lianna

Someone reassure me..........! I am 6 mo post-op and and have so far been obvilious to the fact I had surgery! No Pain at all around my port. I never knew it was even there. Lately I have had a constant tenderness and soreness at my port site. Trust me, I am not excerising or doing anything to cause it, lol!!! It is there when I lay still, in bed, walking, etc... just a little ache. Tell me this is normal, PLEASE!!!

I just realized that I had my one year banded anniversary on the 27th! I am down about 60 lbs, (it fluctuates from 58-61 lbs on any given day) and reaching goal weight seems right around the corner! I feel like for the first time there IS light at the end of the tunnel, and that I will win this battle. I was losing slowly and steadily for the first 9-10 months, but have really hit a plateau the last couple of months bouncing from 169-171. I am in dire need of a fill, but am pretty much okay with the fact that I have been maintaining and not gaining, lol! I have a fill sceduled for Tuesday and hopefully that will kick me back into losing mode. The physical difference is amazing, I have gone from size 20W-22W pants to a loose size 14.....and size 12 is not far away. Back in a 36D bra and out of tight ill-fitting 40DDs and 1X-2X shirts, goodbye to all that back fat, lol. Strangely enough, I have also lost a half to full shoe size. I am completely off meds for borderline high blood pressure (BP is perfect now!), my cholesterol is almost normal, and my blood sugar is under control. I still have to take Metformin, but as long as I do take it my readings are almost perfect! This has been the best and most profound thing I have ever done for myself and my health. My energy level and mood is super! It is amazing the difference in how comfortable, "normal", and confident I feel now. The oddest thing is that I am wearing an entire size smaller at this weight than I did when I was this heavy gaining upwards. I think the fact that I have been doing cardio and strength training has my body in better shape than it was previously at this weight. Maybe it was just pure flab/fat before? Has anyone else noticed this?

I just found this thread! What a great idea to have a place to deal with the issues that crop up when you get to/close to goal. I am in limbo with my weight.... I am actually very happy where I am at, but I am so focused on the darn BMI number that I am obsessing over this last 5-10 lbs. And it aint budging, lol. I have been banded long enough that most things are just second nature by now... I rarely feel "guilt" over anything I eat. Good choices are easy and so is passing up most of the "bad" stuff. I do power walking, or interval walking for 45 minutes every other day. I am easily wearing size 10 jeans and tight size 8. I feel like I would be happy if I didnt lose another single ounce...but I have had 145 as goal for so long that cant give it up. Part of me is so happy to come as far as I have....and the other part is still not satisfied, lol. I really want a normal BMI. Does this make sense to anyone?

You look great! I would love to have a TT and lift, possibly a lift with a small implant. What size are you...a full D? The results are just great, I dont really see a size difference, just that that one may have a tad more swelling.

I have been a slow loser, yet I have been successful at it! I lost very slowly before the band as well. In fact I lost so slowly before that I would go all out and diet and exercise for 2-3 months, and when I was only 10 or 15 lbs down I would get discouraged and frustrated and pretty much give up. I suppose I felt like it was just too hard to stick with it, I wasnt able to make it an actual lifestyle change. The difference for me has been that while I still lose slowly with the band, I have continued to lose the weight! The gradual changes have truly become part of my lifestyle now....healthy foods, daily exercise, awareness of what and how much I am feeding my body..they are like second nature now. I continue to see that pound or two lost add up and it has slowly gotten me almost to goal. There a so many factors that possibly could have increased my loss.... I do exericise, but should do MORE hardcore cardio...I eat pretty good, nice portions and healthy choices 90-95% of the time, but I still severe insulin resistance and still take 1000mg Metformin. Is my age or metabolism a factor? Who knows.... I just know that slow will still get me to 100% of excess weight lost!

I am 5'4" and at 230lbs I was wearing size 20-22W pants. I think I got to the point that most of the weight was going to my butt! I think at 180 I was able to fit into regular 16s. At 151-153lbs I am comfortably in 10s.

I love my band. The weight was really taking a toll on my health, and for the life of me I could not take off any weight and keep it off! Not only am I almost at goal, I now have normal blood pressure and good blood sugar readings.

I am not sticking with my goal. Originally my doctor set that goal, and it seemed great at the time! As I get closer I would now like to get to 135-140 ish. I dont know if I will ever get there, lol, my weight loss just comes to a standstill for weeks at a time now. I know I need to increase my exercise and cut my calories a bit somewhere.....my fill is great. I can eat just about any foods and think more fill would just limit the healthy stuff. So for now I am just plugging along happy to be maintaining or losing slowly.

Well, you shouldnt be eating anything......so I assume you mean liquids? Are you taking tiny little sips and giving them a few seconds to settle in between? For me, warm liquids were the easiest for the first few days post-op. I wouldnt think the gas would cause nausea, but that may be what is doing it. Also, the anesthesia can cause this in people, and can take several days to clear your system. I really have no advice except that you should certainly call your surgeon and let him know what is going on. The heaving is not good.

I took drawstring waist cotton capri sets. It would pay to take some flipflops as well. I was really glad I took my slip on Ked tenny shoes. The bending to put on and tie sneakers would have been tough. Good Luck!

Hello and Welcome! Glad to hear you are doing well and having such an easy time of it!

This is an excellent forum! You will love it for the information and support. As for fighting and arguing, sometimes it happens on any message board, but if it happens here it blows over quickly! Glad your friend recommended this site.

My mom had the same reaction. I told her that the surgery itself was very comparabe to having gallbladder removal.....just trying to give her a perspective since she has had hers removed! I dont understand why people freak out and think you are going to die or something. I have 2 friends that have had hysterectomies and I dont recall anyone wanting them to make sure they had a will beforehand. I guess people get weird over this because it is elective and seems like such a big step.

I have 5. The port scar is about an inch and half,,,,the other 4 are half inch or smaller.

Congratulations!

Sharing with: Everyone incisions and tummy at 18 months Uploaded: May 19, 2007 SEND DELETE I was trying to take a picture of my scars last week, but I was thrilled to notice that my jeans are not the least bit tight now!!! I am hoping that since I finally have some fill in my band again that I can drop another 5-10 lbs in the next month or two.....or 3 at this rate! Even so, I am pretty happy already! Heck of a sight better than I felt or looked in size 20W.

Sharing with: Everyone incisions and tummy at 18 months Uploaded: May 19, 2007 SEND DELETE I was trying to take a picture of my scars last week, but I was thrilled to notice that my jeans are not the least bit tight now!!! I am hoping that since I finally have some fill in my band again that I can drop another 5-10 lbs in the next month or two.....or 3 at this rate! Even so, I am pretty happy already! Heck of a sight better than I felt or looked in size 20W.

Hey! Congratulations on your surgery! I am a fellow Texan, here on the very south tip of Texas! Just wanted to say hello and hope you continue with the smooth recovery.

I dont recall ever hearing anything bad about Dr. Ortiz, but you are wise to research him as much as possible just to have peace of mind! As someone already mentioned pre-arranging aftercare is crucial. I was banded in Monterrey and I was very confident with surgeon and pleased with the hospital and care I recieved.

I love salad and have never had a problem with it!

Same here! I cant access my own journal again.

Hey lower bmi girls! I used to lurk on this thread and havent checked it in a while. It is nice to see others with similar starting weight and goal weight, lol. I just wanted to say hello since I was here. Mischevious, it took me a few months to stop being aware of my port. Now I literally forget it is there.

NataliesMommy, I just want to add my wishes that you have a smooth pregnancy and that your doctor can find a course of treatment that will clear this up for you. If not, then go ahead and go for removal if that is what it takes. Just get yourself healed up so you can enjoy your new baby!

<TABLE style="WIDTH: 595px; HEIGHT: 485px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 bgColor=#dddddd><TBODY><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 30px">incisions and tummy at 18 months </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; WHITE-SPACE: nowrap; TEXT-ALIGN: right">Uploaded: May 19, 2007 SEND DELETE </TD><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" rowSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; WIDTH: 100%; TEXT-ALIGN: center" colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> I am about 10bs to goal and 20lbs to ideal weight now!!!! You cant see the scars so much in this photo, but they arent very bad anymore anyhow.

This is how my scars are now at a year-and-a-half. They have blended in pretty good by now!<TABLE style="WIDTH: 595px; HEIGHT: 485px" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 bgColor=#dddddd><TBODY><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 30px">incisions and tummy at 18 months </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom; WHITE-SPACE: nowrap; TEXT-ALIGN: right">Uploaded: May 19, 2007 SEND DELETE </TD><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 3px; PADDING-LEFT: 3px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 3px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; PADDING-TOP: 3px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" rowSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle; WIDTH: 100%; TEXT-ALIGN: center" colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>