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I used to do total protein and would always lose quickly but when i gained it back I was "fatter" even though I did not weigh more than when I started. I have since taken a more Atkins or South Beach approach and incorporate vaggies and fruit and every once in awhile bread. My nutritionist would like for me to incorporate bread into every meal, but I can't get my brain around it yet! But this weekend I olet loose and ate a few cookies...I lost more than I had in weeks, 6 pounds!

WEeeelllllll.........I've not asked my surgeon, but I have removed all of mine and replaced them with the plastic ones.... The one in my tongue as well, but I am going to remove that as I know they don't like anything in your mouth which shouldn't be in there! lol If your piercings are in cartilidge then they won't ever close over - the hole may close up quite a bit, but you should always be able to restretch it back out again with taper pins - I even use these for my ear piercings as I rarely wear jewellery in them now. If your hospital stay is only for a couple of nights then you should be fine. The norm is to take off anything metal - I think as if the worst happened and they need to shock you, they prefer to do so without anything metal on your skin....(unless someone knows otherwise). Good luck - If its any different I'll post as soon as I'm back home!! Kathy

So Sorry to hear about your sister. Is it is the hardest decision. I had my consultation and and chose the RNY procedure. My surgeon felt I made the better decision considering the amount of weight I need to loose 180 lbs, but at no time did he influence me. He did say he would say if it felt it was a bad decision based on my health, etc.. After reading your post now I am worried again. The more a person reads the worse it becomes. Worry worry. I might change my mind. Hopefully one can do that.

Hi all. I am 4 weeks post op from a band to sleeve revision. I have heard of people using stomach binders after surgery to protect their incisions but I am wondering if anyone has used them after healing? I am not so much losing pounds but inches for sure and my stomach is becoming saggy and the skin is loose. Any insight?

First, congratulations on your weight loss. Second, skin doesn't weigh very much, so don't expect a change to your scale. My goal of the TT was to get rid of the unwanted skin and have a better appearance to where my clothing would fit better. I'm very pleased with the results. I recommend that you prepare for the same weight, then if you lose a little bit, then that'll be a bonus. A word of advice though, you will have lots of swelling immediately after your procedure, so it's a good idea to wait a week or so before getting on the scale or you might be disappointed. Oh, and I also took measurements (waist, hips) prior to surgery so I would know how much my body had changed since I wasn't expecting a weight loss. It was sort of a mental thing with me just wanting to know that I was spending the money and getting something out of it. I'm down three dress sizes, so HELL YEAH! I got something out of it! Best of luck to you. Keep us posted on your progress!

It's a surgical method where they place extra tension sutures. The extra sutures holds all the skin tighter and prevents excess fluids from pooling. You swell less and there are no drain tubes at all. It takes your PS a little longer in surgery but IMO it's worth it in the end. The only issue I had was a seroma but mine opened up and drained on it's own without needing to be aspirated.

I am looking forward to starting my insurance process for getting a TT. Just curious for those who have had the procedure how much the extra skin weighed? I have a pretty good pannus right now and curious how much I might lose.... Thanks, Katie

@hunneybee81 Are you followed by an orthopedist for the mobility issues? If so, have THAT doc refer you for skin removal, far more effective that the plastic surgeon referring. Possibly a letter from you, as well, stating things like your physical limitations & how exercise & mobility is crucial for maintaining the weight loss & avoiding co-morbidities. If there are any co-morbidities that were resolved by weight loss, mention those, too. With an ortho referral & my letter, my ins. covered 100% of TT/Panni. Most likely, they will not pay for breasts, arms, etc....

Hi all. I'm a 34-year-old mom of 2, dd is 10 and ds is 7. I was banded in August of 2006. Immediately after my port flipped and needed to be repaired. THat should have been my first clue I made the wrong choice! I managed to lose almost 100 pounds with the band in the first 2 years, but it was s-l-o-w. At the end of 2008, my band surgeon said I should get a consult with a plastic surgeon about my huge apron of skin. It was horrible, hung down past my girlie bits, made me look a lot heavier than I was, my skin was constantly tearing and it gave me rashes. So, in Feb of 09 I had a tummy tuck and breast lift. Holy crap what a difference! He took off 16 pounds of extra skin and the surgery took 11 hours. The recovery was horrible. Because of the band, I've had problems with medication working right and it took a bit before we found an oral pain killer that actually worked. I was off work for 6 weeks and the recovery was horriblle. I managed to mess up my knee the day after surgery so it was always going numb and giving out on me. No one knew why. Then I got a stomach virus and puking after a tummy tuck, with a lapband, is it's own special kind of hell. Just as i was starting to feel human again I got scarlet fever. Which I thought went out of style with hoop skirts and mutton chops! Evidentally not though. My pcp said because my system was so screwed up due to the surgery, a strep infection just went haywire. That took another 2 weeks to recover from. I'd finally gotten to a weight that, while it wasn't as low as I wanted, I was happy with my body. I looked good, felt normal for the first time in my life and liked the way I looked in the mirror. I no longer walked into a room and got that horrible feeling of "Oh no, I'm the fattest person here". I felt like people noticed me and not my weight. A couple months ago I started having restriction problems, bouncing between too loose or too tight, and waking up at night with horrible reflux and choking on my stomach contents. Yuck! Had an upper gi done last week after an unfill didn't help matters and surgeon says the band needs to come out. It is extrememly tight, which he said makes no sense because it's empty and I don't feel like I have any restriction (which is why I've gained some weight back ). So, now we start the process of getting insurance approval for the band removal and revision to the sleeve. He said he'll push for the sleeve instead of bypass because bypass does not appeal to me. I'm already deficient in B12 and vit D and take injections and supplements for that. I'm afraid of what would happen if I had the malabsorption issues to deal with too. If insurance (Anthem Blue Cross) wil only cover the removal but not the sleeve, I'm hoping it will be cheap enough for me to self-pay for the sleeve. And I really want to get this done soon! The idea of being on a liquid diet over the holidays is not at all appealing. I've been reading all your stories since finding out I might lose my band and have gotten so much help from them! Thanks for sharing your stories. :001_smile:

Good afternoon everyone! Just wanted to give an update. I got sleeved on 12/15/2011, I was a lapband to sleeve revision. I am loosing slowly but surely and I am currently at 152 lbs. I started with pre Lapband at almost 250 lbs and pre Sleeve at 193 lbs. I work out 3-5 times a week and I also drink my protein shakes as a meal replacement at least once a day and try to limit my carbs and sugars. It has taken a lot of work, but I am very proud of my accomplisments and very happy with myself at this point. A little nip and tuck wouldn't hurt but will look into that in the future!!

I had the Lapband surgery back in 2010. Lost over 120lbs in two years. I had a baby in April 2013 and all fluid was removed from the band during pregnancy. I started to get fills again three months after my baby was born. These fills have not been the same since my pregnanacy. I no longer feel they are working. I have gained back 60lbs total and have had the hardiest time trying to no continue to gain back more. Recently I had an upper GI and no problems with the band. I continuously tell the doctors that I am having bad heart burn/reflux and able to eat EVERYTHING. The just gave me prescription for acid and filled me again. I am at 7.5cc now. Although this is my third fill I have had and now I can't even keep water down at night and must return to have fluid removed. I keep thinking that there may be an erosion or slip because of a weird cold sensation I keep getting in my abdomen area. I have never heard of this feeling for the band before. I am unsure where to go from here. On one hand I need to loose this weight on the other I want this fluid removed because of the issues I am having. And these doctors don't seem to have any accurate answers.

My skin weighed 9 lbs on my tummy tuck, 3 lbs on my arm lift and 5 lbs on my inner thigh lift, my breast lift is tomorrow, i will be interested to see how muck that skin weighs

I went through the same thing. I am smaller than I was in middle school, and I've looked back at pictures. My face is definitely different that it was 25 years ago. I still had chubby cheeks, and my neck was way bigger. But, I now have weight in my abdomen that I didn't have back then. My ribs are visible as is my sternum, and I know those bones didn't show through my skin like they do now. It's kind of weird, but in a "good weird" way ! ! !

If the skin is a problem your doctor needs to document it and then send it in. They don't always cover it though. I see a lot of people go to Mexico

Considering you are really young and less than 100 to lose, you probably wont have an issue with loose skin. With the band, you should lose slowly enough that it will probably bounce back to normal. I gained 75 with my first child and didn't have skin problems after, because I was in my early 20s. NOW, however, I have major saggy going on...:tongue_smilie:

Like I said, I'm not too worried about it - because I plan on having a couple of kids in the future but the loose skin on the arms and legs - i'm a little worried about. Hopefully it will bounce back - but I always expect the worse. :tongue_smilie:

I dont have a fill yet, I can feel my port. Actually I can still see it pop out.. Like under my skin, not "really" popping out... you know what I mean... hehe

I react badly too to the glue on the bandages.... When I removed them ( a week after surgery as indicated) they peeled the skin off, so i was left with worst scars from that than the actual incisions. Maybe she developed an allergy?

yea! its kinda icky. i have chicken skin lol. it kindad freaks people out

Turn Loose The Kate. Oh, Yeah! I like that!

I have people that are telling me not to have weight loss surgery that has had it themselves and were successful. I can't understand why some individuals would discourage ME IN that way. They had it and did fine, so my question is why would they tell me YOU CAN LOOSE IT THE NATURAL WAY!!! I'M SO SICK OF HEARING THAT! WHY DIDN'T YOU LOOSE IT THE NATURAL WAY. SOME PEOPLE ARE SO FULL OF IT!!! I'M JUST SAYIN THAT'S ALL!!!

my neighbor was over swimming last wk - she's had RNY & has some excess skin - her suit was way cute, she got her's at: junonia online shopping for plus size women's clothing and activewear.

I have had a complete unfill twice, and still managed to loose weight. The reason is that I maintained my Bandster portions, and did what little I could to exercise. Your current issues seem more to be with your faulty thinking and relationship with food. If you could revise your thinking into seeing eating as self sabotage of the progress you have made to date, and recognizing that telling yourself "NO", you will not eat out of control, it goes a long way to help you through challenging times such as you are experiencing now. It is very easy for us to become our own "self fulfilling prophecy" when the self talk messages are negative in nature. If you dispair and tell yourself you have no self control, you will be correct, because you have given yourself permission to eat to your heart's content. If you tell yourself I will empower myself to maintain my weight, and not allow my faulty thinking with regards to food to rule me, then you will overcome your feelings of helplessness. The band is a highly self empowering tool. You have been quite successful thus far. Don't throw any of that success away because of your mindset. Remember, just because you can eat more than the allowed portion does NOT mean that you should. You can do this...if you want to. Only you can determine your path by your choices.

First of all, I never thought to myself, I may want it out before I ever got it. I did have some fears of course, I think that is natural. I know you are asking the people who wanted it or got it out but I wanted to tell you how I feel now that I am a couple months post op. I have absolutely no regrets at this point and I am thrilled I had the surgery. I was a person who for the last three years couldn't even yo yo diet. I was just heading up the scale period. Oral steriods for a skin condition and thyroid disease made it totally impossible to lose weight or even maintain weight. I am on my way down the scale and wouldn't change my experience so far for anything. Not saying I haven't worked hard for it because I have but at least now I have results which I couldn't get before. I think it is ok to be nervous and have fears but I also believe you have to want it bad enough and be willing to take whatever conseqences come with it (bad or good) and deal with it when it happens. If I have problems down the road then I will handle them when I get there. I hope you find the answers you are looking for and can decide once and for all if the band is right for you. Good Luck!

@@sbrick firstly thanks for posting this! I don't have any advice or experience regarding the switch from band to sleeve but your stats are almost spot on to mine in regards to your starting weight and your goal weight. Since you've not had any Fluid put back into your band can you start with that? It worked well for you once and it can again. Maybe do some research on other band specialists in your area and find one your comfortable with and start with a small fill and work your way back to that sweet spot and then you'll be back on track. If it were me that is where I would start. I think this would 1) help eliminate some of the stress you're feeling regarding whether or not you'll be approved. 2) if it does work then you don't have to put your body through another surgery. 3) if it doesn't work for whatever reason you haven't lost anything. These are just my thoughts and what I would do if I were in a similar situation. I've been on the fence for about a year now regarding having excess skin removed and actually this morning was doing some additional research on this. May I ask you a question? When they did your cosmetic procedure, I'm guessing by your post that they didn't remove any fluid that was in your band prior to surgery? Research and weigh all of your options before making a decision. You will make the right one for you I'm sure! Good luck with everything and keep us posted on how you're doing!