Frangipani

Hi Dr. Schulman, Thank you so much for starting this thread! This will be very helpful us :sad:! I have a question for you, how often do you find that it is necessary for a Lap Banded patient to have their port moved when they have an abdominoplasty? Also, is it usually preferable for the patient to have and/or switch to a low profile port in conjunction with this procedure?

BBK, Definitely have that belly button checked out ASAP. That doesn't sound good at all, but maybe (hopefully), it will be something that the Dr. can take care of easily. Good luck, and let us know how it went.

Becky, I really haven't told very many people and have no plans to. That said, if I had children, I would tell them. I can imagine adult children being upset about not being informed when a parent is having surgery. I think they would definitely want to know. As for your parents, I vote no. Older people tend to get stressed out easily under the best of circumstances, and it's very likely that this would cause a lot of anxiety for them -- also, most folks in that older generation don't understand plastic surgery, as it just wasn't part of the culture back then. Just my two cents for what it's worth.

Oh my goodness Steph! Look at you -- you tiny little thing!!! You look wonderful!!!! I noticed that you have your shirt tucked in too. I am SO looking forward to that day. I have always had a little pouch of fat in my lower abdomen that has always been with me -- even in my college days when I weighed 106 pounds. As a result, I am always draping that area with things that clear the lower abdomen and hips. In fact, I don't think I even own a single piece of clothing that doesn't clear the belly and extend down to the hips. I told my Dr. that I am SO tired of draping my lower body -- that is my biggest complaint. IF I manage to arrive in the flatlands (and I say IF because I truly won't believe it until I see it), the first thing I plan to do is to go out and buy myself a tight tee shirt and tuck it right into the waistband of my jeans!!! You look amazing -- Congratulations :sad::thumbup::eek:!

Hi BBK, Thank you so much for the feedback, I will try to mentally prepare myself for this. What wonderful, inspirational before photos!!! You have come SO far, it's truly amazing. Maybe you should consider writing a book about your incredible journey! BTW, where was the cruise photo taken? It looks like Puerto Rico -- possibly?

Hi Jody, Yes, you have the dates right. My surgery is scheduled for 7:30 A.M. on Friday the 13th :eek:. Good thing I'm not superstitious -- huh? Since I'm having just about everything but the kitchen sink done, I assume I will be in surgery until at least 1:00 or so, and perhaps even a bit later than that. I plan to call you that evening, but if you don't hear from me until the next day, don't be concerned. I will PM you with my hospital info, and if for some reason you don't hear from me, you can call the hospital directly. I hope I will be well enough to call you on Friday evening, because I plan to be on an absolute mission to be up and about, and doing as much walking as I can ASAP! They apparently plan to keep me in the hospital for three days because of the open GYN surgery, but I'm having a really hard time imagining myself lying around in bed for three days. As I said before, they'll probably catch me trying to sneak out of the hospital to go catch a sale at Stein Mart :sad:! And Becky, that is a good question. Who is going to be updating us on your progress?

Hi LJM, Thanks for the nice message, and for sharing our excitement with us :scared2::smile::tongue2:! Obviously you are definitely losing weight, even if the scale isn't showing it right now. Keep up the good work with all of your running, LJM! You are a true inspiration!!!:smile2:

Thanks Pizzi :smile::huh2:! Good to hear from you too!!! It sound like you are loving it out in CA !

Hi BayCityBandster, As Mindy said, we are all different, but I too can eat anything, including all types of bread, Pasta, meat and vegetables. In fact, I have yet to encounter a food that I am not able to eat, but I do watch my calories and portions pretty carefully. Early on I had a few PB incidents, but I have not had one in a very long time. As Denise says, you learn how to chew your food and take smaller bites, and for me it has pretty much become a habit now that I don't even need to think much about doing anymore. Good luck and congrats on being banded!

Hey Jody, Sounds like a good plan, but do be careful -- you definitely don't want to be completely sidelined with an injury. I just finished week three of Couch to 5K. Last night was actually my night to do it, but when I got up to the high school there was a Marching Band event going on at the track field. I couldn't believe it though, there were still some people out exercising on the track during the event!!! I'm sorry, but that just didn't seem to be very respectful of the kids trying to put on a performance, so I wasn't going to do it......... Salsa, Congratulations on moving down the size scale Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend everyone!!!!

Hi BBK, You look wonderful!!!! I think the bust line is awesome too -- it still has that "umph," but is perfectly proportioned to the rest of your body. Congratulations!!!! :thumbup::thumbup: My surgery is coming up in just a little over two weeks, and I'm dreading the post-op pain, but seeing your photos reminds me that it will all be worth it in the end!

Becky, being as tall as you are, if you didn't have decent-sized feet, you would topple over -- think about it!!!! Personally, I would gladly go up a shoe size or two, if the trade-off were to gain some inches in height! I've always wanted to be tall -- you tall ladies can wear anything and look good in it, and you tend not to have "thunder-thighs" (like I have) either!!!

Thanks Jack ! One of my all time board favorites checking in, WOW -- and with a Seven Woot Salute!!!! I think if I figure out the secret of the last twenty pounds, it will make me more famous than Indiana Jones, because that is truly the Holy Grail for all mankind!!!!

Hi Cheryl, I know exactly where you're coming from. It's unfortunate, but many US Dr.'s don't know that much about the Band as of yet, and don't realize it's true potential. Of course some people will lose more slowly than others, but I truly believe that if you eat right and exercise hard you will lose weight quickly with this Band. If you read through this board and look at people's tickers, you will see very solid evidence of this. Gastric bypass is almost a no-brainer -- the weight comes off lightening-fast and with almost no effort on the part of the patient BUT, it also has obvious drawbacks (which I won't really get into because that's not what this discussion is about). I love my Lap Band because, unlike Gastric Bypass, the Band forces me to do my part (i.e., eat right and exercise), and I really believe this is healthier in the long run. I think a lot of Doctors favor the gastric bypass because it is almost a sure-fire method for losing a lot weight quickly, and it doesn't rely so much on the compliance of the patient. This is not true with the Band. If you don't do your part, you won't be very successful in the long run, because it's pretty easy to figure out ways to "eat around" the Band if you are determined to do so. If you want to go with the Band, I have a few suggestions for you, 1) Find a Dr. who is 100% completely on board with this procedure and has a lot of experience with it. Band placement is important!!!! If the Dr. doesn't know what they're doing and doesn't place the Band properly, the Band will not work for you, and in fact, can cause serious problems. 2) Work with a Dr. who does the fills under flouro. I will never understand why 100% of Doctors don't do this. When you do a fill under fluoro, it completely takes the guesswork out of the whole thing. The Dr. is able to see exactly what he or she is doing and they are also able to see the Band and confirm that everything is okay, every single time you have a fill. Best of luck to you! And hope to see you in "Bandland" soon

Hey Becky and Jody, Thank you so much for the enthusiastic celebration from my two online BFF's!!! I really am happy about this -- even though this isn't "goal," for some reason, hitting the 100 pound mark was more important to me than goal. Wow, do you two ever have me pegged!!! I am well known for being a total "Shoe-A-Holic." But how did that manage to even come through in my writing? And Jody, what size shoe do you take?

Woo Hoo, a Shrinko De Mayo!!! My all time favorite monthly bandster name!!! Love your logo too!!! Thanks Yvonne, for the incredibly sweet message!!! I really appreciate it. I see that you were just banded last Tuesday -- Congratulations!!! Trust me, if you exercise and follow the dietary instructions, the weight loss happens so quickly it will make your head spin. You will be so thrilled with this band!!!

Becky, Big hugs to you, and I wholeheartedly agree with everyone else, please do not let this get you down. I wouldn't be surprised if this insurance issue is simply the result of some incompetent person making a faulty judgment that will easily be reversed once this is re-submitted for approval. It seems to me that with all of your detailed medical information, you have a very good shot at prevailing in this matter, so try not to get discouraged this early in the game -- this is just a temporary setback.

Okay, I have pretty much been keeping my nose to grindstone and trying not to get too overly excited about things, but today I am having a little celebration. As of this morning, I hit my most important milestone in my weight loss journey -- 100 pounds lost! I am SO happy about this!

Molly, Molly welcome back :biggrin::smile:, I was getting worried about you, and was just about to send you a PM to find out how you were doing! What a bummer about the back, I hope it resolves soon. In the meantime enjoy the Pilates! I love Pilates -- it's hard work, but a lot of fun too!!!!

Well...... I did finally manage to tear myself away from the computer just long enough to get an hour of cardio in this evening. Have a great night everyone!

Hey Becky, Now it will really be a blow out party with the two of you coming down. I wonder how long it will take before they deport us!!!:biggrin::redface: Let's keep talking and planning -- anyone else interested? Did you know that we actually have a Texas Society down here? They put on a chili cook off every year. Unfortunately, I probably can't do anything in August because crazy me is on a mission to finish up this plastic surgery and I am actually contemplating doing the final round (finishing out the backside) in late July or early August if the Dr. will let me........ But look out when I get back from all this plastic surgery -- and also keep your fingers crossed that I don't suddenly become tempted to walk down main street doing this :rolleyes2: and get myself kicked off the island!

Hey Lessnless, With you around it would surely be one hell of a party so let's do it! BUT We will have to wait until after one year Bandivesary is over because August and September are the height of hurricane season around here. Assuming we survive the season intact, (knock on wood, but we usually do), November is actually a better time -- and it's still low season, so plenty of travel deals to be had. Come on down!!!!

Becky, I have no idea what this guy was thinking. Obviously however, he was not a married man because no woman would ever allow her husband to walk around like this. Okay, one more story and then I'll quit clogging up the thread with OT stuff. About a year ago I was sitting at a beachside restaurant and this really, really drunk guy suddenly decided to go skinny dipping (another thing absolutely frowned upon around here). If that wasn't bad enough he then decided to walk into the kitchen stark naked (thankfully, my food had already been served to me :rolleyes2:). The cook at this restaurant is a very lively, feisty, local lady and when she turned around and saw this naked guy standing in her kitchen, all hell broke loose! In fact, if I had been able to take a video of her reaction, I would have won the grand prize on America's Funniest Videos, for all time!!! As drunk as that guy was, he had all of his clothes back on (including shoes and socks) in about two seconds flat because she went after him with, lets just say.....a very sharp cooking utensil. I swear to God I was not able to compose myself for nearly an hour after that because I was laughing so hysterically. It was truly one of the most hilarious things I have ever witnessed in my life :biggrin::redface:! Every time I see that cook we talk about this and we still laugh ourselves silly about it.

LOL Becky! You are definitely going to be one hot Mama -- no doubt about it. Quick story, not related to you -- but you talking about shouting from the rooftops reminded me of this, I swear to God that it seems as if half the women on the planet who have had breast procedures takes a vacation in the Virgin Islands shortly afterwards and every single one parades through town in a skimpy bathing suit top. If that isn't bad enough, a good number of them seem fully prepared to show us even more at even the slightest provocation!!! I truly hope that my breast implants do not re-hardwire my brain in this way because frankly, it is a little embarrassing to see grown women acting like this. Not only that, the locals here are very proper, traditional, modest, and fastidious about their appearance and dressing and acting properly is quite important around here. Skimpy clothing is absolutely frowned upon in anyplace except the beach, and these poor women often subject themselves to very unkind treatment by the locals when they walk around town half dressed, as the locals consider this to be one of the highest forms of disrespect for their island and their culture. I have kind of appointed myself as sort of a "cultural conceierge" and whenever I can, I try to explain the local norms and standards (in a nice way) to people so that they don't have problems....... That said, I drew the line at a guy standing on a street corner in town in a SPEEDO!!!! Yes, a Speedo!!! I'm sorry, but I just can't look a man wearing a Speedo in the eye with a straight face, and he was left to fend for himself!

Hi Steph, Good luck and let us know once you have your date set. I'm having surgery the second week in June also (Friday the 13th :rolleyes2: -- no wonder the date was available). I'm having a full TT along with breast lift with augmentation, and some GYN surgery that I've been needing for a while. Having the plastic surgery was a good motivator for me to get the GYN surgery scheduled, because that sort of thing is never any fun. Are you having everything done at once? If so, will your surgeon be working alone, or will he have someone assisting?