How did you find out about the Band?

[plumptuous 0]

It was about three or four years ago. I was watching Discovery health or one of those channels that have the shows that highlight different people having weight loss surgery. I think it showed two having lap-band and two with RNY. The Rny chick was trying on a leather jacket after she lost a lot of weight and was riding a Harley. The only thing I remember about the Lap was the girl eating cream Soup at a table with her boyfriend, then standing in front of a mirror trying on clothes in a dept. store amazed at how much she has lost. Oh, yeah!! and her first fill. If anyone can tell me the name of this show, I would Love it!!! ( I think it was Al Rokers surgeon who was on the show--I think the surgeon was an Indian woman)

I saw that same program with hubby (he came into the office here and got me - I don't do TV, generally). I think it was Discovery Times channel - great channel by the way!!

I don't recall them mentioning her first fill, but then I can't remember anything anymore. HA

Too bad about Al - he was a terrific guy.

[Mystyblu 0]

I saw an ad in the newspaper about 2 years ago for a free seminar on how to loose weight. So naturally I threw it away thinking it was another lose weight fast scheme. I saw the same ad a month later and decided to do a little research.

[lisah25 3]

Hi Lisa,

How come you have to wait so long to get your band in? '_'

Big hugs,

Nanette

<><

I have to wait because of work schedules. Summer is our busy time, and my boss really wanted me to wait until late Sept./early Oct. No way!! But it has given me lots of time to get prepared, and gets lots more info.

Everyeone else - thanks for the answer. Interesting the different paths we took to get to bandland.

[Bostongurl 0]

I heard about it through my sister who is a surgical nurse in a unit that specializes in the Band. After learning a bit about it from her, I did a ton of research and the process began, nine months later, here I am, an official bandster, and 55lbs lighter! For the first time in my life I have hope about weight loss, and I KNOW that I will once and for all get and KEEP this weight off. And this feels unbelievable.

["Just" Paul 1]

My wife found an article about it on the web, and sent it to me. No text from her, just the article.

I think she was hinting.

[IsabelSofia 0]

Yeah --Same here!:confused: Al's not dead, I just saw him yesterday morning giving the weather report. He did gain back about thirty pounds I hear. That's too bad.

[mslynn 0]

Wow, only 6% are hearing about the band from physicians. Sounds like physicians need to be more informed about the band as an option!

Mslynn

:wave:

[mdrai 3]

I saw the commercial on TV back in December... the one w/the lady who's hunger is like a lion she can't tame... then she got banded and now her hunger is like a cute little kitty. I was intrigued!

[Paulax 8]

A friend had the band placed, and I have to admit that at the time I thought she was nuts. I had a preconceived notion that weight loss surgery was only for the rich and famous. But as the year went by, she got thinner and thinner and happier and healthier, and I started to see the true benefit in her life. One year later, I was banded by the same surgeon.

In Canada, there was VERY little information about it, especially in the West.

I thank the Heavens every day for this band. Without it, I'd be right where I was last July 28.....

[Daisalana 33]

I was on my one way track to not bein able to walk anymore. I had been thinking about the gastric bypass for years.. I didn't know about the lap-band. Even though I've been out of the house for years, I still won't do things if I don't have my parent's blessing.. so, my mom all these years says no no no to GB. Said it's too risky, etc. Well, I decided I had to do it.. Started researching online, wanted to pump myself up, find a good dr. etc.. and then saw the lap-band. (Everyone that has GB info just about, has all the different surgeries too). So I read about it, read the pros and cons side by side.. and lap-band sounded great. It's reversible if for any reason my body had a problem, it's adjustable so no expanding the stomach back out, etc. I was excited. So I had planned to have a big book of info to go to my parents with to get them on board with me.. so I brought it up (took a lot of courage because I had decided this may be one thing I'm doing without their support).. and when I told her about it, she apparently had just seen a special about the lap-band on 20/20 or dateline.. she said she saw how it's a fix for teenagers now.. I don't remember what all she had heard, BUT she said it sounded safe and she supported me! Whew.. so then I told her, insurance won't cover it, could I get a loan to pay for it (I already have a couple loans with them I pay monthly, figured I'd add it to the tally) and she said that would be fine.. Then told my dad, and he said they would pay for it, since it's his rotten genes that gave me obesity (LOL). I don't know about all that, but I'll take it! Then mom had a talk with me about how I've always been the big kid. Our whole family (mom exlcuded) is big, but she said when we were all kids, my bro and sis were skinny and I was always a big one. Said she knows I've struggled my whole life, etc. Made me cry, but it was a weird cry.. happy to get it off my chest and know something's going to change and my family supported me.. and crying to get out all the stress of the years I guess carrying this 'load' around.

So I turned this into a novel, but that's how I came about with the lap-band!

[Daisalana 33]

And just to add to doctors informing patients, I don't have a general practitioner docter, but I have the pain doctor who gives me injections for my back pain and my gynocologist. Both keep saying lose weight, lose weight.. gyno referred me to a dietician and did a full panel to check thryoid etc.. I saw the dietician and kept failing miserably with her, so I finally stopped going.. not a single one of them mentioned lap-band (or any weight loss surgery). The dietican focused on calories in, wanted me under 1800 a day. Sad to say that was about impossible for me. That's why I know big things have already changed in my life since the band, I have been getting so few calories right now from my post-op diet, I would NEVER have lasted on what I am right now before the surgery.

[Louisianagirl 0]

I think I had first seen it on 20/20 on TV.

[Paula78 0]

I was up really early one morning and saw a commercial for lapband.com. Within like 2 mins I was online researching it, and by the end of the day I was calling my insurance co to see if I was covered. And guess what I was and here I am now going on 2 months!

[kyethra 0]

i was reading the news. And there was a little blurb that said the lap band was gaining in popularity and something about its comparison to gastric bypass. That was it. It was about a year ago, I guess. So I asked my then fiance ("hey honey, you know what this band thing is?") if he had ever heard of it. he hadn't. Now I'm a curious person, so I looked it up. That got the idea implanted in my head. Before I heard of it I wasn't even considering weight loss surgery at all. Of course I knew about gastric bypass but I also knew that it was something I didn't want to do as it was too drastic for me. Doctors had also been telling me to lose weight. Pain doctor says, lose weight, get down to a normal weight... Right, like I can do that... Regular doctor was much more encouraging, five pounds here, ten pounds there, but I couldn't keep it off. I felt bad seeing the dietician because I just couldn't do it. Or there would be doctors who would tell me how simple weight loss was, just eat less and exercise. So of course I was always starting diets. I looked it up on google then because I was curious. And I read about it and it sounded like this really cool, amazing thing. I mentioned it to my DH and he thought it sounded cool too. I signed up for another weight loss program that didn't work. Then I had been thinking about it, reading about it sometimes. Then when I got evaluated for sleeping disorders and I was misdiagnosed with apnea (which I don't have) it was then I decided I definitely wanted to do it-- no more waiting for me to do it myself while my health gets worse. In the mean time DH had kept his years open and heard good things about my surgeon (his line of thinking was like mine). And I had started seeing other things about the band here and there. A couple of months ago I first saw a tv commercial for it. I like the commercial. So I had never intended to get weight loss-- at least not until I heard about the band.

[green 6]

I had been whining about needing Lipo and a Tummy Tuck and a friend of mine suggested the lap band. She had heard about it on a local morning talk show.