I would like to know as well

momhappe1 · April 18, 2004

After reading this message, I have the sae questions. I want to know if all of you had to do it again would you do it? has it been worth it? Have a lot of you had problems with the bands and had to go back in for more surgery? Is the weight lose worth the pain you have gone through? And any other question you would like to answer or any information you would like to share.

Thank you,

To be banded

Alexandra · April 18, 2004

I'm just copying something from my answer to Sunnyone on her thread--it was a novel I won't bore you with again. Suffice to say:

Surgery was a big decision, but I haven't regretted it for one tiny millisecond. It's safe, adjustable, and reversible, and puts me in control of my body not the other way around. I'm closing in on 50 pounds down, and I don't kid myself--I couldn't have done that alone in a million years. If the next 50 takes a year or two, so be it. The process is educational, rewarding, mostly painless, and the most important thing I've ever done for myself.

It sounds like you're wresting with deciding between surgery and no surgery, not between the surgeries, am I right? All I can say is that it is a tactic of last resort. Most of us had reached a place where we learned/decided/accepted/discovered that we could never gain control over this condition/disease/character flaw/weakness. For me it was very much worth the negligible pain of surgery and occasional discomfort of overeating to get where I am today, no longer on the bad end of a raw biological deal.

momhappe1 · April 18, 2004

Thank you Alex! I am so glad you responded. You are correct, I could not decide if I should have the surgery. I am still working on getting approved though. I just feel like such a loser sometime. I think WHY can't I do this on my own? The emotional battle I have with myself on a day to day basis and the disappointment I feel in myself when I over eat or have no control. Those are the reasons I am still working on getting approved. I will keep you all posted. I have already been through the class, had the bod bod done and just have to see the surgen and the phyc doc.

anyway, thanks again.

Sheila · April 19, 2004

Hi. I am only 2 weeks post-op and I can tell you that for me the surgery was extremely easy. Hardly any pain at all. I too struggled with the surgery aspect but came to realize it as a last chance type of thing. I have been over-weight my whole life and could not deal with it anymore. I could lose weight, but it always came back with more pounds. I felt like it was the only thing in my life that I couldn't succeed at. I have a wonderful hubby, 2 beautiful children and a great carreer....but that weight issue was just too much. My decision was finalized when I put my other health issues in the formula. Diabetes, high blood pressure and joint pain, not to mention no energy to do anything, helped me make the decision to go for it. I am very happy that I made the choice. I have lost 32 pounds since November (4 since the surgery) and I can already tell a difference in my body. Sorry this is so long, but I think all of us here have gone thru the same soul searching that you are now in. Good luck in making your decision.

Sheila