BarbBee

Fantastic Bill!!!! How inspiring!!!

I had a lower body lift and hell ya it was expensive however I have no regrets. I hated my hanging stomach. It got in the way when I exercised. Made embarrasing clapping noises when I ran. That's not the kind of cheering I wanted to hear!!! When I laid down I felt like I was surrounded in a pool of skin. I absolutely hated how it looked. I worked so hard to lose the weight I did not want to be hauling around 10 pounds of flappy skin forever.. It was the best thing I could have done for my emotional health. I love my firm, healthy, fit body! I'll say it again and believe it YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!!

Wow! Fantastic time on the half!!!! I have done one so far (which I didn't train for...stupid me) and it took me 2:43. Just did an 8k this past weekend and it was great. I will try one more half and seriously train for it next year. I really admire you crazy runner folks doing a full marathon!!!! It amazes me how anyone can run 42K. Have a restful week Bill and ROCK the marathon!

"If hungry isn't the problem, then eating isn't the solution." Wow! That is one of the most helpful reminders ever!! I agree, a small unfil will help. Ice cream is ok for a rare treat. This journey is not easy...but so worth it!!

Hey fellow Canadians! I'm from Victoria BC. Had band surgery Nov. 26th 2007 and lost 160 pounds in 2 years. Best decision I ever made! All the best on your journey!

I have weighed myself everyday from the start. I bought a small 2 year calendar and record it every day. I see the pattern of my weight loss and now that I am at goal it is neat to look through it. I still weigh myself everyday (morning, after pee, no clothes same time every day) anf have given myself a five pound weight gain limit. If I go over 5 I need to get a tiny fill or up my exercise. Some think it's obsessive to weigh every day but for me it keeps me mindful all the time about my body and what it is doing. I find it helpful. Barb

I totally agree! The band helps with portion control but you decide what goes in your mouth, whether or not you exercise and keep up with fills as needed.. I believe it is a combination of all three that makes you successful at losing weight and keeping it off. If I ignore any of the three the pounds start creeping back on. When I am mindful of all three things the pounds came off and I found it somewhat easy.

Hi All, Wow! Can you believe 3 years have flown by. How is everyone doing? How has life with the band been now that we are into year three? I have been maintaining now for the past year. I would still like to get off the last 5 pounds but my body seems to like it at 140. I am so grateful for my band and having made this decision. I am now healthier than I have ever been in my life. I run, bike and go to bootcamp and it feels great to see/feel my body getting stronger. Living with the band has it's ups and downs ie: fills, too tight, or not enough, dealing with the emotional process around food and body image but i guess thats all part of the journey. Would love to hear others thoughts on life with the band. Barb

You look so happy and healthy!! Congratulations on all the hard work. I am 2.5 year bandster who lost 160 pounds and I totally agree with everything you said. The band is only a tool that helps with portion control. My band does not tell me what to eat or make me go to boot camp 3x a week. WE DO THAT!! Your definition of a successful bandster is spot on! Congrats again, you look amazing! Barb

Hi Mimi- The silicone gel dressing is a 2" x 12" adhesive silicone tape. I had to buy it from the PS. I got 3 packages and it costs 20.00 each. The strips on my incisions are very narrow..maybe 1/4" directly over the incision. I will post a pic and hopefully it will be big enough to see. The tape is really hard to work as it wants to curl (and is very sticky) once you separate it from the back. The piece that went around my back rolled the first night I had it so I ended up cutting a bigger strip and my hubby put it on for me. He laid 2 strips of medical tape vertically over it to help it stay in place. The gel tape is called Activ'm. I leave it on all the time and the nurse said replace it when it starts to lift. It was put on 6 days ago and seems fine so far. The scar is healing very well and the PS did a great job. The scar line is very thin. My hubby says my back is looking better...not as puckery. So I will just wait and see in a few months what it ends up like. Still swelling and numbness around my lower abdomen especially, and numbness around my back. My bb still looks like a very big cheerio and it goes up and down with swelling. Not going to fuss about that for another 2 months as well. I see the PS again in April. Just a quick note about my exercise. I don't want folks to think I am out there going full tilt on the exercise. My 6 K walk took me over and hour and a half and my 15K bike ride took me 2 hours as I was just pedaling slow and enjoying the day. I am slow as molasses as that's all I can do but it feels good. I was in pretty good shape prior to surgery and did an intense boot camp 2x a week plus jogging and mountain biking several other days a week. Back to work tomorrow! My life as a princess...sleeping in till 9 am is ending! It will be good to get back to a schedule but I am sure i will be pooped by 4:30 at the end of my work day. I popped in to work to take them some muffins and saw my supervisor and he said if I need to leave early that is no problem. My work has been so supportive all the way through my weight loss and surgery. I feel really lucky to have that kind of support. They are all a healthy bunch and fitness is important to them (Police) so they have given me lots of helpful hints and tips as well as encouragement. Here are some pics taken on the 20th- 2 days shy of 5 weeks post op. Chat with you soon. Take care, Barb

Thanks so much for posting your experience. You have shared some really valuable advise for folks to be aware of. I am sure it will help others. You have been through alot! Hope your tummy settles soon and your band can now work the way it is suppose to! Please keep us posted on how you are doing. Take care, Barb

HI Ohm You look great! Awesome little waist. Isn't it amazing to look at the contour of waist to hip. I recently had surgery and that part just amazes me. The PS's really are sculptors! Your dog is the cutest little thing I have ever seen. What a face!! Take care and thanks for posting. Love your sense of humour! Barb

Thanks for the kind words Mimi, Skinnyjeans, Allison, and Sue Magoo. I am feeling much better about things. I still have moments where I find myself looking in the mirror and thinking.. this needs fixing, that needs fixing... I am so happy with the resuts of the LBL so far I want it all fixed now!! Alas only if I were to win a lottery!! haha. Eventually I will get my arms and breasts done but that won't be for some time. I do need to remind myself of how far I have come and be happy within myself about that. I hit my goal today of 140. That is 162 pounds gone! I have my life back!!! I feel good and healthy. I would still like to take off 5 more pounds.. maybe 10 max. I hope in 4 weeks when I get back to boot camp and jogging it will tone back up again. I have started some light exercise with my PS's blessing. I did a 6 k walk (started to pick up the pace) and yesterday did a 15k trail ride on my mountain bike. Feels so good to exercise again. I saw my PS on Tuesday and he said the swelling will definetly take awhile. It does get a little better each week. I see him again in Aprill and he said if my bb still bothers me he will revise it for me. As for the crease in my back that too has to wait till all the swelling goes down. I head back to work next week (5 weeks since surgery) and feel ready for it. I will take a few pics next week and hopefully you will see a reduction in the swelling. Oh yah...the hot flashes have stopped. I do not think it was early menopause. I think it is surgery related. Yes I am in peri menopause but don't think the flashes are those ones. I have no pain (lots of area is still numb) and the scars are healing well. I have silicone gel tape on it. The PS says it helps very much with healing. Hope you are all well and will "talk " with you again next week. Take care, Barb

Wishing you a speedy recovery Ohm! Take care and keep us posted when you are feeling a little better. All the best! Barb

I have lost a hump of fat on the back of my neck. I put on my favorite necklace and noticed it hung lower than it use to. When I mentioned it to my husband he told be about the "hump" being gone. I had no idea it was there......... Me too Leigha!!! One day I was sitting at the computer and rubbing the back of my neck and freaked out! I thought.. what the heck are all these little bumps?..... Then it dawned on me...THEY ARE YOUR NECK/BACK BONES!!! I hadn't felt them for as long as I can remember! What a thrilling discovery! Good bye to the neck fat hump!!

Thanks Mimi and Allison! I am having a down kind of day today. Not really sure why...well actually I showed a friend of mine my tummy yesterday and she didn't seem super thrilled with it. I showed her a little bit of flubber that is left on top just under my ribs and said I hope this would go when I lose the last 10 pounds and start working out again. She said "I would have thought he would have gotten rid of that". I know I shouldn't worry about what others think. I am thrilled with the results so far and so happy I could do this....I still really struggle with the emotional stuff...feeling like I am still a 300 pound person. I know I am a normal weight person but after seeing myself as an obese woman for almost all my life it is taking me time to adjust. ....so much is new to me. Like buying clothes in a "normie" store and picking out a size medium. I used to be a 6X at Penningtons. Wearing high heels..my feet could barely hold me at 300 pounds let alone walking in heels. I love wearing dresses and skirts to work. On one hand it is thrilling to expereince all this and I am proud of my hard work, on the other hand it is hard to explain to other people the huge emotional process that goes with it. I am grateful for all that I have learned from everyone on this site!! What would I do with out you! (I've attached a before and after pic...the first one is 1 month before band surgery..the 2nd one is 2 years later and 155 pounds lighter) Allison....I could sit on a plane for 3 hours now but would bring a pillow (I use a small thin one placed just above my stiches on my back or sometimes just under the stiches) to take any pressure off. Also it would be helpful to get up everyone in a while and walk for a few minutes or just stand to take any pressure off and get your circulation going. Your pictures are gorgeous! Have you had PS? Also How tall are you? I am 5'4.5 and am hoping to get to 135 maybe 130 I'll see how I look and feel at that weight. You look amazing! you have a Killer figure!

It's 3 weeks today since my lower body lift. I feel really good but still get fatigued when I have been standing up puttering around for too long. My swelling has gone down some but I still have alot around and below my belly button. The skin there feels tight and sort of numb. I have alot of questions for my plastic surgeon next week. I don't know if my belly button should look "normal" at this stage...it still looks like a tiny bum! haha I wonder how it will end up looking? How did other find the swelling? Did it take a few months before you had almost no swelling? Right now I have a mesh adhesive tape over my stiches...so it makes it look dark. The scars are a pink color under the tape. Next week my surgeon will put silicone gel sheeting over the scars that stays on for 3 months. It is suppose to help with scar healing. I have posted a few pics that were taken on Saturday. The one of my back doesn't show the crease very well. I had my compression garment on and it left alot of extra lines. I'll try and get a better picture of it next time. Hope everyone is doing well. Barb

So glad the docs are getting on top of everything and you will soon be feeling better. Take good care of yourself Allie. Sending you lots of comfort and healing. Barb

Thanks for the all the support Sue. It was great talking to you the other night. The hot flashes must have been hormone related and not medication related as I got my period. It was only 20 days since my last one! Stupid peri-menopause! This is one of the reasons that my hemoglobin goes down. I had my last 2 drains out on Monday. That was a weird feeling as they were around my back and you can feel them slipping around your back as she takes them out. It was an uncomfortable feeling but not painful. The nurse has told me to promise her i would slow down and rest more. She states now that the drains are all out if you overdue it you can get really swollen. I am off almost all the pills. I take 1 Ibuprofen at night to help with inflamation. I had a flash free sleep last night and slept through till 5 o'clock AM so I felt great. The swelling seems to go top, down. Most of the swelling is under my belly button and along my pubic line. That whole area still feels numb and kind of drum like. My weight has gone down to 146 so 1/2 pound from surgery weight of 145.5. I do want to get down to 135 so will be getting a small fill on the 12th. I love my waist and hip contour but have no bum left. I also have a crease in my back that I really don't like and will be talking with the surgeon about it on the 16th. It kind of looks like a long bum crack and I am not sure if it will go away once swelling is gone or if it will go away when he does a breast lift (get rid of side boobs) in a year or so. I will post some pics tomorrow and try and get a pic of my back and ask others if they had anything like that. I feel really good and am so happy for the most part with the results. I have to keep reminding myself that the best results may not be for several months and be a bit more patient. I have not lost any hair but did a few months after band surgery so we will see. I do have 2 body pillows and now sleep on my side (Yes!) surrounded by my pillow nest to take any pressure off. Dr. Naysmith did lipo on my outside thighs and it can still be tender from time to time. I'll get the pics on tomorrow. Take care. Barb

Wow you have been through alot Allie. Sending you comfort and healing thoughts. You have been such a trooper!!!

HI Wannabe, A few things came to mind...for the hospital ..chapstick and throat losenges. At home I found a wedge pillow for bed really helped and I had use of an electric recliner the first week and found it to be wonderful. If you a can rent, or borrow one you may find it a big help. I slept in both the first week as it was hard to get comfy and had to switch a few times each night. The first week was definetly the hardest. I also found a nightie was easiest at first. (I had a lower body lift) I'm sure I will think of a few more things to add. Do you have a set date yet and what are you having done? Take care. Barb

Thanks for the reassurance about the belly button. I saw the nurse today and she took my BB stitches out and said not to worry , once the swelling goes down it should be fine. She said even if I am unhappy with it, it can be fixed under local anesthetic in the office. I had 2 more drains out today so the other 2 will come out Monday. I was really afraid to get 1 of the drains out as everytime I "milked" the tubing into the drain it would burn across my back. It burned a bit on the way out but thank goodness it only takes like 30 seconds!! The other one I did not feel at all. She has you take a big, big breath in and then exhale through your mouth as she takes the drain out. Seemed to work well. I tried over the counter pills last night trying to avoid the super hot sweats I have been getting. Unfortunately it happened again and the nurse says it sounds like hotflashes from menopause!! I am 47 so this could be the start..Yipee!! Not! I will be happy not to have periods anymore but spontaneous combustion does not feel fun! Oh well..this is all a part of life! I am so happy with my life right now. I have had such a good recovery and I am very lucky I have had such an easy time of it so far. I really think all my exercise with boot camp and jogging has helped me to recover so well. Other than going in to see the nurse today (2 hour commute, hubby drove) I have not done much. Washed my hair in the sink and had a sink bath. I can hardly wait to have a shower!!!! Come on Monday!! I have a huge appetite and asked when I can get a fill as my port was restitched down during surgery. I was told to wait another week and let the swelling go down a bit more and let the internal stiches heal well. My surgery weight was 145.5 and the doc removed 7 pounds but my weight is 151! I hope all that is swelling!! I had fill taken out prior to surgery so I could take pills properly and no throwing up. I feel like i have no restriction so will really have to watch my huge appetite over the next week. I had a big plate of whole wheat veggie spaghetti tonight. I really enjoyed it as it has been 2 years since i have eaten any Pasta. I will enjoy the next week somewhat and then get back to business as I would like to get to around 135-140 to reach my goal. Take care everybody. Barb

HI Sue! Didn't realize that was you! I am doing great. I went to see the Dr. Naysmith on Tuesday and had 1 more drain removed. He said there is still too much swelling to take any others out at that time. I see Diane (his nurse) tomorrow and hope the remaining 4 will come out. There is almost no drainage now. One drain right beside my crease of my thigh keeps pinching and it is driving me crazy. I have been fine in the daytime with extra strength Tylenol and Ibuphrophen. I was taking Dilaudud at night so I can sleep with out pain but am having terrible side effects from it. Within an hour of taking it I get so internally hot I feel like I will spontaneously combust!! Then I sweat and can't sleep. I was given Tremacet on Tuesday to try last night and the same thing happened. I am going to try just regular tylenol and Ibuphrophen and take a gravol if I can't sleep. I want off the pain meds anyways as i hate the way I feel when I wake up. Today I felt good and really over did it. Dusted, vacuumed ( yes,.. I know super stupid) and folded laundry. I have all this energy as the shots I had prior to surgery to boost my hemoglobin did an outstanding job. My hemglobin went up 1 point after surgery. My doctor said I made medical history! haha. He also did a new technique while operating and it was so great at limiting blood loss he has now done it on his next LBL patient. I have posted a few pics. One with all the drains and another with the binder off. Once the drains come out I will take some pics of the actual incision. My belly button looks very odd to me but was assured once the swelling goes down and I heal a little more it will end up normal looking. I have to get those stiches out tomorrow too..I hope. Will post again tomorrow after my next appointment. Take care everyone. Barb

You look fantastic! Perfect bod!

Had a good day today. Only used the extra strength Tylenol and Ibuphrophen a few times today. Will use 1 dilaudid and 1 gravol at bedtime though because it is hard to find a comfy position to settle in to fall off to sleep. My drains are barely putting out any flluid so I really hope to get the 5 remaining ones out when I see the surgeon on Tuesday. Swelling is alot less today too. I am dying to have a nice hot shower and we are told not to until the drains come out. I am still wearing the compression stockings. They make your legs really hot sometimes and I would love to take them off but the nurse wants me to wait at least another week. Tomorrow will be 1 week since surgery. I can hardly wait to go shopping for cute undies!!! On Tuesday I will post the pictures of all the drains etc. I tried today to take a pic of the stiches but need to find a way to do that and still have some privacy. As all the drains come out of my pubic area it is hard to cover it and take a picture. As soon as I can I will post some pics of the stiches. My belly button looks very weird to me and I have a red blotch and blister line coming from it. Will phone the nurse tomorrow and ask if I need to come in early. It is not oozing or anything just red. My port was also stitched back down as it had lifted and I could tilt it on it's side. I am not quite sure where it is as everything feels very weird when you touch it. Some areas are completerly numb and it all feels sort of hard from swelling. I have to keep reminding myself that healing is a process that will take several months. I need to be more patient. I feel frustrated by the lack of energy too and have to keep giving myself reality checks. So far things have gone really well...actually better than they expected as far as hemoglobin and blood loss went. I am grateful for the wonderful care I have had from eveyone. Take care and chat with you again soon. Barb