Ohm

Thanks for that, Mimi, I enjoy posting so I suppose it shows. Right, well, today the goal is to take crazy hound for a walk. Kenya is driving me absolutely nuts - without her usual walkies (and has anyone else walked her? Yeah, for about 10 minutes - not enough, beleive me) she has far too much energy and if she doesn't have some directed activity she is likely to explode. Last night a friend called and she was making so much noise worrying our other geriatric canine (Chester Rough Jack Russel Terrier - and they don't come much rougher than our Rough Jack) that I had to lift poor old Chester up onto my lap just to be able to hear my friend on the phone - and then suddenly found that I had not one dog but TWO crazy mutts on my lap - KENYA HAD LEAPED UP TOO! Now, there are things you can put up with and things you can't and 25 kg of Staffordshire Bull Terrier bitch on your stitches definitely falls into the latter category - it is not an experience I shall be seeking a second time!!!!! I need to get some milk today anyway (have you any idea how much milk 4 kids, a husband, two dogs and a thoroughly spoiled moggy-puss can get through in 24 hours?). So, today I shall be walking one of my short run routes - to Sainsbury's and back. Five miles at a slow pace (well wrapped up cos it's still snowing - wow, my cup runneth over - NOT). So, if I don't check in again later, the chances are that I will be lying dead in a ditch by the side of the track, covered in snow and being worried by a totally hectic staffy bitch. I've said for a long time that Kenya would be the death of me..... Ah, it's a hectic rave, ek se. Watch this space!

Well, it's been 10 days since the surgery and 8 days since I came home and today we went back to a normal routine. Stretching up still hurts, and obviously I can't go back to running just yet, but otherwise, I can do the majority of things I used to do. I can do an emergency stop in the car without screaming in agony, so it's OK to drive. I can Iron and load and unload the washing machine and tumble dryer. I can carry small loads of laundry up and down the stairs - which makes for more trips up the stairs and hopefully thinner thighs (there's always an upside). I cooked pasties for dinner wwithout having to sit down halfway between peeling the spuds and making the pastry. I picked the tiddly pom up from school. And truth to tell, I'm cream crackered, so tired I can barely type, but I'm OK. The funny thing is that the incisions are just about numb - any pain seems to come from the muscle repair - apparently I'd popped my internal buttons open all down the front too (wonderful image....)! When I get pain it comes from places where there is no incision - which is a bit un-nerving. And the oddest thing is that the upper part of my abdomen looks like an overstuffed Chesterfield (that ab repair again, I guess). Ah well, with every day there are changes - it's all quite exciting. At the top of the vertical incision the swelling has started to recede quicker than other areas, and the result is a sort of stickyout third nipple. Like I said, it's interesting. I await my new body with interest and just a little trepidation.:frown:

Truly. :thumbup: How embarrassing!

Hey again, Mimi. I think, in order to be totally truthful, I shall need to reveal the embarrassing truth. I hadn't weighed myself since the op - but I had been, errrr, well there's no other way to say this -constipated :blushing:too. Not pleasant. Anyway, so I weighed myself, and then felt the urge. Success on all fronts - very satisfying and the pleasant surprise was, when I got up and decided to re-weigh myself (purely out of scientific interest, I assure you) I had lost 7 lbs.:w00t: That was one mega poop, I can assure you! I daren't tell the kids, they already think I'm full of pooh! Anyway, I phoned my best mate and she was truly impressed, but I'm now really worried about the state of my sewage flow. Couldn't handle an external blockage at this point in time!:wink2: Anyway, the struggle is ongoing.:thumbup:

Ok, guys, so here is a little reminder of the seriousness of this op. I saw my surgeon yesterday and she took off all the residual steristrips and told me that I could shower every day from now on. Yippee! On the way home I stopped off at the supermarket and did a little shopping, and although I felt tired, I felt good - as if I was returning to the real world. So, this morning I took my "waistcoat" off and hopped in the shower and suddenly, everythings going black and dark, and then, next thing I know I'm on the floor! "Ah" thinks I "I've been here before".:confused::confused: Anyway, I hammered on the floor (such as I could) and yelled for hubby (ditto) and .... nothing. Clearly, I couldn't make myself heard. So, as ever, I hauled myself off the floor, sponged off the remaining shower gel and got on with the process of getting dressed! Downstairs, I asked Komal (my husband) if he had heard me and he gave me that bullfrog look that husbands do when perplexed! Such is family life! Mimi, how kind you are! A special place for people who rescue doggies would be lovely.

The band really does it for me on anything normal: bread rice, Pasta and potatoes, I can eat less than half a handful of each so I don't bother at all with them. I can eat aout a haldful of pulses, Beans, etc, but I can't manage quorn. Raw veggies, I can eat some but they fill me up very quickly unless I eat them very very slowly, likewise fruit. Soya yoghurts, I can eat a normal portion (1 pot) but I can eat as much chocolate or biscuits as I like - so I am very grateful that they aren't the things that float my boat. Mind you, having acheived a normal BMI and a normal body, nothing would persuade me that I should go back to how I used to look. There is nothing I wouldn't cut out, nothing within reason that I would not consider in an effort to maintain this new body size. Having said this, I have taken up running and run a couple of marathons a year, plus 5 miles (at least) every day) - except for now as I have just had plastic surgery and can't run for 4-6 weeks.

Kenya came to me through a friend. She belonged to a lady whose relationship broke up and so she had to move back to live with her folks and there just wasn't space for crazy Kenya - so she came to live with us. I'm not sure how pure bred she is but she is a typical staffy in every way. When I take her out running with me people cross the street to avoid walking near us and yet she is the softest, daftest, gentlest mutt you could ever meet. She loves kids and other dogs and, please God, she will one day grow a brain (cos while we all love her, we acknowledge that she isn't the brightest star in the sky).

If it is any help, I had abdominoplasty (Inverted T) last Friday and I have lost about 15 lbs (from the weight I was on the day I had the surgery). However, there is some swelling around the new scars and so I expect that this is excess fluid. Once the inflammation goes down I expect I will be a few pounds lighter still. Yippee!:thumbdown:

I can only agree with you. The op was the best thing I have ever done. After losing so much weight my body was healthy but certainly not pretty. Hopefully by this afternoon I will be able to pos the pre-surgery pictures taken by the surgeon - you will see what I mean. The NHS require that you don't get any plastics done until 2 years post banding or bypass - and I have to say I really think this is a good idea. If you are big enough to need weight loss surgery then you have to give your body a chance to do what it can for itself before you take the risk of going under the surgeons knife. I lost shedloads of weight, and my body needed to get used to that weight before I worried about the cosmetic effects of that weight loss. It would have been awful if I had reched my goal weight and had the surgery immediately and then gained a whole load of weight. :thumbdown: I've been at goal (BMI 25 or less) for more than 6 months now and I've been a "normal size" (i.e. able to guy off the rails in normal clothes shops) for over a year, so I know that I can keep my weight stable now.:thumbdown: Life - here I come!!:thumbdown:

And these, my friends are me, 3 or 4 years ago now, but still me.

Oh, and this is Kenya, by the way. Isn't she cute?

HOpefully the attached file should show up as an image of me in front ofthe mirror. I have a WAIST!!!!!

Surprisingly, the doctor inthe hospital advised me not to try to lie back flat - I suppose becuase they had stitched my stomach muscles together at the front and to lie flat may have put strain on the stitches - so until they took the drains out I had to sleep "sitting up" - but once the drains were removed I could lie on my side (which is how I normally sleep). I have to report that I now have no pain. No pain wahatsoever. It feels a bit tight - I feel like i am an overstuffed Chesterfield sofa, but there is no pain. Of course, as I go through the day and get more tired (and boy, am I tired) I do feel some discomfort, but here I am, 6 days after the surgery and I have no incisional pain. It's a funny sensation. My stomach feels sort of like I have done about a million sit-ups (which I couldn't do before because of the separation of the abdominus rectus (apparently thats the name of the six pack muscles?!?!?!?). Anyway, guys, I (very naughtily) peeled off the dressing yesterday - I am so darned nosy and after all, it is my body. Good Greif. My body!!!! Is it mine? It looks better than when i was 18. I am so excited!! Hang on, I'll just post this and then I'll go and take a piccy and upload it here. I am so CHUFFED!!!!! Watch this space.

I've had my band since 17 December 2007, and I had abdominoplasty on Friday 12th February 2010 (4 days ago). I have noticed that I am able to eat even less since the abdominoplasty too, but I'm basically counting my blessings - I want to make double sure that I never go back to the way I was - fat.

I would definitely recommend this procedure. I have not seen the full effect yet, but looking at the bits not covered by the dressings, I now have a lovely tight little tummy with no overhang. My appendix scar is now drawn down below my bikini line and even with all the dressings and padding I have had a 6 inch reduction in my waist measurement! I am very mobile and have very little pain now, but I have to admit that I am very tired and am a bit distracted - can't concentrate on much but that is probably because I'm tired. All things considered, I would totally recommend this procedure to someone who has reached goal weight after losing shedloads. There is still some swelling, but according to the scales I've lost about 7 lbs, so when the swelling goes down I hope that figure will increase a bit. I forgot to ask the surgeon how much the tissue she removed weighed, but I'm seeing her again on Thursday. She drew all over me on Friday morning and took photos. I asked her if she could let me have copies and she said yes, so hopefully, when she lets me have them, I can post them on here for all to see. Apparently she took after photos onthe table too, so with a little photoshopping to rotect my dignity I should be able to share a before and after view with you all. I still have to poast some big-ass photos on here - but I will do it,soon, I promise. Thanks again for all the support and encouragement. Hugs to all Becci (Ohm)

Hi everyone – Ohm lives!!! This is way weird. I got the old lap top out this morning just to let you all know how I am, then I answered someone elses post on another matter = and it was only when I got a personal message from Mimi that I found that the message I had posted this morning has gone walkabout. Allow me to reassure all you girls and guys considering this procedure that this is definitely the thing to do. Does it hurt? Yes. Is it worth the pain? Oh YES! There were a few problems: 1/ I always lose plenty of blood during operations – I like to spread it around –so they thought I would be in for 8 days or so, but I’m home already. 2/I have problems controlling my body temp during surgery and it dropped to 35 degrees C, which is what happens when you are spread-eagled naked on a table top surrounded by people you don’t know to well while they do things to your unresponsive body!!! All joking aside, I am fine. I was the first surgical case on Friday morning, the procedure lasted 4 hours (cos of the above problems) and I was back on the ward and walking to the loo by myself by 3pm and they let me home yesterday after they took out the drains. I had two drains coming down from each groin side. They were inconvenient but not painful until they took them out – and that really did sting. They kept on checking my blood because I lost quite a lot during the op, but they kept on getting very high haemoglobin and iron results (stroll on my healthy vegan diet). I asked to avoid the morphine, and the an aesthesiologist wasn’t too enthusiastic but he respected my wishes, so I was prescribed paracetamol, ibuprofen and optional tramadol and oromorph (which I took once, just before they got me out of bed for the first time). I’m also taking prophylactic antibiotics. Anyway, I’m good! This is definitely worth it. Will post again soon.

I was banded 2 years ago. I began my weight loss journey with a BMI of 44, now it is 25. I have the worlds worst case of jelly belly and I am about to have an inverted T abdominoplasty where the surgeon will slit me open from my breastbone to my C-section scar and pull all the lose skin inwards and remove the exxcess, then re-open the c-section scar and pull the excess skin down and remove the excess stuff. The surgeon thinks this will give me a better contour than a simple apronectomy or tummy tuck (please God). My reason for posting is to ask if anyone else has undergone this procedure - everyone says plastic surgery is very painful and I'm a bit nervous (but not nervous enough to refuse the procedure, beleive me!) I am also curious as to how much the skin to be removed is likely to weigh. Does anybody know? My original surgeon told me that if I exercised regularly it would reduce the loose skin problem, so I took up running and I've kept to it - I even quite enjoy it (it gives me time to myself when nobody says "Mum, where is the....can I have a......please take me to.....etc). I can now manage 12mph for half an hour or run forever at about 5.5 to 6 mph! Ok, so I'm no Olympian, but it's a hell of a change from 3 years ago.:w00t: Surgery is booked for 12th Feb.

Hi everyone – Ohm lives!!! This is way weird. I got the old lap top out this morning just to let you all know how I am, then I answered someone elses post on another matter = and it was only when I got a personal message from Mimi that I found that the message I had posted this morning has gone walkabout. Allow me to reassure all you girls and guys considering this procedure that this is definitely the thing to do. Does it hurt? Yes. Is it worth the pain? Oh YES! There were a few problems: 1/ I always lose plenty of blood during operations – I like to spread it around –so they thought I would be in for 8 days or so, but I’m home already. 2/I have problems controlling my body temp during surgery and it dropped to 35 degrees C, which is what happens when you are spread-eagled naked on a table top surrounded by people you don’t know to well while they do things to your unresponsive body!!! All joking aside, I am fine. I was the first surgical case on Friday morning, the procedure lasted 4 hours (cos of the above problems) and I was back on the ward and walking to the loo by myself by 3pm and they let me home yesterday after they took out the drains. I had two drains coming down from each groin side. They were inconvenient but not painful until they took them out – and that really did sting. They kept on checking my blood because I lost quite a lot during the op, but they kept on getting very high haemoglobin and iron results (stroll on my healthy vegan diet). I asked to avoid the morphine, and the an aesthesiologist wasn’t too enthusiastic but he respected my wishes, so I was prescribed paracetamol, ibuprofen and optional tramadol and oromorph (which I took once, just before they got me out of bed for the first time). I’m also taking prophylactic antibiotics. Anyway, I’m good! This is definitely worth it. Will post again soon.

I must say I was surprised at your post, but maybe, ifyou were very large inthe past, I mean bigger than when you were banded, then maybe some of the 300 lb bulk may be extraneous loose/connective tissue and skin which won't pull bck naturally as you loose weight. So maybe, if this is the case, you need to have this extra tissue removed in order to be able to mobilise well enough to lose any extra fat mass. Just a guess, mind.....

Hello, everyone. Well this is it. This is my last posting before the op. THis time tomorrow I will have a suit of skin that actually fits me. I cannot wait!!! I'm not looking forward to the pain, and I've been warned that it will be painful, but that is the price I will have to pay. They have said that I may have a morphine pump - but I hope not. I prefer to be able to think and morphine has a nasty habit of making thinking really difficult - a bit like walking through porridge. Kenya went for a checkup with the vet today and is fine, by the way. Totally psychotic, hectic and completely uncontrollable, but fine. Ok, will check in again when I get out.......

Thanks for that Mimilou. I will peruse, I promise. Well, the countdown has started - my surgery will take place on Friday morning. Apparently I am first on the surgical list so with any luck I'll be sitting up and taking notice by lunchtime. Just by the by, Kenya, my staffordshire bull terrier, was spayed today. She was also first onthe surgical list, and I dropped her off at 8:30 this morning and collected her, quieter and a bit subdued but very pleased to see me, at 3:30 this afternoon. She came home and went to sleep, but roused herself sufficiently to beg for an individual soy toad in the hole while the kids were having their tea - so I'm confident that she is fine. I'll take her back to gether stitches checked on Thrusday and then, Friday morning, will be my turn!!!! Yikes!

Could you send me the url? Please?

Hang on, did you mean will the insurance cover me or the staffy? The dog - no, me, the NHS. Clear as mud!

I'm inthe UK, so it's on the good old National Health Service - which is free at the point of contact. We pay "national insurance" contributions from the time we start work, along with tax and stuff, and although I didn't think it was a good idea when I was a teenager, I now appreciate the service, especially as I've needed 6 operations in the past 6 years.