unsure about lap-band surgery

MALLORYGRO · July 8, 2008

Hi everyone.. my name is Mallory i'm 20 years old and considering the lap band surgery. unfortunitally i'm totally unsure about if i should get it done or not. i am currently at the weight of 268 pounds and 5'9" tall and only 150 pounds over weight. i'm not sure what i should do and i'm very nervous and dont know what to do. please some one help me and kinda try to make a choice! thanks everyone for your help!

thanks again

Mallory:unsure:

Ivernous · July 8, 2008

IF you are anything like me I need to know as much as possible about both before making any determination. I would suggest getting a book called The Real Skinny on Weightloss surgery. It really helped me and puts a very real perspective on the actual process, both mentally and physically. So I suggest research, research, research. If you want any help doing that let me know.

Ivernous

MALLORYGRO · July 8, 2008

I'm all about the research and information. i'm just very nervous i've never had surgery i just had a tendiency to break bones and fall down stairs and mess up my hands. I just dont know i live in ct and i dont know who would be a good dr. and who would be the best person. now that book does it have a good information and good details that would help me?? i'm just nervous and i've been thinking about it for almost 2 months... HELP!

VICKIP · July 8, 2008

Hi everyone.. my name is Mallory i'm 20 years old and considering the lap band surgery. unfortunitally i'm totally unsure about if i should get it done or not. i am currently at the weight of 268 pounds and 5'9" tall and only 150 pounds over weight. i'm not sure what i should do and i'm very nervous and dont know what to do. please some one help me and kinda try to make a choice! thanks everyone for your help!
thanks again

Mallory:unsure:

I got my band at age 49 and wish I had the opportunity to have had it done at age 20 like you are. Do you realize how lucky you are to be able to do this. I am sitting here right not with a piece of food stuck that I swallowed too fast and I would STILL tell you to definately get the band. I love it. Yes it has its ups and downs but dosent carrying all that extra weight have its own price? I had my surgery 6 months ago and i am down 45 lbs. It was the best thing i've done concerning weight loss and by far the easiest way I've ever lost weight. Get yourself involved in a good support group following surgery and you will be just fine. BEST OF LUCK..

MALLORYGRO · July 8, 2008

i'm just still not sure... i want to do this for me but i also want to do this for my grandfather. he has been my moral support through everything since my grandmother died 6 years ago. I'm very nervous and just extremely stressed about the whole thing. i work with a woman at one of my jobs who has had the surgery and she said that she is about ready to give up and not get the fills anymore. i just dont know hearing that and then being so unsure... makes me extremely unsure and unfortunitally my mental state right now with all this stress it is difficult to make my choice! being 20 and trying to make such a huge choice is extremely hard.

VICKIP · July 8, 2008

I am sure it is a big decision.. But look at it this way. Its what you make of it. If you are not going to modify what you eat you will never lose. You have to still make good food choices. It is reversable and not nearly as dangerous or risky as by-pass. I had a hard time to making the decision of getting it or not. I felt like I was killing off part of me. What made me me. It has been so easy to lose weight this time. When I dieted and exercised on my own once it took me 18 months to lose 60 lbs and Ive already lost 45 in 6 months. I just dont eat fast food, chineese, candy or cake. I eat better things and just less of it. Occasionally I will have cake or ice cream but only occasionally. It is so much better than I thought it would be. Please dont miss this opportunity to have the band put in. I am sure you will be very happy with it. I have a daughter who is 22 years old and I would tell her the exact same thing if she needed it. Bypass would be a different story..

MALLORYGRO · July 8, 2008

your right... everyday when i go into my job at the ferry company that i work at... i see this woman who had the surgery eat full pans of ravioli and all this junk food but then when she gets the fill she trys to eat solid food the day after. its like she doesn't care that i am watching her and asking her what she thinks. its like she is a big disappointment to me. i'm just trying to think of what was best for me. i need to lose weight and it took me 6 months almost to lose 20 pounds

Snapdragon · July 8, 2008

I researched the band for 3 years before making my decision. I've been over weight most of my life. If I could go back and have this surgery done at 20 years of age I'd have done it in a heartbeat.

Follow your heart. Do your research, but above all, go with your heart and what your gut is telling you. If you feel that you can modify your life (the band is hard work - trust me) and exercise and let the band 'help' you, not do all the work for you, then go for it.

There are plenty of great doctors out there who will help educate you on the band and on how to eat properly. Don't settle for a doctor or a team of doctors and nurses who don't meet all your needs.

I found that I had to come to the place in my life where I was just tired of being overweight. Having HBP and then being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes corked it for me. I HAD to get the weight off.

It's the best decision I've ever made - besides marrying my husband. :biggrin:

Follow your heart.

VICKIP · July 8, 2008

Then you have to realize that its HER and not the band not doing its thing. You cant eat like that and expect to lose. I eat ravioli but i eat a few with a meatball and home made sauce that I know has no fat in it.

What I did before was also go to a support group for a few months to hear different stories and that made me so much more comfortable. I still go monthly.

Where do you live? Is there any groups near you. You can write me direct any time you need to talk at vpetrucci110@msn.com

Ivernous · July 8, 2008

The book really helped me realize all my fears are real fears. They have good information on the actual processes that you go thru, how to pick a good doctor and really gives you a real look at what you can expect. Now it sounds like you are afraid.....so am I. What I had to do was narrow down what exactly it was that I feared so much. For me is was death. What makes me keep going forward with this is knowing that I have courage to face those fears and that I feel strongly about my goals. So look inside and write down what it is that you are afraid of and then step by step face those fears until you are comfortable with them, then you will know if it is right for you. If you don't have the motivation to do this ......then I don't know what else to tell you.....you have to find whats right for you.

MALLORYGRO · July 9, 2008

:confused2: So i went home from work last night and talked to my sister about joining the forum. and talking to people who have had the surgery, she thinks that joining this may help me and may make me pick my descion alot faster than i already am. i'm still stressed out about alot. working 2 jobs and trying to figure out things that are best for me are driving me up a wall.. i hope to god that i can figure out what i'm doing sooner or later... because i think that i know now that this is what is best for me!

signed

Stressed and confused!