juliegeraci

Thank you all for your posts. I meet with the 2nd PS next week to see what he has to say. I think I will get at least 2 more opinions before this is over with.

Dr. Schulman, I have been through a lot. I am not happy with my tummy tuck or thigh lift and spent $20k for it. I met with a new surgeon yesterday that definitely said my surgeon was not skilled enough for a bariatric patient. He would have done an incision down my stomach and bikini line, starting first with lippo 3 month preop. I don't even want to talk about my thigh lift because it is such a disaster. Do you know of any top notch surgeons in the San Francisco bay area? I live 60 miles South of there. Julie

I am glad this turned out so nicely. It is so nice to have a support systme isn't it.

Girlfriend, you are not even close. PM me if you want more details. I eat 1-2 oz at a time. It took me litterally 45 minutes today to get down 3 oz of protein and about 1/2 cup of salad. My doctor said with good restriction 1/2 egg is enough, yikes!

My doctor said there are 3 types of tightness. Tightness to liquids, which is not good. Tightness to solids which is okay if you don't mind mushies and tightness to mushies which means you need a slight unfill. If you can live on a softer diet and lose its up to you to stay there. Personally speaking I like to consume 1-3 oz of solid protein and a little vegies to get full with PB. Typically takes me 20-30 minutes to do so. I am an expert in this matter as I have had over 20 fills and unfills in just over 2 years. There is a very fine line between being filled too much and not enough so you need to work with the band and your surgeon to find the balance. PM me if you want to chat more. I help a lot of people with fickle bands.b

Girlfriend I feel for you. If you can eat 1-3 oz at a time or no more than 1/2 cup of food you have good restriction. If you can eat 1 cup and still lose no worries, stick to that. For me its less. It took me 45 minutes to eat a small chicken breast and about `1/2 to 3/4 cup of salad today and I was fine for almost 3 hours. I like to be tight and I typically lose 1-2 lbs so that is good. You just have to see how you do with the PBing and stuff like that. If I eat too much or too fast I am in trouble. Last night I ate 1 tablespoon or rice, 3 slices of zuchinni and about 1-2 oz of chicken okay. It took me about 30 minutes. No PB.

Nuts are actually really good for you. Try just a small handfull of almonds 8-10 when you crave them or carbs and they will make a world of difference.

I PM'd you so please answer back. I started at 320 and know exactly what you are going through.

There is a fine line between being too restricted and just right. You need to be able to eat anywhere between 1-3 maybe 4 oz of protein at a time. Today I ate a Subway chicken breast salad. It took me probably 45 minutes but I was able to consume 1 chicken breast and about 3/4 cup of salad with dressing. I get full on about 1 oz right now so I need to eat slow. I lose 1-2 lbs per week. 20 lbs from goal.

The youngest patient my doctor has banded is 16. If you are ready and mature enough you should do it.

My doctor prescribed phentermine to me for my last 20-25 lbs to lose. I take 30mg tablet on an empty stomach in the a.m. The first time I tried it it was aweful. I couldn't sleep at night, had headaches, etc. About 6 months later and no weight loss I tried it again. This time I rejoined Weight Watchers and follow their core program which is high protein, fruits and vegies with limited carbs. I lost 5 lbs in a week with both of those. It can become addicting so if you have addictions you have to be careful. I am hoping with my new eating patterns that I will sustain my long term weight loss after I am off the drug. He gave me a 3 month supply.

Thank you for the post. I am glad to know I am not alone with this addiction.

Has anyone had a tummy tuck revision? My PS wants to do one in the Winter. He said he would lippo and remove more skin, moe the port, etc. I am not going to use him though since he did a poor job in April. Any advise? I am going to lose another 20 lbs before the procedure.

Thanks Jack. I had 2 years sobriety when I slipped. This time I am going to utilize the AA community more. I did have a sponsor but she lived too far away so that wasn't good. I am looking forward to my new surroundings the 25th. Julie

They gave me Vallium

Does anyone have a cross addiction?

Brandi, congrats on your surgery. Best of luck.

Hi Laura, I had 6.5 lbs if pannus removed and it made a huge difference. Good luck in your journey.

Thanks for the post. I've been to several meetings but my parents do not attend. We keep telling my mom to go but I think she is so scared to hear the truth she hasn't. It will be interesting as he is going to be forced into sobriety again when he goes to jail for his failure to appear for 3 drunks in public last week. Typically it only lasts until he gets out so we will see. Thanks again.

Agree with both of those posts on the anti nauseau meds. I had the flu once and could not vomit past my band.

Agreed, liquid does not stretch the pouch.

Starbucks has a new drink with 23 grams of protein and only 2 grams of fat. Jamba juice also has some low carb, high protein smoothies you can have. You can have anything that fits through a straw. Good luck.

Keep your eye on the ball. You can do it. Go for high Protein, low fat, fruit and vegies for the next 12 days and you will lose.

Your surgeon must be caring and wonderful but it makes me wonder how skilled his. To put a port underneat your left boob is just idiotic. I am sorry you are going through this.

I smoked up until the surgery then I quit 2 years later using Chantix. It was quite difficult and it took me 2 times on the drug to actually quit.