cleo6666

Thanks for the kind words. I'm two weeks post removal of "her". I asked to keep her, but they wouldn't let me. Here's a sad story.... SCAR TISSUE Yes it's there and it builds up around that band and when you band comes out, that scar tissue is still there and it is hard and it has to find a home. So my scar tissue ended up sitting right below my large scar. The one where the inserted the port and the place they also cut to take it out. Ugly. The scar tissue, hard to explain, sits low hard and tight. While the skin above it hangs and is loose. You know the fat rolls on your back? Think of having one of those right over your port. I cried when I went into the office today. I was my follow up visit from my surgery 2 weeks ago. I was kinda hoping they had left something in me and they just take it out and make that ugly roll go away. But they got it all out and the doctor started telling me about the scar tissue and I started to cry. My skin is beautiful. And tan. And now....it is gross to me. The good news is I wasn't running around in a bikini then and won't be now! The doctor says as the scar tissue softens I may see a flatter surface. Maybe I can't wear as tight blouses. I've kinda been enjoying that. Well I've been cheating for the past week because I haven't been able to exercise but now that I've got the doc's permission to back to the gym...I'm going! Fully clothed of course! Thanks for listening. July 2006: Preband-173 June 2009: Start medi weight loss-169 NO band-156 (7 weeks) Goal.....130 (2 lbs a week x 13 weeks = 26 lbs!!!! Target date.....Novemeber 2! Good Night

Well friends on the forum, It's time to say goodbye. After 3 years, I decided to have my band free. With some prayer and some luck, my insurance covered my removal. It's been a tough 3 years and thank you so much for this forum for helping me through the hard times. Aside from being sore, I'm ok. Just groggy. Sure hurts more when it comes out, that's for sure! Hopefully my days of burping are gone! I am ready to feel better now. I still believe in the lapband. It just didn't work for me. I guess I was in that 1-2% who's body reject the band. Also, I learned a lot about eating and my own digestive system. Eating healthy and eating LESS is the only "weigh" you will ever loose weight!!!! You can cheat this band! That is for sure. I know I did. Remember...sugar goes down really easy. Happy to say...I've lost 13 pounds in about 7 weeks, but it was by total calorie restriction and will power. It's really hard. Don't forget...excersize. Because when that weight starts going down, those muscles start working (finally) and they really do help with the fat reduction process. Take care Bandsters. Best of luck to all of you! Your friend, Michele

You mean like the Bernstein Bears? :-) No, never heard of it. I am trying something new similar to Adkins (not adkins) with very low calories and the vitamin B12, plus I take a fat burner 3 times a day, a multi vitamin, and 2 tablets a day of calcium because I'm not drinking milk. 2nd week weigh in....only 1.8 pounds loss. Here's the bad news..... I'm feeling GREAT last week on MON, TUES and WED...better than I have in months. Still burping like a drunk sailor, but I've learned to live with that. I get home from Church Wenesday night and my lower back starts hurting. I think it's maybe my period starting or maybe my band is acting up as usual. My burping gets worse. I fall to the toilet in the bathroom and have the dry heaves. It's like some bad episode of drinking...but without drining! I chop it up to another..."great tonight is going to suck because my band is evil and it hates me night".....but I end up spending all night on the floor buckled over in pain. I'm thinking...constipation? gas? bloating? did my band slip? what the He-LL is happening????!!!!!! I finally get off the floor (after not sleeping from 10pm-4am) and hobble into bed where i get 2 hours of sleep before it's time to get up for work. I tell my husband...no can go to work today. The first time I've thought I'd called in in ages. And for about 5 hours I laid in bed feeling like someone was sitting on my chest. I'm like...THAT'S IT...THIS BAND IS COMING OUT!!!!! I'VE HAD IT AND I'M TIRED OF FEELING TERRIBLE ALL THE TIME! Then I called 9-1-1 EMS came and clocked my heart at 220 a minute. Couldn't even find a blood pressure because my heart was racing so fast. Finally after 3 injections of this horrible stuff my heart slowed down and they could actually drive the ambulance to the hospital. I kept telling them about my band. They insisted it was my heart and IS my heart and NOW I have heart problems!!!!! UGH!!!!!! I'm better now (with the heart) and have new meds for that however... my burping is getting worse and worse. I am scarred to get on a plane and fly to TJ and have them CUT me open and take out my band. Wow. That was a mouthful. Sorry. Needed to vent.

Oh my gosh! I do hope you are ok. I've read through this post so fast I will have to re-read it again. I too have had lots of problems, never knowing a band or port could move. I had to go by ambulance to the hospital Thursday because of what I thought was my band trying to kill me again. My heart rate was at 220 with no blood pressure to be found because they couldn't read it with that rate. They got me slowed down and calmed down and now i think it's my "heart". Keep posting please. Prayers for you from South Carolina. Michele

What numbers? Like weight and bmi? I'm only 158, down from 168.41lbs I was 173 when banded. My fat mass is 56.61lbs, down from 63.61 My fat % is 35.8%, down from 37.8% ( for my height and weight i should be between 23-34%) WE SEE WHAT HAPPENS!

Is anyone getting vitamin shots? I started a new weight loss program on June 10 and have lost 10.5lbs. My BMI is down to 28.9 My weight loss hasn't moved in 3 years. This is the most weight I've lost in 3 years. I really think it's the shots. If any of you have read my history....I've had a lot of problems with my band. I hope it's finally MY TIME to LOOSE WEIGHT!!!!!

Your weight loss is amazing. Congrads!

The lines in Charlotte today were OUT THE DOOR! Don't think this will be a quick in and out meal :-)

How many incisions and do you have scars? I am almost 3 years post op and I can barley see my scars! I do remember that after surgery they will have a little gooey stuff on them that holds the skin together instead of stitches. It comes off soon after in the shower with warm water. They will tell you all about it at the hospital. If I was tiny (am not) and was planning on exposing myself in a bikini (in my dreams :-) I don't think anyone would notice my scars! :-)

Can you wear a mask on the plane to help with the recycled air? The kind I am thinking about are the ones you can buy at Lowes or home depot to use during housing projects or I see some people wearing them here in SC to help with their allergies. Do you think it will help? My mom just got back from Vegas and she has been sick for a week.

www.fitday.com Free and easy way to track calories.

Just a suggestion...try applying for a passport at your local police station. I know it sounds scary to send away your original birth certificate. I can't tell you how many people flipped out when we would tell them that at the police station at the department I used to work for. The good news is...YOU WILL GET YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE BACK. You can also pay to expedite your passport, but it will cost you! I had lost my original birth certificate, so I contacted the hospital where I was born and they sent me a new one. I think it cost $15. :-)

Hi Forum, I am almost 3 years post op. Just got home from my regular (not band) doctor here in SC. I am seeing him because I have been burping for 2.5 years non stop. Guess what? It might be from the soda I have been drinking since 4 months post op. JUST a precaution.....the carbon in soda (can't remember the oxide) but it contributes to the burping which in turn contributes to the terrible uncomfortable feeling I have been having almost 3 years. Also, through my learning, we swallow air every time we eat and drink. If that air doesn't escape properly (at least for me) there is horrible gas. And another thing....DRINKING through a straw can supposedly contribute to the gas. I am no expert, but I have been researching this for quite some time and would just like the gas to stop. Seems as though it may never stop, but I am switching to a diet high in fiber with no....MEAT, BREAD, CAFFINE or SODAS as of today to see if it helps. I am also starting on a stool softener. Anyone who's read my "drama" for the last 2.5....wish me luck! Soda=not good Michele

What are you having for your nutrition? I am very interested to know what your diet is. Great Job! :-) Michele

I have been burping for over 2 years. If you find a way to stop it....please tell me!