I am seriously contemplating the lap band, and am starting my research. Been reading this forum for a few weeks, and I don't think anything has impressed me more. Talk about a built-in support system.

I have, of course concerns about the band and if its right for me. I was diagnosed as a diabetic 6 years ago, managed to loose a little weight, and by managing my foods, got off my diabetes meds within the first year. Over time, I lost some weight, about 60 lbs, and kept if off thru never ending hard work.

I just finished fighting uterine cancer with the usual nightmare treatments, and have all clear from doctors, and w/an excellent prognosis. Also, fighting the cancer, I've lost more weight, bringing me down to 215ish. I hope I can qualify for the band.

However, because of the cancer process, I lost my way with managing my diabetes, and am back on meds. Probably because of having to keep so many balls in the air during the entire radiation/chemo treatments, I am finding harder than ever to keep the weight off, and manage my sugar levels. I am hungry, ravenishly hungry every moment of every day. I am hoping the band would work with me, in keeping my appetite to a reasonable level. Even when I was managing the diabetes I was always frantically hungry. I am always on the edge of a full blown binge just because I am so hungry all the time.

So I guess I am most curious about hunger levels, and if having the surgery would end the constant fretting about diabetes...a little peace w/my desire to eat would be welcome about now.

any and all comments would be most helpful. Thank you...

Hi Pink,

Welcome to the forum! So sorry to hear you have had such a tough road. Glad you have made it through and still going strong!! I think the decision to get banded will only make things get even better for you. I was 228 when I got the surgery. My BMI was relatively low. I could not have had the surgery done in the states, which is one of the reasons I went to Mexico.

I got banded in April '06. I've lost 90lbs. It was the BEST decision of my life. I was sooooo nervous wondering if I was making the right decision. I was self pay and my husband was reluctantly going along with my decision. I felt a lot of pressure. I have not looked back. It has changed my life. This year I will finally post before and after pictures. I've gone from a size 20 to a size 6/7. Very few complications other than my port practically sticks out now that I'm so thin. That's a small price to pay though. I've had very few complications. No, I don't get to eat everything I want to eat but isn't that the purpose of the band?? I have never dealt with being overly hungry, PHYSICALLY. What you will battle is being hungry MENTALLY. Some people don't deal with much purging but I've had purging issues every since my second fill so I never am overly hungry in the physical sense because my stomach can only hold so much. In case you don't know, purging is when food does not agree with you and gets stuck. Rather than going down, it comes back up and must be purged. Even 5 yrs post-op I still deal with purging on a regular basis. I don't mind though I've learned to work around it.

Recovery time from the surgery hmmm.... what recovery time? The day of the surgery I recovered in the hotel room and the next day my husband and I were up walking around Tijuana. That was the only recovery time I needed. Afterward I went sight-seeing in San Diego for a couple days before returning home. The 'gas' people talk about is not gas like burping or farting but shoulder pain. I believe it's described as the gas used to inflate your stomach for the surgery or something like that. I bought Gas-X strips to help with the pain and was fine. Be sure to pack those.

I was beginning to develop joint pain, muscle pain (fibromyalga) high blood pressure and all sorts of other issues as a result of gaining so much weight. I have none of those problems now that I've lost 90lbs. I pray everything works out for you too Pink. Let me know if you need anything else or have any other questions. Wishing you the best!

Lynn

I've lost more weight, bringing me down to 215ish. I hope I can qualify for the band.

What does "215ish" translate to in terms of your BMI? On 2/17 the FDA approved the lap-band (the LAP-BAND brand, I don't know for sure if it applies to all AGB) for BMIs of 30 - 35, with at least one obesity-related comorbidity. This is from Allergan, maker of the LAP-BAND AGB:

This is EXCELLENT news for potential patients. Adding the BMI 30-35 patient segment opens the LAP-BAND® up as a possible option to over 26 million NEW patients that previously could not qualify for surgery.

This also means the LAP-BAND® is now indicated for those who are 30 lbs or more over their ideal weight with a BMI of at least 30 kg/m2with one or more obesity related co-morbid conditions.

So I guess I am most curious about hunger levels

People experience hunger differently - unfortunately there's no way to predict your individual reaction to it. Most people find their hunger is satiated with a small amout of food. I, personally, virtually lost the sensation of hunger alltogether. I posted yesterday that in 5+ years, I can count on one hand the number of times I've felt true hunger - and that's not an exaggeration. On top of that, when I'm rsetricted, a very small amount of food leaves me feeling like I just ate Thanksgiving dinner. That's a terribly hard concept for non-banded people to process, but it's a very common analogy. I know a few people whose hunger was only mildly satiated, but they adjusted to it (because they COULDN'T overeat). And there's about 30 other possibilities among those.

and if having the surgery would end the constant fretting about diabetes...

I assume from your question that you have type 2 diabetes...? Do you know if your diabetets is primarily because of excess weight/insulin resistance, or or inadeuqate insulin production? If your pancreas is still doing a good job, and the cause is primarily insulin resistance, odds are a little better. How long have you had the diagnosis, and how long does your doctor suspect it went undiagnosed? All of these factors & more will play a role. Losing weight can certainly help, but it isn't a guaranteed "cure". But regardless, wouldn't ending the constant fretting about lots of other things be worth it? For me, just getting away from the daily mental bashing of, "Ugh I need to lose weight" was worth it. I still need to lose weight (I'm down about 130 - 140, but needed to lose about 200), but I don't beat myself up all day, every day, every time I eat -- and come to find out, it was a much needed mental vacation.

Hey I have a ? What is the port thinw that sticks out everybody talkin bout just wonderinq

The port is the injection site for your fills/unfills. It will also be your largest incision. The others will be much smaller. The port has been described for me like what chemotherapy patients use to receive medication. When you're larger you can locate the port by pushing around your stomach near the incision but as you lose weight it becomes more prominent. Surgery techniques may be improving now to the point of alleviating that issue. I had my surgery 5 years ago so I'm not sure what's going on now other than to say my own port is protruding like a gum ball!