Jachut

Well, visited my surgeon today, he's very happy with how things have gone. Like I was warned, my scar is quite high because I simply didnt have enough skin to work with, and that's why I didnt have a tummy tuck a few years ago. Its taken till now for the scar to be worth the trade off - but I am ECSTATIC at how smooth and ummarked my tummy now is. He took off the dressings, and I got to ahve a look at it. the scar is going to heal OK, I do heal up quite well and I"m sure in a year or two it'll just look like a big stretch mark. But I did race home and try on all my bikinis. I have quite a collection, lol. My days of a string bikini are over, the scar is simply too high. Its time for a more mature style (and I hear my kids sigh with relief). That's fine by me, to be able to look decent in a bikini at all is more than I ever dreamed off, especially at 44 years old. He couldnt quite meet my caesar scar, so I have a double line there, and I suspect there will be a little bit of poochiness between the two when I am not swollen, he said I can revise later, but I doubt I'd bother. I really am pleased with the rejuventation of certain bits of me, lol, and my upper thighs look great. Flatness wise, well, you can look at my gallery, there's really not a huge difference in profile. But I've lost the teeny tiny waist and bigger lower tummy look that I had, the lumpy appearance is gone, my belly button is now round and there's at least a dozen scars (including one three inch long nasty one) gone. The pics just dont do it justice. I am extremely bloated and swollen, cannot even nearly button any pants or jeans and much bigger roumd the middle than I normally am. I normally have ribcage and muscle visibility on my tummy, and you cant see either at the moment, so I am certain that the end result of this is going be phenomenal in a few months. Its just hard to be patient. I do have a belly button by the way, the dressing on it makes me look like I have none, lol. Its still a little big angry, so I have to wait a day or two for a proper shower. In addition, my port was tilted and half unstitched, which explains why it was so freakishly prominent. It is now right beside my navel, without its back, stitched firmly and will be almost invisible. Anyway, here's a few pics to keep you going, lol. I cant stand up straight yet, so they're a bit weird and I also cant really twist enough to take any side on ones. and here's a few befores:

Kind of. I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in August 2010, five years after I was banded. In hindsight, I'd had symptoms of the tumour at around the time I was banded, but nobody looks for rectal cancer in a 37 year old. It had nothing to do with my banding, the timing just coincides. But, with my band I lost about 120lb, taking me to a BMI of 20, so I am very lean. It is not uncommon for weight loss to lead to problems with the intestines - in terms of twisting and obstructing due to not being held in place by abdominal fat. When I had a CT scan after my cancer diagnosis, my colorectal surgeon could not read the scan properly because I dont have enough intra abdominal fat to separate my organs, intially we thought that a uterine fibroid I unknowingly had and which was right by the tumour in my rectum was one enormous grapefruit sized tumour - extremely scary! I went on to have surgery and now I have about a metre less colon than I had and no rectum. I went on to have a couple of bowel obstructions last year, related to having an ileostomy but it was remarked that every single xray I had of my guts looked entirely different - my intestines are extremely moveable due to being shorter, and having very little belly fat, they now have a big old empty space to coil around in. I have been warned to be cautious of ever feeling that obstructed feeling again, just to be aware that I *may* be more prone to a twist or torsion of the small or large intestine. I've also had a rather severe Iron deficiency - probably related to both diet following banding and to chemo and other treatments. But every time I come off the iron supplements I become anaemic again - I just simply cannot eat enough red meat and green leafy veg to keep that iron up.

Kind of. I was diagnosed with rectal cancer in August 2010, five years after I was banded. In hindsight, I'd had symptoms of the tumour at around the time I was banded, but nobody looks for rectal cancer in a 37 year old. It had nothing to do with my banding, the timing just coincides. But, with my band I lost about 120lb, taking me to a BMI of 20, so I am very lean. It is not uncommon for weight loss to lead to problems with the intestines - in terms of twisting and obstructing due to not being held in place by abdominal fat. When I had a CT scan after my cancer diagnosis, my colorectal surgeon could not read the scan properly because I dont have enough intra abdominal fat to separate my organs, intially we thought that a uterine fibroid I unknowingly had and which was right by the tumour in my rectum was one enormous grapefruit sized tumour - extremely scary! I went on to have surgery and now I have about a metre less colon than I had and no rectum. I went on to have a couple of bowel obstructions last year, related to having an ileostomy but it was remarked that every single xray I had of my guts looked entirely different - my intestines are extremely moveable due to being shorter, and having very little belly fat, they now have a big old empty space to coil around in. I have been warned to be cautious of ever feeling that obstructed feeling again, just to be aware that I *may* be more prone to a twist or torsion of the small or large intestine. I've also had a rather severe Iron deficiency - probably related to both diet following banding and to chemo and other treatments. But every time I come off the iron supplements I become anaemic again - I just simply cannot eat enough red meat and green leafy veg to keep that iron up. As far as the problems you've encountered, well yes, weight loss is well known to contribute to gallstones. And bladder prolapse, well its also well known that obesity puts pressure on your lower abdominal organs and can indeed make you much more prone to prolapse. Not to mention your core muscles and pelvic floor muscles bear a much greater burden when there's a big load of visceral fat in the abdomen. That's more likely to be your problem than actual weight loss. But you willingly signed up for a lapband with the specific intention of losing weight - fast, slow, it doesnt matter. I fail to see how you could have a legal case for something you voluntarily sought.

My journey went like this: Started at 245lb give or take, BMI of 36. No preop diet for me. Got banded in 2005 with old 4cc lapband, had superb restriction without fill for about eight weeks. Dropped close to 40lb in that eight weeks absolutely effortlessly. Weight loss then slowed, appetite returned, had fills approx every six to eight weeks fir the following nine months, dropped another 30 to 40 lb in nine months - all along I could eat readonably well, red meat, smll quantities of bread, rice and pasta were on my menu. So all up, lost somewhere between 70 and 80 lb in th first year bringing me into norml weight range. Over the next year I dropped another 20 lb, bringing me yo a BMI of about 22. Over the next two or three years I lost another 10 or so, probably had three small top up fills in that time. So I was very lean when I gad a cancer diagnosis, treatment saw me drop another 20, making m officially underweight, ll better now, gained 10of that back but am staying righ here at a BMI of 20. Im tall, fine boned and lightly muscled, it is not in my genetic make up to be curvy, on m body fat is fat is fat. Very thin is right for me. It took me only a year to get healthy, it took me three to look how I wanted, wear a bikini, skinny jeans.

Its insane isnt it. Im 5 ft ten and a size 6 to 8 and i seriously look at size 10 five foot five gals and tjink theyre smaller than me. Ive actually been seeing a psych over this issue since during my cancer treatment my surgeon and oncologist were so worried about my weight - i feared being made to gain so much because I thought Id be fat, and a the time Id dropped to 130 lb. It was actually a real wake up call last week, i had a tummy tuck, mainly for reconstructive purposes after all the abdominal surgeries Ive had over the past fifteen months and it was at the same hospital. They left my file on my bed hilst I was waiting to go in, I read ALL my colorectal surgeons correspondence including the referral to th pkastic surgeon, where ge described me as "extremely fit and lean" and lso during the time when I was 130lb as looking alarmingly unwell, emaciated, anxious. At the time I was on a high at being so light! So I think its normal for us former fatties to have trouble seeing the new person but it can definitely morph into real menal illness. And i might mention I have never had a BMI over 36, I spent my teenage years a my full five ten and a "healhy" if slightly overweight 180lb or so. That was during th 80s and was enough to f@&k my head up for life, I felt like an elephant, i just wanted to be petite.

It depends. For me, if I have something like a shake, I want to eat again in half an hour. They work for me if I beef them up with a banana and a big spoonfull of Peanut Butter but then its a gazillion calories. Whereas 1/4 cup of rolled oats, one or two chopped dates and a few walnuts comes in at around 200, has way more fibre, better nutrients than a Protein shake, other than protein of course. But then, ive never subscribed to the 80 plus grams of protein a day theory, nor do most docs here, and i have had bowel cancer, so I rate wholegrains, fruit and veg as more important foods. I also eat my protein later in the day the way nature intended, packaged up with Iron, b Vitamins, zinc all in bioavailable form and sans sugar or artificial sweetener and god knows what else. A Protein Shake is apoor substitute for lean meat, eggs and fish. However, it is NOT going to hurt you or your weightloss if it works for you

I was like that for the first year or so, not quite as bad, but its common. Its known as first bite syndrome. For many, it does pass over time. Try a hot drink before you eat, that can help.

I can tell you, coughing, sneezing and laughing are extremely painful post tummy tuck, pbing would be excruciating.

Ok, so a week out today. No pain, Ive needed nothing since Saturday. I really hav to take it easy, its frustrating as I have no pain, and am well and recovered fro the anaesthetic, but I m simply helpless. In bed I m like a turtle on its back, lol. Ive pottered this morning, put away wasing, supervised my daughter cleaning her toom, showered and don my hair, tried on a few things from my wardrobe and done some light tidying, I am now literally bent double fro swelling, and I was three quarters of the way upright this morning. Doing nothing and allowing others to wait on you hand and foot is extraordinarily hard! Main problem is Im having a little trouble pooping, lol. Given I dont have a rectum, all my push comes from my abdomen. So I will have to rely on the laxatives for a while. Im going to the surgeon tomorrow, hopefully, ill be cleared to take a real shower.

I had my lapband surgery Six and a bit years ago.

I still struggly with buying clothes too big. DH reckons i have a great ass when I wear jeans that arent a size too big but when I wear ones that fit, I feel like theres rolls of blubber escaping everywhere, whenatentky, at a BMI if 20, there arent.

I can and always could eat that much, but I lost weight and kept it off. The ight restriction for you is where you eat till satisfied, are not unduly hungry but still lose an average of 1-2 lb per week. Thats all you need to worry about. If you can eat 3000 calories of healthy food a day and lose weight, then thats the right restriction for you. Trying to judge it by bring able to eat bread, or being able to eat more than half a cup, etc is silly. If you are losing, but can eat a meal and not get hungry until its a reasonable time to eat again, then thats the right restriction.

See ive always felt some hunger, just much less than I did unbanded - and when I was too tight once, i was starving ll the time, my body KNEW it wasnt getting food. 800 is just too low for me and I would be hungry no matter how much fill I had. The bnd works more for me b reducing jow much it takes to satisfy hunger, not by eliminating hunger. But I was never ever plagued by constant or inappropriate hunger pre band, i just ate all day regardless.

I think if you can eat 1000 to 1200 AND lose weight AND not feel hungry youre in the green zone 800 is too low.

Im reporting back in to say hrt helped me a lot but the testosterone has been AMAZING. Muscle tone and fitness restored, libido restored, having the most intense sex of my life, mood up, energy up and aching fingers (weird huh) gone. Please dont stop at estrogen/progesterone replacement, get your tetostetone levels checked too.

Oh and its not awfully panful, more frustrating that this time I really still cant be completely healeqd after a week, its going to take a long time to run again, etc

Im in Australia so the financing is a bit different but in my case, ths was reconstructive rather than cosmetic. Even though my two previous bowel surgeries were laparascopic, they did involve an ileostomy which weakened my abdominal wall a fair bit, and I also had steadily worsening inguinal hernias. As such, because it was a medically warranted surgery, it had an item number and was covered by our public health system. My private health insurance allows me to choose my surgeon and date of surgery and covers theatre fees and hospital stay. Because no doctor ever charges the scheduled fee, I had an out of pocket expense of $5000 which covers my aftrcare too. As a cosmetic procedure, this surgery with this surgeon in this hospital would have been over $15000, so I had a very lucky opportunity. Basically, i have been openend from hip to hip with a smile shaped incision. My intestines have been poked back wher they belong (without actually opening my abdomen as the weakened holes were already there). The Abdominal muscles which run from chest to pelvis habe been pulled in at the centre and sewn tight, i have three bits of mesh over the weak bits at groin and behind where my ileostomy was, my port has been moved to directly by my bellybutton, with the back taken off to lower the profile. Then as the final step they remove a crescent shaped piece of skin from pubic line to the navel (removing all of my old scarring) and pull the belly button through a new opening and stitch you all back together. Yes, i now have a hip to hip scar, but my belly looked like a lumpy patchwork quialt before, even though it was flat, so a fair tradeoff for me. Hope that explains it all a bit.

Sorry for the awful phone typing!

Yes, im tight! Didnt realise at first since I always make an effort to eat very light while lying around in hospital have been in Cabrini in Melbourne five times in the last fifteen months and the food is fantadtic, unfortunately Im usually on bowel rest, lol. However, got home yesterday, got (mildly) stuck on dinner, tried to eat some grapes today, no way, no how. Am very pleased to see tht Ive dropped 4lb or so that Id been tring to get rid of for months (and the skin they removed was only 250 grams, this Tt was more about reconstruction and scar revision following bowel surgery than loose skin) and the retriction isnt crazy, so Im going wuth it, after all its going to be a while till Im running and spinning again. Im swollen tight as a drum so that might be it, but my port is now well contained under very taut skin, not under loose upper abdo skin, so maybe tht pyshes more fluidout of the tubing and intothe band reservoir?

For some bizarre reaon I had no swelling after lapband surgery, but have since had two other laparoscopic surgeries and had crazy tight nine months preggie belly both times. It dissipated a lot within a week but took a good two to three to really disappear. I was in hospitl five days with each of those surgeries so spent the worst of the bloating in pyjamas, Had a tummy tuck last Tuesday though and OMG I feel like a snare drum, lol. And this time its not gas bloating that will go away easily.

Well, to my mind the Protein focus of a bandsters diet does compete with the veggies a little bit - for me personally, especially having had bowel cancer, I am NEVER going to eat all my meat to the exclusion of vegetables. I always mix my protein and my vegies on my fork. If i make a smoothie - usually with an Optifast base, I always add frozen spinach. Makes it green or a weird colour if you have red fruits like berries, but its pretty much tasteless and adds a good whack of nutrition - I have a Vitamix, so it gets blended up to no texture at all. I eat lots and lots and lots of soup, soup that I make myself with fresh vegetables. Soup would be my lunch four or five days of the week and probably for dinner once or twice too. I often eat things like baked Beans on toast for lunch. I always add things like kidney beans, chick peas and/or loads of finely grated veggies to a bolognaise sauce, when we eat Pasta, I usually skip the spaghettie and have mine on stirfried zucchini ribbons. I make so much effort with veggies because I just really dont like fruit much. Trouble is, my diet is a more carb focussed, higher fibre diet, which I need with my particular health issues. Red meat is linked to bowel cancer and things like ham and salami are off my diet forever. So I probably get less protein than a lot of bandsters. However, I lost 130% of my excess weight fairly easily, have kept it off for years and dont have any problems related to lack of protein.

Weight loss is not merely a destination, the journey is so enjoyable too!

Not too fat or too old. I could walk a bit, jog a bit when I started, what I did was slow it waaaaay diwn to a weird shuffle and just not stop no matter what. It was a distance of only 3kms, so about 2 miles, and I did a lot of ut with DH walking beside me. I could easily have walked faster, but the key to kearning to run is to slow it down and develop your body's strength for running. Its not just about heart/lung capacity, I always found that if I went slow enough to get a good breathing rhythym going, my legs would give out first. So..... You need to go slow enough that you dont begin to pant uncontrollably. Certainly breathing will increase, probably to th point of discomfort, you will get hot and sweat but as long as you have some sort of joggibg motion going (for me it was a shuffle) youll eventually be able to run. Sure, you might get more out of power walking at this point and you could probably technically go further in the same time period, but the shuffling not only conditions you to eventually run, and i always slow when i walk anyway. If ypu need to get the feel of it, set the treadmill for a speed at which you would normally jog, slow it by a mile an hour or whatever and teach yourself to jog that sliwly. It was psychological for me too, the fact tha i was jogging, no matter how slowly, spurred me on.

Quite an amazing effect on my thighs! However, like I said, i had very minimal loose skin and have been warned that i am uber tightly pulled in as a result. I always get so impatient for people to post pics but now i realise, its all under dressings, swollen to double normal size and i cant stand straight anyway, add to that that my before pics are hardly terrible in the first place and a photo right now is not going to show anything.

Theyre not good for you - and some of the obes they prescribe for colonoscopies can actually cause kidney damage. Yet you can just buy them over the counter!