jms462001

Some lucky people with decent insurance get the tummy tuck covered if they can show the excess pannus causes health problems with rashes and such. I guess you go to the Dr for treatment and keep documentation of your problems. I couldn't even get the band covered so it would be out of the question!!!!!!

I guess before you visit, make sure they are board certified! I would ask how many procedures they have done. Get plenty of references. Look at his before and after photo book which should be extensive. Make sure he has had plenty of experience with bariatric patients. Ask what type of screening he does before working on bariatric patients and what tests he requires. Ask how he performs the surgery and what to expect after as far as recovery and follow up with him. Of course price and all that. I'm sure there are dozens of ?'s I'm not thinking of!! I would google and find out what all questions to ask. Keep in mind that bariatric patients have special circumstances to consider which is why it is good to find P Surgeons who are experienced with working on such patients.

There was a plastic surgeon at my group meeting the other night. He was the guest speaker and was very informative and showed lots of photos. He explained that bariatric patients are more high risk for complications andd normally he prefers to do one procedure at a time. Plus, he feels better results are received that way. he seems to do very good work. Perhaps he is more expensive than some due to his great work, but he said a tummy tuck depending on the number of hours needed in surgery would run around 10-12K. The results were amazing even when the patient had quite a bit of fat left that had to be removed along with the excess skin.

Doesn't matter how much we exercise, if we lose much more than 50 pounds and have been carrying it for awhile, we will be left with excess skin. No amount of exercise will cure that unfortunately.........only plastic surgery.

30 minutes after meals is fine for me.

Probably around 1200 depending on your activity level. Try to get your Protein first then veggies followed by good carbs if still hungry. You should try not to go under 1000 cals. a day. Eating is a learning process, trial and error! It takes practice and time. With two small children, I'm sure it's difficult to take the time needed. You should set aside time when they are napping or in bed for the night perhaps so that you can take your time and concentrate on eating slowly and taking small bites and chewing really well! Good luck to you! You will do fine and it may take a few fills to get good restriction!!

Could be, but probably it's just that you haven't fully recovered from the surgery and the initial drastic change in your diet and the liquid phase and all. I'm sure you'll soon be doing better!!! Probably much better than before surgery!!

I'm more scared of the 10 days of pain than the skin!!!!!!!

You are doing everything right so you probably just need another fill!! Some people need several before they get to that right place!! I need another one soon too!! I think I have fill phobia now (afraid of being too filled!!) Good luck to you!

I don't know how you can live that way and I'm surprised your band is still fine if you vomit frequently. Have you ever thought about or have you seen a different surgeon? I'm sorry to hear you or anyone would have to go through such a thing all the time. The couple times it happened to me when I ate wrong was more than I could tolerate. I won't ever let my band be too tight because of those experiences!!!

But, are you eating hard Protein? Anything else and you probably will be hungry in 2-3 hours.

I think I have around 4.5 or 5 and it has been very good for me.

You have it right! As we lose weight we lose fat around the band and it loosens up and we need another fill. That should mean, I would think, that we would have less cc's when we went back, but that's not the case. So how does that work??

I think you are right. I ate about a dozen homemade cookies for dinner tonight (over a period LOL) I have not done that since Christmas so I don't feel too guilty. They went down really easy as did the ones I ate yesterday when I made them. It takes me a long time to eat the meat, chicken, or even fish that I normally eat. Even Beans I have to eat much slower and get full much faster. It definitely depends on eating the way we are supposed to!! If one has a near full band, there is no way they can eat 1- 2 cups of chicken or beef at one meal!! (at least I am fairly certain they can't!)

The muscle milk lite does not taste bad and if you blend some peanut butter in with the chocolate it's quite yummy......and believe me, I'm one of those people who gave away about 6 cans of various kinds of protein. I hate most everything I've tried!!

Most people can't eat bread which is really good since we should avoid carbs except veggies and some fruits during our weight loss phase. Many people can't eat rice and Pasta either.

Tuna salad and egg salad are quite economical to make. Peanut butter is ok for a snack and filling. Remember, soon you will be getting full on small amts of food so you will be surprised how far even a supermarket pre-cooked chicken will go. You can make chicken salad, put it in some fat free gravy, salsa, or any sauces you enjoy!

Oh, wow, you are just going in really soon!!!!! Congrats and god luck!! Your goal and age just about matches my stats. Just think, by the New Year you will probably be really close to your goal weight!!!!!!! It feels great to wear skinny clothes!!

I don't know about that! I lost lots of weight when I was 18 and had excess skin. After 3 babies and 54 yrs of age, I know I'm going to have loose skin!!!!!! But, I'm surprised that it really is not much worse than it was yrs ago. As long as I look great in clothes, I'm not too worried!!

Hey, I guess it makes sense, perhaps, since it is supposed to shrink hemroids! I think it would get rather expensive though!!

My NUT says there is absolutely nothing that can be done about excess skin except plastic surgery.......no exercise. Exercise will just build muscle under it. However, I have heard several times that the skin does tighten up to some extent for a year after we lose all of our excess weight and that is why we are told to wait a yr after losing our weight to have any plastic surgery. I guess we just have to wait and see. I'm not planning on wearing a bikini anytime soon anyway LOL!

I think the reason some people are let down is because they think weight loss will change who they are and fix all their problems. It does make us healthier and boosts the self esteem, but basically we are the same people with the same problems. And, if we were good people with wonderful personalities fat, we will be that way thin. If we were unhappy bitches fat, we'll probably be that way skinny!!!!!! The significant others often get insecure and it has caused lots of problems for some couples. I guess we just have to give them lots of extra attention as we start getting a bit more!!!

Congrats on the weight loss success!!! Have you had that annual test to check your band to make sure everything is alright with it? If you are not too tight, it's not normal to PB all the time. I certainly hope that doesn't happen to me after 2 yrs and I have lost all my weight. Good luck to you and let us know what you find out!

I didn't think her problem was lack of protein as she did say she was getting enough. I was responding to your comment which seemed to suggest that the need for more protein is not true. I don't think we are told that we need more than pre-banding. I think most people get more than 60 grams a day in their diets without the lapband. Just a couple big-macs would probably do!!! We consume so few calories that we must focus on it because our bodies cannot store it and if we do not, we will have a problem with deficiency.

I agree, if you are PB'ing, you need to go for an unfill even if it is only slight. I have only had 2 fills and went back right after the second and had .5 removed because I immediately knew the following day I was too tight. I only lose 1-2 pounds a week, but I can eat easily if I take small bites and chew well and I can eat most anything without a problem. At first after the second fill, there were things I could not eat. I like it much better now with less restriction. I still get full quite quickly yet I don't have to worry about getting sick no matter what I eat. I think it's the head hunger that causes banded people to have slow weight loss anyway and being too tight only tends to make people lean towards slider foods which slow or stop weight loss.