AlienBandit

You might need to really push through. I had to pick at the bottom hole a bit because there was stuff closing it over. Don't lose hope you can do this. Again if it doesnt work try a thinner piercing to break through and then go back to your bigger one.

thank god for those garments. They really help when trying to move around without any pain. i am wrapped so tight in two of them it didnt even hurt when one of my student head butted me 4 days post op my recent tuck. I wish I could take mine off at night, that would really help me sleep more but with no drains since day 2 post op my doc demands i keep wrapped up 24/7

When I had my new band put in I had the lower port put in because I was so close to my goal weight. Even with the low profile port you could still see it stick out. I had it moved after my first tummy tuck and the empty space of where it used to be was still there. Now after a second tummy tuck the empty space i still visible but my port was moved under my muscles in another area. Sometimes things dont always go as planned with surgeries because your body lying down looks different when standing up

I have been completely quiet about my band. My family doesn't know, my friends here don't know and only 9 months after being banded did I tell my best friend. Other then that the only other people who know I am banded are the people at my doctors office and his patients I help ( for support for them and myself). I didnt tell anyone because i didnt want to hear allthe negative things people would say. Also my BMI was low and I live half way across the world from my family. I have also had some plastics done that again no one knows about. I will eventually tell people some things ( only closest people) but only what they will be able to figure out ( not lipo but tt scar is hard to hide)

I had problems with how my belly button looked after surgery too. Then i had to have surgery through my belly button 2 more times. Now I have tried to have it corrected 2 more times with no luck. Your belly button is a tricky thing to fix because when u lie down your belly button looks a lot different then when you are standing. Give it time to heal and if you dont like it maybe talk to your doctor about what you want to do with it.

I have lost weight, gained it back, lost it again, gained it back etc many times. WHen I was skinny I would find some of the best clothes and I always refused to throw them away. Even when I got to my low weight when I could wear those clothes and they still didn't fit I kept them. Now I am at a lower weight then when the clothes used to fit me and now they are too big. It makes me feel great to look at myself in those clothes and remember all the frustration I used to feel towards them because now I love them so much more because they are now too big. I would keep the those clothes and have them as motivation. Then when you are too small for the clothes you can have a good laugh at all the anger you had towards them

I accidentally found out that I had erosion but only 3mm ion size 4 months post op. We are not sure how it happened. Maybe your band unclipped itself or wasnt properly placed in your stomach? It is kind of weird to have that bad of erosion so soon

Here is a great website to compare different surgeries http://www.lapband.com/en/learn_about_lapband/compare_lapband/

Just as everyone has said everyone is different after surgery. I didn't tell my work or ask for time off. I had my surgery on a Saturday afternoon and went back on the Monday. As a teacher it was a bit of a challenge but being on my feet helped get rid of the gas ( my doc wanted me to stay in the hospital longer because he thought my lungs might collapse but I didnt stay) which helped me recover faster.

the lapband 4cc I believe is the first generation lapband. It isn't really used in the states anymore but sometimes used in Mexico and Asia etc. I believe the use Jackut (sp?) has this band size. Here is some more info Band info

my blog is about my band and my plastics www.alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com

I have traveled with the band on flights as long as 3-13 hours and don't really have any problems. Sometimes my shoulder hurts a bit at take off but over all I can generally eat small mounts of certain things and drink liquids.

After my first band surgery I nearly cried when my doc showed me my belly button the day after surgery. It looked so gross and weird, I nearly regretted the surgery because it looked so bad. After a few weeks I tried to put back in my belly button piercing with no luck. Then I tried to put in the piercing from the top hole down and out came a whole lot of something that had gotten into the piercing and that was causing the trouble at the bottom hole. So why dont you try putting in the piercing from the top down just to see if it fits. If it doesn't try a smaller piercing just to get the hole started again. After 4 surgeries on my belly button now, it works every time for me

During surgery they put a tube down your throat. This is what is probably causing this feeling. I had it after my surgery and it was so annoying. I would wake up in the middle of the night from it, would lose my voice because of it during class while teaching etc. I called my doc and went to see him right away because it was freaking me out. He explained it was common and happens because of the tube. Here is my experience http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2009/10/24/week-two-post-op/

I have been banded ( a few months not in between bands) since Oct 2009 and I havent told my family yet. Why? Well I live half way across the world from them and with a low bmi they would freak out and think the surgery was pointless. They wouldn't understand as they didnt see how much weight I had gained. I did go home for a visit and they noticed my different eating habits but because I was sick they didnt think anything of it. When they came to visit me I was still eating differently so they questioned it but since I am almost at goal they didnt bother me with it. I will tell them one day just not yet. I am still having some plastics done and dont want to tell them everything I have done but will tell them the big things ( ie incisions I cant hide). I am not embarrassed I had the surgery, I just know they won't take it well. Not everyone wants to tell the world all about their lives and things they do. For me I didn't tell my family mostly because of distance, for my local friends I didnt tell them because friendships in Korea are messed up ( more details read here http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/to-tell-or-not-to-tell/) I explain my new eating habits a few ways depending on the person ( ie if they knew me for long, if they are new friends etc) Here are a few explanations I am on a new diet and restricting my breads/carbs etc I eat small more frequent meals and therefore my stomach seems smaller I am trying to eat healthier my stomach is adjusting to the change of foods ( food in asia compared to north america is very different)

My doctor has never said no to alcohol. He even said beer is ok if your not at full restriction. For me I stick to wine or mixed drinks were I can add more of the juice or Water to make sure I dont get tipsy too fast. Sometimes I have baileys and coffee or with milk, wine, cran vodka etc. My doc knows I drink and says it is ok as long as it is not all the time. Some docs are different and say no alcohol because it is empty calories.

I still drink and it is never a problem. I tend not to have beer now that I have good restriction but other drinks that are not carbonated are ok. Like others said be prepared for a low tolerance. I get tipsy after one glass of wine. The band is not supposed to restrict your life but give you more life. If you want a drink have one but dont over do it

At partyings and gatherings it can be easy to mingle and not bring attention to your self. If you move around and chat with lots of people they won't notice your not eating if your only spending a short time with them. As for drinking, wine is ok to sip with meals. As for bubbly drinks you can sometimes have some it depends on your band. I wait for the bubbles to disappear a bit and then slowly sip. You can still appear normal without having to shout I HAVE A BAND! As for dating if you don't want to spill the Beans right away then try to stick to dates that don't involve so much food or cook something that you can have. No one knows about my band and I have gone on dates and cook for friends all the time. It is only when I am overfilled that people wonder whats wrong with me. It is easy to get away with not eating a lot if you are the hostess because you can come up with excuses to have to get up and do things ( thus eating slowly and not a lot). I just pulled off Christmas with a group of friends with ease

Try to keep your old eating habits even though your unfilled. I know it can be hard but you might find you still have some restriction too. I was debanded a few months ago and even after I lost the band, I was still getting stuck on certain food. Even a month without a band plus 2 weeks of being unfilled before that and I didn't gain a pound! You can do this

I wish I had brought less. You dont spend that much time there so you dont need that much. I traveled alone so it was a pain to bring everything back home by myself. Here is a good list of things to bring http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/surgery-tips-and-first-photo-of-me/

I believe I waited 2 weeks but you should listen to your doctor and your body. If you try something and it is too much then don't continue. I think aerobic exercise would be ok but your stomach might hurt a little with some movements.

I think my family and friends love when I am on a "diet" or eating healthy because I love to bake and cook more. It helps me avoid eating bad things because I get to make it and smell it and thats good enough for me

Unfortunately there isn't a black and white answer to these questions. Doctors are different, people are different, weight losses are different and we heal differently. My doc for instance generally says 4-6 weeks after being banded to get a fill. However with my first band, I waited 7 weeks. He wanted to fill me at 4 weeks but I wasn't ready so I made an appointment for my 6th week but chickened out and got my fill on the 7th week post op. He didn't seem to argue with me about that With my second band my doc said to wait 4 weeks I went back on my 6th week and we were surprised to find my doc actually filled me during surgery and had forgotten about it. Sometimes docs fill you during surgery I believe if the band is very loose. As for healing again this changes with people. My first band after a week I had my stitches removed from my small incisions but my belly button incisions stayed stitched for 2 weeks post op. My second band everything was removed 1 week post op. I do know someone banded that had to be restitched and stapled for 3 months post op because she wasn't healing well. So try to keep your incisions clean, dry and take good care of them and your stitches will come out faster hopefully

I believe he said because of the material it is (acidic kind) and expands in your stomach. I even brought it in, to double check he knew what it was and he said yes don't use it.

I always use benefiber. You can get a kind even with some b Vitamin in it. ( here is a photo http://alienbanditinkorea.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/presents-presents-presents-bikini-photo/ ) It is great because it has no flavour and dissolves even in Water. Don't use Metamucil. My doc said this was bad bad bad and I shouldn't use it ( of course AFTER I bought a large container of it )