to band or not to band

blooh · November 7, 2007

hello all! i am blooh from the philippines. my sister and i are thinking of lapbanding. we are scheduled to talk with a doctor in a few weeks and would absolutely love to do it for the weight loss but a big part of me (and most of my parts are big...) feels a bit scared about the food mourning. as a friend of mine who is already banded said, "I have never thought I would look forward to being overweight... but after being obese, being overweight is a wonderful thing.":rolleyes:

uh, I guess a little bit about myself. i am a teacher and i have been overweight since I was 8 years old and have been obese for more than half of my life. i am currently in the 2nd quarter of my life and would absolutely love to spend it thin. i love to watch tv shows (i live vicariously through the characters) and i have always loved to eat and cook. but i need to lose more than half of who i am so that i can be everything i can be.

georgia girl · November 7, 2007

Hi blooh and welcome!:welcome:

It's really nice that you and your sister can go through this together. As far as food mourning goes, you need tobe prepared that there may be some food that you cannot tolerate. But for many people, they can eat all types of food, just less of it. Right now I can eat pretty much anything. I've had one fill and no restriction yet, so when I get to my sweet spot there may be some foods I have to live without and I am prepared to let them go. I did this to get my life back... no regrets. Hang in there. I think you and your sister will do great and you have each other for support. Good luck!

TulipStar · November 7, 2007

Hi blooh. What part of the PH are you from? I go to metro Manila quite often for work.

I was worried about missing food too. For food was my very best friend. After my surgery I wrote a goodbye letter to my "best friend". I always used food to comfort me. In my loneliness it was always there for me. However, it has not been too hard to let it go. The reason is that I can still have almost everything I did before, but in small portions. I don't stuff myself anymore to drown my feelings.

Good luck!!

blooh · November 8, 2007

hi klpbdl and Tulipstar :biggrin1: thanks for welcoming me to the site. TS i'm from davao which is an hour and a half plane ride south of manila.

thanks so much for the words of encouragement. i have been excited and scared and discouraged and scared again but i want to do this... i need to do this.

missing the food part seems too little a sacrifice for health... but i know it won't feel that way once i get there. food is a great source of comfort for me too Tulip but i can't get getting fatter because of it. i've been to your blogsite and i am really inspired right now. amen about the umph! :clap2:

minerals13 · November 8, 2007

Hi blooh. What part of the PH are you from? I go to metro Manila quite often for work.
I was worried about missing food too. For food was my very best friend. After my surgery I wrote a goodbye letter to my "best friend". I always used food to comfort me. In my loneliness it was always there for me. However, it has not been too hard to let it go. The reason is that I can still have almost everything I did before, but in small portions. I don't stuff myself anymore to drown my feelings.

Good luck!!

Hi all! I'm in the beginning stages of my journey too & missing the food for comfort is a concern for me too. I don't eat because of hunger in my tummy....definately an emotional eater.

TulipStar - what are some of the things you do NOW, instead of stuffing yourself to drown your feelings?

My best wishes for you all to reach your BEST LIFE! Happy journey!:whoo:Carol

TulipStar · November 9, 2007

Minerals,

This is a good question. I have found exercise to be the best replacement for the emotional feelings. Also, a little bit of guitar hero is a good thearpy for me

Yesterday I had a really rough day. I went for a fill and they said the port flipped and tha I would have to do revision surgery. I hate dr offices, absolutely despise hospitals and the pain from the surgery and recovery is something I don't want to have to do again so soon!! I was so devastated!h

So, after I found out about my port being flipped, I was driving home, crying. All I could think about was what was I going to EAT to make me feel BETTER. I saw a McDonalds and thought about those delicious salty french fries. I was soo tempted, but I didn't do it. I decided I would just go home and eat a lean cuisine instead.

I know this is going to sound weird, but since I have been really pretty strict about my diet, I cheat less. I don't have the cravings as much and I am not as hungry. I think this comes from avoiding breads/carbs. The problem that I have is when it comes to something emotional...all I want to do is stuff my face to drown the feelings. It usually passes though and the band won't let me stuff myself. Because when I tried to stuff myself when I got home yesterday I had a PB and then I was on liquids the rest of the day.

bmysuccess · November 9, 2007

How blessed you are to be able to have your sister go on this journey with you. The reason I have the band is because I know 3 sisters that had it done, two of them on the same day. They all have done great with weight starting in in 270 to 280 range. It's been 2 yrs for one and she's in size 8 now weighing in at 135, yes she lost half her body weight from when she started. The other 2 are in size 10's and 12's now with having surgery 16 months. All three tell me that it was wonderful going thru this with their sisters.. You are so blessed to be able to do this. About the food, don't worry, it's almost like you banded your brain, the first couple of days are rough but after that it's okay. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!11

Jimmy Trinket · November 9, 2007

Yes, I too am in the same boat! I spoke to a surgeon today after a year of not knowing whether to follow up on my Doctors referral. I'm still not sure and perhaps I'm a little scared of the whole thing. I've never had an op and the thought of it all makes me want to puke. But I don't want to die like this either, hmmmm. What to do. I have to admit reading the threads has helped somewhat... until I came across all of the complication threads... oh dear! I might keep to the more positive of the threads.

4jin · November 9, 2007

tulipstar, I am so sorry to hear about your port flipping. How does that even happen? Did they tell you?

Everyone else I am on the same boat....except I have already called my insurance company...I know what they require....and I am taking steps to getting all my medical records in order to show documentation of my weight history over the years....

I have read a really good book about lapband. It is the story of a woman and it speaks from her life long struggle with weight how it affected her life all the way past surgery once she did get the lap band. It is a true story. The book is titled Fighting Weight. Her lapband surgeon is a lapband patient himself.

It has also doctor and surgeon advice of the process what to expect, what foods most people are able to eat..etc....

I recommend it to anyone interested in the procedure...a lot of my questions were answered there in addition to this website of course.

:biggrin1: