Ugh. So I've been thinking about lap band for years. Last May I decided I wanted to actually look into it and see what I needed to do. The doc gave me a whole bunch of things to do before I could qualify with him for surgery. Loose 15lbs, (I was at 360, 6' tall) which, I've lost 10, then gained it back and now I'm at 360 again. Heart clearance, sleep apnea tests, sleep studies, nutrition counceling, psych test, plus assembling lots of info. I've done everything except loosing 15lbs and the barium swallow. I can't schedule that because I need to be 330lbs to get the barium swallow.

I feel like every time I make a move, there's another road block. I commit to go bike riding to get active and loose weight - I get a flat tire. I suck it up, do it again. Get another flat tire. Now I finally schedule the barium swallow and I find out I need to loose 30lbs before I can even do that. I'm starting to get super defeated here. I'm dragging my feet as it is because the idea of the surgery scares the heck out of me. It's just so frustrating though. I haven't been 330 in about 5 years. I feel like if I could diet down adn loose 30lbs, I would have done it already. I did it once, about 10 years ago. I went from like 310 to 260 but I didn't have a child, I had a lot more cash flow for healthy eating and I was way more active. It slowly crept up, then I got pregnant, then my son had some medical issues - that's when the stress eatting really kicked up into high gear. The doc wont' do the surgery if you weigh more than 350lbs. Which doesn't really make sense either, since I know other people who weighed more than that who've gotten the surgery - just from a diff doc. This is the only one in my area though, so, I'm kinda stuck!

I'm not sure what I'm looking for here. Just a bit of a rant. I'm not telling anyone except my hubby about the surgery so I don't have anybody to rant to really. I'm just feeling emotional too because I turned 30 this week and this is not what I wanted to look like on my 30th birthday.

I understand you completely. When I started this journey in June 2010, I was told my surgeon wouldn't do the surgery on anyone with a BMI over 50. I was 53. I was told I had to lose 36 pounds in order to qualify for surgery. My thoughts were, "If I could that, I wouldn't NEED the surgery". I did try for about 3 or 4 months, but only lost about 5 pounds. I wasn't really dedicated though. I went through all the other testing (wellness, psych, nutritionist), but I just couldn't get the weight down. So, I gave up. I didn't think about it anymore and moved on.

Then, in April of 2011, I got a call from the doctor's assistant. She asked me to come in for a consult again. I had gained 14 pounds since my original meeting a year before. I was devastated. When would it end?? I, like you, got pregnant in 2009, and after having my baby, I wasn't paying any attention to what I ate and wasn't active. I was 318 the day I gave birth in Dec 2009. A year and a half later in April 2011, I was 326. I made a decision that day to do something. I joined myfitnesspal.com and started to log all my food. Anything that went into my mouth, I logged. I set it up to lose 2lbs a week. I logged my food and exercise and I started loosing 5 pounds a month like clockwork. I wasn't loosing the planned 2/week, but I WAS loosing. I had to do the 3 months of supervised dieting for my insurance again, so I went in at the end of April and weighed 318. In May, I was 313. June was 308. And July was 302. While paperwork got submitted for approval, I continued my routine of eating right (under 1500 cals a day) and exercising at least 3 days a week. When insurance got approved at the end of August, I was 298. They went ahead and scheduled my surgery and gave me a start date for my pre-op diet. I lost 15 pounds on the pre-op diet. The day of surgery I was 280. I was so proud of myself for committing to it and getting it done.

I too am now 30 years old and have been banded for about 5 months. I've only lost 30 pounds in those 5 months, but I've always been a slow loser. As long as the numbers keep going down though, I don't care if it takes me 5 years. I will get it all off.

My advice to you is make small changes here and there. Take out all sugary drinks and caloric beverages. Then, remove all unhealthy Snacks (chips, candy, cookies). Replace them with Protein (cottage cheese, greek yogurt, string cheese, protein bars). Keep track of your calories and make sure you are in a deficit each month for what your body burns. Any exercise you can add is great also for muscle tone. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn.

Also, don't stress about the surgery itself. It was not nearly as bad as I imagined. The first day is the worst. I was sore and couldn't even get liquids down, but I got through it and so will you. The more you can walk that first day, the better you will heal. I had no gas pains that others talk about, but I walked from the moment they let me up. I can't stand laying in hospital beds.

Good luck to you and I hope you can get through it. I know it seems like a lot, but with a few changes to your diet and lifestyle, it will come off.

I understand you are frustrated. Your logic however of "If I could loose 30 pounds I would" is faulty. The band is not magic. For me the first 6 months after banding was a willpower diet.

At 365 pounds I finally went to the doctor about horrible knee pain. The specialist gave me a pain perscription and told me to loose weight. A year later I had lost 30 pounds from swimming everyday but I still had a stroke at 39. Based on some research I've done I do think the pain medication I was taking contributed to the stroke.

During recovery one of my doctors asked if I had ever considered weight loss surgery. I was so insulted! I had lost 30 pounds after all.

Anyway at my first WLS consult I was told to loose 10% body weight. The reasoning was that the more fat you lost the easier it is for the surgeon to do the surgery. Due to issues from the blood clot I ended up having to delay my surgery for over months. Day of surgery I was 282, so had lost 53 pounds from time of consult.

Was it easy no. But with enough effort you can loose the required weight.

I would speak with you doctor about the weight limit for the barrum swallow.

Ugh. So I've been thinking about lap band for years. Last May I decided I wanted to actually look into it and see what I needed to do. The doc gave me a whole bunch of things to do before I could qualify with him for surgery. Loose 15lbs, (I was at 360, 6' tall) which, I've lost 10, then gained it back and now I'm at 360 again. Heart clearance, sleep apnea tests, sleep studies, nutrition counceling, psych test, plus assembling lots of info. I've done everything except loosing 15lbs and the barium swallow. I can't schedule that because I need to be 330lbs to get the barium swallow.

I feel like every time I make a move, there's another road block. I commit to go bike riding to get active and loose weight - I get a flat tire. I suck it up, do it again. Get another flat tire. Now I finally schedule the barium swallow and I find out I need to loose 30lbs before I can even do that. I'm starting to get super defeated here. I'm dragging my feet as it is because the idea of the surgery scares the heck out of me. It's just so frustrating though. I haven't been 330 in about 5 years. I feel like if I could diet down adn loose 30lbs, I would have done it already. I did it once, about 10 years ago. I went from like 310 to 260 but I didn't have a child, I had a lot more cash flow for healthy eating and I was way more active. It slowly crept up, then I got pregnant, then my son had some medical issues - that's when the stress eatting really kicked up into high gear. The doc wont' do the surgery if you weigh more than 350lbs. Which doesn't really make sense either, since I know other people who weighed more than that who've gotten the surgery - just from a diff doc. This is the only one in my area though, so, I'm kinda stuck!

I'm not sure what I'm looking for here. Just a bit of a rant. I'm not telling anyone except my hubby about the surgery so I don't have anybody to rant to really. I'm just feeling emotional too because I turned 30 this week and this is not what I wanted to look like on my 30th birthday.

Abbie - for me, the surgery was the easiest surgery I have ever had. I didn't have any gas pains (proactively took GasX just in case), the pain wasn't even pain - it was soreness, which goes away completely within 2 weeks. I was literally up and cleaning my daughter's house (stayed with her the first two days post surgery) and doing her laundry and feeling fine. For me, it was a breeze and I know it will be the best tool I have ever had, along with the hope and knowledge that I will one day be thin and be healthier. Again, keep in mind, the first several months post surgery, most people don't feel any restriction and even question whether or not they actually have a band - I did. I have had one fill of 5cc in my 11cc band and still don't have any restriction. I can eat anything and everything i want - which is good and bad. Good because I have more time to convert to a new life style and become more focused about loosing weight and eating healthier, but bad as I have only lost 10 lbs. in 6 weeks. My next fill is April 2nd - hoping to start filling restriction so that I can eat only 1/2 cup of food and be full. That is my dream. I say go for it - I don't the only regret many people ever have is not doing it sooner. Good Luck girl!!

You gotta realize what they are asking you to do is just the tip of the iceberg, there will be way more things afterwards that you will have to do for the lapband to work.