Cazzy

Body mass index by category Category BMI Underweight Below 18.5 Normal 18.5 - 24.9 Overweight 25.0 - 29.9 Obesity 30.0 – 34.9 Extreme Obesity 35.0 – 39.9 Morbid Obesity 40 or higher

Totally agree with the above posts. Sometimes you just have to be cruel to be kind !!

I had my lapband surgery in January 2011, by April 2012 I had lost 235lbs and in May 2012 I had my 360 degree abdominoplasty with abdominal muscle repair and my brachioplasty on my arms, If you have finished losing weight then it is time as far as my surgeon was concerned, if people lose weight by dieting alone the chances are they can put weight back on and therefore waiting a year is a good idea, but the lapband should help us all not to gain the weight back we lost so cant see any harm in doing it when u finish losing. I have had everything done now and all surgeries completed in exactly 1 year, I was 56 yrs old when I started this 57 when I had my first skin removal surgery, We are all different and consult your surgeon when u feel its the right time for you and rely on their judgement ..

Well there's tons of anomalies on this forum then, I wish doctors wouldn't make such sweeping statements, I am only 7mls in a 14 cc band so half way really and I lost all my weight with that level of fill .. sorry but I think sometimes they concentrate on the more profit ridden operations like the sleeve and bypass and promote them accordingly, I am glad u managed to get another to do your fills, but no reason listen to his doom and gloom over the band there is still plenty of doctors that don't think the way he does ...

I lost 237 lbs in a little over 1 1/2 years I think that's a lot quicker than some younger ones, I was 56 when I started all this. Exercise when u get older is a key component when u are older as we just don't need as many calories or burn as many as the younger ones. I would sum up by saying that age has only a bearing on weight loss if you let it be

I started counting calories and got rid of the habit of stting on my rear end all day long and playing computer games !

Surgeon did a great job, now u know all the discomfort was thoroughly worth it, its great feeling getting rid of that extra person hanging round the tummy area, i loved the feeling of freedom it gave me ... keep healing !

Certainly drinking before a meal mainly in the Uk there are no restrictions regarding drinking before a meal as the liquid goes straight through the band and doesnt affect it at all, drinking during a meal i get stuck, if i have something like a casserole or like that it will get stuck due to the liquid content, but i understand that some people dont get stuck if they drink while they eat. As long as they follow the rules of sipping in between small bites etc. My belief is that no one 'needs' to drink while they eat, its normally a habit formed at some point in their life which forms into a learned behaviour. There is definitely a cultural difference too, here in the Uk it is not so common as the US, but thats what makes us all different. It is only in the last 15 yrs or so that a resturant here would even put water on a table unless u actually request it .. I am not saying do or dont drink while you eat, but maybe its worth looking at why you want/need to, and how you came to that conclusion Its always best to follow your doctors guidelines until you have a routine worked out and are steadily losing weight that gives u a stronger negotiating point with him regarding bending his rules a little !!

It is strange how the countries differ somewhat in the fast food addictions, i would say in the UK people tend to be addicted to chinese and indian takeaway or kebabs, but children/teeenagers are addicted to the usual Mac D KFC etc, I never really went mad on take aways and always prefer a home cooked burger than a fast food one. Years ago i remember trying a MacD and thinking why is the bap around the burger so sweet, why is the tomato ketsup so sweet, why are all the dips so sweet, then i realised that was their secret to getting people addicted. Sugar is way more addicting than fat is, but it is still addicting too, they get you all ways. make your own if u cant live without a burger or a pizza or fried chicken, at least u control what goes into it. Am glad u all gave up the commercial fast food rubbish.. well done

I wore pre and post surgery, compression garments from marena.com, they do shapewear too and athletic wear, it is expensive but believe me it is much tougher than spanx and doesnt make you hot at all. Worth every penny it cost, and wash and wears brilliantly. The hospital after my surgeries got me the compression legs, compression girdle, compression arms and bra, they are medical standard items and last for ages.

Its such a shame that you put yourself through this operation etc only to give up just 3 weeks after you were banded. I suggest a visit back to your surgeon and discuss whats happened, bite the bullet and just make that appointment, if you are serious u want to give this another shot, you need to jump through a few hoops again to get back on track. Good luck with it, not everyone is successful the first time, its just like trying to give up smoking, some will manage it some not the first time. Its not that you didnt manage first go at it, its what u do next thats important . good luck.

Might be an idea to put a pillow either side of you when u are sleeping, this will stop u turning over in your sleep, till u are fully healed and can sleep on your tummy without any problems, I do agree tho a quick phone call to the doctors cant hurt

I would try contacting the centre and asking if there is one of the bariatric nurses there who might consider doing fills on a private basis or is willing to continue to give support, afterall the staff if they are losing their jobs will need to get jobs elsewhere.. just an idea

Well i was one of those real old and fat people so i had tons of skin everywhere, brachioplasty ( arm lift) i had done and its brilliant, i wear sleeveless whenever the weather allows, i love my new arms

Hi Suebee well my first operation was a 360 abdominoplasty with all the repairs to my stomach muscles i have a circumferal scar and one from my breast bone down, called an anchor or fluer de lis scar, i also had my arms done at the same time called a brachioplasty they turned out amazing. Recovery was surprisingly good for my age and an 11 hour operation, i certainly didnt have that much pain at all, I had full compression garments which help so much you really only hurt a lot if the skin moves so the compression not only prevents fluid build up it also keeps things still. I had 6 vacuum drainage bottle and a catheter for 3 days and then a further 2 days in hospital when they took them out. 6 months later i had my inner thighs lifted, now they were more painful, it took 7 hours, of surgery, again drainage tubes for 3 days then 1 day fuirther in hospital full compression garments on legs which to be honest are just like leggings, i purchased black ones too to wear after hospital, legs took longer than my body lift to heal and i got stitch abscesses as i am allergic to some surgical stuff, finally 3 weeks i had my breast lift, a maxoplasty best op yet but had some revision surgery needed doing to my legs so took 8 hours, then afterwards i had a haematoma form and down to surgery again for another 2 hours, hardly any pain with this surgery tho, am still healing . I dont want to hijack this thread so if u need/want any more info just message me i have a thread in the cosmetic surgery forum if u want to see some pics .

Get yourself a really good sharp knife, i have a victorinox tomato knife from amazon, i can cut meat as thin as lace and i never stick on it, my knife even came into hospital with me, i carry one in my bag to avoid any problems when eating out .. works a treat for me !

What a difference, well done

I had saggy skin everywhere, but i had lost 237 lbs, theres many factors that contribute to sagging skin, amount of weight u lose, age, hormones, genetics etc, if u are going to get it theres not much u can do about it, is saggy skin worse than skin filled with fat ? i wore my saggy skin like a badge of honour till i had surgery to get rid of it all, but even without the plastic surgery losing weight was far more important. You have to ask yourself why u are worrying about saggy skin, but didnt worry about stretching it by being heavy concentrate on things u can change and not things u cant ( not without money and surgery anyways )

I always get stuck if i even attempt to drink while i am eating, drinking with food i believe is a habit you have learned and can therefore unlearn it, i certainly think its a cultural thing too, in the UK its just not a done thing really except when its wine etc. just follow your own doctors rules and rely on his expertise and not all us amateurs on the forum

My port is on my breast bone so my abdominoplasty never touched it so sorry cant be much help. Did u have to have your port moved ?

I have exaxtly the same problem with back fat, i have had all the plastic surgery my breast lift is tomorrow 23rd March and that is me finished but i will be consulting a personal trainer about this back problem, it might be that the fat can be worked on, i would maybe try that first before the liposuction route. My surgeon has warned me tho, that having had so much surgery, we can get a little obsessed over minor imperfections, so in the grande scheme of things actually how bad is it, or is it just when u wear low cut dresses.. Sometimes our perceptions of ourselves get a little skewed after so much weight loss and surgery so i would get more opinions than just our own one

We dont use cups in the UK to measure our food, it was more sticking to calories (1000 to 1200 daily) and just 'small meals' but if i was to measure in cups i would eat maybe 3 oz protien plus a cup of green veg, and that is always after a tin of WW tomatoe soup to help fill me up first, works a treat and continues to work for me, i dont eat root veg much at all so the green veg is a filler with very little calories but plenty of nutrients.

''Third major problem: (was not told this ahead of time either) weight gain is guaranteed if you DRINK liquids with your meals, had I been told this I would have never gotten it because I know I drink with nearly every bite I eat. I knew there would be diet changes, etc, but not this! '' In my opinion thats just not normal whether u are banded or not !

From what i have read from previous people on this forum, some insurance companies will cover it but the problems that the excess skin are creating have to be very well documented, i.e visits to the doctors regarding the rashes, plenty of photographic evidence etc .. u need to find out if your insurance will cover this cost if there is a medical need for it, then go about gathering your evidence to prove you have a medical need. I am in the UK but the process would be very similar if we were trying to get the national health service to pay for this. Some companies also require an apron of skin more than 5 inches below the pubis bone, some may require shorter amounts but they are of course all hurdles put there to weed out the masses good luck with it, find the criteria then go about proving need ..!

I am doing well thanks, i got over my stitch abscesses and i still wear compression as i bought myself the leggings in black and just wear them like any leggings, the scars are doing great now i will get to take some pics soon for u, given the state of my legs before the operation they look 100% better now, although will never be perfect The longer u wear compression on any scars the better the results, u must keep them moisturised too to keep the skin from contracting a little. My surgeon is a great believer in natural remedies and insists that u massage the scar skin as often as possible to keep it flat and supple .. seems to work