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I'm curious. If you require a tummy tuck, yet are thinking of becoming pregnant when goal weight is reached, should you still get said TT? Would the skin stretching become an issue, or grow with you during development? Thank you for any candidness, Lori

:cool: Wow where do I start? I just need to let people know how the lapband has changed my life. I started 3 years ago weighing in at 350lbs. Now my weight is right at 200lbs. I still have about 40-50lbs to go. But I feel like even if I dont loose any more weight I have done something with the band that most people dont accomplish. I just want people to know that the lapband really does work. It just takes time. Yeah I know that it is not as fast as the gastric but I felt it was much safer for me. Just wanting to know if anyone else felt the same thing. :thumbup:

:cool: Wow where do I start? I just need to let people know how the lapband has changed my life. I started 3 years ago weighing in at 350lbs. Now my weight is right at 200lbs. I still have about 40-50lbs to go. But I feel like even if I dont loose any more weight I have done something with the band that most people dont accomplish. I just want people to know that the lapband really does work. It just takes time. Yeah I know that it is not as fast as the gastric but I felt it was much safer for me. :cool2: Just wanting to know if anyone else felt the same thing. :thumbup:

I am getting sleeved on May 10th in MX & wondering what I should take to wear on the way home? I was thinking originally a very loose pair of sweatpants. But thinking now as it is MX I will be baking hot??! Can I wear capri jeans or will that be too rough on my incisions? They are the only capris I have. Oh & don't own a sundress & hate the way I look in a dress right now so not really wanting to get one! So ideas please!

I am there with you. My surgery was scheduled for Set. 2, all appointments were done and they submitted on the 17th. The band removal was approved that day. They also denied the revision. The reason given was that even though the band caused complications, I was non compliant since I said in the dietary consult that I didn't always follow the post bariatric diet. Of course the fact that I had days I couldn't eat anything because of the band just wasn't mentioned. Also, because my BMI is now only 33.47 and I did lose with band, I don't meet the conditions for coverage for the RNY. Now as I see it, they are punishing me for actually loosing weight with the wrong tool. I was never able to have more than 4cc in the band so I never really had the restriction to only be able to 1/2 cup or less for total success. The REAL problem is my doctor's nurse. She isn't returning my calls. I didn't know about the denial until I had called several times about instructions for my pre-op appointment at the hospital. At that time (20th) she said the doc was doing a phone call with the insurance company. Several more calls to her (no response) I called the insurance company (TRICARE) and they said they only had a request dated the 19th, and no other follow up. They offered to send it over again to that department. I again called the nurse without response so I called the nurse who does the seminars and she did a face to face with the nurse. This was on the first and she did tell me the surgery had been cancelled, but the other nurse would get back to me. Nothing again so I called on the morning of the third without response. Without doubt this has been an ugly long weekend.

My name is Jennifer, I am 36, and I have 3 kids. It was so difficult to do things with my kids and I would struggle just trying to go on bike rides with them. I felt ashamed and ashamed for my kids. I couldn't even walk up stairs without taking a break halfway up. I couldn't stand for too long and had to sit down. I would breathe heavy. Oh and because I'm so short, I had to put my seat so close to my steering wheel in my car and my belly would hit it all the time, that was embarrassing. I wanted to show my kids that being healthy was important. I made my life changing decision February of this year. I had my laparoscopic Gastric Bypass surgery April 19th 2016 and it's the best decision I ever made! On the day of my surgery, I weighed 244 pounds. Today, I weigh 169. My family and my neighbors tell me I'm melting away everytime they see me. Such an amazing feeling to hear them say that. I feel amazing! I know it's still going to be a long road but I am thankful to have this new start in my life. I am now an ABA therapist for kids with Autism and a Distributor for Itworks! Global. Before I joined itworks!, I experimented with using their tummy wraps, greens and stretch mark cream because I had loose skin from losing so much weight. Let me tell you, best things I've ever used. I loved my results so much that I decided to become a distributor and help others who are going through the same thing as myself. Promoting products would be hard to do unless you actually use them yourself so I use my before and after pictures to show my progress. I now can go on bike rides with my children and run up those stairs of mine and I feel great! If you are even just thinking about doing the surgery, I can just tell you that for me it's the best decision I've ever made. I know I have a long journey still to come and would love to share my journey with everyone along the way. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my journey. Sent from my SM-N910T using the BariatricPal App

Well tomorrow will be one year to the day and I have to say that I am a new gal, I was not expecting the results that I have had. I feel wonderful and would not change anything that I have done. i waited a while to have this done debating on if this was right for me. I deliberated would this be right and I now which I had not waited on this. I started out over 300 lbs. when I got the process started. I had my surgery and started loosing. I have changed lifestyle choices on food and exercise. I have not been one to count all the protein and calories etc. but I have made choice on how I eat and this is the best way I have done this. I exercise on a regular bases now and it is not the hard workout but enough to get the blood flowing. I can officially say that I am half the woman I was. I have lost exactly one half of what I weighed when I started this process. If you have reservation or trying to decide about this surgery I would highly recommend it to all who need a new start on life. I have been given a new chance ...

1. Does the lapband slow down your metabolism. I've read that it holds food for longer... >>>>>>DUNNO 2. What can I expect to be able to eat after the surgery? Will I forever be eating soup and what not or will I be able to eat normally again? >>>>>>>I like soup.. lol.........I think mostly anything but bready stuff. 3. What is the best thing about the Lap Band? >>>>Loosing weight. 4. What is the worst? >>>>The constant fear of losing it to slippage and all that. and the cost. 5. What do you wish you would have known before getting into this? >>>>its not ideal for those who are addicted to liquids (vs. food) Anything else you might have to say would be very helpful...Thanks >>>>>>BEST OF LUCK!! <!-- / message -->

In my 30s I lost 100 lbs and I didn't notice any loose skin, but I was still overweight at my lowest and started regaining pretty soon, so I don't know if I would have had loose skin if I had gotten down lower. I'm 41 now, so I don't know if I'll have loose skin or how much I'll lose after sleeve.

You're not doing anything wrong. You aren't going to lose weight every single day. Your body has to catch up. You will go through numerous stalls. You will have times where you lose inches instead of pounds. It's normal. But, you will not see that scale drop daily. Of that, I am positive. You have to burn 3500 calories to lose a pound. Just hang in there and don't worry. It will come off. Slower is better anyway because you have less skin sagging and perhaps less hair loss.

Good Morning, I have been getting thru each step toward a new life. I haven't got a date yet but will talk to dietician, councelor, Dr next week. I think my biggest worry is the aftermath of weight loss after stretching out my skin so much now on my stomach. Does everyone have that problem or can it be minimalized? I'm a big coffee drinker too and will have to adjust until a good time to enjoy it again....even if it's less. Has anyone just switched to tea? Have a good day, Linda

I was banded In December and so far have had 2 fills. I am not proud to say that last week Friday I completely fell off the wagon. I drank Water while I ate junk (taco bell tacos and potatoes)for two meals ( did not measure the food). Since this incident I have been super hungry lately. I am going for a third fill next Thursday with Barium and am worried I might find out I have stretched my pouch. I am only supposed to be eating 4 oz meals three times a day. Lately I can eat almost a cup and a half of food! ( mainly 4 oz Protein the rest veggies). Can messing up one day really cause pouch dilation? I have still lost 2 pounds this week even though I had this episode, I'm soooo worried! Ps- I was able to eat an apple (skin and all) today so do you think I might just not have enough restriction? Still have never been stuck or PBed

Oh trust me it is clearly not my intention to pack on pounds. Today I feel guilty of everything I put in my mouth such as roasted turkey with no skin. I realize I'm in a slight panic mode since everything is moving I'm sure I'm overwhelmed. Thanks for your input. Most appreciated.

I was in good shape before surgery - did strength and aeerobic training. Not sure what difference it made but my basic shape was decent under the extra skin. I didn't have enough fat to lipo but of course plenty of people have plastics with still some fat to lipo etc and get great results.

Well Bella you are not the only one that has the what if's... But u know I will put it to u like this. What if u do loose the weight, and are able to do everything u have ever deamed of doing in life? What if u surpass your own expectation? Now playing the devil's advoicate...:tongue_smilie: what if u do eat to much? What if u don't loose the weight u really want to loose? What if others look at u as a failure? SO WHAT.. all u can do is dust your sholders off and start over and over and over until u get it right and start to see some positive changes. bottom line. Who cares what anyone says or thinks at this point. If you make your mind up that u want to do it for u... then u will.....:frown:

I had surgery 9/19. Close to six weeks post op..lost 39 lbs incl pre op diet. I worry about meeting someone in the future and having loose skin and being embarrassed to become intimate. I don't know how I will look when the weight really starts to drop but I am a bit worried about that.

What? Me? Really? Yes! It’s true—I’m back with a blog update. I’d love to give you some grand reason for my disappearing act, but the truth is just that life has just gone on. Being banded was a huge life altering experience and for many months it affected everything. In a way, it defined me, just as being fat has defined me for the past 20 or so years of my life. Being banded affected my daily routine—what I ate, how I moved, work, the gym, doctors appointments. And then slowly, it affected me less. Life went back to normal. I stopped feeling sore, I went back to the gym, I started being able to wrestle those big dogs I work with again, and I stopped agonizing over every morsel I put in my mouth. My band became a part of who I am and stopped being everything I am about. And as life went on without me having to stop and contemplate my band every other minute, I stopped having new and exciting things to say about it. That’s not to say that everything has gone back to the way it used to be, although my life is not yet as completely altered as many of my pre-band fantasies projected it to be. A lot has happened in my life both related and unrelated to my weight-loss journey. I believe last I left you guys, I was plagued with a big pain from a little kidney stone. Who knew something smaller than a pencil eraser could cause so much trouble? Well, in case you were wondering, the kidney stone did not pass on its own. After my trip to the hospital and the very happy drugs they pumped me with, my pain was gone. I followed up with an urologist anyhow and it was a good thing since he informed me that being pain free did not mean being urolith (big, fancy, medical word for a kidney stone) free. And low and behold, the night after my appointment, I had another bout of excruciating pain. The pain came and went for the rest of the week until my follow-up appointment at which point my doctor and I decided to schedule lithotripsy—a non-invasive surgical procedure used to break up kidney stones using shockwaves that pass through the body wall. Unfortunately the first available appointment for the procedure was not for another 2 1/2 weeks. The pain was sporadic in the mean time, and while I had some hefty pain meds, I was unable to use them at times—ie when at work. So, I used Ibuprofen instead—after all the PA at my docs office said it was okay given my situation as long as I took certain precautions. Well, I don’t think I took enough precautions, or I just took too much Ibuprofen because after a few days my stomach got all funky and I was sick for a good 2-3 days. I stopped the Motrin of course, and got better. Finally I went for my scheduled procedure and they took an x-ray to locate the stone, then hooked me up to an IV and knocked me out. I woke up shortly after and everything went smoothly. Of course the lithotripsy only broke the stone up to smaller pieces and didn’t get rid of it, so for another week and a half I waited for the stone to pass—with even more pain than before, as well as several bouts of nausea. At last, my stone was gone, and with it, the pain. In addition, I felt energetic and just plain good for the first time since it happened. I turned the stone in for analysis and did some extra urine tests and next week I return to my doc for the results as well as a discussion on nutrition to help prevent further stones. I’m a little worried about how that will go and how his nutrition advice will work with my band. Obviously drinking plenty of water is paramount for both my situations, but I have a feeling he’s going to tell me to cut back on my protein which will not bode will with band eating. He says he’s seen many bandsters getting kidney stones 3-4 months after surgery and on the one hand, that probably means he knows our nutrition restrictions, but on the other hand, it probably means the diet change helped in the formation of the stone. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. Despite the passing of my kidney stone, I am—sadly—not yet a paragon of health. I’ve been having some trouble with my shoulder. At first I just suspected a pulled muscle or something, but given my kidney stone-ibuprofen snafu, could not treat it properly with anti-inflammatory meds like Mortrin. I finally sucked it up and got myself to the orthopod who examined me and took an x-ray. He said the x-ray looked pretty good, but he did see a small bone spur which probably caused some bursitis. Normally he would have just had me treat it with NSAIDS (if it was that easy, I wouldn’t have needed him) but instead he gave me a cortisone shot. Sadly, it didn’t work. He also gave me a prescription for physical therapy if it didn’t work. I think I’ll probably have to use it, but I’m going to try my sister’s acupuncturist first (I saw him once before and he actually predicted my kidney stone by feeling my pulse—well not a kidney stone exactly, but he told me the “kidney” part of my pulse was weak—how crazy is that?) Of course, I think I’m starting to sound like an 80 year old, going on and on about my health problems. I’ve been sicker since getting my band than I was before—how did that happen? In other—non-medical—news, in the end of August, I finally moved into my new place. Having my own refrigerator to stock with all my own food has been helpful. I pretty much live off rotisserie chicken. I’ll have a quarter of a store bought chicken, no skin and I’ll pair it with some fruit, or carrot sticks, or tonight, a small baked potato. Yum, yum. My lunches vary, sometimes I’ll have a lean cuisine, or I’ll have a salad from the salad bar down the street. My usual breakfast is either a protein bar, or if I get up early enough, a 100 calorie whole grain English muffin with 1 egg, 1 egg white, and piece of low fat cheese. I do still have snacks. I believe in eating when I’m hungry. I’ll usually go for either a yogurt, or a high protein snack bar—Slim fast makes a yummy caramel nougat one, and South Beach has a chocolate raspberry one I love. Like a bad girl, I have taken to drinking diet soda again, but only 2-3 times a week instead of 5-6 times a day like I used to and of course, plenty of water is still a must. I stalled with my weight-loss for a while, not because I didn’t have restriction, but because I was making bad choices and eating a lot of junk food again. So, I started going to Weight Watchers. The band helps me monitor how much I eat, and WW gives me the tools to help me make better choices. Having to figure out how many points everything is makes you stop and think before eating it. I only have so much room in my new little tummy pouch, and I need to make each bite count. That’s not to say I’ve given up all the good stuff—I still eat the foods I love…pizza, bagels, ice-cream, etc, but not on a regular basis. I really feel like I eat like a “normal” person now. I can eat a slice of pizza, without eating 3. I can have a turkey burger and leave half for the next meal. Anytime I order out, my food lasts a good 3 meals instead of finishing the whole thing and wanting more. It’s amazing how normal that is for me now. My loss is picking up again and I still have hopes of making my goal of losing 75# by my sisters wedding which is October 25. I’ve got to lose another 5 lbs and I’ve got 10 days to do it. Holly, this entry is getting long. I have more to say about how I’m feeling about the changes the last 6 months have made to my mind, body and soul, but I’m working on page three of this thing now, so I’m going to cut it here, and save the rest for another entry. Here’s to not letting another 3 months go by before that happens Tootles.

Less than 4 hours til I go in... I'm still up, not tired, not anxious, not scared, just have lots to do before I go in since I know I'll be down most of tomorrow and Sat. Finishing up cleaning and doing some laundry. More I do now, less I'll have to do after. I should have cleaned my room this week but I didn't was busy with other things.. If I have time I'll get to it before I go.. Well whatever I can do for the next 2 hours.. I gotta shower at 5 or 5:30, then prayer conference call from 6-7.. by the time I'm off the call I'll be at the surgery center. So umm yeah. I keep feeling like there's something I'm forgetting, but there's not. CPAP machine that I've never used (Check in box still) Medicines (Check) Loose fitting clothes (check) Lipgloss (Check) I should have got a pedicure.. I need a pedicure, I've been putting it off.. UGH.. I could do the paint over, but that's just tacky...sigh Ok Kitchen clean, office clean, living room working on it, guest bathroom done, just my room, bathroom and the rest of the living room to finish. WOO HOO.. Then shower and be ready to go. I wonder why I didn't get any "pre-surgery" don'ts as far as like lotion, etc... I have coconut oil in my hair...it's not going anywhere... I've already used a gas x-strip... I think my body doesn't know what to do with itself, gas in my chest, I guess from that "Whey Up" energy drink... If you haven't tried them you should 20gms of protein low sugar no carb. If you can drink a 5 hour energy drink, you can drink this, tastes about the same to me. Let's see whatelse... I guess that's all for now.. going in.. see you on the other side. I'll be praying and confessing over myself until it happens. I confess that all goes well, that I come out of surgery without incident. That I experience rapid recovery and healing with no sickness and great success, in Jesus name... Ok let me go be productive. I'm sure I'll be back later to fill you all in or document it for myself here in my blog.

How much are you suppose to loose in a month? I've kinda plateau but.. im starting to drop again, and i just wanted to know an average weight loss a month.. (if you are working out hard)

So glad this became a forum : I was banded April 2 an my port is doing the exact same thing as I loose so so glad I'm not alone an this is normal

I honestly don't mind losing slow ! As long as I lose, I've heard if you lose slow you will have less excess skin.

Keep your chin up. People just want something to talk about. Most of them have nothing better to do than to critique others. Regarding people commenting on what you are eating. They are just miserable in their own skin, so they make themselves feel better by degrading other. I am going through all the labs and etc right now, but wont be banded until late october due to my insurance. My co workers(nurses) know I am having this done and they are very supportive to my face anyway.However, its just really none of their business and I am having it done while on a vacation. They don't know when the true date is....have a great day and remember "you are only as inferior as you allow people to make you feel"....

My doc says he uses a 34fr bougie, loose. On the fairly small side of things, right? At lunch I was able to eat a 5 oz can of canned chicken breast (pureed with low fat mayo and the broth from the can) and 2 oz of fat free cottage cheese. That is 7 oz of food. No pain whatsoever. Is that normal? I initially served myself about half of the chicken, but after finishing it and the cottage cheese, still felt hungry. So I started on the remaining and finished it. Incidentally, this was done in about....20 minutes? Did I just eat too fast? But wouldn't I have felt pain? Have I f'ed up my sleeve? Can people further down the line speak to the volume of soft foods they were able to eat at this point? I wasn't worried about the fact that I could have quite a volume of liquid without a problem, since it just kind of goes right through, but i would have assumed chicken, even pureed, and cottage cheese, would fill up the sleeve.

I'm almost 3 months out. I have a nectar fuzzy navel protein drink when I first wake up. I try to eat a protein rich breakfast (maybe a 1 egg omelet, 1/2 slice 2% cheese and some mushrooms and a slice of ham diced). For lunch I try to eat something high in protein, such as tuna or chicken salad made with low fat mayo. For dinner, I have sauteed veggies and chicken or fish normally. And a protein drink afterwards. .... I am averaging around 600 calories. I need to up that but it's not as easy as I once thought. I'm loosing at a very steady pace and excercizing daily. I log everything on MyFitnessPal which seems to keep me accountable. ................ best of luck! DRINK DRINK DRINK and get your protein in!!!

Hi guys. Guess I'll start by introducing myself. I'm a norwegian male, 39 years old, married, father of two kids, and are working as a Engineering manager in the oil industry here on the west coast of Norway. I'm one and a half week away from undergoing gastric bypass, and are in the final pre op diet. So far I have lost 13 kg since i started the diet, and needed to loose 7,5 kg so are in good shape. So how did I end up here?. I have always been heavy set, and spent my teens and early 20 playing ice hockey, power lifting and martial art. I went to serve in the Norwegian army, and served for three years, before I went to college studying engineering. I was used to eat large portions , but kept the kilos away, due to the simple fact that worked my ass of as a soldier. That kinda changed when i started studying for twelve hours a day. Then the kilos crept on, and they haven't left me since. I steadily gained weight. I tried everything to loose the weight. Low carb diet, calorie counting, nutrition shakes, you name it, I've tried it. Lost weight but it came back, plus interest. So a couple of years ago, I got diabetes 2. That was the last drop. I realised that i needed, help, and went to my primary physician. He agreed that Gastric bypass would be the best solution for me, and referred me to the hospital for evaluation. The whole process took about a year, and I'm as I said one and a half week away from my surgery. 21 of oct is the date.