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Well, I took pics of my scars, but I'm not interested in sharing :-) My stomach was too swollen and it is not flattering! They are tiny red slashes, the biggest one being about 3.5 inches and the other 3 being about .5 inches. I put Mederma and Vitamin E oil on mine and they seem to be fading into nothing just 7 weeks post op. I don't think a tattoo should be used to "cover them up," when, if treated properly, there's nothing to cover up.

Yes this is VERY realistic. After one week, I was 90% healed. It really is a "nothing surgery" and you heal up pretty quickly. I had my surgery on Thursday and went to school the following Tuesday That is, considering you don't have a job like... I don't know... lifting bricks manually. But I notice you have an office job... don't worry about it. I was good as new after a week! Just the tinest bit sore, but nothing life-threatening It took me about 2 weeks to heal fully. Over one month after, I feel better than before (because I lost weight!).

:thumbup:Congrats... it's the first step of many! But it's always nice to know you're mentally stable... :-)

I don't know HOW I did this, but I gained no weight after soft foods & before the first fill... it was a miracle. I think it was all about (insert EWWWW here) the bowel movements. As long as they're regular, you should keep the weight off. I think they tell you to avoid fiberous foods with the band, but every time I ate oatmeal, I had a big bowel movement and I lost a lot of weight. Other days, with no bowel movement, I just stayed the same weight, with no change. As long as you watch what you eat ("don't eat fried foods" was my rule), then you should be fine. Relax and look forward to the fill! It's the REAL beginning of the weight loss!!!!! Okay... now count how many times I said "bowel movement" :-) ____________ You maynot lose any more weight in the following weeks because most of the weight you lost now was Water weight... that's what my doc told me, but I still lost more weight. Don't let pople discourage you... every case is different. DO NOT GIVE UP.

Oh goodness, first of all, I'm sorry... this cannot be a pleasent experiance... Drink something warm warm warm. It's the only was to dislodge something that's stuck. I don't think vegetable oil is the solution, but I think HOT tea would work. If you keep throwing up, it can lead to band slippage. You need to call another local band doctor, because it sounds like your current one isn't that great. If you are still sick, you have to go to the ER. This really isn't something to joke about... I hope it helps. Keep us updated and tell us what worked or is you had to go in to the doctor.

:thumbup: Okay, it is so flattering. I still have a ways to go, but I lost about 30 pounds and it came off in all the right places. I'm wearing cutier clothes and I find I'm carrying myself with a lot more confidence. Well, anyway, I was at Target and the guy behind me in line as hitting on me! He told me he was single and avaliable and asked me out... I politely told him, no, I already have a boyfriend,... ...which means it means nothing to me except the flattery... ... hey, I think I like this whole "losing wieght" thing. I want this to be inspiration to those girls out there who are trying to lose weight. I want this to inspire those girls who are thinking about getting the band -- do it - the men will thank you! So, girls, if any of you are "just thinking" about getting banded or already have our date and are excited, scared, WHATEVER... remember this: you're going to have to fight the men away with a baseball bat. Here's to hot girls.

I always have shopped at VS. It's my favorite store. For some reason, clothes tend to fit me nicely (ie, VS, Forever 21)... ...but I just wanted to get healthy and, ahem, be in a BIKINI (which I will be by next summer!). Then I' go everywhere in my bikini, to school, to water parks, to Target, to the pool, to the beach, to the library... the possibilities are endless.

A buffet is the best thing for you! You can control your own portions and you'll be stuffed from little food, with none of the usual waste. Just don't eat a lot...lol... but you might be at the slots a lot, in that case. I'm going on vacation and I'm getting the band emptied before then! Lol, I want to enjoy the food on vacation... it's half the fun! Then again, on vacation, there's no 'sitting around'...you're always moving, so you get more exercise than normal. It all evens out.

Well, I don't know about that. Yes, the true measurement of health is lifestyle, but you should keep a moniter of what you weigh. Don't just weight yourself when you think you've done well, or you'll ge discoraged (ie. Water weight, no bowel movement), but pick on day a MONTH (the 1st is a good idea), and weight yourself then. Don't even think about it until then. It's fun because it's like losing 20 pounds between weigh-ins. Measure yourself instead. Sometimes you can lose inches without losing weight. ______________ There is really no need to yourself every day. That's a little obsessive - there's more to life!!! Live!!!

Use Mederma combined with Vitamin E oil. It's like an erasor!

When I was at 2 weeks, I was just letting it heal. But now that I'm 2 months out, I'm putting Mederma on it twice a day. The cream is VERY expensive ($25 for a SMALL tube), but it's already fading my scars.

:cry_smile: I'm glad I could help some people here. I was MORE scared than you were about the needle (I was literally crying, sweating, blah blah blah)... but I'm really serious when I'm telling you that it does not hurt. Right now, the worst part is your anxeity. The anxeity is worse than the needle! Seriously, it's nothing to worry about. The IV during the surgery, that was 10000000 times worse! This, I don't think, can even be classified as a pinch. ...oh, and the best part? It's over in less than 30 seconds. __________________ Please, don't worry because it takes away from the excitement about starting to lose weight!!! _________________ As far as being too tight or the gas coming back, I wouldn't worry about it. After surgery, the stomach opening is about the size of a dime -- which is why we have all those problems! -- If your doctor is an agressive filler, it's a bad idea. If you're worried about getting too full, then ask him to put 2cc's in the first time, then 1cc every 2 weeks after. Problem solved.

When that needle POPS! into your port when you're getting a fill, it is so cool! Then I felt the saliene going throught the hose and that was pretty cool, too. I am the biggest needle baby, and this needle wasn't even as bad as taking blood. The worst part was waiting for the needle. It's a big bastard! Anyway, for those who are post-surgery, pre-fill, don't worry about the fill, it's kind of fun.

If you open the soda (we don't call it pop in this part of the country), and let it sit for a while, it's fine. All I drink now is water, though, and I really don't have problem with it.

You can have anything that passes through a straw. It's only two days, so it's not as bad as the first two weeks after surgery. As far as "why"... it's obvious... your stomach needs to get used to the new size. Can't just go out and have lunch... it takes time. I think it's a great tool to get a person to eat better.

It has nothing to do with the band... you have a yeast infection in your belly button. Put some Monistat on it and it should clear up in about 3 days.