Hi everyone,

I thought that I would start this thread mainly because I have found reading other peoples so helpful, it is so much better to read actual experiances than listen to a surgeon give you their veiws!

I actually looked into having a FTT done before I decided to get the band, I have had 6 kids and have a fairly horrific scar from and apppendectomy that got badly infected when I was a child.

Just before I had my initial appointment I decided to get the band fitted too, as much as anything to break the yo-yo pattern of dieting that I had fallen into for years now. One of my biggest worries was that I would have the TT and lipo and then 2 years later I would have put all the weight back on!

I discussed at length with my surgeon whether or not to leave the plastics until I had reached goal, but I am going to the maldives for 3 weeks for my 40th in September with my DH and I wanted to be looking good for that

I am very lucky in so far as in my surgeons words I have 'strong skin' but my tummy is a bit of a mess with the scar and the baby pouch left from the kids.I have NEVER had a flat tummy, even when I got down to 105lbs in my 20's so this will be a whole new experiances for me.

I am a bit gutted that I havent lost more weight, but I am going to get back into the zone now that Christmas is over and I am hoping to lose more in the next 5/6 weeks.

I have got my final consult and pre op on the 16th of Jan, and then the op is booked for the 11th of feb.

I am having major lipo (he thinks about 7/8 litres) and a FTT this time round, and then 6 months after that I want to have the puppies lifted back to their rightful place and refilled ( breast feeding 6 munchkins has not made the puppies happy) I asked him about doing it all at once but he said that 7 hours in theatre would be needed just for the FTT and lipo and he couldn't do a BL/Aug at the same time.So its just the bottom half of me that is going to get revampped this time. Does anyone know what is the minimum time that I can leave between the 2 ops?

I searched all over the net to find my surgeon, and I am having to go to France to see him, but I was so taken with his methods and te fact that he pioneered some of them ( he uses High Tension Stitching in a kind of quilting pattern under the skin so that you dont need drains, and he never cuts through the lymph system) and the fact that he trains others in this method that I figured I would rather travel.

The other thing that swung me towards him is that he keeps you in his private hospital for a week afterwards,with full access to morphine if you need it!! ;:speechles)

So thats me I will try to get my before pictures out of him when I go over this time so that you can see what he is up against!

Here is his website if anyone is interested, I think he is pretty amazing!

Docteur PASCAL - LYON - FRANCE

Nina x

Thanks for the vocabulary info... dog ears and ken dolls! lol I knew there had to be a refference for those issues.

I was getting dressed this morning and thinking about it, and I was thinking about the last time I was in Lyon and I went shopping for clothes and we couldnt find a shop that had any that would fit me, I am a UK 16 which I think is a USA 12, the biggest clothes that they had were a uk 12/14 (US 8/10) I swear I didnt see one overweight person, I think they may have them all in a camp......

One day I will be able to shop in those shops.

For now I would be so happy if I could just look good in a pair of jeans, I never realised how much I would miss being able to wear them!

It is a week today that I fly out for my pre-op and I cant wait! I will try to get hold of the before piccies that he has taken.

Lyon is beautiful. I've been to France many time, my daughter studied at the Sarbonne in Paris. I think that Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. You're going to have a great experience. I also think that the French have an undeserved reputation as anti-Americian. They certainly hate President Bush, but on an indidvidual basis you will love them and they will love you. But you're right, most French women are unnatural thin, with tiny waists. By daughter says that they constantly diet and smoke like fiends to stay that way. Hmmm, constantly dieting sounds familar!

I noticed that too! In france it is still possible to smoke wherever you want!

I have reason to believe that on the whole they arent too fond of the British either! I have to say that everyone that I met was lovely and made us really welcome

I have just got off the phone from Geraldine (Mr Pascal's secretary) and have asked her if she could sort a fill for me while I am there as I have to travel 300 miles to see my lapband people and I thought that as I am there anyway I may as well.

I am a bit confused at the moment, I can still eat waaay more than I should be able to, but bread and stringy meats still get stuck, I would have thought that the fact that they are getting stuck means that I have good restriction, but the volume that I can eat - and I follow all the rules no drinking, taking 20 minutes to eat a meal etc- before I feel full is still too much.Whats that all about then?

Ahh the delights of the band, anyhow I will see what they say when I get there.

Getting more and more excited now.

Nina x

makemeheal.com is a great site!! some of the transformations are fabulous ... some not so much ... thats the scary part ...

Eee gads you should have seen some of the pictures that Pascal had for when he lectures, to show how not to do it!! It was enough to make you gag.

Some of the transformations on there are truly amazing though arent they, there is one lady in particular who is on the first page when you go into the tummy tuck albums who is such an inspiration, she is a gastric bypass lady and OMG you should see her now!!!

I havent had my last minute panic yet, I am kind of waiting for it, I cant be this calm and just excited can I? I hope that I dont get it after the surgery, that would be a major bummer! LOL

How are you doing LJM still fighting the good fight against the Cookies?

no Cookies today ... im just eating my steak salad. Tyson makes these great steak strips already cooked ... yummie!! put too much dressing on it though, oh well, i know better now.

my 'treat' today is my oh yeah bar that i'll eat about 2 or 230 when the munchies hit ...

Nina: With the amount of time you will be in France, wil any of your family come or just your friend? Who will watch all the kidos? So many logistics!

Dh is staying in the UK to watch the kids, and my friend and I will be staying in a hotel that has apartments instead of rooms, so that if we are up to cooking we can, but they also have the full room service thing going on

I am thinking of asking DD who is 18 to fly out when we move to the hotel to take care of me , which will be a novel role reversal!

How about you? How long are you in hospital, do you have anyone to help you when you get out? How long do you expect the recovery to take?

Losing : Did you enjoy the steak salad? I am being quite good tonight makes a change!

nina,

the salad was really REALLY good. i'll have another one tomorrow without the egg. that steak was really good.

went to Target tonight to get some more steak and will try their pre cooked chicken some time soon as well.

I think your son should come, it will be a good experience. My DH will take 3 days off of work and then my mom will be here for several weeks. I'm little girl adores her and she is an excellant cook. It should be good.

FYI to those of us in the states...Her doctor is presenting in Miami at U of M's Baker-Gordon Symposium.

SEMINAR SITE

HYATT REGENCY HOTEL

400 S. E. 2nd Avenue, Miami

in the Ashe Auditorium

Thursday, February 7, 2008Friday, February 8, 2008Saturday, February 9, 2008

Founders

After having such an awesome experience leaving my home state and thinking OUTSIDE THE BOX, this journey had been so positive. I am not beyond traveling outside my area for post-band surgery to get rid of all the extra skin (stomach). Oh to feel my hip bones again.

I'm really going for it now adding excercise to the drill.

Thanks for sharing this!!

Very interesting journey and read! ROOTING YOU ON FROM Kansas!

Hi Lap-dancer - I hope that my surgeon isnt too jet lagged after flying back! He is operating on me on the 11th Feb!!

I think that just by having the band fitted we show that we can think outside of the box To be honest I am looking forwards to the break, sounds daft but the thought of nearly 3 weeks away sounds like bliss,even with the pain.

Have you looked into surgery yet?

LJM - I dont think that we can get half the food in the UK that you can over there, I am having Egyption chicken and salad tonight. I have exercised every day this week (ok I know it is only Tuesday but I did sunday as well :rofl: ) and I am determined to tone up as much as I can pre-op.

Karey - It is my daughter that I would take, I think my son would have a cardiac! My mum is dead so I have kind of got used to looking after myself, I cant decide if I will end up looking after DD if she goes, she is uber bright and needs lots of stimulation or she tends to sleep a lot - quite a contrary creature bless her. Is your little girl looking forwards to granny coming?

Mostly (other than looking fab) I am looking forwards to the morphine pump

Tracey - Am I right in thinking that you are now in ONEderland? A HUGE WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!! to you hon, you look so beautiful in your picture. Thanks for the support

nina,

yeah, we do get all kinds of stuff over here, but i miss European food as well... i lived in Paris for awhile when i was (much) younger... of course that's my only view of Europe so it is rather skewed, but nonetheless ... i miss it! Orangina ... yummmmmmie! the red not the orange, of course now that carbonation would probably give me the worst heart burn!

Tracy - congrats on 1derland!!!