Finally!!! Starting the lap band process - few newbie questions

Hello! I FINALLY got a health insurance plan that covers this surgery - yay! I am starting the process of completing the realm of pre-surgery testing and am aiming to have the surgery in the beginning of August 2011. I have a few questions that I would like to ask those of you that have already had the surgery done.

1. Recovery time - Is it realistic to plan to return to work around 10 days post op? I am a medical secretary - very busy but can function without moving around much and I never do heavy lifting.

2. Expectations - How much does someone, on average, lose during the first few months?

3. Excess skin - I carry lots of my weight in my lower abdomen. Yuck! I am nervous that I am going to be super flabby after I lose weight. Has anyone had this issue? Any suggestions on preventing this from happening?

4. Post-op weight gain - What has caused you to fall of the wagon and gain weight? What were your solutions to this issue?

I think that's it for now - any other tips and suggestions are welcomed :-) Thanks!

1. Recovery time:  If you get adequate pain medication, you likely will be able to return to work at 10 days.  My doctor's NP would not give me anything stronger than Darvocet which was not enough for me which delayed my recovery.  It was 2 weeks before I could sit up for more than 2 hours at a time.  I'd try to arrange for more time off with the understanding that you might be back sooner.. if that is possible with your work situation... as a "just in case" measure.

2. Expectations:  Rate of loss really varies with the individual.  In general, a larger person will lose faster than a smaller person.  The average we are always quoted is 1 to 2 lbs a week.   I was SMO (super morbidly obese) and lost at a rate of 4lbs a week in the early stages.  I'm now at somewhere between .5 to 2lbs a week, depending on various factors (exercise, food choices, etc.).

3. Excess Skin:  Will depend on age, genetics, whether or not you have EVER smoked and maybe a few other factors I can't think of at the moment.  Exercise will help with this some.  Loose skin over muscle looks better than loose skin over flab.  There are also very good support garments now.  I've lost a LOT of weight and do have some looseness in my abdomen, but it's not noticeable when I'm clothed.  :)  And not too noticeable with the lights out.  ::grin::

4. Post-op weight gain:  I didn't experience this at all.  I've consistently lost weight.. sometimes faster, sometimes slower.. but my weight chart is all downhill.  A bumpy downhill, but down.

Congrats on getting insurance to get this surgery.  Hope my answers help some.

1. Recovery time - Is it realistic to plan to return to work around 10 days post op? I am a medical secretary - very busy but can function without moving around much and I never do heavy lifting.  I went back to work in 9 days.  I felt fine.  I was completely off pain meds within 3-4 days

2. Expectations - How much does someone, on average, lose during the first few months? I did really badly the first year.  I had no restriction and I did a bad job of trying to follow the rules.  I have done much better my second year and I have lost a total of 140 lbs so far...and I'm still losing!!!

3. Excess skin - I carry lots of my weight in my lower abdomen. Yuck! I am nervous that I am going to be super flabby after I lose weight. Has anyone had this issue? Any suggestions on preventing this from happening? I was told by my doctor that hanging skin will depend on , your age, how obese you were, how long you were obese, and your heredity.  I am 39 years old and have been obese for about 17 years.  My weight was pretty evenly distributed...meaning no part of my body carried more weight than another( like you mentioned your stomach)  I am down 140 pounds and I can tell you I have hanging, saggy skin on my stomach and inner thighs...my butt is just now starting to get saggy.  My boobs have been saggy since I gained weight.  But I will take saggy skin over a blubbery, bloated 354 lb body.  I have damaged myself to an extent that I will need plastic surgery but I am not so worried about that. 

4. Post-op weight gain - What has caused you to fall of the wagon and gain weight? What were your solutions to this issue? The first year I fell off the wagon because I had no restriction and I was hungry.  I also was upset because I wasn't losing weight so I figured why not eat that burger and fries.  But I never gained weight after surgery.  I stay on the wagon now because the results I see are much more rewarding than eating pizza.  I also know the things I can't resist so I stay away from the foods I can't say no to.  

Before picture 354 lbs.... a size 32.....  BMI 54 




After picture...218 lbs (I have another 50 lbs to lose).  size 18...BMI 33...lost 52 inches

Now I tell you would you do I look like I care about a little bit a sagginess

 Welcome!!

1. Recovery time - I'm sure this is very different for everyone but I was super lucky, had surgery on a Friday morning and returned to work on Tuesday.  I'm a teacher so I found it easy to just sit a little more than usual, although I was definitely tired by the end of the week. 


2. Expectations - I lost most of my excess weight in the first 2 yrs, and after taking a break, I decided to make goal my 3rd year-I COULD HAVE DONE IT QUICKER but I wasn't in a rush and the weight came off slow and steady.
 

3. Excess skin - Okay this is where I can absolutely relate to you, I carried most of my weight in my lower abdomen also and I did need a TT after all my weight loss-plus a year of maintenance.  I love the results of my TT (pictures on my profile) it was so worth all of it and I got insurance to pay for most of it too. 


4. Post-op weight gain - I never actually gained weight at any point post-op but I did plateau several times which is totally normal.  I had to change up my eating or exercise routine.

5.  Maintenance- I have easily maintained for 4 years now which I could never do while dieting!!

Good luck and research research research!!  I can't stress enough how important the post op visits will be to both the surgeon for fills and the nutritionist.  The band does require pretty extensive follow up for the first few years but it will be so worth it in the end.  Karianne

Congratulations on your approval, Dr. Roye is a great doctor. I was going to have him do my surgery but I moved to Ma. Recovery time I think depends on the individual, I was up and walking the hospital floor 2 hours after surgery and back to work on the 3rd day. I never took any pain medication at all I understand some people can't handle the pain, but from most people I've spoke with the worst pain is from the Gas they blow you up with. That pain can be relieved by walking the more walking the quicker the gas dissipates the quicker you feel better. The weight is going to depend on you, what you eat, how much exercise you get etc. The skin, working out will help with some of it the rest can be hidden pretty well with all the special garments they have now. I Pray that all goes well with your pre op and you have a speedy post op recovery. John

hijack-Hey John it's great to see you on the board and doing so well-Look at you giving awesome advice!!!  Hope all is well, Kari

 Hi - looks like my responses are pretty much the same., but alot depends on your age and health going into surgery

1) Recovery Time - I was 44 @ time of surgery.  Surgery on Wed - walking 2 miles by Saturday and working by Monday.

2) Expectations - I was a text book case - I lost 8-9 lbs per month right to my goal - then stopped

3) Excess skin - I had a tummy tuck 1 year after getting the band.  I prob didn't need it for medical reasons,  just for vanity purposes. My total skin loss in weight was just < 2 lbs.  So not much.

4) Post of weight gain - Im maintaining now and always fluctuate 5 lbs.

Learn early how to get in your protein.  A lot of folks struggle with this, just put a little reseach/effort into it early and its a piece of cake (I should say piece of steak!) lol

Good luck!

1. No problem - not for me anyway! My recovery was very fast and easy.

2. Don't ask! Comparing yourself to others is not good! We are all so different; you may lose 50lbs in the first three months, you may lose just 10lbs. I listed my weekly loss on my profile for the frist few months if you want to check it out.

3. You are virtually certain to have excess skin. You can tone the underlying muscle but unless you are young, haven't been overweight for long and have good genes, you will have excess skin.

4. Falling off the waggon is easy! We can eat round the band. But by eating dense protein first at every meal, we can minimise hunger and mek ti that bit easier for ourselves. But we still need will power. And taht is true for all weight loss surgeries! Even the most drastic surgeries don't stop weight gain if you eat/drink the wrong foods.

Kate

Congratulations!
My recovery time was 2 weeks, and I was fine with that. I wasn't allowed to lift more than 15lbs post op for 4 weeks.

Weight loss is personal; I'm 4 weeks post op, down 14lbs as of yesterday, but what's so great for me is that several people at my church are telling me "you look so good - what are you doing?" I'm in a state (FL) where this surgery isn't as prevalent as it was in TX, so I'm telling them what I'm doing, just minus the band info lol!

I had a band put in 2007 which was removed 2009, but I got my band back 2/28/11 (long story, but all is well!) I would say that genetics and the fact that I excercised regularly even while putting on weight (what was that about????) factored in to me not having excess skin. Also, I'm now in my early forties, so that may help to - the younger the better!

I did great post op initially; no problems until my first band slipped, I was in that small percentage that ended with band removal. But my results were so great with it that I got my band back as soon as I got insurance that covered it.

Good luck with your endeavor, and don't be afraid to call on your doctor's office for help; they are the greatest informed resource!

1. Recovery time - I was back at work the Monday following surgery on Tuesday. I too work in an office and don't lift much besides paper. No real pain, but I walked - i.e. day after surgery, mom (who came to stay with me for recovery) took me shopping the day after - to get me out of the house - and I walked. It was VERY, VERY slow, but I was moving. She helped me in and out of the car since I couldn't move myself (ab muscles), but I could walk and I did. This also helped with the gas. Even when I was home, I walked around, kept moving and didn't have much pain. I didn't take any additional pain meds after leaving the hospital.

2. Expectations - This depends on you. As others have said, it really depends. I'm down 21 lbs since surgery 5 months ago, but I'm learning about food and myself and am OK with this. Its been a long process to learn not to eat well and it will take time to learn to eat correctly and what your body needs (not wants) to survive. This will not be an overnight process and I've needed to learn about how I handle stress (i.e. eat and the 8 lbs I gained after resigning my job and spending 2 weeks at home is an indication that I'm still learning) and learn different ways to counteract the hunger and what is hunger. You are relearning life and my thought is that I'm learning so weight doesn't matter as much, but the progress is continued - that's what matters.

3. Excess skin - others have answered this. I'm still fairly new with this, but am hoping since I'm still in my mid 30s and am losing weight slowly, and have started exercising, it will help.

4. Post-op weight gain - For me this was stress. I was home looking for a new position/starting a business and kept going to the fridge and not getting out. I put on about 8 lbs between 1/1 and 1/14 and it was very hard to take off. I didn't get my first fill until February.

Ask for help and this is a tool to assist you in reaching your goals - it will not do the work for you..