TulipStar

Great thread!! 1. Fit comfortably in an airplane seat and not feel like I am imposing on someone else's space. 2. When I do travel internationally (Asia for example), not to have people point and laugh at me. They are all so skinny, they literally think I am a spectacle. 3. Weigh less than my husband. 4. Get pregnant 5. Run a marathon

I can't wait to get this fixed. I am hungry again...and it sucks!! Oh yeah, forgot to mention that he is also going to replace my port with a smaller version. He said that as people lose weight, sometimes their port starts to stick out and they want it replaced with a smaller. Since he said he can feel mine just fine (the large one) and it is close to the surface, he is going to replace it with a smaller one so it can't be seen as I get to be skinny!

My insurance would not approve it...I had Dr. letters and even pictures of rashes, etc. Then I appealed through the company I work for and they approved it, so the insurance covered it.

Surgery already!! Wow that is FAST! congratulations! I have my revision surgery with Dr. Marsden on the 28th.

I think it is a combo of both... I once lost 110 lbs and I had the extra tummy skin removed (AKA "pannus" or "apron"). The surgeron removed 12lbs of skin and fat. YUCK!

Bratz, I just found out today that my revision surgery is the 28th! He said I will be under light anesthesia, without the breathing tube. He said it will be like when they knock you out at the dentist office. My surgeon was so apologetic, he said that he thinks its because he used dissolvable sutures for the port and they didn't hold. He said that he is going back to regular sutures for all surgeries. He said of course that I didn't have to pay a thing and even better, I will have the surgery at a center closer to my home. woohoo! Thanks for the well wishes everyone.

I travelled during my pre-op diet with a colleague who didn't know I was having surgery. I was the driver, so when we landed he wanted to go to lunch. I suggested something fast and when we got to Subway, I told him, "I think I'll pass, I have some Protein powder and will have a shake instead". Later for dinner, (I was allowed to eat a light dinner) I ordered a salad and he followed suit. Just go. You can do it!

Tomecia, You are going to drive yourself nuts!!!! relax relax relax! Since your insurance company is changing does that mean you will have to get approval from Aetna?

Hello! I have PCOS too. I have had it for 17 years, but I was diagnosed 10 years ago. I was first confirmed through blood work and just recently within the last year, I saw my polycystic ovaries on ultrasound...it is amazing how covered in cysts my ovaries are! It has been so challenging to lose weight and SO EASY to GAIN weight. People are often amazed that I can easily put on 40lbs in a month. The lapband is helping, I think it really helped me to get that "jump start". One of the main reasons I chose to have the lapband is to be able to conceive easier and do IVF after I get to a certain weight. Of course I want to do it for my health, etc. But I was to start a family sooner than later. I am not getting any younger!! Chickie, were you on meds before for your PCOS? If so, after you lost the weight, have you stopped taking your meds?

Tomecia, It took 11 weeks from the time that LBS submitted my paperwork. I know it's hard, but the only thing you can do it just wait... The reason mine took so long was that UHC was about to deny me, so LBS pulled the request until the got a stronger case together. (My BMI was not consistently over 40 for all 5 years). On the other hand, I have a co-worker who had the surgery in March and it only took him 3 weeks to get approved. Hang in there...it will be here before you know it!

Screw those people! They are just trying to bring you down. I had a lot of issues with people in my life. Even a "concerned friend" beforehand who tried to "intervene". The truth was that she wasn't my "friend" bc if she was, I would have felt comfortable telling her about the surgery. I have a long family history of issues with my parents. Through therapy, I have found the best way for me to deal with this is to write them a letter to let them know how I feel. Sometimes I send the letter, sometimes I don't. To be honest, I have only had to send a letter to my Dad once. This was about 6 years ago and I set the boundaries. I told him I loved him, wanted to have a relationship with him, but he had to treat me with respect and cut out the verbal abuse or I wouldn't have a relationship with him until he could act decent towards me. He called me after I sent that letter after 6 months of not talking. Now he pretty much stays within the boundaries I set. If he feels like he isn't going to stay within the boundaries or he is mad at me, he just won't talk to me for 2-6 months. I am ok with that if that's what he has to do to deal with his issues. You are doing this surgery for you. So tell your brother to take a hike. Don't feel guilty about Thanksgiving, you are doing the right thing. HUGS!

Bratz, I am in the same situation. On Thursday I went for my 2nd fill and they couldn't find the port. They put me under the x-ray and found it has completely flipped over. It hurt so bad and I have all these needle holes and bruises on my stomach from them trying to manipulate it. It looks really bad. I actually started crying right there on the x-ray table. It freaked me out and then they told me that I would have to go back in for surgery!! I hate hospitals and it took all the nerve that I had to have the surgery in the first place. ARGH! I have an appt with my surgeon this week to find out what the next steps are. This is really rare...I guess we are the lucky ones and we should go play the lottery!! Hang in there...once it's fixed, we'll be well on our way to being skinny and this little bump is part of our journey. (unfortunately)

Stacy 73… 40 TulipStar…32 Mdicurn…20 time4me…27.8 Magooz07…11 Caresarn…16 Klpdbl…31 Lapband4me...32 Sirusman…23 Allisarin…23 Tishamarie…49 EL1…23 Juliacleone…20 Kimmie…43 dsmit13…23 ScareDcat…22 Lapitup…22.5 mandi78…23 andrea71…28 Thinmom…23 Kellymovingon...35 flipper64...30 kagoscuba...37 Lucylu...21 Gurlygirl....23 Amber...39 suzygayle...31 Jez...27 Kayemarie....52

I lose weight in my butt so all my pants begin to fit really loose in my backside. Like I have a droopy diaper! lol I have really noticed right now, all of a sudden at 32lbs lost. I am traveling for work and brought my usual clothes and my pants fall off (literally). I just wore these pants 2 weeks ago! I do notice in my face as well and my stomach too.

It's hard to say if you don't know the type of band you have. My first fill was 5cc and I did feel some restriction.

I always walk around and pound on my chest (like tarzan). The walking makes me feel better. I have only been stuck 3 times. 2 times it passed. 1 time it came back up (immediate relief).

I was on full liquids for the 1st week. The 2nd week I could have mushies and I was ready by day 6! Sorry that you dr. is so strict. I would recommend that you call the dr. office and talk to a nurse and tell them you are really hungry and ask if you can have a little mush. Just a forewarning...I gained 3 lbs the week that I started back on mushies. My body jumped right out of starvation mode and was hanging on to every calorie.

I would definitely recommend you have someone stay with you the first 24-48 hours. I couldn't get up from a sitting position by myself without help from my husband. (this includes sitting down and getting up from the toilet). At 48 hours I could sit and get up by myself but just slowly. I honestly thought that I would be driving around and shopping by day 3, but I was slower to recover. I drove on day 6, but I still had some pain. I went back to work on day 7, but if I dropped something, I still couldn't bend over and pick it up. Make sure you have lots of fluid/broth. sugar-free popsicles are a must have. Get a lot of different kinds. Also, I was lactose intolerant right after the surgery, so when I used milk for my Protein shake, it made my stomach upset. The dr. said this is normal and it went away after about 3 weeks. Congratulations on your surgery date!! You are going to love the banded side

tomecia, My advice to you is to communicate only through lapband solutions. When I called UHc they gave me wrong informatoin so many times. They told me I was denied...twice. But that wasn't the case. UHC customer service reps seem to not have access or know how to read their system correctly. Anyway, it's easier to deal with LBS and your coordinator there. Good luck.... i know you will be banded soon!!

Minerals, This is a good question. I have found exercise to be the best replacement for the emotional feelings. Also, a little bit of guitar hero is a good thearpy for me Yesterday I had a really rough day. I went for a fill and they said the port flipped and tha I would have to do revision surgery. I hate dr offices, absolutely despise hospitals and the pain from the surgery and recovery is something I don't want to have to do again so soon!! I was so devastated!h So, after I found out about my port being flipped, I was driving home, crying. All I could think about was what was I going to EAT to make me feel BETTER. I saw a McDonalds and thought about those delicious salty french fries. I was soo tempted, but I didn't do it. I decided I would just go home and eat a lean cuisine instead. I know this is going to sound weird, but since I have been really pretty strict about my diet, I cheat less. I don't have the cravings as much and I am not as hungry. I think this comes from avoiding breads/carbs. The problem that I have is when it comes to something emotional...all I want to do is stuff my face to drown the feelings. It usually passes though and the band won't let me stuff myself. Because when I tried to stuff myself when I got home yesterday I had a PB and then I was on liquids the rest of the day.

Well, now I know that that wasn't my first PB. Because I had my first PB yesterday!!! It just ate a piece of chicken from a lean cuisine for lunch. The chicken was kind of dry, maybe I didn't chew it enough. Anyway, the pain started then the slime session. Burp, spit, burp spit...like I am foaming at the mouth. I thought it had passed and then without warning...BURP and vomit. all over my wood floor. I run to the sink and then my dog comes up and starts eating my vomit!!! I yell at her to stop and she does. It was a lot more volume than I thought it would be and it was like "mushies" but I think that must be bc of all the slime. It was totally painless when it came up thought. It was a relief! My question is...is there anything you can do to speed up the process? When you need to PB and you are just waiting for it to come up, can you just make yourself PB?

I had Dr. Marsden and now I have a flipped port. I thought he was great, but now I am wondering...how could my port come unstitched in less than 7 weeks? Now I have to go for revision surgery!! He is so busy the soonest he could see me is in another week.

I love the bug... I definitely need that someone in my life to keep me honest!! I have found that I don't really use the digital display though. Those messages are so annoying! They scroll twice...and it takes forever for them to move across the screen. i wish it was more like my heart rate monitor watch and that I could track my heart rate as well.

I used to ALWAYS be hot. I always carried a fan with me in my purse, because I was always breaking a sweat. Since surgery, all of a sudden i am cold. I have never been cold in my life. I could wear flip flops in the snow.... Now, I have to put on a sweater when it's in the 60's!

I fly on at least 2 flights a week and I have a band. I have had no problems whatsoever. This includes two 11+ hour flights overseas!