Julie norton

It is a truly different mindset when you get a few months out from surgery. You can FINALLY believe you will stay a smaller size. Not the constant up and down of years past. The confidence that you have conquered some issue that has ruled you FOR YEARS is now in the rear view mirror. And you just keep driving !!

Well, at my last check up this year, my doc examined my band and said it is good for a lifetime. I believe it is a 5 cc band from 2006.i think inamed is the name. Not sure. I keep it filled about 1.6 or so. Just like you, I do NOT want this journey to end.... Even uninflated it was a bit tough to stay on my personal eating program. I am maintaining a 75 lb weight loss for all these years, save one minor set back years ago. Please tell me what happens. I don't have too much info on longer time with the band. Thanks and best of luck staying the course.

This forum gives some of the best REAL LIFE advice on WLS that can be had imho. It is so nice to see veterans helping others down the road to a much healthier life. All the basics: find protein you can handle, drink your water, walk or move in some fashion.( I have heard all large mammals have a need to move and stretch their bodies) I didn't feel like that before.... But have learned if I can just get to my work out place, I leave much happier I digress..... Great, helpful advice is here to be had and I am grateful for these boards.

I think it is perfectly normal to be scared and worried about upcoming surgery. It has been many years for me , but I personally never have felt like I was choking or short of breath. I have spat up a bit but it is NOT the same as throw up as we know from flu, etc. I don't recall it being discussed in these forums either. Some others may have experienced that; see who comments? I'm hoping you will be as thrilled as I was in a matter of hours as an outpatient. Best of luck! Update us.

i would like to go back to Hawaii. And see the SF Giants play Chicago at Wrigley field. Big question mark on further body contouring, but Botox is coming my way.

A fresh new year is coming emerald! Make a dr. Appt and see what you want... A fill? Start again? Only you can decide.... You have a tool you probably can utilize. Don't worry about dr opinion... They are there to serve you, and trust me, they have seen it all!! I'm years and years post op banded and still have to work at it!! Good luck!

Making up your mind to change your life is the first step. I'm so proud of you. Just keep going and all will be in the rear view mirror and next Xmas you will be so happy I predict????

Please inform us more about chemical peels. I seem to have decent thick skin, but beach living as a kid gave me sun spots. I'm really thinking some sort of re surfacing, but unclear on what.. Thanks

Love the cut of skinny jeans. Somehow making the calf part smaller lengthens the look of my legs. Gotta go with it. And a wedge heel Gotta stay with it even if trending is wide leg palazzo pants. I think I'm done trending

I'm still here, jack. Just finished my 9th year... I'm a 2006 bander... But I agree, not many of us left here... The sleeve is the new standard I guess. Glad to be healthy and happy for 2016????

Sorry joe about your loss... The older I get.. The more losses I'm handed. Sigh Earth wind and fire!!!! Liz. If you aren't dancing, something is wrong and you need to see a dr!!!!????????

For some reason, I cannot eat kale and quinoa? It never has stayed down. A nice soup is a bit better and moist for me Best of luck. Trial and error is how this works for many of us.

Thanks for the info Meg. I learned from it. Please don't let this get in the way of your awesome weight loss over the past 1+ year. ( someone else whose band tightens over time ... I'm not alone with that issue thanks )??still don't understand it but I guess I don't need to

Gosh. You gals are downright fashionable!!! I'm so happy to see healthy sizes and happy banders Years down the road. Sorry lisacaron for the latest gagging. Does your band get tight over time? Or do you think it was just meds? I'm so glad taking a bit out worked.... Hope you don't need more out and all is calm. My band is fairly calm these days... Some days she is downright fickle. But mostly chew ,chew, .... Lots of beans and chicken lately

Thanks for sharing. It would be hard for me to face a life in pictures all at once. Some great decades... Some not so good... Having a dreadful marriage and having children were the biggest triggers in my life that added poundage. A happy life and marriage and WLS equaled a fabulous (almost) decade. I have joy seeing those pictures.

Thank you always for your steadfast support banders. ???? Made it thru the birthdays Just hanging in and hoping each year sheds a bit more light on my clouded heart. On thru Xmas???????? and hoping for for a fresh new year????????. Thanks again for being here!

Smooth move tea can be your friend... Helps keep me regular Without nasty side effects.. Good luck.. It's a bit tricky

It IS hard to find that link

Just saying hi and checking in with my favorite group!! Im feeling so blessed to have surpassed the 9 year mark of banded life ...and feel very grateful for the gift of health I gained. The second holidays without my husband and the first without dad. Sigh. And their birthdays (!) are this Friday ....dec. 18. Sad. My kids are really being my touchstone lately...another thing to be so grateful for. Each year gives (and takes) and I'll be ok when New Years comes . I'm hoping for no more surprises.... Just a nice calm year .... For all of us????

Beauty can hurt... I'm just saying the truth for me

Thank you my friends. (We lost him bit by bit. Legs. Arms. Speech...) So I am content knowing he is whole and comfortable in the beyond. I do take solace that he loved his home and the smell of cooking and being Italian he loved to eat. Missed and loved????

Some of you may know my dad had struggled for years with brain stem degeneration ( presents like Parkinson's ) He has been sliding progressively downhill for 7 years. The last four were bed bound. Loss of use of feet , and then hands ...and his mind kept drifting further away My brother and I opted to keep him comfy at home with help. His fight ended peacefully Monday night. 85 years of love. ???? Wrote his obituary Thursday. Wow one page of a whole life condensed . Just grief and some relief. Just sharing.... With cyber friends I get a fill in 3 weeks and this is a difficult time. I'll keep trying.

Just look into non surgical diet success rates and anything that beats their 2%..... well it has got to be better WLS has great stats comparatively and again. ::: All are different. Compliance.... Exercise..... Water.... That is what I re-read in the success stories. I'm just thankful for an alternative that REALLY works.????

This forum is one of my best support groups!!! Truly The moderator couldn't get past introductions in the 1 1/2 hours Really the group is for pre and just post. Maybe a year or so. Otherwise it is a conduit for surgery I think Wish they had a ...say.. 5 year out group or something so as to not be repetitive... Still looking 9 years later. Maybe start one??? Unsure

That is a spectacular dress and a great healthy body in it!!!