Three year Bandiversary

NewSho · June 24, 2006

Tomorrow is my 3 year bandiversary.

Congrats!:clap2:

... Had plastic surgery in August 2005 and lost 4 pounds of stomach and 2 pounds of thigh skin and then gained some weight while I sat with an empty band post op Tummy Tuck and medial thighplasty. My plastic surgeon accidently removed all of my fill which caused me to gain weight.

Exactly, Babs!

I think this is more common than we think. See if this sounds familiar to you: I knew I would have been destined to gain if I had an unfill before my TT surgery. I consulted with my PS (does a lot of banded patients) and my doctor and decided to stick it out and keep my fill. Well After my TT, I lost weight due to eating less and having less appetite but I definitely saw a loss of restriction. In fact, although my fill wasn't removed, I felt like I had a lot less restriction after the TT. (It wasn't the act of moving the band or that my PS did anything wrong. In fact, my PS called my LapBand surgeon into the OR during my TT, so the Band surgeon got to know exactly where it was being moved. ) I think that when they are moved, the bands just sometimes expel Fluid or something. Once I finally got to my fill doc for a fill, the band had lost a lot of fill, just as I suspected.:eek: In fact, I lost about half of my fill...plus on my newer abdomen and smaller stomach, the band needed to be filled back again. If I had gotten an unfill before surgery, I don't know where I would've been.

My fill doc and I have had discussions about what my options are to achieve more restriction since I now have more in my band than I did before my plastic surgery with less restriction.. He said that since I have lost so much weight, my band is no longer in the ideal position which would require either more fill or possibly a repositioning surgery as a last resort.

I thought about this too. But all the Upper GI tests said the darn thing was in place. But it just took a lot more fill to get me to the same level of restriction that I felt before my TT & weight loss. So I'm hoping the same will happen for you too: just a bit more fill to get you there.

If we think of the LapBand like a belt, the more weight we lose, the snugger we have to close the belt. So as we lose more, our bands, may just need a bit more fill to help. For example, I was tired of 'nickel and diming' myself to get back to my old fill level. So yesterday, I opted for what I call a Nuclear Fill - a big jump back to real restriction. :fish: We'll see if I tolerate it well once I transition off liquids/softs - right now I can't imagine how I'll do with real foods. So I'm still feeling my way with the Band, even now.

THe most important thing to know if that the lapband helped me to lose most of my excess weight. I still could afford to lose 25- 35 lbs, but life is pretty good right now and I got a little complacent. THe best part about the band is when you are ready and motivated, you can always go back and do what made you successful in the first place.

Beautifully said. What a great journey you've had.

mousecrazy · June 24, 2006

Congratuations, Babs! I really appreciate you taking the time to update all of us on your journey...you've done so great, and your advice is so valuable! Good luck on your new goals! Cindy