JosieK

Hi everyone, I was banded 2007 and used this site for everything from suggestions for doctors to use to any issues I was having. Back then we didn’t have a lot to go on in terms of WLS connections, so this was invaluable.
I don’t come on regularly but I do try to drop in once in a while. It helps me to stay on track.
im not sure if this is true or just my perception ....but the site has changed....it seems like this site is a more supportive one. When I came in, it seemed like a battle ground in many ways. I was able to manuver my way around and stick with the winners. Poor Alex had a heck of a time 😂
‘It’s funny I happened upon this thread today....
I was just reading a post where the person had the lapband for years and started having trouble with it. They asked for advice on getting it out and if they should get new surgery.
one lady took the time to get on and tell her story. The original person went back on lecturing her. I thought,”Wait you ask for input, then you start lecturing the person that had a successful path for herself”. 🤔
generally i try to stick with telling my experience. Someone can’t refute that. And if they did.... it’s my experience.
‘Of course if I said something wrong, I would apologize immediately.
I agree these anonymous social media sites sometimes brings out the worst. This site has been fine for me. But get me on twitter.... and I am out of control sometimes. I’ve had to stop twitter because those are the things that made me eat out of control.
Have a blessed day

I had my lap band removed in July due to a mishap on another surgery that made it slip and I CAN'T STOP GAINING WEIGHT BACK....
I have tried everything eating right going to the gym still makes no difference does anyone have some advise please help me I'm losing my mind right now in frustration

Hi - I'm so glad you posted, sometimes I feel like us banders are getting extinct! It was also great to hear from someone with your perspective that the band did its job but needed to come out.
I'm 9 yrs out with a slip at 5 yrs (unfill & then corrected) and a weight regain of 35lbs, so the journey has been mostly positive with increasing reflux now. I'm preparing myself that it may need to be taken out, just not sure on the insurance end as now most plans excluded bariatric procedures. Was your surgery to remove the band covered by your insurance?
Thanks,
Teresa

This is right on. Whenever I think "never going back to....." it's a trap. I've been living "One day at a time" in another program for 29 years. Same skills apply here (for me).
I also learned if I stick to sharing my own experience and not preach to others...how could I go wrong? No one could discount or argue my experience.
Man when I first joined this group back in 2007, it had a few "experts" that knew-it-all for everybody and was a tough place to maneuver BUT... it helped me to save me life. I found the winners (mainly people that shared their own experience) and stuck with them. I stayed away from anyone that gave unsolicited advice. This place is chock full of well meaning people.

Personally I think it is a combination of mindset, never changing their relationships with food, and laziness. Processed and fast food is easy.
My mindset is the changes I am making now must be for life. These changes are not a diet, they are a healthy lifestyle. I know plenty of people that eat healthy and don't indulge in junk food or sweets and they have never had a weight problem.
I don't understand why some people consider healthy food selections and portions as a restrictive diet mentality?

Several months after RNY gastric bypass, you will transition from the Weight Loss phase to the Maintenance phase. Eventually your weight loss will diminish and you will slide quite naturally into the next phase. I went through this transition at around 7 months post-op. Being successful in the Maintenance phase requires a different strategy than the Weight Loss phase. The following article describes my experience in the Maintenance phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

Dr Erik Wilson. I just had my lap band removed yesterday after having it 10 years. He’s holding off doing the sleeve because my slip was so bad. Everyone at the surgery center raves about him. He’s efficient, smart and have a great bedside manner
He’s at 6700 west loop south suite 500
UT professional bldg
Bellaire Tx

When I had a Tummy Tuck, I went into a bad depression afterwards. My doctor said it happens to some people after surgery and they don’t know exactly why. Speculation says its due to hormones. It didn’t last too long.. good luck

Yep! My style changed. Lifestyle, clothing style, mental style. :-P Everything changed for the better. I feel better about myself, wear colors other than black and have a real social life now.

First I want to say that at 2 year currently I don’t consider myself a success because, losing weight is easy, maintaining is the hard part. I really hope that some people that have maintain for some years post here.
Most of the posts from long term WLS patients are about their failures, regain and trying to “get back on the wagon”. We need more positive posts for people that are doing well and enjoying their post-op life.
Hopefully this can be a resource for other people.

I followed my post-op plan to the letter almost for the first 6 months. I did not heavily experiment, I did not push limits. I did not advance my food stages. This provided a mental reset that completely changed my outlook and relationship with food. The mental reset from following the food stages and changing my relationship with food in the first 6 months was the most valuable experience. I do not feel deprived. I found a way of eating that does not feel like a diet. I can eat food that I enjoy and I still really love and enjoy eating food. Food enriches my life, it doesn’t control my life. Weighing my Food Tracking my Food Weigh myself every morning, record it once a week Staying calorie aware and spending my daily calories like currency Planning for eating out. If I am going to eat out for dinner, I allot extra calories for dinner and cut back on my food earlier in the day. If I eat lunch out then I cut back on dinner. I exceed my initial goal for myself pretty rapidly (250) and I have gone further in my weight loss than I ever dreamed I could when I started this. All the benefits from being so close to a normal BMI motivate me to defend my weight loss diligently. I know the difference between being morbidly obese and just being overweight and being overweight is far more comfortable.

Hello! I am visiting this board for the first time in quite a while, and I just came upon your post. I won't mince words or be apologetic for getting my surgery at such a "low" BMI (some can be judgy!). I was not quite a 30 bmi when I had my surgery (almost exactly 2 years ago). I had it done in Mexico. I had zero comorbidities. I got the surgery because I have always been very active, but struggled constantly with being overweight and binge eating. It cause a large amount of depression and anxiety. I was tired of dieting and not keeping it off. I was 37 years old with 3 young kids.
Getting the surgery was the very best thing I have ever done for myself! It is two years later and I have kept the weight off. I also don't believe people need to wait until they are super obese with failing health to get the surgery. I was only getting older, continuing to gain weight, and I wasn't going to wait any longer! Since the surgery I have become a black belt in Taekwondo, run more miles than I can count, changed my career, moved to a different state, and made lots of friends who like to be active too. The weight loss has helped me in these things by either just plain being physically smaller (exercise) or moving and making new friends and starting a new career (confidence).
I am a huge proponent of bariatric surgery, even at a "low" bmi. Good luck with your decision!

I finally found some time to write about how I got into this mess to begin with. It's a very long story told short, believe it or not, I know it looks long already, lol, but I did cut out a lot of unimportant stuff, I wanted to focus on things that were direct contributors to my weight journey. I hope you enjoy the read
I was still skinny in my young adulthood, when I met my husband 15 years ago I was at about 115 lb. As we dated we would go out a lot but I never worried cause I also worked out a lot, yet one day I noticed weight creeping up (my x-small clothign felt too small). Doctor diagnosed me with hypothyroidism and that took a while to get under control.
When we got married a year later my weight was about 140 and I started worrying. Felt huge and tired and disgusting, so we decided to move to Florida in hopes of being able to spend more time outside and helping me to get back in shape. That backfired, cause I didn't realize the severity of daily levels of humidity in that state. I was miserable outside and sweating more than I should, just for being out there. I did join a gym, but somehow my motivations were shut and although I liked to spend time at the pool or splashing around in the gulf of Mexico as I had to keep upgrading my swimwear from x-small to large size I also lost confidence to wear it out.
My body was changing and I didn't like any of those changes, while my thyroid kept getting worse. We also were trying to get pregnant and that seemed to be very frustrating and put additional toll on me. Eventually I was informed I wont be able to have children, cause of other issues within my body. We accepted the fate and on top of 2 older cats we already had we decided to add 2 kittens.
About a month after that I got pregnant (and I was at about 160 lb then), and my doctor worried about me a lot, reminding me that it will be a tough ride and I will have to see him often to make sure all is good, cause I was in high risk category of losing the baby, especially towards the end of the term. I took it very seriously and easy on myslef, but kept active as much and as smart as I could. Unfortunately problems started appearing very soon.
First one observable and related to rapid weight gain due to pregnancy (I was also showing very early on) was pain in my feet, both of them. I noticed it while durning my morning jog/walk time on the track behind my house. It was my heel spurs pain that went on undetected for months.
Then I started having problems with my hips, did PT for it, but since I was pregnant I didnt have any x-rays done. I was recommended to take it all even easier, to rest a lot, do simple exercises but not to overdo it.
Then other pregnancy related issues popped up, like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and I was eventually put on bed rest. Weight only kept creeping up and when at one point I took a longer look in the mirror I cried, cause I didnt recognize the person in it.
I was about 250lb shortly before delivery, felt miserable and unable to do anything to help the weight, my sole focus was to make sure I can carry to term. With preeclampsia my doc didnt actually want to wait till my due date and suggested earlier c-section, cause that condition was dangerous for me more than for the baby. Since I was also breastfeeding my baby I coudlnt go on diet asap, nor deal with the heal spurs the way my doc suggested (I had only one cortisone shot in both feet - which was super painful and did relieve some pain, but cause it was meant to last for few months and wore off after 3 weeks I decided not to go through that pain of it anymore).
Finally when I could I started dealing with those spurs and signed up for nutrisystem delivery. I was doing ok, and moved onto the steroid treatment of my feet, but as it failed and the doctor knew I had already suffered enough we decided to get on the track for foot surgery. That's when my husband announced his office will be closing and we were faced with a decision to either stay and look for another job or move within the company (relocation) and keep the employment.
With 4 cats, new baby and my health issues we thought we cant afford to lose the income or insurance, but on the other hand we had just refinanced the mortgage in our house, and did a lot of major renovations, including new windows, new AC system, pool and backyard upgrade (basically making it safer for the baby, adding a safety fence and replacing existing concrete with nice pavers). So we were in a catch-22, either way we'd chose to continue we'd lose a lot of money, and in the still very unstable market then (my son is 7 now) having a steady income won over huge losses from sale of the house.
After we moved my search for a foot doctor started and it was a painful process, not only cause I was still hurting a lot every time I walked, but also cause of the type of doctors I happened to come across. After a year of seeing 3 different ones I gave up and thought the universe is against me. With nutrisystem I came close to 200 lb but never under, and as I continued to have my food delivered to new place I saw that it eventually wasnt helping me at all, so I decided to quit it. Then as I became less and less mobile cause of pain and weight gain I also became a recluse, didnt want any pictures taken, avoided family gatherings and descended into the world of online gaming and constant snacking.
Finally 3 years ago I had some eye opening facts presented to me, as my weight got close to 300 lb and I was moving out of the pre-diabetes stage. With my reg doctor we tried to fix my diet and habits, but the foot pain prevented me from most activity, it got so bad that I had to line up chairs between sofa and bathroom so I could make it there. That was no way to live, another huge wake up call was that I wasnt fitting on my son's school bus to get him strapped in (he takes the short bus cause he is autistic - and that diagnosis was also as if someone was putting up more obstacles in my way to recovery, my full focus - or whatever was left of it, cause I wasn't really myself anymore - went into trying to help him instead of helping myself).
During the year of work with my doctor I slowly changed my diet, and although I didnt lose any weight I also didnt gain anymore, but other problems came to light, like sleep apnea and high blood pressure. I finally had to also do somethign about my feet, and took it very seriously to find a doctor that will want to operate on them and I finally got lucky.
She had actually listened to me, and only suggested one type of therapy that I didnt try before - laser, but when after a few weeks the results were not what she expected we moved fast track into surgery. I had one foot operated on before thanksgiving 2 years ago, and the other before christmas (chose those dates for 2 reasons: 1. cause my son woud have time off from school and hubby some vaction too and I could rest post op, when I couldnt really walk much at first and each foot was beign kept for safety in a postsurgical boot, 2. another "good" excuse to not join any of the family events).
Those surgeries gave me a green light to living, but as I started walkign again I noticed other problems I had no idea about their severity before, cause I was never up long enough to notice. My lower back was a mess and my knees were useless, I couldnt kneel at all, not even on the sofa while leanign over to reach for the blinds behind it.
My life was pretty much a constant pain ever since pregnancy, and I felt liek trapped in a vicious cycle: one step forward - 2 steps back. I also didnt take many of the pain pills, cause they didnt really help much, and when I took the harder ones I was basically sleepign all day and I coudnt do that either cause I had to be awake for my son, besides sleep apnea was affecting my awake hours enough and often when my husband came home I was asleep on the sofa.
It was a really tough time, but very slowly I was making some progress. Eventually it was a conversation with my doctor which made me realise that my problems can only get bigger if I can't lose any weight, and staying at or around my current number (I was fluctuating between 285-298lb) wasnt an option either, so she strongly suggested I looked into bariatric surgery.
I finally did so a year ago, Nov 2016 and cause my insurance then didn't allow for the surgery to happen without a monitored and documented prequalification process that was supposed to take 6-8 months, I did some research to find better insurance and get accepted when I was ready to go through with it, after completing one sheet of steps. Ironically cause getting some of those required appointments was very time consuming I ended up having my surgery done 9 months after initial visit, but I was glad to have spent that time researching it thoroughly and learning about how it actually works.
To think back then I struggled with the thought that it was an easy way out, lol, there is nothing easy about it, it takes commitment, discipline and a complete lifestyle change, but I knew I had to do it, I coudln't live like that anymore, avoiding people, family, having trouble to keep up with personal hygiene, and most of all not being able to assist my son when he needed me - that hurt me the most of all the pains I ever had.
So here I am now, 4 months post op and feeling great. I'm still having some pain, mostly in my knees, but also in my hips and back. I had finally taken the x-ray of my hips and the reason for my back and knee problems emerged, and am currently working with 2 doctors to treat it.
Still not there health wise, and not skinny yet, but feeling hell of a lot better then a year ago and a world of difference from 2 years ago.
I'm glad to have had people in my life who inspired me, guided me and made me want to see the beauty of life at the time when I was ready to give up. Also ironically I met some of those people while playing those stupid online games. Isn't life funny that way?
I guess in the end all that happens in our live is somehow fated, and we are constantly faced with choices, and its only up to us what we chose to do. I'm happy to be alive and to be here, and am looking forward to skinny and healthy me2.0
Thank you all for reading, I did write this once before and cause of a misclick I lost all progress right before posting it, and since the site didn't save what I typed I didn't feel back then to type it all up again. Today I used wordpad to save the story as I write it Lesson learned

I had all fill removed on Friday. Yesterday I battled heartburn all day...Zantac, Gaviscon, lots of Water. Hoping it's not as bad today. But I feel better overall. Seems like I am sleeping better. You don't realize how tight you are until there is no restriction.

Hi luvpenguins,
I had my surgery for the band on the 27th of October. My recovery has been way easier than I ever expected it to be. The only issues have been pain in the incision sites, since I had my staples removed on Monday I have virtually no pain at all.
I chose the band for 2 reasons - the first being the same as you, minimally invasive and reversible. The second was cost, the sleeve/bypass here in UK are almost 2 x the cost of the band which I could not afford.
I did a lot of reading on forums pre surgery which cast doubts in my mind about wether or not to get the band. I know I am still in very early stages but if I could give you any advice it would be to do your own research and make up your mind based on facts and information from your surgeon and not on the opinions of others. There will be people with bad experiences with the band, but there will also be people with bad experiences with sleeve/bypass. With regards to the above mentioned comment about foreign object, all I would say there is think of all the surgeries which involve placing things in to peoples bodies....not just cosmetically like breast implants but things like pacemakers, pins to heal broken bones etc
Please let us know what you decide!
Jen x

I had the band in Mexico when I was 20 in 2003. I lost all the weight Dow to 130lbs on average and maintained that healthy weight for all these years . I also had 4 kids in that time. Until this last year my little band issues became severe band issues. Especially acid reflux and back pain . I hadn't had Water in 4 years. Only soda could go down. I had my band I filled 3 months ago and have gained big time. I'm now 167lbs . In 3 months:(
my revision band to sleeve surgery is October 3. My endo is this Monday then liquid diet for 2 weeks. I totally get how you are feeling. All the what ifs and fear and tired of band complications.:(

Where are you located? I live in Bennett Valley near the golf course and have been evacuated since Wednesday.

Im thinking you’ve already had surgery- this is a very stressful time, so scary but we all have to be strong and part of that is self care! Don’t eat and if you snack can you make them healthy Snacks? (Ya what’s the point of a healthy snack! )

My surgery was scheduled for the 17th but it’s been canceled....Stay safe ️

Hi Timarland,
My doctor required a 10 day pre op diet. I truthfully Only did it about five days. I only have about 50 pounds to lose. I lost over 100 lbs with the lapband years ago and kept it off. But in an extremely unhealthy way. I had not been able to get Water down for years but I could drink soda. I ate lots of chips and queso and other fatty foods. I couldn't get vegetables down. Sometimes I couldn't even get my own saliva down.:(
Even though I'm only on post op day 4 I feel I have had more Protein and water than I ever have with the band. I'm a newbie with the sleeve but so far I like it. I think you will too.:)

Hi Timarland,
I totally understand where you are at. I had the lapband for 14.5 years until my revision this week.
I was surprised how short the stay was in the hospital. I checked in at 9:30 am on Tuesday and surgery was at 11:30 am. I stayed one night and the let me go home at 7:30 am the next day. It has been so different from the lapband and so far I love it.:)

Thanks for the quick response! Did you do a liquid diet for 2 weeks pre-surgery? I travel every week for work, so I'm not enthused about having to take shakes on planes and what not...
Sounds like you're doing great though - I'm looking forward to getting this band removed - I'm down +/- 50 lbs from my highest weight pre-band, but I'm stuck there. I can't eat most lean meats, no fibrous veggies, but if they tighten the band more, I can't eat. I've learned to eat plenty of high calorie soft foods though
I'm not excited about the surgery, but excited for something new and different.

So I had my consult yesterday! I know most of the nurse practitioners in the office so it was really nice seeing them and catching up as it's been a few years since I've been there for my band. I weighed in at 202lbs (I wore the heaviest clothes I own) and that only puts my BMI at 33.66 so right now the concern is that I don't weigh enough. They are confident that insurance will pay to have the lap-band removed but not confident that they'll pay for sleeve revision. So.......when I see the surgeon on 10/3 I somehow need to be 11lbs heavier. I'm going to have to figure that one out. If my BMI is 35 I need a comorbitity. The only one I used to have is sleep apnea. When I went through all these pre-op things with the band I had a sleep study and found out I had it. So, I'm going to be having an at home sleep study and hopefully I still have it. That feels so weird to hope I have it. Insurance is so twisted.
Anyway so next Friday 9/22 I have to go for a barium swallow and lab work. Then, on 10/3 I'm going to meet with the surgeon. I'm waiting for the sleep lab to call me but I am hoping I can get the sleep study done before I meet with the surgeon. If all goes well and the surgeon thinks I could be a candidate for sleeve I'll have to have an upper endoscopy too to check for erosion and scar tissue. It's possible that I may only be a candidate for bypass due to erosion so we will see. That isn't really what I want but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it.
There will be other with nurse practitioners and nutritionist if all goes well but for right now I need to have the barium swallow and meet with the surgeon and go from there! Oh, and I also had them remove some Fluid from my band and my heartburn has subsided. Hallelujah!

This is right on. Whenever I think "never going back to....." it's a trap. I've been living "One day at a time" in another program for 29 years. Same skills apply here (for me).
I also learned if I stick to sharing my own experience and not preach to others...how could I go wrong? No one could discount or argue my experience.
Man when I first joined this group back in 2007, it had a few "experts" that knew-it-all for everybody and was a tough place to maneuver BUT... it helped me to save me life. I found the winners (mainly people that shared their own experience) and stuck with them. I stayed away from anyone that gave unsolicited advice. This place is chock full of well meaning people.

Hi. I'm from the UK and from what you have said I am sure they will remove it for you.. it will take awhile maybe but it's making u more ill with it so surely they have to do something. just talk to your GP. I'm sure they will understand x
Sent from my SM-J320FN using the BariatricPal App

I was banded 2/12/2008. I never did lose any weight. It was mostly because I worked around my band and learned how to eat the way I was eating before the band. Stupid, I know. My head wasn't in the game. Psychologically I wasn't ready to commit. 2/16/2014, I had all the Fluid taken out because I was experiencing Acid Reflux and it scared me. I got up to 220 lbs and was absolutely miserable. Recently decided it was time to commit. I've lost 6 lbs by eating correctly and today I have an appointment for a fill. I have to go to a new Dr. because mine retired. I'm super embarrassed by my failure but decided to get past the embarrassment and get a fill and work with a new Dr. to get this thing going.

This is right on. Whenever I think "never going back to....." it's a trap. I've been living "One day at a time" in another program for 29 years. Same skills apply here (for me).
I also learned if I stick to sharing my own experience and not preach to others...how could I go wrong? No one could discount or argue my experience.
Man when I first joined this group back in 2007, it had a few "experts" that knew-it-all for everybody and was a tough place to maneuver BUT... it helped me to save me life. I found the winners (mainly people that shared their own experience) and stuck with them. I stayed away from anyone that gave unsolicited advice. This place is chock full of well meaning people.

In my 10 year journey, there were times I fell off the plan. So I went back to basics. Key:
1. journal everything I ate. It helped me to clearly see what I was doing.
2. I only weighed and measured myself once a month. The scale becomes an idol to me and I react to whatever it says.
3. I increased my exercise.
4. I consciously ate my meals. Never in front of a TV or doing something else other than eat.
5. I started cycling and signed up for a charity race for MS. It gave me a goal to work towards plus it was a social activity.

Key was to make sure my band wasn't too tight. When it was, in ate calorie intense liquids and ice cream. Big no no
it helped me to get back on track. Hope this helps