I'm a newbie/oldie

Hey Wanda,
Yes, grandchildren are true blessings!  Best of all is that old saw that we can give them back when we're done spoiling them. ;)  The five soon-to-be-six are all grands of my heart.  My own kids are 22, 21 and 18 so marriage isn't anywhere in their minds yet.   Our grands are Brandon, 15, Ryan, 13, Taylor, 9, and Nikolas, 5, in TN and Tomas here in NJ, 6 today.  Tomas is going to have a half brother or sister in July of this year.  We are tightly bonded with Tomas and I call him my "little guy".  I try to stay in touch with the four in TN.  It's harder with the boys but I do have a closer relationship going with Taylor.  We'll IM each other back and forth on Facebook and that's gone a long way to helping us stay in touch!
Cassie

Hi Wanda,  WLS is a scary and exciting thing. I wish you the best of luck on your surgery day. I had my lap band in 2002. It was scary then because there was not much information out there. I have since lost 110 lbs and no longer am diabetic or have high blood pressure. Let us know how you are doing. Mona

Hi Mona.  I still visit the lap band forum regularly, because there are such great people there.  I don't recall ever seeing you post there. 

It would be very beneficial for you to post something, because so many ask about "long term" banders and their success.  They would be thrilled to hear from you. 

Wanda

WELCOME WANDA!!!!! 

 

Hugs....connie d 

Hi I had self pay RnY two years ago at age 62, and have lost not as much as I'd like.  I would be very happy to lose another 40 lbs, have lost 65, all of that in the first 10 months, then my body just locked up and no matter what I do, it seems comfortable and I go go up and down about 5-6 lbs, no matter what I eat or don't eat now...

I think age may have something to do with slow weight loss, and opted for RnY instead of the DS which tends to provide greater weight loss and more people reach their goal...I thought I didn't want a hugely malabsorptive WLS as I am now 64 and maybe in 15 years I may have dementia or something, and it would be really difficult to eat larger amounts of foods and take all those supplements..I felt RnY was more suited to growing older, as older ladies tend not to eat as much anyway and wind up losing weight anyway...

Banding is high maintenance with all those fills and visits to the surgeon, the VSG is the closest WLS with comparable results  as you keep your duodenum with your "sleeve"  and many people do just fine with this surgery...I hope you will be happy with your choice  of WLS and lose the weight you want to...Good Luck, it won't be easy, and requires discipline....the best thing is that I feel and look absolutely normal now for someone my age: 64 and  a little pudgy around the middle with floppy batwing arms and wrinkled legs...No one stares at me anymore even if I am about 40 lbs overweight, so are a lot of other people and I feel just great blending into the crowd instead of standing out as the fat lady...Go for it!.

edited to correct typos 

Your thoughts about having DS and dementia is really thought provoking,  I really had never thought of that, but you're right.  You were really thinking outside the box and it was a good decision. 

If I lose all but 40-50 lb. of my excess weight I will be happy.  I will be healthier than I am now, and I'll enjoy life more.  Of course, I would love to lose all of it, but I'm a realist and my age, metabolism, knee issues, etc. will all factor into the outcome.  (and of course MY determination and behavior). 

I have some fear, but more than that, I'm excited and just can't wait to get this done!

Wanda