atgoalgal

Hi everyone. I was banded in SoCal. I'll be having my 4 year bandiversary in less than 2 weeks. Am now living on the "other coast". In my opinion, this is so not the easy way out, it's been hard work, but it works for me. I've been maintaining a normal healthy weight since late 2007, something that I thought was beyond attainable for me. If you are interested in a good read about this being the easy way out, you may want to check out this article Weight Loss Surgery - Is It The Easy Way Out?.

Hi Amber, First Congratulations! Welcome to lapbanded living. There were great comments here. I'm a long-term successful lapband patient, now maintaining a normal healthy weight since late 2007. I can only reiterate the band is a tool and we have to work it to get the results we want. If you want to be inspired by an incredibly successful high BMI patient, maintaining a 250 lb weight loss you might want to read my mentors story at Sandis Story.

Shadena, I am so glad you found inspiration for your journey on our site.

Hi to everyone being banded this month. August is special to me - I was banded on August 16, 2006 and I've now been maintaining a normal healthy weigth since late 2007. If anyone has any questions I'm here to help! You can also find a lot of information and inspiration by checking out the links in my signature. Good luck on your journey August bandsters and welcome to banded living!

Haven't been here in a while. It's a compliment, but...when my husband said the same thing, over time I learned that: 1) it was a compliment 2) he needed time to adjust; he called me his amazing shrinking wife; he said it was like having a new wife every few weeks... Hi to everyone else on this thread. It's great to read up on how eveyone is doing!

So glad you asked these questions. As you can see there are a lot of us who are now in the best shapes of our lives. I am 4 years out. I work out 6 -7 days/wk. I also heard similar comments from friends, trainers and even a bariatric MD. Getting my band was the best decision I ever made for my health and self-esteem. My story is a lot like yours. If you interested you might find something of use on my blog (in my signature below). Good luck.

Hi and welcome. Your story sounds a lot like mine - I struggled with my weight since childhood. I was banded four years ago and have been maintaining a normal weight since late 2007. It's been hard work, but boy is it worth it!!! I'd be happy to help any way I can. There is a lot of information about my journey on my blog that a lot of folks have found useful (linK my signature below).

Good luck to all of you having surgery today from an old member of this community. I'm saving seats for you on the losers bench. Please let us know how you are doing!

Wow. You go girl! You look terrific. I hope you are immensely proud of your accomplishments. I'm 4 years out, and maintaining a normal weight for 2 1/2 years and in the best shape of my life. I'm at the point where just recently on most days I realize that I am a normal weight person, but I still have my days where I need to look at a picture to "believe" it's me. I have a question for you: When someone gives you a compliment about how your look, have you learned to say thank you, without excuses or long explanations. If not, try practicing. That was really hard for me, but it helped me get used to living in a normal body. Another strange turning point was when the compliments slowed down. People were getting used to the new me, but I was still craving the feedback; that was another defining moment as my body image trailed behind the changes in my body. This has been an amazing journey. I've learned so much about myself during the process. I've blogged about a lot of these experiences. If you're interested, here's the link Gloria's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story . Let me know if it helps.

Hi Sooz, It's great that you are learning all you can ahead of time. There is nothing like going in with your "eyes wide open" Glad you found some of the ideas in the article helpful. Keep us posted.

This does get easier after you are banded because you tend to be very aware of the consequences. It is great that you are practicing now. If you are not doing this already, practice putting your fork down between each bite, and count how many times yo chew each bite - aim for at least 20 chews between bites. My LAP-BAND® mentor and I wrote an article about preparing for LAP-BAND® surgery for people interested in practicing eating like a banded person before surgery, that you may be interested in at: http://www.bandedliving.com/public/Preparing_for_Lap_Band_Surgery__Practice_by_Eating_Like_a_Banded_Person.cfm Let me know if this helps.

First congrats... and congrats for already being on the forums. I find it's really important to have your doctors instructions nearby. I had a hard time remembering my doctor's instructions after surgery so I always encourage people I mentor to have their doctors written instructions available to refer to. Did your doctor give you instuctions about how much Fluid you should try to get in during your first few days? I also find a 1 - 2 oz "cup" is helpful for some people. Keep us posted.

sandi is on of my closest friends and my lap band mentor. She started at 424 lbs, 6 years ago. She's maintaining a normal healthy weight. Sandi is a great source of information and inspiration. You can find her blog at Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story

OMG. You are not to old. It's all about what you want and this point in your life and what you are willing to do. My lap band mentor, Sandi is in her early 60's. She was banded 6 years ago, and has been maintaining a 250lb weight loss! She swims everyday at 6:30 am, runs a successful business, scuba dives, bikes, and well her grandkids have a hard time keeping up with her. You can learn more about her experience by visiting her blog at Sandi's Banded Living — My Lapband Weight Loss Success Story. Let me know if this helps.

What a great post! Thanks for sharing. For those of you reading this thread who are exploring lap band surgery, there are many of us now who are several years out, and loving banded living. There are also people who have struggled. I'm 4 years out and mainitaining a normal healthy weight for the first time in my life - and I have been maintaining for over 2 1/2 years. It can be really helpful to learn from others on this journey. I'm also happy to help. You can read about my story and experience by going to my blog (link is in my signature below). I hope you find it useful.

woohoo! congratulations. I'm a long-term "success story" Feel free to ask away. I'm here to help. I also have a blog (in my signature) that has lots of tips that may help you prepare for surgery.

Hi and welcome. How are you doing so far?

I really recommend starting by understanding how the band works and how you need to work the tool to get results. I have what I am told is a really good article about this on my blog; it's my experience working the rules of the band to achieve at maintain a normal healthy weight. You can find it at Getting the Most from My Lap Band: How I Learned to Use My Tool There is also a lot of information there that you may find educational or inspiration. Wishing you the best on your journey. I'm here to help,

Each practice can have somewhat different pre-op requirements, and I know that your doctor may tailor your pre-op work to your specific medical history and needs. Some require a 2 week liquid diet; others do not. Most docs require blood work, an upper GI, abdominal ultrasound, blood work, psych evaluation and nutritional evaluation, as well as clearance from your PCP. If you are covered by insurance, your carrier will also have requirements that need to be met. Insurance approval is often the critical path. Be sure to ask your propsective surgeon at your appointment. Good luck.

Hi welcome. It's reasonable to ask if she has any patients who've had the lap band, and what her experience has been. Don't be afraid if she has no or limited experience. My PCP did not, but that was 4 years ago; she was willing to learn with me. You should ask if there is a local surgeon she recommends. Also it's great if you are prepared to talk about your goals in terms of your health, weight and quality of life. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

I completely understand your dilemma.I was also self-pay. I am not trying to talk you out of MX. I would encourage you to factor in the "total cost" of your band. By that I mean, also research where you will do your fills, what support, nutition, and exercise resources you have access. You may want to factor in those costs as well. You should also consider how you will handle any complication just in case.

I also chose a local surgeon, so I have no perspective on Mexiico. As you are researching surgeon, you may also want to make sure to thoroughly research how you will handle your aftercare. You probably already know this, but there is a lot more to this than the surgery itself. Good luck!

hi everyone. I haven't been on this thread in a while and here I am on page 53! It was great to catch up with everyone's stories the couch to 5K's - how cool, and of course the fickle bands. I definitely belong to the fickle band group. If it's any help, I've learned to adjust my food choice to my "band's mood". When I'm loose, I eat more dense food, like white meat chicken and crisp veggies; we all know what to eat when we're tight. It was also great to see all the great weight loss progress! Love this thread!

I had this problem (although it was nearly 4 years ago). I remember asking my doctor, and embarrassed. He told me it was common and to use semethicone (gas-x). It's been explained to me that its actually hard to burp (different from PB) once we are banded. The gas can get trapped below the band and only have 1 way out!

What are your goals for surgery in terms of health, weight and quality of life?