Tiffykins

I carry 80% of my weight in my abdomen so I know a pannus removal and TT will have to be done, but I'm going to wait until after we're done making babies. . . I'm wondering if anyone had a complete change to their body shape? I'm really round around the middle, big boobs, a heart shaped flat butt, and my legs are nicely shaped. I'm paranoid about ending up "pear" shaped. I don't want to lose my boobs completely. My mom is 100% pear shaped, little boobs, big butt and hips, smaller waist. She had LapBand in Nov 2007, and lost 75-78lbs, but was always pear shaped. So, she's just smaller pear shaped now. So, has anyone's body shape changed? ? ?

I'm hoping to have insurance cover the pannus removal. Tricare is pretty picky about covering them, but apparently all you have to do is document rashes/sores/pain/discomfort/self esteem issues. I've heard of them covering breast augmentation as well. The husband said he doesn't care if I get new boobs or not, by the time I get to goal, we'll have to see what the boobage looks like. I'm pretty sure I'll want new boobs. Hopefully, I can get the saggy arm skin to shrink some, but I'm not going to have those messed with at all.

I'm sorry for the loss of your father, and all of the headaches going on with all the bank stuff. . .

I would love to lose the first 100lbs in 12 months. I personally don't think that is unrealistic considering that's 2lbs a week. I'm going to set some goals next week once I find out about the TPN. I can't wait until I can exercise again. I loved when I started working out after the band, and then my old surgeon made me stop when I started having so much port pain. My neighbor has a pool, and told me I can use it once I get released. I'm walking a little right now, but I run out of gas pretty quickly. 50lbs gone by end of September would be amazing, and maybe that will be my first goal. Losing more than 100lbs is so daunting to me. I know it can be done, but does anyone else ever feel like it's not going to happen? My husband said he can't imagine me weighing 150lbs. He says it's going to be awkward because he's never known me to be "small".

Congrats on your date Deb ! ! ! Be safe in your travels, and keep us posted. . .

I'm 32 years old, and have an 11 year old son from a previous relationship that my now husband has deemed "his". My son calls him "dad" and as far as they are concerned they are father and son. When the husband returns from deployment, we have discussed my husband adopting Caysen. It's something all of us want. I would be perfectly happy not having another child, but I do want a child with my husband. It's contradictory sounding I know, but I never, ever wanted children. My husband is 6 years my junior, and wants a child of his own biologically and I respect and understand his wants/needs. I spoke with my surgeon, and he said that we had to wait 12 months before we could even try to conceive. My surgeon told me I would have to see a high risk ob/gyn for the pregnancy, and be very mindful of my calorie intake. I'm not sure what it will be like to be pregnant with the sleeve. I had an amazing pregnancy with my son, and can only hope that we will be blessed with a great pregnancy next year.

I feel the same way Elisabeth. . . I have set a long term goal of 113-120lb total lost. I'm not sure how to set short term goal. My husband is due home from deployment end of Sept/early October. So, I have about 3.5 months until he gets home and I would love to have a goal set, but I don't know what would be realistic considering my specific situation. My surgeon mentioned that he didn't want me to lose more than 30lbs before September. Well, I left the hospital on Friday, and my discharge weight was 263, today I am at 247lbs. That's 16lbs, I'm sure it will slow down once I get off the TPN, and can start eating, but right now I'm losing pretty quickly. I haven't had anything to eat or drink since June 2nd which I am sure is contributing to the quick loss. They pumped me full of fluids during the critical condition and ICU stay which bumped me up to 297lbs last Monday. I was urinating ever 45 minutes once they pulled the foley cath. . . It's hard to say what goals I want to set or achieve just because everything is so weird for me. Maybe next week when I have another leak test, and hopefully start Clear liquids, I'll be able to get a better feel for what I can expect. . .

Thanks, I went ahead and requested it to be changed back to my original name that I had on LBT. . .

Thanks for explaining that for me ! ! !

I changed my username when this place opened up. Do I need to request to change it back to Tiffykins?

Even with all the complications, I am so glad that I went through with the revision. I was nervous at first which I think is expected and 100% acceptable. I knew that if I continued with my band, the damage being done to my stomach would continue, and I would continue to regain weight. The leak situation was scary, but truthfully, the leak surgery wasn't what caused problems for me, it was my lungs. I am still recovering, and am 100% happy with my choice to go with the revision. My surgeon is a military surgeon and had only done a couple of revisions, but going to true revision surgeon was/is not an option for me due to insurance restraints, and there is no way I could afford self-pay. He has done hundreds of sleeves and bands, and a few revisions from band to bypass, and band to sleeve. I knew that he didn't have loads of revision experience, but I was confident in my choice. After my first surgeon experience, who has done 1000's of bands and bypasses, and had an impeccable rep from people I had spoken with, I was no longer going off what other people said about a surgeon were because my first surgeon was horrific which led me to having a revision 8 months out of the band surgery in the first place. Don't let the fear of a leak keep you from researching the sleeve more and ultimately deciding what is very best for your future health. Best wishes. . .

Far too similar to how the band works for me. . . I wouldn't go through the pb'ing, sliming, and regardless if I had no incisions.

Thank you so very much for sharing your story. . .

Even with all my complications, the leak, I have absolutely zero regrets about revising to the Sleeve. The Band was horrible for me, and I didn't regret having it done, but my life was miserable with it. I know I am just a 1.5 week out, and my recovery is still on-going. I'm not even on Clear liquids yet. I have a central line with a TPN for another week before I can even move onto anything by mouth. I'll admit this is not fun, it's exhausting, but I have no pain like I did with the band everyday, I'm not sure how I'll feel in a month, 6 months, or a year. I know that if I would not of gone through with the revision, I would of ended up regretting the band and having even more adhesions and scar tissue from my band.

I have a 32F bougie tummy size. My surgeon apparently had to remove a couple of centimeters of length, he said that my sleeve is actually a little "shorter" because of the scar tissue and damage stomach tissue that he had to remove due to the lovely band. That's about the best I can explain it without drawing a picture since he drew me a picture, it's hard to put it into words.

I had my band removed June 3rd and revised to the sleeve. Revision surgery went semi-smoothly, the surgeon had to remove large amounts of scar tissues and a few adhesions from the band, port and the tubing. Recovery went smoothly until the 3rd leak test on Friday, and low and behold a leak was found. I went back to surgery, spent 4 days in ICU, but am recovering at home now. I was discharged yesterday, and have done quite well. I have a central line and a TPN bag and am completely NPO until the 22nd. Pain has been minimal, no hunger, mainly uncomfortable gas. Walking, walking, walking, resting, resting, resting that's about all my days consist of. My mom drove from Texas on Saturday to pick up my son. They wouldn't allow John to come home from Afghanistan because I had more than 10% chance of pulling through the leak repair. My in-laws have been here since June2nd and are heading home today. I have a home health nurse coming in once a day to change my TPN bag, and make sure I am doing it correctly. Anyways, I appreciate all of you that have kept me in my your thoughts and prayers. I'm on my way ! ! !

I am so elated for you! ! ! Call or text when you can. . .

I hope ya'll are both recovering and feeling well today ! ! !

Dr. Nye (Civilian Pensacola Fl) did my initial band sugery 10/01/08. Since my needs were not being met, and my pain proceeded to get worse with the flipped port and other complications. I went back through the Tricare system and chose Dr. Michael Michel (Major Michel USAF) at Eglin AFB, FL for the revision. The leak was fixed immediately. My lungs did not want to cooperate once the leak was repaired and that is what landed me in critical condition. I had chronic asthma as a child, and the surgeon believes that 2 surgeries were just too much plus the stress of the leak was too much for me to recovery smoothly. I don't remember last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I remember waking up Monday and was in ICU. I can't say enough about wonderful things about the staff at Eglin AFB hospital, especially the ICU nurses. Dr. Michel knew the revision was going to be tricky since I had all the 'tugging' from my port, and pain I was describing he knew the scar tissue and adhesions would complicate things. The initial surgery went so smoothly, and no one knows why the leak happend, I was still NPO, and was feeling quite well. I was supposed to be discharged that afternoon. As soon as I swallowed the contrast, something felt totally wrong, and I knew in my heart of hearts that I had leak. I had a bit of an anxiety attack, and just couldn't wrap my head around why all this was happening. I am so grateful to be alive. I do not regret my decision in my surgeon, or my decision to go through with the revision, I believe my case was not the norm, and a leak could of occurred regardless of who the surgeon was behind the scalpel.

I started my WLS journey over 3 years ago when I still lived in Texas. My research began, and as life happens, things obviously changed. I met my now husband in March 2006. He's active duty Air Force and was stationed in Massachusetts at the time. Fast forward , I relocated myself and my son to MA in Aug '07, we married in Feb '08 and then we got orders in April 2008. We pcs'd to Florida and I started my WLS research again once we got settled in. I met with 2 different surgeons. One was cold, he was new to the area, and I just didn't click with him. The other, a little abrasive, but I had spoken with several of his patients, did my research, had consults, and felt good about my decision. I was approved by Tricare within 7 days of my referral submission. I had decided on LapBand, and was pleased with my choice. My mother had LapBand in '07, and was a great support to me. Surgery scheduled October 01, 2008. My starting weight was 271lbs. My problems/issues with the band started the day of surgery. I am only 5'2", and couldn't get my hiney in the hospital bed even though it was lowered. A nurse had me lift my arms over my head, and physically pull myself into the bed by pulling on the bedrails while she held my ankles. I felt a shredding, ripping pain across my abdomen. I was told it's just some stretching, don't worry you'll be okay. I woke up the next morning with an enormous bruise across my abdomen under my port. I believe with every ounce of my being that this is where/when my port flipped/twisted or at least this is when my port sutures were weakened. I went home and managed to do quite well with weight loss until it was time to get fills. I had a few other complications with lap site infections, and other port issues from day 1. I went through 3 fills, and still no restriction. I lost 30lbs the first 2.5 months. But, started gaining when the surgeon refused to give me a fill. He has every lapband patient on the same fill schedule and he isn't willing to waiver. Okay, fine so I let it be known that I was dissatisfied. I never wanted the band to ballooned out with a max fill, but I would like my surgeon to take my individual needs into consideration. To no avail, he wasn't going to budge. Late February, I went in for a fill. He could not access my port, and after gouging on me for 10+ minutes, he finally gave up and scheduled me for fluoro fill. I went in a couple weeks later, and after 20 minutes of gouging around on me again under fluoro, he couldn't access it again. I was devastated. . . He tried to imply that I probably flipped it having sex. UMMMM NO, the husband is at pre-deployment training, and yeah, I've told you about my port pain since late December. Least to say, I decided to leave his practice, and am currently going through a revision to VSG with a military surgeon. I have had nothing but issues with my previous surgeon. Trying to get my medical records has been a chore in itself, and now my records are not even complete. He never documented my flipped port, my complaints of port pain, nothing. I have surgery on Wednesday, June 3rd. I have a clotting disorder that is now being treated. If I would of never decided to get away from the old surgeon, I would of never found out that I have this clotting issue. I am at a pain level of 6-8 daily, and have been dealing with this since February/March when the port literally moved. Luckily, all of that issue will soon be resolved, and I can move forward in my WL journey. My in-laws are flying down to stay with me since the husband is deployed, and will be staying with me for 12 days. . . I can't wait for Wednesday to get here. I am not really all that nervous, and I am just praying for a smooth surgery and recovery. I know it's going to be tough, but I have survived the band, I'm positive I will survive the revision. There's alot of the story that I left out to try to condense, but I wouldn't let someone put a band back in me if they paid me. My new surgeon wanted to just do a port revision, and I just told him that I was not going to deal with the band anymore. It's more than just a flipped port, every time I bend over, or twist from side to side, it feels like a the tubing is pulling/ripping across my abdomen and actually pulling my band that is attached to my stomach. NOT GOOD, get it out of me. . .

I've had 2 different nutritionist sign off on me using them because I seriously tried 15 different flavors and brands of the powders and could not tolerate them with milk, soy milk, Water, nothing I could not stomach them at all, even the unjury unflavored flavor made me gag. I took in the nutritional label from the New whey Protein shot, and they looked them up, and approved them for my usage. I'm glad to know that we can absorb more than 30grams of protein. My first nutritionist advised that consuming more than 30 was fine, and would help me, while the 2nd one I met with about 3 weeks ago, advised against it.

I'll definitely keep you dad in my thoughts. . . You're doing great, and I appreciate you sharing your experience.

June 3rd BABY ! ! ! Just a couple of days . . .:laugh:

I agree that I'll probably switch back to the 42g because the GNC here on our base doesn't carry the 26g varieties. I picked up some of the 26g IDS brand tonight at Wal-Mart. They are 3oz shots either way 42g or 26g, so I figure I might as well get the 42g. I really like the Kellogg's Special K Protein Waters. They have only 5g of protein, but I figure 5g is better than zero in plain Water. I love the Iced Tea Flavor, the pink lemonade is okay, and I hated the kiwi strawberry. I buy the powder packet mix and mix them in a bottle of water.