NEW HERE: should I or shouldn't I

[mangojoy 0]

• I cannot lose weight on my own, I have tried everything imaginable.
  
• I exercise pretty regularly and have good endurance.
  
• I weigh 215 and am only 5'2 - a size 16 - i think a bmi of 40 (morbidly obese?)
  
• I am in perfect health otherwise, except for psychologically I have depression and am very unhappy b/c of my weight and the problems I feel because of being overweight & failing so many times
  
• I am not an 'overeater', I eat regular pseudo-crappy american diet, probably too much, but i dont down a box of Cookies in one sitting
  
• I hear people on these boards have such great success and no pain and weight loss extrordinaire. But there are the others who the surgury is somewhat of a failure.
  
• I would have to be self-pay

I can't freaking decide what to do... I think the Lapband is my only hope to get to a somewhat normal weight, but there is the person inside who has failed at every other weight loss attempt before that thinks I would just fail at this too.

:help:

[Constance 0]

Mangojoy, we have really similar stats. I weigh more, but I'm 5'3". I too, am in very good health, aside from lugging all this weight around. I was self-pay, too. (Although I did make a try at insurance coverage.) I, too, exercise and feel that for my weight I am in decent shape.

But where would I be in 10 years without the lap-band ? That was really the question I considered. Assuming that I will continue to gain as my metabolism slows with age (I'm 30), coupled with the fact that I have steadily gained over the last 6 years -- how could I NOT get the surgery!

I did a lot of research. I know diets don't work. I know that unfortunately, I require far less calories to survive than my skinny friends. I see the band as a way to bridge the gap. I need to eat less, but I don't want to feel starved or deprived. So far, the band has been a really good fit for my life!

I know there are risks. I know there are people who are unhappy with heir results or who have complications. But I have to try! Statistically, there are many many succesfull people. I look forward to being one of them - and if I'm not, well, then I tried.

The statistics for losing weight and maintaining with diet and exercise are terrible. I know from my own expereince that if I could have done it 'on my own' I would've by now! Why continue to gain and fight the battle when there is a tool designed to help us? I don't want to be ashamed of my body anymore. I don't want to dread summer time because it means I have to show some skin. I want to go swimming and dancing and LIVING with confidence and comfort!

As for self-pay, don't let that discourage you. You can find excellent surgeons with fair prices.

I was super skeptical about the Mexican surgeons. I did a lot of research before I went across the border. But I couldn't be more pleased with my surgeon and the after-care here in the US. Please feel free to PM me if you want to. I was in your shoes!

[KariK 0]

Um I would say I could have typed your post exactly pretty much. Im 29, I weighed 227 lbs. Perfect health etc. etc. I too am 5'2". I just got to the point where I decided I wasn't going to diet again only to gain every ounce back plus. I was self pay as well. I think it was worth the money. Im feeling better and better about myself daily when I get to shop through the clothes in my closet that haven't fit for some time. I am sooo looking forward to the coming months and being smaller. Im planning a vacation, and not dreading wearing shorts or something that shows more skin. I know by then I'll be feeling Xcellentae! In two years I'll be wearing a size 8 and shopping at any store I want to. Thats my goal. And now with the band it will happen.

[ladydi 0]

Because I have only been banded for 6 wks, I don't know for sure how this is all going to work for me. I just have to believe that finally, this will work!! I too have lost weight and gained it back over and over again. With the lap, when I lose the weight, I will not regain! If I do not eat correctly and gain some back, I can get a fill to keep my weight from increasing. This is a great tool.

I feel great and such hope for the future. I can dream of the day when I will be wearing normal clothes and feeling healthy. What a blessing!!! It has been a long time since I have felt this way. Most of here have tried everything and couldn't keep the weight off. The band is our hope!

I have only lost 7 lbs since sx but I know when I do get my first fill, maybe the 2nd, I will be on my way! I am taking Vitamins when I never did so before, I am exercising when I didn't do that before and I am watching what I eat. I will make it.

We can not tell you what you should do but we can tell you how we feel. This is the begining of my life and I am so blessed that I was able to have the sx. I am so happy knowing that I will be smaller and healthier in the near future!!!!!!!!

Diane

[mangojoy 0]

I appreciate imput. I am seriously considering the Lapband... I believe it is my only hope for weight loss. I guess it's a scarey thing being the very end last hope you have... surgery! It is so final. I just can't imagine the agony it would be not losing weight after going thru a surgery such as this.

I hope I am not coming off as negative... I wish had no fear I would do it and probably be very happy about it.

J~

[Kat817 19]

I think if you had no fear, or questions, and concerns, it would be scary. Like you were being totally unrealistic. Every one of us, whether we had a little (I know it does not seem little to you!) to lose or a lot to lose, had fears of being the one it didn't work for. I know there are extenuating circumstances that occur and that due to them the band does not work for everyone. But the fact that you are in good health otherwise, lends me to believe you would do fine with the band and achieve success. If it is not a financial concern, my question to you is...IF (and it is a BIG if) it did not work for you...would you be worse off than you are right now? My one and only regret with the band at this point is not having done it long ago.

Good luck making your decision. Be sure to read, read, read....research everything you can, and make an educated decision!

Kat

[NowNotSoBigGuy 0]

Hi Mangojoy. Rest assured we were all at the decision point you are now. Pros and cons, good and bad, fear of losing the pleasure of eating, vagaries of insurance coverage vs self-pay, hoping against hope that a "fat-burning" pill would be invented, all the while lugging around all those extra pounds and kidding ourselves that anything was really going to change until we took control of the situation.

I have been a fat person all my adult life; people never called me that, except my drunken trailer-trash neighbor, but I knew how they regarded me. I always compensated for my shortcoming and I always found comfort in my "friend", food; lots of food. I knew about the lap-band as far back as 2001, but I kept putting off a decision.

At 364 pounds, I knew I was headed for a heart-attack. Finally, with the the necessary push from my dearly-beloved, we attended a seminar, watched videos of people my size, before and after, and I listened to their stories of life after being banded. Suddenly, I knew what I needed to do; from that point 6 weeks ago, my life changed. I went self-pay, but I was able to qualify for financing from Capital One Health Care Finance; rates are reasonable, terms of up to 4 years, similar to buying a $15,000 used car and paying a monthly note. The expense was and I hope will always be money well-spent; you have to ask yourself, how much are you willing/able to spend for a much happier and longer life?

As for eating, I don't feel the least deprived; my tastes have changed since my surgery 9/13. I'm not sure why, but I'm preferring healthier, lower-fat choices and my portions are way, way smaller than before. I'm walking several times a weeks, distances increasin as the punds fall away. This old dog is learning new tricks as far as nutrition and diet are concerned.

The results speak for themselves, see my ticker. I have my life back in control; nothing is going to stop me on this journey to "normal" size. Before the lapband, I was helpless and hopeless, but not anymore.

I encourage you to continue doing your research, consult this board and any others you find, post your questions and consider all your options. My best advice to you is don't wait five years like I did before reaching a conclusion as to what you want your future to be. The worst decision is indecision.

Should you decide to travel out of the country for your surgery, make certain you have lined up post-surgery support (fills) locally. The surgery is merely step one; the key to success with the band is discovering the "sweet spot", that amount of fill which both allows sufficient nutrition while providing the restriction all of us want and need. The purpose of my lapband is "to protect me from me".

My sincerest best wishes to you, whatever decision you make regarding the lapband.

[Bella 0]

I'm waiting to be banded as well.

I'm reading these threads everyday with great interest as I am hoping and praying that this works for me.

I'm not short - but I am healthy, and workout - thought in starts - but I have to come to believe I'm powerless over food. Powerless!!

Ahhhh ... and I DON'T want to get any fatter. Like the others say ... I'm tired of dreading summer because EVERYONE wearing those cute skirts and tops ... and I'm wishing I could pull out my raincoat and coverup again.

I'm that hoping that THIS will be my LAST winter covering up like this!

I just wanna wear some cute jeans and a short fitted leather jacket ... and be COMFORTABLE in my own skin!!!:clap2:

Can't WAIT to get banded.

[mangojoy 0]

Thanks for all the responses.... Even one from the Netherlands (hey Bella)

I have been considering it for a while - went to a meeting at the Wish Center last jan/feb? I just heard that the Wish Center here (chicago) and other places is bankrupt or something, no longer doing surgeries.

I was having questions, like here I am relatively healthy... why should I do this to my body, etc. etc. BUT I had a revalation:

There are skinny perfectly healthy people all over the world getting surgery to have their boobs done, their faces lifted, chins fixed, brows and even vaginas... going under the knife for vein reasons is super-duper common. I guess it really is not a revelation but just another way of looking at it.

Plus I am healthy right now, but who is to say in 5 years when I have gained another 30 pounds, I may develope diabeties, it does run in my family... or some other obesity related issue.

J~

[belle75067 0]

I had also failed at losing weight on a permanent basis. I knew I had a habit overeating. In fact eating is all I thought about doing. I would drive down the road noticing fast food places and 7-ll thinking what I could get to eat. I had the surgery done on aug 23, 2006. I have lost 22 so far. I am losing at a steady pace. My clothes fit me better and I feel 100% better about myself. It shows in my personality and the best part about it is that my whole day is not consumed by food. In fact, I have to force myself to think about food and being hungry. It is such a great feeling. As far as it is right for you, that is a personal decision that I think everyone goes through. Right after you get it done you start questioning it again, or at least I did. But that phase goes away also. You'll figure out what you need to do for yourself and remember you can always come here and ask questions and receive support.

Dieta

[sweetsue 1]

Hi Mangojoy,

Like you, I had to seriously ponder this difficult decision. I started at 5'2", 206 pounds & age 44 and completely healthy. Insurance wouldn't cover me and so I didn't even bother. I went to Mexico for surgery with Dr Ortiz on 9/29. You are right to be cautious, surgery is a risk and not something you should not take lightly.

I have the tools to lose weight. I have no job for one, I have an elliptical, I have exercise tapes, books, recipes, supportive family, etc. I was doing the elliptical for an hour every night for a good long time but hardly lost a pound. I've adopted a lot of good eating habits - splenda, light dressings, chicken w/o skin, lean cuisines, etc. I often exercise - but I'm not always good at dieting. Or I'll do great at dieting but would not exercise. I'm especially weak around sweets. Could I do better? Yes absolutely. Could I keep up a good diet and exercise pattern long enough to lose 80 lbs? Absolutely not. I really struggle and can't even lose 10 lbs on my own. I've been fighting this battle for 20 years now. I keep trying but instead of losing, I've been gaining over the years. The fact is, very few people are successful at losing significant weight and then keep it off with diet & exercise alone. It takes a LOTs of drive and determination.

My dad has diabetes. I thought about my 5 yr old daughter and weighing all the risks. I need to be there for her for many years to come. I realized that my greatest health risk is not the lapband surgery, my greatest health risk is continuing at this obese weight. One way or another, things had to change.

So I was banded just 10 days ago. I'm down 6 lbs. Hopefully the wieght will continue to come off and I will have added years to my life as a result. I'll believe it when I see it.

Good luck in your decision! Let me know if I can be of help.

Susan

[coltonwade 27]

• I cannot lose weight on my own, I have tried everything imaginable.
  
• I exercise pretty regularly and have good endurance.
  
• I weigh 215 and am only 5'2 - a size 16 - i think a bmi of 40 (morbidly obese?)
  
• I am in perfect health otherwise, except for psychologically I have depression and am very unhappy b/c of my weight and the problems I feel because of being overweight & failing so many times
  
• I am not an 'overeater', I eat regular pseudo-crappy american diet, probably too much, but i dont down a box of Cookies in one sitting
  
• I hear people on these boards have such great success and no pain and weight loss extrordinaire. But there are the others who the surgury is somewhat of a failure.
  
• I would have to be self-pay

I can't freaking decide what to do... I think the Lapband is my only hope to get to a somewhat normal weight, but there is the person inside who has failed at every other weight loss attempt before that thinks I would just fail at this too.

:help:

I too am waiting to be banded . Waiting for the money . I will be self pay as well. Your BMI Is similiar to mine , Im 5'4" 240 and my BMI Is 40.1 I have PCOS and sleep apnea. but otherwise I am in good health .

I debated for quite some time about lap band. I have tried the Exersise , the diets ect. With the PCOS I knew the wt loss was going to be tough .

I put off surgery because I thought surgery would be tough to loose wt with PCOS as well. Then i started to research more.

The only thing that I can tell you is that once I decided I decided and NOTHING WILL STOP ME NOW from gettnig this surgery . I have the will power of a NAT . or so i thought until now. lol . I have smoked for 15 yrs at least a pack , pack and half a day . I quit cold turkey a month ago . I decided i better do it now before surgery , healing is better when you dont smoke and if i gained wt it would be better to do it before the surgery .

My surgery WILL HAPPEN . Im not keen on Mexico the more i read about it .

Im staying in the states. What im trying to get at is .... For me once i decided this was for me and I KNEW I COULD Do this and I COULD loose wt with the band that was it . Sure i had my doubts , i still have my concerns , it is surgery , like someone else said its natural to have concerns. But Im educated about my conerns and know what im getting into. I have a friend who is banded and is not doing as well , with wt. I firmly believe that is because her DOCTOR Did not educate her enough about the band and she didnt educate herself enough about the band. I know more about the band than she does and I dont even have one yet. Its up to you to learn as much as you can about it . Then if you decide to do it KEEP Learning. Almost every question I have had is on this board answered and at least 10 people have gone through it.

So bascially I think if you KNOW the band is for you... you KNOW . if that makes sense lol At least I did .

Mindy

[Jachut 487]

You sound very much like me, and I say go for it.

I had my surgery at a BMI of 35 and was still reasonably fit, although it was really due to an inexplicable ankle injury that was threatening to severely curtail activity for me that I had surgery.

Like you, I was not a binge eater or an enormous overeater, just moderate overeating over a long period of time, on a normal diet, had packed the kilos on me.

As such, surgery has just been an overwhelming success for me. I didnt really have to "change" my eating habits as they werent so horrible and I wasnt a terrible emotional overeater - I've had to find no alterantive means of expression for difficult emotions etc. So I've pretty much just gotten on with the business of losing weight. I choose what I always did - healthy food most of the time, treats sometimes, but I eat about half as much. When I do go out, I no longer think "I'm going to enjoy this" and just let go and pig out, I just enjoy my food in smaller quantities.

Because I was fit and had no real comorbidities other than the ankle, within a few months I was able to start running and my progress since then has been incredible. I"m nearly down to my goal weight, but I'm certainly now a normal sized person. On the weekend I ran in the Melbourne Marathon, did my first 7.5km distance, ran it in 50 minutes and crossed the finish line bawling my eyes out at all I've achieved in this last 12 months.

Yes there are some complications to surgery and things that can go wrong but its a small percentage, overwhelmingly the band has been shown to be a comparatively safe procedure, certainly safer than being morbidly obese. Some people would argue that but you can put a negative spin on anything if you want to. Its a risk worth taking if you ask me, chances are it will be a great move and one you'll never regret.

[Marimaru 7]

I'm a little over 2 years out from being banded. I've lost 65 lbs, and my BMI is about 35 now (from 45), and I've gone from a 24 to a 16/18 in jeans.

65 lbs in over 2 years really doesn't seem like much. Some days, it doesn't feel like much. I didn't have any health issues when I was banded, perse, but I was on the way. I'd started snoring, where I didn't before, which I believe would have led to sleep apnea. My blood pressure was normal, but I'd noticed it was starting to go up a little bit, and I knew I couldn't have been all that far from Diabetes.

If I had not been banded, one thing I can guarantee is that I would be over 300 lbs right now, and still going... and I would probably not be as healthy as I was when I was banded.

I do not feel like a band failure, because as slow as it goes, it's still going, and in the whole time I've been banded, I haven't gained, only lost or stayed the same.

Hope this helps.

[diabla 0]

Hi

I'm new here too and my surgery is scheduled for the end of November. I wanted to see if anyone can give me some input on life after surgery.. more specifically is there any kind of food that can not be tolerated? did anyone feel dizzy/weak because of the lack of food? nauseous? any feedback would be appreciated.. thanks