I was looking for Sept bandsters and found a link but it was from 2003 so i thought5 i would start a 2005 I will be banded sept 30 getting very excited here and surfing all the forums lol i will have corpal tunnel lol

We had our 2007 band-aversary and nobody mentioned it? This is my second anniversary and the good news is, I'm down about 93 pounds, the bad news, I was down 93 pounds a year ago! Guess I'm getting too comfortable at this weight. Time to make a change. Although I'm pretty restricted, I've made a fill appointment for next week to shake things up a bit. Ice cream was my downfall all summer long. I even gained about 8 pounds but was able to take that off in the last few weeks. Getting off the ice cream certainly helped!

I've lost enough that I've felt pretty complacement. I feel so much better and love that I can wear smaller sizes. I've had to clean out my wardrobe several times because I had (have) so many big sizes. It's amazing how much my body shape has changed. However, at 5' 1", 247 pounds is still way too heavy. I need to drop another 100 pounds. I'm ready to get back on track to do just that.

So how are you other Sept 05' bandsters doing? :ranger:

Pam

Hey there Pam - I was just getting on line to bump this thread when I found your post. I've been wondering how everyone's been. I'm just now at 90 pounds down though I started a bit lower than you. I've been beating myself up a bit as well. I lost the first 85 pounds in about 14 months then have struggled to get and keep off these last 5 pounds. And I still want to lose another 25-35. I just haven't been able to get motivated either. I love my band in that it's helped me keep off what I lost but darn I wish I would get off my backside and start eating healthier on a regular basis again. I'm actually scheduled for a bit of an unfill in the hopes that I'm too tight causing me to make some of the poor soft food choices I've been making for the last 10+ months.

That said I know I really shouldn't complain considering how far I've come but darn it I really would like to reach my goals and not just "settle".

Pam, You're doing well. I WAS doing well, but the whole last year, I'm a failure. I had slowed on the loss last fall, finally went to the Doctor for the flouro in I believe it was January this year. I believe they put a whole in it, because it had the fill from earlier (8 months) still in it, but after that, it wouldn't hold a fill. I know the lady bent a needle, and I just didn't have a good feeling abou the whole thing.

They told me in Olympia they could fix it for $4,000!! Then, after 3 months, I went back in to make sure it wasn't a fluke that theyre was no fluid like they thought. Sure enough, no fluid at all! The price went up to $5,000 and I didn't even ask why I was so irritated. I think it's my penalty b/c I'm a Mexican surgery patient.

I'm going back this Saturday to Puerto Vallarta to Finally get it fixed. I'm nervous, depressed, and a basket case. But, I'm going anyway. Karen

Karen,

I'll be praying for you this weekend.

Good Luck!

Thanks so much for the prayers! They are very appreciated! Karen

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that!

I sure have had my round of that.

But Tuesday the 25th is my annivesary. Today I go see my Dr. I'm not going to get a fill. I've lost 96 pounds. I want to hit that 100 so bad. I just keep messing up with jelly beans!

It would be nice to keep our 9/05 updated more often.

Karen - Happy Bandversary - I know this last year's been rough but hopefully this weekends trip will fix that. Try to stay positive and let us know next week how it went.

Diane, I agree, we should keep updated more often. I know for me, I don't actually have a counselor of any type, so have been basically on my own. No accountability at all. I wish we could trade each other's weaknesses! If you could give me your jelly beans, they'd not be eaten, and you could keep my chocolate! I have a friend who has a weakness to peanut butter- I never think about peanut butter LOL. Karen

Thanks very much, Happy Bandiversary to you, too. I'm soooo nervous to go to the Dr.! If he yells, I hope he does it in Spanish LOL! I am just praying that whatever is wrong, it CAN be fixed easily, and that I get a new lease on the life of my lapband.

I couldn't even sleep last night, thinking, I haven't even packed, haven't finished things here that need to be done, etc. Went to the dentist yesterday with a toothache and now I need a root canal! I feel like a 48 year old house and all the appliances are falling apart at the same time LOL. All I see are dollar signs! BUT, when I get back, I'm revamping my life! Diet, Finances, activity level, everything. I'm going to Dave Ramsey's seminar in Portland to get a jump start on finances in October! I want to be fat-free, debt-free, and pain-free LOL. Karen

I've always been interested in going to a Dave Ramsey seminar. But haven't had a chance yet.

Karen - haven't heard from you. Hope everything went well. You have been in my prayers. Please update us as soon as you get a chance.

Sorry all, I fell off the boards for awhile again! Just busy as heck...so how is everyone doing? Karen, how did it go? Are you "plugged" again? No more leaks?

I'm still about the same...two up, two down...two up, two down! Must be my craving for crunchy chocolate candy which I have to admit, I have a problem ignoring!

I bought a Precor EFX Elliptical machine and plan to use that as my major mode of exercise. Now, I just have to get my big be-ott on it! I had carpal tunnal surgery done on both of my hands over the last two months so have used that as a pretty good excuse not to use it. However, my right hand is two weeks post op now, so I should be able to start using it soon. I promise (talking to myself!) :faint:

So what's up????:ranger:

pam

Hey there Pam - I know what you mean about the chocolate. I've been giving in to its calling way too much over the holidays. Even gave in to a Sheridan's Chocolate Concrete Mixer today with Hot Fudge and Carmel mixed in. So Yummy and yet so not good for me.

I've promised myself to get active in the exercise side of my journey to a slimmer and healthier life this year. However, I'm being side tracked by some sever shoulder pain issues. I've been struggling with a sore right shoulder for nearly 6 months but am one to put off dealing with what seem to be minor annoyances. Twice my doc has given me orders to see a physical therapist and twice I decided I was too busy with other issues such as Christmas shopping and my Plastic Surgery to deal with my shoulder. But I've let it go too far. Now I'm in a state of constant pain shooting up and down my arm with my right hand feeling as if it has permanently fallen asleep. I'm hoping it is just a pinched nerve and that I haven't let it go so far that it has caused any permanent damage. But I'm worried that it could be something more serious, I just can't believe a pinched nerve wouldn't have resolved itself by now.

I was also popping Advil & Tylenol pills right and left for the last month and after seeing some recent posts on Lapbandtalk am worried about if I've done any harm to my stomach due to the band. I've tried stopping the pain pills the last couple days but it hurts so bad I'm about ready to take the risk just to get a little relief.

I was attracted to this thread because it looks like the group with the longest experience. I'm in month 3 of my medically supervised diet which of course I'm failing at. At 6 months I qualify for surgery and have had my eye on the lap band since hearing about it. I'm on the lower end of the qualification scale (190 lbs), but never the less qualify not only because of my weight, but because of my 30+ years of failure to control what goes in my mouth and on my hips.

My questions for all of you in 2005 are..

Has it given you the edge you hoped for in order to retrain your eating habits even after 2 to 3 years?

What was the most serious complication you had?

Is there ever a day you "forget" you have a band in your body and live "normally?"

Any other words of wisdom?

Thanks from someone struggling to make the right decision!

...

My questions for all of you in 2005 are..

Has it given you the edge you hoped for in order to retrain your eating habits even after 2 to 3 years?

Your eating habits do change as over time you find there are certain foods that just aren't very band friendly such as heavy breads. Not to say that we all can't eat bread, some can like myself. But I find that the amount of time I have to put into chewing it so it doesn't stick makes it not taste nearly as good as I once thought it did. But if you are speaking to bad habits. I think most of us will say that unfortunately the band is only around our stomach not our heads. Meaning it does restrict the quantity of food we eat but not necessarily the desire or emotional triggers that drive us to make poor food choices. On the bright side when I do fall off the proverbial wagon I tend not to gain much if any weight at all and can get back into the game without as much of the guilt previously associated with having regained all (plus more) of what I had lost like I use to pre-band.

What was the most serious complication you had?

So far the only complication I have had has been a spell when the band was filled too tightly which caused me to have some severe heartburn and GERD at night. It wasn't really the docs fault but my own for not going back to get a slight un-fill even though I knew what was wrong. I kept thinking if I just lost a couple more pounds the band would loosen up on its own, but it didn't and I finally caved and got the necessary unfill.

Is there ever a day you "forget" you have a band in your body and live "normally?"

Sorry have to ask, what is "normal"? Normal is what you make it and yes after all this time I no longer have to think each time I reach for food what is or isn't band appropriate as it has become habit. Even my cheats have found new levels of normal.

Any other words of wisdom?

Its been said before but the band isn't a magic cure and it doesn't make losing weight easy for most of us. It just makes what use to be an impossible task, possible. Hard, but possible. Oh, and though I know it will be hard to impossible to believe this try not to go on a prolonged farewell to food tour as I did pre band. For the months running up to getting the band I remember thinking at each meal that I had to try to eat all the foods I might have to give up post band one more time before it was too late. After I got the band realized it was really unnecessary as I was still able to at least taste everything I liked even if I didn't eat it in the large portions I use to.

Thanks from someone struggling to make the right decision!

Good Luck to you on this journey what ever decision you make.