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There are probably a few different things going on here, including hormonal changes and the fact that you are not eating very much, if any, fat anymore. I, too, had terribly oily skin prior to surgery, I imagine it was because I was the BUTTER QUEEN! Now I have to put a very thick and LUSCIOUS cream on it (CeraVe in the big tub, find at Walmart), and do that twice a day. Summer will be worse as it is far drier here at that time of year. But think of it this way: if it's leaving your face, it's leaving other areas, as well!!!!!! Yay!!!

@ckji don't know the answer but I have noticed the same thing I had oily skin on face after surgery so dry all over the desert lol still somewhat dry but seems to be balancing out

April, I am just over three weeks out and I felt pretty icky at first, too. Now, the pain is better but I feel depressed! It just started. Everything has been going well with my progress. I don't feel deprived. food and liquids go down well (maybe even too well). I am very happy with my decision and I just wish the weight loss was faster! LOL. Nonetheless, I feel so sad and lethargic. I have read several forums and it sounds like this is normal. Things should improve by week 6-7. All we can do is hang in there. I am expecting that I will experience some angst as my weight decreases. Loose skin is definitely a concern. Perhaps focusing on the improvement in life quality will help with body image issues later on.

I loosely used BMI to help me. At 140 lbs I would no longer be considered overweight. My surgeon set a goal of 160 but when I see other women with my shape/ height at that weight, I think they still look a little pudgy. I also have a clothing size in mind- an 8. No real reason pther than it is a single digit. Frankly, I won't really know when I am goal until I get there.

I have found quite a bit, but trying to get my doctor and the ladies at the clinic to get it out of their mind for a minute, that it isn't always about the amount of food I eat thats causing the problem . It's like they don't want to find fault in the band, just the person and thats whats frustrating. Especially since I loose every week and work really hard at eating healthy.

Hi to all, I am new to forum and interested in getting banded. I have intro meeting 7/10 and kinda scared. Congrats to those who have made the choice. My fear is that what do i do with the skin and will i feel better about ME once complete. I have two kids (single mom) and need a self esteem boost and to shed a couple pounds (50+) lol due to medial concerns. Nice to meet you all and share your thoughts:smile:

I actually had everything I needed but I was most happy that I brought pajama pants (loose) to be worn for walking the hallway and so I wasn't so cold in bed and also that I brought my own pillow (hospital pillows just aren't the same). Would also recommend chapstick, hand sanitizer, comfortable loose clothes for the trip home, pillow to hold on stomach for car ride home.

Believe me when I tell you, 50 lbs in less than a year is great. If you go too crazy and get too tight you will loose too fast. These results look great at first, but are very hard to maintain. Additionally, if you get too tight just to get results, you will be living a miserable life when it comes to food. Yes you have to find whan works for you in terms off CCs in the band. I don't know your story, but remember you can always step up your weight loss by working out. The exercise itself will also eventually help you to feel better mentally. If you have the time to do it.

No ideas about singing band, but will add that the potato skin is bad! Potato skins are not band friendly!

All the lapbandster's from 2009 tell me where you are today. It will be 2 years for me on July 31st. How much weight have you lost? Are you at goal weight? How many fills did you need to get? What kinds of food can you eat? Do you still take 20-30 minutes to eat and 30 minutes before/after each meal to drink? Do you still have your band? What kind of exercises are you doing? How much do you eat at your meals? How did you stay motivated to exercise? How did you stay away from the junk? How long do you exercise for? Did you have to get surgery to remove excess skin? Did you need to get a tummy tuck? Do you still drink Protein shakes? How are you managing your weight? Do you still see your lapband doctor? JUST WHERE ARE YOU NOW? As for me, like I said, it will be my 2 years on July 31st. How much did I lose? I'm almost back where I started and yes, I'm very ashamed! The lowest I got to was 193 pounds. I feel like since I've been very depressed I eat more than I should and I eat the junk. I had my gallblader out last July and I do drink some soda, mountain dew and dr pepper but I have to give them up now because it's giving me pains. I use that Mio Water enhancing stuff and I like it. I haven't seen my doctor since last August. I'm too ashamed to see him. I feel so ashamed that I want to cry all them time. I hate myself for not following the rules. The band is doing it's job, it tells me if I should eat that or not and if I ignore it I'll puke. I'm just not doing my job. I COULD HAVE BEEN AT MY GOAL WEIGHT LONG TIME AGO BUT I'M NOT AND THAT IS DEPRESSING AND ALL MY FAULT!! I can't focus again, I can't even get motivated, and when I start I say "What's the point anymore?" I know I should go to support groups and all that but my mom is like "why?" I don't really know anymore.I have 100 pounds to lose.l.. But I need advise and stuff like words of wisdom or something, I need your help as fellow lapbanders. Thank you! Erin M.

I had lap band surgery in October of 2012. From the beginning, it was nothing but trouble. I followed my instructions to the letter, so this was a band failure. Not a surgeon failure, not my failure. In almost a year and a half, I never hit the sweet spot. The band was either too loose, or too tight. I threw up every time I ate. I could not eat the things I was supposed to eat. No meat, no eggs, no vegetables, no fruit. Basically if it wasn't in liquid form, it came back up. Having food get stuck is unpleasant. Productive burps are unpleasant. No matter how well I chewed, everything got stuck. It got to the point where I was eating all the stuff I wasn't supposed to eat, because I couldn't get anything else to go down. I didn't lose any weight. Not an ounce, with the exception of the pre-op diet, and the couple of weeks after surgery where I survived on liquids. The final straw for me was being in the bathroom, violently vomiting, with my two small children standing outside the bathroom door, crying, because it sounded like mommy was dying. Plus, I didn't want them to think that vomiting after eating was the norm. That's not a healthy thing to teach children. My band came out in March of 2014. Best decision I made, regarding the band. I'm having revision to gastric bypass done, later this year. My surgeons are now trying to steer people away from the band, and are more focused on Sleeve and Bypass. I, personally, would not recommend the band, although I do know people who are happy with theirs. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using the BariatricPal App

I think 1-2 lbs is okay. I don't remember how quick mine was. I was banded in 09/2010 and the first 50 lbs came off in about 6-7 months. But, I've been at a plateau since then. I have thyroid issues, so that's part of it. I've started back with fills (a few months ago) and am really hoping to kick it back in gear with a fill tomorrow. Good luck to you. You're doing fine. P.S. I heard the slower the loss, the less problems you might have with excess skin?

It's crazy cause I am 180 at this moment n ppl is telling me to stop loosing weight cause I look to skinny n I don't agree I have 20 more pounds to go its hard but I know I can do it

Wow! Congrats! You look great, did you have any problems with excess skin?

I would say dont stress and there are other reasons that women don't loose weight that i didnt know about until i had the conversation with my dietitian he is really wonderful i was also stuck at 208 forever but i talked with him and he told me if i wasnt sleeping good i wouldn't loose weight and sure enough i wasnt sleeping good so you might try that. Also i would get a fill if i was always hungry maybe you just need to sit down and chat with your DR about all this because lap band isnt easy but it doesn't have to be this hard. Please let me know if i can help any more. I have been through hell with my band lately but i still believe that it was the best choice for me.

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".

okay...so Im flying to MX on Friday to be banded by Dr. Sanchez.........and Im so worried. I know that Im doing the right thing!! I also know that life changes are coming....and Im excited..scared..and a whole lot of other things I cant explain. Im also going this alone...Im worried about silly things like...loosing my glasses between pre-op and recovery...Im worried about loosing my passport and getting stuck in MX with no way home....My head is full of so much stuff!!!!!!!!!!! I need a little clarity a little .....bright light of hope...lol.

@@allycatt98 Ithank you for your compliments. At times I judge myself harshly but truth is...I have a rockin bod for someone on the verge of 51. .. I am eternally grateful. I am not trying to sell anyone anything but I was very pleased with the entire Dr Sauceda experience. I dunno if there are better choices but I do know he is an excellent choice for massive weight loss patients. It sounds corny, but this man's calling is to help us look and feel normal. He respects massive weight loss and one of the few who will do skin removal on people who are still too big by social standards. He"gets" it.

I am finding Protein helping my weight loss as well. I purchased some Protein powder from unjury.com, it's the best tasting that I've found and it has 20 grams of protein, only 180 calories and 1% fat with 8 oz of skim milk. (Of course I only drink 6 oz of milk.) fills me up, lasts long and really taste great!! And NO CARBS!! I am happy to report I have lost 2lbs in the past 4 days, I have been upping my protein, eating a ton of veggies and some fruit - no breads due to them getting stuck! 173.5 and today 171.5, I can't wait to break the 170's finally. I feel good, clearer, healthier, my skin is clearing up and I have energy!

I had lap band done in july 09 have lost 33 kilo just about at my goal weight but now have extra skin arms legs and tummy I know i wont be happy until that is gone so can any one help with the type of surgery i need to have cause i dont know what type is need. Also how long would i take to recover from this operation

Hey!! I am happy to see a message from you!!! Woo HOO!! I hope your call comes soon!! . Today eating in moderation seemed so much raiser than in the past!!! I met the surgeon and I DO NOT have to loose the 15-20 like I was told!! But I am staying on track and loosing!! . I will have a three week pre op diet that is three small meals and two small snack and does not include Protein shakes!! I was given a list of the food I can have during this time. Luckily I love all of it and it allowing for variety. I should be set for surgery in November!! When do you think you'll be sleeved? How's everything else going for you? Smoking cessation? Best, Sannah Sent from my iPhone using VST

I just returned from my 4th post-op doctor's visit with my surgeon to address my port pain and discomfort. It's still pretty swollen even now almost 5 weeks post-op. The other reason for my visit was to (hopefully) be approved to swim and bathe again. My doctor examined the port area and determined that there was a suture under the skin causing at least part of my problem. He 'operated' on it right there with no real preparation at all and basically got under the skin, found the offending suture, removed it and caused a great deal of bleeding. He said that much of that blood looked to be old and the result of the suspected original post-op hematoma. It hurt a lot, but once he finished and bandaged me up the pain had subsided. He's hopeful that this will resolve the port problems that I've been experiencing. Unfortunately, opening it up today even just a little bit means no swimming until at least my next follow-up on 6/9.

I would get an second opinion. The doctor who will do my surgery mentioned no limit for BMIs. The only thing he told me was that a BMI of 50 and over will have to be done at the hospital and not the surgical center. If I remember what I had read about the sleeve, is that for people who have very high BMIs, the sleeve is a two step process. So sleeve first to loose weight and then do the bypass surgery. So I think your NUT is really a NUT. Keep trying. Don't give up. By the way, she should be there to help you, not tear you down. Take care.

I am concerned about the same thing ,, but have been told that in my area (south florida) there is a program that actually does the tuck for free or really cheap cause they use the excess skin for burn victims ,(not sure if thats true) but also my surgeon says if i lose slowly and gradual and exercise alot i may not need it ,, and i have to lose almsot a total of 15o pounds....

There is much confusion surround WLS surgery and WL in general. Some people think- oh WLS is easy, now you can eat what you want and not have to worry about it. That is soooo wrong. Actually, I worry about what I put in me more. Rather think about, I have to make sure what I am eating has protien, is healthy, and won't get stuck. Some, and I have even been guilty of this, think the scale is the only sign of success. What gets me and I have had this confersation with the doc, is that doctors look at BMI only. You get on the scale and they say oh you are over weight- shame, shame, you must diet. They don't look at everything- your over all health. While we know being morbidly obese is not good and leads to many healthy problems, being slightly over weight is another ball game. I weight 187 lbs, I have been in a 14 for months and now I am starting to move to 12's. While my weight isn't going down, apparently I am toning and my waist is smaller. My wedding rings are falling off my hand. My glasses slide down my nose. Heck, even my socks are big on my feet. So while I see the scale number not moving, something has to be happening because of my clothes. Some seem to think that WLS is a magic bullett and it will cure all that ails you. No way, I wish my mental fatness was cured. I still feel the part of the fat girl. I am amazed when smaller clothes fit, I still feel huge. I still crave the unhealthy. I still have to fight the demons that make me want to eat when I am not really hungry. The triggers are still there, I just have to recognize them and fight them. It's funny many people I work say nothing about my weight loss, ignore it. No one says hey you look good or gee you've lost a lot of weight. I know I must look smaller after loosing 60 lbs, but I wish people would notice. I actually like it when people ask, I like educating people on WLS. Some think it's a good thing, other think I was crazy. But, it is my decision, I made it and I believe in it. My band may mess up some day, I may have to have a revision, but for now it's working just fine and I am happy with it. My brother who is a medic, freaked when I told him. He said I was making a mistake. He worked with some one who thew up everything he eats and he hurts all the time. The band has made his life miserable. I told my brother, that isn't how the band is suppose to work, likely the dude is to tight or is trying to eat to fast and or to much. Now my brother sees what the band can do if worked properly. So, if people as- yes I had the band and this is how it works for me.