Hello all,

My name is Mark and I am new to not only these boards but to the bariatric surgical world. I have not yet had any procedure done yet, nor have I met with the surgeon; however I am convinced this is what I want for myself.

My PCP recommended lap-band as she figured my insurance would cover the procedure. I am 36 and was diagnosed as a type-2 diabetic about 10 years ago. I have never really taken my disease seriously, and it is starting to catch up to me. I have 3 small children and can't bear the thought of them growing up without me.

I discovered that my insurance requires the 6 months of supervised diet, and I meet with the surgeon's dietician this Monday, 6/14. I know the wait will be long, but I know in the end it will be worth it.

I have been reading some threads and such, and honestly, I am a little nervous. I read about the PB/food getting stuck, which scares me the most. I would like to know if this common or just happens on rare occaisions.

Also, the surgeon mentioned 2 types of bands now, Lap-Band and Realize... do people on this board only have lap-band or is there a mix of both?

Looking forward to becoming a healthier, happy me on Monday.

Thanks for your ears and your patience.

Mark

Hello all,

My name is Mark and I am new to not only these boards but to the bariatric surgical world. I have not yet had any procedure done yet, nor have I met with the surgeon; however I am convinced this is what I want for myself.

My PCP recommended lap-band® as she figured my insurance would cover the procedure. I am 36 and was diagnosed as a type-2 diabetic about 10 years ago. I have never really taken my disease seriously, and it is starting to catch up to me. I have 3 small children and can't bear the thought of them growing up without me.

I discovered that my insurance requires the 6 months of supervised diet, and I meet with the surgeon's dietician this Monday, 6/14. I know the wait will be long, but I know in the end it will be worth it.

I have been reading some threads and such, and honestly, I am a little nervous. I read about the PB/food getting stuck, which scares me the most. I would like to know if this common or just happens on rare occaisions.

Also, the surgeon mentioned 2 types of bands now, Lap-Band® and Realize... do people on this board only have lap-band® or is there a mix of both?

Looking forward to becoming a healthier, happy me on Monday.

Thanks for your ears and your patience.

Mark

Hi Mark. I'm Dawn. Congratulations on the start of your journey. Which is asking questions. I also had to wait the 6 months before my surgery. It felt like eternity. I was nervous as heck the closer the day got. I'm the mother of 2 wonderful adult men and married to an awesome husband for 7 years now. My oldest son was born with Down Syndrome. I was also borderline everything (sugar, highblood pressure, fatty liver, cholesterol) and had sleep Apnea and had to sleep with a CPAP machine for 5 years. I also had open heart surgery in 2001 to repair an aortic anuerysm and had a valve replacement at the same time. At the time I had a pigs valve put in and they only last for about 10 years. Reason is because I didn't fancy taking blood thinners for the rest of my life. I was at the time 34 years old. So it's coming up on the years that I will need another open heart surgery. But this time I will get the mechanical valve and take the blood thinner. My eyes were opened when my cardiologist told me that I could die on the table if I didn't lose the weight. All I could think about was my oldest son with Down Syndrome and what would happen to him if I were to die. Of course I was thinking about my other son and my husband as well but the one that stood out the most was my son Matt.

Anyway needless to say after much research and soul searching I had the lapband surgery done. And honestly let me tell you the only regret that I have is not getting it done sooner. I am a totally changed person. I am no longer borderline anything, and 3 weeks ago I was able to give up my CPAP machine. I no longer have sleep apnea. I go in July to my cardiologist for another echo-cardiogram to see how things are going there. Hopefully I have even prolonged my open heart surgery. I do know that my cardiologist is extremely happy.

Please don't be worried about the PBing and the food getting stuck. It doesn't happen that often. My theory about that is it's good that it happens to you at least once (even though you might think that is an awful thing to say) because THEN you will know how to deal with it, and how NOT to have it happen to you again. As you go along you will find that there are certain foods that don't agree with you. You may get a little stuck. It doesn't happen to everyone. And it usually doesn't last that long. It doesn't feel like your having a heart attack. It doesn't feel like you are choking. It's just a bit of discomfort. If you slime, it doesn't keep going it's just a one time deal. You will have to learn to chew your food at least 25-30 times before swallowing. You will also have to learn to cut your food into small portions. If you do that you should be fine. Most of the stuck is because of old habits. As I said it doesn't happen to everyone and if it does it's not something that you feel like you need to be put into the hospital over. You find ways to get the food moving. Usually mine is I just stand up or a walk around a little. The longest that I've had something stuck was maybe 5 minutes.

There is a mix of Realize and Lapband on this site. I have the Lapband.

I do hope that this information has helped you. Check out my blog it has alot of information on it that may help. Good luck with your doctors visit. Use your 6 months to research and ask questions. Looking forward to hearing about your progress. Feel free to add me as a friend and ask question if you like.

Good luck.