Cold Feet? Big Mistake?

[RavenClaw779 2]

I've battled my weight for 20 years. I've been 200+ for 10 years. I told myself in January 2009 that if I didn't make significant progress in my weight loss efforts in the course of a year, I'd pursue gastric by-pass or lap-band. My doctor is all for it. Ditto for my psych consult. I know the #1 reason to do this is for my health. Nevertheless, I feel like the facility I'm utilizing (a "Center of Excellence") views me as just $$ and I'm questioning their level of caring for me as a person/patient. I've been through extensive nutritional counseling and I get it. A friend of mine is an RD and we've been working on various behavioral approachs to weight loss/control. She asked me if I'm able to lose the 10% required for surgery, why not set a second goal of another 10% and so on? If I've coped with stress in the past by eating what makes me think I won't find a way to continue doing so? (Her question to me)

Then I went to a support group meeting last night and watched as the GBP -v- LB battle ensued - a "my procedure is better than yours" free for all. Ended up talking to a lady who had the lap-band in 6/09 was 250 and is now 205...roughly 1.5 lbs a week - what one could do on their own with a sensible diet.

I'm just putting this out there - has anyone else wrestled with this as I am? Am I just self-defeating or scared? Thanks Bandsters for listening! :thumbup:

Edited February 11, 2010 by RavenClaw779
typo

[Marine mom 3]

lol, you are where I was. You are right, the weight loss is what could be done without the band. that said, chances are you haven't been able to do it. KWIM? I know that i can lose weight. i've done it before. i see this as a tool to increase my odds of keeping it off by enforced Portion Control.< /p>

Good luck in your decision. it is a biggie.

[Wanttolose 0]

Sure I wrestled with the same thoughts and questions that you are. I went to Weight Watchers and Nutri System and lost the weight, but I ALWAYS gained it all back and then some. Losing weight is the easy part. Keeping it off is much harder. With the band if I go off track or screw up or whatever it isn't near as bad, meaning I just can't eat as much. So I eat a piece of pie that I don't really need and not the whole pie. There are times when I want to eat alot but can't, and thats a good thing. What I am saying is it's a life style change and you can't just give up like you can on regular diets. This band works, but you have to work with it. It won't do it all for you, it still requires effort on your part. I still think this is the second best decision I have ever made, the first is marrying my wife 30 years ago! It's normal to have second thoughts, but it sure is nice to go into a meeting and not be the fattest guy in the room! I love it at work when people say "hey skinny"!

[btrieger 21]

has anyone else wrestled with this as I am? Am I just self-defeating or scared? Thanks Bandsters for listening! :thumbup:

Anyone that hasn't asked themselves those questions or been scared over getting surgery is a damn fool.

I have no problem losing lots of weight. I've lost over 100 pounds multiple times only to gain it back. I will have lost around 100 pounds by the time I get banded and the lapband is my best alternative to stop or slow the weight gain once I stop losing.

I've researched plenty. I am not going into this without knowing every detail and doing plenty of soul searching.

Take your time, the lapband isn't going anywhere and will be around if you make the decision to be cut open and have a foreign object wrapped around one of your internal organs. It is NOT a decision to be made lightly.

[Marine mom 3]

Anyone that hasn't asked themselves those questions or been scared over getting surgery is a damn fool.

I have no problem losing lots of weight. I've lost over 100 pounds multiple times only to gain it back. I will have lost around 100 pounds by the time I get banded and the LAP-BAND® is my best alternative to stop or slow the weight gain once I stop losing.

I've researched plenty. I am not going into this without knowing every detail and doing plenty of soul searching.

Take your time, the LAP-BAND® isn't going anywhere and will be around if you make the decision to be cut open and have a foreign object wrapped around one of your internal organs. It is NOT a decision to be made lightly.

I agree with all of your post, but especially the bolded statement.

OP, i have to say that i am glad i never experienced the lb vs gbs arguing.:thumbup:

[LeighaMason 19]

I have yo-yo dieted for years, I had the lap band done 10/20/09. I have lost 35 lbs. I can lose weight but I always gain it back. That is why I had the surgery.

I think the people who are the most successful with this are the ones who are willing to cook healthy foods. If you eat out alot and are not willing to change I don't think the band does any good. Eating less of the wrong foods still wont work.

Eat good foods, eat less and exercise is the only solution to weight loss. The band helps with the eat less part. You have to be willing to do the others.

Weight loss surgery is a business like any other, if they were doing it because they "cared" it would be free.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[BetsyB 9]

Anyone that hasn't asked themselves those questions or been scared over getting surgery is a damn fool.

I have no problem losing lots of weight. I've lost over 100 pounds multiple times only to gain it back. I will have lost around 100 pounds by the time I get banded and the LAP-BAND® is my best alternative to stop or slow the weight gain once I stop losing.

I've researched plenty. I am not going into this without knowing every detail and doing plenty of soul searching.

Take your time, the LAP-BAND® isn't going anywhere and will be around if you make the decision to be cut open and have a foreign object wrapped around one of your internal organs. It is NOT a decision to be made lightly.

I can't say it any better than this.

We're ALL weight-loss experts. I'd wager we all are pretty darn good at it.

The trouble comes with losing enough to reach goal and/or maintaining loss. For me, the band is a tool for maintenance. I'm not there yet--but I will be.

If you have cold feet, step back for a bit and see where your head takes you. There's no rush.

[Hello Bean 0]

if they were doing it because they "cared" it would be free.

HA! No kidding. The answer may be another group or doctor. At the seminar I attended, the doctor said that GB was the gold standard, but that it involved more cutting, longer recovery, etc. I think the band is the way for me to go, but I'd never try to influence someone else about his best choice.

[sunny day 0]

I've battled my weight for 20 years. I've been 200+ for 10 years. I told myself in January 2009 that if I didn't make significant progress in my weight loss efforts in the course of a year, I'd pursue gastric by-pass or lap-band®. My doctor is all for it. Ditto for my psych consult. I know the #1 reason to do this is for my health. Nevertheless, I feel like the facility I'm utilizing (a "Center of Excellence") views me as just $$ and I'm questioning their level of caring for me as a person/patient. I've been through extensive nutritional counseling and I get it. A friend of mine is an RD and we've been working on various behavioral approachs to weight loss/control. She asked me if I'm able to lose the 10% required for surgery, why not set a second goal of another 10% and so on? If I've coped with stress in the past by eating what makes me think I won't find a way to continue doing so? (Her question to me)

Then I went to a support group meeting last night and watched as the GBP -v- LB battle ensued - a "my procedure is better than yours" free for all. Ended up talking to a lady who had the lap-band® in 6/09 was 250 and is now 205...roughly 1.5 lbs a week - what one could do on their own with a sensible diet.

I'm just putting this out there - has anyone else wrestled with this as I am? Am I just self-defeating or scared? Thanks Bandsters for listening! :scared2:

i too have this internal battle... i am 5 mts into the 6 mts supervised diet like wat if it doesn't work or i lose 5 pds a month i can do that on my own . i can do that for 7-8 mts at a time but it never stays off im hoping this will be the ticket to keep it off. i think about gb and realize most if not all people who have it lose weight and alot of it... but i question at what cost??? i'm praying for clarity cause truly i m unsure of what to do.. you are not alone .

[arthukd 1]

Like most everyone else has said, losing the weight is not the main problem. It is keeping it off!!

Last year I lost 17 lbs from Feb - Aug. From August to November I gained back 7 lbs. I have done this repeatedly over the past 10 years. Sometimes losing more sometimes losing less, but always it always came back. This was the straw that broke my camels back, I was tired of the never ending cycle - made an appointment in December and was banded last month.

It is not a magic band that does all the work for you. You still have to watch your calories and excerise to be successful.

Even now, I struggle with the fact that it took SURGERY to force me to eat smaller bites and chew my food well. Why couldn't I have just done that to begin with??? Who knows!

[RavenClaw779 2]

So..after this morning's post I'm off to run errands while pondering my decision. As I walk into Walmart I notice the obese gentleman sitting in his van in the fire lane trying to muster the energy to get out. Hmm - that could be me in a few years I think. In the store I see two very obese ladies having to shop using the motorized carts - in one case the cart's motor is grinding so bad it sounds like a cat stuck in a mailbox. Once again, I think to myself, that could be me sometime down the road. Off to the pet food aisle and as I heave a 20+ pound of dog chow into my cart one-handed and older gentleman comments something to the effect of, "You get around pretty good for a big girl!" Gee - thanks!

All kidding aside, I know my own strengths and weakness(clearly Good Eats is one) and have always tried to avoid judging someone solely on their appearance. But with this decision weighing on my mind, it made me more focused today. I noticed all the people shopping who were clearly struggling with their weight and in a number of cases their health was clearly on the downswing. I'm in relatively good health and I have to opportunity to add a tool to my arsenal so that someday a much smaller me will heave that dog food bag and the only comment will be that I'm pretty strong for a woman!:scared2:

[btrieger 21]

The $25,000 question is,"are you ready?"

We all have our reasons for wanting to lose weight but you have to be sure you are ready to modify your eating habits for the rest of your life or the band isn't going to help.

Go ahead and sign yourself up for surgery and if you are lucky, you will have a 3 month waiting period to do soul searching.

It's not too late to turn back until the hunk of plastic is in you.

[SoccerMomma73 1,867]

Like above, over and over, I can lose weight, I can really lose weight, I am a failure at maintaining, hence the lap band. I am hoping will help me continue to lose and then be able to maintain.

I only had to go to 1 support group meeting but the bypass patients greatly out numbered the band patients and I felt like the entire show was the BP patients putting down the bandsters....I have not been back. If I feel the need for a support group I will have to find one that is band specific, the whole show was ridiculous.

It's all up to you, if you see that you're losing and think you can maintain then by all means go for it. Don't go into this questioning whether you really need it or not. God willing this will be THE time you can keep it off and if not you can pursue banding later....

[RavenClaw779 2]

Three month wait - are you kidding?!? I'm going through Ellis Hospital(Schnectady, NY) - they assigned the surgery date and time at my first meeting with the PA which was 1/14/10. My surgery is set for 3/10/10. Of course when I checked with the case manager she'd yet to submit it to BCBS for approval...she's waiting on the test results from next weeks' whirlwind of UGI, Cardio, sleep Lab & Nutritionist...so maybe it won't be 3/10...

Let's say I'm 75% sure I'm going to do it. I'm not going to kid myself - I've done the diet-lose-gain+ crapola too many times to count. I know proper portioning and I cook 95% from scratch(WW Cookbooks are #1) but I overeat, stress eat, boredom eat and I'll need that physical push back to actually make progress.

[dfav3412 116]

I had lapband over 2 years ago. The only regret I had was that I didn't have it done earlier. Like most I am an expert at dieting and losing weight but couldn't keep it off. I have been at goal for awhile. Weight loss surgery is nothing to take lightly, it is a major surgery. Lap band has its advantages in that it is less invasive, can have fills to control amount of restriction thus either lose weight or maintain. It can be reversed if need be but do go into the surgery with the thoughts that it is a forever deal to have the band in you. Fills can be expensive if your insurance doesn't cover them but once you are at the sweet spot you generally don't have to get fills and if you do then it might be a tweak here and there. Unlike gastric bypass your body does absorb nutrients from the food you eat. You do lose at a slower rate than the gastric bypass but I do know of people from my group that have lost 150 to 200 lbs in the first year of lapband (that is the exception not the norm). I chose the lapband because I felt it to be a safer sugery but I do not look down on the gastric bypass. To me it is a personal decision that one must make to suit their lifestyle and needs. In the end it is all about losing weight to be healthier physically and emotionally.