maggietcu

Hello - So my husband (finally?) says out loud that I might want to consider lap band surgery. It worked for someone's mom, so maybe I should consider it. After the initial shock and depression that he even mentioned this ..... I'm at the point where I'm at least considering it. Until a couple of days ago, I would have said I would never consider weight loss surgery. It's too drastic. Surely I can lose this weight on my own. Reality check -- I've been overweight (to some degree) since 3rd grade. It's probably not going to happen on my watch. At least not without some serious intervention. Some questions ... What kind of scaring is there? 2-4 dots? Can you feel the lap band around your stomach? Can you feel the fill port from the outside? What happens when you are sick and you have to vomit? Can you actually vomit? This scares the hell out of me, btw. How long do you wear it? The rest of my life? If so, does it need replaced at any point? What are the complications that you have heard of? Give it to me straight, please! The lap-band websites are all gooshy happy about their product. And is it realistic to eat portions like I have the lap band and be satisfied? Realistically, I have very poor portion control and no sensation of full until I've really overdone it. I don't know if I trust myself to even do this diet, if it exists, however I'll have to do it regardless, I guess. My questions at this point are a little superficial, sorry. Many Thanks ...

Wow, you all are incredibly knowledgeable and supportive about all this, I truly thank you. I still do not know what I'm going to do (I haven't met with my doctor yet -- two weeks). She wants me to research "weight loss interventions" as if there is something other than good ol' diet and exercise! I've done weight watchers and myfitnesspal and hired a trainer and wishing it away ... are their other options I'm not thinking of that I should research? I just find it a little amazing how much support comes with something like the lab band procedure, but I'm not aware of any clinics that monitor your weight loss other ways? I've had some "come to Jesus" moments with myself and realize that lap band still is extreme, to me, and it scares me that I'm headed in that direction. I WANT that to be enough to scare me into eating better, exercising more, and being self-accountable, but this power / rewarding of myself by eating whatever I want is a very, very high hurdle for me. I'm so sad thinking I won't be able to eat what I want anymore, but then you all are so happy with your results, I'm sure I would get to that point. I just keep thinking about being 70 years old and still having this in place ... like this is a long-term punishment for overeating the last 36 years. I guess maybe I should focus on the immediate future and let the rest work itself out. THANK YOU!!