Hi everyone! I'm from Mobile, AL and I'm considering the Lap Band surgery. I'm 25 years old and have been overweight all of my life. What lead me to the idea of Lap Band is the fact that I have tried diet and exercise and nothing seems to work. Being young of course I've tried the crash diets and the diet pills but where my heartbreak has come in is two separate times in my life when I worked my hardest with hard exercise and saw no results.

I am currently divorced but before I got married I spend 3 straight months on a watchful diet but worked out in the gym about 4 days a week, over an hour each time. This included aerobics class, weights, treadmill and cycle. I never saw any results that I thought I would have for that amount of work but I didn't let it bother me. I was getting married to a man that loved me no matter what, right?

Fast forward 5 years later. Left me for another woman, same ole sad story. So of course my already non-existent self confidence left-even though she was no beauty queen & was older than I was, it really hurt me. I lost a lot of weight right after I left, which I joking called the "divorce diet" but 3 months later I fell in the yard and got a very, very rare ankle injury. That mixed with a quack of a doctor left me almost unable to walk for over a year so physical activity was impossible. That did nothing but put me in a complete panic about gaining weight. So 3 months ago I saw a new doctor (sadly thanks to my dad breaking his leg & needing 2 metal plates & 7 screws) but there was no way I would allow my mother to take him to the same orthopedic clinic!!! So after they saw the professionalism they asked my dad's dr. to look over my records. He forwarded it on to a surgeon who specializes only with ankle injuries. So on May 24th I had a major surgery that involved removing an entire section of my talus bone and implanting a section of bone & cartilage from a cadaver & screwing it all back together. So from this I have not been allowed to walk for six weeks. Again, panic mode about weight gain.

So my point of that was to say that before this surgery I had given up on them finding a solution and decided I was going back to the gym. I didn't care if my ankle hurt because it hurt regardless, even to walk. (Bare in mind I was only able to walk with the help of a leg brace/air cast) But I hit the gym. 4 times a week, around 10 miles the cycle put on random hill (so there was varied resistance) as well as a mile or so on the treadmill at about 3.5 miles an hour w/ slight 2% incline. Lifted arm weights at home, total of 120 lifts a day (I did 6 different arm exercises, 10 reps each exercise but did this twice a day). I cut out all soda, starting drinking Water (almost no diet drinks due to preservatives), ate amazing (I can't eat veggies because they make me vomit) but ate nothing fried, went to GNC and started taking OxyElite Pro (for appetite control) as well as CLA to help with the belly fat--even though it takes a long time to work. So 2 1/2 months.......almost NO results.

I'm at my wits ends! I was working out, pouring buckets of sweat, feeling sore and being so very hungry. Thinking about food alllllll day long and being so very hungry. I discovered than when you cut out junk food, that hunger is not just hunger--it's pain.

So I've been reading up on the Lap Band and I like the idea because it's done laparoscopically & doesn't involve cutting & sewing of organs. The reason for my recent work out kick was not to just simply loose weight, it was because I wanted to change my lifestyle. I'm not worried about dieting and simply dropping pounds, I want to change my life. I was ok with the results taking a long time to see because I don't weight myself. I'm more concerned about what I see in the mirror as results. A lady my mother works with is a nurse and she's talked before about the procedure and raves about it.

I'm not sure if my insurance will cover it, although with my ankle now being a life-long condition (I'll have to go several times a year for the rest of my life because that section of bone could collapse) I feel that it is important for my health and for the well being of my walking condition LOL.

My major fears are post-op. I'd like to get the surgery done within a few months so the time out of work is kind of scary because I've been out for 2 months already, but I'm a dispatcher so I sit for 12 hours & do little physical activity (which I hate...but in this instance it's helpful) and because I work shift work I have a crazy schedule so if I take 2 days it's actually a full week. But only a week. If I take 2 more days it ends up being almost 2 weeks (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs) then back that next Fri. I'm also worried about the food afterwards, eating only liquids for a while seems like that would be tough and I'm scared I'd be hungry. Although after looking at some recipes on the Lap Band site I see I could easily make them ahead of time & freeze. I'm worried about how long the operation takes and how bad the pain level is. I'm concerned about getting band adjustments because I read it takes several times to get right and I'm scared I won't see the weight come off. I would be committed to living a better lifestyle that included a better diet and exercise but spending months in a gym 8 hours a week and seeing almost nothing isn't going to help me.

I just want to feel good. I never have, I've always been self conscious and I just want to not be anymore. I'd like to shop in more than 2 stores in the mall & not feel embarrassed to go into the women's department where the styles are so limited I'd almost want to wear a garbage bag. I want to be social, I want to go out and I want to meet people. I want to go do things and I want to have fun and honestly I feel like a living Eeyore (from Winnie the Pooh) and I'm just not like that. Where I use to work (when I felt half way confident) my co-workers described me as "bubbly" and I am. I'm single so I want to be able to go out and not be embarrassed anymore, I want to try and find a better job, one that might involve travel and I don't want to see that "Oh, she's the fat girl" look on their faces when I go into an interview. I'm just ready to change my life and I know that simply losing weight won't do that and I'll probably need some cousiling too but I gotta take that first step.

ANY and ALL comments, opinions, hints, tips, advice is MORE than WELCOME & WANTED!!! Thanks soooo much!

BrandieLou - I am from Baldwin County. I had my surgery last September and have lost 65lbs so far. I would be more than happy to tell you about my experience so far if you want to know. I am happy that I chose to have lap band. Diet and exercise where not doing it for me either, although, you sound way more dedicated to your routine than I was to mine. Send me a message and I will be happy to give you a call, email you, hit you up on facebook, whichever you prefer.

The first step is making the decision. The rest is... well, more work!

Good luck, everyone!

it is understandable you have concerns - I am newly banded (3 1/2 weeks post op) but here is my experience and comments so far from my Journey

Since your job is a desk job 0ne week off should be more than sufficient - Most people have surgery We or Thursday and are back to work by Monday - (I travel extensively for my job and when I am not traveling I work form Home -) I had surgery Wed and checked emails Thursday and back to conference calls and paper work Friday - I took my pain meds all day Wed - 2 xs Thursday and then Friday before bed - I have not taken any pain meds since.

As far as hunger goes the first week you will not be very hungry - once you get off the liguid diets and start mushies (very soft foods) and then get to solids your hunger will go away - there is also of course head hunger which is not real hunger but your head is tellign you to eat

As you go on in the journey and become hungry more than 4-5 hours between meals - that is when you get a fill to help alleviate the hungry's

For me the band is working very well - I eat 3 meals a day without hunger in between - I do not even think about food until I get hungry -- which is totally different form before the lap band - Food was a big part of my day prior to surgery

I was fortunate and did nto have significant gas pains (which are typical with this surgery) until the 4th day - a heating pad, Gas X and Hot tea and walking helped tremendously (which you could probably do at your job If needed)

I was on my sgtatioanry bike by 5 days (slowly yes bit still excercising)

It sounds like you are wanting this for all the right reasons - keep researching and ask lots of questions

Its sounds like you have the desire and motivation to make the band workj with you I wish you luck and let me knwo your progress and descion