Lizalee

Glad to hear I'm not the only one! I noticed the same thing..I'm almost 2 weeks post op. One incision (port) has a tiny loop and suture end showing. I'm just leaving it alone, careful not to pick at it. Will show to my MD when I see her in May...if it doesn't drop out before then. If it gets inflamed or drains, see your MD ... otherwise, I'd agree with the others...leave it alone. You could cover with a bandaid if it catches on things. Good luck!

Thanks for the "heads up" Ceradad

Yesterday I bought a big bag of dog food, and a bag of bird seed. I had trouble lifting the 44 pound bag of dog food into the cart, and the bird seed was even heavier and denser. But, I managed. Then, as I was unloading from the van, I looked at the bird seed bag - 50 pounds! I could hardly lift that thing (I'm supposed to be taking it easy 10 days post op), and I realized, I've lost THIS MUCH weight! I can't imagine walking around with this bag strapped to me. It was SO heavy. And yet, that's exactly what I did! No wonder I have so much energy now -- and I can only imagine how great I will feel with the other two are gone too!:tongue_smilie:

Hi You're right...lifting it probably was too much, but actually, as far as I know, I am not on any restrictions now - only 5# restriction the first week, now I can do what I feel up to. However, thanks for the concern - and I don't plan on doing that much lifting again soon. I actually only lifted it into the cart & car, and when I saw how heavy it was at home, had my daughter carrry it into the garage!

14. That's the smallest size I can ever remember wearing. I have no idea what weight that is, or if a size 14 today is like a 14 of 30 years ago...but when I can fit into a size 14 jeans, it will be the ultimate victory. I've never worn a 12, so that seems like an impossible goal to strive for...but who knows???

I agree with the "stomach surgery" line. It's really nobody's business unless you want them to know. I made the mistake of not making it clear to DH that I did not want his family to know...they are rather simple people, though very nice and caring, I knew they wouldn't have a clue about this type of surgery. His mom had a stroke and has trouble talking. He went and blabbed to them when I had the surgery 1 1/2 weeks ago, which of course they don't understand as predicted. Now every time I see/talk to them, all they ask is "what do you have in you, what can you eat, etc, etc" I try to minimalize it in hopes they will get the message -I don't want to explain about it to them, over and over...but I know this will go on forever now...plus they will comment every time about how I look (thinner, fatter, whatever). Tell people you want to know, don't tell those you don't want to know. Make it clear to the people who know it's private, personal information. Let the rest think what they want. And I agree...nobody better say this is "the easy way"!

You guys are TOO funny! I too have been enjoying the new-found easy reach! That, and not having to wait for the handicapped stall to open up so I could spread out, if you know what I mean! You're right- it IS the simple things in life that we enjoy!!

Deleted...so not to be part of somebody's book!

LOVE this thread! I won't miss...many of the things everybody else said! Plus... *Looking at myself in family pictures with complete shame & embarassment, and throwing as many away as possible! (Consequently, not many pictures of me the last 20 years!!) *Sitting with the old folks instead of swimming, biking, playing volleyball, softball. *Carrying around a 'daddy max' super strong folding chair that weighs a ton because I am way over the weight limit for everything else. *Only wearing two styles of shoes because my feet need all the support they can get. *Wearing socks and shoes, even when it's 90! (see above) *Wearing long pants when it's 100! *My old 5X clothes!!!

OK, you officially have me scared! How did it happen? I want to avoid the horrible thing you just suffered.....!!!

Hey, I'm only 6 days post op, but I lost weight preop. I was on 2 diabetes meds - now only 1/2 dose of one! My blood test (Hemaglobin A1c) was great! My BP has been really good-- I bet I'll be off that soon. My lipid panel was so improved, my Dr. told me to only take it every other day now. This was all BEFORE the band. I am very hopeful that I will be off ALL my meds before long! (And I have a long way to go yet!) Yippe!

Hi back, Marci! Yes, I had my surgery last week Wednesday. I'm doing great! Was in the hospital about 18 hours after surgery...first few days very typical - pretty sore, gas pains and rumblings - but I've been able to be up and around, and walking does help. I'm only taking the liquid Vicodin at night, and plain tylenol during the day. Hard to get all the Protein Shakes they say I should have in! It seems like I'm always sipping something... Have not been hungry at all. I've heard this immediate post op phase of being full passes one the swelling goes down, and then we enter 'bandster hell' of being hungry all the time until the right amount of fill is in...but meanwhile, I'm enjoying NOT being hungry while only eating probably less than 600 cal's a day. My surgeon requires pureed food x 2 weeks post op - so I have 2-3 ounces of food 3 x a day, and supposed to get in 2 full cans of Protein shakes in addition, on top of 64 ounces of water! Goal is 60 grams of Protein a day. So far it's been hard to reach that goal! It's really amazing that they can do this surgery with only 5 little incisions - most less than an half-inch long. I had a hernia repair as well. The pain from the incisions is minimal, and it's only the larger port incision that is sore at all. I am SO happy the surgery is over, and wish everybody the best while you recover or wait for YOUR happy Band/Surgery day. BTW - I considered bypass instead of the band also. Really wasn't sure which would be best for me. The Bariatric center team does help with that...they evaluate your eating patterns, weight loss needs. In the end, I was more concerned about the increased risks of bypass, and the side effect of possible dumping syndrome. Cutting out and re-routing intestines seemed too drastic/risky for ME, so I chose the lap band instead. I had been able to eliminate excess sweets pre-surgery, and change my eating habits. However, for some people, the gastric bypass works better - because of the negative effects of a eating sweets/ dumping syndrome helps them avoid them, and the malabsorptive features are what they require to loose weight. I can't predict how this will work for me...but right now I am VERY optimistic that I'll meet my weight loss goals. Best wishes to my fellow Wisconsinites!

Livn4jesus, So sorry to hear your date was delayed. I can imagine how hard it is to wait! I know how it was for me. Every day seemed to last so long. Hang in there -- it's only 7 more days! You'll be a bandster VERY soon!

Hi fellow bandsters -- hey, it sounds so neat to say that! I've got my band!! :-) Surgery was yesterday morning, just arrived home today. Feel sore, sound like about what everybody else is feeling, and some gas pains are brewing. Feell SO bloated! Having "full liquids" today, and tomorrow am allowed to start pureed food. Not hungry at all! Pain meds helping, but getting up and turning over are the hard parts. Working on walking more to get things moving - but only so much to do in the house - raining outside here and cold! Take care!

Good Luck Egorsgirl1! I'm with you! Leaving for hospital shortly!! Please pray for us! Hope to hear good news from all the April 9th's very soon!

Thanks for letting us know how you all did...tomorrow's the day for me to, and now I'm getting nervous... After all these months of planning, now that the day is coming, I'm wondering if I have gotten everything I'm supposed to have, what I should pack tonight, etc. Not looking forward to pain, etc!

Hi! I didn't count, but it seems like a lot of April Avengers are nurses/planning to be nurses! I too am a RN, spent 20+ years as an ER nurse, then got into quality and risk. Live in Wisconsin, married x almost 25 years. 4 children, 23, 21, 18, and 16. Two boys, then two girls. My oldest son is married, and my second son graduates next month from college-- BSN! We have 2 Pembroke Welsh Corgis (the ones with no tail), 2 horses, and a lop ear rabbit. And I'm getting banded in 2 days...April 8! Am very happy to be getting this milestone accomplished after several months of preparation and moving on the the next phase...hopefully loosing a LOT of weight! Good luck to everybody and nice to meet all of you! What an exciting month for us all!

Good luck to you fellow Wisconsinites. I am from Sheboygan, and getting banded next week at Aurora Sinai in Milwaukee. They have a Bariatric Center of Excellence, so they have a comprehensive program and lots of info on the outcomes they have seen. There is a lot of 'red tape' associated with the COE, and insurance coverage, but hopefully it will be worth it!

Only One or two things? Can't narrow it down... Ride my horses Buy clothes in any store, off the rack Never, ever, have to catalog shop "women's extended sizes" again Ride a bike Garden, and be able to bend over to pick weeds without falling over or nearly having a stroke! Wear real blue jeans with zippers and pockets instead of stretch waistbands! Sit on any chair anywhere without fear of it breaking. Fly, drive, or take a train and fit into ANY seatbelt! Run, just run Tuck in a shirt. Sit in a booth at a restaurant, or a student desk in a school. Try on my current pants, and fit my whole body into one leg Not be the elephant that sticks out in the family picture - for my next son's wedding... Go swimming I could go on all day... Won't it be fun!!??

LoraLei: That's a neat way to think of it...on two levels. I too have a whole 'nother person's (weight in pounds) in me...I hope to be half my current size in the next....year or two? I also have a whole 'nother person in me...the thin one who wants so bad to get out!! You're right, we CAN and MUST do this! I don't know about you, but nothing else has worked for me and I'm so close to beginning my new life...starting April 9!!

Hi you all. Great to read this thread - you'all are thinking my same thoughts. I enjoy your posts, IndioGirl, because they set my mind to what will be coming and what to expect. I'm being banded April 9. It's starting to feel real! I just hope and pray that it's the tool that is going to help me FINALLY get to a normal weight and lifestyle after all these years. I've been on a low cal, low fat diet for 4 months and lost about 40 pounds, and have already seen changes in my life...I feel SO much better, am already cutting down on my diabetes meds and my cholesterol meds. BP is great! Saw my doc recently and he's really confident I will get off ALL my meds very shortly w/ continued weight loss!!! Yippe!! I look forward to continuing this journey with all of you!

Hi! I had to smile reading the above posts. I'm somewhere between "complete faith in my surgeon and God" and "Worried about everything." I don't know the satistics, but I'm sure your doctor does - by all means ask him/her! From what I recall, they are pretty small....having said that, they do occur, but they are not the "norm". Not to scare you further, but there are all KINDS of things that CAN happen. If you trust statistics, the chances are good that you will NOT have any complications! If you trust in God (I do), then trust he has a plan for you and is leading you to take good care of your body! Good luck to all of you!!

Truckoholic - I read your post and go "yep, yep" -- well, for most of it (don't plan on having any more kids, etc). LisaB411 - I too fear the complications, and the 'never being able to eat _____ (fill inthe blanks, since I love everything). But, Like Truckoholic, I have started to dream about everything I've missed out on in the past years of being fat... I too want to ride a bike again (especially w/ gas prices today!) I want to run and play and garden. I want to shop and buy nice clothes. It took me a year to decide to have the surgery. The first time I read about the life style changes I thought, NO WAY. I could never do that! Only eat a 1/2 cup of food? Never get my money's worth of an all you can eat buffet? Skip pizza? It seemed too radical. But over the following year, It was sitting in the back of my brain... Last fall, I revisited the whole issue, and decided it was time. What was I waiting for? At 50, my life is probably more than half over! When was I going to start enjoying myself? Was food that important to me? The past 4 months have required life style changes in preparation for the surgery. I've lost a little weight, and I'm finding that I really don't miss eating large quantities of food as much as I thought. I still cheat -- and need more food than I'd like to feel satisfied. But that's what I'm hoping the band + proper fill will help me out with...less hunger, less food = weight loss! I already feel better just loosing what I have. I can only imagine how great I will feel next year at this time! I read a lot of studies and statistics to convince myself this was safe. My surgery is in about 2 weeks, and yes, I'm scared about the possible complications, pain, diet changes. Maybe you're not emotionally ready for the surgery - you CAN cancel it! But, maybe you're just having the normal jitters... There is risk in everything we do, every choice we make. Do the PROS of having surgery outweigh the cons? Only you can decide for yourself! Good luck!

Isn't it great to have a surgery date and be working to a fixed goal? I've been doing a low-cal, low-fat, no-carbonation diet now for the past 3 months, and it was hard not having a surgery date, approval, etc. But now that my surgery date is 2 weeks away, it's starting to be real, and I'm even starting to think PAST surgery now. Before everything was an effort to get to the surgery....and now I'm actuallyl thinking beyond. I can't wait for the surgery to be over! I'm in a slow weight loss period (at first the pounds came off easier!), so I'm looking forward to hopefully getting off this plateau once I'm in the post-op liquid/mushie weeks and beyond...?? It's Spring, and time for a fresh start on life!

Dear Oneangelinva: I agree w/ shortgal, it sounds like an endoscopy - or sometimes called an "EGD". It is a flexible scope that has a fiberoptic light at the end, which the doctor can watch on a TV screen. The doctor looks at the inside of your esophagus, stomach, and first part of the small intestine, and checks for inflammation, ulcers, and anything abnormal. He/she can also take biopsies and a test for H. Pylori, the germ that can cause ulcers in some people. It's done with sedation in an IV to take care of any pain and to help you relax. Most people don't remember much afterwards because of the medicine. It's not as bad as it sounds. It is a very common procedure these days. Good luck with your journey!