Hello everyone, my name is Jacqui and I am 16 days away from getting the Lap-Band. My surgeon in Dr. John Dietrich, and he is located in Tampa, Florida. This is the very first time I have ever joined any type of support group, written a blog, or started a thread on a forum of any kind.

This has been a very long, very hard journey - and I know the toughest part is yet to come. I have a wonderful husband, and awesome friends and family that have been uber supportive, but I can honestly say that none of them truly know what this has been like for me. I have been reading through many of the threads on here and I can finally say (without sounding cliché, I hope) I finally feel...understood.

I have so many questions, worries, more questions, and even more worries, that I don't even know where to start. I really look forward to finally being able to talk to people that are at the very beginning of this life changing process, as well as those going through and dealing with the Lap-Band procedure pre and post op.

I'm sorry for rambling on - I'm just really excited and looking forward to what's yet to come :biggrin:

Good Luck! I just joined this group too and home to draw strength and give support to others. I was banded in late May and have lost 34 lbs so far.. it has been much easier than I expected but the weight loss has slowed substantially over the last 2 months. Eat very small meals and chew very well! Exercise a minimum of 4-6 days a week. I wish you great success!

Welcome to the boards! And I can definitely relate. The people on this forum "get" us potentially bandsters and post-op bandsters. I, too, have supportive family and friends but when I tell them I'm getting weight loss surgery, they automatically think of RNY no matter how much I explain to them that it's very different but a similar concept... bless their hearts.

So all I can tell you is post often and read often. I thank God I found this forum with all the info and awesome people within the pages. I never feel stupid about asking questions, no matter how many times I'm sure they've been asked.

So welcome aboard! Hope to see your posts around! :biggrin:

Hi everyone! I'm new here, too. I have researched weight loss surgery for years but since my husband's employer is not any closer to allowing it under insurance, I am biting the bullet and going self-pay.

I have most recently been reading up on gastric sleeve surgery, but after a consultation with a bariatric surgeon, he really recommends the Lap-band for me. He felt with my medical history (pulmonary embolism, blood thinners), Lap-band would be the safest way to go. So I have had to re-adjust my thought process as to what I was planning for and hoping to happen.

This board is a great source for information. I appreciate that people will post the good and the bad, and that no matter how stupid I think my questions are, someone will have already asked the same thing!

so I am 4 days into my liquid diet pre-op, and 7 days away from getting the surgery. The liquid diet has been hard as hell - but I just keep telling myself that I am worth it, and that it will all have such a wonderful payoff, none of this will have mattered in the end.

I wish everyone the best of luck, and I would love to be kept posted, because I know it's hard, and I also know what it is to have a support system, but not really because they just truly don't get it. My husband is great - but he just doesn't think sometimes, and it was really hard for me over the weekend, because I refuse to give into temptation, but it didn't make it any easier that while I'm choking down my "awesome" Protein shakes, he's eating McDonald's.

I don't know, maybe I'm just super hypersensitive, since I can't eat - but damn...really??? Anyway, I have already lost 8 lbs. since Thursday, and I just keep going...slowly but surely :0)

Welcome! Those pre-surgery diets are no fun. Be sure to distract yourself with hobbies or other things so it doesn't drive you batty! Try the Myoplex french vanilla protein shake. It's not all that vile and it has 25 gm of protein. It's the only on I can tolerate and I have it for breakfast everyday.

Good luck on your journey!