Miss Katie*

August 3rd gastric bypass. Starting at 370lbs. 6’2.

Hayley- I completely understand where your coming from. Pre-band I always had some anxiety but nothing major. @ my two-week post-op visit I just completely broke down on my doctor (who also is a close friend, so not your typical doctor-patient relationship). She started me on 50mg of Zoloft a day, after a week or so of taking it I felt great. I know some people can deal with anxiety without medication and I think that is amazing, but unfortunately I am not one of those people. I recommend talking to your doctor. Don't let this keep you in, your going to loose plenty of weight and you gotta get out there girl to show it off!

I cannot feel my port at all. Never had a problem with laying on my stomach except right after sx. My best friend also has a land and you can feel hers just by touching her side. The surgeon said they had to put it more on the side because of her hernia's. She can feel it sometimes when she rolls over she says.

At first I didn't want to tell people I was having sx just because I was afraid that I would mess up or not loose any weight. I just knew that everyone would be judging me if I didn't loose enough weight or didn't loose it fast enough. I finally gave in after my pre-op diet started and told people once I had a sx date. I found that my co-workers and other non-close friends were actually pretty supportive. A lot actually approached me after sx asking questions about it because they were interested in it too. I'm pretty sure that in the back of my mind i'm always wondering what other people are thinking about me and my weight loss journey, but at the end of the day its all about you. Forget everyone else, your not doing this for them. If you want to tell them, I say go for it and shout it from the roof tops...if you don't, then that's fine too. I work with a doctor who did not tell anyone for almost 1 year post-op. I found that people talked about him more behind his back wondering "how he lost so much weight" and saying "you know he had to have had some type of sx" before finding out he actually had land then after. It's no one's business how or why you choose to have lap band, your doing this for you.

I had my sx on Thurday and went back to work 10 days later. I'm a nurse in the ER so I was really nervous. I was just extra careful, I didn't pull or push on pts for probably 2 weeks after returning. I found that wearing a tight undershirt really helped, kinda like a girtle? It tooks like a tank top but it really held me in? If I didn't wear it I felt really sore. I always always always kept a water bottle close.