AlienBandit

I was banded on a Saturday and went back to work on the Monday. I never told my employer because I live in Korea and things are different here. If I told them, they would have told me I am not allowed to get the surgery done. I do have sick days but it is like pulling teeth to get a day off. ANYWAYS so I had my surgery and went back to work on the Monday. It was not hard to see something was wrong but I just said I hurt myself at the gym and people left it at that. My one co worker knew in case of an emergency. I think if you take a week off work you can return to work fine the next week. I didn't tell my friends and a week after surgery went drinking with them ( Water for me) and no one was the wiser. Say your visiting sick family or someone is visiting from another country etc. It really isn't anyones business why your gone. As for when you come back, for me at least my week 2 diet was mushies so it was easy to look almost normal eating lunches etc. Again if anyone asks say you got sick while you were gone, have a sore throat and am eating simple things for your stomach. Once you start to lose weight you can say you started at the gym, made a bet with a friend to who loses the most weight in a year etc. Good luck with everything

Does Dr Kwon have an english website?

My doctor never put a time rule for when it was ok to drink alcohol again. I have found that I can't drink carbonated beverages, hard liquor makes me sick even just a little so wine is my alcohol of choice. However I must be careful with it because it does make me drunk fast even after one glass!

An unfill might be a good idea but how about only a partial one? I know going somewhere like Ethiopia might be a concern but if you eat properly and be careful you might be fine. I went back packing with friends through Thailand and Laos. Though some parts of Thailand might have doctors who I could go to for an emergency Laos most definitely did not. At the time my band was 10cc in an 11cc band. I simply ate my food super well, stayed away from anything that could bother me etc and I was fine not one stuck episode in 2 weeks. My friends never even suspected anything ( they dont know about my band) If you do get an unfill don't worry about your weight. This is a happy time for you bringing in a new addition to your family and you should enjoy it and not worry about your weight just for a little while.

I just had a small minish tummy tuck and I notice my pants are looser but I don't think I dropped a whole pants size. However I am better tucked into my pants now. It was more below my waist area where pants sit that I had more skin so around my waist didnt change too much.

Ketosis is so good. It means your burning and going to lose weight. I find sometimes when I am in ketosis my clothes begin to smell more metallic if I am working out at the gym. It is weird I know but after a few diets that monitored my ketons I got used to it. Once you start to maintain more it wont be a factor.

Thanks :sneaky: My stomach has changed so much since that photo :w00t:

I always over packed for all the surgeries I had so I have now learned how to pack better. First of all since you get to the hospital and change, just wear the clothes you will wear when you leave. No need to pack a new pair of clothes if you only wear the first ones for an hour or two. This makes less carrying once you leave ( it will be uncomfortable to hold things). Wear comfy shoes ( flipflops or slip ons are the best) that you will wear home. Pack a package of wet wipes, eye cover ( I dont know what its called but if you want to sleep in darkness it is good to cover your eyes if there will be lights on in your room), deoderant, toothbrush, tooth paste, hairbrush, and a book or something to entertain you if you stay over night. I can now just go to the hospital with my purse and a few things.

Hmmm it might be the old band 4cc or the new band 10cc or 14cc. Hope the surgery goes well :sneaky: Good luck :w00t: p.s thanks for the compliment. I am sure you will do good too

I find that all of my scars heal differently. Some of my scars are red some are pink even if they are from the same surgery on the same day. Here is a link to a photo of my scars marked is the day I had a surgery and the day the stitch was taken out. My older scars are not even visible. My darker scars are from incisions that didn't heal well right away. I have since had a tummy tuck and my belly button scar is thick and dark but the larger incision has healed so nicely it is barely noticeable already! Band and Lipo Scar photos p.s I dont use any creams on my scars. It is hard to communicate with people to try to find something for my scars here.

I was 24 when banded and now I am 25. I have had lipo a few times on numerous parts of my body and just had a mini tummy tuck. With plastics there are many things to consider before doing a surgery like if your going to have kids etc. Some doctors dont recommend things like a tummy tuck or breast lift before kids. This is something to consider. Please keep in mind though that since we are young our bodies will change so much after we lose weight. I wanted a breast lift but now I find my boobs are ok now and I think I will skip a lift.

YYAAYYYY more foreigners in Korea being banded! Trust me I understand the whole eating thing it is a challenge without someone there to help you along the way but this website is great. You can talk to other people and learn from them You can do this. Good luck! I think I might have met your doctor before but I am not sure. What band are you getting? There are two different lapbands brands ( as well as the SAG band) that are in Korea the new one lapband AP just got approved by the Korean FDA in July 2010.

Not only do I fit into Korean clothes I fit into the middle sizes. Korean clothes go odd numbers up to 31 and I am size 27! My waist is about a size 25 but Koreans don't have big thighs so I must buy bigger sizes to accommodate my large thighs :S I would love to shop at Shinsegae but god so expensive! I am so jealous!

Ok not to get totaly off topic but congrats on the engagement and welcome back to the land of the band. I am sure by the time you come to Korea you will be able to fit into the ridiculously tiny clothes here. It is such a great feeling to fit into Korean clothes :huh2:

With my first band this never happened. It wasn't until I had the balloon that i started to notice this when I over ate. Now sometimes I get it but not often. It always comes if I am out socializing with friends and eating or drinking more then I should over a long period of time. It looks so strange. Try eating less and waiting longer before drinking after eating. P.s Vio any recent trips to Korea? Its been a long time since we chatted!

For me the band has worked. I would never get the sleeve done because it freaks me out that they would cut out my stomach. the plication is different because they don't cut your stomach they stitch it. here is a video. I have even heard of this being done under your band so you don't need big fills and there is less chance of stomach erosion and your band slipping. Anyways though I have had some complications I have still been really successful with the band and don't regret it. i started with a low BMI so I didn't want a drastic surgery. I'm now 12 pounds from goal. If you work hard, follow your doctors orders, and exercise you can be successful too :blushing: Everyone is different so it is hard to pinpoint why people are not successful sometimes it is their health, sometimes it is their diet, sometimes it is their head hunger, sometimes it is their lack of exercise, etc. If you have a good support system, have a good nutritionist, a good doc and a good mind set and motivation you will succeed.

With my first band, when I went for a check up a month after being banded my doc wanted me to have a fill. Since I had already lost 20 lbs and had a bad stuck episode with a Vitamin a few days before, I said no. After arguing my point and listening to my docs points he let me be but told me to come back 2 weeks later for a fill. I made an appointment but then canceled it because I still wasn't ready for a fill. When I finally went in 3 weeks after the first time he tried to give me a fill, a week later then when he wanted me to come back I got a fill. However my doc wanted to give me a large fill and I didn't like that idea either. Again after arguing my point and listening to his point we agreed on a smaller fill. Another time I went in for a fill but found it too much so I asked for it to be removed. I had it removed because my doc was going away on business and I had family coming to visit who don't know I am banded. My doc was fine with my request and just gave me another fill after my family left. The first few fills have little effect on us usually if it is a small amount. If your not ready for a fill then talk to your doc about it. Once I got my second band I never said no to a fill but I always made sure to get a small fill each time to slowly work my way up getting used to eating like a bandster again. You are supposed to get a fill if you are eating bigger portions, are hungry between meals and not losing weight. If that is not happening to you, then tell your doctor. I wish I could have as little fill as possible and still be successful however, thats not the case with me.

Every time I lost weight in the past I would lose my hair too. my doctor always said it was normal because I was losing a good amount of weight. I did a diet called the Dr Berstein diet that required me to get b-12 Vitamin shots 3 times a week and take vitamin ( cal.mag, multi vitamin, Omega vitamin etc) every day. It was a high Protein low carb diet. I lost my hair like crazy every time I did it. Basically it is impossible to avoid losing your hair. I found after being banded I have not lost as much hair as fast as I used to with other diets.

A pre op diet is meant to help shrink your liver and get rid of some fat around it. If you have too much going on around your liver then your doctor might not be able to do the surgery. That would be terrible to wake up and be told you couldn't get the band. I have a low BMI so we weren't worried about my liver. I did however start doing more liquids, reducing my food portions etc a week before my surgery.

You can always have a revision surgery and have the port moved later. I just had mine moved and don't know where it is now. It used to stick out bad too

I have done some roller coasters and other crazy rides ( and bungee jumping strapped at my waist) and I have never had a problem. You might however notice you don't get the butterflies in your stomach feeling. Thats what happened to me. It was so weird!

There is still a band called the SAGB and not the realize band Compare Adjustable Gastric Bands - LAP-BAND vs. REALIZE Band The REALIZE Band is based on the technology of the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB), the original soft, low-pressure balloon design, with improvements to the gastric band locking mechanism and injection port technology. Three generations of improvements: 2009 - REALIZE Band-C 2007 - REALIZE Band 1996 - SAGB (Outside US)

I thought the same thing and I kept saying to my doctor arent they the same. However he says no and I have found info to support what he says.

Co I was thinking the same thing. There is an 11cc realize band as well as an 11cc SAG band ( swedish band NOT the same as realize) etc Does your band look like any of these? Bands: Very IMPORTANT !! Please Read!!

My stomach got so swollen from surgery but after a while it toned down. I am 12 pounds from goal and my port did stick out ( low profile) so when I had my tummy tuck I had my port moved under my muscles now I have no idea where it is. Maybe that is something to consider