Candice

I live in Southeast Texas where it is HOT & HUMID! I recently had three friends banded in the last three months and they have had plenty of questions for me. I have been banded for almost 4 years and I try to remember everything I went through as a newly banded person. Now I have a question "4 years" after being banded! My crazy question is: Does anyone notice the barometric pressure changing the day to day restriction? If the barometric pressure is up, my head hurts and my band is tight. If the humidity is down I have less restriction. It's like some of my fill will enter the tubing on low pressure days and I'm less restricted. High pressure days seem to pull my entire fill into the band and I have more restriction. Crazy Huh!

I was banded in October 2005 and have lost 180 pounds total. I'm 5'5" and started at 305#. Now I maintain at 125#. My 12 year old son weighs 115 and his little brother weighs 65. I look at them and realize that I have lost their combined weight. Wow! What an eye opener.

OKAY!!! The BIGGEST piece of advice I can give from my experience is to WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE QUIT LOSING!!!!! i I asked so many questions when I went to the plastic surgeon the first time. So write them down like I did or you will forget. My

I had my surgery on a Wednesday...rested the next day...went to WalMart on Thursday and went back to work on Monday. NO PROBLEM!

I highly recommend you do that...the second day you will ask yourself what in ther world you have done...but you will get past it. On the tenth day you will begin to feel like yourself again. The stomach muscle reconstruction is the worst part because those muscles spasm for many weeks after surgery and it feels like you have done hundreds of situps each day. The arm tuck is diffucult too because the 4 inchs just above the elbow gets really tight so bare with it and you'll get past the recovery stage.

Being scared of the skin is HUGE...I was scared too! I lost 185 lbs and have had abdominal wall reconstruction, tummy tuck, arms tucked and breast lift in one surgery. You better "know who you are" to subject yourself to that many stitches at one time. It is very painful but on the 10th day you start to feel like you will live through it. I even went back and had a second breast lift and implants for volume a year later after the first round of plastic surgery. I couldn't live with the skin. I called it "melted candle syndrome" because I would look in the mirror and see myself as though I was melting. No amount of exercise will take care of the skin...only surgery!

I want to thank everyone for all the very kind words about my success with lapband...it really helps because I find that even my closest friends are not as happy that I have gone over and above what they thought I would accomplish...plus I have had all the reconstructive plastic surgery and now that there are men commenting it makes them even more jealous...I did the plastic surgery to correct all the skin that didn't seem like it needed to be there..not to grab the attention of a man. Men are a dime a dozen and I don't need one to be happy with myself...a man is only an added bonus to my life...Happiness comes from within! As far as my test results...I haven't heard anything yet but when the lab tech removed the needle my arm continued to bleed and he laughed a little and said "I'm banking on Iron Poor". I will let yall know as soon as I know...Once again, I appreciate the compliments and wish everyone all the success in the world because I know how it has changed my life and my childrens lives.

I did go to the Dr on Wednesday and they took ALOT of blood for iron and thyroid screen...my Dr has been my Dr for a LONG time..he delivered me and knows me well...and after talking about this he even laughed and asked if I was over thinking this like I do everything else and told me to try to ignore it a little bit..told me to push my heater away from me at work and try little things to try to acclimate myself to my daily surrounding better...we had a good laugh out of it and I told him I would try that...the funny thing is that I really have been trying not to stay as bogged down in the Freezing to Death thing and it has helped some...Hahaha!

I was banded in October 2005 weighing in at 305 lbs...I now weigh 120 lbs...I do realize that I have lost 185 pounds but I was not always that big and was not cold natured before I gained the weight...everyone laughs because I am contantly covered up with jackets and shawls but being cold all the time is starting to get old...living in South Texas, we don't have hard winters and during the summer I fight with the family about what temp to keep the A/C on because I am always cold...my circulation has been checked and my thyroid has too..so if anyone might have any suggestions, please let me know!:smile:

I totally agree with all the points you gave, however, you must continue to get those fills. I have been very successful by losing 150 pounds and reaching my overall goal. I have already had a tummy tuck, breast lift and my arms tucked, and continue to fight to keep the weight off. I have learned to maintain by sticking to my regular diet. During the plastic surgery I had my port changed out to a low profile port so it wouldn't stick out anymore. Some of my saline was lost during this change and I was able to eat bread and all the things I had given up, so as soon as I could, I ran back to the doctor and had a fill. I am going again this week because they didn't give me enough. I was at my "SWEET SPOT" before surgery and I want to be back there now that I am heeled up. That sweet spot is exactly that.....it's where you feel at home with your band. You'll know it when you get there. I went through periods when I did not lose a pound for two or three weeks, but it really is your body having to play catch up with the weight loss. Also, you need to make sure you are not doing what I did and eating too little calories. If I didn't eat at least 1000 to 1200 calories of the right foods every day, my body would go into starvation mode and I would stop losing. I would also do an ample cardio and strenth training session at least three times a week to work off enough calories to equal one meal for that day. Don't be so hard on yourself.....that was a huge lesson I learned on this lapband journey.

Hey guys, I'm back. I had my EXTREME MAKEOVER on April 27th and have done way better than I expected. I had TT, Breat Lift and arm lift as out patient surgery and have done very well. The abs are very tight and seem to tighten as the day goes on so I am tired in the evening, but other than that...I am healing and getting ready to go back to work. I still have drains in my stomach, but the fluid retention is slowing and hopefully they will come out tomorrow when I go back for my check up. I was a large C or small D in high school and I must say "They look just like they did in High School". Dr. Long did a fabulous job on all three areas and I can't wait to shop for a new clothes because I am now a size 8 instead of 10/12...and the swelling is still going down. I was off the pain medicine and on Tylenol by the third day and started driving again on the fifth day. I love Dr. Long and I love his medical skills. It's hard to know who to trust when you've never had plastic surgery, but I had a great connection from day one and could tell he was excited to help me finish this journey. I coundn't be more please with the outcome so far and I am not even completely healed. The results are shocking and my closest friend who saw everything before want a business card when I come back so they can go see about their own issues and flaws. Dr. Long does not currently have a website, but they are working on building one. They have asked me to be one of the first set of before and after shots on the site, so look for it in the future.

I do have rashes from time to time, but my insurance just looked at the pics and the considered how much I have lost and basically said "Of course she has skin issues". I was approved!!! I know my ticker says I am still at 162 or something but I am actually down 149 pounds total. I only weigh 145, so they really considered the fact that I have lost more than my actual body weight to approve me. I do have really good insurance even though I fought for 10 months to get the approval for the LapBand. They have pd for all four fills and now reconstructive surgery. I am thankful!!!

Be prepared!Be very very prepared! I set out to meet my goal and did. It is shocking what I look like now. I weigh about 40 pounds less than I did when I got married so my husband doesn't even know the person I am now. My insurance company is paying for the TT but I am paying cash in full for the breast lift and arms. Right at 9,000 for my part. Ouch!!!!But so worth it!!!! I'll get back with you about the pain level and stuff like that after the 27th.

I have Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. My primary insurance FiServ does not pay for Bariatric treatment or complications of bariatric surgery so I have to depend on my secondary insurance for these treatments. I had a fight on my hands for the LapBand but eventually got it approved. The skin removal was not even a fight. Dr. Long's office sent in the general info and I was approved for the TT right a way. I think it is mostly because I have lost now what I weigh total. Literally 50% lighter than the day I had LapBand on October 12, 2005. I have gone from a 28 to an 8.

I am so excited. Dr. Long's office went ahead and sent in my file to the insurance company for predetermination and I got my approval letter today. I am having TT,Breast lift and my arms done on April 27th. I can't believe I was approved so easily. It took for ever when I was trying to get approved for the lapband. I won't be 18 months out until April 12th, but I will be by the date of my surgery. I was so excited, I was shaking in my shoes. I have called all my family and friends who have supported me and told them and they are excited too!!!!!