SpecialK

Hi there Thin2bme (Teri) - sorry to hear about the foot stuff - hope you are healing now and can get back to your level of working out and exercise you want and need.So here we are at 2 years out and we are still learning how to manage our eating... clearly a lifetime commitment -- it is interesting how a lifetime now seems like 2 years and going -- I don't think our pre-surgery excitement could have prepared us for what Lifetime Commitment really means, at least not for me. Its 1 Day at a time. Thanks for visiting and posting.

Hi there to the Mt. Carmel folks. I learned the hard way by going to the 1st Monday support group meeting time to find that the Nutrition Support Group and the Bariatric Support Group have swapped times/dates due to Missy being in the surgery department as a surgical nurse on the Mondays now. So if you want to go to the support group that Melissa Webb leads for us post op patients, it is the 2nd Tuesday. There will NOT be a May Support Group next week (would have been on May 11) due to the May Support event was last Saturday's Bariatric Fashion Show - which again was fun. So, see you 2nd Tuesday in June at the Mt. Carmel Auditorium which is in the basement (same floor as the cafeteria).

Saw my plastic surgeon today for my first follow up. She said I'm healing fine and she'll see me for follow up at 3 more weeks. She said I can start lifting my arms above my head but gently and gradually, can do walking, elliptical trainer without the arms, lifting okay up to 10 lbs, and just see how it goes. The big news she gave me which I didn't even think about is that the Biopsy of my breast tissue was all clear - no masses or anything bad. Wow -- hadn't even thought about it. The smaller breasts should be easier to do a breast self exam now!

The Mt. Carmel Bariatric Fashion Show at Tuttle Mall yesterday was inspirational ...again! Two lapband patients were in it with Cindy losing 140 and the guy in the show losing I think like 150 lbs -- it is so good for the public to be seeing how successful lapband patients can be, including lapband success for those with more than 100 lbs to lose. P.S. Just want to say congrats to the RNY folks too!

Niki & Mimi -- how long until the lovely purple marking pen stuff will wash off or fade out? I finally got the ones up my my neck and upper chest scrubbed off but there are still lovely purple marks on the boobies.

Sue - I was driving by the 4th day post op as I was off my Percocet pain medicine - just taking 2 Aleve for a few days and now nothing for pain! I do have Itching! I took a Benadryl to help with that and it did help.

A week post op now and doing great. Yes, a breast reduction does reduce their size and lift them up to be in the right position they started out in life... pointing forward now down to the floor...lol. I would highly recommend this surgery as it was a short stay in the hospital for outpatient surgery - got there at 11am and was on my way home by 4:30 pm. Really only took a minimal number of pain pills in the first 3 days and by day 4 was on Aleve/Advil only. Able to drive and do most things around my house. I'm very good about pushing, pulling, lifting things though and intend to follow the doctors orders on restriction for as long as she says. Still feeling a good amount of restriction on eating but I got sloppy and was eating ice cream and other easy to eat things while I was recuperating because they are the foods my sister loves -- it was too easy to slip into the mode of eating a little because she was. The house is cleared out of "bad or slider" foods now so I'm feeling much more in control. I still have a long way to go so I cannot lose sight of the goal to get to the end. I could be the last crazy Shrinking Shamrock posting on here in a year or two more years but I want to keep going. I am finding that I can get some size 16 things on but then my arm hanging skin holds me back on some of the sleeves in those. On others, it it is cut pretty straight, it is the excess tummy skin that is holding me back -- can't stand having a blouse with bulges showing so I guess I will just keep buying a size larger to keep me looking okay or watch what styles I choose. I am still Thrift Store shopping on the hope that I don't want to spend too much money on clothes when I know I have another 3-4 sizes to go down through still. Crazy -- maybe finish at a size 12 or 10? Who knows.

Hi Columbus lapbanders. I'm a week out now from BR surgery and doing great. Back to work Monday May 3. There is a Mt. Carmel Bariatric Fashion Show at Tuttle Crossing Mall on May 1 at 2pm. I'm planning to attend to support our Mt. Carmel bandster Cindy who will be in the show.

I have been debating on sharing photos here but I wanted a vision before my surgery and sites like this and makemeheal were so helpful to me I am going to share.

Niki - yes, each nipple has an incision all the way around it, then a line down from the nipple to the breast crease line and then a smile shaped incision across the bottom of each breast. The little steri-strips are still hanging in there so I can't really see things too good yet when I take the compression garment off to shower. Yes, gotta wear that for 2 months probably - going to ask more about that on Monday at my first PS follow up appointment. I bought the new bra's as a celebration and just itching to see what I am size wise but cannot probably wear it for awhile. Its amazing to look at what a C cup looks like compared to my old G cup bras.

Sue and Niki - I bought a 38C and a 38B bra (Warner brand - very lightly padded and no wire) and took both home to give them a try with my sister helping. The B was too small and we tried the C on and it was fine. I think with what swelling I'll have when that goes down, it will end up a small C and I'm very happy with that.

Interesting turn of things here post BR surgery -- feeling more restriction on my eating - some PBing after eating a much smaller quantity of food than I could eat just a week ago. I'd say there is some swelling in the chest area that is affecting things. Anyway, good to cut back quantity of eating in any way I can. Haven't gotten on the scale yet to get weighed because I figured the body will do some ups and downs with fluids for a couple days post op.

Hi ladies. I'm home and day 3 now and got to take a shower and wash off the gooey bandages and put on a clean compression garment. Felt much better after that. I would say I'm a full B or small C but with swelling right now and soreness, a little hard to tell. I had more drainage and pain on the left side than right. I guess I'm more of a whimp on pain than Niki-- you are amazing how you did. Just taking it easy and enjoying some pampering from my sister.

Home from my Breast Reduction surgery yesterday. They removed about 1000 grams which is about 2.5 lbs so it will be fun to update my weight ticker in a few days. Anyway, pain is very manageable for now with pills. I have my sister from Arizona here taking good care of me so the TLC I feel from here helps as much as the pain meds. P.S. Had a great Non-Scale Victory yesterday - they gave me an ordinary normal size gown to wear at the hospital - no super size gown anymore!

Hi there to my Shrinking Shamrock buddies out there. Well I did another "shrinking" thing yesterday - had about 1000 grams removed during Breast Reduction surgery. I think the pain is definitely tolerable here in the first 24 hrs with some pain meds and can't tell you yet if the results look okay with all the bandages but I had alot of confidence in my surgeon. Anyway, it will be fun to update my Ticker to put another -2 lbs down! P.S. Great NSV to share --- no super size gown needed at the hospital - just the ordinary size they'd give to anyone to wear.

Hi Niki - I'm 3 days now until BR surgery - hoping to be a B or small C also -- we'll see. I am anxious to be able to buy a pretty bra in a store post op. Not sure how long until I can get out of the compression bra thing they had me buy.

Ms Cathy - this is one of the benefits to continue to stay in touch with other March Bandsters - to see what happens as time goes along. I haven't had a fill in awhile and hoping to do that in late May. I kind of test my pouch and restriction with different food density things that I think should fill me up and keep me going without any problems. This week found that 2 hard boiled eggs is right between enough and too much - hard Protein and low calorie value - and the eggs seem to keep me filled well for awhile. Whereas a cup or Pasta or a cup of softer foods seem to be going down too easy and not keeping me satisfied very long. For now, I had to just tough it out on restriction needing adjusted because I didn't want to be tight going into my Breast Reduction surgery this coming Thursday. After that, I hope to get to a higher level of exercise and intensity, maybe even jogging, and then go a little tighter on fill restriction but we'll see. I'd like to be at about another -5 but end of May/June to stay on track with my own personal weight loss goals for this year. After May/June, I think I should be able to be back to full level of exercise to keep upping my intensity of things.

I am up for a good cause of helping MS disease research so I'll be up and out at the Zoo walking in the a.m.! Hope others get out too.

Giggle - I'm having surgery on a Thursday - hoping to go home same day unless something is holding me back. I figured I'd take off Friday thru the following week - so I'm taking a total of 7 work days off. I might have been able to work from home on my computer after less days but I decided to give myself the chance to heal and rest.

Sue - I'm going from a G down to a small C or B - she said she'd see what size I ended up once she removes 1000 grams total that the insurance requires in my situation. My best friend is an RN and saw many of this surgeon's patients post op and really felt highly of her work compared to other surgeons work. I really liked her professional and friendly approach. In my case she is going to have to do side liposuction under my arms or the side of my breast so that I don't end up with a bump there when the breasts are done.

This is my 2 year Easter picture - I loved this dress and had kept it from way back in 1997 the last time I could wear it. I felt so pretty on Easter morning in this dress. To be honest, I don't get too many chances to wear a dress anymore, but it feels good to think you look good. Bottom line, I love my lapband and I'd never want to go back to where I was 2 years ago in March before my band.

I am now 1 week out from my Breast Reduction surgery and I have to confess I have not been as focused on my eating as I should these last few weeks. Still hanging in there bouncing up and down on the same 3-5 lbs which is frustrating. Hoping once I get past the BR surgery, I can get back into exercising and really commit to things. I am thinking I need a fill adjustment because even when I eat solid Protein and get full quick, it doesn't stay with me very long, I'm still out in the kitchen looking for a little something else, then another few minutes, looking and thinking what else can I get, etc. That isn't right and I didn't want to get tightened on my band before my BR surgery so I will call and get a fill appt for May. Wishing you all well.

Hi there to Mimi and Niki - how are you both doing? I am 1 week out from my Breast Reduction surgery. I am wondering about lifting constraints you had for your surgery -- I have a laptop and carrying case, power cord, etc. that probably weighs close to 10-15 lbs and I have to haul it back and forth to work for my job. I have two sets of steps to get up with that case, about 6-8 steps each so using my roller suitcase for the laptop will help but not sure how to get that thing up steps. I hired someone to do my riding mower and push lawn mower for the month of May and then also hired them to keep doing the ditch hand mowing for June. I hated to spend the money for help but couldn't see my jerking around on a riding mower for 2 hours or more in May and definitely couldn't see me pulling a mower up and down a steep ditch that runs about 300 feet across the front of my yard. Well I am getting a little nervous at the idea of having things cut down to smaller size when all you ladies had increases but each of us has to get to what is best for us.

Okay - when they inject fat back into your buttocks area, are you saying it feels like golf balls in the areas they did it until it flatens out or smooshes in with the rest of the fat and muscle in the buttocks? I still have a long way to go in my journey but all my fat is on my upper buttocks and I have none left down by my tailbone - I can feel my bones when I'm sitting on a hard surface -- that is so weird feeling or seeing your bones sticking out after years of being hidden under excess weight.

I have a new challenge to report and ask for support for -- doing so much physical work outside for the spring and its apparent to me that I am burning alot of calories doing all this heavy lifting and walking for hours at a time days back to back but then I get this stupid sense of entitlement when I come inside and then feel like I deserve to splurge and eat a bunch of calories because I know I have burned them off -- stupid mindset -- I could be losing instead of maintaining if I would take that calorie deficit and leave it alone. I am going to make an appointment for a fill after I have my BR surgery at end of April so I just have to tough it out with restriction not being optimal for now because I don't want to get tightened up before surgery. Look out May.... I will be kicking butt with losing more weight!