Worrier No. 1

Hi, I was sleeved in late August in Portland, then relocated to Kirkland. Is your group still meeting and if so, when? Thanks!

My surgery was also on the 26th and I can completely relate. I had a lap band removed when the sleeve was done. Happy to have the band gone, but feel like my best friend, food, has moved away. It is great to have a place where people can write in and tell us that we're normal, not nuts! Trying hard to take it day by day. Personally, I need to start finding other things to keep my mind occupied.

This is my first post so I hope I've posted correctly. I was banded at Oregon Weight Loss Surgery way back in 2005. Started at 255; lowest 207. Almost immediately after I got my band, my doctor left the practice and every doctor I saw after that moved on to somewhere else. I have had a love-hate relationship with this band from Day 1. It's a little funny. I used to be afraid to throw up. I have never thrown up so much in my life and it has just become a way of life. I had the band loosened for awhile and held my own, but of course, didn't lose any further weight. Decided to get another opinion and headed over to OHSU's program for one last hurrah with my band. Got it tightened multiple times, but still didn't feel much restriction, however, ended up with a really bad case of GERD. The band is still in a good place, however, it had to be loosened so I am back to square one. The GERD was evidently bad enough that they will not tighten the band again. I have met with the surgeon,have been offered a band to bypass revision and my insurance will cover it due to complications. I figured I'd try Weight Watchers again and see if I could do this on my own, but of course, not working. I'm 59 years old and very nervous about having surgery and how I am going to handle this - especially mentally. I passed all of the prerequisites, but I know (still after all of these years) that I turn to food to deal with stress and loneliness. On top of it all, I need a hip replacement. Bottomline, I don't want to be one of those people who goes through this huge life altering process and fails. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.