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

Hi Everyone, I am soooo excited. My insurance just approved my ps. I am now on hold with the doctor's group to set up the schedule. I can not believe that this happening. Thank you to my fellow shamrocks for being a source of support, comfort and knowledge. I do not know what I would have done without all of you.

what procedure(s) are you having done? my insurance would have covered the pannectomy, but wanted me to lose another 25# and I am comfortable where I am , so went ahead and self paid.

Hope you can get it scheduled quickly. Waiting cn make you so much more anxious..

Congrats Potatie! So glad you got the insurance approval. I need them to pay at least for the panniculectomy part of the PS so I will have to hang in there until I meet their requirements.

Hi Lynn and Special, The procedures that I am having done are the panniculectomy, mons lift and upper abdominalplasty. The insurance will cover the panni and mons lift and I am paying for the upper. That will cost me $4750. My dad has offered to pay $2000 so I am taking him up on his offer. I was surprised that the insurance did not cause any road blocks. My pictures must have been dramatic enough. They must have felt sorry for me. So I am scheduled for surgery on November 6, 2009. My pre-op will be on October 20, 2009. I scheduled so late because of work reasons. I am the only person in my store that does my job. So I should be done with holiday hiring by then. This will be the first day after Thanksgiving sale that I will be off in 7 years. :biggrin: I usually have to serve donuts and coffee to all of the early morning shoppers.

Howdy Shamrocks!

Wow, 18 months! I'm sure I thought I would have been to my goal by now! LOL Oh, well! I'm glad the scale is slowly going down....

Andrew - I'm scared of another surgery as well. But, not much I can do about the serious excess skin. So, in a year or more, I expect I will need surgery. Of course, I am loosing so slow, there is always the possibility my skin will shrink! LOL

I'm selfishly glad there are a few other shamrocks who are still in the loosing weight mode. I started to feel a little lonely because the only people on here were the ones talking about PS. Yep, not close to that just yet.

I have noticed something interesting though... A LOT of my friends are gaining weight. I am very close to them in size or smaller than them! I went to a funeral last week and was stunned at how chunky folks were getting! It was good for my ego, lots of nice comments. It was a little scary though! What is going on in the U.S.A.?!?!

went for my ps follow up today. Dr is pleased with my recovery. I will schedule the revision for my upper thighs in the next few months. Still a bit of swelling to go down before the revision. Also, still a bit of mild discomfort but nothing outrageous. Won't be 100% for awhile yet..

I'm selfishly glad there are a few other shamrocks who are still in the loosing weight mode. I started to feel a little lonely because the only people on here were the ones talking about PS. Yep, not close to that just yet.

I am SOOO right there with you April! Although I don't post much, I try to read regularly, and the fab stories about all of the skin removal going on made me feel like a loser, lol. I still have a good 50 lbs or so to go (not sure what my goal weight should be, as I have always been overweight and I have no concept of what normal for my body is!). I attended the PS seminar given by my practice, and I know that at bare minimum my arms need done. But sheesh, I swear I would lose 20 lbs. tomorrow with skin removal alone!

I got a fill this morning, trying to jump-start the loss. I have been stuck at about 220 for a month or two, losing and gaining the same 3 lbs. And can I tell ya, what a difference .3 cc's make! I am on liquids for the day, but I can tell the difference already. Here's hoping that this breaks the plateau!

I just wanted to take a moment and say Congrats to those of you who have achieved this lofty goal. You guys are my inspiration, every. single. day. I am proud of all of you and your hard work!

BrandNewLisa -- good to hear from you! Yep, I am thinking I need a small tweak on my fill level because I'm also going up and down on the same 2 lbs or so but I am under extreme work stress until Sept 30 so I'm not going to change things for myself until after that. Just hanging in there. I haven't had a fill adjustment since March and if I do it in October, I think that is a good long stretch between my fill levels now.

Hi Everyone, I hope everyone is well. I am thrilled that I am now 1lb away from what my driver's license states. :sneaky: When I had it renewed they should have added another 100lbs. So I am excited to say that it is almost true. :sad:

Finally feel good enough to post. Even though I can already say it was worth it, it has NOT been easy. My PS has been wonderful. I did a lot at once- a circumfrencial fleur de lis abdominoplasty, which means I have an incision going all around my lower stomach, as well a a vertical incision from below my breasts down. Also, at the same time, I got a breast lift with implants. My abdominoplasty involved liposuctin as well. Needless to say, I was out of it for several days, on percocet and valium. I had to lay off te percocet because of constipation,and now my scars are starting to itch. Did any of you experence itching scars?

I KNOW it will be awhile before I feel anywhere near 100%. I am just taking one day at a time and not pushing myself.

PS was my only option. I am 33 and have been working out hardcore with a trainer 4 days a week for over 2 years. My sagging skin was there to stay. I am justgrateful I had this option!

Goodluck to the upcoming surgeries!

Erika

Finally feel good enough to post. Even though I can already say it was worth it, it has NOT been easy. My PS has been wonderful. I did a lot at once- a circumfrencial fleur de lis abdominoplasty, which means I have an incision going all around my lower stomach, as well a a vertical incision from below my breasts down. Also, at the same time, I got a breast lift with implants. My abdominoplasty involved liposuctin as well. Needless to say, I was out of it for several days, on percocet and valium. I had to lay off te percocet because of constipation,and now my scars are starting to itch. Did any of you experence itching scars?

I KNOW it will be awhile before I feel anywhere near 100%. I am just taking one day at a time and not pushing myself.

PS was my only option. I am 33 and have been working out hardcore with a trainer 4 days a week for over 2 years. My sagging skin was there to stay. I am justgrateful I had this option!

Goodluck to the upcoming surgeries!

Erika

Itching skin, OMG.. it was terrible. even at just about 5 weeks post op I still itch. I have started to use one of the scar gels they say helps lessen the scarring and I do see a difference.

ou had more done than me, I had the circumfrencial done, with lipo, but no vertical incision as well as my thighs, no breast lift or implants..lipo in my back felt like I had been kicked relentlessly for about 2 weeks. Back at work full time. and will have revision on my thighs done later this Fall.

A word of advice: Give yourself time to heal. Do not do too much too soon..

I really didnt want to have a tummy tuck I told my lapband doc that I wanted to wait and see what happens in a year or so. He told me nothing will help with the skin. He said I can exercise all I want and I have a lot of muscle under all the skin. He told me it was time I got the tummy tuck.

I stilll need a revision on that and not sure when I will do that. I might wait till the beginning of next summer. I have too much going on to do it any sooner.

The ones that are still not at goal don't give up I was told the lapband takes 3 years to get to goal. Just cuz some have reached that early doesn't mean you are a failure. You won't fail unless you give up.

elasticity of the skin as we age lessens. I to was told no amount of exercise would get rid of the loose skin. The tightening of the abdominal muscles is still uncomfortable.. I feel like I have on the binder even if it is off. Good I guess.. Also, I was told as I heal things will begin to loosen just a bit..again from the loss of skin elasticity

Thanks Scrappy for the encouragement for those of us still plugging away. I have my ups and downs but when I look back this year I can remember hitting my 90 lb mark at Valentines Day and now at -120 well before Labor Day so that's going in the right direction, just not the wild downward ride it was last year with 10 lbs a month or so!

I am noticing some acid indigestion at night time that I hadn't had up until now. A few Tums and its fine. I am trying to figure out if its related to how late I ate before bed or what food I ate, etc. I see my surgeon next in October so I think I can manage until then but if not, I can call and get in sooner.

My mother made her famous potato salad at my house today for a big family dinner we have tomorrow and I got into the bowl of potato salad and scooped out maybe 3/4 cup and it took me awhile to eat that and I was full. Not the healthiest choice but I'll get some Protein in soon - maybe a shake while I relax. I got a nice walk in and that took me over 10,100 steps for today on my pedometer.

Amanda -- I hope you are out there. The weight loss for me is slow too. It has been for a really long time -- although people claim my shape is different than it was 6 mos ago. Go figure. But let's not give up.

Well -- I'm in BOTH the losing and PS mode! Even though so many people say "wait until you get to goal," -- I still had the BR done -- and I'm glad I did. Back, neck, shoulders feel much better. People say I LOOK much smaller because of the reduction. That really makes me want to low carb and get to the gym because I'm feeling HOPE of getting to goal.

So far I seem to be blessed with Grandma's solid flesh because so far -- the skin is still tight on belly, legs, forearms. The thing I don't understand is how do you know what is loose skin on your upper arms as opposed to fat/flab that may yet come off? The fat under my upper arms is much better but I still have a wade hanging there and I can't figure out if it will go away. I figure I have about 25 or 30 lbs to go and it mostly seems to be located in my mid-section. Any ideas?

Edited September 9, 200917 yr by Desdemona

Hi Shamrocks! Well I finally encountered my first episode where the acid reflux I'm having (giving me a burning sensation in my throat) has me lined up for a partial unfill on Monday a.m. I kept hoping it would get better and it wasn't. I could also see a pattern developing of eating "easier to eat" things and when I went to more solid Protein, veggies, it was tough to get a small portion down and I'd end up with a PB episode. I tried cutting back on coffee and cutting back any eating at least a couple hours before bed time, but the bottle of Tums beside my bed has become a regular "snack", sometimes waking me in the night to crunch a few Tums for the sore throat sensation of the acidy taste.

So, I have to confess I am a little worried that this is going to open me up for more eating with less restriction but maybe the opposite will happen where the restriction I have will tolerate the full Proteins better.

I have been at this fill level since March 2009 so it is a mystery to me on why 6 months later the acid reflux stuff started.

Anybody know if there are any restrictions on working out with an abdominals machine at the gym? I swear I can feel my insides rolling when I do those crunches. I worried that maybe it was not okay for my band.

Okay, enough from the worry wort. Not losing but not gaining any either. With 60 lbs to go, I want to get back on the road downward.