Hello All. I am new here and thought it's time to tell my story as I am about to start the second leg of my WL journey. I am 63 yrs and don't think it's too late to once again get healthy. I am a 2 years lapbander and can't wait to finally get a tool that I can begin working. Let me explain. I was banded July '07 and the Dr. was forced to use a much larger 15cc Lapband rather than the smaller Realize band as was expected. This was due to the size of my stomach and the fat growing on the stomach itself. Couldn't get the Realize Band around it properly so in the operating room he made the decision to use the larger band. Started out at 5cc's and took easily 6 months of fills to get it close to near full. Surprise . . . . Absolutely NO RESTRICTION. Eat anything and everything if I wanted to. It all just went right thru the band and into the stomach. No help whatsoever. It was completely the commitment to the change in lifestyle, diet, exercise, etc. that I was following that helped me lose 83 lbs. I went from a surgical weight of 363 to a low with lapband of 283. Then I went into a stall . . Just couldn't lose . . Reason for this mostly was I did get a chunk of food stuck for over 48 hrs . . . pain, foamies, upchucking, . . . tenderizer no help, couldn't sleep, . . . absolute misery. Had to drive 100 miles on a Sunday to see the surgen to have 5 cc's removed and swoosh it was cleared instantly. Thanks God!!! But, this was a setback now we had the slow process of trying to fill the band back up to capacity to see if we could get me some restriction. Never happened. Did a couple of the scan tests where you swallow the small cup of material and they can watch it pass thru the pouch and stoma. . Instantly passed . . no trickle at all. . . The Lapband NEVER gave me the restriction help that I was expecting.

Well I was frustrated, started eating too much, starting eating the wrong things at times, and was on a slippery slope back up the scale. Gained back 35 lbs and finally I looked myself in the mirror and said what are you trying to do to yourself. Well back to the surgeon and after much discussion, research, and reading here to you all and your stories I felt that the sleeve could give me the support I need to beat this weight issue.

A little history. I didn't gain my weight until after 40 yrs . . I am still very active physically traveling all over during the fall hunting from Sept. thru Jan. My body shape is normal legs, normal arms, with all my weight in my belly. I am told most men carry their weight this way. I have been thru the Optifast program with good success at first and then gained it all back. Physically I have diabetes( currently 100 - 110),hypothyroidism, slightly high BP(never over 140), no sleep Apnea, never smoked, and only drink at Weddings and New Years. . . . My eating falts are volume. Steak and Potatoes guy. Don't eat sweets, candy, cakes, or pies. . . well only occasionally. I do like soft drinks. But, haven't had sugared softdrinks for 5 years. Haven't had diet soft drinks for 2 years. I have a loving wife, 2 adult sons, and 2 wonderful granddaughters. Our first granddaughter is 16 and I have been her PaPa since birth. You ask why that is significant? Well she has inflected with cerebral palsey and my wife and I have been heavily involved in her care even to this day. We help out 2-3 days a week and some overnights. She is my mission in life and PaPa is the first words she could say and she only can speak about 10 words at this time. She is fairly high functioning but wheelchair bound due to left side impairment. What I am trying to say is. . . . I have to get this weight down to continue my care for her. It scares me to death thinking of how she will get along without me there. If you put 100 people in a room she would search me out and scream and point to me calling out . . . "PaPa". I must lose this weight so that I have a chance at a better longevity. I owe this to her. Don't want to forget our second granddaughter. She is a doll and very active in sports which I dearly love. A hockey player as a matter of fact. Plays against the boys and staying right with the boys her own age. Been playing for 4 years now and is 9 yrs old. She needs me also.

Well back to me and my situation right now. Since my Dr.'s appoint 16 days ago when we decided to move on to the sleeve I have completed my Psych eval and I already had a clear chemical stress CT scan of my heart in past 30 days. Insurance forms and application was submitted and I got the phone call today that I was approved for the surgery. Will be waiting now for the call for pre-admission testing(PATs) and my surgery date. Hope to get this done very soon during the month of Aug as I need to get healthy quick as KLA(short for Kaylah) needs me. Only my son and I are strong enough to lift her in and out of her wheelchair and into bed or the cars.

For the past 16 days I have been getting back on the program both mentally and physically. Got my diet straightened around and have again begun my exercise program. I am walking 2 - 4 miles a day at a fast clip . . 3.5-4 mph. In this heat it is really burning off the fat cells. Have walked 22 miles in the past week and have dropped 22 lbs. My goal is to get my weight back down to my low point of 283. Hopefully I can reach that before surgery. Then the second leg of my journey will be . . .my sleeve.

Hope I haven't rambled on too much here but just thought I would try to give you some background.

Excellent!! I'm glad to hear everything went smooth. And, not to mention a big CONGRATS on getting back to your lowest Lap Band weight before surgery... WOW!!! That is a huge accomplishment! Very noteworthy, and with that I KNOW you're going to really kick butt with your sleeve.

Please continue to update us on how its going!

thanks for the nice comments Irene? . . LilMissDiva!!! I like that handle/forum name. LOL

It is now 12 days post-op and I am doing fabulous. Gained 17 during surgery with all the IV's and have lost that plus 12 lbs. Hooray!!! I am back to my walking and have covered 13 additional miles for a total of 76 in the last 6 weeks. I am at my lowest in 20 years. Feels awesome and I have had absolutely no issues so far. Following the dietary recommendations of liquids first week and full liquids the second week. Have Dr.'s appt. on Thursday and will step it up to pureed if all goes well. Then soft foods the following week.

I have had a small bit of Acid Reflux but have some meds to keep that down which is working.

I put a T-shirt on today that I hate to wear as it feels like I am in a spring or slinky. The weave is just tight and doesn't give. Usually I take it off after 2 hours and find something comfortable. Well guess what. It is loose and feels wonderful. Small WOW moment.

I am keeping up this walking and it is not even like exercise. My heart rate is really low for as fast as I am walking and that is good. BP is normal and my AM blood sugar has been under 97 the last three days. Awesome.

Anyway, just wanted to do a bit of updating/bragging. . . LOL Feels so good that I just want to shout it from the rooftop. My goal is to take my weight to 199 which is 2 lbs above my wedding weight back in 1968. that would be awesome.

thanks for the nice comments Irene? . . LilMissDiva!!! I like that handle/forum name. LOL

It is now 12 days post-op and I am doing fabulous. Gained 17 during surgery with all the IV's and have lost that plus 12 lbs. Hooray!!! I am back to my walking and have covered 13 additional miles for a total of 76 in the last 6 weeks. I am at my lowest in 20 years. Feels awesome and I have had absolutely no issues so far. Following the dietary recommendations of liquids first week and full liquids the second week. Have Dr.'s appt. on Thursday and will step it up to pureed if all goes well. Then soft foods the following week.

I have had a small bit of Acid Reflux but have some meds to keep that down which is working.

I put a T-shirt on today that I hate to wear as it feels like I am in a spring or slinky. The weave is just tight and doesn't give. Usually I take it off after 2 hours and find something comfortable. Well guess what. It is loose and feels wonderful. Small WOW moment.

I am keeping up this walking and it is not even like exercise. My heart rate is really low for as fast as I am walking and that is good. BP is normal and my AM blood sugar has been under 97 the last three days. Awesome.

Anyway, just wanted to do a bit of updating/bragging. . . LOL Feels so good that I just want to shout it from the rooftop. My goal is to take my weight to 199 which is 2 lbs above my wedding weight back in 1968. that would be awesome.

SHOUT OUT FROM TEXAS! WOO!!HOO!! CONGRATS!!!

On Sept 11 I participated in an 8K run/walk(5 mi) and feelt fantastic. That is 25 days out from revision surgery. I have been power walking since July 17th which is when my Dr. and I decided to do the lapband to sleeve revision. I lost the 35 lbs I had gained and have lost another 20 lbs since surgery.

You can see the details of the run in the Fitness forum: 8k run/walk details and pics

I am pretty proud of this race. . . . Jolly my golden retriever who walks with me every night did the 8k with me also.

On Sept 11 I participated in an 8K run/walk(5 mi) and feelt fantastic. That is 25 days out from revision surgery. I have been power walking since July 17th which is when my Dr. and I decided to do the lapband to sleeve revision. I lost the 35 lbs I had gained and have lost another 20 lbs since surgery.

You can see the details of the run in the Fitness forum: 8k run/walk details and pics

I am pretty proud of this race. . . . Jolly my golden retriever who walks with me every night did the 8k with me also.

WOW!!!!! You are some kinda superstar!!!! Keep up the amazing progress!

LOL . . . No superstar . . . just damned determined to get this weight off and keep it off.

LOL . . . No superstar . . . just damned determined to get this weight off and keep it off.

WTG!!! Keep us posted. I am having revision surgery on October 5th. I started my pre-op a week early so I can ease in to it.

Charlene, you day is coming. . . You have made a great decision. Just follow the Dr's program . . every detail . . and you will be successful with this sleeve. I am expiencing all of the effects that I expected from my lapband. It is restricting me from overeating. 1/2-3/4 cup and that is it. And, that is something new for me. Volume has always been my downfall.

Good luck with your surgery and get up and get moving after the surgery as soon as you can. You window of opportunity is the first 6 months after your surgery.

Charlene, you day is coming. . . You have made a great decision. Just follow the Dr's program . . every detail . . and you will be successful with this sleeve. I am expiencing all of the effects that I expected from my lapband. It is restricting me from overeating. 1/2-3/4 cup and that is it. And, that is something new for me. Volume has always been my downfall.

Good luck with your surgery and get up and get moving after the surgery as soon as you can. You window of opportunity is the first 6 months after your surgery.

Thanks, PapaBob! I have been easing in to the pre-op this week. I am looking forward to restriction that doesn't go from wide open to getting stuck. I have started buying supplies. One thing I bought was prep bowls from Pampered Chef. I will be able to put 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and 1 cup food in them and put a lid on them. I bought Protein drinks from Vitamin Shoppe. 30g of protein in grape and punch flavor. I will keep you posted.