tammyj

I LOVE MY BAND!!!!!

Thanks Patyann...I hope so too!
Good hearing from you Josie! The complications thread is a bit of a downer. The marchies thread has always been so encouraging. I am so glad to hear that you are still doing well with your band 5 years later. I have to have mine removed for 3 months before I have another band put in. I am actually okay with this. I will do my best to maintain my weight during those 3 months, but I will take another band in a heartbeat if I am not successful.

4 1/2 years later, I finally had my Tummy Tuck done on Oct 12th. I knew that eventually I would have a tummy tuck but I did not want to have it done until I was closer to my goal weight. The last 25lbs were the hardest to lose, but I made it! I am so happy with my tummy tuck results! I hope the pics post okay.
Happy and Healing! :success1:

Omg he did a freaking amazing job perfect tummy wow

You look great and I want those Wonder Woman shorts!!!

Thanks everyone! I feel great!!! 10 days post op and I already have most of my energy back. The first few days were tough but soooo worth it!
Posting another pic taken today at 10 days post op.

I have a strong feeling the Sarah (Sweethear181) might just wrote the most important thing about it - at least in my case.
She wrote above: "My doctor explained to me that the reason I had this snowball effect was because we never really let my stomach heal and my stomach lining kept getting more and more irritated and kept swelling over time."
I had a really bad episode on Wednesday with the re-heated shepherd's pie and I draw the line: this is it! I need to do something to survive until mid July! So I decided to do a 5 day pouch test (as per Kaye Bailey at 5DPT), starting with 2 days full liquids. So that's what I've done yesterday and today - and I feel great for the first time! (meaning: no heartburn, no pain, no daily mini-burping). So tomorrow is soft Proteins - including a fab tuna and parmesan patty which actually tastes really good. Probably with mashed cauliflower or sweet potato.
I did this once just before Christmas when I had an allergic reaction to some strange food I ate at our company Christmas party - it totally helped back then.
And it seems to be working again. How great is that!
In a worst-case scenario, I can keep it going until my appointment. At least I still have all the nutrients I need and not feeling hungry all day. Not to mention the fact that I might just "heal" myself by going back to post-surgery basics... Did I tell you I suspect that lack of attention to detail in what and how I'm eating are the core reasons of all these troubles?
A year ago, in the months following my surgery I was so disciplined: with measuring everything, not EVER going over a cupful of food per meal, eating lots of Protein and not even thinking of putting any non-helpful food in my mouth. I've lost that sometime ago... I got lax and complacent with the rules. This weekend I will re-read a few of my WLS related books and will do everything to get back to the disciplines I used to follow last summer.
I do not believe I have a slip - at least not at my stomach and band.
I do have a slip in my head: all my priorities have been tilted because I lost over 60 lbs and I think I rule the world. I don't. And all the rules I was told to follow post-surgery I still have to follow. And I will have to - forever. If I want to keep my band. And I do, that's for sure.
So that's my standing point now. And I'm committing to it 100%.
Apart from re-reading books I will also revisit my food diary: see what I used to eat which did not give me grief and let me lose weight.
By the way, I'm reading Dr Steven Peters' book The Chimp Paradox about mind management. Just this morning I've stumbled across this line:
"If things go wrong, or you have failed at something, all you can do is to start from where you are and what you have got and then begin again."

Amen

Thanks everyone! I feel great!!! 10 days post op and I already have most of my energy back. The first few days were tough but soooo worth it!
Posting another pic taken today at 10 days post op.

Awesome!!

You look amazing! Thank you for posting your pics. My TT, LBL and BL are scheduled for 06/14. Seeing the results helps me to realize that I an doing the right thing.

Good Luck Elcee!
Jean I haven't been very active on this site so I don't know who she is but I can recall one particular member awhile back who constantly make negative comments about everything. Those types of people are usually very miserable in their own personal lives.

Well after speaking to my surgeon I found out that my band was not replaced he just "fixed" the slip by repositioning the band in the right place. He said my band was fine. He also repaired a hiatal hernia which was likely the cause of the acid reflux, heartburn, and possibly the slip.

Hi Josiebies! That is great that your are still hanging in there even with no fill. I had my slip fixed last week along with a hernia that I believe was the culprit for the problems I've been having the last few years. I am feeling much better and hoping this will be a long term fix. I agree with you that it feels great to be 100lbs lighter and I'm doing whatever I can to keep it that way!

I agree with you and Elcee. I love my band. I have been banded 5 years, had a slip and just got it fixed 3 days ago. The band has done me justice...and I don't regret it all even with the problems I have had. There are complications with every kind of weight loss surgery. After my band slipped I looked into revising to the gastric sleeve but after researching I decided that it was not for me. Many patients have great success with the gastric sleeve but more information is becoming available about the long-term results. The gastric sleeve procedure is the first part of the gastric bypass and over time some patients stretch the stomach from over eating and of course gain some of the weight back. When this happens there is really not much else you can do other than have another procedure done to feel some restriction again. The lapband after gastric bypass and gastric sleeve...go figure!

Don't worry your body will adjust and the weight will come off. Just make sure you are choosing the right full liquids that are high in Protein and low in sugar and fat.

Yes he did! Thanks Sue!

Thank you and good luck to everyone having TT surgery soon...you will not regret it!!!!

Good Luck Elcee!
Jean I haven't been very active on this site so I don't know who she is but I can recall one particular member awhile back who constantly make negative comments about everything. Those types of people are usually very miserable in their own personal lives.

4 1/2 years later, I finally had my Tummy Tuck done on Oct 12th. I knew that eventually I would have a tummy tuck but I did not want to have it done until I was closer to my goal weight. The last 25lbs were the hardest to lose, but I made it! I am so happy with my tummy tuck results! I hope the pics post okay.
Happy and Healing! :success1:

We're not sure if the dilation and slip are related. Maybe, but they happened 2 years apart. My original bariatric surgeon lost his medical license due to substance abuse problems, and sometimes when talking with my current surgeon I get the sense that she's hinting that he didn't do a good job placing my band in the first place. We'll never know for sure.
I always thought my 4 cc band was perfect for me too. I have the feeling there are newly-recognized problems with the size of the 4 cc band, no matter who the patient is. A surgeon who spoke at last year's ASMBS said that the long-term effect of the band is to create a high-pressure system that can put too much stress on the esophagus, resulting in dilation and motility issues. He didn't specifically mention the 4 cc Lap-Band, but since it's the one that's been in place in American patients the longest, I have to wonder if it's the #1 culprit.
My understand of the design of the Realize band is that the inner "pillow" is continuous rather than baffled, so that it distributes pressure more evenly. But I don't know that much about the Realize band, so I suggest that you ask your surgeon about it. You can add that to your long list of questions!
Jean

As I am newly banded, the thought of having the "TT" procedure did cross my mind. I dismissed it as just being too vain...until I saw the pictures you posted! What a difference...definitely the best reward for going through the weight loss. Thank you so much for sharing!!

4 1/2 years later, I finally had my Tummy Tuck done on Oct 12th. I knew that eventually I would have a tummy tuck but I did not want to have it done until I was closer to my goal weight. The last 25lbs were the hardest to lose, but I made it! I am so happy with my tummy tuck results! I hope the pics post okay.
Happy and Healing! :success1: