Sharpie

too much fun, it's good to see you are still here. lurking is fine. I've been lurking myself. my 5 year bandiversery is the 15th of this month. I am still happy I made the decision to get healthy and I have gained about 5 lbs over the past 5 years mostly this last year because of letting my guard down. Dating and becoming engaged this past year has made me happy and I have eaten more . I have to get myself back on the program now so I don't get out of control. Take Care and keep us posted on your progress.

that is so funny Liz, I was completely surprised but of course excited. I am a very lucky woman at my age to find someone who is just a loving, interesting, kind man. We enjoy so many things together. I truly feel blessed. Glad to hear you and Corey are still together.

Okay ladies, Big News.. My guy proposed to me this past Tuesday nite. We normally sing karoke on Tuesday nites with a group of friends. apparently he invited the whole world to this event without my knowledge. We arrived as usual and everyone I mean everyone I knew was there. didn't think about it much except I commented on wow I see people who I haven't seen in months. his response was well I did tell them your birthday was this week so they might have come for that? Long story short, he sang "I Swear" which is by john micheal Montgomery, (country song).. and then asked me to come up front, he dropped on his knee and totally took me by surprise,. gave me a beautiful diamond ring, It couldn't have been more romantic. I am such a lucky woman. apparently my best friend and him had it planned.. he bought champagne for everyone and of course I said Yes.. lol so now my motivation to lose some lbs will be our wedding which we haven't set a date for yet. My 71st birthday is today and I am feeling very blessed. Hope you all are well and have a wonderful holiday.

Hey girls , bet you thought I had dropped off the earth.. still here still doing well, I am a little bit over my goal weight, now 135, I think I have been happy in love and eating out too much. had my skin surgery in March, feel so much better without the apron. my guy has had a few health issues but overall we are still doing great, went to Vegas in June going to go again in January. I will try to attach picture . I think about all of you often, we also had a hurricane and were without power for 5 days It was difficult but no damage and no injuries. keep praying for the people in Puerto Rico it must be horrible for them.I'm like you Liz, no exercise and no control over sugar again. long term success is difficult. I still am happy I Had it done and have restriction, too much sometimes not enough other times. I had a hard time logging in , forgot my password but finally figured it out. I will be checking in more I need all the support I can get.

so here is a dating story from an older lady. I had a lapband when I was 66. I lost my husband of 39 years a few years ago. He loved me fat or thin. I also lost 3 other members of my family at that same time . I was depressed but knew I had to try to maintain my weight loss. Met a man through a weekly charity poker game. so long story short, he asked me out and I told him up front about my weight loss surgery and I had a lot of apron skin at the time. I still started to feel confident because he always said he didn't care about that, liked me because I was confident. I had skin surgry last Spring and he was by my side and took care of me. Life has no guarantees and it goes by so fast. If a man only cares about you if you are perfect and thin you need to find someone who is genuinely caring and honest. I am very blessed and we are now engaged to be married and he still loves me for who I am. sometimes its destiny. Get out there and live life, and if it's meant to be it will happen.

Thank you for responding. I have been disappointed in the attitude of people who feel it necessary to post negative comments regarding the band. I stopped posting even though I am extremely happy with my decision to have the lapband. Having any weight loss surgery is frightening enough without the negative nellies and know it alls posting how they have found the best way and how dumb we were for having a lapband. I want everyone to think before posting and please stop giving advice that is not asked for. I had skin removal surgery one week before this photo and I haven't had any issues with the band or the abdominoplasty. keep on doing what you feel is best for you. I pray you are successful.

I had my band January 2013. I couldn''t be happier, there are problems with all wls surgery. I have had people who had bypass who nearly died, Ive had sleeve people stay sick all the time its not the easy way out no matter what. the band does require more compliance and being alert to what you are eating and how much. I wanted to lose enough to get rid of diabetes, high blood pressure and wanted to feel better. I was 66 when I had mine done. I also had skin removal surgery this past March and have not had any complications. I know everyone has their opinion but bashing the band on the lapband forum is why so many of us have stopped commenting or following the forum any longer.

Dating at any age is difficult. At age 68 my husband of 39 year passed away. It was a difficult year during his illness. fortunately I had lapband surgery in 2013 and lost 70 lbs. It gave me the energy and mental ability to deal with his illness and I was able to care for him until he passed away. I had no intention to date or get romantically involved with anyone. Felt like I was too old . I went to the gym and helped with my grandkids and felt life was going to be a lonely time for me. I was invited to a charity poker club and started playing twice a week. I met a man who was single had been divorced for many years. We spoke some at the poker club , he asked one of the other guys if I was single. He asked me out to dinner and the next week was my birthday (70) he came and now we are together. He makes me feel so young and happy. I believe dating and being happy is about your attitude but you have to feel good about yourself first. If I had not had surgery and lost my weight, I doubt I would have had the courage to get involved with anyone. He knows I had WLS and is proud of me. He tells me I am beautiful every day. Keep working on yourself then get involved in a activity where you could possibly find someone special.

I was banded in January 2013. I have managed my band quite well. I am still very thankful for the band and the results. I do know it takes patient compliance to be successful. It's not easy to change your lifetime habits, some people can do it successfully some cannot. My Surgeon told me the same thing he is not recommended the band as much because of patient non compliance. It's more difficult to manage than the sleeve. I have maintained my weight loss since my first year. I have been able to maintain my health as well, no more diabetes, no more high cholesterol or high blood pressure. My life has taken some turns such as losing my husband of 39 years and other family members in a short period of time and the urge to overeat or eat out of pity was there, fortunately my band is a constant reminder to not do that. Banding is not for everyone and everyone has their own reasons and choices. I hope everyone is comfortable with their choices and I would not say one or the other. Glad to see some of the Veterans here expressing their views. If I were to experience issues with my band I would probably opt for the sleeve.

Hey girls , bet you thought I had dropped off the earth.. still here still doing well, I am a little bit over my goal weight, now 135, I think I have been happy in love and eating out too much. had my skin surgery in March, feel so much better without the apron. my guy has had a few health issues but overall we are still doing great, went to Vegas in June going to go again in January. I will try to attach picture . I think about all of you often, we also had a hurricane and were without power for 5 days It was difficult but no damage and no injuries. keep praying for the people in Puerto Rico it must be horrible for. them, . I had a hard time logging in , forgot my password but finally figured it out. I will be checking in more I need all the support I can get.

hi Mal welcome . You will be so happy that you made the decision to change your life. at age 66 after many years of being overweight I had health challenges that I needed to fix. Being obese was shortening my life. I also felt I needed to look better as well. Not knowing that my life was going to take a hard turn. My husband of 39 years passed away 2 years ago and thankfully I was healthy enough to care for him in his last years. I am also short 5 ft. 0 .. I was about 200 lbs when I had my surgery in 2013. I cannot explain to you how awesome it feels to be a normal size and be healthy . It is not the easiest thing to do so don't let other people tell you it's the easy way out. You have to comply with the rules and don't expect big losses every week. stay on the forum and ask questions. There are a lot of veterans here who can help you.

I am doing well. wore my size 6 jeans to a birthday party then we went out to karoke and dancing . it was a cool evening so I got to wear my boots too. my tummy is so flat, I am very pleased. my incisions are healing well a little tender in some parts but overall I am doing really good. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

thank you so much. I am feeling good and hope it continues. I had a few really tired days and just stayed in bed. Thankfully my guy doesn't mind cooking and taking care of things. I am very blessed to have come through the lapband process and the skin surgery and be happy with both.

I totally take responsibility for any and all of my health issues caused by being obese My diabetes has been gone for years but before that it was a daily chore to keep it normal. scared the hell out of me , high blood pressure is not joke either, can cause strokes, etc. so much healthier now than I was before band. update on panni surgery, drains are out. still sore, went out last night for a little music and dancing (not too much ) but got tired really quick. We came home early and I haven't been up much today, Bob made me promise I would keep it down today. He really didn't want to go out last night but I had cabin fever. so, he gave in and took me out .. he has been so good taking care of me. hope everyone is healing well. got no big plans this weekend except try to get back to normal. P.S the surgery was totally worth it.

well here it is day 4 of the pannilectomy surgery . less sore, still really tired. I am not used to sitting around much so that partis soooo hard. my daughter has been trying to control me and Bob (boyfriend) doesn't know quite what to do with me. but I get to take a shower today can't wait. I am so anxious to see how I will look without the flappy stomach. I am supposed to get my drains out soon. will post more later.