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Hi Everyone, I just wanted to pop on here and share my recent story in the hopes that it will help either someone going through what I went through OR to help guide anyone looking to get a lapband. Let me start by saying that the lap band is an amazing tool. I was banded 4 years ago at a well known clinic in downtown Toronto. The band helped me lose 97 pounds, I met a wonderful man who I married and gained a lot of confidence. Prior to making the decision to be banded I researched everything I could about the band. How it works, how the surgery works, sucess stories etc. What I failed to do was research the after care that is available at the clinic you choose. Clinics love sucess stories, but when things fail with the band, that's the true test if you chose the right place or not. I'll try to make this long story short: 6 weeks ago I began having upper abdominal pain. I knew it was the band as the pain felt similar to when I was healing from being banded. I contacted the clinic and tried to see the surgeon. This is when my nightmare began. I couldn't get a proper response from the clinic. I couldn't get assistance from the surgeon, 5 hospital visits to deal with the pain and find out what was going on with me, multiple pages to the surgeon from the ER docs at the hospitals and still assistance was very minimal. An endoscopy at the last hospital finally discovered my band had eroded into my stomach. The surgeon from the clinic would not remove the band until it was eroded 50% into my stomach (it was at 25%) so they could remove it using a new tool they had purchased. I begged and pleaded as I was in so much pain and constantly on pain killers (it was affecting my life, my work, pretty much everything). No dice. They sent me on my way. My family doc suggested I seek some other opinions as she was concerned about more critical risks to leaving the eroded band in place to erode even further. I went to see a surgeon she recommended and I also found Dr. Cobourn at the Plastic Surgery Clinic in Mississauga. Both surgeons recommended I have the band out immediately. I began working with Dr. Cobourn as he had a lot of experience placing, removing etc lap bands. He was so amazing! He explained everything to me, what would be done, healing time and confirmed that if I indeed wanted another band in 4-6 months I'd be able to get one. He checked me into the Mississauga hospital and within a few days of seeing him my band was out and I'm on the road to recovery. If I had seen Dr. Cobourn first, I would've had this dealt with in a week instead of being in pain for 6 weeks and not knowing what was going on with me. In my dealings with Dr. Cobourn and his clinic (which I was not a paying customer but they helped me anyways) I now know how critical it is to make sure the clinic you choose provides you with full support both for living with the band but also for when things don't always work out with the band. I was basically left in limbo for 6 weeks and had to go to another clinic to get treated. I'm just thankful I found Dr. Cobourn, thankful that he was a doctor that actually cared more about the person than the money and thankful that he helped me. I do not want to discourage anyone from getting a lap band. I'm an odd case and it's not that common to have the band erode. A lap band does work and I'm proof of that. What I do want to do is encourage you to choose the right clinic and make sure you know what aftercare is provided so you don't have to go through what i went through. It's a very scary thing to be in pain and be constantly turned away.

I just wanted to touch base and give an update! I am feeling wonderful and very excited. I now weigh 176lb and had to buy some new pants. Yes I bought a size 12 and was grinning like a fool in the dressing room. The feeling was AWESOME! I was feeling really down the last couple of month but since I broke the 180 mark it seems I am back on track and feel great! I am just taking one day at a time. I still keep a food diary which I know really helps me. I am running 3 times a week and do some sort of exercise every day.

Hi everyone, So, let me back up 1 day to surgery yesterday. I woke up & really wasn't nervous like I was the day before. Some how my nerves were calmed. It's gonna happen so why get nervous about it. I went to the hopsital around 9:30am MST and had surgery at 12:30 or so. The worse part was just laying in the hospital bed, waiting for "my turn." I had my durgery done at Rose Medical. Great staff all over. The surgery itself, I'm told, took 19 minutes. While I was there they made me walk around, and can I say, I was burping left & right. Yes, that's what I said ... LOL... I'm told thats very good becuase you want to get the air out that thee pumped in there. It almost seemed to relieve me. so uh, if you can, burp away my friends... the other thing i did at the hospital was gentle massage my stomach. it seemed to gently soothe my achiness at times, I was definitely tired, and a little achy when I got home. My throat actually hurt from havng that tube down my throat. The best way to decribe the achniess is that I felt like a had a permanent stomach ache, an a sore throat with maybe swollen glands; no fever. I went home & napped on & off while making sure to drink / drink / drink. My husand took such good care of me, even my 10 yr old daughter I was thankful to be watched over & pampered. I didn't sleep very well last night, very restless, and therefore woke up with a bit of a headache. I'm not sure what to take, but was going to try my daughter liqud tylenol, if I could find it. I'm sure I'll nap again on & off today as well. Oh, I must have peed like 20 times since I got home (seriously). My goodness, I'm releasing all those liquids... HA HA .... . Thank God, my throat pain feels much better, My stomach is definitely less achy. May I repeat that getting up and, forgive me, but burping again (and any other relief from gas) is helpful. Just saying guys... So far, I'm only had 2 oz of a protein drink, but it looks like I will sipping liquids just about eery hour for the next 5 days. I don't think I actually feel hungry. Saw my daughter eat one of those breakfast sandwiches & I didn't crave it. I'm sooo hoping that stays with me. Well, that's about it really. I'm going to shower then go grocery shopping (yes, I know) for the family. They told me to walk around the first few days, but not to over do it. I'll keep you guys posted. Thaks for listening. PS,,, ive actually lost 4 pds in 1 day due to the liquid diet

It seems almost surreal to say that I am on my 5th day post-op. I had surgery on Friday 8/10 evening and came home from the hospital on Sunday afternoon. What a whirlwind this last week has been! It somewhat surprised me how much I needed to take care of in the 24 hours or so before surgery: pre-meds, and gathering items to take to hospital, as well as preparing to be away from home for a few days. Then it was off to Palms of Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL, where I was so well cared for by the wonderful staff. My surgery time ended up being a bit later in the day than anticipated; however, the hospital staff was wonderful about keeping me posted and comfortable. The next thing I knew I was waking up in ICU and it was all over. My surgeon/hospital always require ICU for the first 18 hours or so after surgery. My NG tube and catheter were removed the next day when I was moved to a regular room in the Bariatric Center. My pain was not horrible because they had a morphine drip going that I could activate with a button as needed. I found that I really didn't have to use it very often. For the first little while after surgery I felt "teathered" in so many different spots by medical equipment. One by one, they came out and I was so happy to be free of all of them just before I left the hospital. Since coming home, things have been good. My pain has been quite manageable with some discomfort at night and a very "full" feeling all the time. I really have not had hunger at all and am eating very little but making absolutely sure to get my vitamins and calcium in as instructed. I think the water requirement is really helping me to stay full feeling also. One thing I wasn't prepared for was coming home from the hospital about 7 pounds heavier than I went in. It may have been all of the IV fluids and swelling due to surgery, but by the second/third day home it was gone and the losing has started again. Thanks goodness! I mean, that was the goal of this thing, right?! I actually have six small incisions (three across the bottom of my tummy above the bellybutton, two up my left side, and one at the top a little left of center). So mine looks more like a "C" than a "Y". I have to say that my surgeon, Dr. Ernest Rehnke, is EXCELLENT! He's well known and highly respected in this field and he's been doing these surgeries for decades. My incisions are not painful and only one of them has any substantive bruising. Everything seems to be healing up well and the incision areas are now itching--which is a good sign of healing. For a busy person who never stays still for very long, it has been hard for me to take it easy and rest and not really DO anything. But I am trying because I know it's important to my recovery. I am also taking short walks as I can. It's August in Florida so I have to admit it's tough to make myself go out into the heat. Each day does get a little better and I hope by the end of the week I'll feel pretty normal... or at least my new normal. The doctor has me on full liquids until my 2-week post-op visit and if all is good he will move me to solid foods then. Maybe all of this is more than you wanted to know, but maybe it will help someone who is a few steps behind me on this journey. We will get there! It takes time, patience, perseverence, and the ability to change. Well, I'm off now to read or write some thank you notes. Until Next Time...! Starting: 317# Pre-Op: 296# Today: 294.5# Total Down: 22.5#

Today I was getting my tests done my surgery, and it hit me, I'm really going to do this. went to see the dietitican, behaviorist same day I have to follow a 1500 calorie diet for a week to see how this works, Also have to see a therapist before I can set a date (which I'm after this). I'm Happy yet stress about it. My Family ain't to happy about it. My aunt even had the nerv to say I'm taking the easy way out. They don't even know how this works even offer to see the dr. so they asks questions. So as of right now, the won't know nothing untill may 2 weeks before the surgery. Simple and Done, unless they asks questions, they won't know.

As I stated in my last entry, I am not much of a reader. However, that has recently changed. I cannot stop reading about the surgery, pre-op, post-op, the diet, amount of weight lose, etc. It's become a mini obsession. The more I read, the more I learn it is for me. I bought WLS for Dummies and it has been really great. Kind of a one stop shop for all phases of the process. Also bought Skinny Jeans. This is more of a psyche type book. The mental state you need to be in and why we look for this as an option. So far so good and both are on Amazon pretty cheap too. Also found some great videos on the subject: http://www.muschealth.com/video/Default.aspx?videoId=10693&cId=46&type=rel and http://www.upmc.com/Video/Pages/default.aspx?vcat=511%3b%230cc24f80-e320-4764-933f-2379e134e347%7cWeight+Loss. They are both hospital centers of bariatric excellence. Great info! http://www.obeseinfo.com/default.htm Is another great website. I have found the more I learn the less nervous I become. It is also reinforcing I have made the right decision. I cannot wait for my first nutrition appointment on 8/14. Happy Reading!!

I have rarely known a time that I was not overweight after I became a teenager. My mother was morbidly obese and I always grew up with the fear that I would also become obese. I remember sadly being embarrassed for my mother and I never wanted to be "the kind of mom" that my kids would have to be embarrassed for me either. I was at a normal weight when I was 13, which I know now, but at 125 I felt fat. But I was determined to fight this and be thin. This changed for me when my grandmother told me that I was fat and that no matter what I did I would be fat like my mother. At that point I remember just giving up and started putting on the pounds. Throughout school I had no self-esteem and was a figure for redicule throughout elementary and high school, for various reasons. I generally weighed about 195 and was proud that I at least never hit 200, but I was miserable and never could do anything. I limited my life based on my size and let other's opinions of me determine who I was. At 20 I met a good friend and together we started working out and dieting and I lost down to 145. It was wonderful and I became this happy positive person, I was outgoing and energetic and people called me "peppy". I loved it, but again I let others determine who I was. I met my husband to be and we dated , got engaged and married all within 8 months. Everything was great and then I got pregnant and then the pounds started packing back on. I remember crying that I would be be fat and he would stop loving me. He told me that he would love me but not respect me. That was a big issue and one we had to work through and I know today he really does still love and respect me but those words hurt badly at the time. His mother had even asked him if he could handle me getting fat, because she knew I would after meeting my mother. Fast forward to 6 kids later and many diets and trying to lose weight and now I weigh 278 (again proud at least I never hit 280, how delusional was I?). I had become a couch potato, afraid to meet and make friends. Never felt worthy of being a friend and why would anyone want to be "my friend"? I isolated from others and didnt volunteer in my kids' classrooms, well rarely anyway. I know a lot of this was my own self esteem issues and fear, but my childhood taught me that I was not capable of fitting into the real world. I did go back to college (at the push of my one friend and husband) and got my Master's in Social Work, but that let me experience even more prejudice. In class I would sit there the first day and no one would want to sit next to me. Soon we would have to seperate into groups for our group assignments and no one would want to be my partner, like they assumed I was stupid or something. The only nice thing was after the first group project people were wanting to be in my group because dang it I was a smart woman and worked hard. Over time I saw people begin to respect me, but I had to overcome their prejudice of fat people. I did graduate with suma cum laude with a 3.97 GPA and felt success for the first time in my life. I had developed knee problems, back problems, pre-diabetes, arthritis, plantars faciatitis, depression and other such ailments. I was always tired and never wanted to do or go anywhere. Ok that is wrong I wanted badly to do everything but I was not able to do it, or I believed I was not able to do it. I had applied for WLS while I was going to college but I lost too much weight and I was denied. So last August I started my journey again to take my life back and become the woman I have always been, beautiful and proud, but hardly anyone had been willing to see me. So I began this journey, did the 6 month set of diet classes and all the other hoops. Fearful I would be denied again, but I was not and here I am 7 weeks post-op in the beginning stages of my journey. My surgery was June 7, 2012. I had lost 11 pounds the week before surgery (after approval had come through - LOL) and at my surgery date I weighed 250, Today I weigh 221 which is a loss of 40 pounds since this began. I am not done, I have much more to lose and much much more to gain. I am ready to claim myself back. I am ready to claim back my health and my life. I am ready to explore the world that I have always been afraid to explore. I am ready to make my family proud of me. I am ready to be proud of myself, its about time!