HotLikeMe

Hi - What part of Florida are you in? I'm in SW Florida. There are a few of us down here.

My surgeon's brother is a plastic surgeon. He's done several tummy tucks on my doctor's patients once they've reached their goal. My doctor said that there is a low profile port that they can put in before the tummy tuck so that it won't show up as much. They don't put the low profile one in initially because it's much harder to do fills with it.

Just like you told me - "You'll be fine." You'll do great. So what if you get combative - they'll just strap you down.... JUST KIDDING - gosh don't take everything so seriously. La La land was great for me - best sleep I've gotten in a LONG time with NO interruptions (kids). You've had to kick me in the butt through this whole journey. Now it's my turn.

I have to agree - the gas pain in my left shoulder was much more painful than my stomach. My stomach just felt like I had done a bunch of situps - not really pain, but sore. I didn't even have any bruising. I guess it took about 2 weeks before I finally felt "normal" again.

I'm able to eat mushies now. I had to wait 48 hours after the fill to eat. It was a little scary at first - since I could still feel liquids going down, but I did fine - works great - eat about 1/2 as much as I could before the fill. As soon as the scale and NSV's stop - I'll go back for another. Still a big sissy - but at least I know what I'm in for.

Macaroni & Cheese, Chicken/Cheese Quesadillas, Beef Chimichangas, French Silk Pie

We're all there with you - check out this link: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8887

I'm in Southwest Florida too (Cape Coral) We're kinda windy right now and totally overcast, not much rain yet - but it's comin.

Hey - I'm not as big a weenie as I thought. I got my first fill today. It was 1.8cc in the Inamed medium band (I don't remember what the cc capacity is in that one). I started having a little bit of a panic attack and once thought I was gona pass out - but I didn't. WEIRD feeling though -drinking water and actually feeling it go down. Jen (Hotlikeher) came with me to hold my hand and ended up holding my feet - they won't stop shaking when I'm really nervous. YEAH for ME!!! Now maybe I'll actually start the scale moving downward again.

I'm a soccer mom and a real estate title examiner.

DH - Darling Husband DS - Darling Son DD - Darling Daughter

Milli Vanilli's "ghost" singers!!!

Well, I don't know if I "influenced" my friend (HotLikeHer) or not, more like she became "obsessed" with it. (HeeHeeHee) and she's having her surgery on August 30th. I told her about it say on a Friday night - by Sunday morning she became an EXPERT - I was then asking her about stuff. (Still do.) I have also talked to another girl, at the bloodbank while donating - she couldn't wait to call my doctor's office - I didn't get her name though. However, I do find it very hard not to talk to other overweight people that I see and tell them how great the band is and have they ever heard of it. Of course I don't want to offend anyone by saying that - maybe they don't know they're overweight or havn't faced it yet.

OKAY - you ready - 1) Eat WHATEVER you want WHENEVER you want it. 2) Follow everyone else's advice - cuz they all know what they're talking about. 3)Listen to all the lame ads out there that tell you that you HAVE to be skinny to be beautiful. 4)Pay no attention to me cuz I have no idea what I'm talking about. I hope this has helped - in even a small way. Everyone's mother drives them nuts at one time or another. (Mother-In-Law's too) It's nature's way of making us get out when we grow up.

Rollercoaster of Love - Great Song - Let's Dance.

It's totally normal to be worried about the unknown. I was the biggest baby of them all - I drove everyone I know crazy about the ups and downs and what if's (especially the WONDERFUL people here on this board). It finally boiled down to - "If you always do what you've always done - you'll always get what you've always got." So, if other things havn't worked for you - you need to try something new. Good Luck.

Nobody was a bigger weenie about this whole thing than me. I freaked out right up until they wheeled me back and knocked me out. One day I was DEFINITELY gona have the surgery - the next - NO WAY. Back and forth will drive you NUTS!!! I'm 4 weeks out now - I havn't lost as much as some of the others, but I havn't done too bad. Supposedly, when I get my first fill, I'll start losing more/faster - and my first fill is scheduled for tomorrow. OMG - I'm freaking out again - long needle..... Lucky for me I've got my friend, Jen, (HotLikeHer) coming too - she will hold my hand (RIGHT JEN). You'll be fine and when it's over you too will think back and say it wasn't all that bad. Good Luck.

When I met my husband 12 years ago, I weighed about 140 pounds. Of course I thought I was HUGE. Three kids and many more pounds (you can see my statistics) later and he still treats me as if I was the girl he met 12 years ago. He completely supported my lapband decision and was with me for the surgery and took great care of me after. He has never treated me any different - skinny or fat. If you think you have found someone who likes you, treats you well, and doesn't mind an extra bit of woman - you should definitely GO FOR IT!!!!! Good Luck!!

I completely agree. Tell him "surgery". If he asks for what - tell him it's personal and that you don't want to discuss it - but that it is "medically necessary". I used to have a boss just like that. Great guy - told me he wanted to promote me, ...... - til he found out that I was pregnant - I got sick and had to take a week off - then 2 weeks later he fired me for "not being able to do my job". Of course I sued..... long story ..... but it's NONE OF HIS BUSINESS!!!!!

All insurance companies are different. Some will cover - some won't. They all have different requirements too. I have Tricare and they wouldn't cover ANY of it - they said it was still considered "experimental" - so I was self-pay. It also depends if you have any co-morbities (i.e. diabeties or sleep apnea) whether they'll cover any of it. You should check with your insurance company first to see if they cover any kind of WLS. Also, if you have to be a self-pay - some doctors - like mine - Dr. Ernest Rehnke in St. Pete - have a package that covers everything for surgery/hospital and for a full year post op. Good Luck.

Congrats on your decision. I'm not sure where Westin is, but if your anywhere near St. Pete - check into Dr. Ernest Rehnke - Palms of Pasadena Hospital. He's a wonderful doctor - the staff at the hospital was great too. I'm almost 4 weeks out now and doing great. My friend, Jen, is getting her surgery done there too on August 30th. Good Luck.

My glue is gone and most of my scabs are gone too - but, I have a piece of what looks like fishing line (appx 1/4 inch) sticking out of the end of my largest scar. Is this a dissolvable stitch? If so, how long does it take to dissolve? Parvathi - is that what yours looked like?

Thanks for the link - great information. I go next Thursday for my first fill. I'm very nervous. I, too, am not eating very much and trying to drink a lot, but havn't lost any more in the last 2 weeks.

Now your scaring me. I go in for my first fill next Thursday. My port seems to be pretty deep too. Also, I've heard that we're not supposed to eat (just liquids) for 2 days prior to a fill? Have you heard that? Did you have to do that?

I'm just over 2 weeks out of surgery and my shoulder hurt up til just a few days ago - much more so than my stomach. If Gas-X Plus - the kind with simithicone(?) doesn't work, try a heating pad - but whatever you do, do NOT use a massager. OMG - I hurt 10 times worse when I tried that. Also, laying on my shoulder relieved the pain a little more too.