I have lurked through all the threads for as long as I have been a member here and found great inspiration from all you lovely ladies and gents. With encouragement from Kareyquilts I am starting a new thread about my LBL. Tomorrow is the day and I am freaking out. Up until this point I was pretty calm and collected. I am no stranger to surgery and have had some plastics already (breast augmentation 3/07 and lipo pre-band) I usually know what to expect but this is unchartered territory!

I am 5'9'', currently 163lbs and look like I'm wearing a potato sack from chest down. I have waited for this day since well before I was banded and although I feel sick to my stomach with worry I am excited that all the hard work is paying off. Never in a million years did I think this day would actually come, very surreal

I have all my meds lined up, comfy clothes laid out so they are easy for my boyfriend to find (lord forbid he have to venture into the closet - he'd get lost;) ) I have my dogs looked after, food bought and prepared, a landry list of people that will be helping over the next few weeks but somehow I feel like I am forgetting something.

So although this post is somewhat disconnected, it is how my brain is running at the moment, million miles a minute in a million directions. If anyone has any words of advice they would be greatly appriciated!! ***head spinning***

Congrats MimIN!!! I'm another 5'9" er and I'll need a lower body lift as well. I truly appreciate your willingness to share your journey! Its inspirational for those of us who are headed down the same path

speedy recovery to you!!!

Congratulations MimIN! This is going to be such a huge transformation -- physically and emotionally. I'm so excited for you!!

I'm so glad you are doing well and I can't wait to see before and after pictures. Take care.

Congratulations! Cant wait to see your pictures!

How Exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi All,

It has been a few days since surgery, I've been home and sleeping a lot. I have been really dopey and decided today I was going to move off of the pain pills and onto advil so I can focus on something rather than my pillow. I feel pretty good, the pain is minimal and I am moving around ok (look rather ape like but whatever). Today is really the first time I've taken a really good look at what was done. I am really happy with my stomach, my belly button looks pretty good and the incision is really low, two of my many concerns put at ease. However I am really not happy with how my butt or thights look right now. I believe women should have curves and I always have had curves and it's like I lost them last Friday. My butt is flat and I have no hips that I can see. I told the surgeon Ididn't want a flat butt and he assured me it wouldn't be. Now my thighs...ugh... I can still see cellulite on the lower part of my thigh and it's still wobbly for lack of a better explanation. So today I guess is a bit of a down day, I knew I would not be *perfect*after surgery but I expected it to be different. Anyone experience similar? I am hoping that the shape of things will still change and that my thighs will tighten and my butt will make an appearance but I have no idea if I am grasping for straws or what....

MimIN,

Oh I SO KNOW what you're going through. I promise it's going to change. You may not come out quite as curvy as you like, but at about week 3, your body will completely change again, if it's like mine. I think my waist was swollen from the trauma, so it made it doubly bad in terms of feeling boxy.

Now, my butt is definitely flatter than I'd like. That's just part of the deal with massive weight loss, I think. But the curve of my hips and thighs came back in week 3.

Hang in there. I remembered the transition period of not being happy with the results when I had my TT, so I was prepared for it with the thigh lift I just had and I'll be prepared for it again when I have inner thighs in a couple of weeks (she says to remind herself).

MimIN,

Oh I SO KNOW what you're going through. I promise it's going to change. You may not come out quite as curvy as you like, but at about week 3, your body will completely change again, if it's like mine. I think my waist was swollen from the trauma, so it made it doubly bad in terms of feeling boxy.

Now, my butt is definitely flatter than I'd like. That's just part of the deal with massive weight loss, I think. But the curve of my hips and thighs came back in week 3.

Hang in there. I remembered the transition period of not being happy with the results when I had my TT, so I was prepared for it with the thigh lift I just had and I'll be prepared for it again when I have inner thighs in a couple of weeks (she says to remind herself).

Thank you Julie! Right after I posted I decided to call my surgeon. I was a emotional mess so the nurse asked me to come in and like a twit I drove myself in :faint:. Iam glad I went, he removed some of the dressings and addressed a lot of my concerns. He says that the j-lo butt I'd been hoping for was never there but promised that as the swelling went down, my tush will drop and I'll get the contour back. As for my thighs he says the swelling will go down, they will get smaller but to get them exactly as I want them I may need an inner thigh lift. Ahh well, I'm going to try to be patient, let time take its course and when I can get back into the gym see what I can do with what I have. Now I am exhausted and it is only a 2 mile drive, lol.

Mimin: Thanks for posting this thread. I really mean it! Now, I'll know if I'm not completely happy with the results to talk with the surgeon and that it's a normal part of the process. After going through all that pain, I'm sure you want it to be as perfect as it can be. I'm also sure you don't want to hear "inner thigh" lift at this point. I hope as the swelling goes down that you will be more pleased with your results. Please keep us posted. I'm trying to make up some questions for the plastic surgeon I'm going to see on Thursday. Do you have any suggestions? Julie, do you? I would appreciate it, I haven't done that much research on the LBL. Thanks.

Mimin: Thanks for posting this thread. I really mean it! Now, I'll know if I'm not completely happy with the results to talk with the surgeon and that it's a normal part of the process. After going through all that pain, I'm sure you want it to be as perfect as it can be. I'm also sure you don't want to hear "inner thigh" lift at this point. I hope as the swelling goes down that you will be more pleased with your results. Please keep us posted. I'm trying to make up some questions for the plastic surgeon I'm going to see on Thursday. Do you have any suggestions? Julie, do you? I would appreciate it, I haven't done that much research on the LBL. Thanks.

hey Karey! I wasn't really happy to hear about the inner thigh lift but it was not the first time he has mentioned it. A number of years ago I had lipo on my lower body and it did more damage than good, especially on my thighs. The skin is VERY loose but I had hoped with the LBL it would get them to a point where I'd be happy... and maybe it will, I have to learn PATIENCE! *I have none!*

The main questions I asked the surgeons I interviewed were about lap band experience. Because it is 'newer' I was really worried about the port being damaged.

I asked my surgeon about his experience with post-bariatric patients, I asked how many lapband patients he had worked on. I asked if he would move my port and if he knew how to suture it back down so it was accessible for future ajustments. I asked if he thought a lower body lift was my best option and asked for other recommendations. I told him exactly what I wanted and asked for his honest opinion to make sure I had realistic expectations (I am learning that even with that I was still expecting much more I also asked him to show me what my results would look like. He was able to pull and pinch areas to show me what my midsection would look like aswell as thigh/butt (I swear it is flatter now but that is a whole other bitterness;) ) I also asked about recovery time, how much time I would need off of work/gym etc.

I met with my surgeon several times before I committed and I think I beat every one of these questions to death along with random others that came alone but I am neurotic!

Thanks Mimin! I don't blame you for being neurotic! I am too. It's hard to put so much faith into one person. I have a few trust issues and authority figure issues, so it really creates anxiety. At some point, you just have to believe that they'll do a good job. The lapband questions are good. The surgeon I see tomorrow has done a lot of lap band people becuase that is who my lapband doc recommends. I'm wondering about a lower profile port. My port is starting to bug me. I can feel it under my skin. It kind of pokes me. It also has really moved up from where it use to be. Is this a good thing? Did you get a lower profile port? Did you have fluid taken out of the band? Hope you're feeling even better today. Thanks for being so supportive!

Thanks Mimin! I don't blame you for being neurotic! I am too. It's hard to put so much faith into one person. I have a few trust issues and authority figure issues, so it really creates anxiety. At some point, you just have to believe that they'll do a good job. The lapband questions are good. The surgeon I see tomorrow has done a lot of lap band people becuase that is who my lapband doc recommends. I'm wondering about a lower profile port. My port is starting to bug me. I can feel it under my skin. It kind of pokes me. It also has really moved up from where it use to be. Is this a good thing? Did you get a lower profile port? Did you have Fluid taken out of the band? Hope you're feeling even better today. Thanks for being so supportive!

I have had a low profile port since the beginning, the surgeon I went to put it in most people because it saved time and money down the road when they wanted a low profile port. My port was always in the same spot until it was moved Friday, now it is a few inches higher. MY PS moved it to a 'meater' place where it wouldn't be as noticible (his words). I opted to have a substatial unfill before surgery but that was my choice and was not a recommendation. When I had my BA in March I did not have an unfill and swelled up to the point where I could not take my pain meds and I had a hard time even drinking so I had 1 cc removed from my band. I'm going to go back for a fill probably in mid-January.

Keep me posted about your consult, I am so excited for you!

last night I was feeling cruddy so decided to take a picture. Well it has made me feel better! If nothing else I am very happy with my tummy. Here is a before and after at 4 days.

you look FABULOUS!

congrats!

I know I will probably need a lower body lift, my thighs have always been my trouble spot and my butt is sagging with my weightloss.

Thanks for sharing your journey. Your tummy looks so good already!

Question for you, I've been doing a lot of research on the body lift, and many of the docs say a blood transfusion is necessary, did you have to have one?