TheGh0st

Just found this thread. I was lucky enough not to have even half of what happened to Wheetsin happen to me but I had to add I also ended up being amongst this same office's "bad girls" list. All for the unforgivable reasons that: A) I'd voluntarily offered to let some of the pre-surgery patients that came to support group know that I'd be glad to bring anyone interested by a band-friendly meal during their recovery from surger for the family to try along with some Jello for the "patient". It was an offer made just to be nice and I wasn't asking for any support or affiliation with the doctors office but when I mentioned it to them before the support group they told me I couldn't/shouldn't make the offer. The person who told me was so condescending she actually used a phrase like "I can tell you are an intelligent person" Like she was consceding that I was smart when most "fat" people are not. I had the audacity to make my own LapBand Restaurant Card that corrected grammer & spelling errors on the one they handed out. The same woman as previously mention actually ended up shouting at me over the phone. I thought she was going to have a fit, no let me rephrase that she was having a fit when I calmly explained that I saw no reason to destroy the card. She went so far as to threaten to sue me just because I had made a card asking restaurants to allow me to order of the childs menu due to my surgery. I hadn't even shown it to more than 3 restaurants in the previous 6 months. I repeatedly told her she was speaking to me at work and I would have to call her back but she just wouldn't stop until I finally overspoke her saying again I was at work and she would just have to call back then hung up on her. C) Oh and did I mention the final straw was my being friends with the other "bad girls". Good grief we were all labeled "bad" just because we would openly answer peoples questions in support group no different than Wheetsin does here. In the end after one of the only wonderful staff members they had who managed the support group quit I found another local band doc and never looked back.

no, No, NO!!! If I remember correctly there was a time when I wasn't able to see your pics. I remember being excited when I saw them back again. Please don't worry about the apparent issues of others when the overwhelming majority of us look forward to sig lines that remind us that we too can succeed one day if we keep plugging along. You have definitely been one of my top inspirations on this Journey.

Congratulations. My date was Sep 13th, 2005. I like the term re-birthday. I've been calling it my "bandversary", but I like your phrase re-birthday. I still haven't convinced the family that it's worthy of getting me a card or present but I've tried.

Hey there Karey, Don't get me wrong I'm sure you look absolutely fabulous as you are right now. I just know that for me there was a high school reunion this summer just as I was starting the whole PS process and OH WHAT I WOULD HAVE GIVEN to have been done with the PS before the reunion. Its more of a head issue than an actual "clothing" fit issue at least for me. I never thought the clothes fit quite right but everyone else was telling me there was no problems. I'm sure you know what I mean. I also realized I didn't answer your question about excersize. I'm just as bad about beating myself up over that as anything else weight related. Especially when I see people like JulieNYC out running marathons and such. But I was walking twice a week here with friends, sometimes as little as 1 mile sometimes as many as 3 but just at a fairly casual pace no power walking or god forbid jogging/running in these "F" cups. Maybe after my Breast Reduction next year. One sign of hope for me is the fact my DH bit the bullet last week and joined the gym after 2 years of swearing neither one of us would ever "waste our money" on a gym again. Maybe after the holiday rush I'll convince him to let me join as well. Actually I'll probably join up no matter what he thinks, especially if they have child care available. I am going in tomorrow to have the last of the stiches out and to most likely get my drains out. They are suppose to give me more detailed instructions on my remaining recovery. But he did say I could start back with some casual/excersize walking at 3 weeks. So the plan is for me to meet up with one or more of my banded friends next Wednesday to walk at the local mall we like to frequent. I'll just sit down and let them "lap" me anytime I feel I need to.

Its always good to meet another Greater KC bandmate. I had Dr Hoehn at SMMC in Shawnee Mission, but recently started seeing Dr. Malley in Mission for my fills. Long story, I like both docs but had some issues with the staff at Hoehn's office. I've also been attending Malley's support groups ever since Jen & her KC Bandsters non-surgeon specific group stopped having its monthly meetings so it was an easy transition. Who were you banded by?

Yeah, sometimes he surprises me. (Nah, he's a good guy most of the time, infuriating all the time but good most of the time.):heh:

to be honest I prefer the March/April time as well but the other date was set before I had a say so I'm trying to work with it. Still not sure I'll be able to go but trying my hardest. Good luck to you all. If I can't make it in Jan, who knows I might just see if you'll let a September gal tag along on your fun!

I suppose you are right but darn it there are so many other industries that give out referral bonuses. Everything from house alarms, to cell phones & massages. Why not PS? I know can I spell "M A L P R A C T I C E"?

Am I a true Libra or what? I completely agree with both of the above statements. I originally set my "realistic" goals based more on insobordination's views even though my "dream" goal was always the 100% figure like Chickie. Now that I've surpased what I had originally considered a realistic goal I am more comfortable with the idea that my dreams really aren't impossible anymore. I'm also a number freak/geek... so skip this next part if you wish. Statistics can be decieving and bent to serve nearly any purpose. Yes the stats don't "lie" when they say 60% is the average. Below is an example of what I mean. These numbers are completely ficticious but show how an average of 60% EWL over all patients can mislead you into thinking the "average" patient will lose this when it also shows that nearly half of patients (47%) fell into the 60-85% EWL range compared to only 30% falling into the corresponding 30-55% EWL. Also remember to get the average number you have to add up all the people who make it to their goal as well as all those that fail, and yes there are those of us that do fail with the band wether it be through band mis-management or something completely out of their hands. I don't know how you could come up with revised stat that didn't take into account some of those people and focused just on those that don't have underlying uncontrollable medical issues that are holding them back more than the normal patient, or even those with the more extreme non-medical issues that have held them back from using the band the way it could be. But it does make me wonder if you could would it show that if I'm a relatively healthy, and relatively consistent in following the "rules" of the band the statistics might be closer to an in the 85-95% range? ficticious results.bmp

Hope you guys don't mind me jumping in here despite being a September bandster. Just thought I'd point out that there is also a group of bandsters (any month) trying to get together in Vegas in January 2008. I know that's coming up fast but maybe we could all meet up together? http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/vegas-january-agenda-next-steps-39545/#post539344

Good for you! I just had an unfill a few weeks ago myself. Had been putting it off for months for fear of regaining weight. Wasn't PB'ing much myself but the nightly acid reflux was a killer. What a relief it has been to be unfilled and touch wood no regain as of yet. Even if there was living that tight just isn't healthy, and definitly not worth the risk of losing the band for good with a slip or errosion.

When I first started my band journey I had a hard time setting a goal weight (OK I STILL have a hard time setting one) at the time I was trying to weigh what the BMI chart was saying was right for my height with doctor saying that the current research was showing most successful band patients were only losing around 50% of their excess weight. I NEVER wanted to consider a weight loss of only 50% of my excess to be a success but it made me give pause in setting a goal of the full 100% for Fear (yes fear) that it was just setting me up for more failure and depression leading to sabatoge and weight gain. While trying to figure it out I found the following website very insightful. Better Ideal Weight Body Calculations It shows a variety of methods for determining your ideal weight from the frequently used MetLife Charts, to BMI and others, including one that takes into account what other current peers, in age, current weight and sex, think (emphasize THINK) would be their ideal weight. At least in my case I found it surprisingly accurate. My only hope is that the accuracy doesn't hold as I found that at my height and age my "peers" won't think I'm at an ideal weight until I hit 115 which is a BMI of 20 barely a point above the LOWEST BMI considered in the healthy range! I really want to believe I will be satisfied at the higher end of the healthy BMI, like maybe a 23-24. Another even more interesting point perhaps is that it claims that many of the charts for women are misleading. Such as the Met Life Chart which is the leading industry standard chart that Stacy is quoting from. It says this chart was developed for use on women ages ages 25-59 and based on lowest mortality rates. In addition it was assumed that the women were wearing 3 pounds of clothes and wearing 1" heels. Not all of us fall into this age category and I would dare say most if not all of us didn't know we were suppose to add 1" to our height when reading the table. A minor side note to this table would be that according to the website Met Life introduced this chart in 1943. and it was only revised slightly in 1983. They were called "desirable" weights, which would indicate those persons with the lowest mortality rates. However, the phrase "ideal weight" gradually became associated with these tables in common usage, even though the word "ideal" was not specifically published with the tables. PS - Stacy - Please understand I am NOT flaming your post in any way. I just was shocked when I found that I was suppose to add an inch to my height when looking at that chart I still refer to it myself but thought others might find it usefull to know.

I am so excited for you. Thanks for starting the new thread. Now if only you could convince your father to give us all a small (OK Large) "friends of the family" discount. Just kidding, well if only for the fact that the flight to NY would probably negate any possible discount I could ever hope you might talk him into. What I really wish is my doc would give me some kind of referral bonus for every patient I was able to successfully get to use him. I think I could seriously increase his business and recoup my expenses given a little effort. Who knows maybe there might be a small chance at some sort of extra discount off a future surgery or a rebate on my existing one if all turns out well and I can talk him into using me in some sort of advertising material. I'm not too modest to turn it down for the right price. Wouldn't even have to cost him much if he'd waive his fee and do my inner thighs or arms for just the facility fee.

I've also started hearing some bad press on the lipo-dissolve injections. I believe Missouri even pulled the plug on it being legal to perform except in facilities conducting FDA approved studies. Something about it not being regulated well enough and about how there can be some seriously bad results if not administered properly. However, I am no doctor, nurse or medical professional in real life or otherwise. But I'd be seriously worried about trying it until it has been around longer. I've just seen too many horror stories where us overweight people seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to possible help in our struggles. Can anyone say "Phen-Phen", just to name one?

Paulax - I don't know if there are some out there with too little skin to remove for this to be true but in my case the doc said he removed a section from along the incision line curving up in a cartoon-ish eyeball oval shape to a point a whopping 2-inches above my old belly button hole. Technically I actually have the same belly button. They just cut around the old one and punch a new hold out for it to show through. The stiches are just down inside the belly button far enough that there shouldn't be any visible scar to see. Hope that answers your question. By the way I ended up driving for the first time post surgery today and went to work for 5 hours. I actually felt I could have worked longer but as someone said take advantage of their good will now as once you start adding hours its harder to get work to understand if you need to go back to less hours. I also wanted to save some strenght for the home front as being at work makes the DH think I ought to start taking on more responsibility at home as well. I have cooked dinner and put our 4 year old to bed a few times already. No four course meals or carrying the son to bed. But boiling spaghetti in a small enough pan that it weighs less than 4 pounds and sitting next to my sons bed in a chair to read him some stories and pat his back aren't exactly taxing chores. Though I did push it a little too far tonight when I tried to help put some laundry away after dinner tonight. The DH dumped it on our over waist high bed for me so all I had to do was pick up the clothes one at a time to fold or hang. But I found that standing for longer than 5-10 minutes at a stretch is still a bit too much for me no matter how light the lifting was. My stomach started to ache like I had just done another marathon round of sit-ups. So I took my first pain pill since lunch time (about 6 hours) and laid down on the couch without finishing the laundry. My DH understood and was both happy with what help I had been able to give at the same time warning me to not push it.

Karey - For me I decided that the skin weight was some of what was keeping me from goal. Both physically and mentally. Physically for the obvious reason there was in excess of 10 pounds they removed. Mentally it was also weighing me down making me feel farther off track towards my goal than the scale was telling me. After reading some of the other PS threads, like Julies, Puddins & Chickie's (not to mention the many others) I decided that the PS now just might be the kick in my butt & self esteem that I needed to get back on track and loose those last pounds to get to whatever goal I finally settle on. Who knows maybe after all the swelling goes down I'll decide this is my goal, no matter what the scale says.

My DH is slowly coming around but he's a big "waffler" His siblings call him Mr Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda. He has NO interest in coming which suits me fine, I want to SHOP, SHOP, SHOP (and DANCE) neither of which he likes. But he is interested in going on a short road trip with one of his brothers. So he has been toying with "letting" me go in a kind of quid pro quo. I know I can go if I really want no matter what he says but some battles really aren't worth fighting if you know what I mean.

Julie, I am sorry to hear about the break up. I'm sure it will be for the best in the end but may his days be filled with misery until he comes crawling back for forgiveness and you kick his sorry @ss right back to the curb.

Update on my recovery.... I am feeling better and better. Parts of me think this has gone much easier than I expected. As I kind of expected to be completely bed ridden for the first 5 days needing nearly constant assistance just to go to the restroom. Instead I was getting up by myself and walking around the house the very first night. It was and still is MUCH easier to get up with help but I can do it without help. On the flip side I had high expectations of being one of those people that bounce back fast enough to be back to work full time by tommorrow. (12 days after surgery) After all I was back to work part time less than a week after my C-section and full time only 4 days after my gall-bladder was removed. I'm kind of the stubborn type who feels if I can sit up even if in pain I'd rather sit at work and get paid than sit at home with no pay. But my two drains are still in me and I just don't feel up to 8 hours at a desk job in my pajamas. And until the drains come out that is really all I can wear. I have been back to work for 2 hours on both Teusday and Thursday of last week, though I had someone drive me both to and from work. I do plan on going in tomorrow and driving myself but I will probably only go in for around 4 hours. I also plan on only working a half day Teusday and maybe Wednesday but am determined to have my drains out and get back to full time by Friday. I probably won't be working at full capacity for another week or even two and am counting on some help from a co-worker when it comes to things like filing and some of the running up and downstairs to the shop floor to ask the staff questions. I have also backed the pain pills down from the heavier duty oxy-codene to the slightly less potent hydra-codene and am taking only 3-4 pills a day instead of 6-8 like I was in the beginning. I could probably back down even further to just Tylenol but have been reluctant to push it too hard as I know it is much easier for pain meds to stop pain from starting than it is for them to stop pain that is already there. Right now I really don't feel any true pains with a capital "P". There are still a couple of sore bruises in my inner thighs from the lipo and the drains are uncomfortable at times when I move around the worst of it feels like I'm pulling out a pubic hair. My waist feels a strange "stiffness" that makes it hard to stand straight even if I were allowed to, there are also a few blisters that formed along the incision line that I think are a reaction to the adhesives in the steristrip and a few of them kind of sting to the touch but none of that is really the kind of pain I was expecting. I even feel a bit of a pansy for complaining about most of them. I've begun to sit a bit more upright on the couch this weekend and am even back to sitting on the computer task chair with both my legs tucked up (as if I were sitting cross legged on the floor). And I can walk up and down the stairs using both feet to go up the stairs like a "normal" albiet bow-legged person. When I started out I would go up the steps one at a time trying my best to not lift legs at the knees by standing as high as possible on the toes of my left foot, arching my right foot up equally as high to reach the next step with the toes of my right foot then pulling the other foot up to the same step before starting it all over on the next step. I might also try to get you some updated pics of the incision line in the next week but probably won't update my full waist shots for a bit longer to let the swelling start to go down some.

mommy3boys - My weigh in the morning of surgery was 172 and I'm 1/2" shorter than you, so we are pretty much the same I'd say. This surgery covered most of what you listed sans, the BL & mons lift. The thigh lipo I had wasn't as aggressive as I would have liked but I'm not complaining as it was a last minute freebie I talked him into. I actually would LOVE a full inner thigh lift but it is nearly as expensive as the extended TT I had so I don't see it in the cards. I'm just hoping I can learn to live with them. Maybe a little focused toning would help. I've heard mixed comments on that. I didn't have nor will I be having the mons lift. Don't really have a reference point to know if it was necessary but I think I can live with that area as is. The BL will be sometime next year I'm hoping. The doc wouldn't do it at the same time as the TT and even though insurance will be covering it I need to try to wait a while before taking more time off work for surgery. Maybe even try to get some family time off for a vacation first.

Shine - I bet things heat up after the band so to speak. I envy your hand holding and cuddling though. That is more my problem. The DH is fine with having sex 1 even 2 times a week (if I'd let him) but he just doesn't seem interested in me any other time of the day and even in bed foreplay is not much more than "honey, are you awake?" The sex has been MUCH better since the band but the other areas really haven't changed any. And a lot of our issues as of late have revolved around my being tired of putting up with that. In some ways I think it is a byproduct of my success with the band. I just don't feel like putting up with what I feel is second rate behaviour on my DH's part. I want it all, both in and out of the bedroom. Nume - Yeah I think he would be up for a trip together, even a marriage retreat perhaps. But it will probably have to wait until next summer when our budget and available work time off recover. I was toying with a trip to Boston around our Anniversary in March. Neither of us have been there and we've always wanted to go. One of the few things we still have in common is an interest in old architecture and cathedrals. We absolutely LOVE traveling around Europe. Unfortunately that isn't something we can afford to do often enough to be our only common thread. But we are both aware of the problem and we do sit down every once and awhile and try to brainstorm ideas of something new we might be able to share together. We just haven't figured it out yet. He like Jazz, I think it is OK and would be willing to go places with him to listen to it. But he says he can't enjoy it when he is worried about trying to remember to hold my hand or try to have a conversation with me. He just likes to listen to it alone. I've rediscovered a love for walking and being outdoors, but he hates being outside or walking. I love all things Science Fiction, he use to be into some of it and at one time even read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy to me but now has no interest whatseover in Science Fiction wether its books, movies or TV. We both use to like working in the yard, him on roses, me on my flower beds and a pond I had at our last house, but now he hates being outside for any reason. He loves reading historical books, mostly revolving around the Civil War, WWI & WWII or various politicians from the past such as Lincoln, Jackson, etc. I grew up in a house that "lived" in the past spending holidays looking at old historic battle fields, even dressing up to renact the civil war, and now I hate just about all things related to history. We are both Christians and that was a common bond for us but shortly after I got the band we decided to leave the church we had been attending for the last several years to try to find one with a larger youth group. The one we were at had no children within about 3 years of our sons age. The problem with this is we really haven't found a new church we all like since leaving that one. He found one he loves and I HATE. We also found one our 4 year old loves and we find to be somewhat luke warm to. We've fallen into a pattern of going to the one church together as a family in the mornings then he goes to the other church Sunday evenings, Teusdays & Wednesdays. Part of me hates that he goes and wishes he'd stop the other part encourages him to leave just to give me some alone time. Honestly of all the issues we have I tend to feel that our not having a good solid church home that we agree on is really the root of most of our problems, but he sees no problem with it and is happy to continue attending two different churches. OK enough rambling. Compared to so many others I shouldn't complain, I know. Things could be so much worse.

Libra here

Good luck Devin. I'm from Nebraska myself but am living in KC and was banded here 2+ years ago. It has been a godsend to me. I only wish it had been around for me years ago. You will be in my prayers. Keep us posted on your insurance approval.

Sorry about the troubles you are having with your son. I hope it works itself out. Your oldest may also surprise you when it comes to the split, I know as a child in a divided house I was actually relieved when they finally split. I almost felt the opposite of what you always hear. Like it was my fault they were staying together even though they were miserable. My DH & I seem to be doing a bit better ourselves. Different issues I know. He still hates all things band related and would be furious to know I've started the PS thread. He won't even look at the pics himself. Infact I only just told him today that they existed (not that they were online.) He just doesn't understand. Oh well. Except for the band related issues he does seem a bit better still rather distant but not as distant as before. For a while there it seemed neither one of us could have a conversation no matter how casual without one or both of us getting irritated with the other. I despise the thought of my 4 year old growing up in a house with his parents fighting in front of him so there were a couple times I just walked away, which only made him madder at first. My thoughts for the last few months were to keep my head down and just wait until this PS surgery was all said and done. Then if things weren't getting better to approach him about counseling. Don't get me wrong I didn't have any belief that the PS was going to improve things just that I didn't want to stir a hornets nest and risk it getting cancelled. That may be selfish of me but I had to do it that way for my own sake. And in some strange way the PS may actually be helping. Now that it is over with and I'm in the recovery phase some of the tension he was feeling seems to be gone like now that its over there is no point in worrying about it anymore or something. He also joined a gym this last week and has gone 3 times already. He's never really been overweight at least never like I was but he has put on a good 20-30 pounds since I was banded and is a little taken aback by the fact that I'm now the more fit one. I hope this helps his confidence a bit. Still, if we can we should probably get away to a marriage retreat or at least a couples holiday somehow next year sometime. We've grown apart a bit over the last 10 years. We know it and we want to change it, we are just having a hard time finding a new common ground.

Sweethot - My Height - 5'2-1/2" (that 1/2" is very important at my height ) Karey - Not to rush you PS is a VERY BIG Step but May is quite a way off and you are awful close to your goal already. Maybe you could have it done in Jan/Feb and still have plenty of time to be recovered by the wedding. Imagine the killer mother's dress you could wear! (Shame on me - you will look AWESOME either way)