Just starting down the slippery slope...

[kalsi4654 0]

Hi folks

I have my first appointment to see a consultant about surgery on Friday this week. I weigh over 20 stone (5'9) with a BMI of 43, and have been overweight and/or obese all my adult life.

I've tried just about every diet you can think of, have absolutely no will power at all and just love food. Everything about food - buying it, cooking it, eating it, whatever. I have a pretty healthy lifestyle and my diet is reasonably healthy too, I just eat too much. I hate to be hungry - I never really feel full. I don't have junk food often, and I exercise a fair bit so I'm quite fit for someone of my size. My blood pressure is perfect and I can physically out-work many of my skinny friends.... but I'm huge. My top half is reasonably ok but I have the biggest bottom in the world (LOL)!

I'm feeling horribly nervous about the whole thing - the pain (I'm a total woose), that it won't work, the money (ouch) and so on, and would appreciate any comments or support.

I guess my main fear is that I will not lose weight in spite of the band.... I would love to hear from any of you who have been there before me.

Mic

(btw that's short for Michelle - I'm female!) :thumbdown:

[Jodi_620 37]

It sounds to me like you are a great candidate for the band. I think the biggest failure rate comes from those that get the band thinking that it requires nothing more on their part.

You have dieted before so you understand how to watch what you eat and you are already accostomed to eating healthy foods. You are already active. Your biggest problem is controlling your portions and the band will take care of that. You will still be able to have most of the foods that you love as long as you can tolerate them but you will get full on them much faster.

As far as all the fears and anxiety goes, it is perfectly normal and in the end you will realize that you built it up to be much worse than it is. There will be pain but it is quite manageable and short-lived. The cost is pretty painful too but in the end it will be worth every penny... there isn't a wiser investment than investing in your health. My biggest fear was of failure. To go through the pain and cost of surgery and fail would have been so humiliating. Like you, I had been on so many diets and failed that I was sure that this would just turn out to be another failure but it didn't. Good luck with your consult!

[alfie858 0]

Hey its 100% the way to go I can telll you. I was in a similar situation as you. I have not lost as much weight as I would have liked but im not so strict. Once you have had the fills and get exercising it just falls off. I have lost 3 1/2 stone so far in the 7 months since I was banded. I didnt feel any real restriction till about 2 months ago and now Its easy to lose 2 lbs a week. I swim 1km a day 4-5 days a week. That was once i got over thinking people would stare at me

[Donna Wilson 0]

Hi you have just described me, i am 47 years old, wiegh 261 lbs at 5' 4" tall, first appointment with surgeon next Monday 3rd August. I too love deciding what to eat, buying it, cooking it, eating too much of it. I hate ready meals or juck food of any type i cook everything from scratch. (Useually as heathy as good flavour allows) Have never eaten more than one chocy bar in a day, don't use food for any reason other than im hungry!!! I worry that surgery will make me misrable, my husband has the very same worry, only it will be worse for him, lol, and worst of all might not loose wieght ahhhhhhhhhh But BMI at 44.6 got to somthing soon or wont be around to be missrable.

What are you thinking of having done.

Donna

[alfie858 0]

Hi you have just described me, i am 47 years old, wiegh 261 lbs at 5' 4" tall, first appointment with surgeon next Monday 3rd August. I too love deciding what to eat, buying it, cooking it, eating too much of it. I hate ready meals or juck food of any type i cook everything from scratch. (Useually as heathy as good flavour allows) Have never eaten more than one chocy bar in a day, don't use food for any reason other than im hungry!!! I worry that surgery will make me misrable, my husband has the very same worry, only it will be worse for him, lol, and worst of all might not loose wieght ahhhhhhhhhh But BMI at 44.6 got to somthing soon or wont be around to be missrable.

What are you thinking of having done.

Donna

Honestly I can pretty much eat any food like as long as i chew it well. Your diet changes, you can still make great food just smaller portions. There is nothing at all from my old ways I particularly miss. I have new favourites that are better for me and delicious :crying:

[Donna Wilson 0]

Hi, great to hear that you can change to keep up with the weight loss making new better habits, hope i can too and be happy or even happier!

Thanks for encouragement :crying: Donna

[BubblyRed 0]

Hi there - just read this post and you sound exactly like me - although my top half is the bigger portion on me!!

I'm seeing a consultant on Wednesday and feel like I'm in some sort of bubble with it all - like its not happening - I guess when I actually set a date thats when it will hit me.

My fears are exactly the same as yours ...what if... but I guess the other side of this is ...what if I just carry on - thats too scary to contemplate !

I'll let you know how I get on and lets see if we can support each other through this

Bubbly:smile2:

[elleaitch 0]

This is like deja vu for me LOL Been there felt all those things and 1month post op 21 lbs down and feeeling great and looking forward to my first band fill. It's a good club to join and the only changes in personality must surely be more self confidence and better self esteem.

[Donna Wilson 0]

Hi, thank you for those words of encouragement Louise, that dose make me for one feel better about it all.

Bubbly please let us know how Wednesday goes and yes would be nice to support eachother.

All the very best, Donna

[alfie858 0]

yeah anything you need to ask dont forget we all here :biggrin:

[bubbalouieuk 0]

Hi, thank you for those words of encouragement Louise, that dose make me for one feel better about it all.

Bubbly please let us know how Wednesday goes and yes would be nice to support eachother.

All the very best, Donna

Hi Donna & Louise, :thumbup:

I am going for my first appointment with the surgeon on the 28th of August. I have been seeing the Medical Doctor for 18 months and he has just referred me. I am so nervous. I think from reading other people's posts I would be a good candidate but I cannot afford to have it done privately so I am worried that after all this they will reject me through a funding issue. I really dont know what to expect but would be very interested to hear how you both get on. :thumbup: Good luck to you both.

Fiona

5'2" 19st 6lb BMI 49

[Donna Wilson 0]

Hi Fiona, I went to see my surgon on the 3rd August, we had a long talk and the out come is i am booked in for a band on 2nd October (oh my god!!!) i feel really wierd i carn't quite seam to grasp that its going to actually happen to me! I have talked, read, watched, listened to all information about bands and still carn't imagine what it will be like. I am in the fortuneate possition to be able to afford it, if i wasn't i would no longer meet the local (Leicestershire)nhs critieria which changed in April from bmi of 45 to bmi of 50 with medical problems. i have no problems at pressent and my bmi is 45.5 18st 12lbs. My surgon says that on average you can expect to loose 50% of your excess weight, this would mean i would hopefully end up around 14-14.5 stone, which would be great. At a support meeting in our local Spire Hospital their was a lady who had had a band on the nhs, she had only waited 7 months and because she was on the list before April her bmi was only 43, she had only had it 2 weeks and was feeling rough, but hopeful, getting better slowly.

Very nice to hear from you, hope all goes well on the 28th, don't worry about being nervous everybody is, its not every day you go and talk to compleat strangers about such personal things, they will be used to nervous paitcents and you being nervous or supper confident wont effect thier desission anyway.

Think of your questions and as with alot of things the thought of it is worst than actually doing it.

All the best, Donna

PS: excusse my spelling, Dislecxic

[elleaitch 0]

Good morning Ladies, I am so pleased for you both. This is the new dawn for you! I was so lucky not having to wait for my funding, from referral to op was 3 months and I reckon someone was watching over me but realistically I was in the right place at the right time. This is the best thing that ever happened to me regarding my weight, I have now lost 2 stones 7 lbs, according to hospital scales in 6 weeks since my op. Mr Ammori said it was what he would expect from a bypass patient! I gym 3 times a week and walk 2 miles at least twice a week. It's hard to fit in and I'm not naturally selfish but this is all about me now. I had xrays recently on a 'jippy' knee and I have arthritis plus it was discovered I had a fracture of the femur in the recent past which I never knew about, how bizarre is that???? Oh well not to worry. On a more serious note, I manage my weight loss by literally making my goal my next pound because I can't see beyond that pound or the task becomes too big for me. I'm going to post some pics in my profile, I'm still a big girl but less big than last time I posted a photo. I'm loving this even though there have been times especially within 2 weeks post op I wondered what the heck I had done, then I got moving and turned all negative thoughts on their head.

It's a good place to be now and I look forward to you joining me here :thumbup:

[jenrobbar951 0]

You pretty much described me to a "T"......only, I tend to over eat, have no self control, and cant cook very well. HAHA! I am not looking at LapBand as a quick fix. I know that it takes work and time, but I see it as a push in the right direction. It forces you to change the amount of food you eat and the type of foods you eat. If you dont follow the regimen, you will pay for it in pain....or atleast that is what I have been told. I am not banded yet, but hope to hear from the insurance company by the end of the month! BEST OF LUCK WITH EVERYTHING!!!!!!! Hang in there and congrats for starting on the journey to the "NEW" you!:thumbup:

[Donna Wilson 0]

Hi louise, if you get down to 133 lbs that would be amazing, did your surgon and dietitian set you this target and think this was do able or is it your own personal goal? and thats what your hopeing and aiming for?

Also could you give me some advice/ideas of the kind of foods you have had though the first stages. What Protein, Vitamin, mineral,fish oil (yuk) supplements ect... you have had this is all a new and confuseing world to me, never having anything to do with these things before. And light at the end of the tunnel what can you eat now? and you sound in good spirits and health, have you had any problems along the way? if so what?

Any and all advice welcome. Thank you

Donna