Hello there,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I have my surgery booked for 1 Feb 2010. And I have to tell you I am terrified. Not because of the actual surgery, but what happens if I am the only person that lap band doesn't work for?

Its probably because nothing that I have ever tried to control my weight has ever worked.

Just feeling so anxious...

If that is your only fear, get over it. There are many on this site that Lapband doesn't work for. With most of them it is because they aren't willing to work with it.

They either think that the lapband is a magic pill that instantly makes them skinny no matter what they eat. The others go into it with a "dieting" mindset.

It is not a diet, diets end. You have to modify your eating habits for the rest of your life and it doesn't have to hurt. You can eat most of the same things you enjoy eating now, only less of them.

I'll probably be banded the same week as you and I've done enough research to know that the lapband works for almost everybody that is ready for it.

And, look at the bright side; if it doesn't work, there's alway by-pass. :smile:

I am being banded in mid Jan and i am also scared s***less!!

for all the same reasons as you.

Everything i have tried has also failed. My sister had the operation a year ago (and was in the same situation as us now) and it has changed her life for the good.

I guess we just have to be optimistic and wait and see what happens

You will have ups and downs...but its the best thing I ever did! I feel great. I had my surgery done by Kevin Dolan in Perth in June 09 and have lost 27kgs so far... I wish I could go up to every overweight person I see struggling in the shopping centres and tell them how they could feel this great too!!!

hi there i am just thinking about getting the lap band. i am trying to decide between bodytrim program and the lap band surgery... so i am in too minds... i wish i could help you but i myself have no idea what to do...

The only way the band wont work is if you try to rely soley on it and not use it as a tool. The lapband is a great companion for weight loss but you still do all the work Yes you can easliy cheat the band and I have been guilty of that, drinking and eating at the same time so I can eat everything on my plate, not listening to my body when im full and pushing the food away and not going to the doctor to get the right amount of fill in the band. I think i am about .1ml off now and I actually sucked it up and started properly again yesterday and I feel unreal. Im an emotional eater and I had a shit year last year and instead of seeing my doctor regularly for support I dug my head in the sand. I lost 100 pounds in the first 12 months. I had my band readjusted after being assaulted in March last year. I put on 60 pounds (my own doing not the band) and I am excited to say im off and running again.

I was scared of many things but seriously, take a breath and think about all the benefits you will be rewarded from having the band

GOOD LUCK

Your band won't work if you cheat it - liquids and soft foods will generally slide down and it's up to you to control that aspect. I know someone who forces himself to vomit, this relaxes his band and lets anything pass through in big quantities - not a great idea.

Otherwise, it's a great tool. For the most part, it helps with hunger, keeps you full and keeps your portions relatively small. There are some things you may have to do without - for me it's bread and to be honest, I'm quite thankful since bread was a 'problem' food for me.

One of the things that freaked me out at the beginning was not losing 'enough' weight - being accustomed to crash diets, I was used to losing a lot of weight fast (then piling it back on again). It's different now, weight loss is slow but seemingly permanent.

Your concerns are completely normal - I've been there. Diets failed for me so I thought - what if this fails too. At the end of the day, it's a pretty expensive and uncomfortable failure. But it hasn't failed.

It is great for me. :thumbup: I've had it for two and a half years... lost 60kgs (although my band did slip last august and am still waiting for repairs on it! )

It isn't easy... and I know people here say it's mostly the persons fault, but some of us have bodies that are very stubborn. It took me walking 8kms a day to work and back just to really get it to happen, for the weight to come down.

But you will be okay. For most people, it's simple stubbornesss about and you'll find that with the band, you'll view food differently.

Unfortunately, there are many, many people for whom the band "did not work." However, it is really not the ban, but the brain behind the band that does the work.

I think most of us feared that when we first contemplated having the band, but I believe that it is the best tool out there to help us achieve safe, slow and permanent weight loss. Yes, there are ways to work around the band and cheat but given a sensible approach and persistance, it does work.

For me personally, the biggest difference between the old yo-yo dieting and using the band was that the band gave me the edge over hunger control. In all the diets I have been on in the past, I constantly battled feeling hungry and inevitably gave in to the "demons" raging within - and the minute I gave in once, I gave up completely and promptly stuffed my face till I put it all back on. The band doesn't do the work for you - it just controls the demons enough that you can make sensible food choices and stick to the plan without waking up in the middle of the night thinking "oh my god, I'm STARVING!!"

Good luck with it! If you have any questions, feel free to message me.

You will have ups and downs...but its the best thing I ever did! I feel great. I had my surgery done by Kevin Dolan in Perth in June 09 and have lost 27kgs so far... I wish I could go up to every overweight person I see struggling in the shopping centres and tell them how they could feel this great too!!!

I know just how you feel. Sometimes it takes all the self-control I have not to run up to strangers at the shops and start babbling about the band!! I have to remind myself over and over how humiliated I would have felt if some "slim" woman had done that to me when I was at my biggest. As it is, I take every opportunity I can to tell people about my journey (LOL - no "keeping it private" thing here!!) and to tell them to tell anyone they know to look into it...