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I think go for it. So many people seem to think that we shoudl just accept near enough. I've had the same argument on another forum, you know, I've lost 110lb, I've gotten extremely fit, then I got cancer, had a year of treatment, some horrible surgeries. They used my caesar scar during the laparscopic bowel resection and my surgeon, great as he is at saving lives, is no artist. He butchered it and it now has hernias at each end, looks like I have testicles. I want it fixed, I raised the subject with him and he referred me on gladly, but I did mention I'd probably ask the guy to take out an inch or two of skin. My main loose skin is upper abdomen and it will only marginally improve it, but why not take the chance to perfect a bit of yourself if you can. It wont cost me anything much, as it is "reconstructive". My surgeon said to me somethign along the lines of, why would you want to do that, youv'e got a better stomach than a lot of 44 year olds, nobody is ever going to see it, you look fine. .Because dammit, I deserve perfection, that's why! My view on cosmetic surgery - I'm all for it, but with three teenage kids I could never ever spend that sort of money on myself. Im not in a space where I could do it and if we had spare money like that, it'd be for a family holiday, not to beautify me. But if I can get it done for virtually nothing, then I'm bloody well going to. Likewise with the weight loss - you're right, you dont NEED to, but there's nothign wrong with wanting to. Near enough isnt good enough for high achievers!

I'm almost 6 weeks out I started 312 now 270 I eat more than most people on here but I'm happy with my loss no loose skin and feel good

I did SIPS on 12/11 as my only surgery not a revision in the Chicago area. Very pleased with weight loss. Off insulin pump and only on 2 pills a day for diabetes. Lost 50% of excess weight in 2 mos. very pleased with my results so far! SIPS procedure 12/11/17 SW 307 CW 214 GW 160

Hi Elfiepoo, I think you have responded to some of my posts so I will return the favor. Basically, my feeling is that you should go with your original plan and proceed with the lapband, Your friend, might be subconsciously trying to sabotage you before you start. You said you have two children, well a large weight loss would improve your health and your children's lives. You know it or you would not have started this process. Why dont you make a list of all the fun things that you will be able to do after losing some weight, such as: shopping in the normal section of the store!! running around with your kids in a park!! I am sure you can make a long list. Bring the list with you to the hospital and keep reading it when you feel scared.. I am scared too but I have to go through with this. I keep telling myself "if not now, when?". If I could have done this on my own, I would have by now, Now I have to get help. I finally just said that I can not do this on my own. Your friend does not live your life, you do. Also, you have to keep motivated after the surgery to be successful, so you might have to make sure she is not trying to sabotage you after the surgery. Good luck and please post to let us all know how you did. ps SAGGY SKIN = SPANX IT BABY!! I look forward to saggy skin. Spanx will suck that right in!!

You may be feeling the port-- the edges of it anyway. I have no idea if my food sits in the top pouch or moves on through, but I would imagine it moves through. Honestly, surgeons are all over the place on WHY the band works. Some say it is the small pouch, others say it is the band putting pressure on a nerve that controls hunger, etc. I suspect well-chewed food moves through. I can't see why it wouldn't (my band isn't all that tight, but it gives me satiation). Stalling in weight loss after you start regular foods again is normal. However, your part of the equation has to kick in at that point. If you continue to eat large volumes, you are going to increase your chances of a band slip or a esophageal prolapse. Shoot for "not hungry" when you eat, not "full". Get small plates and never eat off a regular sized one again if that's what it takes. The hardest part of all of this is figuring out the behavioral stuff that we have to contribute to the process-- and I agree, it is hard! Don't beat yourself up if it takes you a bit to figure out-- just don't give up!

Thank u so much for the information.. I am scheduled to go to the gastrointestinal doctor tomorrow.. I went through First Step wieght loss center her in california and it has been a nightmare... They constantly send out to contracted offices for tests, ultrasound ect and they never know what's going on. That's why I'm trying to go through a local doctor for me... As for weather u should go to the ER I think u should if you truly feel like its getting worse. At least there they will run all the test and get the results back quick...

I'm still pre-op, but I set my weight goal for a healthy BMI because, to me, it doesn't make sense to do this and still be overweight or obese. I have seen so many people on here accomplish such great weight loss and I am definitely dedicated to doing the necessary work to get there, so I don't think that having a goal weight will make losing any more difficult, just more rewarding.

POLO AND CARGO SHORTS. I can pay for shipping. How is your weight loss? I start my liquid diet in 4 days. Exicted and nervous all at the same time. My wife had hers on the 17th.

I would say that your expectation should be yes, it will. Mine sags from genetic predisposition, two babies and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a disease that reduces your skins' elasticity among other issues. Add in a couple of weight loss efforts and it is not a pretty picture for me. I will probably have to have plastic surgery whether or not ins will pay for it. All the best, don't let that stop you. Clothes hide a lot. Melinda

My abdomen hangs down on my legs, after weight loss will this problem go away?

:help: Hi Everyone, I havent been here in a while and I hate to rain on folks parade, but I am seriously contemplating having my band removed and having revision surgery to something else. My first two years of banding, I was very successful. I started with a BMI of 54 and managed to get down to a 28 BMI which equates to a loss of 155 pounds. After two years, I quit smoking to have plastic surgery and gained 13 pounds. I had plastic surgery in August 2005 and left the hospital at 189 lbs. MY lowest weight was 180 ever from a start of 334 lbs. During my plastic surgery, the saline was accidently removed from my band by the plastic surgeon. My problems started before this with lack of restriction, so I dont want to say this was the cause of all my issues with lack of restriction, but I am sure that this was a contributor. A month later, I visited my original band surgeon to get my restriction back and was informed my band was bone dry. I was given 1 cc and sent home and told to wait a few months and he would up it back to the 2.5 I had before. He wanted to do it slowly since normally patients who have their bands refilled usually need less than before to achieve the same level of restriction. I was worried about regain and told to just comply and keep portions small. Two months later, I now have gained an additional 10-15 pounds, so I go to get a fill from a doc in Dallas who takes me to 2.25. THings are fine for a short while and then I start losing restriction. By August 06, I have now gained 38 lbs. I go back for another fill and I am told I have pouch dilation. All the fill was removed from my band and I am put on a liquid diet for a month. I go to a lapband surgeon who was not my original surgeon due to insurance change and he tells me that I have a concentric slip, partial prolapse and that I will need a new band. I go for a second opinion with another band surgeon who does an endoscopy, tells me that although my pouch is a little large, I dont need a new band though and refills me to 2.00 CC. One year later: I am still gaining weight. I have moved to GA and no one here will take me as a patient because they did not band me. My new insurance does not cover my band at all, nor will they cover a removal or revision. I will have to pay for fills. This is not a problem, but I am reluctant to start again here and have someone fill me and then have dilation or slippage problems due to a too tight band. I fear I have dilation issues again and getting another fill wont help me anyway and a saline removal will just result in starting the process all over again. I am not looking for someone to just do a fill. I am looking for a doc who can tell me if my band is fine and I am looking for someone who can really take care of me due to the fact that I have had problems in the past. It never ceases to amaze me that the docs here have no interest in me as a patient because someone else banded me, only want cash for fills or that my new insurance wont pay for a removal, but they will pay for me to have a gastric bypass. I am not obese enough for this to be an option anyway and my provider is notoriiously bad at making people jump through hoops to qualify anyway. I dont have comorbidites and my BMI is not high enough anyway. I am obese but not obese enough with a 34-35 bmi. I am really sad that my band is not working for me. I have had 14 fills and several unfills. I am tired of trying. I also refuse to blame myself. I have been compliant and clearly I have the ability to stick to the plan when I have good restriction. Its like the cart before the horse. Some folks here might say the the dilation was caused by my overeating. THis would be partially true because to gain weight, you have to be eating too much. But if one does not have the ability to overeat with a properly working band then they cannot overeat. I make healthy choices, but I dont have any restriction and can eat a very big portion. Its easy to say only eat 3-4 ounces when you have restriction, but when you dont, then its a problem. So then one would say the solution is to get more fill. What if everytime you were filled, it was either too little or too much with really small increments? The most I have ever had in my band was 2.6 and this was too tight. The 2:00 I have now is too little. I have been at 2;25, 2.3 2.4, 2.5 and these amounts have resulted in too little or too much. All were done with flouroscopy. I dont have a leak, but clearly dilation is an issue and has been in the past. I am really sad and worried that if I get a fill and its too tight, then I will have to go for more fills and unfills at my own expense. Worse, if I had a medical emergency that required band removal, it would be at my own expense. I feel like maybe its time to move on. I am now considering the gastric sleeve and removal of my band as a self pay. No post op hassles, no maintenance, no fills . Whaddya yall think?? I would love to hear from newbies and oldies. Babs in GA 334/180/225?

Hi all, I'm new here and would really appreciate advice! I had the Lap-Band back in 2003. I started out at 515lbs and my surgeon set a goal weight of 350 (expected weight loss for Lap-Band tends to be lower, but the surgery was the right choice for me because I was only 21 when I had it). Anyway, I got down to 295, which I maintained for about 10 years. Most recently I started losing again through food planning and exercise and am now at 279. Lately I am really frustrated by all the sagging skin. It isn't causing infections or major mobility issues (thankfully), but I would really like to experience how my body moves (and looks) with less of the excess. I know some guidelines say a WLS should consider PS after they've lost 40% of their body weight or 100lbs. I've lost 46% of my full body weight, and 236lbs. The issue is that, because my original goal was so high, I have no idea what my target weight would be to make me a candidate for PS. I'm mostly interested in a breast lift w small implant, removal of excess arm skin (which is a lot!). I'd also like a LBL or TT down the line, but there's still a good amount of belly fat, so I don't know if that would be an option for me. I should say that the most beautiful part of this lap band journey for me has been letting go of the idea of ever being thin. I'm 6 feet tall and have a large skeletal frame, and I actually really like my body shape-- I'm just not a huge fan of all the sagging skin. For that reason, I don't really want to have to reach what the CDC recommends as a "healthy" weight for me (which is 136-184lbs) in order to get rid of the extra skin. I don't know that my body will ever reach that range, and I don't really feel like I need it to. I just want to be able to enjoy my body to the fullest now. Has anyone with a very high starting weight had PS while in the 250lb weight range? And do you know of good surgeons in the NY, Philadelphia, or DC areas who are good with high BMI patients? Any insights welcome! Many Thanks! Hope you're all having a great weekend! J'amile

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Janice1968-We had surgery around the same time and we are about the same size and age I take a multivitamin in the morning, and then B12 under the tongue, and then Vitamin D. I was deficient on Vitamin D go figure I live in Seattle. I also take Biotin as I lost some hair but it finally coming back in now. A few hours later I take by calcium chew and if I can remember another calcium chew later in the day. Good luck- LA

I have trainer friends who say this is normal - when you strain your muscles, your body retains water to help repair them. I've noticed the same thing myself! But everyone says that over the course of several days you will have a bigger net loss. It's just the day after that you pick up some water weight. I feel your pain though -- even though people tell me about the science of this, I hate it and have trouble believing in the net loss!

Hi all, I am 6 weeks post op and I am having a really hard time with breakfast. Per my surgeons guidelines, he recommends avoiding bacon, sausage (even chicken), ham etc. but my issue is that I hate eggs! So I am tired of having protein shakes and yogurt for breakfast. I also don’t want to eat chicken or seafood every morning. I’ve had some bacon and I’m wondering if I am “cheating” and messing myself up. I hit a stall at 3 weeks, had my menstrual, and went up! It finally broke last week and I lost what I gained but it just doesn’t feel like I’ve made any progress in weeks! I’ve lost 22 pounds since surgery on 2/24 and with my 2 months coming up I feel like I should have lost at least 30 since my starting weight was over 300 pounds! Here are my questions: 1. For those who’ve had a VSG what was your average weekly and/or monthly weight loss after the first month? 2. Do you eat bacon, sausage, or ham for breakfast? 3. Have you cheated and still lost? Thanks in advance for any advice you can give because I am going crazy!

I was banded 10years ago and lost all my weight. Generally I found if I followed a healthy eating food plan, kept a food journal, exercised... I did well. I would “fall off the wagon” once in awhile... but then I’d get back on track. Any weight lost surgery is one of many tools we have to help us. They are not the total answer to weight loss. This is key and one reason I think some people fail to lose the weight they want to lose is they rely mainly on the surgery. There is a lot of maintenance with the lapband. Ie. Fills that work one time are too much/too little other times. Also sometimes exercise, flying and other random times the band would be affected. But I was Ok with it....until about 4 months ago. I had a really bad virus. It was the first time I️ threw up from illness in 10 years. All of a sudden I couldn’t sleep at night with a lot of reflux, I couldn’t eat many times, etc. I went 2 weeks ago and I have a serious slip. I’m getting the band out Friday. I can’t switch to another surgery until my body heals a bit. I was a big cheerleader for the lapband. And it really served me well. The one thing i really like about it, after it’s taken out it’s as if there wasn’t an operation because the body hasn’t been surgically changed But medical advances give us more choices nowadays. I am going to try to go without any replacement surgery doing everything I’ve done to lose the weight. If it doesn’t work, down the road I will do the sleeve. (Discussed with my doctor as my best option) Your doctor will recommend what’s best for you based on weight to lose, lifestyle etc. And you decide after your research what you think is best I wouldn’t recommend the lapband to my friends based on the other options.

The people you've heard about and have met regained weight because they chose to eat poorly. They chose to eat the foods and the amounts of food that cause weight-gain. It is possible to gain weight after any of the surgery options. Maintaining weight loss requires changed eating habits forever. There is no magic about it.

Ok so I am almost 7 weeks out. I was ready to pull my hair out because I was needing something crunchy but refused to give into chips, so my doctor suggested dry roasted almonds. She hit the nail on the head. I love the crunch and little hint of salt on them. I eat a couple with lunch and a couple as a mid day snack. That was just the crunch I needed and it's so much better than the family size bag of chips I used to go through in a day. I can't believe how much I ate! Anyone else finding yummy substitutes for old favorites? I have tried making zucchini chips and zucchini pizza in the oven and turkey meatballs with low sugar spaghetti sauce to curb my spaghetti cravings. Delish.

I was doing night shifts for a few months after my surgery, and I was losing well, due to not eating much during working hours, and then got home in the morning, went to bed and slept till work again. Honestly, I was just dragging myself, and NS is totally not for me, the struggle is real! I think losing 2 pounds a week is awesome. Remember: slow and steady wins the race. Also, you do not want to shock your body with 5 pounds a week, no need for that. Yo surgeon is strange... But I think doing NS will mess with your weight loss on the long run. I hope I am wrong but working night duty is such a big shock on your body's rythym ... I wish you the best, just try to eat during your shift, and get minimum of 8 hours of sleep during the day!

Thank you so much for your positive words and encouragement, it really helps knowing someone has a similar story...not only that, but you have been successful. I stalled at 50lb myself and that is when the slow weight loss began. Thank u so much, I will keep swimming

I was sleeved on August 9th and have lost 12 pounds so far. The doctor said since I don't have a huge amount of weight to lose that this is a good average loss. He expects me to lose about 10lbs per month. I have been on solid food since the beginning of my 3rd week and have done great I still get the "bubbles" when I eat on occasion but it depends on what I eat. I have yet to figure out exactly what causes it specifically, but am working on it. I have been able to eat and drink anything I want but have to be careful not to overdo it. At times I get busy and don't take my time as I should and find I end up with a bit of a "full" tummy. All in all I feel I'm doing great and happy to be in this elite club of sleevers.

Keep on staying the course during this pre-op time. It sucks. No other way to say it. It just sucks. You will be happy to see the scale reward you daily, though. It will escalate the pace of the loss....by the time you hit your surgery date you will already be losing at a great rate. You don't have long to go...hang in there and keep on trucking. One of the greatest simple pleasures that I have now is the feeling when I walk into my gym....it's a very busy gym, too....folks everywhere. I used to get a bit anxious going in there....nervous over the extra weight I was carrying around.....nervous over being judged. Now that a good portion of the unwanted fat is gone.....so is my anxiety over walking in there. I still don't look like a guy who goes to the gym.....but I do feel more at home in there. I think you will be absolutely amazed at the timeframe that is ahead of you. The weight will burn off quickly and you will be closing in on your weight goals at a rate that will make you laugh. As you already likely know, Protein intake will be crucial for your weight training and even more so with the bypass. You will have to be consistent and disciplined on ensuring you get the right amounts at the right times. You're almost there.....a couple days away. Hang in there.

So great to hear! I'm glad you're having such a great experience. I can't wait! And congrats in the huge loss so far!

What time of plastics did you get? Lower body lift, breast lift, arm lift How much did you pay out of pocket? about $40,000 Pain? yes - lots. Especially the lower body lift. Plastic surgery was a LOT more painful for me than my weight loss surgery was (I had very little pain with my WLS) Recovery? it's a long road. The first week I had a lot of pain - after that, for maybe three weeks or so, it was more discomfort. I had to wear binders the first three weeks or so and then compression garments for awhile after that. Was it worth it? yes. I'm glad I did it. I'd do it again, even given the pain and recovery. How long did you have to wait first, I waited two years after I hit my lowest weight to have plastic surgery, but that's kind of long. Some surgeons want you to wait up to a year after you hit goal, so I was well beyond that. As far as how long I waited between my consult and my first surgery (my LBL) - I think it might have been about two months. Ladies- if you got breast implants how big did you go? can't help you here - I always had big boobs and HATED them! I wanted to be a B cup for the first time in my life - and now, I am! (I just did a lift - it was perfect!)