StephC

Last night my dd and I got caught up in a show about gastric bypass patients who have lost weight and now going through full body lifts. Some of them had 3 and 4 surgerys. I couldn't watch some parts of it, the lipo totally freaks me out. If you watch it you'd understand why theres so much pain afterward. Its not like the dentist assistant who gently sucks the spit out of your mouth, they take that rod and ram it - ouch! Then when they are cutting off the excess skin, they just stretch and pull and move that stuff all around. It just seemed so rough to me. Sorry if this is tmi but even though it freaked me out I'm still going through with it and even during the show I clapped my hands and yelled I CAN'T WAIT!!! The results are amazing, just amazing - as we've seen on our lapband friends who've shared with us. I'm getting so excited!

Isn't it crazy how on one hand we can look forward to getting through menopause and then on the other the dread of knowing what we have to go through? Hmmm... kinda like ps. :thumbup: I can't wait to get it done and yet dreading the pain and down time I'll have to go through.

dang you girl! tell us EVERYTHING!

Believe it or not - YES my tt is covered 100%! An act of God. Seriously I did some heavy praying about it. My insurance is covering the pennicultomy and the abdomoplasty - (apron removal and tt). I am estactic to be having it done. Your right I do deserve it! :thumbup: I agree about teaching your children good eating habits. None of my kids are overweight - yet - thank heavens. But I only have one left at home, she's 17 and since I've had the surgery she has completely changed her eating habits. She reads every label. Doesn't eat if she's not hungry and although she still likes donuts and ice cream she saves them for a treat - I'm very proud of how she eats. We went shopping today for a prom dress, and this was the first time I felt good about my appearance. I was always the fat mom with the skinny girls, and tho they never said anything I always felt out of place. Now I felt proud to be with her, like I looked as good as she does but as her mom. Do you know what I mean - if that makes any sense? As Cantweight said yes you do go through a period of hunger during the mushy stage. At 4 weeks post op I begged my dr to give me a fill but he wouldn't until 6 weeks. I never gained any weight at any point, but I have gone through those "dry" spells when I didnt' lose. But like I said just refocus and get a fill and get back on the bandwagon. Keep your support tight and you'll do great. Not everyone loses at the same rate so don't let others success or failures dictate where you should be. Be happy with every pound that comes off.

Are you on hr's? I was at a St. Pats party and there were 3 of my gf's there who are 51 this year and all 3 smack dab in the middle of menopause. One of them is on pills, and I understand they are stronger then the patch, one of them is on the patch and loves it, said it does the trick and the 3rd is on nothing - very naturalistic approach. I figure when it gets bad enough I'm going for the patch. Sounds like its low dose and gets the job done. The one on the pills said she's calling her gyno to switch to the patch. I figure why be miserable? Oops - all that said and I re-read your post and see you did get a hormone shot. I hope you're feeling better.

4meonly - how ya doing? Keep us posted - we all are thinking of you!

My ps told me I shouldn't need lipo, I don't really have any back fat (I'm telling ya - its all in the belly!) so he said he doesnt' see the need but he said he has the equipment at the hospital and if he thinks I need it its just a matter of rolling it in to the OR. I asked about lipo on the upper belly (where he wants me to lose another 10 lbs) and he said its inside and not something we can suck out.

Hi Bandfan and welcome to bandland! :teeth_smile: Yes we do have simular stats - AND a size 8 is achievable! I'm almost there now, my 10 are starting to get loose. I'm due to have a tummy tuck on May 1st so you and I will be having surgery the same day. My ps wants me to lose another 10 lbs before my surgery, so with that and the tt I'm pretty sure I'll be a size 8. I have an apple shape, and it never fails when I lose weight it comes off my butt first and my belly last. I was banded almost 16 months ago - the weight has come off in spurts. The first few months were great, then I slacked off, got a better fill started losing again, then I slacked off, got a fill, started losing again - I might go a few months and only lose a pound a month. Like the last time I had been in was Sept, I lost 10 lbs that month, and then slacked off, and so it took me 5 months to lose the next 10 lbs. When the ps wanted me to lose another 10 I went back in and got a nice tight fill and have already lost 6 lbs in a week & 1/2. I've had 7 fills so far, my advice is if you arent' losing get an adjustment. Whether its a fill, or attitude adjustment, get it done. Support is 90% for me - I NEED support. I caught up with a group of girls who had it done the same month as me and most of us have stayed in touch the whole time on lbt. I go to support group every month through my dr. and my family has been great. I choose not to tell the people I work with that I had the surgery and I'm not telling them I'm having the tt - just too personal for me to share with people I don't really care about. But my church knows and since there are 4 ladies who have had gastric bypass I figured no point trying to hide it. Also 2 of the ladies are sisters and their brother (who doesnt' go to my church) had the band a few months after me and goes to my support group. So no point trying to hide it. I'm not a manic exerciser but I do walk everyday - on a losing streak I'll walk 4 miles a day. But try to walk at least 1 mile a day - although in my lazy streaks I didnt' walk at all. I've lost 71 lbs now and I LOVE my band, I'd do it again tomorrow and I'm VERY pleased with my results. I didnt' come into this expecting to lose the weight over night. I knew the band is only a tool and without me to use the tool correctly it wouldn't have worked. Set you eye on a long term goal and you'll hit it. Good luck and feel free to pm anytime you have questions.

Good luck Tracy! I know how exciting it is!

ok - I see it now - if you wouldn't have circled it I wouldn't have noticed. Whats that from? I understood from my ps that the top part of my stomach had inner fat. Would that still cause a pouch? Hmmm interesting.

Va sounds like things are going good for you - keeping my fingers crossed for this job.

Boo I'm glad to hear you are going to see an image guy. I have my days when I still think I'm fat then I have days where I think heck I'm looking good, then I have days when nothing fits and I'm like when did I lose this weight. But normally I feel pretty good about where I am and think I have a good body image. I know I'm not at all thin, and not even in the normal bmi range yet but I dont' feel OBESE anymore either. I hope I feel good about myself when I get this tt - I've been reading how other people see all the other problem areas when they get one fixed. Wheres the pic you were posting?

I didnt see the pouch but sometimes we notice things more then someone else that looks at it. I did talk to the dr about how you had no drains and he said how they use a glue - and went into detail about that, but he (and my sister) said the drains really aren't that big of a deal and that he thinks only 3 days unless theres some bleeding or something like that. And the way I'm understanding it, I'll be in for 3 days so it sounds like I'll come home without the drains. I need to check on that bc I might have misunderstood him. Anyway you look MARVVVVVolous Darling - I hope I have as good of results as you and Karey - you too really have been an encouragement to me. Oh and the unfill - yep my band dr wants me unfilled too , but just a day or 2 prior and he PROMISED me I can get my whole fill back the next week. So until then I'm working my butt off to get these last 10 or hopefully 20 lbs off.

Looking good! Have you lost more weight since the surgery? You look like you've lost alot.

I agree - I am one of the luckier ones who never got hardly any stretch marks - and I was HUGE when I was pregnant - HUGE is an understatement - yes I did use cocoa butter and Vitamin E lotions and creams but my mother had 7 kids and she hardly has a stretch mark. Genetics - thats about it. Like I said before my arms, legs and face all went back real good - just the belly, that was stretched beyond repair. Well that is repair without ps.

I only had reflux in the morning, I'd get up with dh and either have a cup of coffee or drink of Water and lay back down and it'd start. So I stopped getting a drink before laying back down. My dr says sometimes you need a little tightening - and now that I think about it since I had my last fill I havent' had the reflux - or maybe it just bc I stopped drinking and laying down! The other thing I was getting was the gas pains. I would wake up at night with this pain in my back and feel like I had to burp - so I sit up and out comes this huge burp - big ole stinky burp - and I took gasx a few times too. I don't know what was causing that but I suspect it was eating before bed. With this new fill I've cut out all snacking.

LJM - I can't wait to see your updated pics! Was your ps pushing you to lose more weight before surgery? I think by the time we were done talking he was ok with me getting it done now. I think he thought that I was using the tt as a means of weight loss. Then as we talked and he would ask do you have any questions and I would say yes... I did do research and... blah blah blah... so by the time we were done he said I think you are ready for this, I can see through your questions and research that you have thought this through. I think it also helped by having my dd with me and her piping in and saying hey I don't want her to be MY size.

hi girls - I tried posting last night but the site was messed up! Boo are you too thin? Seriously whats your bmi? 21.7? I just did my youngest daughters she's 5'2" and 115 - she's 21 on the nose. I think your mom is just worried about you. You have to remember this is all new to them, even tho you've been losing the weight for over a year. I don't worry about my dd bc she looks great to me, but she also looks very normal for a 17 y/o girl and I've watched her grow into this weight where as your momma has watched you FALL into this weight. Just reassure her that you are still in the normal bmi and then I suggest you don't go below the normal. You have to remember just as too fat is unattractive so is too skinny. Keep that in your head and you'll be ok. BTW - wth 6 feet tall! I don't think I've ever dated a guy 6 ft tall! LOL joking with ya sweetie - we come from the land of little people, I'm the tallest girl in my family hitting an all time high of 5'3" and my dh is a whopping 5'8" - I'm pleased to say my son hit 5'9" but my girls didn't catch up to me. Typing all that brought to mind a young girl from our church - not so young now, around 25 I think, anyway she was heavy as a teenager and she decided to lose the weight - all on her own - she cut out fats and started running - she also was 6' tall, when she was 210 she wore glasses, braces and did the goth look - at 150 she was on the homecoming court, and was tall blonde and beautiful! I think you'll be fine - just remember there is such a thing as too skinny. Va - so good to hear from you!!!!!!! Whats up with the job - are you hired or what? Mr "Friend" still hanging around you? He likes you - you know that - just a matter of time and he'll want to make wild passionate love to you. He probably already does but has too much baggage to move on it. Hang in there. I got my date for the tummy tuck. Excited and disappointed at the same time. May 1st - which I know is just around the corner and the ps wants me to lose another 10 lbs pre-surgery so that gives me a month to work on it. But its getting into the golf season and I do the billing on the first - have payroll the next week and since I do the billing on the 1st that means the checks roll in the next week and that means running to the bank...blah blah blah - dang it - I won't stress myself out. Theres alot of good happening with it so slap me! The good is - its on a Thurs which means I'll have the whole weekend to recoup before I start to worry if I need to go into work. I'll be in the hospital 2-3 days so thats alot of bed rest. DD is home from college that week so that means she can tend to my life. The ps said I should only need the drainage tubes for 3 days - that excited me. This gives me a WHOLE month to get these next 10 lbs off me. Maybe I'll get 20 off? Doubtful but possible - I lost 5 lbs this past week, so its possible. OHHHHHHHH I almost forgot. Huge thing for me. Last night niece counldn't walk with me so I went alone - its an inside track - another friend of mine was there so we walked together for a mile and then she was done. So I had another mile to go by myself - I ran. No not the whole mile - I'm not Bman! - but I ran 3 laps! Dang I'm proud of myself. Boo - your tailbone?!! LMAO

I got my date May 1st at 8am. I'm a little stressed about the date but I'm going to deal with it. I'm the office manager - well I'm the ONLY office person at the club I work at so if I'm not there it doesnt' get done - April and May are still alittle slow but I do the billing on the 1st of the month - so I'll have to do them a day early - and my surgery is on Thursday which is good bc that gives me the weekend to recoup but then I have payroll that next week. I normally do it on Mondays but if I'm not feeling up to it I can push it to Wed. - I talked with my dr about it - and they do have me as the standby if someone would cancel but she said thats highly unlikely - he said he thought a week off and then 1/2 days would be good - but it doesn't look like I'll get my whole week off. I've decided if I have to I'll go in the evenings in my jammies when no one is around. Now on the positive side - the dr wants me to try to get to 150 before my surgery - thats just 10 lbs - I think I can do 10 lbs in a month. Maybe I'll do 20!!!!!!!!!

I don't know what batwings are can someone explain?

Karey - my sister had a tummy tuck about 4-5 years ago, she was around 53-54 and was in menopause but it was still the pre-meno stage. But when she had her tt it threw her headfirst into full blown menopause. I guess that we store our hormones in our fat, she had so much of her fat cut off that it did a number on her. She really had a horrible time with the tt, not bc of the surgery - she said as far as the surgery went she was back to norm in a week - but it was the mental that really took its toll on her. She keeps assuring me it won't happen to me - but I'm prepared bc knowledge is power.

I'm very happy to finally have a surgery date but he kept stressing that I have fat in the upper stomach area that needs to go and that to get the best results I need to lose that. I plan to lose another 10 or more this month. I'll work my butt off to do it, and thats pretty literal. My butt is where it comes off. If I lose another 10 lbs I'll be a size 8, I could actually fit in a snug 8 now if it weren't for the apron. I had on my 10's yesterday and they were baggy in the butt and I said to my dh look where that 5 lbs came off, if I lose anymore I'm not gonna have a butt - he just smiled and said you'll always have a butt. I hope with this tummy tuck I'll finally look portioned nice. Oh to have a flat tummy - tell me its possible. When the doctor was talking about my belly fat, which he's not concerned about the lower fat/flab/flap just the upper fat thats under the ribcage - anyhoo when he was talking about it, my dd who is 17 said but she always had a tummy, even I have a tummy. She's a size 3. He said thats true bc you have the inner fat (heritary) which I can't do anything about. My dd also told him at one point - now don't make her as small as me. Then she told him that her and her 21 y/o sister don't want me to get smaller then them. Which is when I chimed in and said about being happy with the size I am without the belly, I'm 46 I don't want to look 17 again. Oh well today is a new day and I'm going to make a new ticker to count down my days to til I make it to the flatlands!

I got my date - May 1st. Not as soon as I had liked but I'm happy. He would like me to lose 10 more lbs so that gives me a whole month to get off as much as possible.

Whats so strange about a guy being attracted to a beautiful girl? Brandi you have to start believing in yourself. You are very attractive, even in oversized sweats and smelling like yesterdays garbage. LOL Really it doesn't suprise me at all, and sometimes the guy needs to see you in that light to get up the nerve to ask you out. Ya know what I'm saying? Maybe he saw you and thought hey she's cool enough to run to the store in her sweats, maybe she's cool enough to go out with me. Anyway you are beautiful and it doesn't suprise me at all. Wish me luck and say a prayer for me today, I have my ps visit at 3:00, I'm hoping and praying they give me an early April date. Oh btw I'm down another pound this morning. 160 on the nose! I'm going to flip when I hit the 150's! Just so hard to believe I've come this far! I knew it was possible but just never thought I'd see it.

I go today to my 3rd visit with ps. I'm hoping they set an early April date for my surgery. I'm nervous and excited!