Hey all.

So there's a bunch of us in this group, all split up into our different banding days. I was thinking that it might be a good idea to have one master thread as we move through the month, in which all of us could post as we go, from the pioneers going on March 1st to the finalists on March 31st.

I'd love to talk about our anticipation and any worries as we approach our banding date, for people to talk about exactly what happened from the moment they walked into the hospital door until the second they walked out, about how recovery is going, about weight loss and plateaus, about non-scale victories and challenges.

I was thinking that if we all contribute to one thread, it'll form a more substantial channel for information and support. At the moment, I was thinking that we might be too spread out into individual date, and that a central thread would be a really good backbone for the group, in addition to the date-specific threads.

What do you think?

Fenton

The CT of the pelvis is to look for any underlying problem that cannot be seen on the ultrasound. Makes sense, but just delays the biopsy even further. I was upset about the delay at first, but now I'm feeling much more at ease since the thing is no longer hurting me. I have this feeling it's all going to turn out to be "nothing", but can't imagine what it is.

Christine

Hello all. I haven't posted in a long while, but I have been lurking. I too have some plastic surgery scheduled for the end of August. My surgeon is recommending a "fleur de lis" abdominoplasty. This will involve not only a circumfrential incision around my lower abdominal region, but also a vertical incision to take care of the upper stomach issue as well. He said that the added scar will be worth it because of the huge diference it will make to remove that upper skin. I am both excited and nervous.

scheduled my TT for July 29.... can't wait, even if it will be crazy for me at work when I return, I need the time off too..Added stress of the office is making eating choices tough

Way to go Eve and Lynn.

Lynn July 29 isn't very far off. I bet you are so excited. What all are you going to get done? How long are you going to take off work?

I will be 3 weeks out tomorrow I feel pretty good but I thought I would feel better than I do. I have a dr appt today and I hope he takes out this last drain I hate that so bad and now its sore where it goes into my body.

Way to go Eve and Lynn.

Lynn July 29 isn't very far off. I bet you are so excited. What all are you going to get done? How long are you going to take off work?

I will be 3 weeks out tomorrow I feel pretty good but I thought I would feel better than I do. I have a dr appt today and I hope he takes out this last drain I hate that so bad and now its sore where it goes into my body.

I am having the circumferencial, whole body, lift. I decided since I have all the excess folds on my sides and back I would go ahead with the whole thing. Only one recovery and one hospital expense..I am planning on 3 1/2 weks off. Better to be extra cautious. I can always go back earlier if I feel better and get DR clearance. I have questions for my DR, stitches or staples. I kno there will be 2 drains. and they get removed based on when the drainage subsides. My daughter is a nurse so she will be my main go to person.. Pre-op apt is July 23, only 1 week before surgery. So will call back to office and find out about any pre -op testing. And I am getting very excited..:biggrin:

Wow it is so incredible hearing that our March bandsters are starting through the plastic surgery stages for those close or near to goal. I'll keep plugging away and maybe by next March be able to consider it too. Keep us posted!

Pictures too of those flat tummies!

Lynn, I had stitches inside and glue outside. It doesn't look like my scar will be bad at all.

I had another dr appt yesterday and I was really swelled so he put the extra foam under my binder again and since I am still draining so much he wouldn't take out the drain yet either. I went in hoping to have both the binder and drain removed. I was pretty disappointed.

He did say I am healing very nice. I go back in one more week.

Lynn, I had stitches inside and glue outside. It doesn't look like my scar will be bad at all.

I had another dr appt yesterday and I was really swelled so he put the extra foam under my binder again and since I am still draining so much he wouldn't take out the drain yet either. I went in hoping to have both the binder and drain removed. I was pretty disappointed.

He did say I am healing very nice. I go back in one more week.

Right now I am scheduling 3 1/2 weeks off. I have mainly a desk job, so if that makes it easier to go back sooner I will... but do not want to rush it, better to heal first and avoid cpomplications. Hopiehealing goes well for me. Others I know who have had the surgery did not have more than 2 weeks with the drains. Hope I fall in that category.

It is great being able to follow your recovery to see how it may be in my future

I am having the circumferencial, whole body, lift. I decided since I have all the excess folds on my sides and back I would go ahead with the whole thing. Only one recovery and one hospital expense..I am planning on 3 1/2 weks off. Better to be extra cautious. I can always go back earlier if I feel better and get DR clearance. I have questions for my DR, stitches or staples. I kno there will be 2 drains. and they get removed based on when the drainage subsides. My daughter is a nurse so she will be my main go to person.. Pre-op apt is July 23, only 1 week before surgery. So will call back to office and find out about any pre -op testing. And I am getting very excited..

Lynn and Scrappy,

How much does it cost for a full body lift or a regular tummy tuck? Will you be brave and post before and after pics?:smile2:

Im not sure about the cost insurance covered most of surgery I paid almost $4000 extra for them doing the top part. I thought it was too much but didnt want them just doing half of a job.

Not sure if I'll post pictures or not.

Im not sure about the cost insurance covered most of surgery I paid almost $4000 extra for them doing the top part. I thought it was too much but didnt want them just doing half of a job.

Not sure if I'll post pictures or not.

i definitely recommend the total abdominalplasty, just the pannectomy, which some insurances pay for, leaves you with the upper part hanging over the new sleek lower portion..not a very pretty picture.

the full TT is around $4000 and then about $3500 for the back section. i have too many folds in my back not to get everything done.

I consider it money well spent

I just wanted to say hi to everybody! I haven't posted in a long while, but I have been lurking in the background. I am with Kathy, it amazes me that the posts have turned towards the ps reconstructive phase, we have come so very far!!!! Personally, the stuff that I can dress does not worry me much. However, my arms.... Sheesh, my arms! I swear that if I catch a strong breeze that I will go airborne! The skin is bad, so very bad on my arms, the PS estimated that I had 7-10 pounds of skin there alone....

I have been avoiding posting, as I am hitting a plateau at 230ish, and I can not seem to move. I am attempting to push myself out of my comfort zone right now by posting and reading, which I tend to avoid when things are not going as I planned.

I am just so happy for all of you, everyone seems to be moving forward. You guys inspire me every single day, keep it up!

Hi Lisa--It's good to see you back. I didn't lose for the longest time -months and months- and it's hard not to see the scale move. It only started moving again when I started doing some serious exercise and got my band tightened. And if I don't watch my carbs I just stall. It's still slow going. But everyone says I look smaller than several months ago so I'm guessing I'm adding muscle and losing fat (too slowly).

I don't know if I'm deluding myself but I'm still hoping that I won't have to get any PS done except the breast reduction (which I have needed since I was about 4 years old (LOL!!!). The BR was just a given. They were too large when I was 18yrs and 114lbs. Now at 57-- they're large and very sad. But the good news is that the rest of me seems to be pretty tight. I might have bat wings but I won't really know that until I lose more weight.

Lynn ---did your MD say how much weight s/he expects will come off with PS? My PS is expecting about 5lbs between the actually removal of tissue and the ordeal of surgery.

Hi everyone, it's really exciting to hear about all the plastic surgery being done on my fellow banders. I agree with Lisa about the arms. My arms are even sagging in the forearm area. The skin is crinkled too. Oh well, I feel so much better and I only have to wear short sleeves in the summer. LOL. I guess flabby skin is better than puffy arms. Hope everybody else is doing ok.

A coworker of mine had gastric bypass in April 2008 and he had complications and a laprascopic procedure turned into an open RNY and he was out from work for quite a number of weeks recovering. He of course lost drastic amounts of weight quickly. I saw him today and asked how he was doing. He shared some very interesting info. First, his bariatric surgeon has left town (he thinks the guy got fired) and he is regretting he went to the bariatric center he did because he ended up not liking his surgeon, evidently the nurses there were not good, etc. So, he now has been diagnosed with a hernia (I wonder if this is due to poor surgery techniques during the open RNY) and now he is going to my hospital's bariatric surgeon to get the hernia fixed. He's going to ask the surgeon while he is in there to just look and make sure the other surgeon did things okay. He said his original surgeon told him he had adhesions and that is why the laprascopic procedure got converted to an open RNY but he said that just doesn't make sense because he'd never had any surgeries before to have adhesions. He thinks it was just the skill level of the surgeon not being able to handle the laprascopic approach. Whoa. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have confidence in my surgeon post op. So anyway, my coworker is at -130 lbs and he said he has leveled out and even recently gained some back. I am so happy I chose my lapband because I'm still going down steadily and I know I can still get adjustments to keep the right restriction going until I'm done. I'm anxious to see long term how he does compared to how I do since we had the two procedures around the same time.