Hi my name is Amber I'm 24 a single mom of a 5 yr old son. I am considering having lapband I currently weigh 244 and I jus feel yuck all the time I'm always tired and seems like something on me is always is pain can't remember last time I woke up feeling great! My parents both have had gastric bypass too me that's too much and my mom mentioned lapband and told me once the weight is off I will feel so much better! I have joined the site to learn more about lapband and hear success stories.my first apt is on march 17th

Hi Amber!

Welcome to the forum. It's a pleasure to meet you. 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??

Complications: My surgery scars did keloid unfortunately. They're not that big but I was surprised because I never had keloids before. Some people have problems with purging food when it gets stuck and others don't. I've always dealt with purging from the time of my second fill due to the level of restriction I have. But it also caused me to lose 90lbs so I'm not complaining. I don't purge everything just some things so I just learned to work around it.

Recovery time .... 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 if you have the surgery.

Hopefully hearing the experience of someone 5 years post-op will be helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions. Wishing you the best in your decision!

Lynn

There are plenty of success stories around here! My journey thus far has been easier than I ever expected. Surgery went well, I left the hospital the same day. I was uncomfortable from the gas pains for 3-4 days, but they are tolerable. Started off doing low carb for 7-8 months, lost about 112lbs, and I'm slowly working the remaining 12lbs off! No longer doing low carb, just eating well and exercising like a man person.

I didn't ever imagine losing so quickly, especially without having a fill, but the band alone gives me the level of restriction I'm comfortable with.

Good luck in whatever you decide!

Thank you! That is good that recovery time is fast cuz i can't take that much time off of work cant afford it. Thank you for your response!

Hi Amber!

Welcome to the forum. It's a pleasure to meet you. 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??

Complications: My surgery scars did keloid unfortunately. They're not that big but I was surprised because I never had keloids before. Some people have problems with purging food when it gets stuck and others don't. I've always dealt with purging from the time of my second fill due to the level of restriction I have. But it also caused me to lose 90lbs so I'm not complaining. I don't purge everything just some things so I just learned to work around it.

Recovery time .... 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 if you have the surgery.

Hopefully hearing the experience of someone 5 years post-op will be helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions. Wishing you the best in your decision!

Lynn

thank you for your response and thats awesome to lose that much in short amount of time! I'm pretty sure i'm going to get lap-band hopefully my insurance will approve it.

There are plenty of success stories around here! My journey thus far has been easier than I ever expected. Surgery went well, I left the hospital the same day. I was uncomfortable from the gas pains for 3-4 days, but they are tolerable. Started off doing low carb for 7-8 months, lost about 112lbs, and I'm slowly working the remaining 12lbs off! No longer doing low carb, just eating well and exercising like a man person.

I didn't ever imagine losing so quickly, especially without having a fill, but the band alone gives me the level of restriction I'm comfortable with.

Good luck in whatever you decide!