happygirl65

You are certainly right about the risks. Staying the way I am is not an option as I already know I will end up with diabetes and possibly heart disease like my mother and her sisters. I have had several surgeries in my lifetime with no bad effects from being under, so I don't suppose I am too worried about that. I am certainly on a fact finding mission. I want to know all I can know about the realistic effects, good and bad. So far I have only read about one person (on another site) who had a bad experience and that seemed because he/she was unable or unwilling to follow the recommended diet. It seems like a worthwhile investment in my health from what I have learned so far and my insurance does cover it, presuming they approve me. I want to get the process started since it could be months of evaluations etc. but am worried about having to pay too much out of pocket all at once. (my insurance has a 2600 deductible and 1000 fee for bariatric surgery) I guess I will just have to talk to the surgical team and ask some questions. :thumbup:

Hi all, I am new here. I have just started to consider the lap band. Truth be told I have thought about it many times but fear and lack of information held me back from even looking into it...meanwhile I gained 50 more pounds in the last 12 years despite my extreme efforts to lose weight. Three years ago I was diagnosed and finally started to be treated for hypothyroidism and ever since then it seems even harder than ever to lose weight. I followed my doctors "weightloss advice" and recommended diets and exercise and nothing worked...until I decided to start restricting my calories down to 900 to 1200 a day and that along with exercise is finally helping me lose. The problem of course is that I am hungry when I restrict calories that much which is ok for short term but will eventually sabotage me. I asked my MD today at my annual exam what she thought of the lapband surgery and she basically told me that she can't advise me on it, she can't make the decision for me and that people can die from it and I better be sure that I understand all the risks involved. That it can help people lose weight but it needs to be a last resort. To be honest she kind of took the wind out of my sails and I kind of felt put off that she didn't even want to discuss it. She wrote me the name and number of the bariatric surgeons in the area and said I had to talk to them. I was hoping for a medical opinion from someone who wasn't trying to "sell me on it" to be quite honest. An opinion one way or another would have been nice. Anyway...I have yet to find anything that sounds like a true horror story in all of my research and I am thinking about going to the seminar they give monthly. Any words of wisdom...things to ask...etc would be appreciated.