I am terrified.

[Need advice! 0]

Today is the first day of the rest of my life, because today is the day I decided that this weight thing is serious enough for me to start considering the other options.

I'm terrified.

But, I guess I should probably start out with Hello. My name is Jen, I just turned 30, and I live in sunny Florida with my husband and 4 year old. All of my life, I have been heavy. I remember weighing one sixteen in the 6th grade, which was heavy then because I was just a wisp of a girl. My heaviest was 350, during my first marriage. I dumped the ex, got divorced, and lost 60 lbs by diet and exercise. I had my time of partying, feeling good, met my current husband. That led two two pregnancies, of only one which made it, and the plateau of weight gain that followed. I'll be honest and admit that I was a freak of nature, I only gained a total of 7lbs during my full term pregnancy, it was the afterwards that it really piled on. Now, I have terrible pain in my feet if I walk around, and I know that it has to do with my weight.

Currently, I know I am about 300lbs or more. I get too depressed to look at the scales, so I try to avoid them, but I know that my pant size has gone up. Also, seeing pictures of myself disgusts me so much I have asked my relatives not to take any. And if they do, they are not to post them on social networking sites. It truley is sad when you can see a picture of yourself at 260lbs, and think "I want to be -that- girl again!"

Which leads me to yesterday. Yesterday, I was sitting next to my husband thinking that I do not wish to be unattractive anymore.

I slept with that in the back of my head, and woke up this morning thinking "I am ready to start looking at the options."

So I've been researching all morning, (With a bag of potato chips.... What cruel irony.) and I find my stomach flipping in knots. A gastric sleeve! How frightening! RNY? I can't even look at the photographs. Lap band? Seems like the least invasive. But what about band slippage, erosion, all the side affects. I am scared.

But I know it is what has to be done, and I am in the process of finding out the insurance options for me. (Currently on Florida Medicaid, but I'd be happy to hear any of the options you ladies/gentlemen have, or if anyone else has Florida Medicaid.)

So really, I guess I am asking.... Where do I start? What are the chances and rates of side effects, and how long have some of you had your bands?

[mustlose 2]

Yes, I understand your feeling of desperation... good for you not giving up and and starting to research other options! I had my lap band surgery over a year ago and it was the best thing I ever did. I will tell you that it won't stop you from eating chips, they still go down very easily, so there's still effort involved even after surgery. But what it does help me with is slow down my eating and reduces my portion size so I feel full eating less, as a result, I'm slowly losing. Good luck in your journey!

[Dave_NW 92]

Welcome, Jen. Have a seat and keep reading everything on these forums you can find. There is a TON of real-world information here.

But before you get too deeply into things, you need to consider that this forum, and others like it, exist for the benefit of people who need assistance. People who don't have issues with their band rarely post online - they're too busy out living their lives. So consider the source. For every post here that sounds like a problem, there are literally THOUSANDS of people who aren't having any issue at all. Secondly, a lot of the posts here are what I think of as "fear posts," where people are freaking out because of something happening (or not happening) that they didn't (or did) expect. A lot of people have expectations that aren't realistic. So again, you have to consider the source, and take everything with an ENORMOUS grain of salt. (That is not to say problems don't happen, but by the numbers, they are pretty rare with a band, especially considering the issues people have with the other surgeries available.) There is no substitute for education about the band, and it seems a lot of people get banded before they fully understand what it is or how it works. So a lot of those freaked-out posts are coming from the people who are not fully aware of the whole picture. The more you learn, the better experience you're likely to have.

Having said that, my own story is that I decided I was sick and tired of being obese, and dieting like crazy, only to keep losing and reagaining the same 20 pounds over and over. I needed a better solution. After researching things (and a bit of prodding from my insurance company) banding was the best choice for me. I went through the preliminary hoops required of me, and was banded last December. I have never looked back. I've had zero issues, and my weight loss to date has been completely textbook. The PA who does my band fills jokes that if there was a poster boy for banding, I'd be that guy.

So put me down on the plus side as someone who thinks banding is a great way to finally gain control over weight issues. I'm happy I did this, and my only regret is that I didn't do it years ago.

Good luck!

Dave

[Putytat52 0]

I understand being terrified. Its not easy to make a decision that will affect your health and well being. BUT you have made a decision to do something and thats fantastic. I have family members that have had Gastric Bypass and been successful and one wasn't, he stretched his pouch back out. I am the only one that went for the lapband because I had only 100 lbs to lose and the others were much more. I have had issues with the band, resurgery to fix the band in January 2011(original band placement was April 2009) I lost 40lbs and gained back 10 in the first 6 months. Then nothing for 1 1/2yrs. Since January my band leaks and now Dr is working with me to decide what to do next. I had heart issues, diabetes, thryoid etc. NOT very healthy, Now I only take thyroid meds. NOTHING ELSE. I wouldn't change my decision for the surgery for anything at this time. Hopefully the issues will stop and I can lose 40 lbs more. Everything in life is a gamble and if you want to be healthy, losing weight is most important. Research Gastric bypass and the Lapband with a DR who works with patients that have had one or the other. Your DR will know what is best for you and your weight and health issues. He is the one that will have all the knowledge to help make a final decision. Good luck with either procedure. It can be life changing.

[bellarn09 1]

Hey Jen. Last year this time I, with many discussions with my husband signed up for the lap band seminar. I read the forums, watched many hours of you tube videos made by other bandsters. I read everything I could get my hands on about the band. In april I had my band placed and I wish I had done this 10 years ago. I'll be 30 this year and for the first time I feel I have control over food. I am a lucky one to get awesome restriction with 1 fill. I don't feel deprived or that I'm dieting. I've become obsessed with Water instead of soda. With all of that I've lost 50 pounds. I have a lot of weight to loss but I finally feel like I'm getting somwhere.

I'd reccomend finding a surgeon in your area, get to a seminar and come with questions. I took my husband with me so he could feel involved. He is my biggest cheerleader. I live in florida also. North of Tampa. Where do you live?

[Bluegreen 0]

I think a good place to start would be checking with FL Medicaid to see if they cover the surgery and what the requirements are. Be prepared for a 3 to 6 month process. I am 4 months into a 6 month process (ins requirement), but it's not wasted time. There is a lot to learn and habits to break before surgery. Just give yourself time to work through the process and don't beat yourself up for being where you are now.