KimM

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I am so excited!  I have been at my goal weight for the last month.  
Our support group has begun a walking program (it started in May), but so far, the constant thunder storms have made my routine somewhat erratic.  I'm really motivated to get into better shape because I will be going to Israel with my sister in November.  We will be doing a lot of walking on the various tours each day, so I want to be able to enjoy that without being worn out or sore.  I hope you all have a great Summer!

I had Lap-Band surgery a little over 3 years ago.  I've lost a total of 104 pounds.  I'm very close to my goal weight, and if I never lost any more, I'd be ok with that (as long as I keep off what I've lost).  
I'm the WLS Support Group Leader for our area (very rural South Western Nebraska).  So far, all of our members have had the Lap-band surgery.  We have 16 members who have already had the surgery in our group, which is a lot, if you consider that the population of Imperial is less than 2,000 people.
We've had two people who have had to have their gall bladders removed after WLS.  We've had 2 people who had an infection of their portals and had to have them removed.  They were replaced after the infection was fully treated, and really have not had too much trouble with weight regain. 
We've only had one person who had a band errosion.  It took a full year to figure out what was going on with her (several doctors and several misdiagnosis later).  They have removed the entire Band and portal system.  If there is proper healing, they'll consider putting the band back on.  We're all praying for the best.  This member has come so far (over about 4 years).  
Let us know if you are struggling with anything, and I'll relay it to our group to see if we can give you any good encouragement or advice about what has worked for us.

March 3, 2008:  Today my doctor had to take .2 cc's of fluid out of my portal (that's the first time I've had that happen).  I guess that means that my band is as "full" as it can get without having problems.  I was having severe acid reflux after each meal and also at night.  I was taking a daily antacid, as well as a sublingual antacid as needed (which was once or twice a day).  I do have a hiatal hernia, so if this does not help, he'll have to go in and scope me to see if a repair needs to be done.  I'm pretty hopeful though, because before the last fill, I was having some problems, but they were manageable.  I lost another pound, even though my swallowing problems were causing me to eat more "soft" foods and fewer hardy meats.

I wish everyone a Happy and Blessed New Year. 
I have finally reached that milestone of loosing over 100 lbs!!!    

I also got around to setting up my group site (called "Healthy Life Journey").  Check it out if you get the chance.