josnjos

Hello Lapband friends, Time for latest progress pics! I have had my band for 5 months today, and it is all going really well. I have lost 40.9kg (90.1lb), and am feeling fantastic! I was finally able to go to a "normal" clothes shop last week and buy clothes size 2XL!!! You could not wipe the smile from my face! I have attached pics of my progress side-on, as well as in my new clothes compared to my old clothes. It hurts me to say this but I hate the "old" me, and I am totally disgusted that I allowed myself to ever look like I did. But no time for feeling sorry anymore, time to move on with the new me! Take care all, Joshie :smile:.

I was banded by George Hopkins at Holy Spirit Chermside. He is a fantastic person and a brilliant surgeon, I thoroughly recommend him. I believe he is hard to get into, and may have a bit of a waiting list, but for me it was worth the weight (pardon the pun lol). I have lost 44kg in just over 5 months, it has been really successful! Wishing you all the best, Josh.

Hello Lapband friends, Time for latest progress pics! I have had my band for 5 months today, and it is all going really well. I have lost 40.9kg (90.1lb), and am feeling fantastic! I was finally able to go to a "normal" clothes shop last week and buy clothes size 2XL!!! You could not wipe the smile from my face! I have attached pics of my progress side-on, as well as in my new clothes compared to my old clothes. It hurts me to say this but I hate the "old" me, and I am totally disgusted that I allowed myself to ever look like I did. But no time for feeling sorry anymore, time to move on with the new me! Take care all, Joshie :smile:.

Hello peoples, Jen has put her latest progress pics on the LBT progress pics thread, but she wouldn't put them here aswell! So here is the link! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/before-after-lap-band-surgery-pix-only-4642/index102.html#post856826 Have a look - she has done REALLY WELL! I am proud of you Jen! Joshie-Boo.

Jen, You are a totally amazing person. You have proved to all of us that you can beat anything! You are a total inspiration. Please keep your chin up and take every challenge with a fresh breath of life and think "I CAN DO THIS"! You rock! Joshie-Boo.

Hey all, Well I am 8 weeks post-op and everything is going well with Lola (my band!) lol. No vomiting so far but on Sunday I had raisins get stuck in Lola and she gave me SEVERE pain! It soon passed and now I am feeling great again! I am right into the gym now, going 4 days a week, and aqua aerobics 2 days a week. Just thought I would share my latest progress pic with you all. I am really happy with my progress, but there is still a long way to go! Take care, Josh.

Hey all my buddies in LapBand world! I know I am always posting pictures of myself on this site lol but I am just so excited about the new me! Today I have taken my latest progress shots, and I have attached them both side and front-on. I have still got a way to go, but I am extremely happy with my progress so far. I have attached another pic - this one is me in a work shirt that I have NEVER been able to wear. I have always had to have special sizes ordered just for me. This one is a 2XL - AND IT FITS!!! You can't wipe the smile from my face! Take care, until next time, Joshie.

Hi y'all, Well here's come pics of my progress. I was banded on 14th Jan 08 and have lost 34kg (75lb). All is going well I am able to enjoy the foods I like and still lose weight! Also well done to everyone that has posted pics on this page. It is an inspiration to all and you have all done so well. Take care, Josh.

Hello all my lapband friends, Well this weekend just gone I did the first thing that I have always wanted to do but have never been able to because of my weight! We went to the Gold Coast for the weekend and myself, my mum and brother hired scooters (or mopeds)! I had an absolute blast and it is the first of totally 'fun' things that I will be able to do. Thanks Lola!! (my lapband)! lol. Down to 128.2kg now, lost 32.8kg or 20.37% of my total body weight... go the Biggest Loser! lol Take care, Joshie-Boo.

Hey there all my lapband buddies, Just put together a little collage of old and new pics for everyone to see. I have lost 31.5kg now and 29.5kg left to go! All has been going well except for a few minor hickups! Hope everyone is well, Take care, Josh.

Hi Jen, So glad to see you are back home and sounding in high spirits! I am away on business this week, but next week when I am home we will catch up on MSN. Take care and stay well, Josh.

Hey Andy, Welcome to the world of being banded! I am really pleased to hear that the op went well. Also welcome to the world of excess flatulence! My wife has now sort of become used to it! I have just hit the 3 month mark and have also just hit the 30kg lost mark! Well done again and I will chat to you soon, Josh.

Hi all, Well I thought I would post up my latest progress pics, and I am very happy with them! I am now 100 grams from losing 30kg! (For my USA friends that is .22lbs from losing 66lb). All has been going well except I ended up being rushed to hospital last week while we were on holidays with severe chest pain and I couldn't breathe. Still not sure what it was, however stroke, heart attack and clots were ruled out thankfully. My guess is that it was a gall bladder attack, my GP thinks it may have been a severe reflux attack. I am having more tests this week and hopefully we will get to the bottom of it. For now though its business as usual! Take care, Joshie :biggrin:

Hi again all, Well I thought I would post up my latest progress pics, and I am very happy with them! I am now 100 grams from losing 30kg! (For my USA friends that is .22lbs from losing 66lb). All has been going well except I ended up being rushed to hospital last week while we were on holidays with severe chest pain and I couldn't breathe. Still not sure what it was, however stroke, heart attack and clots were ruled out thankfully. My guess is that it was a gall bladder attack, my GP thinks it may have been a severe reflux attack. I am having more tests this week and hopefully we will get to the bottom of it. For now though its business as usual! Take care, Joshie :biggrin:

lol I emailed the pics to my mum and she said exactly the same thing! I had the fitting a few weeks ago and thats what I was in then! lol It is great that I need a smaller one, but it was a cheapy and I will only be wearing it for one day! lol Thanks heaps for your message, Josh.

Hey y'all I now have a recent pic (taken tonight) of me looking decent enough for a photo since my op! I am best man at my friends wedding next weekend and I got a quick snap taken of my trying on my suit! I think I look hot!! (not really LMAO). Take care, Joshie-Boo.

Of course you can post your pics, the more the merrier! Thank you so much to everyone for all your positive comments. They are a real inspiration to me. Keep an eye out I will be posting some more in the coming weeks! Josh.

The discomfort definately does get better. I didn't start to feel normal until about a week post-op. Don't worry - it will get better! We all go through a short time where we think 'what have I done?' But this will soon pass and you will feel great about being banded. I didn't have any hunger for the first week post-op, I was forcing myself to drink liquids to keep my hydration levels up. I don't remember hearing too many stomach sounds though. Let me know if you need any more help!

Hi batkitty, The bloating is perfectly normal unfortunately! I found it very uncomfortable, but it will pass after a few days. I took some pills called De-Gas and they helped get it through! Congrats on getting a band, and I hope it all goes well for you! Josh.

Hey there, I had the same problem with APRA, but I faxed them the letter they requested and I was approved a couple of days later. At the end of the day I am sure you will be approved, but there is a process they need to follow. It did take from memory around 4-5 weeks to get the whole thing approved. My other drama was that we had more than enough money in the bank to pay cash for the op, but those funds were from the sale of our house and we need it to buy our new house, but I sent proof of this and I was approved no problems. I know its frustrating I have been there, but 8 weeks post-op it was well and truly worth the weight (pardon the pun!!) I have lost 24kg and am feeling great! Keep your chin up, Josh.

I am from Brisbane too! I am a northsider though! lol I was banded 14th Jan 08 by George Hopkins at Chermside. What is the bandsters lunch? I have never heard of it! Anyone for setting up a support group, or a meeting/lunch of some kind? Josh.

Hi there, I am banded and am definately interested in contributing. There is lots I could say to people about having a lapband! Josh.

Hello to everyone, Hope this finds everyone doing well! Well I am just about to hit the 5 week mark and thought I would update everyone on my progress. It has been a journey, full of ups and downs, and boy it has been more of a roller coaster ride than I would have ever thought it would be. I definately don't want to discourage anybody from having this done, but I want to let people know my journey. Weight-loss wise it has been extremely successful and I am very very happy with the results. The surgery itself went really well, no complications at all. My recovery was a bit harder that I had anticipated but in hindsight it was easy and well worth it. I had quite a bit of gas/wind problems, but it soon stopped. Since surgery I have had 1 fill and have 5ml in Lola (yes I named my band! lol). So far I have lost just under 20kg (or 44lb for my friends in the USA!), and I am feeling lots better. Most of my clothes are falling down and I will soon be replacing most of them! Now to the roller coaster, and I will try to explain it the best I can. I have always been fat, I don't remember any part of my 29 years where I wasn't fat. I have always been a determined and headstrong person and I thought I could do anything. Having said that being big stopped me from physically doing a lot, but I worked through it the best I could. Now that I am losing the weight (I have lost a lot in a short amount of time), and becuase mentally I know that because of the band it won't go back on - I am having a lot of trouble dealing with daily life and tolerating things like I did pre-op. The best way I can think to explain (and I am sure that anyone who is big is going to understand) is that being big I have built up walls, resiliences and/or defences to block out or help deal with certain things. This could be anything from dealing with a cranky customer at work or having a disagreement with your partner. Anyway now I find that subconsciously all these walls and defences are slowly coming down and I don't know how to deal with things anymore. I for some unexplainable reason am not willing to tolerate or settle for things that I did before I had this operation. This to me is so strange, because you would think finally losing weight would be the most wonderful and fantastic thing in your life - but for me it felt like my life was falling apart. Anyway after coming very close to walking out on my job, my wife and my entire life my boss called me and insisted that I seek some professional help, to which I agreed because I could see what I stood to lose. I have done this and had my first session with my psychologist yesterday and I feel so much better already. I now know that I am going to get through this, and I have my wife, my family, my workmates and most importantly my boss to thank for making me see what I was doing. As I said I AM NOT TRYING TO DISCOURAGE PEOPLE FROM GETTING THIS DONE. I just wanted to share my story and my feelings in the hope I can stop it happening to others. If I can say one thing, it is see a councellor or a psychologist BEFORE and AFTER your surgery. I wish I had, it would have saved me from risking what I did. Having said this, if you had asked me 3 months ago if I was going to see a councellor or psychologist before or after surgery I would have said "no way I won't need that". I have learnt so much about myself in the last 5 weeks it is mind boggling! I know I am going to be a happy, strong and confident person and to top it all off I am going to be skinny! I also have some people to thank for their love, support and best wishes. First is my wife Tracey whom I love with all my heart - she has been my rock, my focus and she has been and always will be my life. Also right up there is my parents - my dad has had this done aswell with fairly good success - we are now going to support each other to get even better results. Next is my friends both here and on LBT - particularly Alicia - you have been my best friend throughout this. Last but not least my workmates - especially Chris - I have been difficult and hard to deal with lately, but you have never thought less of me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone. Well thank you so much for reading this, I am sorry if I have ranted a bit, but I wanted to get it off my chest. Life's great and I am thoroughly looking forward to enjoying the rest of my life! Take care, Josh.

OMG I am in total shock. I was wondering why she hasn't been line for a while. My thoughts and wishes are with you Jen, hope to see you back here soon. Josh.

Hey Mickers, All went well, it has been a hard week but we are getting there! I have got a separate thread with all the info in it, its called I am banded! Hope to see you there, Josh.