Jim1967

Hello All, Long time a member but have been away a long time. I was banded in April 2012 at 488lbs. My lowest weight attained was 170. I have since over the years climbed back up to 328. Monday, Jan 8th I am scheduled for a conversion to bypass. Removing my band as well as my gallbladder. Any advice would be appreciated. It's been 10 years. I imagine somethings have changed while some haven't. I know it's a tool. I know the weight doesn't fall off overnight. The band saved my life. I hope bypass gets me back on track. Thanks, Jim.

This is normal. It is almost like an initiation phase that will pass. I had a lapband in 2012. On Jan 8 I revised to bypass and had my gall bladder removed. I am still not past the misery stage but getting there. Gas pain is the worst. Keep the faith it will get better.

Well surgery was yesterday. Got home about two hours. Gas pains are the worst. Just need to keep moving.

I was banded April 12, 2012 I weighed 488lbs. I was afraid of bypass. Didn't think I would survive being so overweight and with sleep apnea. Lap and saved my life. My weight bottomed out at 150. I weighed 150 in 7th grade. Lol. Here we are end of 2023 and I now weigh 330. January 8th the band comes out and convert to bypass. I can't speak from bypass experience but I will say you can't measure success or failure based off someone else's journey. It all takes work and discipline. Best, Jim

Hello all, long-time member who has been away for a while. January 8th I am scheduled for a revision lapband to bypass. The band was successful for years and no doubt saved my life but it has run its course and the weight is going back on and the band is maxed out.

Thank you very much!

Hello All, Hope you're all hanging in there and Winter hasn't been too cruel to you. Kelli and I spent Valentine's Day sharing some pretty remarkable news.....TWINS!! She will be 13 weeks tomorrow with a due date of Aug 24. Must admit I have not been eating well these last few weeks, ok maybe months and I know my weight is up. Hopefully, I can get back on track and continue to be healthy for these little gifts on the way are going to require a lot of attention.

So has anyone spoken with CarolinaGirl lately? I know she hit a rough patch a while back. Hope she is doing well.

Hello one and all! Hope you're all doing well. I've gotten pretty bad about checking in here. I have a new position at work and seems to suck up any and all 'free' time I had. How dare these people expect me to work during a work day. Anyway, all is good here and living life...

3+ years here and doing fine.....

I'm always late the party... My name is Jim in case that is not obvious and I'm 47 and live in NH with my wonderful Wife of 8 years. Just taking life one day at a time and enjoying as much of it as I can.

My only regret is the lost time while struggling with day to day life both physically and mentally. Like so many others I wish I had done it sooner. I am a little over 3 years out now and life had done a complete 180 degree turn. It has been such an eye opening experience.

I did the band for two reasons..... 1. I was 488lbs when I started the process and thought the was band safer choice with less chance of complications and reversible. I was pretty concerned about being able to survive the procedure. 2. My only options were band or bypass because the Sleeve was not yet offered at my Center and quite honest I never heard of it before. I have had tremendous success with my band and I have been pretty fortunate to have such a smooth journey but if I am being totally honest I don't know if I would make the same choice if I had to do over with today's available Sleeve option. Decision would definitely require more pondering.

Good to see you my friend and excellent post as always. I have long gave up trying to debate the band haters. I know it works for me but I also know that it may not work for others. WLS is not a one size fits all surgery. It's about finding what works for you and then work it. I am for all forms of WLS if it helps a person reach their goal of getting healthly. What I am against is bashing any form of WLS. Only thing I really get hung up on is when someone says "Oh you have an awful lot of weight to lose. I wouldn't recommend the band". 99% of the time it is a non-bander saying it with no experience with the band to back it up.

Nothing sweeter than a non scale victory!!

Nice reminder to hang on the refrigerator

And this is why I keep coming back Thank you.

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary and success. We share the anniversary day just a couple of years apart. I come back pretty much for the same reasons you mention above. I try and avoid the negative posts but I like to give back by offering encouragement to those looking to change their life. Seems that new bandsters are slowly fizzling out. I can not visit for a week and still manage to catch up pretty quickly. Part of it saddens me but I completely understand medical technology changes all the time and WLS is no different. Seems like yesterday I was new and didn't know where to start. So many people helped me along the way. Most of them have moved on. I guess some get what they need from the site and move on with life.

I had often told myself during my journey that even if I were to ever possibly hit goal I would never post a success story. Maybe I was being modest or perhaps just really hard on myself or…just not able to forgive myself for ever letting my weight get out of control as it had. I guess a lot of it no matter how you sum it up is really just embarrassment. Well I had a change of heart. That change of heart came because I can remember so vividly the feeling of the hopelessness and despair. At times I felt I was knocking on deaths door and that there was nothing I could do about it. So I am writing this tonight in hopes that if I can help just one person even if only one tiny bit then it is my responsibility to do so. I believe in paying it forward and giving back. If it wasn’t for the people before me that helped me then where would I be? It would be irresponsible for me not to do the same. You are not alone and there are people out there, really good decent people who can help you but YOU have to want it and at some point you need to swallow your pride and ask for the help. Help will not come to you. YOU have to seek it out. I have told my story several times and you can read it on my profile. I lost 170lbs doing Atkins between 2003 and 2004. I went from 393 to 220 and felt great…and then I got sloppy and let my guard down and weight started packing on. I went from 220 to 488 in 8 years’ time. At 488lbs doing day to day activities was quite a chore. My knees were taking a beating carrying so much weight on a 5’6 inch frame. I developed arthritis and serious sleep apnea. Walking from the parking lot to my office was a real task and that was even with the use of an elevator. I had to sit out in the car and have my Wife do the grocery shopping because I couldn’t last more than 10 minutes on my feet. I had to sit and fold laundry sitting in a chair. This list could go on and on about the limited mobility. My amazing Wife stood by me and encouraged me to make a change but we both knew until I was ready to commit to change it would not happen. I am not sure how many other women out there would have put up with what she did. My weight affected us both physically and mentally. I did not feel like much of husband at times and I am sure there were plenty of times she felt more like a caregiver than a wife at times although she never said so or complained. Something had to give and it finally did and in September 2011 with my wife at my side I attended a local seminar for WLS. We listened to the Doctor discuss all the surgical options available at the time and being new and somewhat naïve we decided Lapband was the way to go. It was reversible and probably the least invasive of all procedures. I signed up for a one on one consult with the Surgeon that night. October 2011 I met with the Doctor and told him I ready to make a life change. He told me he wanted to see me lose 24lbs and work on shrinking the liver. Insurance required me to do a 6 month monitored diet so instead of losing 24lbs preop I lost 38lbs. My Surgeon was impressed and after completing all the preop requirements I finally got a surgery date of April 16, 2012. I weighed in on surgery morning at 450lbs on the button. So there I was April 17th and getting discharged from the hospital and all that went through my mind is why the hell did I do this? There was no way it would work and I will be known as the fat guy who couldn’t lose weight with WLS. As much as you research and prepare for this new life it seems at some point you say OK well I had the surgery why is the weight not coming off?? This is so frustrating!!! Well apparently I had never heard of bandster hell. Bandster hell is that time from when you have the surgery to the time you actually get the necessary fills to get the need restriction to control your portions. Some very few people are lucky they have the surgery and automatically get that restriction. Not me, it took me 6 months. 6 months of frustration. Probably one of the most difficult pieces for me to learn was patience. Lack of patience made this road even longer. I stepped on the scale almost daily these last 2.5 years waiting on a large drop in numbers that never happened. How on earth could you possibly see a large drop if you’re stepping on the scale daily? Do yourself a favor and don’t do it. To this day I still step on it daily but now it is about accountability not so much weight loss. Always look for other measures to success. We call them Non Scale Victories or NSV’s. Losing weight is not just about numbers. For a while I was buying new clothes every other month because I was shrinking so fast. I went from a size 62 waist to a 34. I went from squeezing into theater seats to have padded space on each side. I could go on and on here rambling about all sorts of stuff weight and band related. If you’ve read this far then thank you and thank you to those who helped me get here. I would like to especially thanks @@Alex Brecher without him I wouldn’t have a home here and I perhaps would’ve remained lost. If anyone has any questions or comments or just need someone to talk to don't hesitate to message me regardless how personal you think your question may be. My name is Jim and I am junk food addict. I have lost 300lbs and the lapband saved my life. 2yrs and 8 months 488 to 188. Peace!!

It is a very slow process. My Wife is also banded and she lost just under 30lbs in the first year. They are bringing her along much slower then I Keep in mind I was pushing 450lbs and generally the more you weigh the faster it goes especially in the beginning. Key is to stick with it and push through those frustrating times. @CTJohn I have a lot of loose skin and as a matter of fact I just went to information seminar this past Tuesday. I have serious wrinkles every where and it is not pretty. I did what I could at the gym but given my age and amount of stretched skin all the workouts in the world couldn't help. I am going to be making a consult with plastic surgeon but a lot is going to depend on whether or not insurance will cover anything. Right now none of it is bothering me health-wise. No rashes or irritations of such. April 16 will be my 3rd year anniversary.

I talk to Missy very often. She is doing great and living life. Like most of us who live in the 'winter' states she is waiting for warmer weather to come and thaw and get outside and play again :-) Sadly, I do not speak with CG much at all. I visit her blog every now and then but I don't hear from her much.

I never thought I would consider it either but now that I am dragging skin behind me I have no choice. I hope insurance will cover at least some of it. If it were me I would wait until you hit goal before doing. There could be more loose skin to come yet. I am attending a seminar this Tuesday night to see what it is all about. Good Luck!

Thank you. I try to think back and I honestly cannot remember if the slow part, bandster hell was ever explained to me. I remember reading about on here when I was pre-op but I honestly don't recall being told by my doctor and staff. Maybe it was selective hearing. Still went and had surgery and about two months in and the frustration kicked in. Even though I read about here I still let it get to me. Thankfully, I just stuck with it and kept up the appointments and fills. I was determined. One way or another I was going to exhaust the resource I invested time and money in and take it as far as it could go and if it didn't work out at least I gave it my best and would start looking at other options. Sleeve at the time was not an option for me. My Surgeon was not yet offering it back in 2012. In fact I think I was a year post op when they started offering Sleeve as an option.