Louie'sMom

Hi there,
I guess it's true that Time flies when you're having fun; I've been having a lot of that. Honestly, I cannot believe that two years ago today I was waking up from surgery and beginning a new chapter in my life. I had no idea then of the many ways my life would be reshaped aside from the shape of my body.
I'm forever grateful the band was available to me as it has been the perfect choice for my situation. We are all different. I was 52 at the time and had never been an overnight patient in a hospital before. I can barely tolerate going to the dentist. Getting a band was a big decision but I was fortunate somehow to just know that that's what I wanted to do. Thank goodnes there are so many different surgery choices available to us; we live in marvellous times.
Two years ago I was 250+ and now I'm in the seventies. I'm a little tall and like my curves (oh my goodness, do I LOVE having a waist!) so I don't want to get too thin. But a word about collarbones: YIPPEE! And hips. Wrists. You know how it is -- I'm celebrating this new body every day. I was wearing size twenty pants and am now in tens. No more Plus Size anything. I would not have predicted that I have a thing for clothes, but oh yes, I sure do. It's so much fun to be able to just try something on without all of that angst.
I have been an exerciser for many years (arthritis - have to move) but in the last two years I have ratcheted up to being more of an athlete. I feel ridiculous even typing that out as it's such a foreign concept. I used to work out for 45 minutes 3-4 times a week; well, it turns out I am some one who needs more like 75-90 minutes 5-6 times a week. There's the faking it until making it thing and that's what I did. I pretended that I liked it, that I was one of "those" people until I actually have become something resembling one of those lucky people who truly look forward to exercising. Like I said, resembling. I'm not quite there but I raise my hands up in that crossing the finish line pose and I go do what I need to do and I feel like a million bucks afterward.
food. I am happy to report that I still like food. I can taste almost anything and be quite satisfied. That is a miracle. I love to cook and one of my weird non-scale victories (NSVs) is being able to tie my apron double around my waist. I love that. All those years in all those kitchens with my big fat Winnie-the-Pooh belly in an ill-fitting apron or Chef's jacket. No more. Silly, but that just feels so good. I was very restrictive in my former life so I am careful to not be on a diet. I make good choices, which I can do because my appetite is dimmed and I know what good choices are. But I also let myself have a little bit of whatever I want, whether that's a square of chocolate or cheese (behold, the power of cheese). This is why I still have a little weight to lose but I'm okay with that. I do drink alcohol and we have a lot of dinner parties, go to restaurants, etc. Practically no one knows I am banded; I'm extremely private about that. What people do see, however, is how much I'm exercising and how good I feel. It was important for me to go a bit slowly because I wanted the weight loss to be incremental and I didn't want to have saggy skin.
Well, that's about it. I am tremendously grateful to all of my Lapband Talk friends and now Bariatric Pal. You know who you are -- the encourageers. Virtual friends. This has been my first experience on a forum and it's been great. Best wishes to all of you wherever you are in the process. For new people, a few words: don't get too hung up on what kind of surgery you had; we have much more in common than not. Don't try to give or take advice from strangers on the internet. Have a good working relationship with your doctor and show up for all your appointments. Show up for yourself! I really had to put myself first to get the surgery and choose my own well-being over taking care of other people's needs first. I don't do that any more and, guess what, every one else benefits from that. Here's to our health!

I started out in 2013 at 283 pounds. I had type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and I was miserable. I hated having photos taken of me. I couldn't go up stairs without heaving breaths, my kids were active little toddlers and I couldn't even come close to keeping up. I had no self confidence and no joy for my life. I banded in April 2013 and over the next year dropped about 70 pounds. It was like I was given a new lease on life. I felt like a completely different person and was thrilled with my health. Thats not to say my lapband journey was without complications...I had a miserable first couple of months with the band and was at a point where I asked my surgeon to remove it. I'm so glad he talked me out of it..


I disappeared from this site a few years ago because I felt like I was in maintenance...yes, I still worked to make sure I was making good choices, but other things started to take that #1 spot in my life that my lapband and weight loss had occupied for so long. Over the next year I dropped another 10 pounds and was over the moon to finally be back in "onederland."

And once again I was in maintenance...just chugging along happy with where I was and without any thought of those long ago far away health concerns like diabetes and cholesterol.

Then our family was sent to Africa for my husband's job. Wow...talk about life changing. And not just in the "developing country" way of things...all of a sudden my food and exercise "norm" was tossed out the window and I had to come up with something completely new. It was a good thing...and the change jump started my weight loss...30 pounds and counting this year.

To say I'm happy with my choice to lapband would be an understatement. I make so many good choices for myself these days. I use the band the way it's supposed to be used...as a tool to remind me to eat slower, chew longer, and make better food choices.

I took this photo on a work trip recently...I barely recognize the girl in this photo...I'm still getting used to how she looks...I know who she is and what she wants...it's the physical changes that surprise me sometimes.

I'm hoping to continue to my final goal weight of 135 over the next year...and when I reach that there is a Tummy Tuck and breast lift reward waiting for me...

I'm back online because with this new change in location I need the reminders of what going back to the basics means...I'm no longer content to maintain at 200 pounds...I want the bigger picture now.

I used to frequent this forum, and somewhere along the way I got used to a new normal, and I haven't been back here for a long time.
I was thinking the other day, that I should check back in, and sprinkle some hope around... because more than 5 years later, my story remains a textbook case of Lapband success and I love sharing it for those who are struggling through their first few weeks and months post surgery!
Today I weigh 138 pounds. I most certainly haven't forgotten I have a band... it's still VERY present in my life, and a daily reminder of so many things. I still have "stuck" episodes... more often than you might imagine.... there are still foods that I can't eat, and never will be able to... there still exists the very real possibility of cheating my band, overeating, re-gaining all of my weight and having the past five years be for absolutely nothing... but during all of these things I have gained a huge appreciation and love for myself that I never even knew was possible. And I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but today.... it was all worth it! Every single pound I worked so hard to lose! Every single ounce of blood sweat and tears I've put into trying to take care of myself. Every doubt I had along the way that I was eventually able to turn into hope, and every person who I hadn't seen in awhile who had NO CLUE who I was! That last one was and still is kind of entertaining to me! I won't lie... I still have a few hang ups.... I won't date men who wanted nothing to do with me back then... but who are all about going out with this NEW me.... they piss me off. I still tend to buy clothes too big for me... a LOT. So I've started forcing myself to try them on before leaving the store to avoid returning everything later! Other than those things, I think I've adjusted pretty well to my new body. I was fortunate enough to not have to have secondary surgeries to get rid of excess skin. My skin turned out to be very elastic, and because I worked out from the first week of my new life, it just kind of melted away with the fat.
Sometimes it still blows me away that I have lost an entire other person's worth of weight... when I imagine carrying all of those pounds around with me for all the years I did, it's absolutely amazing that my body held out as long as it did. I love taking care of it now... and I love my other butt! Here's a current photo... it's a selfie, but it makes me happy, because it's a pretty accurate photo of me!

Katie - thank you soooo much for the encouragement! I really needed that today. Well Done on all your weight loss and on keeping it off.

I got banded on 6/6 and my first fill of 2ccs in mid July. I am maintaining the 12 lbs I lost in the first week post op but not losing more. I am patiently waiting for my second fill in August and hoping and praying I have some restriction then. I am more of an instant gratification person and am starting to feel some remorse over not going big and getting the sleeve.

I was banded in 2009. I've lost 120 pounds and have kept about 110 off. When I was banded it took 8 month before my doctor got me to a fill that actually restricted anything and a few more fills after that to get me to my sweet spot. That first 8 months was difficult because unlike gastric bypass, I wasn't losing weight quickly.
if I had advice I'd say "eat slowly." Every time I ate too fast I'd fill my stomach too quickly and end up getting sick. It takes time to find out what foods will work for you post op. I avoid beef products because they don't break down enough to go through my hole, but chicken and fish are fine. Also be very careful about following that "don't drink while eating" rule. Fluids with food can either push food painfully through or make you puke.
I'll admit I eat more junk food than I should. like the other poster said- this is a tool, it will limit how much you can eat, if you follow the rules properly, but it's not going to stop your emotional eating cravings.
Good luck to you! Stay positive and remember the non-scale reasons you want to do this too, whether it's to fit better in chairs or not die going up stairs, it's not all about scale weight.

nice to see there are still folks being banded. I know it gets a bad rap but I've been extremely successful with it and at least I didn't do a more aggressive surgery...which I preferred not to do. Good luck ladies!

I had 3 fills before I actually felt restriction. The first fill was 2cc's, second fill was 2'ccs and the third was 2.2cc's, I have a 10cc band. I am at 6.2cc's now and have started to loose a bit more weight. I was very anxious when I first got banded, I wanted the weight to melt off, now I am patient, I know that it all lays on me, I am the one that needs to eat better and I am trying but still have work to do. Good luck and I know you will find the green zone.

We will be surgery sisters! I'm getting sleeved on June 6 !

I got my approval within 2 days and am set for lap band on June 6th. do you have a date yet?

It may have been a little more than needed, but it certainly worked! I got my approval on 5/1 and am waiting for the surgery scheduler to call me with the date!

Sent from my Nexus 6 using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi Louies'Mom - I hope this helps as I just completed my 90 day play with Aetna and have been told today that my case was submitted to them.

For the exercise portion this is what happened. When I had my initial visit with my Surgeon and his team they had a dietitian onsite and have a really good understanding of what all needs to be done, they refer people to a Physical Therapist office (In this case Sovereign Rehabilitation). I had them schedule my appointments the same day as my dietitian appointments so there would be no confusion of when I went.

My first appt with the therapist was pretty simple, she just talked to me about my exercise history and showed me some exercises I could do at home that we're not to hard to do. She then gave me some paper work that was info about her wanting me to workout 5-7 days a week for at least 30min a day and to get my heart rate up to a certain level depending on what I was doing (cardio or weights).

The appointments following she would have me on the treadmill for 30min increasing the grade every 3 min up to a grade of 5 and then back down to until 1, again every 3 min. Then she would have me do some lunges and squats with a resistance band around my ankles, she would throw in some other similar types of things. Usually after 45min or so we were done and I was out of there.
Good Luck!

Has anyone been approved or denied by Aetna POS in the 90 day plan and what did you do for the exercise requirement?
I am pre-surgical and interested in doing the 90 day vs 180 with Aetna. My dr office (Magee) seems to favor the 180 and neither they nor Aetna can give me a good explanation of the exercise requirement "Exercise regimen (unless contraindicated) to improve pulmonary reserve prior to surgery, supervised by exercise therapist or other qualified professional;" which seems to be the only difference b/w the 90 and 180 day prep plans.
Thanks!

I did! Had my surgery March 8, With Dr. Coucoulas. Surgery went well. First 2 weeks was pure hell! Sorry im seeing this late. How are you doing?

Congrats on your surgery. I hope you're doing well. I had my one year surgiversary on April 4th. I'm doing well and down 80 pounds this first year. No regrets!

Hello! I had my sleeve by Dr. Courcoulas on 10/14 at Magee in Pittsburgh!
I loved my doctor - she is incredibly informed about recent research findings and data because she is actively researching and presenting on bariatric surgery/weight loss. Her whole team is also amazing. They are incredible responsive and understanding about all my questions - especially her PA Vicki.
At roughly 7 weeks out I have lost about 35 pounds from the start of the lifestyle program (about 25 from surgery). I am now 'regular foods' although I tend to eat soft foods roughly 80% of the time. I have also started exercising so I am hoping it boosts my energy and weight loss! I hope everyone in da burgh is doing well!