wannabthinagain

I hadn't been around here much, but thought i would update. From Nov. (after my consult) until the 2nd week of January, i managed to gain! ARGH!!! i was up 15 pounds (i had to have some fluid taken out of my band and had to really push it with my eating to feel any restriction). I'm still 9 pounds up, but i'm on track with eating, working out 6 days a week again and have added the C25K program too. I plan to call to make an appointment to have a tiny bit of fill put back. it seems around my period i'm still having sporadic days of restriction and would hate to put too much and on those days can't even DRINK! we are planning to do our taxes on MONDAY and as soon as it hits our bank, calling to book my appointment! I orginally planned for March, but it's looking like i may have to wait until April, the week after Easter break, so i will have help with the kids. I plan to have the 9 pounds gone AND get down another 4 to hit 120. The Dr. said he would take 6-8 pounds off and that should put me around 114 but will LOOK even smaller...I'll take THAT!!

I'm SURE everything is going fine and you will be so very thrilled with your results after you are healed!! sorry i haven't been around but i have read through your post and seen your pictures and you look FABULOUS!! can't wait to hear about today's surgery and watch you finish your transformation!!!!

I'd say if he doesn't have time to answer any and ALL of your questions now, RUN! My consult was FREE, was OVER 2 HOURS and he went through my entire PAGE of typed out questions i brought in. He made me feel like I was the only person he had to see that day if that's the amount of time it took. since then, i have even emailed questions and i have gotten answers and i haven't even booked my date yet! (i'm going to in 2 weeks when we get our taxes back and i'm SOOO excited!) you can call around and find our if their are other surgeons that don't charge for a consultation and go see other even if it is just to see what they say and charge. you will KNOW when it's the right surgeon, you will NOT doubt it. until then, i would keep going to consults!

My cost will be $16,400. I'm having breast lift, inplants (silicone, which are about $1000 more than saline), extended tummy tuck and lipo of the back and upper/lower belly area and around to the back. Fat transfer to my bootie. We are going to use our tax refund to pay for it. we usually get about 12,000 or more back because we withold much more than we have to. the rest we will either pay out right or finance for a short time with no interest (hopefully).

Sorry for your loss! it's a terrible disease! GOOD LUCK with your surgery! i pray for a quick and easy recovery for you! I cannot wait to hear all about it and see the rest of your transformation unfold!!!

Josie used the same Dr. i'm using and had the fat transfer done also. She may be able to answer questions about that since she already had it done. My Dr. said he rathers his patients in the recliner becaue he does NOT want us to straighten out too much. he wants us to stay bent for a while when healing. The hotels he works with usually have recliners in the rooms (also a handicap room so that the showers have bars in them for ease in the shower). I know after my section, i kept a step stool in the shower so if/when i needed to sit, i could. the lawn chair sounds like a great idea too because that would be a little bit higher than my step stool. oh wow...you have JUST had your surgery. i'll have to look to see if you have a thread to read through! I hope recovery is quick for you!!

Oh and i forgot to say, i'm 38 and I've always been only 4'10.5" although my Dr says 4'11" I'll take it! heehee because the other day i measured myself and was 4'10! ACK!! my grandma is only 4'8"!!! i LOVE my Dr! he is FABULOUS! he actually told me i would be fine without implants and did NOT in anyway try to talk me into them. He actually told me to THINK about wanting the implants until i called to book my date. he said i wouldn't have to do any more lifting or anything and they would stay the same for the rest of my life with JUST a lift. with implants, in 20 years, i will have to do something...replace them, have them removed, something as far as maintanance! I'm still going WITH implants though! i don't wanna look too little!!

as for my decision to get implants... he said with just a lift, i would probably be a small C...and i'm afraid i may end up a B. After being DD or so for the last 17 years for the most part, that seems TOOOO little. So, i decided i would go with the implants. My decision on the Silicone Gel is that my sister in law had saline done 5-6 years ago and this past spring, one BUSTED! she went back with the silicone gel instead. even if they bust, they will NOT leak. they feel and look more natural too. the disavantage is you have a set number you can go with and if you are different sizes, it could be harder for the Dr. to make them match. I asked him about my thighs, because he said he will usually do a little into the top of the thighs, but i don't need anything done to the outsides of my legs, i have NO hips are outer thigh. i was concerned with the inner. He said it looks like it's just skin, and that if he did do lipo, it would just make MORE loose skin! DOn't want that! he actually said there was NOTHING wrong with them, just what i see looking down...not when someone else looks at them. i agree because when i look in the mirror, i don't see fat legs, but looking down at them i do. My total cost is $16,400. He took off the 1,000 for fat transfer to the bootie since i was having other things done. We are going to have to sit down and look at the calendar because hubby was saying march, then at the Dr. office he said April (because he will be going out of town 2 weekends in a row at the end of march/beginning of april) but my mom cannot keep the kids over the Easter holidays (the weekd after when all the kids are out of school) because she will have 7 kids to take care of that week! I'm hoping we can do it earlier in March rather than later in April. I want to be HEALED when it warms up here and it can be HOT here by the end of april/beginning of may!

Thanks for asking! it went AWESOME! we made a trip out of the trip to the Dr.! hubby and i went alone (the Dr. is 2 1/2 hours away) while my mom kept the kids. We stayed the night in Galveston and enjoyed being ALONE!! Dr. Adam is WONDERFUL! Even if i had other Dr's to consult with before deciding, i would cancel them because i have NO doubt he's the Dr. for me! I'm going to have a lift, with silicone Gel implants (not sure of the size,YET. probably high profile) with lipo under arms, around to the back if needed. He will lace up my abdominal muscles and do an extended tummy tuck (as far back as he needs to go for it to lay flat and look nice) with lipo around to the back, and about the belly (under the boob area). he will be able to take ALL of my STRETCH MARKS AWAY!!!! WOO!HOO! he THINKS even my port scar will be GONE! IF he can't cut it off (it may be a fraction too high), it will be right at my TT scar line!! the fat he lipo's out, will be transfered to my BUM!!! i have NOOOOOOO bootie whatsoever and this will give me just a tiny bit.... he said my surgery will probably take about 8 hours!! he told me he will take 6-8 pounds away!! that would be 116 if i didn't lose anymore...and he said he didn't think i needed to lose ANYMORE! (i would like to with the attempt to have a not so chubby face! my cheeks are so chubby to me!) He will have a nurse come to the hotel to get me out of the car, into the bed or recliner. He will come the next day to check on me, change my bandages (and show me how). he said after that, i can go home. Hubby made it clear, we will be staying at LEAST 2 days to make sure i have no complications since we would be 2 1/2 hours away. The Dr. said i didn't HAVE to, but it was smart thinking. i could go the 2nd day to have the foley taken out, then go home. I would then go back after 2 weeks. He will do as much as i need over the phone or email if i need anything (if i need him to look at my incisions, he will let me take pics, send them to him, and he will make a dicision if he wants me to make the trip back, or if it's fine (or call something in for me). He is WONDERFUL! his staff was super nice and helpful. I'm SOOOOO pleased! we just need to figure out a date, call them back to let them know, put down a small deposit, and my date will be held! i'm so glad the next few months are filled with holidays and such! it will make the time pass without constantly thinking about how slow it's passing! you must be SOOO excited! it's almost your day!!

well, my husband will be with me every part of the way, so i have a live in bathroom buddy! LOL as for the toliet seat, i'm short, VERY short and don't have a long way to go. I didn't have any problems after either c-sections i had. i didn't think about that, but i wonder if it should be a concern. i have heard about the wedge pillow and i will be asking about that. i have a (rocker) recliner at home and 2 other recliners (that are built into our couch) that i will probably use most. the WORST feeling after my sections was if someone pushed on the back of the rocker recliner and i JUMPED thinking the chair was going BACK and OMG it hurt my incision! i can only imagine after a breast and tummy surgeries! I'm going to learn more through your journey coming up! i hope there isn't anything you aren't prepared for! i already know, something to help me sleep the days before will be needed!!! i was up half the night last night wondering if there is anything i'm forgetting to ask about, thinking about the appointment, wondering what he's going to tell me! I know big button up shirts will be a must so you don't have to raise your arms. baggy pants too. i was thinking wouldn't a moo moo work great! LOL don't they usually have pockets on both sides too? may not be pretty, but should be VERY comfy at first!!

I'm SO excited for you!!! you are looking GREAT ALLIE!!! I cannot wait to hear/see what your results are and how everything goes!! my consult is next week, and after a lot going on and thinking i was going to have to cancel it, i'm getting super excited to hear what he says! Has the house sold? i hope time flies by and your recovery is QUICK!!

Love this thread! i've been reading quite a few of them for a while, and enjoying all the new ones too! Such great inspiration! I finally got tired of not being able to reply to some so.... I just started mine, although i did copy post from this site that i had blogged about. Makes it look like i've blogged from the beginning.. it's here: WannaBthinagain

It's getting CLOSE!! I'm so happy for you! can't wait to hear after your pre-op to hear what you have decided to have done first!! i just noticed your ticker...151 LOST! WOW!! you are awesome!

I've been having some things going on that i'm convinced have been affecting the band. my period has been here or trying to start again for more of the month than NOT. I'm on right now and i've been having trouble with even drinking! Not that i couldn't drink, but that it gave me that stuck feeling most of the time. even in the evenings. I was starting to get reflux at night, and even in the daytime if i wasn't upright for at least 3-4 hours after drinking or eating. at first i thought maybe it was from getting stuck and not sticking to liquids or mushies long enough, or not chewing or sipping carefully, but when making sure i did things right, let the band have some time off (liquids and mushies) and it didn't feel any different, i called for an appointment. I went in this morning. The Dr. and i talked and he thought 1 cc out would be good. THAT scared me. i was hoping for HALF of that at the most. He was concerned that since i've lost a significant amount of weight in this amount of time that it could have slipped due to the band not having as much fat under it. he told me to try this amount for 2 weeks. if i still have trouble, we will UNFILL the entire thing and go from there! YIKES! He was hopeful that i would have INSTANT relief and that when things settle down, if i needed a little more (if i'm eating too much/not losing) that i can go in for a little bit (i'm thinking .5 cc since the 1 has been tight for a while). i didn't drink my coffee this morning before the appointment because even my coffee was giving me trouble the last couple of days! I came home after my appointment, made coffee, and AAAAHHHHHHHHH.....it's GOING DOWN FINE!!!! NO stuck feeling, no reflux.... now, i hope i still have restriction when it comes to eating...and i don't go overboard if i don't!!! i'm SOOOO close to where i want to be...i don't want to go backwards!!!

I am new here! I have a surgery date of March 3,2009! i am getting nervous, yet excited! i cannot wait to start this journey! Thanks! Ros

i guess i'm doing what i did a few months ago when i wouldn't lose for 2 weeks or more, then down 3 pounds at a time.. this morning.... 124 ONE pound to be what the charts say is a NORMAL weight!! FOUR pounds to goal (until i change it!) no headache this morning...I hope it doesn't show up again. I had to leave curves yesterday after 1 round because my head throbbed when i did the machines (i was ok on the recovery boards). then, it made me puke. i left. ended up taking my imitrex even thought i really didn't want to. i wanted to see if the patch was working. I can't believe i'm so close to goal. if i lower my goal to 114, that's 10 pounds to go. (BMI 23) if i lower it to 109, that's 15 pounds to go. (BMI 22) although i believe 109 would be too low for ME even though i'm very short. i guess i'm just thinking out loud.

September 28--125! 2 pounds to a NORMAL weight and 5 to goal (goal for NOW, anyhow!) Was put on an estrogen patch today to see if it will help my hormonal migraines, i hope it doesn't do crazy things to my body, like me GAIN!! went back home to visit this past weekend and everyone told me how great i look. that was some GREAT motivation! went to eat out with my father and did eat very much, he commented on it. I just told him my migraine was making me sick and i was afraid of getting sick if i ate anymore (which was part of it!) I also went eat with my brothers, mom & step-dad. only mom knows about the band. I was sitting way at the end of 16 people at the table, so no one noticed.. it was OBVIOUS my head hurt (i could barely look up from the glare of the sun coming through the windows) so that was not a problem. My band seems to be tight right now. not enough that i can't eat or drink, but it is making me REALLY sip in the mornings, NOTHING COLD, and not more than a cup of food...probably even less than that at a time. My TOM is coming again (the reason for the migraines) so i'm sure it's only tight until i start, then i'll be back to my 'sweet spot". I went into the lapband Dr.'s office this morning just to weigh in. it said 128 (i was clothed and shoes on...which is what my scale said when i weighed at home too (125 naked) she noted it in my chart and said, wow...GREAT JOB! i asked what was the last weight in the chart. it was 140! HA! i hope the Dr. sees that! I remember him telling me at that appointment that my body may be happy at that weight. i told him NO WAY!!! i'm still not 'there' yet. getting closer, but not yet!

I was banded on 3-3-09. I'm down 64 pounds. I have had 2 fills, the 2nd one was 4/23/09 and i'm sure i'm at my sweet spot, as i have lost and have restriction. i've been on a plateau for a few weeks now and need to change things up to get going again. i'm hoping to meet my goal of 120 (7 pounds to go) by the end of Oct. I would love to lower it, but will hit that goal first, before deciding. my ideal weight range is only 91-123 pounds because i'm so short!

I was banded on 3-3-09 and i've lost 64 pounds so far. I'm getting close to my goal and the weight has definitely slowed down the past 2 weeks. I need to bump up the exercise, change things up again...make sure i'm getting my water, and watch the calories/carbs/portions again until i start losing again.

I totally agree! I will NOT EVER BE FAT AGAIN! I know what made me fat, and i WILL not go back to those way again (and i'm DONE with having children). I may have eaten something that doesn't HELP losing, or keeping the weight off, but that doesn't mean i blew it and the hell with it...continue to eat that way. It means, i'll do my exercise, i'll drink my Water, i'll eat healthy and wake up and do it again! I really thought i would be a slow loser, and at times i FELT like a slow loser, but looking back, i've lost 64 pounds in 6 months.... not too bad. maybe not REAL fast, but it's steady AND i'm close to goal (now thinking of lowering it because i'm not thrilled with what's still hanging on). I thought when i got close to goal, it would REALLY slow down. It did for a little while, or every so often i may stall for a week or so...but i bump up the calories for a few days, add an extra day of walking/running for a couple of weeks, and i'll drop 3 pounds in a week. My Dr. told me i was probably getting close to where my body was happy about 10 pounds ago...i told him NO WAY...I"M NOT happy about that weight (or how i look). when i said i was not to even the highest end of my 'ideal weight' and said that i had to weigh 123 before i got there...he said THAT was runway model weight and that i looked great. I KNOW what he was saying is that i 'look' fine, normal, average....and that if i didn't lose anymore i should be proud to have lost that.... and i am. I just know that i have not reached 'that' place yet. it's not like i'm working out 8 hours a day to continue to lose...i'm living a NORMAL life, eating normal and exercising 6 days a week....for a normal amount of time. my original goal was 71 pounds lost, putting me at 120 because at the time, that seemed like enough, but not unachievable. I'm now at 127, and feel like 7 more pounds won't be enough. 120 will put me at a BMI of 24.2 i'm thinking of lowering it to 114. that will put me at BMI 23. I have a PS consult in Nov and plan to have surgery in March of 2010. I am hoping that will put me at my ultimate goal of 109 which is a bmi of 22. I've done all this for ME, someone i stopped taking care of me after having children. While i love my children, and my husband, I can be a better me if i take care of me. I am not happy when i'm fat, and i will NOT go there ever again! I will NOT be a statistic either! 110% for me!

i thought it was him too. aren't the rest of them married? my hubby said he was hungry, but couldn't go get something to eat when they were on there busting thier buts! LOL

I'll be honest about what i have done. I'm sure everyone will NOT agree with me and it does NOT follow the 'rules', but it has worked for me! I am a low BMI'er, and my dr. even called me a light weight...although I was a few pounds away from morbidly obese. whatever! We BOTH felt i would lose slowly and it would slow down more the closer i got to my goal. I do NOT deny myself what i want. In the beginning, yes, i had to stay away from it ALL because i had no restriction and i would not stop if i started. Now, that i have restriction, if i want chocolate, i have it. BUT, instead of eating an entire 3 musketeer, 2 bites is PLENTY! or a york pepermint patty... satisfies the choc. craving. If i want ice cream, i have it.... I just eat Blue bell frozen yogurt instead. it's so sweet that the 1/2 cup serving is PLENTY!! if i want chips, i eat them. they are NOT a slider for me. i can eat about 5 chips and HAVE to stop. I don't think i have ANY slider foods. i can eat almost anything (only a couple of bites of bread or Pasta and i feel FULL, so it's just not worth it to me....i rather eat more than 'waste' my meal on a couple of bites!) but i can only eat about a cup of food and i'm full. i probably eat 'ice cream' every other day...sometime everyday. my Dr. has told me i'm doing EXCEPTIONAL! he's never asked WHAT i eat....but has told me whatever i'm doing, i'm having GREAT results! In 6 months, i have almost made it to my NORMAL weight range. I'm only 7 pounds away from my original goal and now thinking I will lower my original goal (that i thought would take a year to get to!) I do NOT look at this as a diet, but rather a way of life. i cannot and WILL not stay on a DIET for my entire life. i will however, eat whatever i want in MODERATION. I do NOT do diet foods/drinks/snacks... i have real sugar (i cannot have artificial stuff) i just count the calories and adjust my day to it!

today it starts!! i cannot wait! i wish Ron's other son would be on there too! is he old enough yet? wasn't he still a teen?

My husband, mom and the owner of curves that i go to know. The only reason the curves owners know is because i started there before i was 3 months after surgery and i had to write down what kind of surgery i had. they know it's NOT up for discussion and i don't want anyone else knowing. I'm actually going to ask that it be removed from my chart now that i am past 6 months out so when anyone else does my measurements they don't see it written in there. I would have told my mom no matter what, but she had to help me with my 1 & 2 year old (they went to her house for a week). other than that only medical people know. I don't want to be judged, i don't want to be watched, i just don't want to hear what anyone thinks. i did this for ME. I am doing what i should be doing and i'm succeding at it. Had it NOT worked, had i NOT lost, or lost slow, i did NOT want to hear i could have done THAT on my own or whatever. when people ask me how i'm losing i just tell them i eat healthy and exercise. that is NOT a lie.

Yesterday, Sept 14, 2009....127!:mad2: woo hoo! 4 pounds till NORMAL BMI We had a 'boot camp' game going on at curves (those measurements in the above post), and i WON! you got points for weight loss, inches lost, workouts per week, buying the monthly shirt, having someone visit curves, someone join curves, going to the weight management class. the only thing extra i did was bought the shirt because i liked it. the rest of my points were from inches and weight lost and my workouts. I usually go 6 times a week (i've missed very few saturdays). I won a PRETTY silver curves overnight bag. at first i thought, oh, this will make a nice gift to my mom because i just don't use bags often...and that one is not big enough for when we go out of town (it's more for one night). by the time i drove home, i had changed my mind. it will be PERFECT for my trip to the PS consult (we are sleeping in TX the night of my appointment) and for the night before my surgery!