lellow

I had lapband surgery and it's definitely worked for me. I'm not saying that bypass or sleeving doesn't work, but I didn't have those surgeries so can only comment on the surgery I have had. I went from 215lbs to 154lbs in just over 7 months with regular exercise (40mins stationary cycling on a spin bike 3 times a week) and eating well (in that I cut out stuff like sugar, chocolates, cola etc, but still ate a balance of Protein, carbs and veg). When I got to goal, I had a lower body lift to remove my loose skin, and lost about 7lbs as a result. Since then, I have continued to slowly lose weight despite not exercising much anymore and eating 'normally' (meaning if I feel like chocolate, I eat it). My band still restricts how much food I eat, I'm very rarely hungry, and I get full fast. And at the moment, it's the band alone that is still seeing me lose weight, albeit very very slowly now. I'm now down to 135lbs. I don't need or want to lose anymore, so have been trying to eat more and that's a nice change from the last 20 years of my life! So yes the band works. I lost over 100% of my excess weight with exercise and good food habits (and that was the hardest part), but keeping it off is proving easy so far.

I hit my goal a few months ago but I'm still losing, so thought I would share newer pics. :thumbup: First photo was at 215lbs, second is now at just over 136lbs.

See, in comparison to Jachut, my loose skin situation was a nightmare. I have had 4 kids and with each kid, my skin would get terrible stretch marks, my skin would blow out, and after having the baby, it would never bounce back. By the time I'd had number 4, it had been so stretched all out of shape that I know I had no hope of returning to what it looked like before. And it wasn't about time either. My 3rd and 4th kids have 12 years between them, so my skin had loads of time to bounce back but never did. It was pretty much stuffed long before I ever lost an ounce. By the time I had PS, I had hit goal and had a 'skirt' of skin that hung around my entire body, overhanging my pubis, my hips, my backside. It was not simply 'unattractive', it looked abnormal. I looked like I had been melted from the waist down. I started with a low BMI too (37) but I could have been thin all my life and my skin still would have looked terrible as a result of having babies. Maybe not AS terrible as having babies AND losing weight, but even after my first kid, when I was still a size 12, I didn't have a stomache like Jachut's.

I got a band because the sleeve wasn't widely offered at the time I had my surgery. For a long time afterwards though, I'd wish I'd had the sleeve. A colleague got the sleeve though and in hindsight, I'm now glad I got the band. Initially I was madly jealous that she's managed to the sleeve, as she is doing fantastically and had hit her goal before me and was still losing. But she herself isn't entirely sure about her choice now though (I guess the grass always looks greener on the other side! Lol!). She's seen the success I've had with the band, and when I was recently telling her that I am thinking of getting a slight unfill so that I stop losing and maintain my weight, she lamented that she and her Dr have no such 'control' over how much she loses, or any regain she has as as a result of increased stomache capacity, aside from dietary control. And she chose the sleeve because she knew of someone with the band who gained all her weight back. That person, though, now has 'gotten back on the wagon', got some fills, and is losing again. She envies that 'adjustability', and feels like she 'shortchanged' the band by thinking it simply wouldn't afford her success. She now knows it's not true. So while I am still a little jealous of how quickly she lost the weight with the sleeve, and without the PB episodes or the 'stuck pain', I can't be unhappy with my band anymore. I realise now that all surgeries have their pros and cons, and all you really want is one that actually WORKS for you. That the sleeve works wonderfully for others doesn't reduce the success the band has had for me. And if ever the band stopped working for me, I'd get a sleeve without thinking twice. But so far it's helped me lose all the weight I needed to, plus some. I've had no complications with it whatsoever. I am maintaining easily, and in fact, as I said, still losing. It's done everything I need it to do. So it was a complete success for me and therefore absolutely the right surgery for me.

slpcat, I'm in Australia and Medicare and my health insurance covered a portion of my belt lipectomy, about 30% of it in total. If I had only had a panniculectomy, I would have been almost completely covered by Medicare and insurance. But because I went the whole kit-and-kaboodle and got a full torso lift, I paid $16000 out-of-pocket as well. Though I have to admit, I don't regret spending the money. The results were better than I had hoped for.

WTG cutiew/booty! If you can lose 100lbs, you can lose 40lbs! You're doing great!

Hi slpcat, I exercised, yep, but not 7 days a week or anything like that. I work full-time and study part-time and I have kids, so exercise needed to fit around all that. I also wanted something sustainable. I don't think I would have had the ability to exercise 6-7 times a week for months at a time - I reckon my husband would have divorced me if I did. I basically set aside 120 minutes a week to exercise - that's 40 mins 3 times a week. I mainly cycled (I bought a stationary spin bike and a mountain bike) but sometimes would go for a run. I made sure that whatever exercise I did, I worked up a good sweat - I think it was important that my 120 minutes were devoted to intense exercise. I got fills every month but didn't get restiction until my 4th fill. But knowing I would eventually get restriction, I tried to eat well while I was still 'loose'. I gave up sugar, chocolates and ice cream, but ate a balance of Protein, carbs and veg (I didn't do low carb or count calories at all). I only ate when I was hungry (like when my stomache was almost growling) and would stop before I felt full. I was losing about 3kgs (7lbs) a month doing that and with the building up of my endurance and strength from exercising. Once I got restriction, I was easily losing 5kgs (12lbs) a month because that's when the band started doing it's work, and by then the exercise had become part of my routine, so it was just falling off in the last few months. Today I only exercise for fun, like maybe a cycle on the weekend, and a walk once or twice a week while my 3yo son rides his bike. I have good restriction, so eat very little, but now eat some chocolates and ice cream if I feel like it. Despite 'relaxing' a bit, I'm still losing weight, albeit very slowly now. I should level out soon, which would be good as I'm now a size 1-2 (US sizing) and am happy with where I am. :thumbup: The band generally does work well for those with 'lower' BMIs, so you'll probably find that it will help you lots. And in my opinion, you're doing it at the right time too. I know that I was heading for a higher and higher BMI every year had I not done something. I'm glad I did it sooner rather than later!

I was at a BMI of 35 too when I got banded, and got loads of people telling me I wasn't big enough to have lapband surgery. I usually just said I needed to lose weight for my health, and to be around to see my 3yo son into adulthood. Those same people have all told me how great I look now my BMI is under 24. I enjoy reminding them that while they thought I didn't look like I needed to lose a lot back then, what a difference almost 80lbs has made now, huh?

I only had about 70+ lbs to lose when I got the lapband, and despite being on a relatively low BMI, lost all of that in 7 months, and am still losing despite not really trying to lose. The band was definitely right for me.

Fabulous news about the date, Fanny! You'll be surprised how much having a date motivated me no end! I'm sure that 10 kgs will be well gone by then.

My Dr set my goal weight at 70kgs (154lbs). He said that at my height of 1.62cm (5'3"), a BMI of 27 was healthy. But as you can see from my ticker, I'm under that by 7kgs (16lbs). And I prefer it. In fact, I reckon I look better at this weight. Probably not much less though. So a BMI of around 24, I think, for me, is ideal.

Yay Fanny I'm so glad to get online and see you've been to see our genius Dr and have a plan of attack, so to speak! I was just under 3kg from goal when I had my first consult, and at goal when I had the torso lift and I'm glad of it because now I'm 7kgs under goal and my skin is still really tight as a result of the op. Those last 15kgs will be gone by Dec for sure, and you'll be good to go. Also I saw Dr A 7 weeks after my op to ask about getting lipo for my mons area, which still seemed puffy to me. Dr A convinced me to wait 6 months before deciding to do it, and I'm glad he did because the 'puffiness' is just about completely gone and it looks completely normal now. On that note, perhaps in his wisdom, he figures that in a couple of years, you too will be accustomed to your perky new D cups and will be happy as larry! Lol! I'm sure you're going to be so happy with it all, matey. I am now almost 10 weeks post surgery and am incredibly happy I did it! Jacqui, I too heard that botox can help with a 'popply' chin. I have completely lost my double chin with the wieght loss but the skin under there is a little more loose than I would prefer, and would be interested in seeing if botox would help. I might have to make some calls to make some enquiries into that.

josie, I was very stiff in the first few weeks - sometimes it felt like the incisions would never 'loosen'. It was really bad in the mornings and in the evenings, and I couldn't cross my legs or wear stiff pants or even bend down very well. But now I only ever feel stiff if I really really overdo it. Most days I wake up not even feeling my incisions anymore, and it's the same for the evenings. Unless I'm up until late and have been gardening or something, I can't feel them. I don't feel them at all during the day now, and I'm back in jeans and wearing belts etc. The only thing that still sometimes bothers me is very stiff denim, like brand new non-stretchy jeans, but I'm sure in a couple of months, they'll be fine too. So it does get better, I promise. I remember once wondering if I would always feel like I was wearing pants that were waaaay too tight. But now my body feels almost completely back to normal, and I'm only 7 weeks post op. I can cross my legs, sit akimbo on the floor, I can even stretch after waking up without discomfort! So hang in there, matey. Pretty soon you'll forget you had the surgery most of the time because you'll start to feel comfortable with the new body!

I am a cycler. I can proudly say that now I've been doing it 3-4 times a week for 10 months. If I can't get out to cycle, I exercise on my spin bike. Not as much fun, but as least I can listen to my iPod. But when I actually hit the road, it's heaven. I'm HAVE to cycle now, at least once a week for 1-2 hours. But of course I loathed it for the first few months - it took me ages to get fit enough to just enjoy it and not have to concentrate on how much my muscles ached. But now I can raise a really good sweat, feel the burn, and enjoy it. Who would have thought it of me 10 months ago? I certainly never thought it possible! As for finding time - I work fulltime, study and have a teenager and a 3yo at home. All it takes is 40 (intense) mins of exercise 3 times a week - that's all I did while I was losing. That's only 120 mins out of your entire week. You can find it if you need to. The hard part is not letting yourself off the hook when it comes time to do it. Don't give yourself any excuses to get out of it. After a while, you stop making excuses and just do it.

I think you're all doing great, though I think Misty might be on to something. Now I'm not trying to lose weight anymore, I'm eating more than before, and I'm STILL losing, despite dropping a lot of my exercise routine too, in an effort to maintain. I wish it had been this easy when I was actually TRYING to lose weight. So maybe it's worth tracking with an online calorie tracker for a few days and adjust your eating to suit?

This will be my last post in this thread! Yay! I've had another fill - 0.4cc. He put in 0.3 ccs but when I drank some water, it was going through too easily so I asked for a little more. I now have excellent restriction. Not as much as pre-Body Lift (when I was pretty damned tight) but enough that I'm not eating more than a cup or so of food per sitting. I also saw my PS on Wed and we spoke a little about my mons area. He thinks it's still swollen and will subside more, but suggested that in 6 months I may want to come back in for some lipo in that area, and around my tummy area to get a more 'defined' waist. I left his office and went home, and made the decision that no, my mons area just isn't so much of a problem that I want more lipo, esp if there still is some swelling and it's likely going to subside some more. And I really don't think I need a more defined waist - I'm now an Australian size 8 (A size 4 US sizing, according to my new Sass and Bide jeans ) - so you know what? I'm happy with myself! My incisions are fading nicely. I don't have any area that's even puckered a little, so everything's nice and flat. I'm exercising normally (though I've dropped a few sessions because I'm still losing about a lb a week, and I don't want to lose anymore) and even the swelling at the end of each day isn't so bad anymore. So that's it from me, I think. My PS was a success beyond all my hopes and I feel great. My lapband is working for me, and I don't need to see my bariatric surgeon again until I feel I need to, and so it's now about going out and living life. And that's pretty much what I intend to do now. Thank you everyone who's supported me and encouraged me here. I have appreciated every post and every kind word!

I think it's easy to get into the mindset, esp after having ps, of thinking that you can keep going until you get perfection. Esp when you get a dramatic result like with a BA or a body lift. I saw my PS yesterday and mentioned that I thought that I needed more lipo on my mons area, and he started to point out other areas I could do with some lipo. My immediate instinct was to think 'yes, that would make me look better!' knowing that if I went ahead, it would be almost immediate gratification - those niggly bits get sorted, and you look almost immediately improved. But I walked away and now after some thought have decided that I don't necessarily want perfection after all. TBH, if I thought about it, I never in my wildest dreams would imagine looking like I do today when I started this whole thing in August last year. So at some point, I've got to decide I'm happy with me, and have realised that that's a concious decision I have to make for myself. So I've decided to make that decision. I intend to me happy with me now. So no, no more PS for me.

Jo, I'm glad you're managing the pain well! My pain levels sat around 3-4 too, except for the time I sneezed - OUCH! Just remember though that in 6 weeks you're going to feel so much better. I am back at work, exercising and my incisions are fading everyday. Aside from some swelling in the afternoon, I feel almost 100%. And you will too!