to have had insurance coverage. Congrats! Sue

Does sound like you're too tight. If you call your doctor's office and tell him that you're suffering with these complications maybe he'll see you to take Fluid out and put you on a payment plan for the unfill. Hope you feel better soon! Sue

It could be the pain medication. You may want to consider to using something over the counter for the pain instead of pain medication with narcotics in it. I've had nausea issues too and as soon as I stop the prescription pain meds the nausea goes away. I think you should call your doctor and see what he/she says. Sorry you're feeling this way. Having nausea is so uncomfortable. Take care and let us know how you're doing. Sue