i just read through most of the thread on 'what BMI is too large to be banded" and I have to say, while there were some encouraging posts in there, I only saw posts from people who had like a BMI of 55 or so. I have a BMI of more than 60. My handy BMI wheel they gave me doesn't go past 60.....anyway, RNY and the sleeve are NOT an option for me. I mentally just can't cut something up. The band seems more my style. I like the idea of it being reversible if weight loss doesn't happen...but I am afraid that I am too large and it's not going to work for me at all.

I haven't yet had my consult, that isn't happening until mid-April, but I was hoping that there were other people out there who not only had more than just 200 pounds to lose but were successful at keeping some of it off. I am not looking to get skinny. i would be the happiest person on the earth if i weighted 250-275 pounds. right now, that seems like a far off dream....

also, i am not interested in losing weight really super fast, i know this is a slow and steady wins the race kinda thing, so i am mentally prepared. I am more curious if i could feel restriction at my size at all.

anyway, just thought i would ask. thanks in advance for your calming words of wisdom

Hello. I just wanted to offer some encouragement. I was 497 when I began the lap band process. I was 454 on my surgery day (3-18-11). It is possible and we can do it. Best wishes on your weight loss journey. I too have a wonderful supportive husband and can't wait to really live life with him and my little boy.

I have a wonderful husband who is supportive of any decision that I make. He has never ever pressured me to lose weight, always saying that i am beautiful just the way that I am, so in that regard, i am extremely lucky and blessed. This is totally my decision and I am doing it on my own without feeling that i have to do it to be loved or accepted by anyone but myself....and also to perhaps have more energy to do things that i really want to do, and to travel more with my wonderful husband. i obviously have issues with travelling. they are more mental than physical i suppose, but i am looking forward to our lives together after i can sit in a roller coaster, parasail, zip line, or any of the 100 things that i want to be able to do but am too heavy to do at this time...including having children. i can't wait to really get started.

i just read through most of the thread on 'what BMI is too large to be banded" and I have to say, while there were some encouraging posts in there, I only saw posts from people who had like a BMI of 55 or so. I have a BMI of more than 60. My handy BMI wheel they gave me doesn't go past 60.....anyway, RNY and the sleeve are NOT an option for me. I mentally just can't cut something up. The band seems more my style. I like the idea of it being reversible if weight loss doesn't happen...but I am afraid that I am too large and it's not going to work for me at all.

I haven't yet had my consult, that isn't happening until mid-April, but I was hoping that there were other people out there who not only had more than just 200 pounds to lose but were successful at keeping some of it off. I am not looking to get skinny. i would be the happiest person on the earth if i weighted 250-275 pounds. right now, that seems like a far off dream....

also, i am not interested in losing weight really super fast, i know this is a slow and steady wins the race kinda thing, so i am mentally prepared. I am more curious if i could feel restriction at my size at all.

anyway, just thought i would ask. thanks in advance for your calming words of wisdom

I started at 591, like a 73ish bmi

My BMI is around 57. I am having my surgery in 10 days, on April 5th and I'm currently on the pre-op low carb diet. I have at least 180 lbs to lose, if not more, and I am so excited to start getting it done!

You know, it doesn't matter who is fattest - some of us hold weight better. I can tell you that no one looking at me would think I weigh 364 lbs because I'm tall and it's pretty equally distributed. But I just keep reminding myself that at this weight it's like I'm carrying around a normal sized man on my back all the time...if I can still work and clean house with that man on my back, think of what I'll be able to do when I dump him!

We all have a long way to go, and I'm fully expecting it to take up to two years to lose the weight, at around 10 lbs a month. I just keep telling myself that food is fuel, and I can get my pleasure elsewhere. Like when I can wear a great pair of knee high boots and sit in an airplane seat without asking for a seatbelt extender, or having my thighs go numb from being crushed between the armrests!

Carlene

hi there i have a bmi over 60 as well and i am going to have my band done on the 7th of april next thursday..i have to go on a weeks pre opp diet which is just yoghurts and zero cal drinks

thanks again to everyone for making me feel better about this decision. I still have to have my consult with my dr., which is april 12th, but I've had the psych eval which was....eh...more uncomfortable than i was prepared for, but I guess it had to be done, and i met with my PCP and she has pretty much given me the ok. I have a couple more tests to run on her end before she will sign off, but she said that she's ok with it as long as my tests are ok....so that's where i am at this moment.

My BMI was 67 and I was at 467 lbs when I started. I had my band put in on 11/17/10 and it was difficult at firt, just getting used to the changes, especially the emotional habits of eating. I still have those issues, but I try to deal with them one at a time and not let the whole world rain down at once. So far I've lost 53 lbs and am hoping to start loosing more soon. I had some chicken get stuck a few weeks ago. My doctor took some fluid out, but i don't have a lot in there now. He's putting it in slowly and i'm getting used to decreasing my food amounts. I think this is a psychological necessity as opposed to the gastric where boom, you automatically have a one size fits all pouch.....that doesn't fit all sizes. I remember being so scared that I cried in the waiting area at the hospital waiting to go in for my surgery. It was this particular surger, just that i'd never had any kind of surgery in my life and was scared to death. Everyone was so nice and tried to help. Looking back, I kept doubting myself that maybe i was making a mistake, but i think without having lost some of this weight, i was on a sure road to death. At least this way, I had a fighting chance. I feel so blessed that I was able to do this now. It is hard sometimes when I want to gobble up something and have to remind myself to slow down and chew, chew, chew, and chew some more. Just loosing the 53lbs has been worth it and I am hoping that soon I will be able to loose some more. Good luck to you in whatever you chose for yourself. : )

I think my biggest fear is that I am gonna forget the thing is in me. I tend to kinda zone out while I eat, sometimes, I don't even notice that I have eaten anything. I suppose that behaviour is gonna have to come to an end.

I also must confess that I am doing this surgery for pure vanity reasons. I don't have any co-morbidities at all, my BP is perfect, I don't have diabetes or sleep apnea or any of that stuff. People have been telling me for decades that I'm gonna die because i'm fat, and well,,,,i'm still here, and medically I must be a miracle. My only issue is my fat and the life that I allow it to keep me from living.....so, that is the only reason I'm doing this. I have no doubt that if i didn't have the surgery, I would still live a long and healthy life, I would just be huge. I would like to not be this huge for the time I have left though.

anyway, my consult is tomorrow am, so I am really nervous. I will update and let you all know how it went.

True that you may not have any medical complications but the mental difficulties are sometimes a much bigger issue. You are going to have to change your lifestyle and eating habits. You also need to try and figure out what your triggers are before you make your decision. When I started this I weighed 402 lbs, I am now down to 390 and I have my surgery on the 15th of this month. I hope that if you do decide to do this you really are 100% dedicated to doing it the right way. I also hope your consult went well today. Please keep us posted on your progress. Best of luck to you and if you ever need to talk please feel free to message me directly. Hope to hear from you soon.

~Pamela

my bmi is 63 and since i started the pre surgical diet I lost 20 lbs already and i am getting banded in 10 days. I have about 250 to lose all together and was also feeling like the fattest one but i feel better now

Ashercrashers, I TOTALLY know how you feel . perhaps we can be buddies and help each other since we'll be going through things at a similar time.

Larry, my doctor said that I was a perfect candidate for it, even though my BMI is around 61. He does other kinds of surgery, but he is a real believer in the band, so he said that he thinks I will do very well on it, even with my weight.

As for the appointment, it went great today. My surgical date was also set and will be on May 4th. I will begin the liquid diet on April 20th.

I am kinda in panic mode right now since the surgery is so close. I feel like i want to eat everything in sight. "ooh, pizza, i won't get to have that for a while, i might as well eat the WHOLE pie"...."ooh, pork chops, yep won't see those for months, let's fry those suckers up!"

I *might* be exaggerating a bit, but only a teensy bit.

YOU CAN DO THIS - KEEP POSITIVE - IT WORKS!!!

Larry, you have no idea how helpful it is for me to read your last post. Knowing that today might not be the last day i have steak, or that i might be able to have bread again one day is immensely nerve-calming.

i have been having bouts of crying, uncertainty, certainty, etc, etc, etc...just an emotional roller coaster that is very draining, both physically and mentally. everytime i think i have my mind made up to go ahead, something makes me question my decision....today, it's all the paperwork i'm having to fill out for the hospital that says stuff like "you know there is a chance you will die" ....well, yeah, i know that, but it's so matter of fact that putting in front of my face is making it real. do i really want to risk death on may 4th.. do i want to take the chance that i will live and be thinner, and therefore happier? or do i not want that risk, do i just want to live out my days in chubby misery, but still alive.

i hope this is a common fear/ worry that most people have and i hope that the answer will clearly ring in my head like a bell so i will know that i am 100%, beyond a shadow of a doubt doing the right thing.

That is wonderful insight Larry. I just can't believe how emotional this is all making me.

I had a glass of wine last night and it calmed me down, i went to sleep and woke up with the thought of "i am doing the right thing".

Then, on my way to jury duty, i stopped off to get some Breakfast..an innocent looking egg mcmuffin. i sat down and took a bite and then just burst into tears with the thoughts of "i can never just take a huge bite of anything again." that sounds so silly, but I guess i'm kind of a food aholic ...taking a huge bite of something, feeling the greese just smush out and go down is (sadly) very enjoyable for me.

later, when i got home i was so thirsty and parched. I made a glass of Crystal Light lemonade and took a huge refreshing gulp of it. I almost downed the entire glass with one swig. this is something I do quite often, just chug Water, crystal light, cold refreshing things, especially in the summer. I won't be able to do that again. I know these sound like stupid petty things, but it is almost like i'm on death row and I have to have all my chugging and gulping before I give up my life and get my (what i'm calling) my Spike Chip.

I'm calling the band my Spike Chip after Spike from Buffy the vampire slayer. Some government guys kidnap him and put a chip in his head that causes physical pain any time he wants to drink someone's blood. with all that negative reinforcement, he stops drinking fresh human blood. so this little guy is my spike chip....if i can convince myself to just do it.

I am 27 years old..being banded on May 10th!!! WOO HOO almost here!

My weight this week at the pre-op orientation was 456, making my BMI 55.5

I have over 200 lbs to lose and it would be awesome to at least lose that! It definitely feels like most of us 'larger' large people go with the RNY instead of the band, but I am encouraged that it is going to work!

Best of luck to you!

Ben

www.benworship.wordpress.com

I am hoping that the band really works for me (with me) because i will not have RNY or Sleeve or any of that. if i can't lose weight this way, then that is just a sign that i'm supposed to be fat! i am going to try to do my part to eat healthy but i am really hoping that the band helps with my apatite issues. i could just eat all the time. I am already finding that whilst i am on the the 2 week liquid diet that i am not really hungry. i figured i would be miserable. so far, my only misery has been...ummmm tmi, but going to the bathroom. anyway, your surgery is just a few days after mine, so good luck to you and i'm glad there is more than just one of us who have a lot to lose. it can get kind of discouraging for me to read all the posts from people whose starting weight is my goal weight.