StacyinDE

Dr. Schulman, Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions, and for all of the information you provided me with! It is greatly appreciated!

Well, I'm not in New York, but I live close enough to the Amtrak station here in Delaware to make my way up there! :thumbdown: I have I guess more of a contouring question for you. I just had a TT and breast lift on July 31st. Prior to my TT I had much more of an hourglass figure with marked waist indentations than I do now. I am still really swollen in the midriff area right above my incision line but not really on the sides now. Since I've already had the TT is there any way I can go back and get my waist more defined like it was? I would say I have more of the "boxy" shape you mentioned in a previous post. Also, I have had some significant wound healing complications in both my abdominal incision and underneath of the left breast. I'm sure you have come across these situations before. What would you say the chances are that I am now predisposed to wound healing complications for future plastic surgeries? This was my 6th surgery ever (and the biggest) and I never had complications (other than anesthesia-related) with any of the previous surgeries and have always healed very well and bounced back quickly. I know you can't give me an exact answer, but I'm curious as to what you have encountered in these situations. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance!

I didn't wake up during my band surgery but I woke up with my second C-Section while under general anesthesia. It was when they were getting my son out of me that I woke up, couldn't breathe, move, scream, felt like I was suffocating - no pain, thankfully, but I could feel them tugging and pulling and my body being shaken. It was the most horrible feeling I have ever felt!! That's how I found out my son was in respiratory distress. He couldn't get enough oxygen to cry and I heard the doctors and nurses scrambling to get him help and I started freaking out and my pressure skyrocketed and they knocked me back out. When I came to, they came in to tell me that my son was in the NICU on a ventilator and before they started talking I was asking where he was and was he breathing now. To say they were shocked is an understatement. I told them what happened, and repeated word for the word the doctors and nurses conversations, my son's Apgar scores and what the NICU doc had said. They couldn't apologize enough. Also, my OB is a doc that I used to work for. I canceled previous WLS because I was terrified to do anesthesia again. But, before being banded I talked to Anesthesia at the hosipital I was getting banded in. The anesthesiologist explained to me that that is actually quite common in C-Sections under general because general affects the baby so they can't give the mom too much and many "moms" come awake and have a level of awareness though don't usually feel any pain. She assured me they used the forehead monitors for all surgeries at this hospital, so they would know exactly how far under I was and would make sure I didn't wake up. I didn't, and being banded after the C-Section scare actually was a tremendous help to me. I am no longer terrified of going under again now that I understand what happened. I just wish the other hospital had explained what was going on and that it could happen before I had my section.

I've had 10 fills and 2 unfills so far. None ever done under fluoro and I never had to be stuck more than once. Sorry to hear some of you have had problems with your fills, I hope it gets better for you!

Hi, You can use this link from the Allergan/Inamed (makers of the lap band) web site to locate a surgeon in your area. Inamed, a division of Allergan: Products: Obesity Solutions (US Patients) I'm in Delaware, not far from you if you're in Philly. I went through Christiana Advanced Institure for Surgery and had my surgery at Christiana Hospital, all here in Newark, Delaware. Hope this helps! :eek:

Wow! So many of you guys are soooo close! You can do it, all of you can do it! You are doing great, keep up the good work!! :clap2: :Banane44:On the road to Onederland. . .:car:. . .

Hi TerriDoodle! I've used my pill cutter and cut the regular Advil in half and taken them a few times when I was pretty desperate with a bad headache. I wouldn't recommend doing it regularly but it worked when I needed it! I'm with WasABubbleButt, just stick me or let me do it myself!!!! :heh:

Hey Monica, Look at you, standing at the doorway to Onderland, you'll be here before you know it, great job! Keep it up!! :clap2::clap2:

Yaaaaaaaaaaay Sandra! I knew you could do it! WOOHOOOOO!!! Happy dance time!!

Sandra, Don't panic, you can do this! Same thing happened to me and at end of TOM I finally broke through the plateau! You can do it!!

I FINALLY MADE IT TO ONEDERLAND!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOO!!!! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: 198.2 today!!!!! I'm just a little excited, can ya tell? :whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo::whoo:

LOL! Nah, we don't mind, it's good to see someone inching their way closer to the elusive Onderland! The closer you get, the more excited I get! :whoo::clap2::whoo: Thank you for the encouragement, it does help! This is my first "real" plateau and I swear my body stopped here just to torture me, lol! You'll know when I finally get into Onderland cuz I'll be on here posting my weight hourly, lol! I'll be the crazy lady carrying the scale with me everywhere and hopping on and off it all day! :heh:

I am still stuck at 200 :faint: . . . . grrrr!!!! :faint:

Green, Thank you for your kind words and compassion. We have a daily struggle in a number of things, but his weight and the issues related to it are prevalant at this point, which is why this situation strikes so close to home for me. I agree that neither this little girl nor her mother seemed to really understand the behavioral or psychological changes associated with having the banding surgery. I just can't imagine a mother not only allowing but encouraging her to undergo these procedures as her mother has done. And, the mother was very flip about the preop testing and especially the psychological testing needed prior to banding. She seemed more concerned about the cost to her rather than the importance of making sure her child was fully prepared for this life changing procedure. I think we are going to see a rise in teens and preteens wanting this surgery for a quick fix and not fully understanding the consequences and the hard work and diligence involved in living with your band. Sadly, I think there will be many more stories similar to the one about this little girl.

Chickie, I do agree with you completely on this. I know our situation is different but my son is well aware of calories and what they are and how you "burn them up" and understands what that means. He knows about portion control and how much is too much and he is well versed in all of the food groups and what foods are healthy and what foods are not. Most kids his age don't have a clue, even the ones with weight issues. Many kids think nothing of using their lunch money to buy multiple sodas, Desserts and candy with. I've seen it as a lunch mom time and time again, but that is a whole other issue with what kids have access to in the school cafeteria. Though I have to say there's usually always a healthy alternative offered though not necessarily chosen.