March Bandsters: MASTER THREAD

[ajoneen 0]

I think I just got my butt kicked into gear. Thanks Fenton. Im not a sole searching kind of person. I tend to stuff things into neat pigeon holes. Im beginning to understand that isn't going to work with the whole band thing. The band doesn't like to be stuffed.

yep Im getting about 800 cals and 65-70 gm protein-same as the two weeks pre-op

[kljared 0]

Hi Everyone! I am scheduled for March 25 in Pasadena, California with Dr. Lamar. I am nervous. My BMI is 49 and I am doing the Slimfast too and gagging....

Good luck Shamrocks and thanks for having this group!

[nycm00 0]

I had a bit of a melt down last night. It all seemed to hit me. I may never eat regular again. I now have surgical scars on a body that had never even been to a hospital. I mean Im having BIG time doubts about this and I can't change back. It's not like ANYTHING Ive ever done before. I had this thing put in. It was my choice, Im the only one to blame. I really did a lot of research before the surgery but nothing could prepare me for how Im feeling. I was really thinking about making myself puke so it would slip and have to be removed.

I know this is not what you guys want to hear but It's how Im feeling. I think Im getting depressed.

I wish I could be more psyched about this but right now I'm just trudging through the day thinking I've made the worst mistake of my life and pissed at myself for putting my family, body and mind through this.

I am so sorry you feel this way. I cannot imagine what you are feeling. What you describe is one of my fears. I know this is right for me. I am too young to not do this. I have proven to myself that I cannot do it on my own. I need this. I would assume that before the surgery you felt much the same way, or you would not be here now.

All I can do is hope and pray that you will feel better soon.

Hugs!

Christine

[nycm00 0]

Yesterday I went for my cardiology clearance for surgery. Dr recommended I have a stress test. Had that this evening and falied miserably. They did not like how quickly my heart rate went up, my BP went up too quickly too, and in the end I was having many PVC's (irregular heart beats) and it took too long for my BP to come back down to normal. The PA who performed the test said I would most likely need a nuclear stress test and possibly some new medications before going through surgery.

Gee I'm so glad to find this out 10 days before my scheduled surgery. Oh, and did I mention that at 37yrs old I have a thick left atrium on the echo that was done yesterday. I have been told that it will not go back to normal size even if I lose a lot of weight and it is thick because of my weight. All of this really proves to me that I need to be banded to save my life, I just hope it does not delay my surgery.

Christine

[HarleyGirl 1]

Sorry to hear about the problems with your ticker, Christine!

I'm glad the doc was so thorough and ordered the tests, though.....

Here's hoping it's a fairly easy fix with medication and no setbacks for your band surgery.....there's so much they can do in cardiac medicine now, it's amazing!

It's a wake up call for all of us......we really have been putting a lot of pressure on our hearts.....I know I thank mine everyday for putting up with me!

[Cocolossel 0]

Hi Everyone, I was hoping that I might be able to ask you guys a few questinos, as I feel a little lost. I had my operation on the March 4th and have spent the past 2 weeks home as I have been in excruisiating pain with breathing and also have been experiencing pain from from my incisions. I was wondering, all the videos of this procedure on line suggestion that all the incisions are tiny, however, I have 4 tiny incisions and one that is 2 1/2 inches long which is causing me the most pain. I'm seeing the doctor on Monday, but I'm not sure what to ask. I thought all the incisions were going to be tiny, but this last one will surely leave an awful scare and is very painful and hard. Has anyone else experienced this? Or is this standard and I shouldn't be concerned. Thanks in advance.

Other than that I am losing weight (which is great) but am concerned.

[anniedub 0]

Hi Everyone, I was hoping that I might be able to ask you guys a few questinos, as I feel a little lost. I had my operation on the March 4th and have spent the past 2 weeks home as I have been in excruisiating pain with breathing and also have been experiencing pain from from my incisions. I was wondering, all the videos of this procedure on line suggestion that all the incisions are tiny, however, I have 4 tiny incisions and one that is 2 1/2 inches long which is causing me the most pain. I'm seeing the doctor on Monday, but I'm not sure what to ask. I thought all the incisions were going to be tiny, but this last one will surely leave an awful scare and is very painful and hard. Has anyone else experienced this? Or is this standard and I shouldn't be concerned. Thanks in advance.

Other than that I am losing weight (which is great) but am concerned.

Hi there,

Sounds like you're having more pain than most people. I know that this is not very comforting right now, but think of it as two weeks of pain which are kick starting a new, healthier phase of your life.

As for the incisions, this is totally normal. The 2 and a half inch incision which is the most painful is the one where your port is, and the pain is most likely due to the fact that the port was sewn onto your abdominal wall, and it is still tender. Make sure you're not making any sharp or violent movements, and this goes for intense exercise, as it is possible to dislodge the port and have it flip around if you're not careful. They should have sent some pain meds home with you from the hospital, so just keep them up regularly and have faith that this too will pass.

Your surgeon should have explained to you that one of your incisions would be bigger than the others, as they need more "wiggle room" to place the port properly. If you're worried about the appearance of your scars, look at the "Scar Stages" thread under general lap-band comments on this site. Lots of people have posted photos of their incisions, and you can see in th ones from 9 months, 12 months, 2 years post op that even the largest scars become very faded and difficult to spot. Don't stress!

Yes, your scars will be visible for a while. But, i dunno about you, i've never been much of a bikini person at +220 pounds :cursing:

They will fade. Vitamin E oil, or other skin products such as Bio-oil can help when applied twice a day. I know you're too tender to do this at the moment, but the surgeon will be able to give you an estimate of when you can start. Probably about 4 weeks post op.

If you're worried about scar visibility, another important thing is DON'T GO SUNTANNING for at least one year after surgery. I'm not kidding! Any "tanning" on scars less than a year old increases the pigment on the scar itself much more than surrounding skin, and you WILL end up with scars which are much more highly visible than those who didn't sunbake. Trust me - i live in Queensland, Australia, where the sun is much more harsh and dangerous than in most places in the USA. I have highly visible scars on my shoulders and back from having skin cancers removed, and exposing the fresh scars to the sun. Just cover it up for the first year - it's for your own good!

Otherwise, you're taking the right step in seeing your doctor again. You need to let him know how much pain you've been in. Some of it is probably residual gas pain, but it's very important that he knows. I was banded two days after you and i was only on painkillers for 3 days, since then i have been fine. I still have mild discomfort around my wound sites, especially the port site (the largest scar) but it's not too bad. It is worst at night for me.

But the important thing is, don't stress. This too will pass. You've made a very important decision in preserving your health and increasing your standard of living - not to mention becoming sexier! :banghead: Well done.

Congratulations on your weight loss so far!

And remember, we are all here to support you, so don't hesitate to post again if you have any more questions.

Wow - that was a marathon post!

Hope it helps!

Annie.

[pipes0000 0]

Awww, Amanda! I'm sorry you're feeling down.

But you're focusing on what you've lost, not what you've gained. And you're not even focusing on what you've REALLY lost! You're worried about some scars (which will eventually be tiny) on your tummy, when your tummy is in the middle of a body that was 110 pounds overweight!

As the weight goes off, as you become healthier and healthier, as you find your energy exploding, as you find yourself doing things and going places you haven't done or gone in a long time - if ever! - then you'll remember WHY you got your lap band. And when you do, the sacrifices you've made will seem trivial. This band will give you your life back.

Having your life back may require you to make some adjustments - at whatever reason, for some sneaky internal reason, we've managed to make peace with being fat, so we probably were gaining some value out of it, instead of being so horrified by what we'd done to ourselves that we lost the weight immediately. But, speaking for me personally, I'm tired of being a reclusive fat person, hiding away from the world at large. I don't want to worry about bumping into old friends, into old girlfriends, and seeing their shock and concern about how much weight I've put on. And I don't want to lie around, wondering when this coffin of fat I've put on is going to kill me.

These are reasons why I decided to have surgery - five little cuts is NOTHING to me if that's the price to flay off this fat, to set me free again.

Please stop asking yourself WHY you did this. Instead, ask yourself why you got fat? Why did you do that? How could you do that to yourself, how you could you make your heart work like that? How could you make your friends so sad? Don't you care about your life?

And even if you don't know the answer, I do. You DO care about your life, your heart, your partner, your body. I know that because you chose the lapband.

You chose LIFE!

Now hang in there. Your scars will heal, your eating habits will settle, you'll start feeling better, your weight will continue to drop off, and YOU will emerge - the real you, living a real life, not hiding away inside your body.

You're going to be better than fine!!! Just hang in there, and tell us how you're doing.

And, above all: NEVER FORGET YOU'RE A SHRINKING SHAMROCK!!!

I think I will print,and keep this post handy for my post-op break down.

hang in there Amanda , I am sure whatever you are going threw will pass as fast as it appeared,,,and congrat's on the weight loss.

[anniedub 0]

Awww, Amanda! I'm sorry you're feeling down.

But you're focusing on what you've lost, not what you've gained. And you're not even focusing on what you've REALLY lost! You're worried about some scars (which will eventually be tiny) on your tummy, when your tummy is in the middle of a body that was 110 pounds overweight!

As the weight goes off, as you become healthier and healthier, as you find your energy exploding, as you find yourself doing things and going places you haven't done or gone in a long time - if ever! - then you'll remember WHY you got your lap band. And when you do, the sacrifices you've made will seem trivial. This band will give you your life back.

Having your life back may require you to make some adjustments - at whatever reason, for some sneaky internal reason, we've managed to make peace with being fat, so we probably were gaining some value out of it, instead of being so horrified by what we'd done to ourselves that we lost the weight immediately. But, speaking for me personally, I'm tired of being a reclusive fat person, hiding away from the world at large. I don't want to worry about bumping into old friends, into old girlfriends, and seeing their shock and concern about how much weight I've put on. And I don't want to lie around, wondering when this coffin of fat I've put on is going to kill me.

These are reasons why I decided to have surgery - five little cuts is NOTHING to me if that's the price to flay off this fat, to set me free again.

Please stop asking yourself WHY you did this. Instead, ask yourself why you got fat? Why did you do that? How could you do that to yourself, how you could you make your heart work like that? How could you make your friends so sad? Don't you care about your life?

And even if you don't know the answer, I do. You DO care about your life, your heart, your partner, your body. I know that because you chose the lapband.

You chose LIFE!

Now hang in there. Your scars will heal, your eating habits will settle, you'll start feeling better, your weight will continue to drop off, and YOU will emerge - the real you, living a real life, not hiding away inside your body.

You're going to be better than fine!!! Just hang in there, and tell us how you're doing.

And, above all: NEVER FORGET YOU'RE A SHRINKING SHAMROCK!!!

Wow. I just printed that and stuck it on my wall. We all have our bad days, our bad hours and our bad minutes, but Fenton, your cheerleading could pull us all back from the void.

Long Live the Shrinking Shamrocks!

[Fenton 3]

Christine - what a pain about the stress test! But that's what they're there for. They'll polish you up, get you in tip-top shape for your surgery. I'm really glad that you had it done, and that they're going to sort you out.

And you're right - even if they have to delay the surgery a little, this is EXACTLY why we're doing it. I know we'll be cuter, have more energy, maybe move ahead in our jobs, find a new lover, have better sex, have any sex at all et cetera et cetera et cetera. But what's most important - and the reason some of us have health insurance companies paying for our expensive surgery - is that this is about getting healthy.

It's not about shaving pounds, it's about adding years...

Hang in there! And yay for good cardiologists!

[Fenton 3]

Cocolossel: I think Annie's got great advice there.

But if *I* were having excruciating pain for 2 weeks, I wouldn't be waiting until Monday; I'd go in and see my surgeon tomorrow, have someone look at my wound, make sure it's not infected.

I may have been lucky, as I've had, essentially, no pain - I didn't even fill my painkiller prescription. I think the pain you're describing, while it may be nothing, warrants getting checked out as soon as possible - ideally a week ago!

Good luck!

[jencys 2]

I am joining the shamrocks....surgery date is March 28th

[Fenton 3]

kljared - nice to have you gagging along with the rest of us...

[Fenton 3]

jencys - lucky you! You were cutting it a wee bit close there - you almost missed being a Shamrock!

[Fenton 3]

And Amanda, I'm not worried about you - you have GOAL written all over your face.