CTJohn

FYI...going for yet another fill in a couple of weeks. Went from great restriction to trying to find it again. All I know is that some of my clothes are tight and that is simply not acceptable. Having to use the willpower alot...but I can do it.

About four months out, I said to my surgeon 'this stinks.. Just feels like a diet'. He said just wait. He was right
Patience. I know, it sucks. But it'll kick in soon! Promise!

Love George! Love my band!

Thank you all for your kind words and support. It really means a lot to me. Tomorrow the plan is to wake up at 4:30am and call my mom at 5am and see if she will follow through. If not I will catch the 5:30 bus and I should be at the hospital before 7 and check in is at 7:30am. I should've been asleep by now but I have been very busy tonight getting ready for tomorrow. Anyways I'm going to bed now. Goodnight everyone and see you on the losers bench!

@@change4life you know I also have thought about this a whole lot! So I was banded in 2013. I have watched friends who are banded and even my husband lose almost all their extra weight while I have struggled. I've struggled with many things, health wise and yes I'm sure that is part of it....BUT I want to blame the band. I want to say this was not the surgery for me. I should have done X, Y, Z and that would have been better. I could go do those things still...I could opt to take the band out and have a revision surgery and I might lose the weight faster and I seriously thought about it as my hubby lost pound after pound and I was even starting to gain!!
As I was thinking about it and weighing things out in my mind, I realized that I have not really "worked" on this band since I have been dealing with so many other things I put that on hold and started using food to console me again. I started turning to ice cream and sweets and eating anything I felt like! Of course I was going to start gaining weight again...so I thought about it and I realized that unless I am willing to change my ways and dig deep and find out what is making me give up so easily when I have a tool that can help me reach my goals...why am I not using it?
Why am I looking for something else, there is no magic bullet all the surgeries are going to have their challenges and I have seen first hand people fail at all the other surgeries and gain back their weight and more because they never really changed their habits. So I decided that the band is for me. It's here I am here and we both need to show up and do our jobs!
It's there waiting for me to use it, and I am here and I need to use it and respect it and most of all myself. I need to find other ways to console myself when things are good bad and even ugly. food has to become what it's always been meant to be. A source of fuel to get this body through life to enjoy all the wonders the world has to offer that are not food related.
I don't get all excited when I drive into the gas station and fuel up my car. The smell of the gas and look of the station aren't a turn on...nope the excitement comes in where that full tank of gas will take me to. The things I will see and experience along the journey. That's how I have to look at food, it's an intake of resources that will get me to the next great thing. It will help me get through my day of work, my interaction with people, energy to read a book and write this post, and that's all it's going to do for me. It's not my friend, it's not my love and making it my life is robbing me of having one.
So that was my dollar's worth of free advice I hope it helps you...we are all on the same journey to live a happy and healthy life...we just have to shift our focus a bit when it comes to food.

Mine was quick after the six months. Like a week or so for approval

5 years and nothing but the best for me...lost all possible excess weight resulting in a low body fat %, reversed my Type 2 diabetes, no more cholesterol, BP, and other medications, no complications whatsoever....best thing I could have ever done, only regret is that I did not do it sooner but it was not recommended to me until it became a last resort in regards to my failing health....
I'm 64 years old and can keep pace with people half my age.

I finally got an unfill, and I drank 2 glasses of Water (yay!)
The ER doc here had the right needles but he couldn't get them into the port (ouch!). He called someone at my practice and she came over to the hospital to do the unfill.
It turns out my practice has someone on call 24/7. I didn't realize that! The woman who came said that sometimes they will advise us to go to an ER but they can also tell us which ER to go to. Now I know!
Calling ahead is probably a good idea for others who are in a similar situation (or just got to your surgery hospital) to make sure they have the right needles. I called an Urgent Care center first and they confirmed they don't do it, but I assumed any fully staffed emergency room in NYC would be able to handle it. But I was wrong!
So glad to be on the road to recovery! Having the LapBand means not living in discomfort, so I'm glad I got medical attention even if it took 5 hours to sort.

if anyone gives you a recommendation, immediately DO NOT listen. No one can decide for you. i started at 362 and 1 year and 2 days later hit 170, Now i am not saying you will do that, im just saying that either surgery can be the one for you. Or no surgery might be your option. It is totally up to you, no matter what you MUST overcome the reason you have food issues. That is paramount. Many people with the sleeve or bypass, are successful and also many fail. For me, i couldn't take my innards rerouted, But that's ME, and I cannot take your journey for you. Nor can anyone else.
This has to be totally about you. If you cannot get past the food issues and cannot understand that no one else but you matters in this, then dont have the surgery. Failing is one thing, failing after having either surgery, is a hell i wouldn't wish on anyone.

If the band didn't work, neither will the sleeve. The band has worked for me tremendously and I didn't have to get half of my stomach removed!! Also, I was able to have my restriction removed when I was diagnosed with cancer and needed to eat. I recovered from cancer and gained some weight back so went back for a fill and lost the weight again.

I enjoy reading success stories about the band. I will be getting mine in a week so I am definitely looking forward to this new journey.

I hope you're still able to steal her clothes tho..
You know, on those days where you just want to frock up...
Or am I giving too much of myself away here...
But seriously, what a great effort...
Congrats to you mate...

P.S. Oh wait ! Thats not all ! Last week we picked up our grown son at the airport, we hadn't seen him in person in 2 years. ( I ve lost my last 20 lbs since we last saw him, im now at a comfortable 142 lbs ) His 1st comment ? " Mom ! You've gotten so skinny ! I did'nt recognize you, and I couldn't understand why this little blonde lady was calling my name !!!" Yep ! I love my band !!!

Greetings, bandsters! I have lost 43 pounds and four inches off my waist and hips. I had my band over a year ago. Before Band (BB), I had been diagnosed with being "resistant to weight loss" . Is that even a thing? Well, I worked really hard, but it wasn't enough. All the doctors I went to said some people are just like that.
So when I took matters into my own hands and saw Dr. Ren, she said that it would be slow and that a reasonable goal would be 165 (down from the 209 I was!). Well, here I am, 166 and thrilled every day! I will keep at it because, well, who knows? I am just so pleased with the whole experience, except maybe the barfing. And then the post barf belly irritation. Ah, band life.
I'm going to keep going since my knees are being totally replaced this year, and I can't wait! Soon I will be able to return to my Kung Fu (hence my name), my Lion Dancing (hence my photo), and really kill it in my oriental Middle Eastern Dance (hence the "after" photo). I regret nothing about this journey, and would encourage all others to do the same. After my knees become bionic, and my weight loss I will be unstoppable! I'm going to try to lose extra before the surgery so I don't freak over the inevitable gain from bing immobile.
CANT WAIT!
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Bands yet hell does end. Hang in there - 45 is great!
It kicked in for me at maybe four months. At that point, I told Doctor that it seemed I was just dieting like before. He said just wait, it hasn't kicked in yet. He was right and it did.
I got some larger fills initially (like 1-2cc's) but then very small ones. They like more frequent smaller fills, and it has worked for me.
Hang in there. All of a sudden you'll say 'wow, there it is'!

No regrets at all! At time of surgery (15 months ago) 56 waist, 4xl shirt, diabetic with high blood pressure
Now, 40 waist, xl shirt, no longer diabetic, normal blood pressure and heart rate. So you tell me?

I'm sorry to hear that. It does happen however, more than you would think. However, I lost my 60lbs in the first 18 mo. I had my band since 8-13. I stopped losing about year ago. I only have 3cc in my band.
I take plenty of RX's that are constipating and weight gainers. So I take a stool softener about three or so days a week. Plus getting in your Water is important.
You need to go back to your bariatric doctor and let him know of your walls that you are running into.
Do you have enough cc's?
I might go and get another couple cc's before the end of the year. It sounds like you're still fairly new at this. There are stops and starts. If you're eating the same foods, mix it up a little, or eat supper for Breakfast. Are you using oil, butter or the like to cook any of your meals in? Lean meats? Get more advice from other long timers with their bands. I'm sure there are many, many out there who would be happy to help. Good Luck Donna

Not a single one. I've been banded 2 1/2 years so ask me again next year, or the year after but at this moment...well...you look at the pictures and tell me if I look like I have regrets.

Briefs199 - I came to terms when I realized that the band is helping me consume the extra 100 pounds of excess weight I packed on since 1999.
I spent 15+ years over-eating and storing that excess food in my body as weight. Now I eat half a cup of food at a meal, and even though it seems like a tiny amount, I know it's ok because my body will take what it needs from that, THEN dive into my food "reserves" (thighs, tummy, etc).
Trust your band. It's doing its job. The constant constriction around the bottom of your esophagus sends signals to your brain that you are sated. So why mess with it? Listen to your body and enjoy knowing that you are satisfied after a small meal. Woo woo!
#winning!

Awesome CTJohn! I'm working frm home for two days afterwards & then back to the office. I'm hoping that's enough time I have the "option" to work from home the whole week, but you know how they tell you that, but you get the feeling they don't mean it & expect you back... Yeah, it's like that.

Love my band! Wouldn't change anything. Good luck!

Agree with above. I never gained, but didn't really start losing until month four. Then everything changed. No hunger at all. The fact that you're down 25 is awesome!!!

I've had a lot of people ask me for pics of my scars from my extended Tummy Tuck. I finally got around to having my husband take some at the same time he was taking my "after" pictures for my one year WLS surgiversary. So here you go... sorry for having some pubic area showing in the front shot and some butt crack showing in the back shot... my incision is VERY low and there was no way to avoid it. But if it's a violation of any forum rules, mods, please feel free to delete it! The last pic is just to show that my incision is so low that bikini-cut underwear easily hide it.
  

Hi! I got banded just over a month ago. My tips would be- do what the surgeon/NUT says and don't rely on the scale (in the beginning) stalls are normal in the beginning and if you don't see it, it won't stress you out. Are you on fb? I'm part of a small group of Banders on it.

Great job! I went from A1C of 10.1 to 6.1. No longer diabetic! No more BP meds either. Stayed on Lipitor at my request, probably off in September. (Family history... But levels all great).
Love my band!