SkinnyKathy

Hello all,
I was banded in 2008 at 433 lbs and lost 250 pounds to get my weight down to ~180 in a few years. Kept the band almost 10 years but the acid reflux got too bad and I had to have it removed a little over 6 months ago. My weight had been creeping up to 240 before the lap band removal and up to 280 now. I am strongly considering the RNY but am concerned about the permanent rearrangement of my insides. That's why I went with the band in the first place, because it was reversible. I am concerned about developing malnourishment, although I am good about taking supplements (which I do every day even now with no bariatric surgery in place).
I am looking for success stories. Who has had their band removed and then put in a RYN and had a good experience? I need to lose at least 100 pounds now and want to keep it off for life this time.

I was banded in October 2008. It was awesome for the first two years, then still good for a number of years after that. I went from 433 to 178 pounds. But the last few years have been quite difficult and depressing. GERD, vomiting, foam in my mouth, food getting stuck, and poor eating habits developed by thinking "what is my body able to tolerate now?" rather than "what is healthy to eat?". Gained nearly 100 pounds back of the 250 I lost. I'm done with this band. Ready to have it removed and revise to RNY as quickly as my doctor will let me, looks like 3 months. Doctor appointment to kick off the process is tomorrow. I think I may have to go through the usual pre-surgery hoops.

Yes, I had this every time I flew. I found with the band that any kind of stress -- altitude, lack of sleep, changes in routine -- would make my band tighter. With air travel, especially over long distances and time zones, it's all of the above.
And one of the gotchas with the band I found is that when I gets tight and you get dehydrated, the dehydration itself causes more tightness and it becomes a downward spiral where even when you are doing everything right it is very difficult to get yourself turned around.
One trick I learned to turn myself around when under dehydration stress like that is to give myself an enema with pure Water. You can buy enema bottles at any drugstore and THROW OUT THE liquid that they come with as it has salt that you don't want. Rinse it out and replace with just water. Apply as per directions but keep the water in. It won't take long to absorb. You can do this again if needed. I found that when I got dehydrated like that and I couldn't take in fluids orally, I could take them this way, which would relieve the dehydration stress enough so that I could take them orally again and get myself back on the right path.

Thanks, Bayougirlmrsc. It's good to know someone else who has kept the weight off for so long with the band. I'm sorry you had to have yours removed and it sounds like you have a great outlook which I'm sure will help you stay where you are.
Needtorecover, I have changed insurance since my surgery so I am working with a different doctor now, but I have been under the care of a bariatric doctor the whole time. I've been checked for slippage several different times and I'm fine. I do have a bit of erosion but not enough that it is causing these problems. I did have a revision surgery about 5 years ago to correct a leak in the port/tubing. Once I got that fixed my band went back to working like a champ.

Julie, yes it can be brutal! But for me it was not brutal at the onset. This is the hardest it has ever been for me. I'm glad to see other long-term bandsters though that are making it work. That gives me hope that it can be done.
I was thinking about it and the other thing I did religiously in the first few years was log my food intake. So I recently joined loseit.com and am now logging my food intake every day, honestly accounting for every bite. Sometimes its the small nibbles that add up that can sabotage you, so I am committed to being honest and transparent with myself.

Julie, yes it can be brutal! But for me it was not brutal at the onset. This is the hardest it has ever been for me. I'm glad to see other long-term bandsters though that are making it work. That gives me hope that it can be done.
I was thinking about it and the other thing I did religiously in the first few years was log my food intake. So I recently joined loseit.com and am now logging my food intake every day, honestly accounting for every bite. Sometimes its the small nibbles that add up that can sabotage you, so I am committed to being honest and transparent with myself.

Julie, yes it can be brutal! But for me it was not brutal at the onset. This is the hardest it has ever been for me. I'm glad to see other long-term bandsters though that are making it work. That gives me hope that it can be done.
I was thinking about it and the other thing I did religiously in the first few years was log my food intake. So I recently joined loseit.com and am now logging my food intake every day, honestly accounting for every bite. Sometimes its the small nibbles that add up that can sabotage you, so I am committed to being honest and transparent with myself.

Update: I've had a lot of difficulty with my band over the last year or more. I've had acid reflux pretty bad and had to have all my fill removed for a while. I'm getting more put back in, but unfortunately the band isn't working as well for me anymore. I just got another fill to get me back to a fairly restrictive setting and I'm hoping that this will help. But, my weight is up to 246 lbs. I'm alarmed and definitely don't want to go back to being morbildly obese, but I'm already back to having to shop in the Plus section again. I switched medical insurance to Kaiser almost a year ago, and my new doctor says that they have found that the band stops working so well after a number of years for many people. If I can't get my weight back under control I may convert to a sleeve or gastric bypass, which would have to be done in two separate procedures. I really don't want two more surgeries so I am pulling out all the stops now. In addition to getting my band tightened, I am trying acupuncture and hypnosis (not all at the same time though!)

Hi bandsters,
I haven't checked in here in a long time, but I just wanted to let you all know that as of today I have lost 246 pounds on my lap band journey. I was banded in late 2008, and lost about 200 pounds in two years. Then I plateaued for about a year, thinking that perhaps that was as low as I could go. Then when getting another fill my port tubing got struck and my band was slowly leaking. Only we didn't know that at first. I had a bunch of tests done to rule out band slipping, etc. I had lost most of my restriction and I gained back 30 pounds. I had port and tube replacement surgery a little over a year ago, and ever since then, my weight loss has gotten back on track and more. I've lost over 60 pounds in the last year for a total weight loss of 246 pounds.
In the last year to get past this long plateau, I've had to get really serious about diet and exercise. Now I'm on a Paleo diet, and I drink my own fresh pressed green vegetable juice every day. I use fresh green veggies like celery, cucumber, mint, brocolli, lettuce, kale, sugar snap peas, plus an apple or some grapes, and a lemon for acidity (helps alkalinize the body) and to keep it from oxidizing longer if I don't drink it all immediately. My body loves it! It's vitality in a glass. I use an Omega vegetable juicer.
I also do regular yoga. In the month of January as part of a challenge my yoga class is doing yoga every single day, and yesterday we went to an all-day yoga workshop! Honestly, if even a year ago anyone told me that I would be doing daily exercise and going to an all-day exercise class I would have LAUGHED IN THEIR FACE! But now I'm really loving it. Yoga is great because it focuses on the mind as well as the body. I think most of us, whether morbidly obese or not, need to rewrite our "stories" about ourselves. And yoga really gives you tools to do that. It's more than just exercise.
So I just wanted to let people know that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! Really, when you change your thoughts you change everything. So just start thinking about how you are living a healthy lifestyle, and you have the power to overcome any challenge, and you will be surprised how the results add up over time!
What's next for me? Well, I've already surpassed my first (249 lbs) and second (199 lbs) weight loss goals. My next goal is 180 lbs, and at 187.2 this morning I'm getting pretty close to it. I may or may not set a lower goal after that. Even at 5' 8.5" height that still puts me in the obese category according to BMI so I may go lower still before plastic surgery.
I definitely need plastic surgery. I have a LOT of loose hanging skin, folds in my skin both horizontally AND vertically. I know the surgeries will take some additional weight off, too. I have met with a local plastic surgeon who recommends three surgeries: (1) a lower body lift with anchor incision, (2) breast reconstruction, arm lift, and Lipo on the thighs, and (3) medial thigh lift. It's quite expensive here in the SF Bay Area though. Soon I have a consultation at cosmed in Tiajuana to see what they would charge. The challenge is both finding the time as well as the money.
Well, I hope this is helpful to some of you all. Good luck and keep up the faith!
Kathy

Hi bandsters,
I haven't checked in here in a long time, but I just wanted to let you all know that as of today I have lost 246 pounds on my lap band journey. I was banded in late 2008, and lost about 200 pounds in two years. Then I plateaued for about a year, thinking that perhaps that was as low as I could go. Then when getting another fill my port tubing got struck and my band was slowly leaking. Only we didn't know that at first. I had a bunch of tests done to rule out band slipping, etc. I had lost most of my restriction and I gained back 30 pounds. I had port and tube replacement surgery a little over a year ago, and ever since then, my weight loss has gotten back on track and more. I've lost over 60 pounds in the last year for a total weight loss of 246 pounds.
In the last year to get past this long plateau, I've had to get really serious about diet and exercise. Now I'm on a Paleo diet, and I drink my own fresh pressed green vegetable juice every day. I use fresh green veggies like celery, cucumber, mint, brocolli, lettuce, kale, sugar snap peas, plus an apple or some grapes, and a lemon for acidity (helps alkalinize the body) and to keep it from oxidizing longer if I don't drink it all immediately. My body loves it! It's vitality in a glass. I use an Omega vegetable juicer.
I also do regular yoga. In the month of January as part of a challenge my yoga class is doing yoga every single day, and yesterday we went to an all-day yoga workshop! Honestly, if even a year ago anyone told me that I would be doing daily exercise and going to an all-day exercise class I would have LAUGHED IN THEIR FACE! But now I'm really loving it. Yoga is great because it focuses on the mind as well as the body. I think most of us, whether morbidly obese or not, need to rewrite our "stories" about ourselves. And yoga really gives you tools to do that. It's more than just exercise.
So I just wanted to let people know that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! Really, when you change your thoughts you change everything. So just start thinking about how you are living a healthy lifestyle, and you have the power to overcome any challenge, and you will be surprised how the results add up over time!
What's next for me? Well, I've already surpassed my first (249 lbs) and second (199 lbs) weight loss goals. My next goal is 180 lbs, and at 187.2 this morning I'm getting pretty close to it. I may or may not set a lower goal after that. Even at 5' 8.5" height that still puts me in the obese category according to BMI so I may go lower still before plastic surgery.
I definitely need plastic surgery. I have a LOT of loose hanging skin, folds in my skin both horizontally AND vertically. I know the surgeries will take some additional weight off, too. I have met with a local plastic surgeon who recommends three surgeries: (1) a lower body lift with anchor incision, (2) breast reconstruction, arm lift, and Lipo on the thighs, and (3) medial thigh lift. It's quite expensive here in the SF Bay Area though. Soon I have a consultation at cosmed in Tiajuana to see what they would charge. The challenge is both finding the time as well as the money.
Well, I hope this is helpful to some of you all. Good luck and keep up the faith!
Kathy

Hi bandsters,
I haven't checked in here in a long time, but I just wanted to let you all know that as of today I have lost 246 pounds on my lap band journey. I was banded in late 2008, and lost about 200 pounds in two years. Then I plateaued for about a year, thinking that perhaps that was as low as I could go. Then when getting another fill my port tubing got struck and my band was slowly leaking. Only we didn't know that at first. I had a bunch of tests done to rule out band slipping, etc. I had lost most of my restriction and I gained back 30 pounds. I had port and tube replacement surgery a little over a year ago, and ever since then, my weight loss has gotten back on track and more. I've lost over 60 pounds in the last year for a total weight loss of 246 pounds.
In the last year to get past this long plateau, I've had to get really serious about diet and exercise. Now I'm on a Paleo diet, and I drink my own fresh pressed green vegetable juice every day. I use fresh green veggies like celery, cucumber, mint, brocolli, lettuce, kale, sugar snap peas, plus an apple or some grapes, and a lemon for acidity (helps alkalinize the body) and to keep it from oxidizing longer if I don't drink it all immediately. My body loves it! It's vitality in a glass. I use an Omega vegetable juicer.
I also do regular yoga. In the month of January as part of a challenge my yoga class is doing yoga every single day, and yesterday we went to an all-day yoga workshop! Honestly, if even a year ago anyone told me that I would be doing daily exercise and going to an all-day exercise class I would have LAUGHED IN THEIR FACE! But now I'm really loving it. Yoga is great because it focuses on the mind as well as the body. I think most of us, whether morbidly obese or not, need to rewrite our "stories" about ourselves. And yoga really gives you tools to do that. It's more than just exercise.
So I just wanted to let people know that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! Really, when you change your thoughts you change everything. So just start thinking about how you are living a healthy lifestyle, and you have the power to overcome any challenge, and you will be surprised how the results add up over time!
What's next for me? Well, I've already surpassed my first (249 lbs) and second (199 lbs) weight loss goals. My next goal is 180 lbs, and at 187.2 this morning I'm getting pretty close to it. I may or may not set a lower goal after that. Even at 5' 8.5" height that still puts me in the obese category according to BMI so I may go lower still before plastic surgery.
I definitely need plastic surgery. I have a LOT of loose hanging skin, folds in my skin both horizontally AND vertically. I know the surgeries will take some additional weight off, too. I have met with a local plastic surgeon who recommends three surgeries: (1) a lower body lift with anchor incision, (2) breast reconstruction, arm lift, and Lipo on the thighs, and (3) medial thigh lift. It's quite expensive here in the SF Bay Area though. Soon I have a consultation at cosmed in Tiajuana to see what they would charge. The challenge is both finding the time as well as the money.
Well, I hope this is helpful to some of you all. Good luck and keep up the faith!
Kathy

Hi bandsters,
I haven't checked in here in a long time, but I just wanted to let you all know that as of today I have lost 246 pounds on my lap band journey. I was banded in late 2008, and lost about 200 pounds in two years. Then I plateaued for about a year, thinking that perhaps that was as low as I could go. Then when getting another fill my port tubing got struck and my band was slowly leaking. Only we didn't know that at first. I had a bunch of tests done to rule out band slipping, etc. I had lost most of my restriction and I gained back 30 pounds. I had port and tube replacement surgery a little over a year ago, and ever since then, my weight loss has gotten back on track and more. I've lost over 60 pounds in the last year for a total weight loss of 246 pounds.
In the last year to get past this long plateau, I've had to get really serious about diet and exercise. Now I'm on a Paleo diet, and I drink my own fresh pressed green vegetable juice every day. I use fresh green veggies like celery, cucumber, mint, brocolli, lettuce, kale, sugar snap peas, plus an apple or some grapes, and a lemon for acidity (helps alkalinize the body) and to keep it from oxidizing longer if I don't drink it all immediately. My body loves it! It's vitality in a glass. I use an Omega vegetable juicer.
I also do regular yoga. In the month of January as part of a challenge my yoga class is doing yoga every single day, and yesterday we went to an all-day yoga workshop! Honestly, if even a year ago anyone told me that I would be doing daily exercise and going to an all-day exercise class I would have LAUGHED IN THEIR FACE! But now I'm really loving it. Yoga is great because it focuses on the mind as well as the body. I think most of us, whether morbidly obese or not, need to rewrite our "stories" about ourselves. And yoga really gives you tools to do that. It's more than just exercise.
So I just wanted to let people know that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! Really, when you change your thoughts you change everything. So just start thinking about how you are living a healthy lifestyle, and you have the power to overcome any challenge, and you will be surprised how the results add up over time!
What's next for me? Well, I've already surpassed my first (249 lbs) and second (199 lbs) weight loss goals. My next goal is 180 lbs, and at 187.2 this morning I'm getting pretty close to it. I may or may not set a lower goal after that. Even at 5' 8.5" height that still puts me in the obese category according to BMI so I may go lower still before plastic surgery.
I definitely need plastic surgery. I have a LOT of loose hanging skin, folds in my skin both horizontally AND vertically. I know the surgeries will take some additional weight off, too. I have met with a local plastic surgeon who recommends three surgeries: (1) a lower body lift with anchor incision, (2) breast reconstruction, arm lift, and Lipo on the thighs, and (3) medial thigh lift. It's quite expensive here in the SF Bay Area though. Soon I have a consultation at cosmed in Tiajuana to see what they would charge. The challenge is both finding the time as well as the money.
Well, I hope this is helpful to some of you all. Good luck and keep up the faith!
Kathy

Hi bandsters,
I haven't checked in here in a long time, but I just wanted to let you all know that as of today I have lost 246 pounds on my lap band journey. I was banded in late 2008, and lost about 200 pounds in two years. Then I plateaued for about a year, thinking that perhaps that was as low as I could go. Then when getting another fill my port tubing got struck and my band was slowly leaking. Only we didn't know that at first. I had a bunch of tests done to rule out band slipping, etc. I had lost most of my restriction and I gained back 30 pounds. I had port and tube replacement surgery a little over a year ago, and ever since then, my weight loss has gotten back on track and more. I've lost over 60 pounds in the last year for a total weight loss of 246 pounds.
In the last year to get past this long plateau, I've had to get really serious about diet and exercise. Now I'm on a Paleo diet, and I drink my own fresh pressed green vegetable juice every day. I use fresh green veggies like celery, cucumber, mint, brocolli, lettuce, kale, sugar snap peas, plus an apple or some grapes, and a lemon for acidity (helps alkalinize the body) and to keep it from oxidizing longer if I don't drink it all immediately. My body loves it! It's vitality in a glass. I use an Omega vegetable juicer.
I also do regular yoga. In the month of January as part of a challenge my yoga class is doing yoga every single day, and yesterday we went to an all-day yoga workshop! Honestly, if even a year ago anyone told me that I would be doing daily exercise and going to an all-day exercise class I would have LAUGHED IN THEIR FACE! But now I'm really loving it. Yoga is great because it focuses on the mind as well as the body. I think most of us, whether morbidly obese or not, need to rewrite our "stories" about ourselves. And yoga really gives you tools to do that. It's more than just exercise.
So I just wanted to let people know that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! Really, when you change your thoughts you change everything. So just start thinking about how you are living a healthy lifestyle, and you have the power to overcome any challenge, and you will be surprised how the results add up over time!
What's next for me? Well, I've already surpassed my first (249 lbs) and second (199 lbs) weight loss goals. My next goal is 180 lbs, and at 187.2 this morning I'm getting pretty close to it. I may or may not set a lower goal after that. Even at 5' 8.5" height that still puts me in the obese category according to BMI so I may go lower still before plastic surgery.
I definitely need plastic surgery. I have a LOT of loose hanging skin, folds in my skin both horizontally AND vertically. I know the surgeries will take some additional weight off, too. I have met with a local plastic surgeon who recommends three surgeries: (1) a lower body lift with anchor incision, (2) breast reconstruction, arm lift, and Lipo on the thighs, and (3) medial thigh lift. It's quite expensive here in the SF Bay Area though. Soon I have a consultation at cosmed in Tiajuana to see what they would charge. The challenge is both finding the time as well as the money.
Well, I hope this is helpful to some of you all. Good luck and keep up the faith!
Kathy

Hi bandsters,
I haven't checked in here in a long time, but I just wanted to let you all know that as of today I have lost 246 pounds on my lap band journey. I was banded in late 2008, and lost about 200 pounds in two years. Then I plateaued for about a year, thinking that perhaps that was as low as I could go. Then when getting another fill my port tubing got struck and my band was slowly leaking. Only we didn't know that at first. I had a bunch of tests done to rule out band slipping, etc. I had lost most of my restriction and I gained back 30 pounds. I had port and tube replacement surgery a little over a year ago, and ever since then, my weight loss has gotten back on track and more. I've lost over 60 pounds in the last year for a total weight loss of 246 pounds.
In the last year to get past this long plateau, I've had to get really serious about diet and exercise. Now I'm on a Paleo diet, and I drink my own fresh pressed green vegetable juice every day. I use fresh green veggies like celery, cucumber, mint, brocolli, lettuce, kale, sugar snap peas, plus an apple or some grapes, and a lemon for acidity (helps alkalinize the body) and to keep it from oxidizing longer if I don't drink it all immediately. My body loves it! It's vitality in a glass. I use an Omega vegetable juicer.
I also do regular yoga. In the month of January as part of a challenge my yoga class is doing yoga every single day, and yesterday we went to an all-day yoga workshop! Honestly, if even a year ago anyone told me that I would be doing daily exercise and going to an all-day exercise class I would have LAUGHED IN THEIR FACE! But now I'm really loving it. Yoga is great because it focuses on the mind as well as the body. I think most of us, whether morbidly obese or not, need to rewrite our "stories" about ourselves. And yoga really gives you tools to do that. It's more than just exercise.
So I just wanted to let people know that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! Really, when you change your thoughts you change everything. So just start thinking about how you are living a healthy lifestyle, and you have the power to overcome any challenge, and you will be surprised how the results add up over time!
What's next for me? Well, I've already surpassed my first (249 lbs) and second (199 lbs) weight loss goals. My next goal is 180 lbs, and at 187.2 this morning I'm getting pretty close to it. I may or may not set a lower goal after that. Even at 5' 8.5" height that still puts me in the obese category according to BMI so I may go lower still before plastic surgery.
I definitely need plastic surgery. I have a LOT of loose hanging skin, folds in my skin both horizontally AND vertically. I know the surgeries will take some additional weight off, too. I have met with a local plastic surgeon who recommends three surgeries: (1) a lower body lift with anchor incision, (2) breast reconstruction, arm lift, and Lipo on the thighs, and (3) medial thigh lift. It's quite expensive here in the SF Bay Area though. Soon I have a consultation at cosmed in Tiajuana to see what they would charge. The challenge is both finding the time as well as the money.
Well, I hope this is helpful to some of you all. Good luck and keep up the faith!
Kathy

I agree. Don't go with a surgeon you don't feel comfortable with. Sounds like you would qualify for a panniculectomy covered by insurance. Keep looking for a doctor that will work with you and your insurance company, and that you feel comfortable with.

I agree. Don't go with a surgeon you don't feel comfortable with. Sounds like you would qualify for a panniculectomy covered by insurance. Keep looking for a doctor that will work with you and your insurance company, and that you feel comfortable with.

It's been a while since I've posted. I'm doing well. My last drain fell out after two weeks. I'm now at 3 1/2 weeks. I've been out and about doing pretty much everything since two weeks out. I do sleep more than I did before and my left arm is a bit stiff but other than that I'm pretty much back to normal. My incisions have healed completely in most places, but I did have the incisions open up slightly in my underarms a few weeks ago. So there are some places where there are still some scabs or the skin is growing back together. Next week I will start using BioCorneum on the scars to start fading them. For now he doesn't want me to put anything on the incisions.
I can see now that my tummy is not as tight as it possibly could have been. My doctor sees that, too, and said he would do a revision on it when I go in for my next surgery. It looks good, it's just that there is still some laxity in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Given what I started with, a mess of skin all over the place, I think he did a good job. Now that I am very close to normal he can aim for an even tighter stomach next time. In the meantime, I am enjoying having a nearly flat stomach for the first time in my adult life.
In fact, I wore a bikini on Sunday! I was over at a friend's house and she said let's go in the pool, and I said I didn't bring a swimsuit, and she said no problem, you can borrow one of mine. Now I never thought of her and me as the same size, but she brought out a bikini (that's all she wears) which I tried on with trepidation. It fit! Now it wasn't a string bikini (thank goodness) as my hips and thighs are still a mess, and it only partially covered my rolls there. But somehow I was shocked that bikinis exist in a size that I can wear. If anything didn't fit, it was the top! My boobs are pretty large, which I love! Yes, you can see the vertical incision, but it's not that bad already. So I slathered up the sunscreen and played in the pool for a couple of hours in a bikini. Now I don't think I will be wearing a bikini to the beach or a public pool, but still it was a milestone for me. I don't think I have worn a bikini since I was 12.

Today is 5 days post-op. I've been feeling pretty good but I think I overdid it today. Now I'm feeling really tired and very swollen. My abdomen feels like someone inflated a balloon right under my skin. I have less overall swelling than I had in the days immediately afterwards (for example, my hands don't look nearly so bad, although I'm still not wearing my wedding ring yet) but the swelling now is very localized to my abdomen. Actually, the feeling reminds me of the feeling of being engorged in the breasts a few days after my children were born and my milk was just coming in.
Tomorrow is my post-op appointment. I am hoping that he takes the other arm drain out and OKs me to take a shower. Actually, right now I would give my eye-teeth (do teeth have eyes?) for a nice hot shower. I wouldn't even mind my other two drains being there. It will just feel great to be fully clean again. Wipes aren't the same.
My pain levels are quite manageable but I guess my patience is starting to wear thin. I want to be able to do more than I actually can right now, which leads me to overdoing it. I haven't even left the house, but my sister reminds me that it is quite possible to overdo it without leaving the house. OK, I guess cooking dinner - grilling salmon in the backyard - might have been a wee bit too much.
Here are some pictures I took yesterday with my binders off. I am still quite swollen. It is hard to see, but my stomach is quite flat whereas it had all kinds of skin folds before. I still have very pronounced hips, with bulges there and on my upper thighs. These will be address in a second operation some time in the future. Taking the Tummy Tuck around to the back and a medial thigh lift. So this tummy tuck didn't go very far to the sides.

My story is posted on my profile, feel free to read it. In short, my best advice is to actively manage your band. Being either too loose or too tight (really!) will slow down your progress. Keep the faith, make good food choices, and find some kind of exercise that you enjoy. :-)

Janice, the only thing I wish I had done differently were to have a front-closing sports bra before surgery, as I didn't own one before. And to stock up on seasonally-appropriate long-sleeved shirts. I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but having arm surgery in August, the hottest month of the year, and I didn't own many lightweight long-sleeved shirts.
I did a lot of preparations that turned out to be unnecessary or I only used for a short period of time. The walker I borrowed, I only used the evening of my surgery coming in from the car to the lift recliner. The lift recliner, which I rented for a month, I stopped sleeping in after a week and a half. I continued to use it as a comfy chair until the month was up, but I didn't need it. The toilet seat riser was handy for the first week.

Hi bandsters,
I haven't checked in here in a long time, but I just wanted to let you all know that as of today I have lost 246 pounds on my lap band journey. I was banded in late 2008, and lost about 200 pounds in two years. Then I plateaued for about a year, thinking that perhaps that was as low as I could go. Then when getting another fill my port tubing got struck and my band was slowly leaking. Only we didn't know that at first. I had a bunch of tests done to rule out band slipping, etc. I had lost most of my restriction and I gained back 30 pounds. I had port and tube replacement surgery a little over a year ago, and ever since then, my weight loss has gotten back on track and more. I've lost over 60 pounds in the last year for a total weight loss of 246 pounds.
In the last year to get past this long plateau, I've had to get really serious about diet and exercise. Now I'm on a Paleo diet, and I drink my own fresh pressed green vegetable juice every day. I use fresh green veggies like celery, cucumber, mint, brocolli, lettuce, kale, sugar snap peas, plus an apple or some grapes, and a lemon for acidity (helps alkalinize the body) and to keep it from oxidizing longer if I don't drink it all immediately. My body loves it! It's vitality in a glass. I use an Omega vegetable juicer.
I also do regular yoga. In the month of January as part of a challenge my yoga class is doing yoga every single day, and yesterday we went to an all-day yoga workshop! Honestly, if even a year ago anyone told me that I would be doing daily exercise and going to an all-day exercise class I would have LAUGHED IN THEIR FACE! But now I'm really loving it. Yoga is great because it focuses on the mind as well as the body. I think most of us, whether morbidly obese or not, need to rewrite our "stories" about ourselves. And yoga really gives you tools to do that. It's more than just exercise.
So I just wanted to let people know that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! Really, when you change your thoughts you change everything. So just start thinking about how you are living a healthy lifestyle, and you have the power to overcome any challenge, and you will be surprised how the results add up over time!
What's next for me? Well, I've already surpassed my first (249 lbs) and second (199 lbs) weight loss goals. My next goal is 180 lbs, and at 187.2 this morning I'm getting pretty close to it. I may or may not set a lower goal after that. Even at 5' 8.5" height that still puts me in the obese category according to BMI so I may go lower still before plastic surgery.
I definitely need plastic surgery. I have a LOT of loose hanging skin, folds in my skin both horizontally AND vertically. I know the surgeries will take some additional weight off, too. I have met with a local plastic surgeon who recommends three surgeries: (1) a lower body lift with anchor incision, (2) breast reconstruction, arm lift, and Lipo on the thighs, and (3) medial thigh lift. It's quite expensive here in the SF Bay Area though. Soon I have a consultation at cosmed in Tiajuana to see what they would charge. The challenge is both finding the time as well as the money.
Well, I hope this is helpful to some of you all. Good luck and keep up the faith!
Kathy

It's been a while since I've posted. I'm doing well. My last drain fell out after two weeks. I'm now at 3 1/2 weeks. I've been out and about doing pretty much everything since two weeks out. I do sleep more than I did before and my left arm is a bit stiff but other than that I'm pretty much back to normal. My incisions have healed completely in most places, but I did have the incisions open up slightly in my underarms a few weeks ago. So there are some places where there are still some scabs or the skin is growing back together. Next week I will start using BioCorneum on the scars to start fading them. For now he doesn't want me to put anything on the incisions.
I can see now that my tummy is not as tight as it possibly could have been. My doctor sees that, too, and said he would do a revision on it when I go in for my next surgery. It looks good, it's just that there is still some laxity in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Given what I started with, a mess of skin all over the place, I think he did a good job. Now that I am very close to normal he can aim for an even tighter stomach next time. In the meantime, I am enjoying having a nearly flat stomach for the first time in my adult life.
In fact, I wore a bikini on Sunday! I was over at a friend's house and she said let's go in the pool, and I said I didn't bring a swimsuit, and she said no problem, you can borrow one of mine. Now I never thought of her and me as the same size, but she brought out a bikini (that's all she wears) which I tried on with trepidation. It fit! Now it wasn't a string bikini (thank goodness) as my hips and thighs are still a mess, and it only partially covered my rolls there. But somehow I was shocked that bikinis exist in a size that I can wear. If anything didn't fit, it was the top! My boobs are pretty large, which I love! Yes, you can see the vertical incision, but it's not that bad already. So I slathered up the sunscreen and played in the pool for a couple of hours in a bikini. Now I don't think I will be wearing a bikini to the beach or a public pool, but still it was a milestone for me. I don't think I have worn a bikini since I was 12.

Amy,
I've done quite a lot of different things with regard to my eating plan over the 4+ years since I've been banded. To be honest, at first I didn't really follow a specific eating plan. I just ate what I could with the band, made some sensible choices, and the weight came off. I've always been of the opinion that if I have to follow a "diet" it is going to set me up for failure. Lately I have been following Paleo, more as a healthy eating plan than a diet, and more as a guideline which I allow myself to vary from occasionally and/or in moderation. For example, today when eating out at lunchtime (green salad, edamame, and grilled marinated beef for me) I allowed my son to get ice cream for dessert as a treat. And I allowed myself (and fortunately, he allowed me LOL) to have one spoonful of his ice cream. So I'm not totally denying myself, but I'm not going crazy either. That helps keep me sane, because really I have to eat this way for the rest of my life.

Hi bandsters,
I haven't checked in here in a long time, but I just wanted to let you all know that as of today I have lost 246 pounds on my lap band journey. I was banded in late 2008, and lost about 200 pounds in two years. Then I plateaued for about a year, thinking that perhaps that was as low as I could go. Then when getting another fill my port tubing got struck and my band was slowly leaking. Only we didn't know that at first. I had a bunch of tests done to rule out band slipping, etc. I had lost most of my restriction and I gained back 30 pounds. I had port and tube replacement surgery a little over a year ago, and ever since then, my weight loss has gotten back on track and more. I've lost over 60 pounds in the last year for a total weight loss of 246 pounds.
In the last year to get past this long plateau, I've had to get really serious about diet and exercise. Now I'm on a Paleo diet, and I drink my own fresh pressed green vegetable juice every day. I use fresh green veggies like celery, cucumber, mint, brocolli, lettuce, kale, sugar snap peas, plus an apple or some grapes, and a lemon for acidity (helps alkalinize the body) and to keep it from oxidizing longer if I don't drink it all immediately. My body loves it! It's vitality in a glass. I use an Omega vegetable juicer.
I also do regular yoga. In the month of January as part of a challenge my yoga class is doing yoga every single day, and yesterday we went to an all-day yoga workshop! Honestly, if even a year ago anyone told me that I would be doing daily exercise and going to an all-day exercise class I would have LAUGHED IN THEIR FACE! But now I'm really loving it. Yoga is great because it focuses on the mind as well as the body. I think most of us, whether morbidly obese or not, need to rewrite our "stories" about ourselves. And yoga really gives you tools to do that. It's more than just exercise.
So I just wanted to let people know that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING! Really, when you change your thoughts you change everything. So just start thinking about how you are living a healthy lifestyle, and you have the power to overcome any challenge, and you will be surprised how the results add up over time!
What's next for me? Well, I've already surpassed my first (249 lbs) and second (199 lbs) weight loss goals. My next goal is 180 lbs, and at 187.2 this morning I'm getting pretty close to it. I may or may not set a lower goal after that. Even at 5' 8.5" height that still puts me in the obese category according to BMI so I may go lower still before plastic surgery.
I definitely need plastic surgery. I have a LOT of loose hanging skin, folds in my skin both horizontally AND vertically. I know the surgeries will take some additional weight off, too. I have met with a local plastic surgeon who recommends three surgeries: (1) a lower body lift with anchor incision, (2) breast reconstruction, arm lift, and Lipo on the thighs, and (3) medial thigh lift. It's quite expensive here in the SF Bay Area though. Soon I have a consultation at cosmed in Tiajuana to see what they would charge. The challenge is both finding the time as well as the money.
Well, I hope this is helpful to some of you all. Good luck and keep up the faith!
Kathy

It's been a while since I've posted. I'm doing well. My last drain fell out after two weeks. I'm now at 3 1/2 weeks. I've been out and about doing pretty much everything since two weeks out. I do sleep more than I did before and my left arm is a bit stiff but other than that I'm pretty much back to normal. My incisions have healed completely in most places, but I did have the incisions open up slightly in my underarms a few weeks ago. So there are some places where there are still some scabs or the skin is growing back together. Next week I will start using BioCorneum on the scars to start fading them. For now he doesn't want me to put anything on the incisions.
I can see now that my tummy is not as tight as it possibly could have been. My doctor sees that, too, and said he would do a revision on it when I go in for my next surgery. It looks good, it's just that there is still some laxity in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions. Given what I started with, a mess of skin all over the place, I think he did a good job. Now that I am very close to normal he can aim for an even tighter stomach next time. In the meantime, I am enjoying having a nearly flat stomach for the first time in my adult life.
In fact, I wore a bikini on Sunday! I was over at a friend's house and she said let's go in the pool, and I said I didn't bring a swimsuit, and she said no problem, you can borrow one of mine. Now I never thought of her and me as the same size, but she brought out a bikini (that's all she wears) which I tried on with trepidation. It fit! Now it wasn't a string bikini (thank goodness) as my hips and thighs are still a mess, and it only partially covered my rolls there. But somehow I was shocked that bikinis exist in a size that I can wear. If anything didn't fit, it was the top! My boobs are pretty large, which I love! Yes, you can see the vertical incision, but it's not that bad already. So I slathered up the sunscreen and played in the pool for a couple of hours in a bikini. Now I don't think I will be wearing a bikini to the beach or a public pool, but still it was a milestone for me. I don't think I have worn a bikini since I was 12.