SpecialK

St Patrick's Day was my surgery date so I'm always celebrating on this day. Today I finished a 4 Miler walk and I'm tired but logged more than 17,500 steps on my FitBit today. I often wonder how others I felt so much support from on this group. I'm down 95 lbs from my starting weight so that is great to still say but I've got about 40 lbs to get to the lowest weight I had achieved in 2010. At that point several things drove me back to some bad eating habits but I feel back in control now. Using WW for weekly accountability weigh ins. I asked my surgeon why the lapband fell out of favor and he said slips and other reasons that many had been converted to gastric sleeve or RNY so he's glad I'm still working it! Any of you convert from lapband to other procedure? Which did you choose and why? Best wishes to all the Shrinking Shamrocks of March 2008!

I highly recommend the bariatric surgeons that practice together as Mid Ohio Surgical Associates and their practice is at the Mt. Carmel West hospital. I had surgery with Dr. Price and then have had my follow up care with Dr. Miller and Dr. Choban on occasion. I like all three very well. I participate in Mt. Carmel's Bariatric Support group and both RNY and Lapband patients alike have good things to say about all three surgeons, the bariatric nurse coordinator and the bariatric nutrition counselor.

Unfortunately I'm sad to report Dr Price died of cancer last year but Dr. Miller is still with the practice in 2016. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I am using a Fitbit now to track my steps and it's fun that I can do challenges with others who are also using Fitbit. Won a Sneakers award today for getting in 12000 steps today. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I'm healthier now at 60 than I was at 50! My Lap band rocks. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I would do it again in a heartbeat ...8 yrs out now post op Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Happy 7 year Bandiversary to all my St Patrick's Day lapband buddies that called ourselves the Shrinking Shamrocks! For March 2008. Still glad I made this choice and though my own choices resulted in some weight regain, I'm still 75-80 lbs less than my pre-surgery weight in 2008. I'm trying hard to pull my choices in line including getting the exercise my surgeon emphasized from Day 1. Have a great day!

Hi there this is my 8th year as a lapband patient. I joined WW in October 2015 and have lost 25 lbs to now be back to the 95 lbs lost mark from where I started pre band. I find the weekly weigh in accountability and peer meeting support is helping me, not like band restriction helps, but more emotional and motivational support. My hospital's bariatric program has a monthly support group but it's a travel constraint and inconvenient time for me for the last several years but I changed jobs about 7 months ago and will try to reconnect to that as it was informative and helpful to see others who are trying. Go Columbus Ohio go! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I would suggest getting counseling from a good professional who works with bariatric patients as it sounds like you didn't get enough pre-op support and post op too. Never too late to talk with someone that might be able to help you make a documented case for medical necessity to have it removed. I'm 8 yrs post op and haven't regretted it but I have my band adjusted now and no reflux issues but restriction. It is a balancing thing for me that I want another adjustment to have more restriction but need to commit to that. I'm doing WW now more for the weekly peer encouragement and weekly weigh in accountability than anything else. My bariatric program only had a monthly support meeting and the travel and time this was offered didn't work for me so I stayed in touch with other lapbanders thru email and now social media like this. I had to reach out for support. I'm a stubborn one that tries to go it on my own. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Go girl Go! Never too late to get healthy Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

This story is incredible and I wish you much success. I am post lapband 8 years now and have kept off 95 of the 140 lbs I lost and am now doing WW for weekly accountability and have lost 25 lbs slowly and with moderate walking exercise since October. My size 24 pants were literally falling off this week and even jeans could be pulled down without unbuttoning or unzipping them so it's definitely time for new smaller pants. Keep hanging in there everyone. It's all about being healthy. At 60 I'm dramatically healthier than I was at age 50 so it isn't too late to try. God Bless! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I was 52 when banded and I lost well over 100 lbs ...so YES!

Add me to the 6 years out post surgery and I absolutely would not be where I am now without my band. I'd do it all over again for sure. I come here for encouragement for myself and to help others.

I'm getting ready to walk in Making Strides cancer 5k in about 30 min! Burn those calories and I had 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast about 7 am and I just finish this Apple Pie Greek yogurt snack that has 12g protein, 9g carbs, and 80 calories! Pretty decent and I might add a touch of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice if I was at home but this is a great portable snack for me! Taking a bottle of water and heading out soon.

I'm in Columbus OH area

I am changing my phone screen lock to this photo to remind myself multiple times a day that I made good behavior choices then some bad, and I want to go back to the successes good choices earned for me.

I am doing better now, getting my thoughts on track to put with an unfill of 2 cc's by my surgeon and then 6 weeks later he gave me a 1 cc fill so I'm working my way back up to restriction again. I'm also now seeing a counselor that works with bariatric patients. I am feeling positive again and got up today and did a 45 min walk to warm up for a 5K I'm doing tomorrow for Making Strides for Cancer.

I just made this my phone screen lock photo to remind me that my behavior had consequences and good behaviors will bring good things

Love the follow up care I have had for my lapband from Dr. Miller for 6 years . Just saw him today and it was a good appointment.

See posting http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f21775/recommend-mid-ohio-surgical-associates-wls-bariatric-surgeons-109727/#post1410948

I had my lapband surgery in Columbus, Ohio on St. Patrick's Day and i was so proud to be a 'Shrinking Shamrock' and i went from my high of 355 to a low of 217 and i was incredibly looking forward to being under 200 for the first time in decades. Then the wheels came off on my life, lost my job after 15.5 yrs, got a new job but it was incredibly stressful, a trio of close family members decided to shun me and not speak to me, and then the worst of all i had a sister commit suicide last july and every holiday and special occasion in the past year has been very painful. I am getting counseling and am doing okay in functioning in my life, but i used food again to deal with my emotions. i'm back up over 255 now and i'm so scared of gaining it all back. i still have some restriction when i eat the right things but i keep making wrong choices. now i'm dealing with a 40+ years friendship where her husband just got diagnosed with cancer in 5 areas of his body including liver, lung, spine, brain so i know this is going to be really sad and i don't want to keep eating so i'm coming back here and going to blog my way back to where i should be on eating. i decided to come back to the March 2008 forum as the place where i had made so many encouraging friendships and see if i can turn this eating thing around. Clearly there is always going to be huge life events that put us in stress and i can't keep eating junk.

I wore this black T-shirt for St. Patrick's Day 2011 as my 3 Year Bandiversary – 3 years since lapband surgery and when I did the laundry and went to fold it and put it away for another season, it struck me how small it seemed to me compared to my Tshirt I had on in the fall of 2007 when my cousins from Germany came to visit. I got this blue Tshirt when Michelle and I went to Sanibel Island and ate at the Cheeburger Cheeburger where they have huge hamburgers that are so so good and I got a Tshirt that I thought was really cute and funny at the time… not that I thought being big myself was funny but just being defiant that I wanted to live life and be happy no matter my size. I can't see me ever walking around with a Tshirt that says Big is Better ever again. Thank you all for supporting me in my lapband journey -- I'm trying to move on and finish this last 50 lbs before my 4th bandiversary.

I wanted to share a link to the local informal support group or get together the various folks in the Central Ohio area have and welcome anyone who was a self-pay with Dr. Curry in Cincinnatti to join us. I have found a few of these folks who wanted a support group but this isn't available to them outside Cincy. So, please join us if you are pre-band or post-surgery and we'll help you out and give you support. There is also a COLUMBUS thread that is active with a mixed group of folks who post into that forum thread. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f56/central-ohio-get-together-february-13-2010-a-108380/