CTJohn

Very inspiting, Jim! I'm so glad you posted!
Didt it require/have any skin removed? Or, any tips to tone up with excerise?
I'm approachimg 100, and am thinking that might be on the horizon

Very inspiting, Jim! I'm so glad you posted!
Didt it require/have any skin removed? Or, any tips to tone up with excerise?
I'm approachimg 100, and am thinking that might be on the horizon

Nice little story there. Unfortunately, we are all slaves to our own choices. I definitely make no excuses for the bad choices I have made in the past. I guess I got to a certain point where I decided that I want to at least experience a life that was always just out of reach for me because of my weight before I die. But I wouldn't feel right imposing that on someone else, because at the end of the day, it's a very personal decision.

So the last eleven months (really much longer) have been an incredible journey.
I had lap band surgery 4/26/14. Has it been easy? Depends. I'd say on the whole, yes. I wouldn't be were I am had I not been banded.
I did it for my health. I remember the day after the surgery telling my family I probably added 15 years to my life.
There have been some fun victories. No seat belt extender on plane! Fit in booth! Lost 11" from waist!
But today it happened. Went to endocrinologist for follow up. I'm no longer diabetic!
Six months before surgery, my A1c was 10.1. Today, was 6.1. (Ok.... While not diabetic, I'm officially re diabetic until it comes down a bit more, but I'll take it!). It was a steady decline between surgery and today
I'm off diabetes medications (I was never on insulin). And, as off today I'm also off blood pressure meds.
I'm psyched.
And, trust me. If I can do it anyone can!

So the last eleven months (really much longer) have been an incredible journey.
I had lap band surgery 4/26/14. Has it been easy? Depends. I'd say on the whole, yes. I wouldn't be were I am had I not been banded.
I did it for my health. I remember the day after the surgery telling my family I probably added 15 years to my life.
There have been some fun victories. No seat belt extender on plane! Fit in booth! Lost 11" from waist!
But today it happened. Went to endocrinologist for follow up. I'm no longer diabetic!
Six months before surgery, my A1c was 10.1. Today, was 6.1. (Ok.... While not diabetic, I'm officially re diabetic until it comes down a bit more, but I'll take it!). It was a steady decline between surgery and today
I'm off diabetes medications (I was never on insulin). And, as off today I'm also off blood pressure meds.
I'm psyched.
And, trust me. If I can do it anyone can!

Good luck - you're well on your way! Tuesday is the first day of the rest of your life!

I take some oral medications.
8 months before lapband, my A1c was 10.1. Month before, it was 9. Month after, it was 8. Three months after, it was 7. That was last September
Had labs done today, see endo on Monday. I have a feeling I'm no longer diabetic!
It works!

Great job!!

Well, the day that seemed so far has finally come. Have to be at the surgicenter at noon and procedure is at 1:30. Please send up prayers and good luck wishes for me. I have all of my essentials ready and have decided that I will have a good post-surgery experience with minimal to no pain. Everyone here has given so much encouragement and information that I really feel more prepared than when I first started researching. Thank you all so much! I'll check in once I get home ????

Surgery at 730am home by 1030Am. Pain not that bad. Taking my meds. Walking every hr few laps around my apartment. Using gas x strips and icyhot heatg pad on my left shoulder. All in all okay. Super hungry. But feeling very optimistic

I just joined bariatricpal today and I have to say, after reading through several posts I am much more confident and excited to get my band. I have finished all the preliminary testing required by my surgeon and so now it is the waiting game for my insurance company to approve me.
I had been questioning my choice to have the band. Everyone seemed to be pushing me to get the sleeve, but I just didn't like the idea of removing 75% of my stomach as well as many other reasons. After reading through several threads, I am now 100% confident this is right for me.
I am looking forward to using this forum as a tool to help me be successful in my lap band journey!

How to effectively decide which WLS is best for YOU:
Make a Pro/Cons list. Take your surgeons suggestion very seriously Consider your co-morbidities When listening to people you don't know, especially if they have nothing negative at all to say about the surgery, take it with a grain of salt. Do not listen to people you do know that have never had WLS Do not let fear make your decision for you. EVERY SINGLE SURGERY carries possible serious risks Factor in how much you need to lose Factor in how close to goal you want to get Consider any Pre-Operative diseases you have that could get worse post-op Consider any diseases that could become better Post-Op Do so much research on each surgery that you are having dreams about research Take your time with each step. Just like Marriage you want to feel things out before jumping in with both feet. Go to several in-person WLS support groups. Get to know people there and ask them face to face questions about their surgeries. Ask the tough questions too. This is not a rose garden, and having WLS is hard work! You will have to make a selfish decision when doing this, because no one will know the pain you will go through post op Know yourself and your food triggers. Your decision and outcome will greatly either benefit (or not so much) with the decision you make Whatever decision you make be prepared to put in a lot of personal time and effort into losing weight and mostly keeping it off forever. No one surgery is a magic cure all and you absolutely CAN and WILL stretch out your stomach and/or gain weight back if you do not always follow the WLS rules. No one surgery is better than another at keeping the weight off. Only YOU can do that. I will try to add more here and there when something new comes to mind or if someone adds something good!

Tuesday one year ago I met with my surgeon for the first time. What a wonderful year I have had for health and rediscovering me.
For those of you just starting out, you may feel like I did that your surgery is too far in the future and waiting all those months will be unbearable. When I first started to research WLS in September, I thought I might be able to have surgery before Christmas. Ha ha ha. Not only was it not before Christmas, but it didn't actually happen until March. And you know what? I needed every single day of that time period between September and March to prepare myself for this enormous life change.
First, I met with my clearing psychologist. And I didn't get cleared! Nope. I needed to change my habit of eating in front of the TV. Until I did that, the psychologist was not going to clear me for surgery. He told me that I needed to make lifestyle changes. When I first heard that, of course I said, sure! Everybody knows you need to make lifestyle changes! But when I went back to him the following month for clearance, and I told him I had not been exactly able to give up TV eating, he told me point blank that he didn't think I was ready for WLS. He told me that unless I actually made the lifestyle changes, I was not likely to succeed with the LapBand.
Of course, he was right. I'm glad that my little wake up call was so minor, and not a bigger deal, like if I had been denied surgery at the last minute. His denial made me face facts. How was I going to live in a new way, if I wasn't even willing to change a little bit?
After I gave up TV eating, the next hurdle was the holidays. I grieved my way through Thanksgiving. I was very sad that in my mind, it was going to be my last enjoyable holiday. I sat in the kitchen the night before Thanksgiving, after having roasted the turkey, and binged on the crispy turkey skin. It was the weirdest experience I'd had in a long time. I knew what I was doing, and simultaneously I knew it was the last time I was going to do it. I knew that Thanksgiving 2014 was going to be different. I was going to have lap band surgery and I was going to be eating like a normal person. I was working toward that goal with excitement. So why was I so sad? I was getting ready to pay somebody thousands of dollars to help me recover from binge eating. And I was grieving not being able to binge eat anymore.
Fast forward to February 2014. My personal life took a terrible plunge. My marriage, which was in bad shape before my WLS process began, took a terrible blow. Constant stress became my normal everyday life. I had one anchor in my life. My upcoming surgery.
I was banded mid March 2014. I complied with all of the doctor's orders. My surgery was a breeze, and my weight began to come off right away.
You can see by my ticker that I have had a lot of success this year. I am almost 2/3 of the way to my goal weight. I have not been the weight I am right now since my second child was born 19 years ago.
Through it all, I have received immeasurable help and support from this website. I do not have a supportive spouse. I do have two very supportive daughters. But when it comes right down to it, we must do this for ourselves. Nobody can do this for us.
And more importantly, nobody, nobody, nobody can prevent us from doing this for ourselves once we are ready to reclaim our power.
I'll save my long list of NSV's and great experiences for when I write my 100 pounds lost post soon. And it's almost here.
This post is just a reflection back to that first week when I walked into a WLS orientation meeting, followed by a meeting with my surgeon. The fearful, beaten-down person that I was one year ago no longer exists. In her place is a strong, confident woman who knows that she is worth it.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This is about so much more than weight.
Nothing changes until everything changes.

I expect that kind of comment from Rosie O'Donnell but I don't expect to feel berated here for choosing one surgery over another. This is where I come to feel better, usually by trying to make others feel better. If people sound defensive perhaps it's because we keep having to defend a basic medical procedure. I did my research, I chose what was right for ME. Not any one else, just me. Why not support me on my weight loss journey? Are there people who want me to fail because I elected a different avenue? We are on the same path of wellness. Be supportive, PLEASE. It's the Star Belly Sneeches all over again.
Now, what I thought I'd be writing before I read all those comments -- great piece, Alex, and thanks for all you do for the WLS community through this site.

I think I may have my band removed. It is failing me.....

I can't help you in terms of percentages of complications but what I can tell you is that your concerns about the unknown are very common. I was terrified pre-surgery. I couldn't imagine what my life was going to be like without the comfort of food. Well, turns out my life improved so much that overeating was something I didn't want to do even though I could have.
It took work, and it's still a temptation to eat poorly or eat too much but when you start to see the success, it gets a whole lot easier to be compliant. I went on a cruise in July and was so happy to be able to walk the ship comfortably and get off at all the ports and go on excursions that I was able to walk away from all that food pretty darn easily. I lost a pound that week. Who loses weight on a cruise? I do. And so will you once you find some success and see how the band works.
Good luck to you and keep us posted.

Just celebrated my one year anniversary. Have officially lost 71% of my excess weight! I celebrated by getting a pixie cut I never would have had the guts to attempt before!

I am coming upon my 4 year mark....I consider myself being 100% successful and have been for years now....
I don't count calories, don't worry about portion sizes. I eat healthy and get plenty of exercise, just as my skinny fit friends do who never had WLS....I've adapted the same lifestyle...
I have never had one complication....
The things that were once new because of the band, like my inability to eat Breakfast, have become very matter of fact...new habits that developed into a normal way for me...same goes for things like red meat, pizza, etc...people here talk about such things all the time....I don't give it a 2nd thought anymore...same goes for eating out, parties, traveling..you name it, I do it all. But I do it as the new me, with the new way looking at things, all because the band forced me to change.
I have very little fear of ever gaining weight back. I weigh myself twice a day, when I first wake up and later at the gym...and nothing has changed for almost 3 years now....normal fluctuations within the same 5 lbs.
Most days I do not even think about the band...I can go all day and just live a normal day to day life...although it is a "New Normal" that only came into being due to WLS...
It all started with the "Rules" which became "Habits" and then became "Normal" and along the way the rules have changed somewhat, some became very important, some became useless and soon forgotten....but I had to start somewhere....
The band is always there, doing it's job to control hunger, cravings, etc....it's just that I have gotten to used to it and perhaps take it for granted....but step out of line and the band will let me know real quick who is really in charge!
Many of the veterans who were on this forum when I first came, are all long gone...and I used to follow every post they made....but it can be very hard to hang around with the majority of people just starting to learn baby steps, let alone walking and then running....
There are things I could post, but not many people would understand what I am saying and would only confuse people, and they are not ready to hear it....
Many posts, just by reading the titles, I will skip over entirely....else I would get very frustrated not just by the questions, but also by the answers people will give....
Even though I can take it for granted, forget about it at times, reading posts here keeps me focused and mindful that I am still a WLS patient, and no one should forget what it took to get there...
There are countless of people out there who have completed this "Journey" (I don't like that term myself)...it's just that they have moved on....but they are out there....

I'm 5 years post op....down around 130 pounds from where I started. I've not had any band caused problems. I'm very active now, cycling, running, I take NO meds...how could I not be enjoying my banded life?

Well, let's see...before I was banded, I was morbidly obese and my joints were so bad that I was looking at living the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I was already using a cane and walking was getting more and more difficult. I tried to diet with not much luck yet again and finally hit rock bottom and decided to get banded because my pain management doctor told me I would need knee replacement and was at that time, too overweight to have a good outcome.
I was very very fortunate. I was banded in January 2013 and followed the post op instructions almost to the letter and had no issues. I could not exercise so I made sure to do my best to stay under 1,200 daily calories. I lost enough weight in six months to become eligible for surgery. Everyone thought it would take at least a year for that to happen but it was a good thing I lost quickly because I had found out that I needed both hips replaced even before the knees. This was devastating news to me but I moved forward as I had no choice and had bi-lateral hip replacement surgery in October.
As most of you know, it was a very hard surgery and a long and difficult recovery but I am almost a year out and the quality of my life has improved a thousand fold. I can walk fine now and the cane sits in the corner of my bedroom to remind me of what was. I will not need a wheelchair because my pain is a fraction of what it used to be. I couldn't walk a block without having to stop because of the pain and now I'm planning a trip to China next year with my sister because my sister-in-law is moving to Beijing for a year and The Far East has been on my bucket list for the longest time. I never thought I'd be healthy enough to make this trip but I know now that I can.
The band has saved my life. Without it, I might be dead and that's not being dramatic, it's being truthful. I also have to say that I was not in a good frame of mind when I was banded. I expected to fail in this as I had failed in all other weight loss attempts but it worked for me just as it was supposed to. It didn't stop me from making bad choices or being hungry. It eased my hunger just enough to make good choices and to not overeat.
Also...as I noted, I was morbidly obese. I needed to lose more than 100 lbs. and my primary doctor said I'd not have success with the band because I needed to lose so much weight. I'd never leave my PCP because she is an excellent doctor but I must say that it gives me great satisfaction to say that I am thinner than she is now.
I know that there are many people who do not do well with the band but you asked for success stories and I'm the poster child for success with the band and getting back a quality life again. To say I've been reborn is no exaggeration.

Follow your doctor's post-op instructions -- don't put yourself or your band in harm's way! I don't know what else to say.

So today I was asked about excess skin. So I wanted to share my skin. Warning there are photos of me in my bra.
So a little about me.
I had gastric bypass on Halloween 2013.
Hw: 333 pounds
Surgery weight: 283 pounds
Current weight: 180 pounds
Estimated excess skin weight from doctor: 20 pounds
Height 5 foot 6 inches
Size 10 stretchy, size 12 regular fit, size 14 tight fit.
Size M shirts
Size WHEN I started 4xl
I will try to attach some before, after and skin photos.
Goal weight 140-150 pounds.
Goal life: healthy, and live life to the fullest
I wanted to share these because I look not so bad with clothing. I don't like having the excess skin, but it doesn't define me.
Remember it can take up to two years for skin to shrink.
I am not ashamed of my excess skin. Do I wish it was gone, yes I do, but life unhealthy was much worse
I hope this does not deter you to lose weight and have this surgery, because this life is so much better and it is worth it!
Let me know if you have any questions
I will likely do this again when I hit goal weight. As you can see in the below pictures, I still have a lot of adipose tissue in the skin, so I am sure it will get better
Cheers!

I just got my fourth fill. After the third fill, I lost 16 lbs. Prior to that, 1lb! I told me doc then that I felt like I was on a diet and the band wasn't working. He said it will -- and I'd know it.
Well, it happened. Am I in the green zone yet? Don't think so.... But getting closer.
Hang in there!

I'm now banded as of 7:45 this morning, I'm doing ok... having a hard time getting comfortable but I'm sure that will pass.So excited to start this new phase of my life.. I must admit I'm proud of myself!

Ok family I'm wired for sound and ready to go to the OR. Asking I'm asking for prayers this morning! Thanks and much love