I am a lapband wearer. I just thought i would tell you that i have had my band installed 2 yrs out and doing great. Went from 503lbs to 370lbs. Went from a size 72 pants to a loose size 58. I had one of the best hospital and two of the top rated surgeons in the U.S. for lapbanding. I will say the lapband is a helper for losing weight and you have to have it adjusted to your needs. I have not lost the tremendeous weight i thought i should of at first, but being patient is the key. It will work for anyone willing to lose weight. It completely cut my hunger. If you have any questions feel free to email me. Oh, by the way i'm still losing and want to get to 300lbs by june of 09. This is the first forum that i have ever been on. Its all new to me. I thought i would get my story out there and answer any questions you may have. Later :eek:

CONGRATS to you! What an inspiration I wish you best of luck on your continued journey....

You are such an inspration! I am still in the approval process with my insurance agency then I will have a surgery date! Congratulations and keep up the good work!

Hi Bigiron. What a great insperation you are! Your weight loss is awesome. Good luck with the rest of your journey. Keep us posted.

Keep up the good work, you should be so proud of yourself. You are a postive role model to all of us that have the band or thinking about getting one.

Edited July 22, 200818 yr by Peanutngp

WOW, you should be very proud of that accomplishment.

Makes it seem more of a reality to those of us starting out.

Thank you for your story...it is truly a great inspiration! I am very excited for you and I appreciate your words of wisdom!

Next time I start whining about how slow this is going, I'll remember you and all the patience you have. Congrats!

Dear BigIron, I have been going thru the posts trying to find someone I felt comfortable talking to and found you because I liked your story and felt I could talk to you. I have not had the band, but my 19 y/o son was banded on Monday 7/21/08 in WV. It was a really tough decision. He is in college and was already having problems with sleep apnea and reflux. The surgery took a long time and he was in so much pain that I wondered if we had made the wrong decision. I cried alot. However, today we are 2 days out and he is really feeling pretty good. Alot of pain in left shoulder but not bad. Takes advil during the day and only pain medicine when needed. I had alot of trouble getting him to take any fluids at all, but tonight he told me he was hungry. He ate about 3 bites of NS jello and was full. My question and problem is that he is in college and when he goes back to school I wonder and worry about what he will do. My father died really young of heart disease and my son already has hypertension and high cholesterol. I hope we did the right thing and he really wants to loose the weight. His doctor told us that this is no different than if he had cancer or diabetes and we had to make a drastic change to save his life. I understand this, but am really going back and forth. I just wanted to talk to someone to get some advise and I saw that you have had so much success. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and talk to someone who had been through this. Thanks alot! Robin

Hello Robin: Sorry about not checking my messages. First of all, i want to say this. SAY HI TO YOUR SON FOR ME AND TELL HIM EVERYTHING WILL BE JUST FINE, JUST HAVE TO BE PATIENT AND FOLLOW ALL DOCTORS ORDERS. THIS BAND IS A HELPER TO LOSE WEIGHT AND YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH IT, BUT IT DOES WORK! I researched for months about all the weight loss methods and found that the lapband was the less evasive surgery out there and was a proven method! I had my surgery done in Scottsbluff Nebr. By two of the top rated surgeons in the USA. That hospital offers all weight loss procedures: gastric bypass, stomach stapling and the Lapband. I ASKED MY DOCTORS IF THERE FAMILY MEMBER HAD TO HAVE A WEIGHT LOSS PROCEDURE DONE, WHICH ONE WOULD THEY DO? THEY BOTH TOLD ME IT WOULD BE WITHOUT A DOUBT THE LAPBAND! I already had my mind made up to have the banding done anyway because it had less risks plus you still lose weight. I'm over two years out and i eat anything, but just a lot less and i really have to chew my food up. He will find that it may be a bit discouraging at first because you want to eat, kinda like you did before and this band will not let you. Tell him to make sure he goes back to doctor to get regular band fills until he finds that sweet spot where he is losing weight but not hungry all the time. You will have some pain with the band for a while, its normal. Tell him to keep his head up and when his band gets adjusted to him, he better be prepared for a ride of a lifetime! Have any more questions, feel free to ask. Rock

Tell your Son this to: I was over 500lbs and had sleep apnea, reflux problems, diabetes and High blood pressure! I have a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and taking ACTOS for diabetes. I was tired all the time. NOW SINCE I HAVE LOSSED OVER A 133LBS I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE: sleep apnea, reflux problems, diabetes and High blood pressure! I'm off my meds and the don't need my CPAP machine and i don't have high blood pressure anymore! THIS IS PART OF THE RIDE I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER and IT WILL ONLY GET BETTER! :teeth_smile:

THANKS Rock

:cool2: I am a lapband wearer. I just thought i would tell you that i have had my band installed 2 yrs out and doing great. Went from 503lbs to 370lbs. Went from a size 72 pants to a loose size 58. I had one of the best hospital and two of the top rated surgeons in the U.S. for lapbanding. I will say the lapband is a helper for losing weight and you have to have it adjusted to your needs. I have not lost the tremendeous weight i thought i should of at first, but being patient is the key. It will work for anyone willing to lose weight. It completely cut my hunger. If you have any questions feel free to email me. Oh, by the way i'm still losing and want to get to 300lbs by june of 09. This is the first forum that i have ever been on. Its all new to me. I thought i would get my story out there and answer any questions you may have. Later :thumbup:

WOW your doing a great job! as for me i was banded the 5th of may was loosing good until june 28th and at my max on fills ( 4cc band) fill at 4.cc i dont know what to do maybe my body still adjusting? some days i can eat a plate full and some days i cant get 1/2 a cup down i dont know what to do. any advice?

Hello mzreeda: The band is ONLY a Helper that you have to work with! There is days i can do the same. You have to eat slow and be completely done eating within 15 Min's. Don't go over 15 Min's and that will help you. Now, when i go out and eat at a restaurant, i always bring home a to-go box with all the rest of food i didn't eat. You have to watch what you eat too! Habits will always continue to be there and that is to just eat, eat and eat! Your goal should be to eat Quality food now and it will happen down the road. Quantity will go away and Quality of food will come to the for-front. Shakes and ice cream to me is a no-no. It goes down to quick and keeps pounds on you. Just remember this: the lap-band is my little helper! Its not a fix all! Work with it and being patient is the key! Its all about Quality, NOT Quantity NOW! Enjoy the ride! Hope this Helps. Feel free to ask me any more questions. Later Rock

Some have asked me about the Hospital i used. I thought i would post this. The Hospital i went to was Regional West Medical Center

4021 Avenue B

Scottsbluff, Nebraska 69361

308-630-2249 or 877-790-0006

Dr. Holloway and Dr. Forney were my doctors. :thumbup: They have performed over 850 gastric band procedures since 2001. They are the nicest doctors and two of the top rated surgeons in the states and the best staff you will find in the country! They have a loaded staff to answer any questions you may have and they even call you up after your surgery and keep tabs with your progress and assist you if you have any questions! They took care of all my insurance work for me. From the time you step in the front door to the time you are ready to go home they run a top notch operation! :thumbup: I'm not in a OA program. I went to one weight loss program in Amarillo TX. for weight loss and tried the basically shakes, pills and exercise. loss 40 lbs, but gained it back shortly after leaving the program because of the monthly cost. It was to high! Than i tried the fen-phen deal! That was not good! I was on it for 2 weeks and i had a allergic reaction with my face! It swelled up and i just said no way is this good. I did not take it again after that and come to find out later that a lot of people had heart problems from it. :cool2: I will say this about it, it cut your appetite but not healthy for you! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Later Rock

Hello, I am almost into a full year as a lap bander. I am very happy as I have lost 78 pounds. However, I am constantly vomiting and I have recently been told I am low in Vitamin D and taking prescribed doses of it. i am seeing my doctor today and hopefully will have some saline removed so that I can eat something without vomiting. i try eating properly and then i vomit. Eventually I will eat the junk to feel some satisfaction. I'm considering seeking some counseling, because i think I need it.

Did you have any of these issues in your first year?

trish

Hello Trish. I feel you have your band is way to tight. loosen it up and should should be fine. even now if i try to eat to fast my band will want to plug up and sometimes i have that feeling i need to vomit. So far, i have vomited 3 times and i didn't like it! Vomiting is bad for your band, possible it could break it lose from where it is installed and that would be bigger problems. Have doc loosen it way up and restart the process over. My docs in Scottsbluff give me a fill and have me drive a cup of water to see how long it takes to go down. I don't have my band really tight! I could probably use it tighter but i want to eat, so i just work with my band. Its a little helper buddy for me and thats the way i look at it. My weight loss is slow and that is fine with me. It took me 25 plus years to put this on and if it takes 5 to 7 yrs to get off, thats fine with me. But every day that I'm alive, its every day that I'm reaching my goal weight loss. I honestly think you are losing to much weight in such a short period. Its not fun for you, so loosen it up a bit so you can go back to eating without vomiting! Weight loss with this band should be fun knowing that every day I'm loosing weight reaching my goal! Now, i go eat what i want but not as much. Remember this, take it slow and it will be more enjoyable. I know, i was really impatient, i want to have a whole different body look in less than a year. But really thats not realistic and unhealthy for you. Take it slow and eat healthy and enjoy the ride! Hope the visit to doc goes good. talk with him, let him know whats up and get your band adjusted properly. Hope this helps. Later Rock