victoria21

Hi Lucy: You asked if I was scared to go to Mexico for the surgery and I'm not. I'm lucky enough to live in San Diego, so I took the trolley down to TJ one day and met with the doctor and his staff. Plus, I've talked with former patients on this forum, so I've done my homework. The doctor told me only 2% of his patients meet him before surgery-they are far more brave than I! I understand the fat as a protection device (we are talking about that in therapy) but I want to know what it's like to be a "thin" person. I have 80lbs to lose, and I'm tired of not doing things because of my size.

Hi Lucy: I haven't been banded yet, I will be having it done by Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana on Feb 15 and had/have alot of the same doubts/questions you are having. I am going to a food addiction counselor and that is really helping-and even though my insurance won't cover the surgery, they are covering the counselor. It helps to know why I eat what I do, and hopefully the 2 pronged mental/physical approach will help with the restrictions and keeping the weight off. Even with seeing the counselor, I know I still need to get the band. I view it as it's only 3 weeks of liquids, not the rest of my life. I just have to stay focused on the bottom line-less of my bottom!!

I'm scheduled to get banded Jan 26, and am having second thoughts. From what I have read on the board so far, it seems that many people still follow a "commerical" diet (e.g Atkins) and excerise 2 hours a day to achive weight loss. I don't expect the band to be a miracle cure, and I realize there are some things to change in my life, but if following a commerical diet and excerising 2 hours a day is needed, then why bother with the band? I guess I am looking for responses from those of you who don't do those things and still have some weight loss. I don't expect to lose extreme amounts of weight quickly with the band (nor do I want to), but nor do I have the time to work out 2 hours a day to achive a 1-2 lbs loss a week. I certainly expect to work out at least 3-4 times a week or more (walking, some weights, etc) but there's no room for 2 hours a day. If that's what I need to do, then I probably won't get a band. Why set myself up for failure because I can't work out that much?

Thank you to everyone who replied to my question, and with such great detail-I really appreciate it. I'm glad to know the band has helped without having to go crazy. I have a fairly low BMI and need to lose about 80lbs, so it might take longer to lose the weight than it would if I had a higher BMI, but my concerns are eased by your responses. I am already relacing one meal a day with a protein shake, and seeing a food addition councellor, so I feel I am doing the right things to get prepared for the surgery. Although surgery isn't covered by my insurance, at least the councelling is! Thank you all again!

Thanks for your posts! I checked with the bride-they are doing a buffet and will have mashed potatoes, so I think at 4 weeks I should be at the mushy stage, so hopefully that will work. Otherwise I will just bring a protein shake or something; I would just rather not have the disucssion with the guests at my table why I'm not eating. Not that I mind talking about the band, but I'd rather not have the discussion at someone's wedding!

I had a wedding to go to 1 month after surgery and I don't know if I will be at the solid food stage. I am going to Dr Ortiz for surgery, and it seems I should be at the solid food stage by then, but if I'm not, any ideas what to do? I will feel sort of weird not having food, but I don't think I can bring my own, so what do I do? Has anyone else run into this? :help:

Susan, I laughed at your comment about the dogs and the guy! I only have small dogs (one 12 lb, one 6 lb) and yet they manage to take up 3/4 of a queen size bed. And still kick me, step on me, scratch me. But I wouldn't give them up for the world! I love the fact that they don't care what I look like-they just love me. Oh, if we could all love like dogs. LOL I guess for me, I just assume that if a man likes me skinny, they would not have liked me heavier. It's sad, but we are a visual society and let's face it, when they put 14 year old girls on the cover of a magazine to suggest we all look like that as mature women, there is something twisted. I always tell people to really look at women's magazines-I don't care if it's Cosmo or Family Circle-you are going to see at least 1 of 3 things; how to lose weight quickly; how to do something that pleases a man; how to firm up some part of your body. Gee, why would we be weight obsessed as a society? Ever look at a men's magazine? Most don't have articles like that (and some don't even have articles-LOL). I have had several guys tell me they'd like me if I lost weight-I tell them I wouldn't want them fat or skinny. They certainly aren't good enough for me when they make comments like that. And trust me, these guys weren't all that to begin with. What I find funny is the double standard-it's more acceptable for a guy to be 20-40 lbs overweight, but not a woman. I actually had a guy who was bigger than I am tell me that I was too fat for him! Wow, lost a winner there. I probably sound like a man-hater-really, I'm not. I'm just sick of the double standards. I think it's time us women took over the world-after all there are more of us than them. LOL

This is a great thread, it's nice to know we aren't alone out here. As for me and dating, I gave it up awhile ago...it was a very high investment low yield proposition and I got tired of it. Living in San Diego doesn't help, bunch of skinny blonde 22 year olds running around. :faint:I always thought (and been told by many people) "oh, I'd get a guy if I lost weight". The kicker is, I'm not even thinking about how this surgery will help in that area! Which means I am doing it for me, and not for them-Yeah me! :clap2: LOL I look at my life and realize I have cake. Cake is good! Would I like the frosting of a relationship on my cake? Sure. But if I can't have frosting I still have darn good cake! I’ve lived on my own for 18 years, never been married, never even been in love, so I am so used to being own my own, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have someone in my life. It’d have to be someone darn special to kick my dogs out of my bed. I agree on the holidays-it’s a lot of hype and pressure on New Years and Valentine’s Day. My plan for New Year’s is to ignore it. After all, April Fools Day used to be New Years so if they moved it, it can’t be that big of a deal, right? I say lets enjoy being single and free and concentrate on what guys are missing-no matter what size we are!! If I get in a relationship with someone, I plan to tell them about the band up front, because the reality is-they probably wouldn't be dating me without it. Harsh, but true. Although if I change my mind, I got my gallbladder out a few months ago, so I can follow Stormy0187 advice and tell them it’s from the gallbladder. LOL

Hi Sherilynn: I am getting banded on Jan 26 and I had the same thing about being mentally prepared. To help allivate some of that, I decided to start doing some of the changes that come after surgery before surgery. So I am learning to avoid drinking with meals (which I think will be the hardest) and really, really chewing my food. After the holidays I plan to ease into drinking the shakes, by starting to relace 1 meal a day with a shake, then 2, then 3. I am hoping that will help me better cope with the changes I will face in my eating habits. I need to start excerising more, but I procrastinate with that. I find that by doing what I need to do before surgery it helps with being mentally prepared for the surgery.

Hi: I've been reading this forum since I decided to get lap band and I have questions I'm hoping all you kind people can help me! First, has anyone had gallbladder surgery and then this surgery later? If so, is the pain similar? I had my gb out in Sept so if the pain is pretty much the same then I can deal with it. Not being able to eat....not so sure! Although from reading the posts I am lucky that I would only have to do a liquid diet for a week pre-op! Heaven help the people I work with! :eek: Hopefully coffee counts as part of a liquid diet.. Second, if I have the surgery it will be in Tijuana (I live in San Diego so it's close and since my insurance won't cover it...) and Dr. Ortiz's office claims I can get the surgery on a Friday and be back to work on Monday?? When I got my gb out, I felt great the first few days and then the meds wore off...:paranoid I have a desk job and don't plan on telling my boss what kind of surgery I am getting (or where). The doctor's office claims this surgery is less invasive than gb removal- anyone know if that's true? I got laposcopic surgery for that; got there at 6:30 am and was home by 11:30 am-so if this is less invasive, why do I have to stay the night before and 2 days after surgery? I will only be at work for 4 days and then I am on vacation for a week. Third, I've read great things about Dr. Ortiz; does anyone have any bad experiences with him to relate? Fourth, can you feel the port under your skin? Can the outline of it be seen under your skin? Fifth, how do they fill it? Does it hurt? I would think they would have to pierce your skin each time, right? For some reason this surgery is scaring me alot more than my gb one did and I'm not sure why. Any and all comments would be MOST appreciated. If I get the surgery it will be on Dec 15. Thanks!

Tricia, I am so sorry for your loss. I know its really hard for you right now, but you can't blame yourself for what happened to your cousin. Kare is right, there are risks to any surgery. Of course that doesn't make you mourn her any less. For those of you who have lost weight slowly and those who lost it more rapidly, how much are you excerising? I'm wondering if the rate of weight loss has to do with the amount you excerise as well. I can say I'd rather had lapband than gastric bypass. I went to a GB seminar and walked out of there knowing I'll never get that surgery-talk about restrictions! Ironically, the doctor's staff who gave the seminar is the same doc who did my gallbladder removal.

Thanks everyone for your posts! I met with Dr Ortiz the Friday after TG and feel much better about the surgery, but I decided to wait until end of Jan. I have one other question for anyone who has small dogs (or kids). My 6 lb chihuaha loves to jump on me or lay on me in the morning; is this going to be a problem after I get the lapband? I know she won't be able to do it in the first few weeks after surgery but what about after that? She was devistated when she couldn't jump on me after I had my gallbladder removed (she thought she was being punished), I just don't know if it will be a perament no-no? Any thoughts?

I've always known I didn't want kids. I love the kids in my family, but I don't want any of my own. If anything happened to my family members, I would take their kids in a heartbeat though. Now this is what I find stupid, you can choose to have as many kids as you want, but if you want surgery to not have kids and you've never been married or had kids, good luck finding a doctor who will do it! In my late 20's I went to 5 different doctors and they would not give me the surgery!! But if I accidentally got pregnant, they would give me an abortion. Tell me that makes sense? We can't tell people they can't have more kids, but we can tell the people who don't want kids that they can't have the surgery to prevent it. Now in my late 30's it seems to be alot easier with places like Planned Parenthood. I am also getting tired of people who tell me I don't know what love is until I have a child. Or tell me I will change my mind on wanting to have kids. I'm 38, trust me-I'm not changing my mind!