Why did YOU get the Lap Band?

[bandedbeautiful 0]

Hello everyone! I just thought it would be nice if we could all share our reasons why we got banded. I think it would give everyone motivation and also give confidence to those who need it.

My reason why I got the lap band is because I wanted to be healthy. I was tired of being the fat kid. I want to be able to see my great grand children....many years from now. I want to be able to go up the stairs without being out of breath. I want to play volleyball again.

Merry Christmas to you all, and thank you for sharing why you got your lap band!

[ednmelsmom 0]

I had lap band because I waited a lifetime to be a mother and I wanted my two children (11 and 7) to have the kind of mother that I had a healthy one. My awakening came last Fathers Day at a baseball tournament in Hershey Park where I couldn't fit comfortably on a few rides and I was embarrassed. But funny that my kids weren't. I had lost 96 pounds on my own in 2006 only to gain back seventy-five by last June. Pretty scary. I would tell everyone to give it a chance. At first I felt that people would think that I was taking the easy way out but it is a tool. I had my surgery on 11/4/08 and to date have lost 45 lbs. I feel good and am more cautious about what I put in my mouth. I recently had to throw out potato chips that had gone stale. I must have been the junk food junkie not my children. I am hoping that my husband will decide to do this also. But regardless he has been my biggest supporter. I even baked Cookies this Christmas with my kids for the first time ever. (24 dozen and I only tasted 2)

Merry Christmas to everyone and good luck in the new year.

[BLAKQUEEN 33]

Hi,

I have not been banded still waiting for a surgery date:frown: I am getting banded because I want to be healthy. I missed the days when I was a 9/10 or 11/12 hottie wearing comfortable and fashionable clothing. I want to be able to breathe when I am walking upstairs or just plain walking. I tired of my knees hurting and not being or wanting to be active. I tired of hiding out in my home on the weekends because I get tired easly and I am no longer comfortable with how I look. I miss playing basketball, running or just outdoor fun!! I do want to play with my four grandchildren and I do want to live to see them into adulthood. I want to be there for them!!!! :thumbup:

Kim

[Jachut 487]

For me it was probably 75% a cosmetic decision, I'd wasted years and was sick to death of being fat, frumpy and ugly. But it wasnt until I felt my health start to suffer that I considered something as serious as surgery. I was 38 and although I had no real comorbidities that were serious (I had a chronic ankle injury that was pretty darn bad though) I was starting to feel so old. I was tired, I needed afternoon naps, I just plain didnt feel good and approaching 40, it scared the wits out of me that I was going to become one of those hugely obese in middle age. So I decided to nip it in the bud there and then, before I got to that stage.

Now I am one of those incredibly fit people everyone hates at the gym, roflmao! I cannot believe what my 41 year old bod can do. And how great and young you can look in your 40's!

[Rachamerritt 0]

My reasoning for having Lap band surgery is simple... To LIVE! I watched my father die of type II diabetes and obesity, my mother is also obese and has high blood pressure. My view into the crystal ball of my future was pretty un-nerving.

The majority of my immediate family is overweight so some extent, and at this point I just want to be an example; you don't have to struggle and suffer in silence. Modern medicine has a more effective way to aid in weight loss for good.

My family wasn't too keen on the idea of me getting banded, once I was and they saw that I didn't die or have any complications and that the band was actually helping me get the weight off; they became more supportive.

The best reward to date, (yes even better than my own health and new outlook) my mother just got banded this month!!!! I am thrilled that I could help affect her in such a way, and even happier that she will soon be healthier and be able to be around to watch me, and all of her grandkids for a long time to come.

-Rachel

Highest weight: 343

Pre-op diet: -20

Surgery day: 323

1st fill, 1 month later: 298

Now: 167

[freska1181 0]

There are several reasons I want to get banded, not banded yet. The biggest is my health. I have three kids and need to be around for them. ok, don't laugh, but I want to be able to see my (I'll keep it clean) "cootie" again. I want to fit into my old clothes again.

[kiz 1]

I kept watching the scale creep upward, the clothes I was wearing were the tight, and I had made a personal commitment to myself to not go up one more size. I've always had phenomenally low blood pressure, and it was starting to go above normal, I couldn't do any of the outdoor activities that I loved, and I was terrified of a heart attack or diabetes in my future. The thought of killing myself by obesity was almost to much to bear. I know life is a gamble, but I was putting the odds in the grim reaper's favor. Not only do I feel like I'm adding healthy years to my life, I'm getting so much more living out of my life.

[meschultz 0]

Freska .. I love it... it has been a lot of years since I have seen my " cootie" as you refer to it ha ha.. Anyways, I agree that will be an interesting day to see it again.. ha ha.. But my main reasons for having lap band is my health.. I want to make sure that I am here to see my son through most of his life and to see my future grandchildren and hopefully great grandchildren. One wish my grandmother always had for me was to loose weight and be healthy.. Well I sat with her in her ICU room in Jan 08 and watched her take her last breath and was so sad that I failed her...Well its never to late because I know that she is supporting me and so proud that her baby grand daughter has lost 63 lbs in 3 months.. This lap band serves so many purposes and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to have it.. I am already noticing a difference in my health and I can fit in to seats I used to not be able too and I can wear some smaller clothing .. All and all everyday is exciting and new and it is a wonderful journey I am glad to be on with my husband and my sister.. I am love stepping on that scale and seeing those numbers lower and lower in fact I think it is starting to become an obsession..ha ha One bonus I look forward to seeing myself at my goal weight..Good Luck to everyone.. Best wishes..

[kalaipahoa 2]

I was banded at the end of June at the age of 60. I chose to get the LapBand to help me live long enough to retire. High blood pressure, sleep apnea, arthritis, blood sugar creeping up all indicated to me that either I wasn't going to make it or if I did I would be miserable. Over the years I found that I was becoming less and less active because it just hurt too much to move around, plus I was becoming less social as I was so embarassed by the way I looked. I have a long way to go, but have lost 76 pounds so far and am beginning to get my life back. Gaining, losing, gaining, losing - with the LapBand I feel like once I get the weight off I will never go back to that embarrased hermit-like person again.:thumbup:

[Jachut 487]

I get real comfort in the idea that not only have I greatly increased my odds of living until a ripe old age, but those will be QUALITY years.

[bambam31 168]

After riding the yo yo up and down all of my adult life, I decided this problem was bigger than me and I needed help. I was tired of being fat - and everything that goes with it.

Brad

[caramia71 1]

I chose to have Lap Band surgery because diets weren't working and my weight kept going up. I was tired and sad because I wanted to be a more active mother and wife. I was banded in March, 2008 and all though I am a slow loser, the life-altering changes have been fantastic. Sometimes I am just amazed at how different I feel. I try not to let the number on the scale control me. I have dropped 3 pant sizes and 4 top sizes and I still can't believe how much smaller I am. I can actually walk up the hill at the college with ease and run on the treadmill without feeling like I'm dying. It's priceless to me. I think the best comment so far was from my 13 year old daughter. She was folding laundry and said Mom, look how small your jeans are. Imagine, my jeans small!! I credit the Lap Band for giving me my life back!!

Edited December 24, 2008 by caramia71

[gingerbug 3]

I got the lap-band cause I wanted to be skinny and I wanted to enjpy all the things that go along with it.

[littlefroggy 0]

I realized my life was not going to move forward until I took care of this weight problem. I want to be married, have kids, etc. and my weight-issues and self esteem were keeping me from that.

Also, I was just plain unhappy with how I looked. I figure I will still be unhappy, but things are getting better!!

I was so tired all the time, out of breath, unhealthy, unhappy, etc. I don't think losing weight alone will make me a happy person, but my self-esteem is increasing and I am becoming healthier, so that all together is making me happy.

I am so glad I did this, even if there are still hard days, overall, things are SO MUCH BETTER!!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

I got the band because I've always had trouble with Portion Control. Exercise and eating right (most of the time) have never been hard for me. I've been doing that most of my life. I just eat too much!

It has helped me a great deal, and I never have regretted my decision. I know how to cheat the band to a degree but I can't cheat myself. I know when I'm doing right and wrong.

I needed to lose weight a great deal when I found out I was hypertensive. I am now on only a quarter of the HBP medicines I used to be on. My blood pressure has been excellent with such too, so I might be very close to being off them entirely! :thumbup:

Good luck to all!