Now that I have my pre-op pics from the doctor I thought I'd start this thread. I have learned so much watching Julie and Puddin I wanted to follow their example and share my journey as well.

I am posting my surgical pre-op photos below but am leaving my before/current photos of my clothed self off this thread for now. Somehow that makes me feel just a little more exposed on this thread. Silly I know since my photos are already on several other threads.

Personally I still would have taken out some fill though maybe not as much as I did. The office only wanted to take 1cc out and I opted for 2.5cc when she told me that she had been able to pull out just over 12cc's in my 10cc band. But then again I was really struggling with being filled too tightly at the time. I had acid reflux something terrible and had just been dragging my feet on getting the unfill I knew I needed.

I guess my non-medical advice would be that if you are comfortable that you could easily get in for an emergency unfill at anytime of day/night if you were to have a problem post surgery then I'd agree with the reccomendation you got to leave well enough alone. If however, you are somewhere that it is difficult to get in without a long drive or wait then you might consider a small unfill as a precaution.

Speaking of unfills TracyinKS where are you? It was good to see you at the doc's office the other day. Are you feeling any better? How has the unfill gone?

Hi Ghost,

How are you feeling now? Have you got your head around the new you yet? It must be so liberating!

I read earlier in the thread that you were having problems with swelling, is that all sorted out now?

Are you planning to lose more weight or are you happy where you are? I must admit one of my main hopes with the band as much as the weight loss is that it will stop me putting it all back on again!

Do you have any new piccies? I know that sometimes it can take a few months before you get to see the end result.

Keep us updated

Nina x

Good questions. I have been wondering about fill levels for surgery as well. I am thinking of calling my Dr to see what he says.

Neal, I'd be curious what your doc says about the fill level. Please share.

my LB surgeon just said complete unfill for me ...:cry

not sure if i am going to do that though ...

my LB surgeon just said complete unfill for me ...:cry

not sure if i am going to do that though ...

Mine told me that was only necessary if you throw up alot. I don't think I will, but then again who knows with me. I am as nutty as a fruitcake...lol..

BooBooKitty: Are you going for plastics too?

I asked two local docs. The one that banded me and the one I see for fills. One said no unfill was necessary before the surgery. He thought it would be better to wait and get an unfill after the surgery only if necessary. The other doc suggested a small unfill before surgery as a precaution. I chose the unfill mainly because I knew I was already too tight and had been struggling with the fact I already needed an unfill. When they did the unfill they pulled 12.5cc out of my "10cc" band and put 10cc's back in. Last week they put another 1cc back so I'm now up to 11cc's.

Mine told me that was only necessary if you throw up alot. I don't think I will, but then again who knows with me. I am as nutty as a fruitcake...lol..

one hot fruitcake then ... :eek:

BooBooKitty: Are you going for plastics too?

Yes I am! I was supposed to go in December but the schedualer screwed me over. SO now it will be May when my classes end!

one hot fruitcake then ...

lol...wouldn"t that melt me then? I mean heat and a fruitcake??

Thanks lousing! Love ya!

Hey, Ghost.....

How many weeks now since your surgery and are you feeling back to 'normal'?

I am watching everbodies progress and am curious.

Thanks in advance

It has been 3 months since yesterday. And, yes I do feel back to normal I suppose. I haven't been too active on this thread as I'm a bit disappointed/disgusted with myself right now. Despite the surgery removing 10 pounds from me I am now up 7 pounds from my pre-surgery weight. That makes a total weight gain of 17 pounds! Yes I know there is some swelling. Yes my swellling though not painful or uncomfortable in any way does seem to be more than most people. But I just can't believe that all 17 pounds are from the swelling. Especially considering the VERY poor food choices I've been making.

I am still very happy with how my stomach is looking. And I do think I've turned a corner with the food. Both yesterday and today so far I've been following the high Protein low carb regime very well. Let's hope it is a trend.

No matter how my resolve stands up with food I will post an updated photo for everyone to see at the end of the month when I have my official 3 month follow up appointment with the PS.

One more positive change for me has been that I've started to exercise again. Not near as much as I could/should but it's a start. I am meeting a bandster friend Wednesday nights to walk at a local mall, last night we walked close to 4 miles in just over an hour.

I'm looking at gyms too, but have been holding back because it looks like I may be going in for another surgery soon. My right shoulder has been hurting for several months now and I've been ignoring it while I focused on the PS, hoping it would just go away. Sadly it has only gotten progressively worse. The doc & physical therapist are both fairly convinced I've torn my rotator cuff and are scheduling me for an MRI to find out for sure. Everyone, please pray I don't need surgery. I hear it is a long and painful recovery with 12 weeks of Physical Therapy. I don't know how much of that would require me to be off work but am worried about how our budget could handlen an extended leave from work. And the FMLA act that has been discussed over on LJM's thread doesn't apply to companies like mine that are under 50 employees so my work could replace me without retribution if I took time off.

Ofcourse to tell the truth, what I am most upset about is that if I have the shoulder surgery it will mean I won't be able to schedule the time off for my Breast Reduction for another year or two. I am so SICK & TIRED of using all my vacation time up for surgeries. I'd really like to be able to just go somewhere fun and enjoy this new body of mine.