babbs3772

Yes, I too had those around my incisions - although I never asked what they were and probably should have right? I am going to tell you what I think they are... I think it is from some sort of retractor tool that holds the area open? I am sure some one here is going to set us straight and provide a great answer to my guess!

So, first of all I have today off from work just in case any one reads this and thinks I am slacking lol - I love this site! So without sounding all dramatic and silly I wanted to say that last night I had a unnerving emotion run through me. I had purchased "Weight loss surgery for Dummies" before I had my surgery and last night I pulled it out to review it again - and in the middle of reading it I remembered back to when I was reading it the first time.... I was curled up in bed for the evening and had a low light on, I was so anxious to have my surgery and I was trying to learn everything I could, I was fighting with my insurance company to get it covered, worrying if I would lose enough weight before hand....it goes on and one those worries I had And then last night it hit me, it is done, I had the surgery, the insurance did cover it.... I have a band in me! I cried, I sat there with my book in bed like I had done many months before and I cried

Hi Rachel! I am happy that you got such a good fill :confused: I too have a 10cc band and am at 5.5cc now, but I am a wimp I am afraid lol, I get numbed now as my first one was not just a pinch. I wanted to just say hello and wish you lots of luck, I see you on the forum and think you are doing great! Barbie

Steph, from what I have read, from my own experience it is not that unusual - although highly frustrating! to gain before you have restriction from a fill - ok so you already know this I can see from your post and I do understand the urgency - been there. Just keep plugging along, is my advice, sooner or later it will come off, drink your Water, count calories if that is helpful? (for me it is essential) keep walking and remember that you are never alone! Hugs, good thoughts and patience to you :thumbup:

Hi there :thumbup: I had a port revision 5 months after my initial surgery, they unfilled my band for the surgery and I made sure to ask before the surgery if they would put it back in? Even when I woke up from my surgery one of the first things I asked was if they put my fluid back in? They had

I am so glad that I finally looked at this forum, because I am a slow loser as well! I have read pretty much all the threads and pages lol in here and am so happy to see I am not alone, because there are many times in the past 6 months I felt that way :thumbup:

Ouch LOL, I had my first fill without numbing and it was painful for me, I have had my next two with numbing and I was much happier. Sorry to hear it was such an event but it is great that you are making such wonderful progress :confused: I have a 10cc band with 5.5cc in it.

Good luck Semone, I see your surgery is only two days away!

Hi there, I was out for three weeks, went back to work on a Monday but then I went to the hospital on Tuesday as I had severe pain in my chest - I had Costochondritis, this is an inflammation in the sternum area that feels like a heart attack (as it was in my case). So if you just count the regular time and not the incident after I only needed three weeks, but I do not have a body stressful job. Good luck to you and welcome!

Thank you Jeannie for being understanding :thumbup: You and I are the same height by the way, I bet you will get approved and I hope you do, I will think good thoughts for you! You will have to keep in touch, I want to hear updates from you and how your progress is going :thumbup: Barbie

Hello Jeannie, I am trying to not be offended at your question LOL, however it is a reasonable question and I will do my best to answer :thumbup: I am what my Surgeon calls a "slow loser", I also was not getting the best restriction and now I seem to have pretty good restriction. I walk each day, once during lunch for 45 minutes, another 30-45 minutes at home on my treadmill @2.7 -3 miles per hour, I eat less than 1200 calories - go figure huh? Unfortunately not every one loses fast or quickly from being banded. But such is life I guess and I feel pretty happy with where I started at 226 pounds for a start weight before the actual surgery - so that would put me at 33 pounds roughly. There is actually forum called "slow losers unite" under the support groups with a lot of pages in it, there are a lot of us :thumbup: Good luck to you on your journey!

I am just not feeling like I could give you tough love comments! Instead I am going to just give you nice love comments :thumbup: You will get back on track, you need to trust in yourself and your band, start tracking your foods, commit to a little exercise and just be kind to yourself So someone else will probably give you tough love but I just understand your feelings and feel like you do frequently and just don't have it in me today :thumbup:

Good luck to you and remember that it truly is a learning process, no one gets it down perfectly right off :thumbup: I am 6 months out and figuring things out still Take care!:thumbup:

So, I had quit smoking before my surgery and was very proud of that, however, I did start smoking and have been for the past 6 months. Now I have smoked since I was a teen - eek! I know and I hate it, I have quit so many times but then something happend.... my husband and I quit New Years day together at 8 pm and this is the longest I have gone without actually feeling like I wanted to start up again. This is huge because while before I had quit for long periods of time I would obsess about smoking them but now for whatever reason I just feel different. Of course I have also become anal retentive about exercising and have started the couch to 5k program I saw posted, so that motivation has helped me immensely Also, for the simple fact I had this surgery to be healthier I just finally think after 6 months of having this band in me it is time to get my ass in gear and take better care of myself... so I am not proud at all that I began smoking again after surgery but you know what? I am human, I make mistakes and if any one has a negative comment to make about this I suppose they ought to check their own inventory before picking at mine :confused:

:laugh:Oh heck yes I do! I had my first fill and it was not a pleasant experience, even though my surgeon is good at giving fills, and he used fluro it was very painful for me. So now I always get a numbing shot before hand and I am much happier :thumbup:

****DISCLAIMER - I am just a regular person, who is a regular poster, on a regular forum for Lap Band surgery who is just sharing a thought in a regular way...no offense is meant towards anyone So, as I have been reading and posting today I have been thinking... am I embarrassed to have had this surgery? No way! I was embarrassed when I couldn't fit comfortably in my seat on the airplane, when my thighs rubbed so much they were raw, when the skin folds on my body had an odor (you know what I mean).... those are the embarrassing things and honestly my surgery is not in anyway something to be ashamed of. I am honest always regarding my weight loss and my surgery - it doesn't matter who it is I am sharing it with - and this is my personal choice - if you do not want to tell anyone that is fine too and that doesn't mean you are embarrassed by it just you are more reserved for your reasons than I am. Plus, I always think back to when Star Jones had surgery but she wouldn't say she had surgery.... I know I was wondering why she didn't. So yes, I am proud to have had my surgery - I have no issues with it and if someone does well it is no different than any other aspect of life - people will have different thoughts, feelings and their own insecurities and issues - who gives a rats a$$

Yes, I have experienced that pain and I ended up having a port that would bonk against my rib area and cause pain that got worse and worse. I would call your surgeon, be very adament that you need to be seen, they need to determine what is going and then fix it! I ended up having a port revision with a low profile port that was smaller and thinner. My surgeon was very responsive to my needs. Good luck to you and do not take no for an answer!!!

LOL, I also read your post more than once and I was praying you were thinking Kilos not Pounds! Heh - funny about the virginity reference - I find it funny :tongue2: Good luck to you can't wait to hear more from you as well! Barbie

I have the same issue as well, some days it is all I can do to get some calories in and then others I am so hungry I can barely stand myself! Of course the mornings difficult regardless, I am so tight I can only have my coffee for the first 2 hours after waking.

Aw, screw it! I will confess, I needed to gain weight because I too was under the bmi requirement for my insurance company. I ate crappy and gained (like I wouldn't have anyways?) and I wore the heaviest wool sweater, jeans etc anything that was heavy for my weigh in - I made it. So, I ended up losing it afterwards for my pre surgery requirement and all has worked out fine. If I had not gained, I would not have had surgery, if I had not surgery I would have gained!:wink_smile:

I understand how you feel. It is hard to accept compliments and it is hard to "see" how you are changing when your mind just won't wrap around it. Simply say thank you when you get a compliment and maybe have some updated photos taken that you can compare your old ones with? You are so much more than your weight loss - but I have to say that 40lbs is freaking amazing! Your hard work is obviously paying off. Good luck to you :wink_smile:

Well it seems we have all shared our experiences and I am glad I asked the question, although I worried I would offend or hurt someones feelings I was hesitant - but everyone was very pleasant and adult when answering, I can see I didn't have a thing to worry about after all :wink_smile: So that being said it was great hearing everyones take on their privacy, lack of privacy, etc. in regards to their surgery and LapBand - hopefully I will get to know some of you better as I putter along in this forum now that I am not lurking and reading posts for the better part of my evening :thumbup: Barbie

Hello! My port is below my right ribs a few inches down, this a new low profile port however. I had to have this new one put in on November 19th as I had pain from my other one. Much better now Good luck to you and welcome!

Thank you so much you guys!

Well, my first blog here at lapbandtalk.com and I feel nervous - I mean what if someone actually reads this? I named it "1 pound at a time" because I have to start remembering that just like the Alcoholic Anonymous saying " one day at a time" it really is one pound at a time. I cannot keep looking so far ahead a that I lose sight of the here and now, the little triumphs and the little victories. So today was that little victory, I lost one pound - and I am fine with this as I haven't lost for a month - now I am proud to say I am 193.5! My goal this month is to hit 190 and I believe not only will I do it but I will exceed.... but again, one pound at a time... stop looking so far ahead that you set yourself up, that you become lax in your food and your exercise... these are the things I need to remember.