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I to am an Insurance Girl - Agency side - Commercial Lines - I was back to work 6 day post op - had surgery on Tues back at work on Monday - Your port is attached to your tummy muscle under your skin. You can have the band removed - but why would you - it's not that we can't lose the weight it's that we always gain it back. The band is a tool to help us control our portions for the rest of our lives.

I take 5,000 mcg per day in one capsule, but there is more in my multi and more in my hair skin and nails vitamin. I hate to say it, but all of this does nothing. I think I just have expensive pee. My hair fell out when I had band surgery and has never recovered when I had revision surgery. I have new hair coming in, but it's still falling out!

Am I the only struggling to take this iodine off my skin. My surgery was 4/15 and everyday I try to take it off little by little today I couldn't take it and cleaned most of it off with alcohol and cotton balls. Also to make things worse my doctor put gauze and clear film over my dermabond I tried taking one one off to see the smallest incision and of course the gauze is stuck any suggestions guys?

Totally agree with you. Some insurances though will pay for a removal of the loose skin in the tummy area if you have problems with rash, actually it is usually yeast infection that develops. But I would think as you do, it shouldn't be about how you look but the road to a healthy you. Looks don't kill, but being overweight will.

Poor Kitty Cerrin . . . but YEA FOR YOU!!!!! That has to be the BEST DAMN FEELING! I've been pretty much stalled all month . . . but was able to put on some 20 capri's my dil had . . . that ZIP and BUTTON instead of elastic . . . that is HUGE for me . . . (just wish I didn't hate capris!) I'm going on a cruise to Alaska in May . . . and my mom just shipped me a vest she had . . . its beautiful tan suede . . . and I can wear it like it is . . . BUT I now have motivation to get busy losing again because I WANT to be able to zip it . . . not just have it handing loose. All these NSVs are great everyone! Keep them coming!

I need to know that too !! Great timing ... good luck on your surgury. How many grams of protein a day are necessary after surgury? I don't want to loose hair etc. What about vitamins and I guess Nexium will be on that list.

I am excited for my band i am not looking fir a way out. I just was having a hard time with the shakes i have lactose issues and the shakes are thick. I dont have start my diet till 10/17 but i am trying to loose as much as possible i wanna be a success so im winging myself into preop diet now at least 1 shake a day... I have found the issue is the containers. If i pour it in a cup i dont get that bad smell.

It sounds like you should get your surgeon to check it out, doesnt sound like an ER job but the last thing u want is an infection setting in if it isnt closed properly. Having said that some people do have belly buttons that are bumpy and skin flaps inside them so it may be just normal but get it checked out anyways just to be on the safe side Incisions shouldnt smell no matter how small they are, but belly buttons can be a little smelly in general so get that appointment made and put your mind at ease .. good luck !

This is the time to put yourself first. I got rid of everything I shouldn't eat out of my house b4 surgery and I make the kids eat or ZI dump any food I cant eat. 6 mos out I am down 5 lbs and under 200 which was the hardest number to get the scale to move from but it has and I am so thrilled...the feeling is unbelievable I am in shock evertime I look into a mirrow or look at my sagging skin I don't even care if it sags I look great dressed and I feel great and that is all that matters...You'll do it and from time to time it get scary to get close to the number you haven seen for years but push through and it will come..I promise.

I'm on a 2 week liquid diet and just wondering how much weight I should be loosing? I'm on Slimfast Protein with about 950 calories.

I'm 2.5 months post-op and my scars are still really visible but fading fast. I have no doubt that I could wear a bikini and no one would notice. My stretch mark "scars" will be much more noticeable than the sleeve scars once the sleeve scars fade to skin color. Plus I'm super pale (and 47) so everything like that is extra visible on me

I’m 9 days out and all of mine peeled off and I wasn’t trying to peel them. I think it’s all about your skin on how the marks will look but I don’t know

Girl the pain is the least of your worries, you are gonna be so glad to be banded, you won't worry about the minimal discomfort. Well as for the sweet spot, it's good restriction. Meaning I will be unable to eat a large about of food in one sitting. So the less I eat the more weight I loose. Right now I have very little restriction. All of us are different some people hit their sweet spot with just the band and no fill, and others my need 1,2, or 3, but in my case I am going on my 4th fill, so I hope this is it. Oh yeah the fills are nothing, just the little sting of the local, that's all:thumbup:

you go tell them to suck it keep blogging sister and keep loosing

Hi All, So I have been hearing both on VST and on TV news segments that people are loosing over 100lbs in 6 months after surgery. I am concern that I have not been losing as well as I could. Let me say that it will be a year December 10th I have lost 80+ pounds, which is great and it shows but I am thinking that I need to go back and replace some meals with protein shakes and cut back on some things. What is your take? Any recommendations? Thanks! we11ro

I feel amazing..I have days where I am reminded that I had surgery 6 weeks ago..I've lost 32.4 lbs...we actually joined Planet Fitness...20 bucks a month and we both get to go, cheapest gym around Rockland..If and when you have surgery and ever need someone contact me I can help. I'm on normal food. I try not to deprive myself of food, this evening I had half a sausage link (normal size) and 2 piergoes (sp?). Normally we have a salad but I don't have the starch. I'm not a morning person so I sleep through Breakfast, which is hard because Im hungry around 10pm since technically that would be MY dinner time. 've just ran out and gotten a lot of 100 calorie Snacks so when I sub I can throw it in my purse and eat that and I know exactly how much I eat. The chewing I know I'm really bad with, I haven't gotten sick or anything from it YET and I hope not I try when I think about it. Taking pills is hard, currently I'm battling bronchitus and having to take my prednisone and levaquin on top of my supplements is HARD. My Vitamin and Calcium are HUGE and to be quite honest sometimes I dont take them all.. I do make sure to take my hair, nails and skin supplement. I'm so scared of losing my hair, thats my main concern (how shallow right?) You are so luck to have a little girl. That is the reason I had surgery, I want kids and at 30 I'm not getting any younger. If you don't mind me asking how old are you? PM if its easier..just thought of that LOL

I used to love my band until I started choking on vomit in my sleep. I am revising to a sleeve soon. The band was great at first, until that started happening. I am not having trouble now, but I have no restriction. I ate a plate of spaghetti and 2 pieces of garlic bread tonight. okay, call me an over eater, but that is what I got the band for. If I were to get a fill, I would go back to choking on vomit in my sleep. It's a very fine line between being too tight and being too loose. I am tired of worrying about fills and unfills so I am getting the sleeve surgery. Sorry, but I have to be truthful here.

Admittedly I am not a drinker. Sure you can have alcohol but it really is just calorie water. If someone told you they were working really hard to loose weight but then said they had snicker bar several days a week; you might roll your eyes.

I am scheduled for June 1st and have to be on a liquid diet for 2 weeks prior to surgery. My doc is putting me on Optifast. I can only drink 3 Optifast drinks a day and have all of the water and sugar free liquids I want. I want to loose 10 to 20 pounds before my surgery.

Tn1031, Thin covered why you shouldn't drink with meals. I'll cover why the quantity of Water is important, ok? Water flushes the toxins out of your body, specifically out of your brain cells as well as your internal organs. It hydrates your skin which promotes elasticity (ie, so the skin will not sag quite as much as you lose the weight) and often if you drink water when you think you're hungry you'll realize that you were thirsty, and not truly hungry. So, it's important. Having said all that, I count all water that goes in my mouth whether it be Crystal Light, tea, Protein drink made with water...whatever. Maybe that's not right..but it's how I do it.

I have been looking at this site for several weeks (my husband says I am kinda obsesed...lol), as well as other sites trying to find one where I can feel comfortable posting as well as getting positive feedback and answers to my questions. I have to say, everyone here is so positive and uplifting and I have learned so much already just looking around. I cannot wait to continue to learn more as I get deeper into the discussions and find support as my surgery date gets closer. I have never thought about having weight loss surgery till my husband and I went to see a fertility specialist and were told that my weight (along with having PCOS) is the main factor preventing us from getting pregnant. As I sat in his office sobbing, feeling embarrassed and down on myself, he told me about the Lap Band procedure. He said that it was a lifestyle change and that he has several overweight patients that have had the procedure and have not needed fertility treatments. When I got in the car, I dried my tears, took a deep breath and called the doctors office and reserved my space in the next information session the following week. We have been trying to get pregnant for over 5 years...this could be my answer to not only starting a family, but a change that will make me healthy for years to come! I started my journey in May 2011 by attending an information session, then my first consultation appointment with my doctor. I was informed at that time that my insurance requires a 6 month waiting period (which from reading on here is fairly common). I was upset that I had to wait, but these past several months have been months of reflection. I have worked hard on changing my eating habits, exercising 5-6 times a week and working with a trainer twice a week. My husband has been my biggest supporter and number one cheerleader. Looking back, I am thankful for this time of reflection and time to get my eating and exercise on track. I am an emotional eater and turn to food for comfort. I now try to turn to other things like exercise, reading, and yes, surfing this site gathering information. I still struggle with a fair amount of emotional eating and/or making bad choices, but from where I was the begining of the year, it is much improved. I have completed all of the required appointments (labs, therapist, sleep study, nutritionist, etc.) and my last supervised doctors appointment is on October 10th. I am keeping my fingers crossed for surgery in November. Everything checked out great with the exception of having mild/moderate sleep apnea, which I am having a hard time dealing with. I have had my cpap machine for a week and am still trying to get use to it. I am also going on a thrift store hunt this weekend so I can stop spending so much money on clothes as I loose weight. I am 31 years old and have so much life to live. I have been heavy all my life, but have been watching the scale go down the past several months...and will continue to watch it go down. I am so ready to see what the future holds...and I cannot wait to be able to go out and do the activities I miss doing, but I am too self conscious or heavy to do like roller coasters, water parks, race cars, etc. I am doing this surgery for me, with fantastic plans for the future, and a healthy, long life! So I will end by saying an official hello, and I hope I can be as helpful and encouraging to others on here, as I know you all will be to me!

I had a fill on Monday which took the volume from 6.75 to 7.5 in a 10cc band. They gave me cold Water and hot tea to drink and they seemed to go down very slowly, but successfully. Or so i thought. It's Thursday night now and I've barely been able to drink anything all week, let alone consider eating anything. The reason I've waited so long before freaking out is that I had a fill in Feb where too much was put in and I panicked and had some taken out the following day which then resulted in the band being too loose and very little weight loss was achieved. At £125 per fill in the UK I couldn't afford to get re-filled at the time. Therefore, I wanted to make sure I gave sufficient time for any swelling to subside before "giving in". However, I'm now at the stage where I don't think it's going to loosen any more. I'm PB-ing after any intake and feel rotten so have booked to have a little bit taken out. Any recommendations as to how much I should ask to be removed? p.s. on the plus side, I've lost 8lbs this week (probably mostly water, I know) and haven't been hungry at all! Lol.

I wouldn't worry too much about the rapid weight loss. If you are getting in your protein that is all that matters. On the flip side, you may find that you will need plastic surgery. I've heard on these forums that when you lose faster the skins seems to weap more. Good luck on your continued success.

After surgey when should you start doing exercises, and what kind? Are the toning band exercises good to prevent loose/sagging skin? If not which exercises are good for it?

As you can see results vary. My personal experience has been that I lost a lot of weight presurgery (50 lbs in 7.5 months presurgery). After surgery I have been a slow loser averaging 1 pound a week, even though I am very strict about my diet and do an hour of cardio every day. I just have reached restriction, six months out. I think some people start losing faster once they hit restriction. I'm hoping that will be true for me. I guess the moral of the story is you should prepare yourself that you may be a 1-2 pounds a week person. That way you won't be disappointed if that happens. I see many people on here that are very upset that they are'nt loosing 5 pounds a week.