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Hi everyone... I was banded on 4/16/08, and down 53lbs. Some people think that was quick.. but it wasn't quick enough for me! For the last month I've lost nothing at all... Trust me, it gets discouraging!!! You just have to remember, you didn't gain it over night... nor did you gain it all over the last 6 mo... As long as it's coming off... who cares how long it takes. So far, I'm really am happy with my results. I do exercise every day.. I walk 2 miles on my treadmill 30 min... You have to work at it!!! and it's NOT EASY!!! Eventually we will all meet our GOAL!!! You all must remember the band is a TOOL... and not a automatic Weight loss system!!! I have relatives that have had the Gastric done, and I have to be honest... the weight came off of them QUICK!! My cousin lost over 100 in 7 months!! She takes tons of Pills, and looks like CRAP! Sorry to say that, but I don't know how else to describe it. Very withdrawn... face sunken in, lost alotta hair... white as a ghost... soooo un-healthy looking!!! I think when you loose it slow, you body adjusts sooo much better and less flabby skin and you look sooo much healthier!! What ever you decide, I wish you best of luck!! God bless you all on your weight loss!!!

Long time member but i haven't posted anywhere in ages, but I used to be on the Lapband board. I was a long time very successful band patient i was orginally banded in Jan 02 (in Canada, pre FDC approval) lost weight at a great rate. My first band (Innamed) slipped a total of 3 times before it came out for six months, I also had surgeries to move my port and another because my tubing disconnect. Next we went to the J&J band and it was great until it slipped badly, I had it for about 6-7 years and it worked like a charm, restriction was great most of the time, lost to my goal size and then it self tightened and i left it there because of travel, personal stress etc and i thought it would release on its own when i went for a defill it completely slipped around my esophagus and it was horrible. With the J&J I had a port revision surgery in there too. Then we tried a 3rd band it never worked right, I couldn't get restriction because if we did more than i had instant reflux etc. I revised to the sleeve last week with a new surgeon in Philadelphia who told me the band was basically around my esophagus and i had no pouch which is why I had no restriction and why I could not be tightened any more. But I lost about 150 lbs in 12-16 months and maintained that loss for 10 years plus, with little to no effort. In the meantime because of the band with no restriction, some prescribed evil steroids that I had to take that put 30lbs on me in a matter of 8 days... (they change your brain chemistry in weird ways) hashimoto's disease (hypo thyroid) fluctuations for the last few years and a few other things I gained about 70-80 lbs that I could not lose weight I tried. I went gluten free and dairy free, nada, I tried the HCG diet lost 20 lbs gained it back and generally I don't eat more than 1500-1700 calories per day including when I am drinking wine, eating out 3 meals a day etc. I hired a trainer, almost went paleo not quite. Now in talking to my surgeon he has said there are new studies showing band patients 9-12 years out who suddenly gain weight they can't lose for love nor money. They try everything and it won't come off more restriction, calories restriction etc. So we made a joint strategic decision to go to the sleeve since I knew the risk, what type of lifestyle change I was in for, portion control etc. wouldn't be a problem since i had it already. In our conversations we talked a lot about Ghrelin which is produced in the stomach and it makes you hungry, when you are feeling that craving to overeat or binge typically it is ghrelin and obese people produce more ghrelin than non obese people typically with some exceptions. We also talked about leptin which makes you feel satiated and is produced in the brain. With the sleeve, about 70-90% of the ghrelin produced is surgically removed with the part of the stomach they remove. i am curious have you noticed a difference in how hungry you get, cravings and the satiation of cravings ie: I can eat two bites of cake vs. I want the whole cake now? Have you also noticed the full feelings getting different than before from the leptin. My surgeon has said in his conversations with his patients they noticed their cravings reduced which helps them with portion control and in making better choices which helps a number of other things. In other words the brain and stomach don't conspire to make cheetos seem like a great dinner choice or ben and jerry your best friend. Overall I eat very healthy without a ton of junk food in my life we cook at home, we make our own stocks and Soups etc. to help get me through the liquids phase. But we do eat well and drink wine, we might be foodies (we are told we are, I just like trying new things). I have never eaten out of control even with the last band and no restriction just trying to lose weight has been terrible, depressing and frustrating. Especially after my first experiences which was I lost well, ate well, exercised and it worked like it was supposed too. I am a consultant and I travel for my job excessively so hence the eat out three meals a day most of the time I don't have a choice in that, but you can make healthy choices even in eating out and I do. I look at fats and calories along with Proteins and make good choices. Any thoughts you have I would appreciate and any advice you have I would love to read. Thanks for reading and good luck

Check the requirements for Cigna. I have Aetna and in the bulletin it says that you can not have a net gain during the supervised weight loss program. I gained during the 90 days and sure enough I was denied. I was later approved but that's a long story . But it really depends on the requirements of you insurance company. If it doesn't say anything about having a net gain then I think you should be fine.

I thought the guidelines were pretty much the same for Cigna in general minus the fact that employer could opt out, this is the one they kept reading to me when I asked for the their policy https://cignaforhcp.cigna.com/public/content/pdf/coveragePolicies/medical/mm_0051_coveragepositioncriteria_bariatric_surgery.pdf I searched through the whole thing and I didn't see anything on weight gain or loss during the 90 day nutrition, when I called several times I asked the representative as well (although they can't be 100% trusted with exact details) but she said I should try not to gain but she didn't see anything in it that stated I had to lose. I actually already had my weigh in on Saturday and I did gain 3 lbs from my last weight from water weight for certain reasons, so I guess we'll see what they say as she was supposed to be resubmitting tomorrow or the day after.

As of this morning, 07/03, I am still down on my weight after my last fill, weeks ago. Am at what I'm calling a 'mini-plateau' at 150.5. Have been here for a little more than a week. Hoping to get past this little plateau, soon. Success though, because a guy friend at work noticed my weight loss!!! That made me happy. Oh and how could I forget to post this? I fit into a pair of jeans that I've not been able to fit in!!! Have had them in my closet for a year, waiting to fit into them. So, that is all. Now I need to get ready for work. Later...

hi everyone....Iam a bander since 17th march.....but now its becoming more and more difficult to loose weight....I amgetting worried....why does the weight fluctuate so much... yesterday i did every ting right yet i have put on 2lbs....not fair really....why are our bodies not responding...when we areeatingso less... this is so tricky honestly....itsalmost 2 month and no weightloss.....

hi...thanksallof you for your guidance and support....I did write down my calsand Protein....I am having around 40gms protein and around 1000 calories.. so I need to increase on both fronts.I do exercise daily for 40 mins....but otherwise my life is very sedentary....my movements are slowdue to arthritis. I willincrease my calorieand protein content and yes willwrite it down daily.....I tried only 3 meals...but my body is used to 3meals and2 Snacks since years...so maybe that is causing weight gain... Thanks all of you!!

Are you writing down everything you eat? I am surprised sometimes as to the amount of calories I eat. When I see it on paper it helps me get things in hand. Are you eating the right things. I have to cut my carbs very low and up my Protein to lose weight. And finally, do you exercise? I have to walk an hour EVERYDAY to lose. I have the metabolism of a snail. If I don't exercise I don't lose. My Doc set a goal of 5 pounds a month for me. I wish I could lose more but I think considering my metabolism, it's probably the right number. I've also heard that it's not good to weigh every day but I admit that I do. And do you drink enough Fluid? I think that helps too. Good luck and hang in there.

Don't ever let anyone tell you "you can't do this" ...not even yourself. I am the perfect example of the band being a TOOL not an easy way out. I struggled like hell to slim down and still do. I still have to count calories and go to the gym. I have days where I am tired. I have days where I am hungry. And I have times where the scale fluctuates. But I'm never giving up! To anyone that thinks the band is an easy fix, it's not. I thought maybe it would be too. But after my initial weight loss from surgery, I realized it was not enough. I lost 80 total and I can say only about 30 was a result of surgery. But it gave me the drive to press on. To eat better, and gave me the confidence to get in the gym. Please message me if you have any questions, especially related to nutrition or workouts. I would love to help on your journey. I'm still on mine

I'm so happy right now!!! Today I'm 2 months post op and down 31 pounds from my last pre op visit on 1/22/13. Total weight loss is 58 pounds from my highest weight. I'm down 2 sizes and am feeling amazing! Attached is a before (taken this past summer) and after ( taken last night). For those that are still pre op hang in there it will all be worth it in the long run!!! xoxoxo Sent from my iPhone using VST

you cannot rush perfection or weightloss. personally, mine slowed down after about 5 months post op. i am still losing, but it's just a slower rate. i don't stress about it. i work out 3-4 x a week (running) and do some body weight exercises a few times a week. i eat pretty good, sometimes i get sloppy. when i want to re-focus my efforts, i cut out almost all carbs, and do Protein protein protein. also i mix up my workouts and do more hills/ sprints. this shet takes time. from a health perspective, the most you should be losing is a pound or 2 a week.

I would ideally like to lose about 150 pounds (though 100 would be just fine, too). My doctor is just fine with me getting the lap band, but wanted me to understand that it's going to take more time to lose the weight initially. However, five years out lap band and bypass patients look about the same. You should make your decision for YOU. Weigh the pros and cons of both and then decide. If you work at it, the weight is going to come off with either option.

I think the thing to remember too is that small losses of weight can make big changes to health. We all want to lose all our excess weight but remember that as far as your problem with your spine goes, you wont have to lose ALL of your excess weight to improve your health. So there's no need to jump into a bypass if it worries you simply for that reason. there's every likelihood that even if you were one who didnt lose all your excess weight, you can still improve your health and quality of life with the 50% loss and not jeoapardise nutrition in the process. But you CAN lose it all. It just takes reasonable - not ridiculous - work and commitment.

Everything varies by doctor, but you can typically start full workouts (no heavy weights or abs) a month out of surgery. I'm not familiar with the "insanity" workouts so this may not matter, but if I remember correctly, about 6mo out you can do ab and heavy weights. To get the lap band or not is a very personal decision, as already mentioned. Only you can decide, but *if* I were you I'd probably give myself two more months. That's time to see if the injury improves, perhaps start losing, and time to research more about the band and talk with a doctor. If there was no loss or just maintenance at the end of the two months, I'd know I gave it my all and get the surgery. That's just me though, maybe you know you've given it your all, maybe not. I wish you the best of luck with your decision :thumbup:

My NUT has told me that I need to be getting 1200 calories a day. This is alot of calories for me, I struggle with eating at this point. You are a year out and everything you have eaten is really healthy. From what I learned, if you are on a 1200 calorie diet, you will lose 2lbs a week. If it's 1500, you will lose 1 lb per week. It feels like you are in this range. CONGRATS on all your weight loss!

Whoops. Haven't updated the ticker to the current weight. Am a little more than what the ticker says, but that's okay.

Hey Everyone, Just thought I would introduce myself here. I'm Pete and I am 4 years post surgery at this stage. I started off at 18 stone in 2009 and today I am 13 stone. I am within 1 stone of my goal weight but it has been a long hard road even to get this far. Since I lost the weight I got married and I have two beautiful children who are now the reason that I am going to keep the weight down thanks to the help of my band. Anyway I hope to get to know some of you over time on here and hopefully we can share experiences. Pete

well we finally heard from the insurance company. I guess it is good news..they have not denied it. they wanted more information like what all I have I tried over the counter what was my biggest weight in the last 5 years and what is my current weight.. All they had to do is the read everything we sent them.....It was all in the packet that they got! Guess some insurance paper jockey miss placed things.

Yes, it happens, but I can assure you, you are not finished losing weight. I went through the same thing--staying at the same weight for about 2 weeks, then bam, you will lose about 5 pounds in a week or so. Just keep eating smart, making good food choices, and keep exercising and moving. It will start dropping off again, I promise.

Hi all! I am 11 weeks post op. I have a question about how my heart feels after an overly strenuous activity. When I do cardio for 30 minutes at the gym I am fine and my heart seems to return to resting rate after about 20 minutes. However, on a couple occasions I have attempted to hike with my husband, I am sure I am over-doing it. We hiked Monday (4 days ago), a 4.2 while hike with an elevation gain of 1100 ft, first 2 miles up, then last 2 miles down. it was in high-desert so the top elevation was 6800 ft. Did it in about 2 hrs. I was exhausted. My heart rate took a few hours to return to resting. However, for the next 3 days, my heart pounded hard with any sort of action...getting dressed, getting out of the car, short walking, raising out of bed. I thought perhaps it was dehydration? So I drank more Water that usual and now 4 days after the hike I finally feel normal, no more hard pounding heart. I used to experience this occasionally pre-surgery, when I was 50 lbs heavier. I had a full cardio work up and they found nothing wrong with my heart, thank goodness. Now being lighter I didn't expect to feel it. Could it be that I just am not in cardio shape enough to exert myself to this extent? I know I over did it. I worry about my heart/cardio because my brother had a heart attack at age 45. Just wondering if anyone has felt this pounding heart sensation days after hard exercise?

I'm not sure if that will necessarily cause problems, but you'll probably be dealing with loose skin again after you lose weight...

Since you already realize how important therapy will be to your health and success, I think you're golden. The surgery will help get the weight off, the therapist will help you appreciate the new you. Perfect! Good luck!

I have Cigna great west and no one has said anything about weight gain. I've been on and off prednisone and with my meds it's so hard to lose weight (my lupus meds) so I'm praying they don't consider my yo yo weight an issue bc I hopefully file this week. I follow the diet 98% of the time and try to get my steps in and I've quit smoking!

Wouldn't pay because I didn't have long enough documentaion of Physician supervised weight loss attempts