Sophie248

Great to see more people joining! Welcome Tracy - sorry you have had all this waiting time - Stay patient! What insurance do you have? Glogirl, You're story is amazing and truly a testimate to your faith - and your prayer was answered the next day even! I'm feeling better able to leave things in God's hands lately - but during my initial phases of coming to terms with this decision, I was having a bit of a power struggle with God. Mommy202, My height is 5'6" and I really would be happy with 165, but I set my goal at 155 so that it's in the "healthy" range. I just ordered two books online - "The Taming of the Chew" and "Body Clutter" - to help me deal with my food issues. Lots of people on here say you should start working on the emotional side before getting the surgery - and these books were recommended. No therapy at this point (small town and not comfortable with services/providers here). I agree that we often times neglect our spiritual needs, which causes another void in our lives that we try to fill with food. I plan to have a holistic approch to this process - the band meeting the physical needs, working on the emotional part through self-help books, exercising my physical body, and furthering my spiritual development. I'm so glad our group will be here to support all of these areas!

I've reviewed the information provided by my surgeon re: results of Lap Band. In the study it shows the following: Excess weight loss at 3 yrs gained - 2% No change - 5% Lost at least 25% of excess lbs - 62% Lost at least 33% of excess lbs - 52% Lost at least 50% of excess lbs - 22% Lost at least 75% of excess lbs - 10% These stats aren't very encouraging to me. I would like to see a little better numbers before putting myself through major surgery. Does anyone have insight on why these stats are low re: loss of the majority of excess lbs?

Thanks for starting this thread! The feelings you describe are exactally what I'm going through - it's crazy. I am trying to stay strong in my decision and wait patiently, but am also torturing myself by obsessively reviewing information and searching for that sign that this is absolutely right or wrong for me. I am hoping all will be approved through my insurance with no problems (Federal BCBS). My Dr. didn't think there would be a problem at all. I have high blood pressure, and have all my adult life - with my weight fluctuating 185-225. I don't need my HBP meds when my weight is in the lower range, but it is getting much harder for me to maintain/lose because of all the yrs of yo-yo dieting. I also want to look good again. I don't think we should feel guilty about wanting both - to be healthy and to look good. We deserve it! I'm going to be doing Medifast 1 week pre-op. My surgeon wanted me to do low carb Slimfast, but I can't stand the stuff (yuck)! The nutritionist said anything high protein/low carb & fat will work. I really like the flavor of the Medifast products and they have a lot of Protein too, so I will continue to do it post-op also. I havn't tried the Optifast. What is it like? Stay strong - I know deep down this will be the right decision for me (I'm a binge and emotional eater - and this will force me to finally deal with this issue and stop these sabatoging behaviors). Getting through these next several weeks will most definately be an emotional challenge!

What do you think about a surgeon who has performed only 60 lap bands, but over 800 laproscopic bypass surgeries? He's about the only option I have - nearby anyway (and by near I mean a 4.5 hour drive - He's the closest).

Stacy, That sounds exactally like me. I love to exercise (yoga, circuit, walking, eliptical, kickboxing, horseback riding) but, boy, it sure stimulates my appetite! I would be very happy to lose like you described 30 this yr and 30 next. That is exciting to me. I posted another thread about the poor stats for lbs lost, 3 yrs post lap band that has me concerned (How Can This Fail? - general discussion). I must say that these stats have me a bit concerned. Does anyone else have insight into this?

That's so CUTE that you guys are naming your bands! Minipearl, I was thinking the same thing re: our "expecting". I'm getting my band March 5. That will give me plenty of time to come up with a good name. Maybe I should buy a baby naming book and really put some thought into it. My boys are 17 and 15 now. I feared I might be going through early empty nest syndrome, now this proves it!

I also am feeling stressed about the comments people will be making about my food intake and weight loss. We can look at this two ways. The negative way would be that they are being judgemental, intrusive, or critical. The positive way would be they are trying to be supportive, complimentary, and care about my health/wellbeing. I have a tendancy to look at things in the negative light at the moment because of my self-esteem issues, but we will need to work hard view all comments as positive (even if they might not be - I'll just pretend they are). I'm trying to practice in my head how issues will be handled. Some ideas I've come up with about my food intake: -If I'm at a restaurant, I'll ask for a to-go box and put the portion I'm not eating in it right away. That way I will have little food left on my plate AND probably dinner for the next 3 days. -If I'm at a party, I'll carry around a plate of food while I'm mingling, but take mini bites, throw out the plate of leftovers (secretivly) and go through the buffet line again. -"My stomach is a bit upset." -"Yeah, I'm trying the new elf diet. (ie. Eat less food)." -"I'm on a strict diet plan - no cheating allowed whatsoever - please don't ask me to compromise my health." Re: comments about the weight loss - I sometimes think I will want to hide under large clothing as to not draw attention to myself - then I think how crazy that is! I've been wanting to loose weight for 17 yrs. Accepting compliments graciously will be a must, and then truly realizing we deserve the postive feedback because of all the hard work we are doing - treat them as a victory in our journey. I'm really having a hard time with another issue though. My 17 year old son found the information on the surgery that I had left out, and was angry that I was even considering it. He doesn't feel I'm overweight enough to have surgery. He's always known me at my current weight. I haven't even told my 15 year old son yet. Not sure how to handle this. Any ideas? My husband is supportive as he's seen my struggles with weight loss all these years. My mother is not very supportive. She is very obese with all kinds of medical problems, but will not consider surgery for herself - feels it's too dangerous and "intrusive." I'm really hoping that she will see it's not so bad from my experience, and will also decide to do something about her health.

I've just found this wonderful forum, and have my surgical consult/psyc eval/dietician appt coming up on 1/10/07. I'm really fighting the urge to cancel this appt. My weight has fluctuated for the past 17 yrs from 185-225. My problem is compulsive overeating. I can do wonderfully with a diet/exercise program for about 3 mos - loose weight - then something sends me right back to my destructive binging/sedentary behaviors. This has been my cycle for all these years. I'm sure I have a whole area of emotional issues that I have not yet had the time or energy to explore, and I keep thinking that maybe I sould try to work on these before going the surgery route. I know how to eat healthy, but my binging behavior sabatoges my dieting efforts. When I'm able to emotionally, I really love to exercise. I keep questioning why I can't consistantly maintain a healthy lifestyle. My BMI is "just barely over" 35, and I do have hypertension and depression. I just want this cycle to stop and to be free from these issues I've suffered with for so long. Is this surgery the answer? :party:

PPL Queen, you look GREAT! I would definately not condiser you a "band failure." Great job on the exercise! I'll need to work hard re: binging behaviors and head hunger and want to start now, before my surgery. I've heard of a new book called "Body Clutter" by Leanne Ely. Does anyone else know of some good books to deal with emotional eating, etc? Is eating too much the main cause of erosion with the LB? I would think (hope) the fear of that would stop me. ReneBean, I'm hoping to break the pattern we've struggled with asap, as I know the consequences. My mother is "morbidly obese" and is having so many physical and medical problems. She is against me having this surgery, and will not do it for herself. I'm hoping that she will see that it isn't so bad and that I can also inspire her to do something about her health. Your post is very encouraging to me. My consult with the surgeon went well. He thought I would be a "good candidate." He mentioned that he's done only 60 lap-bands, but over 800 laproscopic bypass surgeries. Should I be concerned with his experience? I wasn't very impressed with the dietician, and the psychologist didn't show, so I didn't even get to see him. That bothered me a bit. I have a tentative surgery date of March 5. They are working on getting insurance approval, and may bump my date up if there's a cancelation. I feel I've made the decision to go forward, as long as my insurance will cover the procedure. I'm going through some strange things in my mind right know. My best friend called me neurotic yesterday!! I don't know if that's the case, but I do tend to overthink things. One and 1/2 months may be way to long to put myself through this mental anguish!

He said he wraps part of the stomach over the band and stitches it in order to hold the band in place. Nothing is cut or rerouted. I'm wondering if this is not common. He's supposedly the best bariatric surgeon in my state anyway. He performs many bypasses. I would love to feel the freedom you are describing. That is my biggest motivation for going forward with this.

My consult with the surgeon went well. He thought I would be a "good candidate." He mentioned that he's done only 60 lap-bands, but over 800 laproscopic bypass surgeries. Should I be concerned with his experience? He also mentioned that he will stitch a portion of the stomach over the band, which I didn't realize they did, and wonder how that will affect my stomach. Did everyone else have this done? I wasn't very impressed with the dietician, and the psychologist didn't show, so I didn't even get to see him. That bothered me a bit. I have a tentative surgery date of March 5. They are working on getting insurance approval, and may bump my date up if there's a cancelation. I'm going through some strange things right now in my mind. I'm concerned it won't work, affraid of loosing too much weight or not any weight, affraid of drawing attention to myself with the weight loss, affraid of the complications, wondering if I will fail at making the needed changes, wondering if I can truly take care of myself and my band with my extremely hectic schedule, questioning why, why, why haven't I just been able to maintain a healthy lifestyle for the past 17 yrs that I've been yo-yoing, why has it come to this, will my blood pressure actually go down, and will this surgery truly be the answer to my tendancies to diet and then binge/sabatoge and gain it all back. My best friend called me neurotic yesterday!! I don't know if that's the case, but I do tend to overthink things. One and 1/2 months is going to be way to long to put myself through this mental anguish. The day after my consult I had the opportunity to be out people watching. I would observe the women of all ages who were of "normal" size - they seemed happy and confident. I want to be that, but seem to think that deep down I don't deserve that....think I need some therapy!!??

My insurance is blue cross/blue shield federal. Supposedly it will cover 90% of my costs as long as I have a BMI of at lease 35 and one co-mobidity (I have high blood pressure).

I'm starting at a lower BMI and would like to join this group. I go for my initial consult/psyc eval/meeting with dietician in 2 days. I'm a yo yo dieter and have lost and gained the same 25 lbs for the past 17 years. I'm going to stop this cycle, with the help of the lap band. I lost 10 lbs when I was ill with the flu over Christmas, and I've been trying to get my weight back up (go figure) so that I will qualify for surgery/coverage. They said I "just barely" qualified with the 10 lbs. I feel like crap because of what I've been eating. So hope they can schedule the surgery asap. I'm encouraged by all your posts!

Faybie, Your post was very encouraging. I too have the "mental addiction" to food and I'm looking forward to ridding myself once and for all of that addiction. What other tools have you used to help overcome head hunger? I go in for my consult and evals on the 10th. Best wishes, Trish, I understand the emotions you are going through right now. Keep focussing on the fact that we are taking control of our health and will have a longer and more satisfying life ahead of us!

Thank you for your helpful responses. Mike, your statement "Sometimes people do those things so they have a reason to be unhappy" hit me like a ton of bricks (I'm going to have to explore this further). Working on all these things at once seems quite overwhelming, but you are right - it can be done if I dig deep. The serenity prayer has been my mantra lately. "The courage to change the things I can....." It's also true for me that if I was going to loose the weight with the current tools I have, I would have already. I do need more help, and this surgery is something I haven't tried yet, and maybe it will force me to work on the emotional eating issues. I understand the hunger will be an issue and this will not be an easy fix. My big question is....Will the surgery stop the binges? If so, it could be my answer. I've had my gall bladder removed laproscopically, which was easy, so I'm not affraid of the actual surgery. My biggest fear....failing.......again.