New with tons of questions/concerns

[overweightny 0]

I have been dealing with my weight problem pretty much my entire life. I am a 30 year old man. I have been on this diet and that diet. Some with success and some not. I am currently at 476lbs and am starting to get physical problems. I want to beat this before it beats me. So I have taken the first step and told my physician I am considering the lapband. I have not had my appointment yet with the Bariatric office. I recently found this site and have been reading. I am already feeling scared and apprehensive. Lots of negative reading and horror stuff.

Q1- Can anyone that has had the ideal surgery and success give me an overview of what to expect?

Q2- What are the rules? What will I never be able to eat? What will I never be able to do?

Q3- Do you have any regrets?

Q4- What is the financial impact after the surgery? Groceries, supplements, etc.?

Thanks to whomever answers. I need to do something life changing before there is no life left and anything is going to be scary.

Thanks

[LeighaMason 19]

I have been dealing with my weight problem pretty much my entire life. I am a 30 year old man. I have been on this diet and that diet. Some with success and some not. I am currently at 476lbs and am starting to get physical problems. I want to beat this before it beats me. So I have taken the first step and told my physician I am considering the LAP-BAND®. I have not had my appointment yet with the Bariatric office. I recently found this site and have been reading. I am already feeling scared and apprehensive. Lots of negative reading and horror stuff. Remember most people who are happy and doing well are out living their lives, the ones with problems are here looking for help/answers so you are going to see a disproportionate amount of problems listed.

Q1- Can anyone that has had the ideal surgery and success give me an overview of what to expect? I believe the band works best for overeater's. Less so for grazers or sweet eaters. But with the right commitment from you it can help everyone.

Q2- What are the rules? What will I never be able to eat? What will I never be able to do? At this time, I can not eat bread, Pasta, rice or bananas. But once I am at goal I intend to loosen my band some so I can eat more things. I eat all types of meat, fish, veggies and other fruits. But as an example I wanted Italian food last week so I made lasagna and substitute egg plant for the noodles and it was wonderful.

Q3- Do you have any regrets? None, sometimes when I am eating something really good and my band tells me to stop I pout somewhat because I want to eat more but this happens less and less.

Q4- What is the financial impact after the surgery? Groceries, supplements, etc.? I spend a lot less on groceries and I have stopped eating out at restaurants because I eat such a small amount at one time that it feels like a waste of money. My savings in eating out and groceries more than pay for my Protein shakes ($2 day), Vitamins ($30 month), Greek yogurt ($1 day). A typical evening meal for me is to cook a thigh / leg quarter ($.70 pound), an ear of corn ($.50 each) on the grill, and a small red baked potato ($.50) in the microwave and add butter, sour cream and cheese ($.50). So I spend about $2.25 to cook this and then I save the leg, 1/2 cob of corn and 1/2 the potato and eat it for lunch. So I am really a cheap date now at about $1.25 per meal!

Thanks to whomever answers. I need to do something life changing before there is no life left and anything is going to be scary.

Thanks

Just remember that the band is slower than other WLS so it is going to take a couple years of hard work for you to lose the weight but it can be done, and then the band will help you keep it off. Good luck. :Dancing_biggrin:

[overweightny 0]

Anyone else with some answers or help?

[CarolWA 0]

I've only been banded a week, so there isn't a lot I can tell you. The surgery isn't that painful, I'm a little tired of a liquid diet, but I'll get through it.

I really hope at your age and weight, that you do something soon, before problems start. And believe me, They will!! I wish I would have had this opportunity when I was your age. I have several health problems now because of the weight. But, I am hopeing that weight loss will help and I'm pretty sure it will.

I love food, but I like living too. And I hope to do it a little longer with a healthier body. That's pretty much what you have to think of, weather you love food so much that you will risk the health problems.

A lot of people on this site can still eat a lot of different foods, lots can still eat anything. The main thing is, they have to eat a lot less of it.

Good luck with your decision. I know I made the right one.

Carol

[Jess55 97]

At this time, I can not eat bread, Pasta, rice or bananas. But once I am at goal I intend to loosen my band some so I can eat more things. I eat all types of meat, fish, veggies and other fruits. But as an example I wanted Italian food last week so I made lasagna and substitute egg plant for the noodles and it was wonderful.

Is this true for everyone? I love bananas, so I would really hate not being able to eat them. I also like to eat whole wheat Pasta.< /p>

[Angelhope82 0]

Q1- Can anyone that has had the ideal surgery and success give me an overview of what to expect?

Only thing to remember is it is a tool. How you use it is how it works. Like anything if you fall off track and stop losing it just back to the calorie counting. Surgery itself isn’t bad. Little pain.

Q2- What are the rules? What will I never be able to eat? What will I never be able to do?

Sad to say it is hard to tell what you can and cant eat after surgery. EVERYONE is different. I can eat anything, paste and bread included, its just ALOT less now and I don’t eat it often. I can eat all meats including steak. Only thing that gives me trouble more than not is scrambled eggs its 50/50 with them. I still don’t drink soda. You can do anything, the band doesn’t stop any activities just a tool to help you eat less.

Q3- Do you have any regrets?

None. Cause I know if I didn’t I do believe my weight would have just kept going up. It can be a slow process but all good things come in time.

Q4- What is the financial impact after the surgery? Groceries, supplements, etc.?

I take 1 Vitamin a day by choice. Groceries go down a lot. You be amazed at what you eat after compared to before.

[Jachut 487]

Q1- Can anyone that has had the ideal surgery and success give me an overview of what to expect?

It is possible to have an ideal experience. I recovered from surgery within a day, had small but regular fills and lost steadily - it was fast and very gratifying for six monmths, steadied out to a pound or two a week for the rest of the first year, a pound a week for the second year and then over time, I graudally lost about 10 to 15 more pounds, for a total of 100 lost. I started with a BMI of 36, so with a 100lb loss I have lost well into low BMI territory, and am now "thin" not just less fat. I ran regularly and now also do boxing and bootcamp, but I never felt I worked THAT hard on my eating, the Portion Control was all I really needed.

Q2- What are the rules? What will I never be able to eat? What will I never be able to do?

Well, I've found I can eat anything if I want to (some foods are harder than others but that varies wildly between individuals, however bread, rice, Pasta and fresh fruit are common). I cant truly "pig out" but you can certainly enjoy a special meal and feel like you've had a treat. If I do something a bit naughty like eat crap int he mid afternoon, I simply cant eat dinner. That takes care of weight gain from small indulgences, but you have to use your stomach space wisely so its not good to fill up on sugar and then not eat your healthy meal. We just dont have "rules" in Australia like you guys do, its just a matter of eating sensibly and eating smaller portions.

Q3- Do you have any regrets?

Absolutely none.

Q4- What is the financial impact after the surgery? Groceries, supplements, etc.?

I dont do supplements - I always took a basic multi Vitamin which i still do. I dont do Protein shakes and bars, ever, so there's no added cost there. I eat fresh food and cook from scratch like I always did. However, since I had my surgery five years ago, my family has grown, my kids have become teenagers etc so I truly havent noticed any savings on food, but I do throw more out from my plate. I never spent a lot of money on take away food either, didnt have a drive thru habit and didnt eat a lot of junk foods like McDonalds. I notice that meals that the recipe book says "serves four" does five of us for two meals, but my kids also complain that I give them tiny dinners and starve them, since my perception of "normal" is now a bit skewed.

Edited June 11, 2010 by Jachut