Hello all!!!!!!!! I am a newbit to this forum and it has taking me a very long time to finally be waiting on a date for my surgery. I hope this is a good idea. If i dont lose weight on this i will be big forever. :Banane20: :Banane20:

You are where I was in late 2009. I researched the lap-band option for about 8 months last year. Went to 2 different lap-band presentations by 2 different doctors in 2 different cities. I did a lot of researching on the internet and found that "lapbandtalk.com" was the best source of education. On January 5th I had my day long briefing at my doctor's office and started my liquid diet for 2 weeks. I lost about 7lbs. On Janurary 18th I had my surgery and the worst thing for me was coming out of the anesthesia but this wore off pretty fast. I received lots of first class medical attention and can't say enough about the doctor, technicians, nurses, etc.

I live about 100 miles from the hospital so I stayed there overnight and left early the next morning. Lot's of support from my wife (& best friend). I did "exactly" what they told me to do,i.e. what to eat, drink, etc. and stayed home from work for the entire week. When I started I weighed 250 lbs. (naked) and this moring I weighed in at 207 lbs. Thats 43 lbs. in just over 9 weeks! I take my Vitamins including B Complex, Optisource and Viactiv Calcium and I feel great!

It's really all about how bad you really want to loose weight! In my case I had high blood pressure, sleep apnea and was tired all the time. Now it's all gone. No more pills and I feel great. 75% of my decision was for health reasons and 25% was for how I looked but that was me. You have to restate why "you" want to go for a lap-band and only you can make that decision. :Banane20:

HELLO - MY NAME IS ANN AND I LIVE IN ALBUQUERQUE,NM -I GUESS I AM ALSO A NEWBE TO THIS. I HAVE BEEN LOOKING INTO THIS PROCEDURE FOR OVER A YEAR AND I FINALY DECISIDED TO MOVE FORWARD ON IT - I AM STILL NERVOUS ABOUT EVERYTHING BUT I NEED TO DO THIS NOT ONLY FOR ME BUT MY GIRLS. :eek: I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW EVERYBODY DEALS WITH THE BIG CHANGES IN EATTING HABIT AND HOW IT HAS EFFECTED THEM AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE GAS PAINS AND SHOULDER PAINS I KEEP HEARING ABOUT? AND FOR SOME OF YOU OLDER BANSTERS WAS THERE EVER A TIME WHERE YOU WONDER WHY YOU DID THIS? :tt1:

Edited March 26, 201016 yr by BETTER LIFE

Hello all, I was banded Jan 14, 2010, since then have lost 53 lbs and I am so glad that I had it done. As for the gas and shoulder pains it lasted about a month and that was it, I still belch a lot but that is expected. The amazing thing to me is that food went from being my life to just eating food because I have to and that change in my thought process happened so gradually that I didn't even notice the change till a couple of days ago. Now I am actually enjoying life and doing things I haven't been able to do in years. Oh believe me, it is worth it. Good luck and God Bless to all of you.

that is so amazing to hear how much weight you have lost in such alittle bit of time - thanks for the information about the gas pains - can you tell me if you ever had any issues with any part of this journey that your on?

The only issue I had was the fear before surgery, since surgery I have not had any of the problems that some on this forum had had. It has been really an easy thing to do. Good luck with yours.

I've learned from being on this forum for a little while now that it takes a lot of work to be successful with the lap-band- as people have said, it is a wonderful tool, but you need to use it.

So while waiting for my surgery, I've been practicing with being careful what I eat, getting regular exercise, and eating small bites and CHEW CHEW CHEW. Not drinking during meals is very difficult for me.

I'm glad I realized the work it will take before my surgery- the info seminar I went to made it seem like the band did all the work.

Same here it will take hard work and we have to change eating habits but who said it would be a walk in the park. Losing weight is never easy.

Starting those habits before the surgery is a great idea. I will also be practicing. Eating and not drinking at the same time will be difficult for me as well. Mostly it will be the Beer. I LOVE BEER.

Breaking news!!!!

My wife and I are getting our endoscopy April 3rd. Im excited.

you'll definitely love your new journey to weight loss.....so don't be discouraged, you are making the right decision.

goodluck!!!:tt1: