biggerloserthanbefore

Hello all!!! I hope everyone is doing well! I haven't been on here in quite some time but I thought I would stop in and say hello. I am doing great! Since my last update (who knows when that was) I have: lost a total of 41 pounds had 3 fills for a total of 5.5ccs in my 10cc band (fourth on 7/7/10) completed the Couch to 5K program run a 5k signed up for my next race (4miler) fit into (snug, I will say) a size 16 at gap!!!! felt better than I ever have!!! again, I hope everyone is doing wonderfully. Keep up the great work everyone!!!! check out my youtubevideos (link in signature) for more in depth updates from me, I update it every Tuesday (sometimes more).

I am one week post op and luckily I am not overly hungry yet but I will let you know tomorrow... I would say my surprises were: how quickly I am recovering. Zero pain today and honestly I was up and about day 2 with ease. secondly though was the extreme of the gas pains immediately post op. I knew enough to expect them but I didn't know it would be like that. nothing describes it well enough, words anyway. don't worry though if you're pre op, it dissipates quickly once you get moving! also, since this was my first surgery, it is such an odd feeling drifting off with anesthesia and waking up in recovery after what feels like 1 second later...I did have some weird dreams but I went to sleep and woke right back up, in my mind anyway.

For me a week seems to be plenty. Now, I am still a little sore but over all after I get out of bed in the morning and get moving I am fine. Some people differ on the length of recovery before work but my advice would be that as long as you force yourself to really get moving often the first few days after surgery, a week would be fine to go back to a job like mine (or yours :smile2:) that doesn't require lifting or staying on your feet a lot. So if you want to ensure that you will feel up to going back in a week try to move as much as possible soon after surgery, it has really helped me :smile2: from what I can tell anyway. Thanks for watching my youtube videos! I am glad it can be of some help to pre-oppers, I found it to be a great resource, as is lapbandtalk.com

congrats cynpatt on your surgery!!! So day 4 post op and I took a 2 hour car ride to indianapolis and back to visit a friend...my grandma drove but still, I didn't expect to be feeling this good already! I am free of gas pains and am just a little sore in the ab muscles. I have only really felt a bit hungry in the mornings but luckily a protein shake cures that (special K protein shakes are awesome!) I am proud of myself so far because my family has been eating around me and it doesn't bother me at all (I thought it would). I don't have the same appetite as I did before, which is awesome and although I am sure it will come back, its great for now!! I am drinking all fluids just fine and I honestly can't believe it has only been 4 days!! I plan on going back to work on Monday but it will only be a 2 hour shift and I get to sit (I work at a tutoring center) Stevie - did you get the lap band or realize? either way, can early march bandsters feel your port yet (under the skin, obviously)? odd question maybe but I can't feel mine yet, could be because there's still swelling. just curious. :smile2: looking forward to my first scale visit (my at home wii fit scale) on Tuesday!!

haha, I mostly want the youtube videos for my own documentation but I hope they can be of some help to others too. I think I have dissolving stiches with steri-strips on top. and i think my incisions look a bit worse than they are cause of the steri-strips. glad to hear everyone is doing well *march 1 and 2 bandsters*!! :smile2:

I agree, this thread is great. I just graduated from my undergrad in december and have planned this semester for my banding (which happened on Tuesday 3/2/10!!!!!!) and healing. I am heading to grad school in the fall so I will still be (somewhat) of a collegiate bandster! this is a great place to find others like me and the support I need! I love seeing everyones progress and success!

I am now day 2 post op and already I am feeling so much better! Not that I was feeling terrible yesterday but honestly I am excited at how well I am doing. I really don't feel like laying around all day but I am getting the rest I need, when I need it. I am so excited for all of us March bandsters and for those towards the end of the month, don't worry, your day will be here before you know it!!!!

at home and doing well! go to my youtube for my video update day 1 post-op... www.youtube.com/lapbandchick2010

That's awesome! Glad you found my youtube channel. I have found watching other people's journeys via youtube as a great resource. It's motivating and informational! everyone should check it out. my channel is www.youtube.com/lapbandchick2010 but in general you can just search lap band on youtube and you'll find loads of people documenting their journey through video. Leaving for the hospital in 30 minutes! Thanks again, everyone, for the well wishes! :w00t:

good luck all you March 2nd bandsters!!!! 8 hours and I am at the hospital! Thanks for everyone's support - post again once I got the band!!! :w00t:

63 (ish) hours until my surgery!!! Isn't it wonderful that March begins Monday!! It is finally our turn March bandsters!! :wink2:

Congrats!! I'm sure you are ready! I keep asking myself if I am ready too but the answer is always...ABSOLUTELY YES!!! I'm on Tuesday too! Good Luck!!! :cursing:

I am sure everyone feels some type of nerves pre surgery. I am getting banded on Tuesday and have been going through the process for about a year. I had an odd realization yesterday...every step in the process, every hoop I had to jump through for insurance approval never really felt connected. I was just going through the motions and knowing that at the end there would be surgery but never really thinking about how I would handle the changes emotionally as well as physically and mentally. It is finally time to think of the process and see its culmination - my lapband and it is just plain weird to me. I can't believe I am already at this point. I am excited and scared but I know I need to do this. I know that I cannot lose the weight on my own and I know that I have a great potential to succeed with this tool. I am nervous and sure I have had some second thoughts but none that I would follow through on. We all began our journey because we knew we could benefit from the procedure. Don't lose track of why you began in the first place and you'll have courage to see it through. It will all be worth it, I'm sure! :cursing:

Stevie - I haven't been told to stop taking BC...did they give you a reason for that? And I feel the same about my metal...now I don't have as much :mad2: but I do have three ear piercings (in each ear) and a belly piercing soooo I guess I'll take them out and hope for the best. Do you know a chain type place I can buy retainers for all of the above? (for relatively cheap) Thanks!! ps. to everyone -I totally twisted my ankle last night and I don't even know how (something to do with a curb and my head being somewhere else completely)...my surgery is Tuesday and now my ankle is bothering me. I thought to myself (as it was happening) "Really Whitney...really? of all times to get hurt, this is not an option". It's more funny than anything but it does hurt. I will keep trying to work it out so that I can WALK on Tuesday...:eek:

Hello again all. It is wonderful to hear of so many others who will be starting their journey at the same time as me...I will think of that often in the good and bad times and probably come here often for support! So my date is just under a week away and I am getting quite nervous. I have never had surgery before and I have never spent the night in a hospital. The whole process is scareing me a bit. I know that the whole thing is worth it and that I will be so happy probably about a week post-op but as the date approaches I can hardly believe it seeing as how I have waited so long for it to come. Again, my date is March 2, 2010. Any words of encouragement and support about the hospital experience and surgery in general is welcomed. I am scared of the pain because for me, I have no idea what to expect and although I am quite tolerant of pain I have never been through something like this. I hope that everything goes well and that the nerves and butterflies go away. I want and need to do this and I will not chicken out but I really need to get my head in a good place in order to be ready for 11am next tuesday...(still can't believe it) again, any advice and kind words are welcomed. :wink:

My name is Whitney and I have a lot of life experience with the lap band. for the past 7 years I have watched my father succeed with the surgery and for the last 5 I have witnessed my step-mother do the same. I knew that with my family history the lapband would be a fantastic tool to help me become the person outside that I have always felt like inside. So, after about 5 years of considering the surgery and an acutal 11.5 months of preparing with doctors visits etc. I have finally gotten my insurance approval and surgery date! Thanks to all of you out there in lapbandtalk-land who have continued to offer advice and encouragement. Very excited to begin my lapband journey!!!

My name is Whitney Date of Surgery: March 2nd Where Surgery will be: Kentucky Doctor/Center: Dr. Jeff Allen/Norton Suburban Hospital Seminar date: March 2009 1st consult date: Dec 17, 2009 Consults and tests completed: Nutritionist, Psych Tests still needed: Pre-Op How is surgery funded? Humana Insurance Concerns? -Being able to relearn to eat. -Surgery Complications (never had surgery before) Reason for banding? Many many reasons... My dad and step-mom have been banded for over 5 years. My mom had gastric bypass. I have an extensive family history of obesity and obesity related illnesses. I am 23 and have been participating in various sports and atheletic activities for the entirety of my life yet I have remained overweight. Every doctor appointment my physician will tell me that I am severely obese (um, duh) but also that my boold work and all tests run are perfect. No high blood pressure, heart problems, breathing problems...nothing. How frustrating is it for me to hear that I am healthy but not healthy...hmm, awful. Sooo, now I will finally have the tool to help me look the way I feel...Healthy! Of course there are the confidence and outward appearance related reasons. I have always been the fat kid in class. It was quite satisfying, I must say, to be able to out play many of my classmates and team mates when I was on sports teams. they'd always say...wow, I didn't think you'd be that fast. hmm, kind of an insult to assume that I was slow just becasue I was overweight but whatever...:biggrin:. I have trouble believing in myself, in more than one area. I have trouble seeing the fantastic parts of myself - intelligent, beautiful, talented...etc because of my outward appearance. Sad, but true. all in all - I am ready for this journey to begin! Good luck fellow march 2010 bandsters!!!! :wink2:

I am about to have my lap band surgery the first week of March with Dr. Allen. Both of my parents have had the lap band surgery with Dr. Allen and so far my experience with him and especially his office and support staff has been wonderful. I would reccommend Dr. Allen for sure! Good Luck!

I am getting very excited because I am getting closer to actually getting LAP-BAND®...a process in which I began March 18, 2009. I have my surgeons visit December 17, 2009 and then I was wondering what I should expect. I have humana insurance, how long does it generally take to get approval/denial notice. My doc said about 4-6 weeks but is there anyone in Kentucky with humana insurance that has a better estimate of the timeline? Thanks!