Shinyhappymommy

I am pretty new to this site. I have had a Lap band for almost 5 years now. I've put back almost all of the weight I lost with it the first year. I've been really considering getting revised to a sleeve, but I've read and read and read about all the possible complications. These stories terrify me. I'm 40 years old and have 4 kids. I have to be here for them. I cannot spend months of my life in a hospital or laying in bed struggling to recover from complications from surgery. I'm basically healthy. I don't want to trade good health for losing some weight. One of the things that worries me is the lack of long-term info available on life after being sleeved. Are there any sleevers that are more than 5, maybe even 10 years out from their surgery? I'm just so scared of the possible things that can and do go wrong that I don't know that I'm going to be able to go through with it. My insurance will cover it, so that is a good thing. I've already attended my surgeon's seminar. Does anyone have any advice for me?

Thanks, both of you, for your thouhts. I probably should have mentioned that I am already sure I want to have the band removed. So I am already mentally committed to having surgery again. My only question is whether or not I want to come out of that surgery wih a sleeve or not.

I didn't experience a significant amount of hair loss after my lapband surgery. (I lost over 100 lbs in the first year.) I'm wondering for those who have had both surgeries, was the hair loss the same with both, or was it worse with the sleeve.

Hello! This is my first post on this forum. I've been lurking here lately as I'm contemplating having a revision from Lapband to a sleeve. I've been banded since February of 2008. I lost about 115 pounds in about a year and a half. Then I got pregnant had a complete unfill and gained about 75 lbs. I've continued bouncing up and down the scale ever since. (Currently up. Very up.) I was unfilled for quite a while. I've tried getting back into the swing of things with the band, but have really not been able to make any progress that lasts. I lost 40 lbs, then gained it back, joined WW and lost about 25, gained it back and more. I'm on phentermine, which I'm not really sure if it's doing anything. I'm dangerously close to my pre-band weight and I'm just tired of the struggle. I feel like I'm very different than many of the posters I've seen in this forum as I haven't had any complications with my Lapband. The only slight complication I've had is that my port has come detached on one side, but it hasn't flipped or given me any trouble with fills. I haven't regained many of the bothersome things I had before my band, but I know if I continue to gain weight I will get them back and more. Considering getting the sleeve done, actually gave me hope for the first time in a while that I can actually do this and that I don't have to be fat forever. I've been looking into all the possible complications that can arise with the sleeve surgery. I want to go into this with both my eyes wide open. I was pretty sure I wanted the sleeve, now I'm waffling. I'm really not sure what to do at this point. I'd appreciate any help or advice. Melissa

Michelle, Sorry to hear of your struggles. I'm finding your type of situation not all that uncommon. Something happens that doesn't allow us to continue using the band as it should normally be and we gain a bunch of weight back. I'm realizing that work needs to be done within us so that the band isn't the reason we are making good choices. It certainly helped me realize that I can be healthy and thin, but the band isn't enough by itself to keep me there. Please know you're not alone. I think many of us are struggling in some way. If you're not already seeking help for the bulimia, please do so! If it's not already full-blown bulimia, it will be if it continues. I dare say that would be worse for your health than being obese. Hang in there! Melissa

I just thought I'd throw this out there. I'm banded, 2.5 years out with moderate restriction. I've had a hoarse voice for 9 months or so. It is most apparent when I raise my voice or try to sing. I have only recently thought it's possible that it could be band related. I'm having no other issues or symptoms of band problems, but several of my band buddies from around the same time of banding as myself have had band erosions, etc. and so it does make me nervous. I have an appointment to see my doctor about it next week.

Hi, Friends. It's nice to get updates from everyone, and know that I'm not alone in my struggles. I had my beautiful baby boy 9 months ago and I am still almost 50 pounds heavier than I was when I got pregnant. I haven't given up and am actually making progress bit by bit. I am not currently relying on my band for my help. I think the habits I have that were keeping me from losing weight weren't something that the band could address. Maybe eating around the band would be a good description of what I was doing. At any rate, by the grace of God, my step-sister invited me to do a game with her that is a health competition. It's called the Game on! Diet, (though I hate using the word diet.). This has been it for me. I started my first round on December 1st. Something about the combination of accountability and team play and rules is just what I have needed to get myself back on track. I'm currently playing my 4th month of the game and I plan on continuing until my excess weight is gone and probably beyond that. I've gotten back into the swing of things with my exercise and I have hope that I'm not going to stay fat forever. I just finished posting about this on my blog so I'm copying and pasting that here. I don't know if the Game on! Diet is something that would work for any of you, but if you're interested in joining a round to see, you're most welcome. I'll be happy to explain the rules and how it all works. Just send me a private message or email to melissamickelson@gmail.com. Here's my blog post: I know I've said in the past that if I'm not posting I am probably struggling. Well, for once, that's not the case! I'm happy to say that I am continuing to make progress and get healthier. My weight has continued moving downward, albeit slowly. I'm almost at 25 pounds lost since beginning the Game on! in December. I have every intention of continuing with it until I am at my goal weight. I've realized I need to make some tweaks to it to speed things up. Currently the way I'm using the free day is causing me to lose too much ground to really be losing much weight. So I am working on some modifications. I'm also getting back into the swing of running. I have been blessed with an amazing, good friend who invited me to be her workout partner and we've progressed from walking, to running a little, to running a good amount. We're working on doing a 5K in April. Just bought some new running shoes, so I'm committed. Those puppies are not cheap! I have to be honest because this is a blog about my Lapband. I don't feel that my band is doing anything for me at this point in my journey. I'm at a medium restriction, and most of the time it doesn't affect how much I eat, only the length of time it takes me to eat. Even though I have a Lapband, I don't believe that the ultimate state of losing weight involves extreme portion control. I have always believed that eating healthy foods in a reasonable portion size is the way we were meant to eat and is the optimum way to lose weight. Thankfully, I have gotten to a place that my band isn't controlling what I eat. I am. I actually feel so comfortable with where I am at right now, if I could, I would have my fluid removed. I don't for a second think I would have been better off not getting a Lapband. The whole process of the surgery and lifestyle changes has been life altering for me. It wasn't until I began this process that I was able to finally see myself as someone who could sustain a healthy life and not be a fatty the rest of my life. But the problem was pretty obvious once the effects of the band were gone with the removal of my fluid at the beginning of my pregnancy more than a year ago. Without that help, I gained weight and I gained it fast. Since having the baby, seeing that getting my band filled back up wasn't making much difference for me has really made me take a hard look at my habits and my attitude toward food. I feel so blessed to be in a better place again. I'm making consistently good food choices and my body is responding.

Hi there! I totally remember you, Mrs. Flip Flops! Congrats on your baby! Here's an update on me: I got down 115 lbs, to about 20 lbs from my goal weight. Then I got pregnant, had a complete unfill and gained 75 lbs or so with that pregnancy. I quit looking at the scale at the end of the pregnancy because it caused me so much anxiety. I got some fills and tried doing better after the baby was born, but hadn't been able to make any progress that stuck. Well, I was invited to do a diet game with my family starting at the beginning of December. (5 months postpartum at that point.) It is the only thing that has worked. It's called the Game on Diet and it's based on a book by Krista Vernoff. (language warning for the book, btw) It combines healthy eating, healthy habits, exercise, communication, team support and accountability. I'm down 16 pounds since December 1st. It's certainly not band-speed loss, but it is sticking. We have played the game for almost three months now. We're about to start the next (4 week) round this Friday. I think I will just keep playing this game until I'm done losing weight, and maybe even beyond. Anyone is welcome to join us. Just send me a PM. Melissa

I've even added a ticker. I must be serious about this! :cursing:

Hi Denise! Nice to see you. Looks like you are doing great! I just read this article. It's great. It says to break down your weight-loss goals into more manageable chunks. Start with setting a goal to lose 10% of your body weight. Then once you're there, do it again, only this time your 10% will be a smaller number. Keep it up in these small steps until you're at goal. I'm going to do this. I'm also going to start with counting the weight I've lost in child-birth. (I need some momentum.) So my first goal is 242. That's 7 pounds lower than what I was today. Here's how it breaks down. 269-27 = 242 (27 being 10% of 269, rounding up) 242-24 = 218 218-22 = 196 196-20 = 176 176-18 = 158 which is 2 lbs below my goal weight! I am going to be realistic about this too. I am going to give myself a month to lose those seven pounds. So my first goal is to be 242 by September 1st.

Struggling. Eating poorly again. I go in cycles of about two weeks. By the end of the second week, my willpower has fallen apart. I'm thinking I need to get some Fluid in this band to help me. I wonder how soon after baby is okay as I am breastfeeding. I'll have to find a surgeon and find out what he/she recommends. It's more than 4 hours away to get to one, so it might be a while before we get there. Melissa

I see these two huge threads on Dr. Kirchenbaum, so I'm guessing lots of you have been banded in Denver. I live in rural Kansas, three hours away from Denver, so that is where I'll be having my surgery. The surgeon I'm looking into right now is Dr. Dave Meliniczek. I have an initial visit with him this week. He flies out to my rural town every few months, so I could potentially do some follow up here. Not enough reason to choose him for the surgery, but it would be a nice benefit. Dr. Melniczek is fairly young and new to the business, so that is a concern to me. I'm wondering if anyone here has been banded by him and what your experiences have been. If I was self-pay I would surely look into Dr. Kirschbaum. I've got great insurance that will cover 90% of the surgery, so I'm not super concerned. Although, 10% is still going to be a pretty penny when we're talking tens of thousands for the surgery. Other than Kirschbaum and Melniczek, what other options are there in Denver for LapBand?

Sorry I haven't checked in. I need to make it a daily habit. I'm still doing pretty good. I've let a few sweets creep in, but honestly still within very reasonable amounts. My weight hasn't gone down much more. I saw 243, which is 6 or 7 pounds down. I just have to keep my healthy eating attitude and it will keep going down. Now to get back to exercising. That one is still eluding me. . .

Well, my official one-week weigh in showed a five pound loss. I'm down one more as of this morning. Losing weight is so much more exciting than gaining it! Tomorrow is my birthday, so I plan on enjoying some cake and ice cream. 38 years old! I wonder what this year will hold.

So far this week I've been down five pounds since Monday morning. I was back up one pound today, but a definite downward trend. :tt1:

We can do this, Irene. We really can. Clothing has been one of the biggest pains for me through this. I expanded quickly into maternity clothes, and then into bigger maternity clothes. Now that I'm not pregnant, none of my pre-pregnancy things fit anymore, so I'm still wearing those bigger maternity clothes. Not great for the self-esteem. I was wearing 14s and some 12s before getting pregnant. Now I can't even fit into size 18 pants. Sigh. Oh well, it will come. It's just frustrating. I guess I will have to buy some in between sizes until I can get back into my old stuff. I don't regret getting rid of my bigger sizes, but it would sure come in handy right now to have some of them. I will keep checking in to keep tabs on you, Lil Miss.

Anyone else rededicating? I'm ready to get started again on my weight loss. Here is my latest blog post. The link is in my signature if you're interested in seeing the whole blog. Melissa Well, I'm back. I'm ready to get this weight off and get back to my pre-baby size. So here we go! As of right now I have no fill in my band. The nearest fill-doctor is over four hours away, so as of right now, I'm going to see what I can do on my own without having it filled. If I get stuck and can't lose any more, then I will look into getting fluid put back in my band. Honestly, I don't miss the restrictions of the band as far as having to eat slowly and some foods that I can't tolerate. If I can do this without having to get that restriction, I think I will enjoy the eating aspect of my life much more. So as I posted before, I gained way more weight with this pregnancy than I had ever intended to. It ended up being about 75 lbs. So, right now, in order to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I have 50 pounds left to lose. Yay for already being 25 pounds down from my baby's birth three weeks ago! I have tried to exercise a couple of times since baby was born, but both times I ended up in pain and really worn out. I think I was jumping the gun just a bit. I went for a walk around the neighborhood. I didn't make it more than about half a mile either time. My abdominal muscles were very weak and sore throughout. I will try again soon and see if I'm ready yet. My biggest problems that have caused my weight gain are not exercising and eating too many sweets. So this week, I started back on not eating sweets. I will allow myself one occasion of sweet-eating per week. (Like a party, or movie, etc.) I'm on day three of no desserts and down four pounds so far. Not bad results. It really shows me that sweets make a huge difference in my weight. So I will be posting much more regularly to keep myself accountable and update you on my progress. Stay tuned!

How do you feel you are doing at living the Word of Wisdom as a banded person? I'm referring mainly to the nutritional guidance, more than the harmful substances part, though feel free to answer the question any way you'd like.

His name is Aaron. His big brother's name is Adam. The baby has been called Adam more than by his own name. I can't blame anyone but myself for double A names. Lil Miss, that's so rough! It's hard enough to get our exercise in without our bodies rebelling. I went for a walk today. I'm 6 days post partum. I cannot believe how difficult it was. I think I may be rushing things a bit. I'll give it a few more days before I try again. I still hurt quite a bit in the ab region. Go figure!

Just checking in to let you guys know I had my baby. He was born June 9th at 8 pounds. He is healthy and sweet. I'll be back before too long to address my weight and band issues. Until then, enjoy!

I had the same problem. Right away I was getting reflux and hardly could eat anything without getting stuck. I had a complete unfill which took care of both problems.

You look great Angie! I don't recognize you from your earlier pictures. You've changed a lot. I have some exciting news. My husband has finally gotten the promotion he's been seeking for what seems like forever. We're moving to north eastern Montana at the end of March. It will be a huge change and very cold there, but hey, at least it's a step in the right direction!

I'm here. Thanks for posting this. Today would have gone by without me realizing that it is my actual bandiversary. Two whole years! Wow. It has been quite a ride. I am so grateful for my band and I'm counting on it to help me get back to where I was and beyond after I have this baby.

marathinner, I'm so happy for you! Yay! I hope you have a wonderful pregnancy. I'm struggling with the weight gain. I'm back in 16s and 18s in clothing size. My arms and legs have gained weight and it's just really frustrating for me. I'm not finding enough energy to exercise and eating is sporadically healthy these days. I did get to see the baby on an ultrasound this week. It's a boy. That gives us two girls, a 6.5 year gap a boy, 3.5 year gap and another boy. I think it will work out really well for our not-so-little family. :biggrin: Everything looks good and healthy, so I am grateful. I have quit weighing myself, so I have no idea how I'm doing weight wise. I just need to hang in there and not give up.

Karen, Oh, how I can relate to you. I'm 19 weeks pregnant. After losing 115 lbs with my lapband, I'm already back up nearly 30 pounds. I had to have my Fluid out in early December due to severe reflux and hardly being able to eat anything my first couple of months. I'm afraid I've made up for that the last two months. I'm feeling so fat. My legs and arms look bigger to me, not just my belly. It is really hard. I'm trying to eat healthy and exercise, but not meeting my goals and falling short a lot. I'm thrilled to be having this baby, but I have a fear that I never will be able to regain my gusto to lose this post-baby weight. I will be breastfeeding, but that honestly hasn't helped me with post-baby weight with my other three. I just continued to gain weight even while breastfeeding. Of course eating habits are crucial as well. Just wanted to let you know you're not alone. Melissa