Frangipani

Hi Cori, Gosh, I can totally understand now why Brian is concerned about you having PS. I'm so sorry to hear that he lost his Mom that way. As far as how long I will be in the VI, we are here indefinitely. At some point, I will probably live here part-time and in Santa Fe, New Mexico part-time, which is why I didn't ship everything down here. Thanks Cori! :wink2::smile::smile: Good news so far -- no swell hell! Because the drain is now out, I was able to wear my wonderful compression garment that I purchased from Nouvelle, and in fact when I woke up this morning, there appeared to be no swelling whatsoever. I plan to ask my Dr. about this when I see him next, but I'm starting to wonder if toward the end, my body was actually starting to react to the drain itself and that's why my drain output never did drop down the way it should have. The one good thing that did come out of this, is that I made a connection with a delightful lady in Orange County, CA, who I found on MakeMeHeal.com. She had her TT one week before me and had her drain in for five weeks too! She and I are laughing about this because we believe we set a record. Her Dr. told her that she had her drain far longer than any patient he'd ever had. Anyhow, she's great, and we've been emailing back and forth quite a bit and supporting each other through the experience. Gotta love the Internet -- you meet all kinds of terrific people who you would never meet otherwise. Foofy, if you want encouragement we should probably let Becky handle that question alone. I'm a "pear" shape and carried almost all of my excess weight in my hip and thigh area and I still need to have one more surgery to fully address my lower body issues. As it stands now, my thighs and the Giant Redwoods rival each other in diameter......... Thanks Salsa :smile:. My incisions leaked for a time too in a certain spot -- don't worry it's annoying, but it will go away. And yes, the sanitary pads help immensely -- that was truly invaluable advice from Kat :scared2:!!!!

Hi Nana, Sorry it took me a while to respond to your post, but I did enjoy it!!!. NAAA syndrome -- LOL :drool:! Trust me, I'm there too, which is remarkable considering that I was previously the world's largest "pear"!!!! I also suffered from NBAA (no boobs at all) syndrome, but fortunately with the help of my plastic surgeon and a little "silicone therapy," I'm happy to report that I'm in complete remission :thumbup:! Keep your posts coming lady, you crack me up! Hi Di, Thanks for your post. Are you scheduled to be banded soon?

Hi All, Becky I hope you're out celebrating as I write this and having a wonderful time!!!! Well, the drain is out. The Dr. gave me the heads up to have it pulled because I'm going back up to Miami next week and he can follow up with me if I develop any problems, such as excessive swelling. The good news is that there is almost no swelling, despite the fact that I ran around most of the day and was on my feet for hours -- so thus far (fingers crossed), it's looking like my patience with keeping it in so long is paying off. To celebrate I went out shopping. (I don't know if I've ever told you ladies this about myself, but I love shopping :thumbup::tongue:). My figure is completely different from what it has ever been (especially with the new breasts), so it was really fun trying things on and experimenting with new looks. So that's my big news for the day. I hope everyone is enjoying their evening and working up to a wonderful weekend! BTW Jody, thanks for the nice words. You're a terrific lady, and I'm honored that you consider me a friend.

Hey Becky! Happy Birthday!!!! Wow, you've made so many wonderful things happen in your life in the past year, I know this will be a great celebration for you!!! :wub:

Thanks Dr. S ! You are always so helpful and generous with you time and advice -- it's great to have you on this site helping us out. :wub: I have another question for you, do PS patients sometimes have a "foreign body" reaction to their surgical drains? If so, what might indicate that this is happening?

Becky! WOW :tt1: Look at you girl!!! You are stylin' and profilin'!!! You look like a super model!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Look out North America, cause Texas Becky is coming!!!!

Hi Dr. Schulman, Thanks again for the great advice regarding scar treatments. I've been using the paper tape and the local pharmacy was able to order a product for me called Dermatix. I was wondering if you know anything about this product and if so, what you think of it.

Hey Jody, LOL -- you crazy girl!!! :lol: I do still have my drain, and yes, it is very possible to function normally and even exercise with it in, as I have been doing. However, it still does limit the things I can wear. I can wear babydoll tops because they drape and cover the slight bulge that the drain creates, but I can't really wear my new fitted tee shirts yet. So once the drain is out, I will definitely put some pics up. BTW, my babydoll top that shows a lot of cleavage has really gotten me some good service.......... I had to go back to the pharmacy on Tuesday to stock up on paper tape. Even though I wasn't showing any cleavage when I went back, the pharmacist remembered me and popped right out from behind the counter to assist me again. I asked him if he could order me some sort of a silicone scar treatment (I didn't specify a brand because you have to be flexible when you live on an island). Anyhow, his clerk just called me. He found me a product called Dermatix, and it's already there and ready to be picked up! Wow! If this keeps up that Stein Mart top will end up being the best $30 I've ever spent :tongue::tongue::tongue:.

Woo Hoo Becky!!!! Size 8 -- Congratulations!!! :woot: :cool2::smile::smile::bananapowerslide::bananapowerslide::bananapowerslide::bananapowerslide::bananapowerslide:

Jody, LOL :lol: and thanks!!! No problem -- I'll loan the $20, and my interest rate will be the next Stein Mart coupon you get in the mail :smile::tongue::smile:!

Thanks Lulu :smile::smile::smile:! I got another walk in tonight -- can't wait to get back to my running and yoga and pilates, but that will be a little while yet....... Jody, welcome back :cool2:! Have a great night everyone!!!! July Exercise Challenge 5/12 Sessions

Hi Terri, Your results are fabulous! The Dr. opened up the eye area just beautifully and yet everything still looks very natural. Congratulations!!!! :frown::thumbup:

Jody, What a pleasure to see your photos!!!! You look FABULOUS!!! What an adorable little hottie you are!!! And of course the Stein Mart outfit rocks :thumbup::biggrin:!!! Love you girl! Congratulations :crying::thumbup::frown:!!!

Hi Everyone! Daddy -- you rock!!! I can't wait to start getting back in my full-blown workouts again, and eventually I hope to be in your league! Ceradad -- Thanks for sharing the story about your DD and dancing, it made me smile!!!:eek::smile::wink2: LuLu -- Welcome back! Great to hear that you had a wonderful getaway!!! Becky -- You go girl!!! I'm not there yet, but hope to be soon!!! :tongue_smilie::thumbup::tt1: I got another walk in last night -- I'm continuing to add more hills to my route each day, and slowly but surely I'll be back to where I was. Have a great day all!!!! July Exercise Challenge 4/12 Sessions

Hi Cori, Oh we definitely are corrupting you, that's what we love to do -- corrupt the women of America :confused_smile::biggrin::smile2:! But let me ask you this, is there anything that men think we need? Just ask a man, do I need this or do I need that, and the answer will almost always be NO, NO, NO!!! BTW, I LOVE your new bike. It's gorgeous and I hope you're having a lot of fun with it. I love biking so much and really miss it. My bike is in storage in the States right now, because biking is not really an option here on the island. For one, the roads here are unrelentingly steep, and secondly the crazy drivers (which I guess I should include myself in that group, if I'm being honest) make biking fairly dangerous. There is a group of incredibly fit, hard-core men that go out biking at dawn (the only time when the roads might even be remotely safe for biking), but they all look like something out of the Tour de France, and probably are. Needless to say, there is NO WAY that I could keep up with that crowd. Anyhow, enjoy!!!!

Hi Becky, I'm glad to hear that everything went so well with the Dr. today!!! Yes, I believe that my Dr. will be just continuing the TT incision right on along into the back, but I will confirm all the details with him once I plan out phase 2, which I hope will be very soon! I'll be curious to know whether or not he'll propose to do that fat transfer to fill out the backside. I asked him about this and he told me that he does it on an "as needed" basis. I know from his photos that he does gorgeous backsides and I trust his judgment completely, so just as I did with the breasts, I'll let him decide the best way to go about this, and just show up for the surgery :confused_smile:. Yes, Dr. S was very helpful regarding the scar treatment advice, and I'm already wearing my tape. Have a great night! :smile2::smile::crying:

Thanks for the additional info Dr. S -- really appreciate it! :cursing::smile:

BBK great news!!!! Now that's what I expected to hear all along. All that other stuff that was going on before was just bizzaro and not at all what I expected from someone affiliated with a great institution like U of M. You probably just caught the Dr. on a bad day the last time you talked to him, but obviously this story will have a very happy ending. Congratulations on a successful resolution!!!! I'm sure you'll love the results!!!! :cursing::thumbup:

Thanks for the great advice Dr. S, and for the $$$ savings too! :cursing: I can see that I need to revamp my whole regime here. I do have paper tape which I'll start using right away. I live on an island so I'll probably have to mail order the silicone gel, but I will definitely do so and give it a try. Thanks again!

Hi Dr. Schulman, Thank you for starting this highly informative thread! I have a question about scar treatments. I recently had a full TT and a BL with implants. I'm currently using Mederma in the hopes that it will reduce my scarring over time, but I wondered if there are any better and more effective treatments out there. Also, are any products in particular that you recommend to your patients? Thanks for any advice and information you might have. :smile2:

Hi Judi, Thank you for the lovely, lovely message. I always enjoy hearing from you, your amazing wit and sparkling personality always shine through in your posts :smile::crying:! It's been great traveling on this journey with you too, and thank you for being the founder of our wonderful Crazy Ates group!!! Very interesting info about the inventor of the Lap Band, Dr. Kuzmak, who was obviously a very gifted and inventive person. It sounds like the last decade of his life was a real struggle due to an unfortunate accident -- and of course it's very sad to hear about his untimely death. That said, I guess your first born will be spared now (LOL :smile2:). Have a great day, and thanks again for the wonderful message!!!!

Hey Ladies, I happened to see your posts and I just wanted to wish you good luck. I cannot believe that August 7 is coming up so quickly!!! I was banded on August 7 of last year -- on the day of surgery I had a BMI of 45.3 and here I am just 11 months later, at goal and with a normal BMI. In order to lose the weight you'll need to work hard and watch what you eat pretty carefully, but the Band is an AMAZING tool that will make this all possible and very manageable. This is a very exciting journey, and I wish you all the best!!!! :smile:

Hi Salsa, Saw your updated photos -- looking good girl :party::thumbup::tt1:! I really didn't (don't) have much of a problem with my drain leaking externally. I did have one area of my incision that leaked for nearly two weeks, hence my need to use the sanitary pad. I think you should put a quick phone call into your Dr. about this. I mean it probably is nothing to be concerned about, but she can just confirm that for you and give you peace of mind. The call would probably take about one minute of her time, and I really doubt she'd mind. Jody, ROTFL at your hilarious message and Thanks!!!! Wow! You're the second person to call me a Hot Mama -- if you keep this up girls, maybe the whole concept could eventually stick :tt1::tongue::tt2:!!!!

Becky, What an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING transformation!!! Hot damn lady, what a bod!!!! :tt1::tt1::tt1: Congratulations -- it's all SO totally worth it!!!! :party:

Lulu, have a great trip!!!! Daddy, good luck today!!! Well, this exercise is going in fits and starts for me this month as I continue the recovery process, so I'm revising my goal. However, I think I'm onto something more steady now. I got two more workouts in, 30 minute walks on Thursday and Friday. Have a great weekend everyone! July Exercise Challenge 3/12 Sessions