jenhanna87

Thank you!

That’s really helpful, it was exactly that type of smoothie I was planning to have for breakfast so it’s good to hear that you have had no issues!
I suppose it will be a lot of trial and error over the coming months. Yeah we certainly do have all those seeds in the supermarket so I will have a look at those too [emoji4]

Thanks again

Hi luvpenguins,
I had my surgery for the band on the 27th of October. My recovery has been way easier than I ever expected it to be. The only issues have been pain in the incision sites, since I had my staples removed on Monday I have virtually no pain at all.
I chose the band for 2 reasons - the first being the same as you, minimally invasive and reversible. The second was cost, the sleeve/bypass here in UK are almost 2 x the cost of the band which I could not afford.
I did a lot of reading on forums pre surgery which cast doubts in my mind about wether or not to get the band. I know I am still in very early stages but if I could give you any advice it would be to do your own research and make up your mind based on facts and information from your surgeon and not on the opinions of others. There will be people with bad experiences with the band, but there will also be people with bad experiences with sleeve/bypass. With regards to the above mentioned comment about foreign object, all I would say there is think of all the surgeries which involve placing things in to peoples bodies....not just cosmetically like breast implants but things like pacemakers, pins to heal broken bones etc [emoji4]
Please let us know what you decide!
Jen x

Hi!
I had lap band surgery in June 2017, and it is working perfectly for me. I agree with the above commentators, that you need to do your own research and not depend on anecdotal evidence. I chose the band because I wanted minimally-invasive surgery and because I have Celiac Disorder, so a malabsorbtive procedure would be a bad choice in my case. Yes, the band requires more appointments and more maintenance, but ultimately, it comes down to what is right for your circumstances and how much effort you are willing to put in to not only lose, but to maintain as well. I'm happy to discuss what my experience has been like over the past few months. Feel free to shoot me a message.

Hi luvpenguins,
I had my surgery for the band on the 27th of October. My recovery has been way easier than I ever expected it to be. The only issues have been pain in the incision sites, since I had my staples removed on Monday I have virtually no pain at all.
I chose the band for 2 reasons - the first being the same as you, minimally invasive and reversible. The second was cost, the sleeve/bypass here in UK are almost 2 x the cost of the band which I could not afford.
I did a lot of reading on forums pre surgery which cast doubts in my mind about wether or not to get the band. I know I am still in very early stages but if I could give you any advice it would be to do your own research and make up your mind based on facts and information from your surgeon and not on the opinions of others. There will be people with bad experiences with the band, but there will also be people with bad experiences with sleeve/bypass. With regards to the above mentioned comment about foreign object, all I would say there is think of all the surgeries which involve placing things in to peoples bodies....not just cosmetically like breast implants but things like pacemakers, pins to heal broken bones etc [emoji4]
Please let us know what you decide!
Jen x

I think it depends on where you are as to whether surgeons are not doing them as much. Here in the UK we have yet to have any horror stories and I'm pretty confident from the research I did that the band is as much of a viable option as the others.

My choice was based around not wanting to permanently alter my internal organs, the option for reversal, recovery time etc, but that was MY choice. The best you can do is lots of reading and think about what it is you want, speak to your surgeon and get them to discuss the options and statistics with you. If you look for bad you will find bad about anything. Good Luck!

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 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!

I lost 110 pounds with lap band since 2011. I'm very happy with my band. Had no problems. I keep mine filled to 7 or 8 so I feel safe with food and it works best for me. I eat very small meals, Protein is important, and I walk daily for at least 30 minutes. I'm grateful every day. Lapland has worked for me. I didn't want any other surgery and still don't. If you work with it the band will work for you. There will always be new weight loss surgeries.