betheboo

The last time I was @ my surgeons office the ladies chatting next to me turned to me & said "you don't look like someone who should be in this office ". I smiled & said "well thats bc I've list 120 lbs in the past year "

I have been very fortunate to have lost more weight than most. My doc can't hardly believe it. However I have a cousin with the band who has not been as fortunate I know it's super hard for her bc she has had a lot of stomach issues, she has some weird pain disorder. She also is pregnant now. Seeing her struggle makes me realize that this is not a magic fix. You still have to make good choices & focus on ur weight loss. She didn't count cals or monitor what she ate bc she said " that's y I had surgery so I wouldn't have to worry about that stuff " Well u still do. Surgery or not. There is only a very small population that can eat whatever whenever & we r not it! Watch a skinny person eat. They eat small portions & good food.

Looks great! Congratulations!

I was looking @ the silicone strips u put on. Those seem to have good results. I was going to do them for my arms.

Oh and it hurts pretty dang bad! No lies.... but it'll be worth it in the end I'm already so much happier with how they look. I can't wait to see them when the swelling is gone and the incisions are healed!

vanilla Sky there is an attachment tab below the text box when you start a new topic... Idk how to add pics to reply's. But I'd love to see yours! Thanks for the posititve comments. I am wearing a compression garmet for the next month. I took it off to wash it tonight, day 5 post op, and went to the movies and out to dinner so it was off for about 4 and a 1/2 hrs. By the time I got home I was hurting pretty bad and it felt good to put it back on. I started putting lotion on my arms today and I boosted my Vit C and Vit E intake to hopefully help with healing.

I had brachioplasty yest and let me tell ya this is rather painful! I think it might just be more uncomfortable than my band surgery was. I also had my chest wall reduced, the fat pad next to my breast (I call it the 3rd and 4th boob), and this is probably the most painful part. I can not put my arms down next to my body so I kind of have to walk around like a zombie, lol. Tomorrow, well today now, I go back to my doctor and have my ace wraps removed and change to a compression dressing. My plastic surgeon said that I am to stay away from caffine and chocolate, because it causes vasoconstriction, has anyone ever heard of this? I don't usually eat chocolate much but dang I sure want some now that I'm not supposed to eat it! lol. Any tips or advice out there for the best possible healing? Greatly appriciate it! Here are some pics...

Things are starting to feel better today Thanks Magoo I will definatly add some extra Vit C to my daily routine! I was able to get my drains removed today, yippie! I'm now in a compression garmet, my new piece of clothing for the next month. Insurance does not cover brachioplasty Sasha, it's purely cosmetic. It cost me 6,000$ with the chest wall reduction and brachioplasty. I kinda feel like the extra 2,000$ for the chest wall wasn't really worth it b/c he didn't really take a whole lot (I lost 18 lbs more between my preop appt and surgery). But it's hard to tell right now b/c everything is so swollen and undefined. I may feel different when I'm healed up.

So my surgery is just over 36 hours away On Thursday I will be having brachioplasty with chest wall reduction and lipo... Just wanted to let people what my lap band doc said about Fluid in my band. My lap band doctor strongly encouraged me to have my band loosened because if I didn't I would be at great risk of aspiration, where the stomach contents come up and go into your lungs, and as you can imagine this would be very bad. Not to mention I need to get more Protein and calories in to heal. So as hard as it was for me to accept I did have 1.5 ml removed today. It was bitter sweet as I hit 120 lbs lost today! When I told my doc I'd prob be back in a month or two to be tightened back up he told me that if I was maintaining he didn't want me to get a fill as I am so close to goal, 14 lbs away, and my I have lost more than most band patients do and in a short 13 months. Don't know how I feel about that While I was in the waiting room the ladies chatting next to me, who were recently banded, turned to me and said "You don't look like someone who needs to be here, your so thin!". I was happy to tell them that I had the band and that results like mine are possible

Just throwing this out there... It seems as though the thinner I get the nicer people are to me. I know it sounds rude but it's true. When I'm at the grocery store the workers go over and offer me a cart and while shopping workers say hello and offer to help me more. It really does feel as though people are nicer and more helpful to me now that I'm thin! Anyone else experience this?

So today I had an unfil of 1.5 ml because I am having plastic surgery on Thursday. I am now 164 lbs, down 120 lbs, in 13 months... which is only 14 lbs from my goal. After the unfil I said to my doc "I'll prob see u in a month or two to get tightened back up" his response was "If your maintaining I don't want you to get refilled. You've lost more than most people ever loose with the band and the rest should just be done with exercise" . This kind of frustrates me. I am so close to goal and am loosing at such a great pace with my band where is was. I just don't know what to think about this

So today I had an unfil of 1.5 ml because I am having plastic surgery on Thursday. I am now 164 lbs, down 120 lbs, in 13 months... which is only 14 lbs from my goal. After the unfil I said to my doc "I'll prob see u in a month or two to get tightened back up" his response was "If your maintaining I don't want you to get refilled. You've lost more than most people ever loose with the band and the rest should just be done with exercise" . This kind of frustrates me. I am so close to goal and am loosing at such a great pace with my band where is was. I just don't know what to think about this

One day of high calories isn't going to bring you crashing down, it's eating like that every day that will. We all need to cut loose and not care for a day every once in a while! I had an unfil today, having plastic surgery on Thursday, and I treated myself to sushi, had a Las Vegas roll and avacado egg rolls. Did I count the calories?! NOPE! Take a day off every once in a while

I don't feel like when I was bigger I was treated mean when I was bigger... I just feel like people are generally more helpful and nice to me now.

Good info! I'm scheduled to have my arms done on Thursday. Ty for the pics to!

Good info! I'm scheduled to have my arms done on Thursday. Ty for the pics to!

Take more weiHang in there it's early. Also the smaller u & ury clothes get the more noticeable it is. Larger sizes take more weight loss to change. Now that I'm down to the teens I've gone from a 14 to a 12 in 2 weeks & 8 lbs lost. You'll get there!

Congratulations! Isn't it a great feeling! Way to go and keep up the good work

Everybody is different but I know I generally lose for about 2 weeks, round 12 lbs, then maintain for around 2-3 weeks and repeat. I've lost 117 lbs and my one year was April 6th. Your body has to adjust to weight loss

I understand where you are coming from thinking you may need an unfil to maintain. Back in January I had a unfil,after being very tight for 4 months, and I maintained for 6 weeks. Problem with this was I was @ 194 and still had 44 lbs to lose before goal. So needless to say in the beginning of March I got a fill, back to super tight (I can't seem to find a sweet spot where I lose weight), and now I'm down 27 lbs from that fill. Well on Thurs I'm having plastic surgery on my arms and due to my fear of not healing, not being able to drink enough, and not being able to keep pills down I decided to get a unfil again prior to my surgery. I am super nervous that I once again will maintain and not lose the last 17 lbs I have left. I know healing from surgery is more important and I am willing to put my weight loss on hold for a month or two in order to allow my body to heal properly. People are always asking me "What are you going to do when you get to your goal?" I'm guessing I will need an unfil in order to get me to the right spot to maintain, but we'll see what happens when I get to that goal weight

SSo I'm down 112 lbs from a yr ago & feel great but I'm 22 lbs from goal of 150 lbs. People keep telling me I should stop loosing bc I look like I would blow away if I lost another 22 lbs. I just don't see what they r talking about! ? I'm still a size 12/14 & wearing lg shirt I think I could stand to lose more than 22 lbs but I'm trying to be realistic. Ne else face this dilemma?

Here is my personal experience ... @ one point in time I was eating 300 cal/day & doing boot camp work out 4 days a week. I only lost 4 lbs that month! My body I believe did hit a starvation mode. I now eat 600 cal/day & work out 30 min 1-3 times a week... I ave 12 lbs a month. Mind you I've lost 113 lbs now & my 1 yr was 4/6 For me if I eat more than 800 cal/day or if I get in a bad diet pop kick I don't loose. But every body is different