Hi Everyone! My name is Amber, I'm 27 years old, and I've had the lap band for 6 and 1/2 years. I am 5 feet 7 inches and I currently weigh 168 (not my ideal weight). My highest weight ever was 250, and my lowest after surgery was 148-150. I maintained my weight at 150 for 4 years, then gained 20 pounds in the past year and 1/2 and have been too lazy to do anything about it. I just joined this website because after 6 years of going it alone, I kinda feel like reaching out and talking to other people who have had this done. I'm getting married in 7 months (on July 31, 2010) and my goal is to lose 30 more pounds. I really need to get motivated and start using my band as a weight loss tool again. Over the years since the surgery, I've recently let it go and have ignored it. I don't pay attention to how my stomach feels anymore - I eat past full all the time and I constantly have chest pressure and stomach pain. I want to get back to that excited feeling I had 6 years ago when the band was fresh and new to me - back before I started taking it for granted.

Hey Amber, welcome! It's always great to have experienced bandsters on board. First off, you've done great! Second, good on you for being determined to buckle down and lose that extra little bit that has crept back up on ya. Good luck!

Amber

Welcome! WOW!!! I'm in awe of you 6 1/2 years and going strong. Congratulations on the upcoming marriage

We can all learn so much from you, what can you tell us about long-term? Like did your skin retract etc..

I was banded on 9/16/09, my highest weight was 242, I'm now at 215 (still feels weird writing that as my weight, it hasn't been that low in 4 long years). Right now I'm at 4.5 cc's and have a fill scheduled for 1/4. I'm going to ask for another .5cc as things are getting stuck when I forget to chew but I'm not quite full long enough.

Anywho, welcome and really - so glad to have you here!!

Wow AMber, thats awesome that you have done so well. Such an encouragement! Would you mind sharing with us your experiences? I have met one other person who has had her band longer than you and she worked for my band doctor. If you have been able to gain only 20 pounds in that long without restriction, that is awesome! I really hope that you loose what you want before your big day, Congrats!

D

Hi Amber:

I've only been banded 2 1/2 years, but I can totally relate to some weight gain. I gained 20 pounds between April 2009 and November 2009. I got laid off and between the stress eating and the bored eating it all added up. The first ten pounds came on between April and September. I was really okay with those ten. The second ten came on in two months. I was not okay with the second ten pounds.

I fessed up to my band surgeon. I didn't need a fill. I needed to be accountable to someone besides myself. I asked if I could go in for weekly weigh ins and that way I would have to face someone else. I usually go in and weigh in the day that the surgeons are in the o.r. so that I don't have to interfere with their patients' appointments. I just weigh in and they leave a note for my band doctor. He usually sends me an email later in the day. I've lost ten of those twenty pounds since November 19th. My biggest problem is night time grazing. I started going taking long baths with good books again. I also started going to bed earlier again. Between these three things I was able to lose ten pounds in just over a month. I'm giving myself the next month to lose ten more. I start a new job mid January. I hope that will help with my eating because I'll be alot busier. I knew that I didn't need a fill. I was grazing.

If you don't need a fill, then you need to get back to the basics. Do you exercise? That will help to get you back on track too.

Best wishes to you with your upcoming wedding. I'm sure you'll be a beautiful bride!

By the way, I'm 5'7" too. I would be a wrinkly twig if I got down to the weight you are hoping to get down to. But, I'm also twice your age. I just want to be more comfortable in my clothes and get below 175 again. I'm very happy at a size 12.

I love my band and my new flat tummy!

Sue

Hi Everyone! My name is Amber, I'm 27 years old, and I've had the LAP-BAND® for 6 and 1/2 years. I am 5 feet 7 inches and I currently weigh 168 (not my ideal weight). My highest weight ever was 250, and my lowest after surgery was 148-150. I maintained my weight at 150 for 4 years, then gained 20 pounds in the past year and 1/2 and have been too lazy to do anything about it. I just joined this website because after 6 years of going it alone, I kinda feel like reaching out and talking to other people who have had this done. I'm getting married in 7 months (on July 31, 2010) and my goal is to lose 30 more pounds. I really need to get motivated and start using my band as a weight loss tool again. Over the years since the surgery, I've recently let it go and have ignored it. I don't pay attention to how my stomach feels anymore - I eat past full all the time and I constantly have chest pressure and stomach pain. I want to get back to that excited feeling I had 6 years ago when the band was fresh and new to me - back before I started taking it for granted.

Welcome, and congratulations on your success so far. You have done better than most people who lose weight. In order to get back on track, you may want to try the 5 day pouch test. If you do a search on the forum, it will should bring you to a thread that will have a link for it. If not, just do a google search and it should help you find it. It is doable and will help you to decide if maybe you need a fill or just to adjust your eating. It makes me feel great to see someone who has been banded for that length of time still doing well! Again, congratulations on your weightloss and your upcoming wedding.

Thank you all for your encouragement! It really means a lot to me! Six years ago when I flew to Mexico to have the lap band surgery, I was pretty much clueless as to what I was doing. When I came back home I had no support system, knew no one else who had the lap band, and had no follow-up doctor. And at that time, there where literally only a hand-full of doctors in the U.S. that performed the surgery and did the fills. The closest doctor I could find was in Nebraska (which is still fairly far away from Montana where I live). I did see the doctor in Nebraska for a few fills, but haven't seen him in at least 4 years. I had a brief consultation with a lap band doctor in Montana a few months ago (there are actually a few docs in Montana now that do the surgery!) because I thought I wanted the band removed, but I didn't end up going through with the removal. Most people I hear about having the surgery these days have all kinds of prep appointments and psychological screenings and lots of follow-ups and doctor supervision. Not me - I was pretty much alone through most of it. Which is why it means so much to me to have a community of fellow bandsters to talk to! I'm so glad I joined this forum - your support means the world to me!

With that said, I will answer your question about the skin retraction issue: I did have issues with sagging skin. After losing 100 pounds I had a tummy tuck. Let me just say...the flatness of my stomach after the tuck is AWESOME, but the gigantic scar and my unusually high belly button are NOT so awesome. But I figure that I have to take the good with the bad, so I'm not going to complain. At the same time I had that done, I also had a little liposuction done on my arms because I was so disgusted with how unproportional I looked - it seemed like I was losing weight everywhere EXCEPT for my upper arms. I definitely DO NOT recommend liposuction on the arms - especially if you have stretch marks! BIG MISTAKE! My arms now look so much worse than if I had just left them alone - they look like bat wings, and I'm only 27, way too young for saggy arms! I almost had a breast lift as well, but decided against it at the last minute - I still might do it someday, but not until after I have kids. As far as the skin everywhere else...it's not too bad. The skin on my butt and legs retracted fairly well, however my inner thighs are a little less than nice. If I could go back and change one thing, I would have excercised a heck of a lot more, because I know that would have helped tone my skin.

I would be happy to anwer any other questions you have!

Hi Amber!! Welcome to the board, my name is Liz I'm 26 and hoping to be banded in April of '10 (oh that's a little weird to write). Congrats on doing such a great job so far!!!