Carvalho

Hi Everyone, Well like the title says... i'm a new member to the site and to the Lap Band world. I'm a 33 y/o male located in Montreal, Canada (go habs go!) who needs to lose a decent amount of weight. Four months ago I finally took an appointment to meet one of 3 doctors who do the op in Montreal. Cancelled twice because I was unsure about this and finally grabbed the bull by the horns and went to my first groupe meeting Tuesday morning. I've been reading up on the Lap Band for about 3 to 4months (on and off) and found this site Tuesday night. Some of the things the Doc said kinda worried me... I guess changing 20 y/o habits isnt an easy thing to do and sure does create extra pressure and fear for some reason?!?!? So like i said, met the doc, and I signed up for the operation and my first "real" appointment is in July 23rd. My wife doesnt really want me doing this... she thinks its a drastic measure and with hard work and self motivation I could achieve this on my own. But being "heavy" for the last 24 years of my life and having tried diets and going to the gym 3x a week tell me different... So now i'm confused, worried, scared and uncertain of what I need to do. Reading some of your stories as made me think "Damn it, i'm doing this!" then other stories get me thinking "should I do this???". Thanks for reading and for all the great tips on the site!

Merci Tapshoes! Well i havent had time to call... we have been swamped at the office this week. We lost our IT girl and since I'm the "next" one who knows our systems better then she does I was drafted into her position >:/ I'll try giving him a call tomorrow or monday... as for the the eating time that is what he said. 10 minutes... i might even have some more info in the car that might shed some light on this. I'll check that out tomorrow also. But yeah, i;ve been trying this week to not drink while eating and it feels like the hardest thing i've ever done... just this is making me 2nd guess the op :thumbup: scary... lol more info to come.

ok... you guys are starting to freak me out with the price thing... lol When I first heard about the "band" was through my co-worker. His mom got it and I remember him saying she paid $5500. And when I asked the doc what the cost was, i'm sure he knew I meant the TOTAL cost of the op (inc. band), and he said $5000.00. But now your making me 2nd guess if what I heard or asked was clear... Forget I said anything about the 5g'z for now... i'll get in touch with him on Monday and get back to you guys. Joe

Girls, Thank you for the morale booster!! And your all right... someone who's never had the xtra pounds can't and won't ever understand what we are going through. Whats scary is something I read about a year ago. We who are obiese have a 97% chance of failling at this losing weight game. Most will lose and gain it back within the next 5years... The odds are stacked againts us. And before learning about the lapband all I knew heard about was the gastric bypass and that wasnt an option. To answer Kathy's question, my wife was always pretty small but gained maybe 25 to 35 pounds these last 3-5 years. New position at work and thats making her a little less active. And thats pretty much the same problem I had. I was always a "big" guy but ever since I became an "in house" rep and no longer on the road I gained a shit load of pounds. I always thought I was at a 275-300lbs until the doc got me on the scale and that seriously freaked me out... I was so ashamed... of myself and of telling my wife. Put it this way, I'm now over the 365 point and its killing me. My mind is pretty much made up. But the one thing thats killing me about this, and this is the only thing that REALLY bothers is... is the no drinking while eating and nothing for the following 2 hours. You see, I NEED something to drink while I eat, or at least right after i'm done.

Hey Mica, Thanks for the info... Mind if I ask why you went over the border to get the op? Was it really that much cheaper down there? Over here i've been quoted $5000 and my insurance might cover it up to 80%. But theres something that worries me to be honest... The Doc said i can ONLY eat about a cup and a half of food at each meal, but I can't drink during my meal and for 2 hours after i'm done AND what ever I eat must be done within 10minutes... He said if it takes longer than that to eat my system won't really know when its full so I might go over my portions and always feel hungry. Is that what your doing ? And congrats on your loss... 35lbs is totally kick ass!! Joey