Did any of you feel hopeless before the band?

[dietpeach 0]

Did it really give you your life back? I've been trying SO HARD for over four years to lose the weight, and I can only succeed a few weeks (at most) before my hunger overpowers me, and now I feel hopeless. Did any of you feel hopeless, and did the lap band really make a difference? Thanks.

[GaryB 0]

Hi - My band date is Aug 15th. 23 days to go. I feel, no I know I am doing the right thing to help myself by getting the band.... but sometime I get real angry with myself because I have not been successful with losing weight the natural way. I also have tried many many times. I am realizing that this is a disease and the band will be a tool to help me succeed. Go for it !!!! :thumbup:

[dietpeach 0]

Hi - My band date is Aug 15th. 23 days to go. I feel, no I know I am doing the right thing to help myself by getting the band.... but sometime I get real angry with myself because I have not been successful with losing weight the natural way. I also have tried many many times. I am realizing that this is a disease and the band will be a tool to help me succeed. Go for it !!!! :thumbup:

Yes!!!! That's exactly it! I really beat myself up for being such a failure! Not losing weight has really ruined my life in so many really meaningful ways. I haven't been the kind of energetic mother I wanted to be, and I've even been unable to have another child because of it. I WANT another child, and knowing that I couldn't get myself out of this mess to have one just makes me feel so much worse.

Every once in a while doubts creep into my mind about this surgery, but then I reassure myself: it's no big deal. You just go to sleep and wake up already banded, finished. I don't need to panic about exactly what they're doing, etc. I wish I did this years ago...

The saddest part is that the center I'm planning to use is so busy that it will be three months before I can get banded. *sigh*

[Sue Magoo 71]

snapplegirl:

I felt disgusted and like a failure for not being able to lose and keep the lost weight off before I got banded. After attending the informational seminar I knew that lap band was going to work for me and I haven't looked back since. Now I'm 140 pounds lighter, more active, and feeling so much better about myself - both physically and mentally. Some people that I haven't seen in a long time don't recognize me - ha ha! I'm sure that it's the best thing I've done for myself in 20+ years. I only wish that I'd done it sooner.

Best wishes to you.

Sue

[U_go_gurl68 0]

Did it really give you your life back? I've been trying SO HARD for over four years to lose the weight, and I can only succeed a few weeks (at most) before my hunger overpowers me, and now I feel hopeless. Did any of you feel hopeless, and did the lap band really make a difference? Thanks.

I was banded on June 30th and even though it hasn't been all that long, I do feel more powerful than before. Now I can stop eating just about anything in a lot less bites than before. Since I am not hungry all the time, I can actually focus on other areas of my life, instead of the food.

I was a big emotional eater as well, so being hungry wasn't always an issue to cause me to eat. But since my surgery, I couldn't eat very much even if I wanted to. If I even dare take one more bite than I should, my stomach hurts so much from the bloating, that I don't even dare try that again.

Having the band has helped me so much. It was my 40th bday gift to myself. I proclaimed this my year to take back control of my life and this is what being banded has helped me to do.

No more yo-yo dieting, no more failed attempts to lose weight, no more excuses, and no more insanity. I was my own worst enemy I think. If I didn't see quick results, I would quit and go on to something else. And when I did lose significant amounts of weight, I'd end up putting it back on and then some.

I am so happy, I wish I would have done this sooner, but I guess mentally, I just wasn't ready.

I wish you all the best on your weight loss journey.

Stephanie

[Jachut 487]

Yes, a thousand times so!

I know I was only a BMI of 36, nowhere near as deeply in trouble weight wise as a lot of people here. But it was the fattest I had EVER been, and I dont come from a fat family. It bugged me that everyone was worried about me. I felt utterly disgusting and ugly. I loathed the way I looked and was embarrassed to leave the house some days and I dreaded running into people I'd known years ago so I even stopped leaving the suburb and venturing into areas where I might run into old school friends or work colleagues.

I knew I wasnt morbidly obese yet but I felt like I was standing on the edge of an abyss, and that there was no way I could stop myself from falling in. Real morbid obesity was only round the corner and I was heading there fast.

I feel like I'm 20 again now. I love clothes, I love socialising, I've kicked career goals, I've got so much more confidence etc. I never let my weight stop me doing anything before but it was so much less enjoyable.

[libguy2753 0]

I've felt the same way as you for years. I want and need to lose the weight so bad, and it frustrates me so much that I haven't been successful. I'm only 21, I should be able to do this. I want to have a life! In the past couple weeks, now that getting the band has become a very real possibility for me, it's given me hope. I feel like I'm finally going to be able to do so many things once I get it. It's the boost I need to help me lose the weight.

[DebNH 1]

I am so glad I found this thread. I thought I was alone. :sad:I have been so angry with myself because I must now have surgery. I am unable to lose weight and successfully keep it off by myself. How depressing. Since I have started the journey of obtaining a lap-band I have not exercised and have eaten everything with no disreguard for my health. I think I'm downright angry with myself.

Deb :thumbup:

[raedelicious 0]

OMG, yes. Hopelessness was the straw that broke the camel's back. I had given up on trying to lose weight. When I first heard about gastric bypass and lap band, I thought, I would never do that. But, here I am. I feel better, I look better...and this is only 4 months out! I can only imagine what is to come. However, this is still hard work. I have my ups and downs...and old habits are hard to break. It has been life changing.

[GaryB 0]

My band date is Aug 15th..... I always thought I could lose the weight by myself. As got older, it got alot harder. The same efforts have been way less successful. Now that I'm 48, happily married 23 yrs and two great teenage boys, I've started to hate myself for not having the discipline to lose weight & keep it off. The experts say we need a eating lifestyle change...yea right... I am sure the band will limit my consumption. You all know that after a month or 2 of successful dieting, we get lazy. When we break the diet we go crazy and gain it all back plus some. That has been my MO over the past 10 years. With the band, I will get a fill and continue to lose...The band will be a great tool to help us continue to reduce overeating. :biggrin:

[Southern Missy 1]

Absolutely! For the last 4 years, no matter what I did, I was unable to lose weight. Now, in just 2-1/2 months, I have managed to lose nearly 40 pounds -- talk about amazing!! I had some reservations and moments when I questioned whether this was the right thing to do but it has definitely been worth it with absolutely no regrets -- none, nada, not even one!

Only you can make the decision but as far as I'm concerned, it has given me my life back. Good luck to you!

[traceyperth 0]

hi.

you are lucky its only been four years you have been trying and trying to lose weight. i have been obese my entire life (40) years.

this lapband has been a godsend. i wish i could tell everyone that is obese to consider it. it will change your world.

t

[CallMeJim 2]

Absolutely! I lost >100 pounds at least four times in my life (and smaller amounts many other times) only to gain it all back and more. Talk about hopelessness and despair! I never considered WLS because it was just "too radical" (and I was uneducated). After a friend got the band, I started looking into it and came to see WLS as my last, best (and only) chance to permanently deal with this problem that has affected my entire life and would eventually kill me. I still have a long way to go, but for the first time I'm beginning to believe long-term success is possible. It's wonderful. I'm determined to follow the rules and take care of my band, and I know it will take care of me. Wish I had done this when I was 30, but the band was not available then.