Search the Community

I'm 19 and 85lbs down and my stomach is a bit droopy, but honestly I'm ok with it, I'll see how it goes another 50 lbs from now when I'm at goal. And it's taken me a year to drop 85lbs so not too drastic. I was really scared too at first but once you start losing the weight, that skin don't mean shit :blushing: lol

:blushing: I love your upbeat attitude. Well, this will not be the answer you wanted, but I'm going to say it anyway. It depends. On genetics. On how FAST you lose. On how reliable you are with exercise. On how well you have taken care of your skin in the past and how well you take care of it during loss (no sun damage, moisturize, etc). So on and so forth. That being said...I'm down a total of like 65 lbs so far, would like to lose another 35. The majority of my weight was gained in my thighs/butt/hip area. And yes...it's starting to look a lil droopy. I don't think it's realistic to think your skin is going to look the same as somebody that was never overweight. When I get down to size, I would adore a LBL. But you might get more of an idea of the skin changes by perusing the plastic surgery forum. :w00t: I was 27 when I got the surgery, btw...29, now. So I had a good 5 years on you.

Ok, my third week and I'm not losing weight. A bit frustrating because I want to get to my onderland mark. I'm slowly slowing down. Any suggestions to get things kick started? I'm down 81 pounds. Surgery was July 12th. So not too bad!

This is my story of having my Lap-Band surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana, Mexico. He can be found at Celebrate and enjoy myself with a wonderful BBQ dinner with the family. Oh, how I love those fried pickles! At least they won't be completely gone from my life in the future, though they may be the meal, and not just the appetizer. Since I was a So.Cal local, I decided to meet the clinic shuttle at the San Diego International Airport. Considering the long term parking fee was $9 per day, I was pleased to find the lot was literally next door to Terminal Two baggage claim. After a five minute walk, I was waiting for the shuttle driver. At the San Diego Airport, there are escalators with descending arrivees. I waited at the bottom, looking in the same direction that the arriving passengers would be looking. With that vantage point, I easily saw a Hispanic gentlemen holding a passenger's name up, and wearing an OCC i.d. tag. I approached him to let him know I was here. The driver, Francisco, informed me we had a third person to wait for, but her flight wouldn't be here for another 40 minutes or so. Oh well... back to sitting I go. Fast forward, and all three patients were accounted for. We walked out into the short term parking lot, boarded a large late model van, and made our way out of the lot and towards the border. Because today was Sunday, there was no clinic to go to, so we headed straight for the Lucerna Hotel. Crossing into Mexico was easy. However, glancing across the border at the traffic headed back to the U.S., we knew we had a fun wait ahead of us when we returned. The driver estimated we'd have a 2-3 hour wait coming back-- unless you decided to return in the middle of the night. It was ALWAYS this long. *sigh* Before we arrived, I asked what time we'd be picked up from the hotel. The driver said 8:00am. If you brought a companion with you, you wouldn't need to check out. Less than 10 minutes inside Tijuana, I knew we were getting close to the hotel. I knew we were close, because Francisco began to point out the Domino's and pizza Hut nearby (did he KNOW why we were even here?). And at last, the Hotel Lucerna appeared. On the outside, it looked like any standard older hotel. Six storeys tall, and each room seemed to have a balcony. Our luggage was taken out of the van and brought alongside the front desk for us to check in. When it was my turn, I identified myself, and was presented the documents to sign-- payment for the room was taken care of. Since I saw the sign as I entered, I asked for the internet code so I could access the free wireless internet. They wrote it down on my key envelope. The bellman offered to take my luggage up, but it was no big deal, so I took it up with me to the fifth floor. I found my room, and used the electronic keycard. Inside, I found a king-size bed, marble bathroom countertop, two 600ml bottles of complimentary Water, and complimentary soaps, shampoo, and hair dryer. Ironing board and Iron in the closet. No ice bucket. Hair dryer didn't work. Placard advertising order pizza on the room table. I hid that. I've stayed in worse rooms, but have definitely stayed in better. Personally I wouldn't give it any better than three starts The television has free channels, and some premium movie channels. No Pay Per View, but ports on the front indicate you could bring a portable DVD player or game system to hook up. I brought my laptop, so I could always use that to watch movies. Ahh, the laptop! Time to log in and let the wife know I made it ok (the kids prevented her from joining me). The wireless router name is unsecured and easy to connect to. However, as soon as you try to go to a website, the Lucerna security page pops up and asks you for your code. And after numerous attempts, it STILL wouldn't work. I headed downstairs, and realized that my front desk clerk had bad writing. The Access code is "lucernaXXX", with XXX being the room number you're in. The password is a five digit code they'll give you. Once I set down my free bag of ice (still no bucket) and entered it in all correctly, it worked. Slow and spotty, but it worked, and better to use Skype at $.02 per minute than my cellphone at $1.10 per minute. I set a trashcan as an ice bucket and iced down my final diet shake. Final shake, but not yet... time to go across the street to the local convenience store for a couple small bags of chips and a diet soda. THE last carbonated soda. Ahhhh... delicious. I looked out the window at the traffic circle of not so late cars and taxis circling endlessly, and the obligatory siren in the distance. This seems to ALWAYS be a siren somewhere within earshot. If you like sirens, Tijuana is for you. I never left the room again that day. Enjoyed my final shake and water, and nodded off at 10:30pm. THE SURGERY DAY (9/4/06) The surgery day came roughly, with me being awoken numerous times during the night by sirens, my dreams, and a bed that was decidedly not like home. But 7:00am was here, and time for me to kick it into gear for an 8:00am pick-up. I had just enough water left in my complimentary water bottle to brush my teeth with. Packed it all up, and headed downstairs. I emerged from the elevator to find the two people I met at the airport, plus some new arrivals. Right on time, Mrs. Ortiz (The Doc's mom), a small, spry, short-white haired lady with more energy than the room, and took us in two separate trips. I was in trip #1. With my luggage, I got into her late model Volvo S80 along with others, and we headed to the clinic. About a 5 minute trip. We parked in the underneath parking at the nice looking clinic building and took the elevator up. The elevator doors opened into the clinic reception area. We identified ourselves, and Mrs. Ortiz left to pick up the rest of the patients. We went to the receptionist's desk and signed the legal paperwork that basically releases them for just about anything. I signed. I was also asked whether I had brought my original paperwork that I faxed back. No, I said, I didn't. No problem-- they had a copy. (and I thought "then why ask me for one"?) I sat down and picked out a magazine to read. If you're a guy and REALLY into yachts, you'll be very happy with your reading choices. Other than that, good luck. Luckily, the movie Batman was playing on a TV in the corner of the waiting room. I didn't have to wait long. Shortly thereafter, I was called back for them to draw blood. They stuck a port in the side of my left wrist, and drew what blood they needed. They then taped the port in place-- this would be the port they would use for the duration of my stay. Back to the waiting room I go. I was then called to the receptionist desk to get my photo digitally snapped-- for what, I had no idea. Sat back down. Got called up again to see the cardiologist. He asked me a few questions about my health, then had me blow in a device for as hard and as long as I could. I expected some sort of resistance as I blew, but I was wrong. I ran out of air mighty quick, but the cardiologist keep encouraging me to keep on blowing... keep on blowing... I did until the machine beeped. Phew! Then I got up and into a back room where he started to place his sticker collection all over my body. Well, that's what it seemed like. Actually, he was placing sensors on key parts for an EKG. Once hooked up, it took about 30 seconds for a full reading. Between the lung thingy, and the EKG, I passed. No one came back to me in a panic over my blood test, so I could only assume that went well, too. ...and then I was called again to meet with the nutritionist, Dr. Miranda. She struck me as much younger than I had expected, and spoke better English than I expected. Don't ask me.why I thought she'd be older and less fluent. She had me weigh-in and measure my height. Then she handed me a nutrition guide, and I followed along with a Powerpoint. I was encouraged to write notes. She said I had done well on my diet, and based on that and no other medical problems, my surgery should take nine minutes. NINE? Are you kidding? No.. once I was under anesthesia, it should only take nine minutes, unless they ran into a hiatal hernia, in which case they'd repair it and it would take longer. Wow. I asked a few other questions, and we were done.... ...and BACK to the waiting room. I found the page in "GENERIC YACHING JOURNAL #836" that I had left off from... and then I was called in. This time, I was told to bring my luggage with me. Everyone else in the waiting room wished we luck, and I passed through the doors to the back. I was led to my room where I'd be for the next day. I was told to strip to my birthday suit, and to put on the gown open at the back, and a most flattering set of paper undies that do nothing for support. I did this, left the room to use the bathroom, and returned to my room. I was invited to use the phone in the room of I'd like to make any calls, including anywhere in the U.S. for free, AND they could call me using the clinic's toll-free line. That was a VERY nice, and I proceeded to do so. Earlier, I was also shown two computer terminals for internet access while I was there. My nurse, Josefa, came in and asked me to lie down on the bed. She set up an i.v. and I was also handed a cup with two pills... one to relax, and the other an anti nausea. I was told to place them under my tongue so they'd dissolve then I could swallow them if and when I chose. No water, though. I laid back down and the anesthesiologist came in. I made the obligatory joke about putting me to sleep for the right time, and he joked back that that was easy-- WAKING me would be the tricky part! No problems with anesthetics in the past, so he left. Dr. Ortiz came in and we chatted comfortably about the surgery, how men do well with weight loss under the band, etc etc. He left. Some time later they called me in, and I walked into the surgery room. Climbed onto the bed, and they strapped both my arms on extending planks reminiscent of a crucifixion. I asked why I needed to be strapped, but I don't recall getting a reply. After asking which one of them was going to scratch my itchy nose, a strap was loosened and I scratched. Back the arm went, and back on went the straps. That's the last I remember... ....I then woke up, back in my hospital bed in my room, with a mask blowing oxygen in my face, and I was told to wake up and breathe. I did... slowly. I was told it was done, and the lumps and soreness on my abdomen confirmed it. I wasn't in any great deal of pain, but I would have the occasional pain in my chest for about 5 seconds before it dies down. I was told that was residual air. Ok. My hospital room had DirectTV (they all did), but my remote wouldn't control the volume or power, so the staff became my volume control. Later I found out that my surgery took eleven minutes, since there was a small hiatal hernia that a couple stitches remedies. After I was in my room about 1-2 hours, I decided to try walking. I ended up walking three laps around the floor, but near the end of the third lap, I started to feel light headed. Off to bed again, and I felt better. I noticed on my way back into my room, they had an ID card letting the world know I had a lap band-- the back had a VG sticker on it. So, I got a Vanguard belt. A couple hours later, I decided to take some laps, but I ended up sitting at one of the community terminals to pound out a quick status report to the forum. My wife called and they transferred it there. But after 10 minutes of sitting, I started to feel light headed. Or was it nausea? I wasn't sure, and knew I didn't want to find out. I made a beeline to my room to lie down, and felt better. Phew! During that evening, I had some ice chips, a Capri Sun juice, an Otter Pop, and some chicken broth. I tolerated it all well. On an earlier venture to the bathroom, I lifted my gown and found my incisions looking much neater that I thought they would, all nicely glued in place. It almost looked like I had gotten into a nasty tangle with an alley cat. THE DAY AFTER The next morning, I had some more juice and chicken broth, and they told me to go ahead and change into my street clothes. Guess that was my subtle hint that I was being deported to the hotel. They offered me the chance to shower, but I decided I could do that just as easily at the hotel, so I packed up. While I was in the waiting room, another patient asked me if I was having my procedure today. They were surprised to hear I had already had it done yesterday! Another was surprised I was wearing jeans comfortably. Both comments made me feel good; that I had tolerated the whole affair well. So, I'm now in my room, pounding this little recap for all of you and waiting for tomorrow's 7:00am shuttle back to San Diego. I'm going to have a nice shower, go downstairs for some chicken broth and juice, and maybe walk. And there's a basket of fruit in my room, unlike the first room, I had. Who said Mexicans don't have a sense of humor? I hope this isn't just the end of the story. I hope this is the beginning of a brand new life where I can enjoy 99% of all life has to offer. And for that other 1%? When you have that delicious Diet Pepsi, think of me, would ya?

WOW! You ARE above the norm!! I am at the 14 week mark since surgery on August 22, and I have lost 51 lbs. BUT.....I have lost a total of 75 lbs. since I started with the pre-op diet in mid June. Even though I have a lot of more weight to lose....I feel GREAT and I feel good about my progress. Good luck to us all in our continuing battle! God Bless!

I had my one week check up and things are going swimmingly! Healing well, minimal pain and down 13 pounds! I'm almost to the point where I'm no longer too fat for my home scale! I planned a reward of some new boots when I finally get down to home scale weight! I'm super psyched!

I didn't have a hunger problem after surgery. I felt really lucky because it made it easier for me to work with the band. I lost weight, felt good and and very few issues. I can eat almost anything, even bread as long as I don't try to eat to much. I did have my Carnation Instant this morning, and I will try some turkey for lunch. I try not to eat just to eat because it gets me into trouble. My band is tighter in hot weather and some foods give me a little trouble, not getting stuck just uncomfortable after a bite or two. Last year I had to get an unfill, waited to long to go back and gained about 7lbs that I have been fighting ever since. I just have to keep my mind on what I'm doing so I am on track. I really thought that at 2 years I would have reached my goal. I am glad that I haven't gone back up to 200 so there is some happiness.

Gday Geoff, good on you for taking the step to get banded. I hate to quote Dr Phil but there aint no magic cure for this. He says that weight is managed but never cured. Your a legend for getting a grip of the reighns and taking control. Susannah

So far this has been the best life choice I have ever made...my diabetes, high blood pressure is pretty much gone. I've stopped taken my Meds. I'm down to 215lbs from 257lbs. I put my cpap machine in the closet. I've been going to the gym 2 times a day Monday to Friday 30-45 min on the elliptical machine each visit. My lovely wife is loving the new thinner me ;0) I can't wait to get to my goal weight of 180lbs

I can relate with you. I work in an environment where a lot of my co-workers have had WLS of some type. I like you talked to many of them prior to having surgery and they were very encouraging telling me how easy it was and they were having great success and no issues. Well they lied, everyone of them. They all had some issues but never disclosed them and looked for work around. As soon as I came across my first obstacle and went to them, the support and good advice was not there. I felt betrayed, I felt lost and knew I was on this journey by myself. I stopped seeking their advice and I actually distanced myself from them and their negativity. The have a year on me, (3 years banded) one had her band removed due to slippage( she always had her band too tight and was PB'ing) The other had her band removed and now has the sleeve. She continued to eat and blamed the band for not losing. The third is 4 years gastric bypass and never reached goal. The 4th, is at goal but struggles with stomach issues. So my role models turned on me and never got with the program and each of them struggles with their weight loss and they are also the ones who make fun of me for exercising, (they tell me I'm obsessed) and they also tell me I am too thin. My point is this, I did this for me, I thought I had support of my friends at work but soon found who my true friends were. You are doing very well with your journey, don't let the negativism of others bring you down. Stay strong, because we all know you can do this.

A lot of times it takes people a while to get their weight loss going after surgery. Your body is freaked out and injured, plus you got pumped full of a ton of fluids in the hospital. Have patience, follow your plan, and the pounds will come off. Tip - don't be surprised if you start losing weight for about a week, and then pause again. It's completely normal to hit a minor plateau around the 3 - 4 week post surgery mark. Just keep pushing and the weight will come off.

Hey Bud, Don't get discouraged! You are less than two weeks post-op. I lost 10 lbs on my pre-surgery diet and gained back every ounce thanks to the intravenous fluids I had in the hospital. My husband said my tummy was the biggest he had ever seen it in the first days following surgery. You have had your entire abdomen traumatized, and your body is rushing resources to it to aid in healing. It no different from the swelling you have with a sprained ankle or busted lip. I don't know if you would do better with a scale or not. I personally know that I need one. I have done very well, but I don't lose every week, much less every day--even at the first. This is not a 50 yard dash, it is a marathon. And unless you are planning a vacation to Maui in a couple of weeks, there are no deadlines or "use by" dates for losing after surgery. You will get to eat real food before you know it. I remember being hungry while on the liquid stage and my Protein shakes were nauseating. I'm so glad to have that behind me. But I have been amazed that hunger is not really an issue for me. But, the caveat is that I didn't get to 280 lbs by eating because I was hungry. So even the lessening and hunger, while a great gift, does not solve all of my eating problems. Concentrate now on healing, resting, moving, drinking, and you will lose! But even better than the scale moving, you will begin to feel so much better. If you are like me, it takes a while for your clothes to show the loss because they were pretty tight to begin with. And those lumps and bumps didn't come on us overnight and they won't disappear overnight. I will pray for you and wish you well! You have taken the first big step in a long and wonderful journey, as have I.

I'm not sure that I would've taken the same course of action. I have to admit that ever since deciding on and having the surgery, I am much more aware of the morbidly obese people with whom I come in contact. This surgery is a huge deal and the decision to have it wasn't any easier to make than it is to comply with all of the requirements that come pre and post op. I can't imagine looking at another person, in whose shoes I've been, and thinking " Why doesn't she do something?" or " Why doesn't she just have the surgery?" Everyone isn't a candidate for this surgery and some people just do not have the resources to afford it. There are some who have committed to obesity as their fate; some who have given up. I remember the shame and embarrassment of not being able to or wanting to stop killing myself with food. On many occasions, I caught the judgemental looks of others as I was lifting the fork to my mouth. I had many people express what they called 'concern' about my weight. I called it being a judgy dbag. I'm not sure if you were fair or not; she'll never know that you didn't give her directions because of her being overweight. Previous posters are probably right about her finding it anyways. What I am sure of is that I didn't have the answer for myself or the motivation until...I did. I don't expect anyone else to.

I don't say I can't drink Water because it tastes bad. I say I don't want to drink water because it tastes bad. I can say that if I choose to - it's a free country after all - but I also am still drinking it. Sometimes I will still be complaining about having to do it but I will still do it. It's just like going to work every day. I don't want to but I have no choice. I have to have money to live on so I have to go to work. I have to drink the water to lose the weight. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

Hello Everyone, My name is Iris and I am with Bariatric Support Specialists and I would like to take this opportunity to invite the members of LapBandTalk.com to join us and Dr. Lloyd Stegemann of New Dimensions Weight Loss Surgery based in San Antonio, TX for the LapBand Buddies Weight Loss Surgery Cruise & Conference. The cruise & conference is scheduled to sail aboard Carnival's Elation from the port of Galveston, TX to Cozumel, Progresso and Belize, May 14 - 21, 2006. We have a great educational conference planned that will cover things like nutrition, exercise, mental health issues, fashion shows, makerovers and much much more. We have some great pricing for the cruise & conferece that makes it affordable for everyone. Even better we have a payment plan that makes it even more affordable. If you would like more information on the LapBand Buddies Weight Loss Surgery Cruise & Conference please send me an email to bariatricsupport@gmail.com and I will send the information out to you. This is a great opportunity to meet your fellow LapBanders and I hope that everyone will be able to join us. Sincerely, Iris C. Slack, CTC, ACC, CBSGL Bariatric Support Specialists

Be nice to yourself, but keep going!!! 10 min and 5 min are nothing to sneeze at! It's a great start! Now keep it up! :scared: We were totally sedentary... and started with TWO minutes!! We've built up & are finally up to 20, after 3.5 months, heh. You'll get there!!! Just move the bod daily! And congrats on the awesome weight loss!!

Hi! You have to start somewhere, and you've already done that! WAY TO GO! You are not just working on weight, but your heart, lungs, and everything benefits! Your skin will glow and you will sleep better, too. When I was at my heaviest, I was 367. I couldn't even do the elliptical for over ONE minute at the YMCA. I would rest, get on, and do that over and over. It went up fast, tho, and before long, I was on for FIVE minutes before having to rest. Now, even tho I am still very heavy (287) I work out two hours a day...I take a spinning class, kickboxing, lifting, pilates, and have personal training two hours a week. My resting heart rate is 54 and my blood pressure is about 115/74 most of the time. Lots of benefits even tho my weight is far from goal. SO, you are starting out with the right attitude!! Keep it up!!!

It's normal to have cold feet close to your surgery. I think you need to think about the reasons you decided to have a band in the beginning and the reasons you think a sleeve might be better now and then do a Pros & Cons list to clarify your thinking. For myself, I started out wanting a band because all I knew was band and bypass. When I heard about the sleeve, my immediate reaction was that it was too permanent. I liked the fact that you could take the band out if something went wrong. But over time, as I did my research, I came to realize that *all* WLS is permanent, even the band. I also came to realize that people only get bands taken out when the bands do bad things -- things that other surgeries don't have to deal with because there is no mechanical device implanted in your body. In the meantime, it became clear that insurance would not pay for my surgery. As a self-pay, the idea of having to pay for a band and then pay to take it out and then pay for a different surgery was too scary. Unfortunately, the odds of this happening were too high for me to think "oh that will never happen to ME". Recently released figures show that anywhere from 25-40% of people with bands end up with a re-surgery. They don't all end up losing or replacing their bands, but a lot of them do. Those odds are too high for me to be comfortable with. So I gave the sleeve a second look and, when I learned more about it, I was sold. Advantages I see for the sleeve: -Removes the part of the stomach that makes ghrelin, the hunger hormone (so you don't have a ravenous appetite) -Removes the stretchy part of the stomach so regain due to the stomach getting too big over time is not an issue -Stomach is fully functional, so no dumping as with bypass, and Vitamin supplementing is not as critical (though you still need to do some, particularly calcium). Also, there is no stoma so food doesn't get "stuck" per se (as it does with lap-band and bypass) -Long-term risks are minimal; much less than lap-band. -True restriction from day one - no living in Bandster's Hell while trying to find your sweet spot, no getting your sweet spot and then losing it, no never finding the sweet spot so you are basically just dieting (which you can do without a band) -Better average excess weight loss than the band, similar to bypass Advantages to the band: -Adjustable (if your sleeve is too small or too big, oh well) -Less short-term risk (no risk of leaks or strictures in the first 3 months) Hope that helps!

I was banded in May and have lost some weight but haven't lost any since my 1st fill....go fiqure. I am sceduled for my second fill on Monday. I was wondering how much you guys, that does not have restriction, are eating. Do you eat until you are full or do you just eat the 3 oz allowed? I am eating more than 3 0z per meal..... a good bit more! Waiting on some restriction.

So I call today to find out the lab results from the blood drawn at this last visit. It's neat, I call the lab, press my secret code number, and I hear a message from the nurse about my lab results, so I don't have a print-out with everything on it...but the nurse said, Your cholesterol was 267 and now it's 263. Your triglycerides were 190, now they are 222. Please continue a low fat, high Fiber diet and increase your exercise, the Dr. would like to see you back in 6-12 weeks for a re-check. I wonder what she thinks will change in 3 months? Blah, blah, blah. The good news is, according to my weight at the two visits (last year and this most recent visit) I have lost a whopping 12 lbs., but it did make my cholesterol go down 4 points (wooohoo! I could still have a stroke with those numbers!) and I don't know what to make of the triglycerides, so any feedback would be welcome. At my follow-up appointment, I will have had my band for 5 weeks. Wonder what she'll say? Ohhh...I am so excited to get my band...and have these health issues behind me! I know that losing the weight is the best thing I can do for my health, but I'm even more excited about feeling better about ME. Looking forward to: pulling on a pair of Levis 501 button fly jeans. I have dreams about it. Do they even make those anymore? I need a fashion update, haha!

Sorry, it didn't alert me there was a new response on the board. Forgive me for not responding. I didn't notice any weightloss, maybe your doctor meant you would have more energy because you would get a good nights sleep. Or maybe like me, after you wore that thing it would motivate you to lose weight to get off of that hideous looking thing lol

The nurse prescribed Phen Phen to you? I thought they banded that stuff years ago. I am really suprised with your higher blood pressure. I remember I was on that back in the day and thank goodness I got off that stuff. I have a high rate of heart disease in my family genes. Don't you hate it when doctors tell you all you have to do is lose weight and excercise!!! Especially when that person is either skinny, or really overweight themselves? I agree with you........she probably has no clue on what the lapband is all about. PS I use to have to use a CPAP when I was 282. When I got down to 250, I was tested again, and passed with flying colors. That was one of the deciding factors of my getting the lapband. It wasn't very romantic wearing a mask to bed lol

Douglas hope your doctor appointment went well. You will be ok. I know what you mean about talking about weight. I hate to admit how much I weigh. I don't discuss it with anyone other than my dr. I am scared also but excited to be heading for new weight loss success. I don't have a surgery date yet! Hope I get one soon. Marcy

Hi susan, thanks for answering my questions. Congradulations on your weight loss so far and I am sure you will continue to succeed. I don't have a surgery date yet but I am excited and scared. Keep in touch! Marcy