GLove

Congratulations Julz!! Im so happy to hear things went smoothly for you and you are recovering nicely!! How nice that you had a good friend with you!!

I have decided to not be banded. My date was today! I know my husband is relieved and I feel very good about this decision. Good luck tomorrow! You should milk it! Get as much rest as possible before you get back in the old routine of life. I will be looking forward to your post lapband posts!!!

April is finally here! Good luck to all the April Bandsters! Your time has come! I will be thinking and praying for you! Looking forward to hearing from you on the other side! Glenda

Why are you steaming? Dont like what it says?

http://news.consumerreports.org/health/2011/02/lap-band-surgery-risks-think-twice-about-lap-band-surgery-for-weight-loss.html

THIS THURSDAY the 14-part webinar series on the complexities of obesity continues with webinar #2: Obesity & Addiction. It's FREE (thank you Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) & Obesity PPM) but you do need to REGISTER to get your access code. Should be very interesting... 'Obesity & Addiction' Webinar #2 in the OAC & Obesity PPM Webinar Series www.obesityppm.com Obesity Prevention, Policy & Management

Julz, you sound like one terrific human being. What a blessing it would be to have you as a friend, a neighbor! There were sooo many things that went into this huge decision I made not to do the lapband at this time. A lot was fear of the unknown.. But much was the state of my being right now. i just retired from 36 yrs of an extremely stressful job. Stress that caused me to overeat and gain a lot of this weight. Hypothyroidism that went undetected for several yrs that caused weight gain. I feel that I need to allow my body to decompress from working...focus on what's important, which is health and see if I can make a change naturally. I love healthy food. im not a junk food addict. Never have been. I Dont want to restrict my body from healthy eating by putting a band in my body. I hated the idea that I couldnt eat asparagus without getting stuck. Not eating kale or lettuce was not an option for me. Besides all this, my 90 yr old parents were diagnosed with cancer and Alzheimer within 6 mo of each other. im the only child in the area to care for them. I cant be thinking of myself right now. Im thinking this kind of stress with a band will only lead to trouble. SO, I think you can see the sum of all of this is how I made my decision at this time. YES, banding is the most personal decision and it must be honored. Thank you April Bandsters! Good luck.

I meant to add this to my post above: Like I said, I have been on this forum for 14 months. In that time I have found 3 posters who are wise and knowledgeable. They strip through the BS and hand out sound advice. When these people post, I READ. Elcee, B52 and Corrigan Elcee and B52 are at goal and Corrigan is close to goal.

Momba50, Thank you! I will be happy to post anything I think will help anyone.

Oh, you ladies are the sweetest! Thank you for your concern. Although Im retired, I was offered a contract job this week and have been busy, PLUS I needed a couple of days to sort this out and make a decision. For the past 14 months I have lived and breathed lapband. That's how long it took me from the first doc appt to surgery date, next week. I was always so annoyed that everyone else breezed through the requirements in 3-4 months and I had one strange delay after another. But I just kept telling myself my time will come and it will be right and to be patient. Then, in February, I got " the date". I prepared with a vengence! I made lists, created a schedule, a timeline, ordered protein, books, etc. I have been on this forum every night for 14 months, wanting to know every experience, every ache and pain and every pitfall that exists. LPT is so positive; very rarely will you find negativity here, at least I did not. I completely convinced myself that I would be the Lapband Poster Child. I overcame my fear of losing hair (biotin!), i overcame the fear of having something down my throat during surgery (i would be asleep and wouldnt know). The most haunting thing, and I do mean haunting, is the idea of getting stuck. I already have problems with choking, so for me, getting stuck, even once, was a fear I couldnt manage, but I was ignoring it. THEN came the post on my LBT profile. Oh my. Scared me to death. i couldnt leave it alone. I had to ask her questions, needed details. She replied. I dont blame her. She did make me realize there was another side to all this that I did not fully explore. And so I did. And for me, I'm not willing to go there. But that's just me. I cancelled my surgery today and feel like a weight has been lifted. That's when I knew I made the right decision for me. I have a renewed resolve to get it done. My hat is off to you ladies. Being a good bandster requires more discipline and determination than I can muster. And I appreciate the fact that I know that about myself now rather than later. I will be fine. i've lost weight before and I will do it again. I want to know how all the April Bandsters do so I will be lurking around and reading your posts, if you dont mind. God Bless and good luck on the other side. You will look awesome in just a few short months!!!!

BUT, it did raise an awareness that caused me to do research on the failure rate and esophogal issues and those stats are hard to deny. What can I say? im a Libra and look at both sides of everything until Im paralyzed!

Yesterday someone posted a comment on the regular forum. I replied along with a question to her. She then sent me a private msg telling me how horrible the band was...advising me not to get the band. She explained in detail her horrible experience with esophogal issues, how she cant eat or drink anything, the pain, the stuck episodes, etc. She is having her band removed. It scared the crap out of me. I then realized I have only looked at the happyside of lapband...so, I researched the dark side......for 4 hrs....until I fell asleep at the IPAD. I was all set for the band. Im 1.5 wks away. Im on pre op diet. Doing good. Yes, having my doubts..scared..worried, but moving forward. Why did this email pop into my LBT Inbox? Why were her issues related directly to my worst fears? What's going on? Why am I Seriously considering cancelling my surgery ? Was I just not serious enough to begin with? I've been in this for over a year now. Do I believe the scare stories over the success stories? The 20% failure rate? Do I really understand what a huge life change this will be? Do you? Considering the failure rate, do I want to gamble with my health? i ask all these questions in the utmost seriousness. Im scared and wish I had a crystal ball.

Yesterday someone posted a comment on the regular forum. I replied along with a question to her. She then sent me a private msg telling me how horrible the band was...advising me not to get the band. She explained in detail her horrible experience with esophogal issues, how she cant eat or drink anything, the pain, the stuck episodes, etc. She is having her band removed. It scared the crap out of me. I then realized I have only looked at the happyside of lapband...so, I researched the dark side......for 4 hrs....until I fell asleep at the IPAD. I was all set for the band. Im 1.5 wks away. Im on pre op diet. Doing good. Yes, having my doubts..scared..worried, but moving forward. Why did this email pop into my LBT Inbox? Why were her issues related directly to my worst fears? What's going on? Why am I Seriously considering cancelling my surgery ? Was I just not serious enough to begin with? I've been in this for over a year now. Do I believe the scare stories over the success stories? The 20% failure rate? Do I really understand what a huge life change this will be? Do you? Considering the failure rate, do I want to gamble with my health? i ask all these questions in the utmost seriousness. Im scared and wish I had a crystal ball.

ChubbyCharle, you sound a lot like me....love juicing and whole foods. Have you seen the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead ( streaming free on Netflix) and have you read Eat to Live by Dr Joel Fuhrman?