Hello everybody! I am new to this idea and a wee bit nervous. My emotions range from ecstatic to terrified. I have an information seminar on Saturday that I hope will give me further answers. My current BMI is 40. I am 5'1" and weigh 212.8 lbs. I am 39 years old and have struggled with obesity my entire adult life. I lost weight successfully several times. My most successful venture was an 80 lbs weight loss that I kept off for about 4 years. Life came at me a little fast for a while and depression and stress helped me put almost all of it back on.

I hope to hear stories that will aid me in my own process, so I thank you in advance for sharing your stories with me. Take care!

La Bandita from Austin Texas

I too have suffered from depression that led to excessive weight gain -- I started with going to my GP and getting some medication for the depression and also started therapy to deal with the head issues plaguing me. I then went to the www.lapband.com website to find a doctor and seminar near me -- I made sure to find a doctor well-qualified with the Lapband procedure and after several months of research I made the decision to go ahead with the procedure. I am in California and my doctor is Carson Liu -- he has done over 4,000 procedures and is one of the leaders in perfecting it over the years. His practice navigated the insurance for me and I was qualified and had the procedure 2 weeks ago. This is the first time in several years that I now have hope of overcoming this weight issue and getting healthier and happier! Take all the steps to a happier life for yourself - you are young and you are worth it! Tackle the depression so that you are in a better frame of mind for the procedure as it still is work to change your lifestyle. I wish you luck and perseverance to get started to a healthier happier life!

Deb

I too have suffered from depression that led to excessive weight gain -- I started with going to my GP and getting some medication for the depression and also started therapy to deal with the head issues plaguing me. I then went to the www.lapband.com website to find a doctor and seminar near me -- I made sure to find a doctor well-qualified with the Lapband procedure and after several months of research I made the decision to go ahead with the procedure. I am in California and my doctor is Carson Liu -- he has done over 4,000 procedures and is one of the leaders in perfecting it over the years. His practice navigated the insurance for me and I was qualified and had the procedure 2 weeks ago. This is the first time in several years that I now have hope of overcoming this weight issue and getting healthier and happier! Take all the steps to a happier life for yourself - you are young and you are worth it! Tackle the depression so that you are in a better frame of mind for the procedure as it still is work to change your lifestyle. I wish you luck and perseverance to get started to a healthier happier life!

Deb

Thank you so much for responding to this.

I think for the time being I have decided to delay surgery but I wish you the best of luck!