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Im sitting here 12 hours til my surgery & Im a ball of emotions right now. Excited, anxious, scared, nervous, hungry.... Its weird because up until today I was pretty excited about what was gonna happen but now that its finally here Im finding myself surprisingly emotional. I feel like I have been waiting my entire life for this. I've been overweight since birth & have known nothing else. I know there is no guarantee that this will work for me & I got a hell of a long way to go, but Im ready to put in the work. Im tired of living my life this way & Im ready to say goodbye. Good bye to looking at chairs with dread & wondering if Im going to fit in them or break them. Goodbye to cardigans & jackets over everything to hide my fat arms.( Even during the hot summer!) Goodbye to turning down invitations to hang out with friends I havnt seen in awhile because I dont want them to see how fat I have gotten. Goodbe to hearing "you have such a pretty face" or "You would be so pretty if you lost some weight". Am I suppose to take that as a compliment?! Goodbye to hiding behind my camera. I went to Vegas for the first time 4 months ago & took tons of pictures of my friends having the time of their lives.Tell me why Im not in one damn picture? Any picture I took with myself in it got deleted when I saw how fat I looked in it. This sounds dumb, but I cant wait to update my profile picture on Facebook with a picture that's not from the face up & from 3 years ago when I wasn't as fat. Good bye to not being able to take a compliment from my loving fiance who tells I look beautiful, to only get my "shut up" or "whatever" response. Or even worse, that being together for 6 years & living together for 3, I still make him turn around or close his eyes when I change or I am naked. Goodbye to the looks of pitty I've seen in people's eyes. I was at a store one time & there was a lady & her child in the isle with me. When I passed them with my cart the little boy said "Whoa Mommy, she's faaaat!" . The woman mouthed an appoligy to me while looking embarassed & scolded her son. But no one was embarassed as I was. I sat in my car in the parking lot & cried. Did this 6 year old kid really make me cry? I felt like I was in grade school again. I never want to feel like that again. I'v lost 36 pounds in the last 2 1/2 monhs with diet & excersize alone & can't wait to have this tool to help keep it up. I guess my final good bye should be to the "old" me. The over weight, unhealthy & unhappy me. Im ready to start living the life I've always wanted to live & Im ready to show my body the love it deserves.

Hello September Bandsters! I am so excited to be posting as a newly banded lady- after months of research and reading your posts. I was banded three days ago and I feel...not sure actually. Major chest pain and major pain at one incision, but I am so excited for my journey. You are all so supportive Good luck to us!

Until you had a fill or 2 and start feeling some restriction, it probably not concern you right now. It can take me 45-60 minutes to get through a meal, depending on what I am eating and how much. After each bite I need to chew thoroughly, then wait between swallows for the food to pass through the band. I don't measure my food but I am usually finished with the right amount. I am happy with my band and restriction and all those little things they told me comes very naturally.

In my opinion, I think this is the right place for someone to be able to discuss what is on their mind regarding banding. Whether or not you agree, we should all be open minded and let the original poster state her feelings. I can remember the feeling of desperation when I knew I needed to do something to change my weight/health/life. I made the decision for the band and have not regretted it at all. But there have been moments of frustration knowing I need a fill but can't for another 4 weeks. I thought "This is a waste of 4 banded weeks that I could be losing weight". I don't wish that feeling of desperation and frustration on anyone. People should feel free to say whatever they want on this post without be judged. If you have to say something, just don't be mean. There really is no reason for it. State your thoughts or concerns, but we are all here for the same general reason - Support. Basically this is a grown adult doing something they feel they need to do. All I can say is I wish the very best for you on your journey. I thought the idea of finding an RN that will do fills for cheaper is wonderful. Keep researching and doing what you feel you need to do. I am not trying to preach to anyone, but I have lived my life around a lot of mean people. People that insulted me to make themselves feel better. This took a toll on my confidence and esteem. Just be nice... because life is too short, and no one gets out alive. Take care all!