Hi everyone, I am Ali and have always been overweight. I decided to take a stand and do something about that weight because I can't even tie my shoe lace w/out getting out of breathe. I want to live a long life next to the company of my children. I lose weight but gain it back plus some very fast so I decided to do the lap band. I don't know why I waited so long to do it, since my ins covers 100 percent any procedure I want done....... I however am scared of the afterwards, will I be able to get used to the new me? How does everyone get through that part? I guess I can ask the PSYCH MD once I see him in NOV. I already consulted with my MD, I have the sleep study next week and the bariatric class and psych visit in NOV. I hope all that goes well. I am also worried of the after pain, I hear many go through, you see I have little baby and he sleeps with me and he will not fall asleep unless he is next to me then I move him to his crib. I have heard it is hard to sleep on your side after the procedure is this true? Anyway any advice??????

Well all I can say is you made a good decision. It does hurt to sleep on your side for a while until the port sight heals. You will get use to the diet if you follow it. Its all trial and error once you can eat food. I still cant eat bread or pasta 10 months post op and I havent had one fill yet and lost 70lbs but that is not common. Only 3 in 2000 surgeries that happens. Have I gotten use to the new me absolutely I have no regrets even though there are tough times too. You will learn to deal with it just got to take each day at a time. Its a tool and I said a tool not a cure for obesity. Many people get disappointed when they dont lose you have to follow a diet just like anything else. It wont fix you by its self that is where people get it wrong. The band is only a tool to teach you portion control. If you go back to your bad eating habits you will gain the weight right back. So you have to absolutely be ready mentally and know you can not go back to your old eating habits ever. I mean never. If you do you will gain the weight right back.

Hello Allkitty, I was banded on Sept 13, 2010. I am 5 weeks post op and things have improved. About the pain, I had no trouble sleeping on my side or back. The worst pain i had was from the leftover gas that they used to inflate me and it stuck in my left shoulder and lasted for about a week but finally went away (on a scale of 1-10 that pain was a 8). You are not supposed to lift much the first few weeks so be careful lifting your baby. My first two weeks were the worst but things are looking up now, I really regretted it at first and missed just being able to go and grab whatever and eat it without having to think "is this going to make me sick?" or "how sick is this going to make me?" But like I said things are better now, i've lost 12 lbs and will hopefully keep a pace of 1-2 lbs a week I hope I hope I hope!! anyways if you have given diet and excersice a fair shot and if you are like me have lost weight but not been successful at keeping it off I think lap band will be a good thing. I've asked about 5 people who are 2-4 years post band if they now regret it and none of them has ever said Yes they regret it...soooooo if you feel sure and realize that things are going to be different and food will no longer be your buddy but just a necessity then you are making the right decision..It's tough i'm not gonna lie. good luck! Hopefully more people will answer you people with more experience than me.

I had my surgery yesterday and with the exception of having gas pains, I'm feeling really good. The last 2 nights I've slept on my couch with a ton of pillows because I just didn't feel comfortable in bed. I have a young child that also likes to sleep in my bed, but thankfully he prefers going to bed with his daddy. The toughest part there was explaining to him that I couldn't pick him up, but he saw my "boo-bo" and he understood "Mommy can't pick me up, she has a boo-boo on her tummy".

Having this surgery has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've been overweight most of my life and I can honestly say I had done a ton of research before the surgery, so I was fully prepared for it. Good luck to you!