Sue Magoo

Hi: Your doctor should know how much he should take out to give you relief. You should get in there quickly before you have alot more problems. I hope you feel better soon. Take care. Sue

Hi: That is not acceptable. Like Jack said, the aftercare is the most important part. If you cannot get responses from your surgeon or his office before the surgery, good luck afterwards! Time to change surgeons, even if it means a delay to your banding. Best wishes to you. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Paige: You already know that my recommendation is Dr. Peggy Howrigan. I suggest that you take a look at www.makemeheal.com to see who other people in MA are using. You may be able to see pics of their results, etc. I wrote to Alex (Mr. LapBand Talk) and asked him if he could add a thread for plastic surgeon suggestions, but he never responded. I guess he might have not liked my suggestion. Good luck! Sue

Hi: Maybe you should ask your band surgeon what he/she thinks about it. Also, if you don't get unfilled, can they unfill you right away if you need it? They probably can, but it may be difficult to get into the right position for an unfill if your stomach is full of stitches. Let us know how you make out with it. I'll be wishing you the best. What day is your tummy tuck? I wish you'd gotten more responses to your posting. I love my band and my new flat tummy. Sue

Hi: Sorry I don't have an answer for you. I got laid off in April and my insurance switched from Blue Cross HMO Blue New England to a crappy Healthnet plan. I have been putting off getting a fill because of the cost. My new plan may cover none, or only some of the cost of a fill. I hope to find a new job soon with a Blue Cross or Tufts or Harvard Pilgrim plan. I've heard those are the best plans for bands. I hope that CIGNA is good for you and your band. Good luck to you. Sue

Hi: I wouldn't risk it because there can be alot of swelling with TT. I have nausea issues with anesthesia, so there was no way I wouldn't get an unfill. Even with all of the extra anti-nausea meds they gave me I was still dry heaving for the first 24 hours post op. I got unfilled the day before tummy tuck and got refilled about 3 weeks after tummy tuck. I had to wait until I could stand the pain of the position I need to be in to get a fill - very stretched out. Good luck with your tummy tuck. I'm very glad that I had one. Sue

Kim: I suggest that you call your doctor too. Seems strange that you have such a delayed reaction. Please let us all know what your doctor says so that we can all learn. I hope your problem goes away soon. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi: I had issues with eating too fast too. I finally bought a bunch of one-minute timers from www.unclesgames.com They did the trick and they were cheap. I would take a bit, tip the timer, and not take another bite until the sand was all in on the end. This did the trick for me. Best wishes to you newbie. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi: Loose skin is part of loosing a significant amount of weight. If you're young and have better elasticity in your skin you may have less of it. If you only need to lose 50 pounds, and not 150 like me, you'll probably have alot less loose skin than me. Tummy tuck was a necessary thing for me and I'm glad that I had it done. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi: I am wondering if you take meds with MS that are interfering with your weight loss? My Sister has MS and was taking meds that had a side effect of weight gain. Maybe you should discuss your weight issues with your Neurologist, Nutritionist, and your band doctor. Another thing I thought of when reading your post was whether you are getting enough nutrition or not. Are you getting at least 1200 calories per day? If not, you could be making your body go into "starvation" mode. I hope things improve for you soon. Sue

Hi: My doctors tell us if we want diet soda go ahead and have it. The carbonation may bother you if you're tight. For me, the carbonation is an issue. If I don't get most of the bubbles out I can't keep it down. What I do is leave a big bottle of diet coke on the counter with the cap off for a couple of days. The fizz is gone, but I can still taste that it's diet coke. Works for me. I love my band and my new flat tummy. Sue

Hi: I would have pain in my chest first, and then I would regurgitate everything I ate if I tried to eat a six inch sub. Ouch! Haven't had any subs for more than two years because I know it doesn't work for banded people. I can eat one slice of pizza as long as I eat small bites at a time and chew the heck out of it. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

bigbaby: My flat tummy was created by Dr. Peggy Howrigan at Newton Wellesley Hospital, Wellesley, MA. She was great - skilled, caring, gentle. Her office staff is very good too. Best wishes to you with your plastic surgery. Sue

SpideyMom: I hope you feel better soon. I have found that I have issues if I wait too many hours between meals. So, if I have lunch at noon'ish and can't have dinner before six I try to have a Cereal bar or fruit or something at around 4 o'clock to hold me over. It makes a late supper much easier if you have a healthy snack late afternoon. Don't be too hard on yourself. You're on the LapBand learning curve. I'm still on the learning curve after two years. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi: You might want to check out www.makemeheal.com to see if someone has posted about him there. I sent an email to Alex to ask him to add a thread for plastic surgeon recommendations by state and he never responded. Good luck. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Good luck to you Bostonmomma from a Norwood, MA momma. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi: I really don't know how to convert to the metric system, but I can tell you that on average bandsters lose 1 - 2 pounds per week, so in a year a person can lose between 50 to a hundred pounds. Personally speaking. The day that I saw my surgeon in 2007 I weighed in at 324. One year later I was at 199. If you start now you'll have a better chance of being thinner for your wedding. I lost 38 pounds in the three months before my banding because I knew it would make my surgery safer and I was so tired of carrying all of the weight around. Best wishes to you. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi: In case you don't get a response, another place to check is www.makemeheal.com You can probably search through the website to see someone else who had the fleur de lis incision. Another thing to do is check on plastic surgeon's websites. Perhaps your surgeon has examples up on his/her website. Good luck with your surgery. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi Everyone: Just wanted to give you an update on my dog ear. I saw plastic surgeon yesterday and she's very happy with the results so far. My scar is 99.9% flat and light pink and healing very well. She said that if I still have a slight dog ear in January she'll take care of it in the office with an easy procedure. I hope it's gone by then on its own. I didn't ask her if it would be no charge, but I assume it will be because she's fixing up her prior work that I've already paid for. So embarassing to have pictures taken in the nude by the plastic surgeons, but it could help someone else considering this surgery and my face isn't there, so nobody would know it was me. If you're on the fence about having a tummy tuck, go for it. It really makes a difference in making me feel like a normal person after all of the weight loss. It's so good to have the excess tummy skin hanging gone! I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi: For future reference, that I hope you won't need, they say that pineapple juice helps get things unstuck. I tried something once that worked and it was that I stood up and bent as far over as I could and reached as far as I could and a piece of chicken came back up. It is so uncomfortable to get stuck, so we all have to remember to chew, chew, chew and swallow only small bites at a time. Even two years out I have to constantly remind myself. As far as drinking while eating goes, I haven't had a problem with that. However, occasionally I just want to get the taste out of my mouth. I can go and brush my teeth to help with that, or I can take a small drink, swish it around, and spit it out. These tricks might work for those of you who have issues with eating and drinking. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi: Your body may be adjusting to your current routine and it might be happy where it is. So, try something different. Try changing your form of exercise so that you use different muscles and vary the speed to so that you boost your metabolism. Try changing the foods you are eating too. Don't know how this works, but it usually worked for me when I was at a plateau. Good luck! I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Hi: Time to start over with your eating habits. I think it worked best for me when I was eating the same healthy choices each day and that's all that I would have in my house. Try having some oatmeal or cream of wheat for breakfast. I'm always tightest in the morning so I have to have something that goes down easy for breakfast. For lunch, why not a multigrain cereal bar crushed up in some fat free yogurt. Or, crackers with some cheese? Or, some soup with the broth drained out? Something solid so that it stays with you for 3 to 4 hours. Late afternoon snack - ten or twelve almonds? Sugar free jello? A stick of string cheese? Dinner - Anything you want to have that is solid food, but just enough to give you full feeling. For most people that is probably about 1/2 to 1 cup. Night time - my toughest time - sugar free popsicles, sugar free pudding, crushed ice with crystal light on it, sugar free hot chocolate. Go to bed early to avoid late night snacking. Best wishes to you. The above menu may not work for you but it can give you some ideas on how to approach your new start with your band. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Good luck! If you have a history of rashes or other issues related to the excess skin and have them documented (or even photographed) it might help. I wish you well. Sue

Neesh: I had those horrible headaches too. I think it was from giving up caffeine. I think that the best thing that helps you to get through the pre-op liquid diet is to remember that you are making your surgery safer by following it to the "t". Best wishes to you. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue

Kathy: I'll be thinking of you. Best wishes on your panni on Thursday! Let us know how you make out. I love my band and my new flat tummy! Sue