I posted a "hi" in the introduction forum, but figured I'd do it here also.

My name is Joe. I'm 41 and live in a suburb of Buffalo NY. My doctor has been suggesting I have Lap Band since I had my quadruple bypass in 2007. After many years of "thinking it over" I've decided I;m finally ready to take the first step. I'm 5'8" and currently 300 pounds. I know my "ideal" weight is 154, but seriously, that's just a joke. I'd love to get down to 180, but honestly 199 would be fantastic. I can't remember the last time my weight started with a "1"

I'm an artisan bread baker by trade so my job is very physically demanding, which is part of the reason I want to have the surgery, and yet haven't had it yet. I'm worried about recovery, time out of work, and things like that. I'm curious if you told people before the surgery what you were doing, or kept it to yourself. I'm also curious how you dealt with questions after the surgery.

Basically, I'm curious how this surgery has affected people's lives.How difficult was the process leading up to it? I personally don't know anyone who has had Lap band, so I'm turning to the internet for information. (Because you know if it's on the internet it must be true LOL) i thought talking to guys who have gone throught this would be helpful before making the call to the surgeon for an appointment.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to becoming a regular here.

welcome, I had my surgery done at buffalo general by DR Posner. been a little over a year and very good weight loss. good luck!

I was a beer maker and bread maker for over 20 years. I still have 200 lbs of malted barley in my

brewery. It was really hard to quit, but I had diabetes and other stuff wrong, so my doctor and I

decided a life style change was in order. I hated to give up all the things that were so important to

me, but considering the alternative, I had the band installed. I was about the same weight you are,

so I had to lose 20 lbs pre op and another 30 post op, but I did and I can honestly say that after

3 months I don't miss all that stuff nearly as much as I thought I would. I don't know if it's a different

mind set or if there was some biological change. Whatever, I'll take it. I can say that my life has changed

for the better even after giving up so many of the things I enjoyed. I found new stuff to enjoy.

I think if you give this an honest try, you'll be able to feel the same way. The surgery is a snap,

you go in lie down and wake up in recovery. I was able to take a long walk the next day, no pain,

you should be able to go back to work, depending how much you have to lift, in a week or two.

Just follow your surgeon's instructions and you'll be fine. The whole thing is like a diet with a little

help from the band.

Hi as the last guys said the surgery is a snap, I actually went the the store with my wife on the way home, Just to pick up a few things. You are sore the first few days, take your pain meds and take a nap. Think you should plan to take about a week off, the biggest thing will be how much you can lift, you will need to discuss this with your DR. You may want to just plan to have someone who can due any heavy lifting for you. Regarding your goal, all these Dr. now talk about reaching a healthy sustainability weight. I am a bit over 6 Ft my Goal is 225, the charts will tell you I should be like 190! but all my Dr say that 230 - 240 would be a healthy weight.

The lapband is a great tool and really helped to get me on the long term track to get healthy! so good luck to you and I have relied a lot on this site.

Hi,

I had a two week liquid diet before surgery and was off from work for a week after surgery. I can work from home so I did that the second week after surgery. I had minimal pain after surgery and my recovery has gone well. I get to start back on solid foods in one day. Select a good surgeon, a center of excellence facility if possible, follow the instructions given to you and you should be fine. I have a blog and posts on YouTube you can check for details about my experience. Good luck to you.

TBM

Hi JVS!

I'm just accross the river from you and have to agree with everyone else, the surgery is a snap! Almost too much of a snap.............I pushed it a little bit and started eating and having a few drinks ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, maybe before I should have.............

Good Luck!

Im From Buffalo too,I go to the Drs the 30th for a Referral and consulatation. I searching for surgeons and all that, But just want to say Congrats!

<p style="text-align: center">My Surgery was on a Thursday and I went to work The tuesday after but stayed home wed and thursday because I had really bad gas pains! I am a Desk Jockey so it was not a problem</p>

<p style="text-align: center"> </p>

Im From Buffalo too,I go to the Drs the 30th for a Referral and consulatation. I searching for surgeons and all that, But just want to say Congrats!

From everything I've heard and read, Dr Caruana is the best in our area. He works out of Sisters. I don't have the exact website link, but just google Synergy Bariatric.

I can't believe how many people on here are from the Buffalo area. We must be living in one unhealthy city lol.

well i got my date january 31st 2012 i got to go for my pre op work at the hosp tuesday and my final weight in wednesday so nervous and excited DR.posner and his staff at the weight loss center are wonderful.......