mi75

Tanya- congratulations on taking this very big step in regaining your health and your life. I am pre-op so I can't necessarily tell you what others can...I too have a big routine that my hubs and I do every week with eating out and we have together decided that it will come to an end with my surgery. the temptation is just too big and my health is more important to me than food. however, I understand your grief over it! maybe the two of you can start trading off and trying other places or do something different altogether? Lastly, I have heard that post-surgery your taste buds change radically and HOPEFULLY you won't even crave these things anymore! best of luck to you

thanks so much for your input! I am truly looking forward to a new start, however the thought has occurred to me 'what if I eventually crave these things'??? I am really just thinking ahead and the positive affirmation of knowing that yes, I can work this stuff in, is somehow even more of a reassurance that I am doing the right thing!

Hi all- I have been interested in bariatric surgery for a few years. I have seen the doc, been to the nutritional counseling, etc. I had all the pre-op testing booked. Then I cancelled it. twice. I have concerns. Here is my biggest...my hubs is also overweight. We have tried many times to lose together. He has much less than me to lose, so he is not a surgery candidate in any way. We have a really strong marriage, and EVERYTHING we do is centered with food. We eat out for all occasions- happy, sad, depressed, sressed, celebrations, mourning, etc. I am afraid that I will have issues because he will continue to be able to eat what I cannot. I wonder if he will have issues because i no longer want to or will be able to, go out and eat together. I know eventually I will be able to eat fairly normal stuff, but not for a good while...my current BMI is 39 (maybe 40 by now). he is incredibly supportive and has told me that if i want to do it, i should. am i being neurotic because i WILL be able to eat normally eventually??? any advice is really appreciated. I have four HUGE co-morbidities (severe hypertension, sleep apnea, insulin resistance/PCOS/Pre-diabetes, fatty liver/NASH) that will ALL eventually lead me to really ugly health problems and I already take 5 medications a day at age 38, so i have to do something soon...

i'm pre-op, well, still considering really...i'm PCOS diagnosed since 2001, had one successful pregnancy, and taking metformin 3x daily. one of my motivations for considering banding is getting rid of my multiple health dignoses, and also getting off my meds. did your band make enough difference that you are off of Met? FYI- i am NOT wanting to pursue any further pregnancies. one bio daughter and one adopted son are great for my DH and I!

I am still in the process of weighing all options but am leaning heavily towards banding due to my insurance covers 100% with little complications. I have questions...my friend had banding and did AWESOME but died two years ago (unrelated to surgery) so i can't talk to her and need somebody to give me some answers! going to my seminar in a week but would like some thoughts to consider before then. so here goes... 1. what was YOUR pre-op diet/fast like? one doc here does 10 days, one does only 3 days! i'm curious as to WHAT the pre-op diet looks like also 2. how long were you on liquids, softs, etc post-op? 3. do you eat any of the 'regular' foods you ate pre-op or have you overhauled your entire diet? there are truly some things that i can deal with eating very limited portions of, no problem, and even eating just a couple times a year, but a couple of things specifically that i can't imagine having to give up completely. 4. how bad will my hair get, really? my hair is one of my very best features (really...i've been a hair model in the past!) and i don't want to lose it all or get so thin that i have to shave it or something! 5. what AREN'T they telling me? i've seen the burp issues, the throwing up (from my friend), the over-fill problems, and an incisional infection. but what else, do i have to worry about (gall stones not an issue, lost that years ago)... I currently am diagnosed with PCOS, and the hypertension, high cholesterol and rapid heart rates that go along with it, the Insulin resistance that goes along with it, Fatty Liver disease, Barrett's Esophagus and take four meds daily related to these things. I'm SICK of this, and not even 40 yet. if I don't do something, i truly believe i won't see 45...i know that a band isn't a magic pill. i have to do the work too, but I need something to help with portion control, something to teach me 'fullness', and I believe that this is my answer. thanks in advance for advice, answers and help!

Hi all- I am so happy to be here. I am very interested in getting lap band done. I have been fighting my weight for over 10 years now. I have PCOS (a fertility issue) and related to it I suffer from Insulin Resistance, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. I also have significant Barrett's Esophagus AND my current BMI is 37 or 38. So i'm pretty sure that I qualify. I'm told by multiple docs that losing 40-50 lbs would pretty much clear up ALL my issues and take me off of the 4 meds per day that I'm taking...SO...one of my dear friends had band surgery several years ago and did remarkable. sadly, she passed away last fall (from a diabetes related issue) but i think of how well she did and have hope. I'm basically scared to death to have the surgery. I'll be honest, I'm a nurse so that makes it worse. I've had multiple surgeries, but none at my current size (I'm 5'2" and 216 lbs). I have images in my mind of me dying on the table. I know if I don't do something, my health is going to go down really severely in the next few years. I also know that my daughter cannot grow up without her mom. My husband is GREAT and very supportive, but honestly, he can lose pretty easily on his own. He went through a job issue last year and gained stress weight, but even though he as about 30 lbs to lose, he can do it on his own without intervention. he loses and gains pretty easily... My questions are these: what is the typical wait time between first appt and actual surgery; if you feel like the whole fill thing is too aggressive, can you ask to back off a bit; i am TOTALLY addicted (yes, i mean ADDICTED) to mountain dew- is NO pop really the truth ( is flat diet pop ok a few sips per day?); will having the band interfere with the EGD's i have to get every couple years for my barretts; i'm scared of this 'band he** i hear about- what exactly is it; how long can i expect to be off work; do i really have to stop drinking all my Water? i drink 72 oz per day but i'm thinking that this will end??? basically, any info you can all give me will be extremely helpful. THANK YOU!!!!