Hi! I'm new to this site and am currently going through all the pre-banding tests, hopefully will get insurance OKed, with a goal of surgery Feb of next year.

I've got a question about your social life post-band... For dating, and social events, do you find you're able to 'fake it'? Can you say- oh, I had a big lunch, or I don't drink sodas, or whatever- or do you find it so restrictive that it's difficult to keep a secret? Have you suffered any embarrassing side-effects that make going out difficult? Part of why I'm doing this is to be more comfortable with myself so I can be more comfortable dating, but I don't want to exchange one issue for another! Any thoughts are appreciated.

I am a social butterfly and to be perfectly honest, after saying no thanks a couple of times, people have stopped pushing food onto me. If I make a big deal of it, then they will make a big deal of it. A quiet but firm, no thank you and then change the subject or move on seems to do the trick. Don't 'fake it' because you may feel guilty about lying./fudging the truth to people, and you have to remember which story you have told to which person and that becomes really messy.