kdr7238

First of all I want to say thank you for writing this post. I feel like you have almost described my situation. I was banded 1/2/09 and had at one point lost a total of 60 pounds. I'm back up 30 pounds now. I was doing some serious considering of getting the sleeve as well. Until about a month ago, i blamed my band for not losing weight. What the heck was wrong with this thing? I have never had any problems, other than the occasional "stuck" epidsode of sliming, etc. Then one night I was watching this tv show called My 600 pound life and it finally hit me that my lapband will not MAKE me lose weight, it will only HELP me lose weight. If i wanted to lose weight for sure, i should have gotten the gastric bypass at the time. But i didn't want to go that extreme. I also just realized how sedentary my life style is. I work at a desk for 6-8 hours a day, go home, work from home from a desk for a few more hours, sit and watch tv, etc. So, why have I gained weight and not lost? Because of choices that I make everyday. I don't eat nearly as much as I used to, the band doesn't allow it. If i'm not hungry, sometimes i can say no you dont need cookies, you aren't hungry, your head is, but other times i can't. I do get full with the band. But the most successful stories I have seen/heard with the band are people that exercise and change their eating habits. The band will give us that extra control that we wouldn't have if we didn't have it. It's science: if you expend more calories than you take in, you will lose weight. So for me, I'm not sure about the sleeve because i feel that i have not given my band the fighting chance it deserves. I truly hope that I don't ever have complications from my band. I need to be good to it, eat small bites, no caffeine, no soda, no smoking,etc. I have learned through the years that i can't drink coffee or my band swells from the acidity of it. I quit smoking because that caused it to swell. So i'm afraid if i get the sleeve that i'll just gain it all back after that wonderful first year of losing all that weight. And then what? I'm stuck with weight gain and no way to control it because there's nothing else to do. We need to fix ourselves first...give your band the chance it deserves. It does work, as long as you don't have severe complications from it, it works. We just have to fix ourselves first....I need to start moving...just walking...thats how i'm gonna start. I hope everything works out for you. You control your life...you can decide to do this just as i can. If you have a bad day, its ok, there's always tomorrow. good luck and Hugs.