They have added a forum for us - let's post here... So we can share with the new people....

I'm new here, am 52yrs old and just had my surgery on the 13th. Am enjoying reading your posts and wanted to say hi.

I'm new here, am 52yrs old and just had my surgery on the 13th. Am enjoying reading your posts and wanted to say hi.

Teryn

I was 52 when I was banded too... I love it - I feel 10 yrs younger - have 100% more energy - It's the best thing I did for me..

And you've lost so much weight..I'm so happy for you. I'm still on liquids, and tho it gets boring lol, is ok. The disadvantage I have tho is that I won't be able to exercise much due to my MS. So is gonna be a long process but I'm determined.

I am real new here banded 10/15/09 glad to find my age grp we are different and need each others guidence. anyone who could send me directions to weigth tracker would be apprieated.I ve created one but just cant get it to Lap band talk site. I technologically challenged ! with sp problems too

Hi Rebecca,

It's so nice to meet you! I was banded yesterday morning

at 8:30am. It was not too bad. I'm just bloated and sore

at the port incision, other than that I'm O.K. It is so nice

to have a forum like this to go for support and encouragement.

Thank you

Pina

I'm 58 and was banded 6/1/09. My only regret is not having done it sooner. I did consider all the risks , but the risks of all my comorbities far outweighed the risk of the band. My daughter was banded Feb of last year and has lost 100 lbs and had reconstructive plastic surgery for the excess skin.

I've lost 54 lbs through the whole pre-op and post op journey. I also don't put huge goals on myself. I gave myself a year to lose, but I'm halfway there and feel a good ten years younger with no aches or pains in knees and ankle.

So I agree there are risks and there are some people that are going to be more prone to problems than others and you do have to weigh all your options that are out there. My hospital won't do a band for anyone with over 100 lbs to lose.

And having a good support base is extremely important also.

Trisha

Hi LarraineM,

Just double click on my tracker and it should take you to the site.

I'm 58 and was banded 6/1/09. My only regret is not having done it sooner. I did consider all the risks , but the risks of all my comorbities far outweighed the risk of the band. My daughter was banded Feb of last year and has lost 100 lbs and had reconstructive plastic surgery for the excess skin.

I've lost 54 lbs through the whole pre-op and post op journey. I also don't put huge goals on myself. I gave myself a year to lose, but I'm halfway there and feel a good ten years younger with no aches or pains in knees and ankle.

So I agree there are risks and there are some people that are going to be more prone to problems than others and you do have to weigh all your options that are out there. My hospital won't do a band for anyone with over 100 lbs to lose.

And having a good support base is extremely important also.

Trisha

Welcome Trisha and congrats on your progress thus far. I was banded a year before you in June of '08. I lost 126 lbs in a year. Just curious why won't your hospital do a band if you have more than 100 lbs to lose? That seems odd, at 100+ lbs to lose I needed the help of my band. Best wishes for continued success for you!

Wow, look at all the new over 50 bandsters!!! I'm very impressed that so many people really want to improve their lives.

I've only lost about 37 pounds and it's already made a huge difference in how I feel. Life is far from perfect yet, but it's getting better. My band's restriction is really working right now and boy does that keep the amount of food I eat under control.

It takes a while to get into the grove for some of us...remember to be patient and work with your band and you'll be fine.

Eva

Great2bthin, I'm not exactly sure what my hospital/surgeons' issues are with the band. They're very big on bypass and don't believe the results are as good. I totally don't agree and during the whole six-month pre-op program, it was a continual pressure to have the bypass, which being a low-BMI patient with comorbidities, bypass was absolutely never an option in my mind. My daughter had almost a hundred to lose and did just fine in just under a year. Having now gone through the process, I know why my hospital doesn't have the best results. They're extremely conservative on fills. A friend I chat with online is from the same hospital and her surgeon is every two months for follow-up visits/fills. I got very lucky in going with a new surgeon who had only done under 10 fills but he has been much more aggressive.

I'm very pleased with my decision and it's been great having had my daughter go through it first. She wanted me to do it at the same time but...and this sounds silly maybe to some...she had struggled with her weight from about the age of 4-5. I wanted to her enjoy her journey and to be the "star" and not have to share the attention. I wanted it to be "her time." And it has been nothing short of miraculous the changes it made in her life.

For me, just the fact that I can go up and down stairs without hurting or being able to go to gap and buy a pair of size 14 pants off the rack without the drama of clothes shopping is a blessing. (Can't wait for the size 10 shopping spree...lol)

Good luck to all

Trisha

Trisha,

How wonderful for you to get to share this journey with your daughter and follow her lead. The support she would've been offer to you as you prepared for surgery must've been awesome. I loved shopping at Gap for their jeans. They had a fit Essential that I loved. Of course, I can finally shop there, find a fit I loved, and what did they do? Discontinued it and they told me didn't replace it with a similar cut. I was so bummed. I did find a size 10 on a clearance rack and got a steal on them, but I am so afraid of wearing them out and not being able to replace them.

I don't get why some docs are so conservative on fills. The band is designed to be filled. Of course, one must be careful and not get over filled but the quicker you can get to that sweet spot the better. My doc was very assertive and after my 6 week post op I could get them as often as every 2 weeks. It took me 7 fills during the year that I lost my weight.

Sorry I've been missing for so long. My gall bladder gave a few little warning twinges and then got really bad. On a Friday evening, of course! It's a long story, but eventually I did have surgery. The laparoscopic surgery was converted to an open surgery because the gall bladder had apparently attached itself to other things. Even after a week plus on antibiotics, it came out red and angry. Then when I got home, I got a case of cellulitis up and down my right side. Talk about painful! Every time I moved, it felt like boiling water was being poured on me. So I stayed immobile a lot. But the story doesn't end there. I got the staples out of my 10" incision, and steri strips on. When the steri strips finally came off, I rolled over in bed and felt that the sheets were wet. The incision split open. I got a nice ride in an ambulance at 5:30 AM. So I have been on a WoundVAC for several weeks to promote healing. It's much better, and I will be transitioning off of it shortly. The doctor at the wound clinic said I can transition to the wet-to-dry dressing any time. I was going to wait a few days, but that damn machine is driving me crazy. I nearly threw it out the window tonight. Since they do want it back intact, I think I'll switch to the other dressing. (rolling eyes)

Understandably, I haven't been on the computer much for nearly six weeks.

This year has been a real bitch. Maybe next year I'll actually be able to concentrate on weight loss. I hope.

So sorry to hear of your troubles, Orea. Sounds like the worst is over--good luck on your continued recovery. Hang in there.

Orea, so glad you came back and told us what is going on. how awful. Glad you are on the recovery side of things and hope the rest of the year is good to you.

I would like to join your group. I just turned 50 last week. I was banded in May and love it. I have been on a plateau for several weeks now, but will have my 2nd fill on Monday and looking forward to it. GB