janedavis

Hi Mindy, Wel, at my consult today I decided to go with bypass rather than band. I'm thrilled. Too many things about the band freak me out from the appliance itself to the dietary restrictions (my most favorite healthy foods aren't allowed!). My surgeon and I determiend that I'm totally a better fit for bypass. Surgery is 2/25. Thanks for offering to move the post for me =) Congrats on your success!

I am coming into this process after 18 months in a 12 step recovery program for people with food addictions. I have learned that food is truly an addiction for me, and have learned how to manage that. I have found peace for the first time since I was 14 years old, not having to binge, purge or starve. Unfortunately, my health problems get in the way of losing... I maintain till the end of the earth though and feel freedom from food obsession. I can't imagine going into this without the support of OA. This disease wants to kill us, and if we don't get control over that, no little band around our tummy is gonna stop it. Nothing will. We have failed at various attempts and methods before. Banding is really no different in the sense that it can be cheated. Not trying to preach or anything but I really feel like I would be lost without the support from my OA group. OA.org can help you find support in your area. I believe there is also a section on the forum for 12 step stuff. Congrats on your success! You can totally beat this! Good luck as you keep it up... I can't wait to join you guys. (Only 12 more days:thumbup:till my surgery!)

Hi. I'm familiar with some of the other Atl are docs people have mentioned on here. I'm scheduled for sugery on 2/25 with Dr. Hobson at Peachtree Surgical & Bariatrics and it concerns me that I can't find any mention of that group on here. Anyone familiar? I hate to even ask... This whole thing reminds me of when I was pregnant and would get on the chat rooms and then get freaked out because one person would say something to make me second guess myself or my doctor =) The whole love/hate thing with these sorts of forums, right? So if you have any experience with this group, I'd love to hear it. Just please don't tell me anything negative unless you know it for a fact :smile2: No heresay, please!!!!

wow- thanks so much for the super-helpful post. I swear it seems like now that the big day is finally here, I'm too anxious to think straight. This is such a big help! Congrats on your amazing success! I have to say, without this site, and the success I see everytime I log on, I would almost certainly be thinking about bypass instead.

Hi Everyone! I'm meeting with my surgeon Tuesday morning for my pre-pre-op visit. This is my initial meeting since being approved and scheduled. My surgery is on 2/25. I'm putting together my list of questions to ask and am afraid that I will miss something. I'll be reading posts throughout the day to get more ideas, but anything, especially the random ones, that you could think of would be a great help. I want to be sure I know all I need to going in about the type of band I will get and/or options of appliances, questions about fill procedures later and what to expect, etc. etc. My 18 months of reseach is suddenly culminating in this actual visit and now that the surgery is actually here... I'm feeling a bit scatterbrained :huh2:actuallly prepping for my consult. Thanks, everyone!

Thanks for the helpful posts everyone! I think unless my doctor has a compelling argument for why he thinks bypass will be better for me specifically, I will be going with the LapBand, which is the procedure I had gone into this process wanting and the one I have spent the most time and energy researching an preparing for. Shortgal, Thanks for mentioning the importance of educating myself about fills. That's a good idea so that I can ask plenty of questions pre-band about what to expect in the fill dept later on =) One of the daunting things to me about Lap vs. Bypass is the extra cost and trial and error of the ongoing fill process later on. My insurance will cover my sugery but nothing towards my fills (kind of ironic, isn't it?). I like the idea of having a procedure (BP) and just being DONE, but of course stats say that this is rarely the case due to complications. lachica- I meet my surgeon 3 times prior to surgery day. The practice just doesn't give you an actual appt with your surgeon until you've gone through the approval process. It's odd in a lot of ways, but when I think of the hundreds of people from all over the country who attend their seminar each month, I can only imagine how many people who would be requesting appts and then not qualifying for surgery for various reasons, and I know that surgeons don't have that kind of time. Now that I think that through, the only reason I have met other surgeons I've had is because -duh!- I needed them to operate on me. So, I should have plenty of time to feel him out before band-day. I believe I was assigned to the doctor in the practice who does the banding. I think they all do RNY, but only this one does LapBand. SEEBS- I have a 2 year old daughter, so I totally get you there! Right now, at 270lbs and in constant pain, there are so many things that I can't do with her/give her. She is my main motivation for change... she makes me want to be a better person in EVERY way... but I also want to be responsible with 'her mother' and make the best decisions I can since this body I'm messing with belongs to the only mother she has! Good for you for making this decision to live a healthier life! Lattedah- So uplifting to hear that you again have hope! Good luck with everything! Everyone... I have decided that my decision cannot be related to anything financial. It's such a blessing to be at this point and to be able to have my procedure covered. We can make the fills work somehow. I have realized after thinking long and hard this week, and being inspired by the success I read about on these boards, that I am so lucky to have not caused any permanent damage yet (okay, I would count the fact that my stretch marks have stretch marks as damage... but) to my health by this weight, so why would I choose a solution that made a permanent change to my organs if I don't have to? I have only been overweight the last 10 years, obese the past 6 1/2 and morbidly obese the past 2 1/2 years. The fact is, we have tried everything and cannot budge this weight. My doctors were the first to actually suggest the procedure. So....back to where I started. Lapband!!! Sorry if I'm jumbled.... I am trying to think/type and also please a sick toddler, an excited, needy puppy and it's not 7am yet. Thanks again for all of your replies!

Hi. I'm familiar with some of the other Atl are docs people have mentioned on here. I'm scheduled for sugery on 2/25 with Dr. Hobson at Peachtree Surgical & Bariatrics and it concerns me that I can't find any mention of that group on here. Anyone familiar? I hate to even ask... This whole thing reminds me of when I was pregnant and would get on the chat rooms and then get freaked out because one person would say something to make me second guess myself or my doctor =) The whole love/hate thing with these sorts of forums, right? So if you have any experience with this group, I'd love to hear it. Just please don't tell me anything negative unless you know it for a fact :cursing: No heresay, please!!!!

:cursing: Did anyone here stuggle with decision of band vs. bypass? Hi everyone! I'm new to this site. I posted this as part of a thread yesterday and haven't gotten a response, so I'm trying again as a new thread. I'm sure that all surgeons handle the process differently, but after nearly a year I have finally jumped through my hoops and have been scheduled for surgery on feb. 25, I have 2 appts with my surgeon between now and then as well as a slew of addittional appointments with nurses and classes and pre-opp stuff. I haven't actually met my surgeon yet. Weird in a medical way, but seems to be fairly normal in the weight-loss surgery world I;ve heard. Has anyone else had this experience of not getting through the 'gate keeper' to see an actual doctor at your practice until you've been given the all-clear and scheduled? Anyway, I originally chose the Lap-Band after researching it for more than a year and then going to my doctor's seminar last Spring. I was mainly afraid of the 'permanace' of the bypass, and of course of complications. Until I consult with my surgeon on 2/12, I won't know if he thinks I should go with one vs. the other but I'm sort of leaning towards bypass now. That's why I searched for this site tonight. I've done all my research, but I need to hear from more people who are living with the band. For people who have had an option... why have you chosen one over the other? I'll be lurking around here, absorbing what I can from what everyone has posted in general (so glad to have such a great forum!), but any specific replies would truly be helpful. I'm a nervous wreck. I hate feeling like this is a 'decision' and that I might make the wrong one, when in fact I know that this is no longer a choice, it's a necessity in order for me to live a healthy happy life and be here fully for my daughter... I know this is such a blessing and have been waiting for sooooo long. Leave it to my human-self to now be freaking out about the very thing I've been wanting so badly!

I'm sure that all surgeons handle the process differently, but after nearly a year I have finally jumped through my hoops and have been scheduled for surgery on feb. 25, I have 2 appts with my surgeon between now and then as well as a slew of addittional appointments with nurses and classes and pre-opp stuff. I haven't actually met my surgeon yet. Weird in a medical way, but seems to be fairly normal in the weight-loss surgery world I;ve heard. Anyway, I originally chose the Lap-Band after researching it for more than a year and then going to my doctor's seminar last Spring. I was mainly afraid of the 'permanace' of the bypass, and of course of complications. Until I consult with my surgeon on 2/12, I won't know if he thinks I should go with one vs. the other but I'm sort of leaning towards bypass now. That's why I searched for this site tonight. I've done all my research, but I need to hear from more people who are living with the band. For people who have had an option... why have you chosen one over the other?

I'm brand spankin new to this site and yours is the first post I read. I hate to be dishing out advice already, but when you mentioned a shift in body image with the shift in your eating... I totally related. I am scheduled for surgery in one month but just spent 18months attending OA which is a 12 step support group for Overeaters. It's a great support group for anyone with food issues. In those meetings, I found so much relief from the mind games and from the trap of what I eat= how I feel about myself. I also met some amazing friends who understood what I feel. It's not for everyone and meetings are different from one to the next, but if you're looking for support and possibly for new tools to help you change your relationship with food, not just the amount that fits into your tummy, it might be worth checking out. OA.org has complete listings of meetings. Hope that isn't presumptuos or intrusive. I just feel like I'm in a much better place emotionally because of that group. I'm not afriad of being afraid of the food anymore, because I know how to be free from it. Now, I just need help shedding these pounds! I have wrecked my body so badly physically that I need help. I can barely walk because of back/foot/ankle problems. I recently bought a bathing suit, but trust me... this doggie paddle I have going on isn't going to paddle off 125lbs! Sorry that I can't offer any lap-band related experience on this...