Dolittle

I hate to tell you guys,, there just hasn't been much going on here at RBTS. I'm just sitting around on my butt trying to recover from the LBL. OH,, here's one thing,, My "New" belly button won't stop leaking, for some strange reason its leaking the same fluid that's running out my drainage tubes and into the holding bulb. The nurse here at RBTS is going to try to figure out a way to stop the flow. They say the belly button is the hardest thing to stop from being infected and it needs to stay dry. I'll keep ya posted on that. LOL. Exciding hey! Tomorrows schedule is a van trip to TJ and Cosmed clinic for a check up by Dr. Quiroz. Everyone that's staying here is going along. Kind of an one shot trip. You know this recovery stuff is really boring,, when everyone gets excided to go on a van ride. LOL. More tomorrow.

I felt pretty good today and the owner of RBTS had to take a couple patients to Cosmed for their post op check ups,, I decide I was bored and went along for the ride. Little did I know,, once we got to Cosmed,, Dr Quiroz wanted to check my LBL while I was there. He told me everything looked good and most likely I wouldn't have to come to the office again before I leave unless something popped up. I chatted with all the girls in the office and Joyce the coordinator and said my good-byes since I might not have to go back. The other girls weren't done with their post ops, so Sherri and I went running errands,, like to the grocery store and drug store to get meds for another new patient that was coming out of surgery and coming to RBTS for their aftercare. We had extra time,, so I took her over to the OCC clinic to meet everyone there and we chatted with Dr. Martinez about my band. I wanted to know if I'd needed to get my fill back before I left TJ. He recommended that I stay where I'm at now because of all the liquids they pumped into me during my LBL. He said the liquids would swell my stomach and I could get into restriction problems if I refilled my band. If you remember,, in a previous blog Dr. Martinez removed .5cc's from my band before my LBL. So,, I'll head back to Illinois with only 1.7cc's in my 4cc band. I don't know what kind of restriction I have now,, because I haven't really ate big since my LBL,, I just haven't felt like chowing down. Also,, maybe these last 2 years with the band, it has taught me how to eat small portions,, holy shit,, did I just say that. LOL. So we said our good-byes to everyone at the OCC. Just as we were leaving some of the newly banded patients came out and were sitting in the lobby. I chatted with them and ended up showing them my new LBL scar. I hope I didn't scare them. LOL. We headed back to Cosmed and picked up everyone and headed back to RBTS. The rest of the day I just kind of layed around. Come Wednesday I'll be pretty borded and ready to get home. I'm not used to this sitting around recouping thing.

Hi Forum gang,, Sorry,, I should have posted something straight to this topic. I'm doing fine,, my surgery went well. I can say that the lower body lift is tough. I'm black and blue all over my waist and groin. I'm swelled up in that area too. I look like and feel like I've been hit by a car. But,, I had a lot of skin and over hang to be removed. Every day that goes by since my surgery, I feel better and better. Check out my blog for better details. Thanks for all your prayers and good wishes. It means a lot to me that your all concerned,, Thanks again.

Today is Friday,, my wife headed back home and I'll be here till next Wednesday. I'm feeling better every day. The girls here at Recovery by the Sea are really nice. There's 4 women here that had plastic surgery and I'm the only guy. 3 of them had LBL and one had a lot of lypo done. The girl that had the lypo is really sore. I think she had too much done in one visit. Another had the LBL and wanted to stay an extra week to have a face lift,, but Cosmed wouldn't do it. They were concerned over her saftey and her blood levels were low from the LBL. This goes to say that Cosmed thinks about their patients. They'd rather turn you down than risk your health. I'd say that was a big plus for Cosmed and Dr. Quiroz. They have a great reputation and they want to keep it that way. I probably won't do a blog tomorrow, I'm kind of in a healing mode and there's just not much I can write about till I go back to Cosmed for a check up, that would be either on Monday or Tuesday before I fly back home. I know many of you are watching and learning what it's like to go through a LBL. It's an adventure,, that's for sure.

Wow! Your looking great,, keep it up.

Things are getting better,, man,, am I sore from this surgery. I can really see the differance in my strength from the day of my surgery to now. The girls here at Recovery by the Sea are the best. I couldn't imagine trying to do my recovery on my own,, like at the Lucerna or a hotel close by. This LBL surgery is a tough one. You need TLC after surgery and "The" place to go to down here in Tijuana is Recovery by the Sea. RBTS is like having your Mom take care of you after you've hurt yourself. They do everything for you and the rate is reasonable. I'm surrounded by a bunch of chic's and my wife,, like I'm the only guy here. There's patients here that have had all different types of plastic surgery,, but most of them are LBL patients. I need to get back into bed and rest,, plus elevate my feet. My wife leaves tomorrow to head back home,, I'm staying till next Wednesday. I'll blog some more tomorrow. I need to get some rest.

Hi Gang - sorry I haven't had a chance to get on until now. Surgery went well as far as I know--can't see anything yet because it's all bandaged up. Surgery took about 5 hours. I slept ok last night and everything was good until I went to get up first thing this morning and I got really nauseated. They put something in my IV and that seems to have taken care of it. The girls from the Recovery by the Sea picked me up around 11:00. We picked up my meds on the way...they know the places that will save a lot of money on the meds. The hospitality here has been great. I'm in bed (supposed to stay in bed the first day) and I'm really sore. I'll try to post something again tomorrow.

WOW! Kim,, Your looking great in that mini skirt! Oh Baby!

It's early Tuesday morning and I thought I'd add another post to my blog before I head over to Cosmed. I had dinner with my wife last night and I can tell you that by having the .5cc's removed from my band I hadn't ate like this for 2 years. It's amazing to notice what only .5cc's can do to you as far as restriction goes. I'll have to keep an eye on my food intake. I don't want my weight to start sneeking back up. After the LBL and I if can maintain my weight,, I'll be a happy camper and stay with this fill. It's about time to head over to Cosmeds clinic.. It's crunch time. LOL

Today I'm in Tijuana,, First stop was the OCC and a warm welcome from all the staff. They have added some new people and some have left,, So I got to meet the new and took pictures of the new people to post here at the forum. I'll do that when I get back home in a week. I did see that everyone is wearing uniforms now,, that's different from when I was last here in May. Today was Rene's birthday,, so there was a little party. My main concern was since I'm having a LBL tomorrow, I needed to talk to Dr. Martinez about my lapabnd saline level and my port. He decided we needed to pull .5cc's out of my band. Come to find out, I had 2.2cc's in my band when I thought I had 2.4cc's,, so now I'm down to 1.7cc's. Dr. Martinez's concern was the LBL surgery was going to make me retain fluid and this could create a problem with everything swelling up inside of me and I'd end up with more restriction then I'd like. As far as the port goes,, He felt Dr. Quiroz would move my port and bury it a little deeper. Dr. Martinez has seen Dr. Quiroz's work and knows Dr. Quiroz will do a fine job of moving my port. As usual,, everyone at the OCC was great. I'm done here,, so now its off to the Lucerna. I quick check into the Lucerna and drop our bags in the room and head over to the Cosmed Clinic and meet up with Joyce,, Dr. Quiroz's coordinator, she's a real sweety. Filled out some paper work and back to the Lucerna for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow I have to be at the Cosmed at 8am.. The big day... YIKES! I don't know if I'll be up to posting tomorrow or not,, we'll see.

I'm off to San Diego,, Monday I'll be hanging around the OCC,, Maybe I'll see some of you guys that are scheduled on the 20th. Tuesday is the big LBL at Cosmed. I'm ready to go. C ya there.

It's the day before I leave,, Tomorrow I'll fly into San Diego and before noon I'll be at the OCC talking to Dr. Martinez about my band and if I need to have some saline removed. The LBL is the next day at the Cosmed Clinic and I'm most likely going to pull some saline out of my band. I don't want to be sitting at Recovery by the Sea after the LBL and have to deal with my eating. I'm also going to ask Dr. Martinez about relocating my port,, its sticking out alittle since I lost all that weight.. The possiblity of it really sticking out after the LBL is my concern.. I'm going to try to post everyday,,, We'll see how it goes.

OK, I know this real hard core Atkins Dieter,, she told me that the Atkins people do one of three things to jump start their weight loss. I've never done any of them,, so don't quote me that these work or not. You could go to some Atkins forums and find the info. Sorry Kim, But being a moderator here at the forum stops me from posting those Atkins fasts. You'll have to find that info on your own,, but I can say its easy to find. LOL

OMG,, Your looking HOT too! All you girls are just doing great.

OMG,, you look Smokin!

If I remember right,, if you go to some Atkins Forum websites,, they will have posted this diet that will jump start the weight loss if your at a stand still. I can't remember what it is though. It was some sort of 3 or 4 day thing they did. You'll have to look for it. Tonight I'll run into this girl I know and she was a hard core Atkins dieter,, I remember she mentioned it to me a couple times. I'll try to get the scoop on it.

Well,, it's only 9 days away from my scheduled LBL at Cosmed. Several friends have asked why I wanted to do this,, like nobody see's me naked and just deal with it. But, I know all that stuff. To me,, it's all about me. When I look into the mirror, I'll always see a fat guy and I'll probably think that for a long time. Friends tell me that I look good and that I shouldn't loose any more weight, they tell me that I don't look like I need a LBL and are wondering WTF. But I hide it well,, under my clothes hides the reminder that I once was a fat guy. One time in my life I tipped the scales at 360lbs, now I'm down to 200lbs. People don't get to see the damage that has taken place over the years. I'm hoping that the LBL will close a large chapter of my life. Then when I walk by the mirror, buck ass naked, that reminder won't be there anymore. I can say that being lapbanded 2 years ago has probably saved my life and was the smartest thing I ever done. Now with the LBL, psychologically I'll see myself as a new, fit and trim person,, looking to the future and leaving that fat guy in the past.

I'll try to post all that info via my blog. So stayed tuned. LOL 9 days and counting.

On Tuesday October 21st. I'll be at the OCC on Monday and doing some stuff there. Maybe I'll see some of the new bandsters that day.

All bands will hold more than their rated. How much more?? Inamed knows,, but that info isn't available. But,, you got to remember,, the 4cc, 10cc and the 14cc band will never completely close shut. No matter how much saline is in them, they only close down to a certain point. But, each person is different,, depending on the thickness of your stomach wall and how much fat is on the outside of your stomach wall,, you can close off your stomach completely and have total restriction. How much saline is required to do this varies with each person. As several of you know,, being OVERFILLED is not a place to be.

Well, with surgery being a little over a week away, one of the must do's before I get to Cosmed is to shave.. Since this is a lower body lift procedure,, we're talking a body shave. Last night I started out by using a regular electric hair trimmer and away I went. I started at my neck and went to my ankles. Being a guy,, It's just not something I'm used to. I had my loving wifes help on those hard to reach spots. OMG, now I look like the Thanksgiving Turkey sitting in the roaster,,,SORRY,, no pictures. LOL. I've had requests that I post before and after pictures of my LBL. I'm thinking about it, but don't get your hopes up,, I'm a shy guy.

Hi stormy,, I'm still here,, my surgery is scheduled for October 21st at the Cosmed Clinic in Tijuana. I'm having a LBL, (Aka: lower body lift). Here's a link that explains the procedure, http://www.surgery.org/public/procedure/post_bariatric/5 Check out Cosmeds website, http://www.cosmedclinic.com

Things are moving along,, airfare is booked, lab tests are faxed in and a deposit check has been sent to Cosmed and Recovery by the Sea. I'm going over my mini list of stuff I must have, like passport, cash, you know, important stuff. Hey, I'm a guy,, as long as I have my passport, some cash and clean underware,, I'm good to go. I contacted Rene at the OCC and scheduled a band UNFILL. I'm waiting to here back from Dr. Quiroz to what he wants me to do concerning my band saline level. Right now I have 2.4cc's in my 4cc band. I can say that I'm on the tight end of restriction. I've always had better results with my weight loss running a little tight than a little loose. But, like I've said before, everyone is different. I'm thinking I might have the OCC take out maybe 1cc. My thought is to not have to worry about restriction while I'm doing recovery for a LBL. From what I've heard I'm going to be in pain from the LBL, so why worry about eating and PBing and getting food stuck. One of my biggest concerns with the band is my port. Since I've lost 95lbs, my port sticks out some,, not a lot, but some. But with the LBL, is it going to really stick out?? This is a question I'll address with Dr. Martinez while I'm at the OCC. Oh, one more thing, when I was talking to Vicki at Recovery by the Sea (RBTS) (she is so sweet too!) She told me I needed to go to Walmart, buy and bring along a pack of "Wife Beater" T-Shirts,, to wear in recovery, OMG! My guess is because their cheap, white and you can throw them away after you've messed them all up. Yuk! Wifebeaters are so NOT me. This will probably be my last entry till I arrive in TJ on Monday the 20th. C ya

Well Big Daddy,, I'm a 55 year old guy and 2 years ago I did something about my weight and got on the BAND wagon. I had looked into banding 8 years ago and chickened out back then. It was before it was FDA approved here in the states. I wish I would have done it back then knowing what I know now. It was the best decision I had ever made. I'd been heavy all my life. I'm down 95lbs since being banded and in a couple weeks I'm scheduled to have a lower body lift at the Cosmed Clinic in TJ. I say welcome to our forum,, surf around so you can learn about the band and everyones stories behind them getting banded and their journey after banding. Ask questions if needed,, but surfing this site will answer 99% of your questions,, plus you learn more. If you choose the OCC to be banded,, you've picked one of the best that Mexico has,, maybe the best in the world. Good luck

That would be a (LBL) Lower body lift, at the Cosmed Clinic