ennigmah

Hey Sophrosyne - I don't know how serious you are about this but I would suggest that regardless of your opinions right now, pro and con, you should consider pursuing the "band path" to see where it will take you - it does involve some serious "why - why nots" and some required education/talking/meeting with dieticians and therapists........it may all sound daunting but it puts the entire process in a real light. At age 47 there was one thing for sure, I have mastered dieting....but not keeping it off. I did a ton of my own research and decided that the marginal rate of complications with the band (the majority of which are easy to fix) were worth the risk to me (as opposed to the HUGE number of risks with the gastric bypass). I was banded in November and have lost 35 in 6 weeks. If you are serious, do your own investigation - you may decide it's not the right tool for you. Good luck.

I had NO idea what to expect because I had never had any surgery on my belly but other than the bloating discomfort from the gas (the anesthesia gas and MY OWN!) which only lasted 3 or 4 days I did not take any pain medicine at all. In fact, I put my prescription for pain med through the shredder! YOU WILL DO FINE!!! Go for it!

Hi Rachel Congrats!! I had my band placed 11/27 by Dr. Wolfe's associate - it took about a year as a Maine resident with Aetna to get approval, in fact, my surgery was cancelled because of the delay on the part of Aetna to approve me. It seems they would much rather pay for the RNY than the band...made NO sense to me! Anyway, I have the band and absolutely NO regrets!! The staff at the bariatric clinic are very helpful (even when you think some of the stuff you have to do is stupid!) Only a few weeks ago did they receive accreditation as a "Center of Excellence!!" So have no fears, you will be well cared for!!! Good luck!!

Hi WannaClimbMts I had my band placed on 11/27 as a patient of the MMC Program....as far as the support person, I was able to bribe someone to come to the initial class with me (it was a colleague who I knew had an interest in this as a weight loss option - I told her I wanted to learn more about it but didn't imply it was because I was being screened for the band.) When the time came to sign my surgical consent they required me to have a family member present - their rationale has to do with the requirements of any "center for surgical excellence"....Dr. Cobean explained that if there had been any untoward event in the operating room he didn't want to be the one to call my family and have them be totally in the dark. That was the extent of it for me - and trust me, I too am FIERCELY independent. I walked into the hospital all alone -- and I feel as though this is no one's journey but my own. Good luck! And if you have questions - feel free to be in touch! Ennigmah

I'm also an 11/27 bandit! I would say it took about 3 days for me to realize that I haven't made a mistake by being banded and that day by day it gets better and better....in fact, I worked an 8 hour day today (only one week post op) and while tired - exhilirated!! Good luck