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Currently on day 5 of post op. I had a really hard time expelling stomach gas. For some reason day 3 was the worst. It's easing up now & getting easier to belch. I can only hope it will all together just go away. If seated, sometimes helps to stand & walk around to "work it loose".

Anyone out there? I had surgery with Dr. Singh 5/07, I've been stuck and not loosing and am working hard on that, but everyone I seem to talk to there has had the RNY. Looking for some local support/friends

Wonderful to news to hear about the skin tightening effects ... I know the zoo was a lot of fun for you!

Just bring what ever you want to wear loose sweats - I personally as a guy jumped into a pair of cut of sweat pants and a loose shirt. Its game time after surgery and walking the halls is the key. so you most likely do not want your ass hanging out so comfy loose clothes. As for the waist thing i say no f'in way - I do not think you want compression or anything pushing on your belly

I couldn’t tolerate anything around my waist. Not painful just uncomfortable. I used to roll down the waistbands of my pants to under the incision wounds. So maybe a loose dress for when you go home. I know a few people on this forum have used tummy binders but I didn’t & neither did my friends who had sleeve surgery. I don’t know if you’d really need one for a laparoscopic surgery but ask your surgeon what they recommend. Funnily, I used to find it soothing to gently hold my hand over my belly. My friend said she did too. Don’t know why.

Skin removed any thoughts

I smile , say thank you and try to get away as fast as possible….lol….seriously!!! I posted a while back on just this thing. You and I are similar in our stats and our weight loss right down to the 22/24 into a 12. I had someone tell me at work that I don't need to lose anymore weight …and yes another 40-50 off is in my plans. It becomes quite annoying, not only the comments on the loss but how I look and my choices for losing more. And I still have people commenting loudly about how I look even though I've had the new properly fitting clothes for a while now. The hardest comment for me to hear is that I look like a "totally different person" …that one gets me. Like you said, we are not any different….just somewhat slimmer…and I too am battling the saggy-ness and beginning to look into the possibility of skin surgery….somewhere down the road. So on top of the comments…good, bad and ugly (as I called them in my post)…I have to figure out how I feel with what I see in the mirror most days…. As for coping….I just keep on moving with a very big smile on my face ….that is my only suggestion….although sometimes in the back of my mind Im thinking…please just shut the hell up and don't ask me what "my secret is" or how long it took or what I'm doing….those are as bad as the comments….. ….hence the big smile ….thanks so much and move it, move it, move it! I figure it has to get "old" soon enough. Best of luck on dealing with this and if you come up with anything good please send it my way!

http://imperfectlife.net/ilovemyuglybody/ Love it!!!!!!

If you order a child's plate and still ask for a doggy bag for leftovers, you might be a gastric sleever. If your arms flap in the wind like a sail due to loose skin, you might be a gastric sleever. If you go days without seeing a single turd, you might be a gastric sleever. If you have to bear down like giving birth to get a turd out, you might be a gastric sleever. If you can't get through a day without someone making a compliment, you might be a gastric sleever. If you are obsessed with the scale at your house, you might be a gastric sleever If you go to the store and grab 3 sizes to try on because you have no idea what size you are, you might be a gastric sleever. If you walk into a regular size department and feel like everyone is staring because you don't belong in there (but you do), you might be a gastric sleever. If you involuntarily gag watching other people gorge on food, you might be a gastric sleever. If you used to shop at Victoria's Secret for undies and bras, but find yourself at Wal Mart for cheapies for multiple size replacements, you might be a gastric sleever. If you find yourself in the pictures of Wal Mart (the Internet pictures that float around), buying underwear in loose fitting Goodwill clothes, you might be a gastric sleever. If you trip on your feet constantly because your shoes that are to big, you might be a gastric sleever. If you can no longer tell time because your watch is so loose and sits halfway up your arm and backwards, you might be a gastric sleever. That's it for now. I'll see if I can think of more. Fun thread!

I feel like my port is in the same spot but that my skin has moved. Not so much fat under there now.

If you have documented medical problems from the excess skin, you may be able to get insurance to help. Hernias can be fixed at the same time, but have no relation to excess skin and the insurance companies go to great lengths to provide the research that shows this on their websites: Abdominoplasty, Suction Lipectomy, and Ventral Hernia Repair AETNA and most of the other companies adgere to these guidleines. "Aetna considers panniculectomy experimental and investigational for minimizing the risk of hernia formation or recurrence. There is no adequate evidence that pannus contributes to hernia formation. The primary cause of hernia formation is an abdominal wall defect or weakness, not a pulling effect from a large or redundant pannus." Because I am double board-certified (in general surgery and lpastic surgery) I will repair the hernia while I do the tummy tuck. The hospital will agree to seriously discount the fees they charge my patients for the tummy tuck, and the overnight stays are also covered. In this manner, a hernia may "help" you receive a tummy tuck at a discounted price. Realize that a "panniculectomy" is NOT an abdominoplasty and does not provide a result that I consider favorable...so beware of a physician who will do a "panni" and call it a "tummy tuck." "Panni" photos are at PictureTrail John LoMonaco, F.A.C.S. Plastic Surgery Houston, Texas www.Bodylifthouston.com John LoMonaco M.D., P.A.

I have a humidifier by my bed and a bottle of water. I wake up during the night w/a dry mouth and take a sip of water. I'm hoping as I loose more weight that this will stop. I've tried breathe right strips for the nose that sometimes helps. Why this happens I really don't know but it is worse if I sleep on my back.

My friend tells me that I'd probably be below 200 lbs if I had plastics. I weighed in at 203 today, so if I had the excess skin removed I probably would be below 200. But since I don't really know what the excess skin weighs, I don't try to handicap my weight. To determine if I want to lose more weight, I look in the mirror and try to evaluate how I look. I ask my best friend (who I completely trust to be honest) how he thinks I look. Then I decide if I want to lose more weight. I hope this helps.

Girl, I have about 5 weeks and I feel like I'm going to pop out of my skin I'm so excited. I hope you stay focused and encouraged! As far as the turkey goes...you're on your own there. :confused:

Hello All, I had the lap band put in five years ago, and it hasn't been the best journey. I've had two revisions due to the band being punctured at fills, one in which it snapped and was poking me all over inside. We've never been able to find the sweet spot...it's either no restriction or so tight I can't get good Protein down. So in the past 5 months or so I have had unexplained swelling in my feet, ankles and calves. My regular physcian says it's due to sitting at work. Long story short, I had my band released a little bit (like .5 cc) and it was so loose that I had no restriction. She put more in, no restriction filled it back to where it was too tight at one point and still no restriction. I am now scheduled for an endoscopy to see if I have band erosion. Honestly, I feel like my body is rejecting the band. I'm holding Fluid everywhere...my belly feels like I have a bowling ball in it, my shoulders ache and my chiropractor today confirmed that he can tell my body has changed..he said my body is much tighter indicating to him I am full of fluids. My body hurts, my feet, ankles and knees are the worst...I can hardly stand to walk. I can't get comfortable when I try to sleep So I am wondering, have any of you been through this, and if you have, what did you do to help yourself? I cut out as much sodium in my diet to see if that was an issue, but it hasn't made a difference. TIA!

My month 6 sucked too.... very little weight loss but I did notice lots of changes in my clothes. pants that were tight are now loose and all of a sudden my stomach got smaller around. So no weight loss but my body did change. I think.... I think... I gained a lot of muscles this month since I did kick up more exercise so that may be the cause. I agree with @@Inner Surfer Girl - Embrace it. I am sure the weight loss will come again.

I did the same thing Trishadish said.... I reminded myself that I had surgery to help me get healthy! I spent $17,000 of my own money and will be making monthly payments for the next five years. In more ways than one, this is an investment in myself and I need to be true to that. I think of this surgery as my last chance out of misery, and if I blow this, then I truly am lost. The real me that is hiding under the fat, will never emerge. Another thing that really helped me, it might not work for everyone.... but during my research before surgery, I watched the surgery being performed on You Tube. I was shocked when I saw that our body fat doesn't just rest neatly under our ever-expanding skin. It crawls all over our internal organs and clings to them like moss. To me it seemed like all my fat was smothering my stomach, my liver, my heart. I couldn't get that image out of my mind when I would think about eating fatty things. After I'd been back on "normal" foods for about a week, I decided I wanted to do some baby back ribs on the grill. One of my favorite foods. So I grilled them up and sat down at the table and when I looked down at those ribs, all I saw was how full of fat they were. I'd never noticed that before. And I just couldn't eat them. I thought.... I just had surgery to help me get rid of fat. I can't sit here and deliberately put more fat in my mouth. It's totally a head game, not a hunger game. I've been losing very slowly since surgery... I've had 2 fills and still have very little restriction. But I made up my mind before surgery that I want this, I'm ready for it, and I don't have time to wait for full restriction. I know it's very very hard. But this is a journey we chose and we need to do our best to stay on the path that takes us where we want to go.... and we're all going to detour at times, cuz we're human. Just try to pause and think before choosing what you eat.... we're all so used to blindly eating whatever we want, it takes some time to change that automatic behavior! I wish you all the best, I know you can do it!

Hi. Congratulations on your accomplishments! What you would like improved is largely a matter of personal choice. What bothers you most ? If there are several areas, you may consider combined procedures. I have found that liposuction rarely benefits weight loss patients as they have lots of skin and very little fat. Look over my website photos at patients who may look like you, and you can get an idea of what is possible. John LoMonaco M.D., P.A.

Ok so my surgery was 8/12 got nervous at first bt now i am doing well getting used to the full feeling eating a bit more then while on the liquid diet my only issue is the staples they are pushing outta my skin and need to be removed were not scheduled till 8/27 for removal bt i think they need to some out now anyways sore and adjusting for today spent the day at the beach and tomorrow is 1 week from my banding i thin i will do just fine

I have a busy life and have a crazy nutty schedule that rules my life 1 baby daddy, 2 beautiful children, 1 house to run, 1 building to operate , 1 spa to run, 9 employees sometimes varies love interests and a partridge in a pear tree. But anyway i am not 19 months post op. HAVE LOST 74 lbs !!!!! Holy crap - i know i havent blogged in a long time but i now wear a regular ladies pant size 16 comfortably sometime a 14w still having bosy issues and eating issues - think my band is about half full and i am down to only eating about 2-3 oz at a time some funnie things that have changed for me I really cant eat rice or bread without feeling uncomfortable. White heavy foods are very hard to digest so after a while i really dont even want them at all !!! imagine a fat girl not into mashed potatoes. I have to stay very conscious of what i am eating and how much. I can eat anything i really want however the volume is so small i never thought this little food would fill me but it does. After losing 8 pants sizes i find myself wanting to excercise. I bought myself a gazelle excercize machine for christmas. Is great to do 30 minutes makes it a couple miles easy workout but effecient at getting up my heart rate. I am also finding out that i have way more endurance and energy. been working like a dog doing outdoor work - cleaning taking down walls in my house never a dull moment. People have told me how thin my face looks this is where things get strange for me even though i knwo my clothes are smaller and the number on the scale has dropped when i look in the mirror i still see myself as a fat girl. I mean i am actually less than 200 lbs for the first time in like 10 years maybe more - I have never been this thin as an adult. Is great get lots of attention from guys i feel sexy - still curvy i have a big ol butt. thinkin i always will but not that i am at 199 lbs my goal is 150 that means goal is only 49 lbs away at my current rate i am losing about 1-2 lbs a week 49 lbs will be here before 2011 and we all know how fast the years can fly by have even been looking at vacations bathing suits things that just might have made my skin crawl for a while i am now embracing. Is nuts the fat girl still lives in my head though she talks to me - :eat the cake" take one more bite- save that for a little while you will eat more again soon - aaauuuggghhh ! SHut Up already i have more wilpower have thrown away great dinners with moutheatering flavors - just trying my best to listen to my body and when i do that first deep breath at dinner I STOP EATING- is such a novel thing for me i will checkin more often and keep updates current watch out bathing suits stores i am coming in ! :thumbup:

Thank you all for your responses. I went to my doctor today because I woke up and the one incision of mine had been red and warm was oozing and weeping. I walked into the doctors office in a panic. Doctor took a culture of it to make sure its not staph and prescribed a stronger antibiotic that will actually work its way out to the skin better then cipro. I am now scared of a crazy infection, I was just getting comfy with this thing now I am worried about the incision. ROLLER COASTER RIDE= VSG

During surgery using meticulous and gentle technique, not using surface stitches (we use glue), and closing the skin under minimum tension may help prevent HTS. Afterwards, silicone gel sheeting, steroid injections, and even laser therapy may be helpful. Best John LoMonaco, F.A.C.S. Plastic Surgery Houston, Texas Bodylifthouston opening movie

Thats why you have to like what you have on the inside. I don't think we'll ever look in a mirror and totally love what we see. I just look this morning and said to myself "yep, your face is getting thinner, but now you need a facelift, which isn't going to happen". I also know I will not like looking at my saggy skin, but I'll like covering that up. Can't cover up my face. LOL Point is, I will never be a 10, but I love who I am! I AM SPECIAL!

OMG- Catherine, you look SO GOOD! I read your blog a bit and totally agree with you when you said you didn't exactly "feel" as fat as you looked in the pictures....(actually you don't even look bad in that pic either) because that is how I feel! When I look at myself in the mirror and make myself look nice, I look so much better than I do in a photo. I see the picture and I'm this huge round blob and can't even understand how that's me! Did you get any loose skin? My mom had gastric bypass and pretty much had the same success you did except I think she was a little bigger before, and she got a bit of loose skin that insurance won't cover, and she can't pay to get rid of, and it makes her self conscious. Its not terrible though...she looks a lot like you do in your after photos!

Biggest fear was not loosing any weight. There is a small percentage of people that the band doenst work for...I am NOT ONE OF THOSE! HA! Love the decision I made. Period.