How do you know this is right for you?

[magquilter 0]

I've just started the process. Had a meeting with the surgeon, getting ready to start nutrition classes. I was so pumped before the meeting, and felt like I knew this was right. Now I don't feel sure at all. How do you know when you are ready to make the committment?

[Jachut 487]

You have to allow yourself time to work those doubts out.

It took me MONTHS, almost a year of toing and froing. Coming on here was good and bad in terms of making progress there. When I read the type of diets people were eating, I decided it wasnt for me. I know people will take this in the manner its meant but I totally and utterly do not believe the Protein first/lowish carb approach is the healthiest one, probably simply because that type of diet has never taken off in Australia the way it has there and I'm simply not conditioned to view it as "normal". The thought of eating that way long term put me off majorly. Also in America, it tends to be so rules focussed, you will eat this, you will eat that many calories, you will drink Protein shakes, you will only get a fill when you fill x, y and z criteria, you will do liquids after a fill, etc etc etc. It sounded like a prison sentence, not a lifestyle to me (and it still does). It was only when I sought out Australian info, talked to other Australian bandsters that I realised different approaches were possible and equally as effective. The idea of what the band does appealed to me enormously, the typical lifestyle afterwards did not. People report on it in such a black and white manner, my surgeon says this therefore it is right kind of thing. Once I realised that many people do their own thing, work it their own way, eat what I consider a "normal" diet and lose weight, I felt confident to go ahead.

This board is a very valuable and supportive resource but it can definitely function as a very negative and scary picture of a lapband lifestyle as well.

[Jodi_620 37]

I went to my seminar in September '07 and didn't actually make the decision until April '08. I did a lot of research and soul searching. I understood that it would take commitment from me and when I was ready there was no question that this is what I needed to do.

Jachut, I hear what you are saying. Our daily diet is not one size fits all. My doctor does push Protein but otherwise says I can eat whatever I can tolerate (within reason of course). As long as the weight is coming off then the calorie intake is right. I didn't follow his 60 G a day Protein rule and now my hair is falling out so I think although that rule may not be necessary for everyone, it is for some ...unfortunately you don't know for sure until it is too late, my scalp and hairline have gotten quite thin very quickly.

I choose modified low carb because I know that carbs are an issue for me. And I think that many US docs recommend low carb because it is such a huge issue for many of us, diabetes has become an epidemic even in our children. Our shelves ar packed with highly processed foods chocked full of bleached flour, sugar and/or fructose corn Syrup along with chemical preservatives. These foods are cheap, convenient and taste good. And besides weight and diabetes, they are a major contributor to our head hunger...the more you eat the more you want.

I eat carbs but only from natural sources, fruits, veggies, whole grains and milk. And I am getting that protein in because I can't afford to lose much more hair!

Edited September 5, 2008 by Jodi_620

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Personally, I have wanted the band since it came out (here in the USA) since 2000-2001. So I had a LONG LONG time to research it, talk myself into and out of it, etc. Once my insurance and my PCP were finally on board with my thinking, things came together 7/3 of this year and I started the process on 7/10. I am now a happy bandster 1 week post op. However I was VERY ready for it. I even had gone to 10 months of behavioral therapy, on my own, searching for answers to why I overeat and how I could stop it. I know the band is just a tool; I'll still have to work work work. But that's ok. I felt like I was working and getting nowhere before; now I'll work and achieve something. That's fine for me. I think of the band as a friend or a type of pacemaker for my stomach, not an alien intrude or weird thing. I know I will never again eat like I used to. That's ok with me. I don't WANT to eat like I used to.

It isn't a quick fix and there is no need to rush. Be sure before you proceed. Just like in marriage you CAN get a divorce but you don't go in thinking "oh, I'll cheat if I want and can get a divorce if it's bad", don't get the band thinking you don't have to work and can just have it removed. Plan on it being a life long committment to yourself and your health. When that sounds good to you, proceed!

[bradley18 0]

Good morning, I also live in Texas, did I see where you have a fatty liver, can you tell me a little bit about it,I also have been told I have a fatty liver.

Thanks

Bradley28 ii

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Bradley, I'm not really a fatty liver authority...there is a disease associated with it sometimes (Nonalcoholic liver disease, or NALD) but I don't have that. Nothing wrong with mine but the fact that it was too fat and thick for the doctor to move out of the way to place my band laparoscopically. He didn't "open me up" (thank goodness...LONG recovery) but rather, when I was awake and back in outpatient, came to talk to me. We decided I'd give his preop diet a little longer (and honestly not realizing how important it was, preop I followed my "own" diet and lost 15 pounds, but didn't shrink my liver, or not enough) SO

2 1/2 more weeks of following his preop diet (to A T this time!) and down 32 pounds, I was successfully banded on 8/29. If you want the band and your doc told you your liver was fatty, I suggest you just follow his or her directions to shrink it. Mine was a very low carb, high Protein, low fat diet.

[TQUAD64 9]

I had the same fears as you. I researched it for several months before I even spoke to my primary care doctor. Now I am getting ready to attend the surgeon orientation classess next week. There is always fear...afterall it is surgery and a big commitment. But for me it is my last hope for a healthy me, since everything else I have tried has failed.

Good luck with your decision.

[magquilter 0]

Thanks for your input. I'm glad to hear that someone else had serious misgivings about the procedure.

[tapshoes 2]

Sober second (and third, and fourth...) thoughts are important. Do your research based on trusted sources such as REPUTABLE medical journals and independent studies. Question everything, trust no one.

You will know you are ready when you don't even have to ask 'Am I ready'.