JaimeLou113

[color=#0000FF]I have struggled with my weight for years, and finally came to the decision to be banded back in December 2011. It was a big step for me, as I had always been fiercely opposed to surgical intervention. But, I came to accept that it didn't mean that I was a failure (weight loss being the only thing in life that I have ever truly struggled with, not to mention failed at multiple times), it just meant that I needed extra help.[/color]

[color=#0000FF]My co-worker took me to lunch one day, and "delicately" steered the conversation toward losing weight. During the conversation, she shared with me that she had been banded 10 years ago, at the tail end of the clinical trials phase. She and I have similar personalities, and listening to her story of what brought her to get her band was like listening to a tape recording of the thoughts in my own head. I attended my seminar a couple of weeks later.[/color]

[color=#0000FF]I had a few big things going on in my world for December and January. I made appointments with my primary care doctor, and all of my surgical consultations for the end of February 2012. I started my pre-op diet on March 5, 2012, weighing in at 349.7 pounds that morning on my scale at home. I was banded on Monday March 19, 2012. It was a very quick process, and I am so thankful for that. I think I may have chickened out if I would have had to wait. My insurance didn't require additional months of monitored weight loss. I was really afraid I would have to wait until July or August to get this done, and I'm POSITIVE I would have bailed if that had been the case. Start to finish was 3 1/2 weeks.[/color]

[color=#0000FF]I'm really glad I found this site. Pre-op, I hadn't really found anything helpful or useful. I'm not sure how this just showed up out of nowhere, but I'm glad it did. My friend recommended www.obesityhelp.org, but I found that to be more for people who wanted sleeves or bypass. It seemed to be a lot of band bashing, which wasn't very helpful to me. Today, while I was at the surgeon, I saw a printed ad for Obesity Help, which I thought was funny, since my surgeon's practice does 80% bands.[/color]

[color=#0000FF]Anyway, that's me and that's how I got here! Looking forward to making this journey with everyone![/color]