Almost 10 Years!

[Nette Fosters 41]

I'm new here- just downloaded an iPhone app and registered 5 minutes ago so I hope I'm not blowing some rule or posting in the wrong place but I wanted to just share this:

Last night I realized that it's been almost 10 years since my Lap Band was put in and I'm positive that it was the healthiest choice over made for myself.

I had just turned 40 and had been overweight since puberty. Weighed around 190 lbs. at 18 years old and by 40 I was weighed more than 250 . I was taking medication for asthma and high blood pressure and had a few other minor but obesity related health issues as well. I read an article about Sharon Osborne having had Lap Band surgery and not knowing what that was I looked it up. It made so much sense to me and didn't have the nutritional concerns that stopped me from other bariatric surgeries. I found a local surgeon, felt deeply grateful that my insurance covered it and had my surgery on May 9, 2003.

I followed the rules (generally but not perfectly) and lost weight slowly but surely (compared to my online bypass friends), going from 255 to 190 in about a year. (I'm 5'8.") Then by adding in some counseling and learning to speak up more instead of stuff my feelings, I went from 190 to 170 over the next year. I used to wear size 22 tent dresses and got down to size 8 business skirt suits. I was able to go off all of my medications and be as active as I wanted to be, as far as bike riding, hiking, climbing stairs, etc.

Like lots of people, there have been really challenging chapters in my life (mostly financial stress and family issues) in the past 10 years. I KNOW that, had I not had my faithful Lap Band in place, I would have continued gaining weight from eating over stress (and anger, loneliness, grief, boredom, etc.) and I would now weigh over 300 pounds.

I recently turned 50 and kind of did a Middle Age assessment of who I am now and who I wanna be . After being laid off from a job I loved 2 years ago, moving to a new state and then moving again from a rental to buying a fixer-upper, I will be honest here and admit that I wasn't making my band or my health a priority. I was pretty much in survival mode. So some weight crept back on and now I weigh 188 (down from 190 last week though!) and my blood pressure is higher than when my weight was lower. A size 14 feels too tight on me and I'm really missing some of my favorite clothes.

I'm here to tell you, the Lap Band has allowed me to live a much healthier life than I could have had without it. But ... it doesn't do everything all on its own if I'm not being active (like regular walking) and if I'm not following the rules.

So ... here I am- ready to make my health a priority and follow the rules again. Feeling grateful and humble and hopeful and eager to make this happen. May I join you lovely people on your journeys as we work towards similar goals? :-)

Annette

[prettygirlswag 23]

Welcome!!!

[A New New Dawn 1,695]

Thank you for sharing your story. It is great to hear from someone who has had it for as long as you have. I often wonder the long-term effects. Glad it has made such a difference for you and you are still doing well. Congrats on your efforts to reignite your Quest for being healthier and losing the weight. Sounds like you can do anything you put your mind to.

Perhaps after all this time you may need a fill too and that may help?

Best wishes to you!

[Jim1967 3,569]

Hi Annette and welcome to LBT. Thank you for sharing your story and I wish you much success toward reaching your goals. A lot of nice, supportive people on here from all walks of life. Hope you hang around for a while. This is a great support tool.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Welcome Annette!

Thank you so much for sharing your story. You're both very inspirational and give great insight to long term success with the Lap Band.

Thanks for sharing your words of wisdom

[TriciaLN 177]

Welcome! Thanks for sharing!

[Gigi_Girl 77]

Absolutely! Glad to have you join the group. We all human and have our us and downs. This group is very supportive and full of ideas.

[CHEZNOEL 4,061]

Welcome! We are happy to have you and appreciate you sharing your story! I see myself in your journey in a another 9 years!

[Sojourner 2,446]

Hi Annette...

The history of your journey with your band has been inspirational to read...it helps to instill hope and determination in others. Thank you so much for posting this!

Your insight into understanding that we can't expect perfection with compliance is most reassuring. Certainly you have experienced many life changing challenges over the past 9 years, and you are still focused on your future...that's so healthy and measures your determination for success.

I believe that past performance is the best predictor of future success...you will achieve what you set out to do.

I hope you will continue to be part of this excellent network of support and encouragement on LBT!

[Nette Fosters 41]

Thanks for the warm welcomes! Yay :-) feeling cozy and definitely wanting to stick around for a good while. I'm going to make a commitment- (really to myself but it helps me to declare it in front of others) that even when life is extra busy and stressful or if I'm feeling stuck and not proud of myself, I might not be here every day but I commit to checking in honestly at least once a week about my weight and what's working well and what needs improvement.

Also thank you for reminding me about fills. I had a great check up with my surgeon before I moved out of state but haven't had the band checked since then, over two years ago. So... as part of making my health a priority, I want to find and meet with a well respected Lap Band surgeon within driving distance of where I live now. (I'm about three to four hours from any big cities so this will take some research and planning.)

Thanks for being here you guys. ☺ I'm grateful to have company on this path. I look forward to "meeting" and getting to know each of you over time.

Annette

PS I reread my post and noticed some typos. Sorry- I was excited and tapping it out fast.

[2muchfun 8,927]

OK, I agree with all the others that you're an inspiration and blah blah blah but wholly cow, did you just text all that on an I-Phone? That would take me 6 months to do that!! And you did it so well!

tmf

[Maddysgram 6,159]

Welcome! I too thank you for your story. Being I'm pre-op it gives me a lot of inspiration.

Its nice having you in our LBT family!

[Nette Fosters 41]

OK' date=' I agree with all the others that you're an inspiration and blah blah blah but wholly cow, did you just text all that on an I-Phone? That would take me 6 months to do that!! And you did it so well!

tmf[/quote']

Oh my gosh, you made me laugh- thank you! I have a teen daughter so I've had to learn to text pretty quickly to keep up my end of conversations

[Luci84 3]

Thank you so much for sharing!!

" I KNOW that, had I not had my faithful Lap Band in place, I would have continued gaining weight from eating over stress" - This really resonates with me as I am doing my pre op diet and have moments of the day that I feel like this is the best choice for me and other moments when I am flat out scared. I Feel that I am doing good on the pre op diet but recognize that if I did not have the surgery scheduled and put myself in the midset that this will be a permanet change.. down the road I will fall to the temptaions of overindulging. I am nervous but reading your post really has put me at ease that I am making the right choice for my health. I am 28 and have 3 little boys who I want be able to give my best to for years to come. Again THANK YOU so much for sharing!

[Nette Fosters 41]

Luci,

I can't promise what you'll feel like over time but honestly, I have had moments, long frustrating moments, when I felt a flush of anger or resentment towards my band, like on vacation thinking to myself, "Look at this GORGEOUS buffet! This is so unfair that I can only eat a little bit of food. I want to taste EVERYTHING here! Arrgghh!!" I figure that's just me being human and having feelings.

BUT feelings come and go and the band is my tried and true, very loyal friend. It doesn't give in to my whining and self-pity. It is consistently "there" for me, silently reminding me to choose small portions (on good days) and forcing me with a sick feeling or PB if I try to eat too much (on rare not-so-good days). I no longer have the option of using binging or stuffing myself as a coping tool for life's challenges.

food is no longer my painkiller or mindless entertainment. It's still sometimes a sensual pleasure (in small amounts) and cooking for friends and family will always be a joy for me but... food, nutritious food, is now what I eat in modest amounts for the purpose of fueling my body to have energy and be well.

I hope it becomes a loyal and beneficial tool for you too, Luci! :-) As a fellow mom, I can sure tell you this - its waay more fun to be an active healthy mom!

Good luck to you! :-)