All of these stories... Scared me!!

[JhonnieB 73]

Hello all. I'm fairly new. I go from the vsg to the lapband forum all the time.

I found out my employer doesn't cover the vsg so my only choice is the lapband. I have been researching so much that I'm terrified of the outcome. I just need a little help with losing weight but if help is going to hurt me I don't want it!!

My surgery(lapband) is scheduled next month. Should I stop looking??

I'm scared out my mind!! And I surely don't want to waste $2500 to do this if its not going to work. My friend had it and she's fine. I just don't want to be one of those BAD patients where everything fails!!

[cheryl2586 3,053]

You can't assume that you are going to fail. Look how many of us have been successful. If you're not 100% sure then wait. You have to go in to this with commitment of 100% for it to work. If you're having that many doubts then put if off for a while til you feel comfortable.

[BayougirlMrsS 3,933]

Cheryl is correct.... So did you feel the same when you thought you were getting the Sleeve? With every type of surgery there are Great out comes and .... lets just say ... not so great out comes.

The LB is what you make of it. If you chose to listen to your Doctor... and only your doctor, do exactly what he/she tells you and you are committed to this 100%, you will succeed. You will NOT wake up skinny and you will have to work at it by Watching Everything you put in your mouth, the way you eat everything and how you drink.... but with the band you will have the time to adjust unlike with the sleeve and bypass, where you wake up and BAM... you are restricted on your eats.... which is why i chose the band. And... You will have to exercise.... the band will not do it all for you...

I would suggest you join a LB support group NOW....

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

again i agree with cheryl and bayou

success depends alot on you (helping the band)

sure there is good and bad with any WLS but try not to focus on the negative. read the posts on here from people who have lost alot of weight and are successful:

cheryl

bayou

missy 73

love the new me

grammy

AJ

Jim

B52

TMF

lapbandster

jean mcmillian

our own Alex head of this forum..

and so many more..

try to not think what could happen but can happen

if you use it to get well.

[FLORIDAYS 3,040]

I will add my name to the success list.... let me know if you have specific questions and I would be happy to answer them.

[JhonnieB 73]

Thank you for responding. I wasn't "As" nervous when I was preparing for the sleeve. My surgeon said it has a greater percent of success but its hella costly. I don't know what I'm going to do.

I read the forum all day like I'm studying for a test. My preop class is the 7th I have to sign on the dotted line that day and pay my deductible so I'll make up my mind soon.

[A New New Dawn 1,695]

Well, first I am glad you are exploring your options and wanting to take control of your weight and health. It is a huge challenge many of us face.

That being said, I would hate for you to proceed with the surgery if you are not comfortable doing so. My coworker put it well to me before I had it done and said "this is no silver bullet, but it's as close to one as I can get" as he is 4 years banded. The band will not do all the work but it is a great tool if you work with it.

Speaking of my experience, January 2011 I began looking into the band. My mother had the bypass and I wanted no part of it and didn't know much about the sleeve. I went through some appointments to prep. I had a lot going on personally so I decided to hold off as I knew I wasn't in the right place emotionally to do it and couldn't be focused appropriately. Fast forward to this January, I was in a better place and decided to pursue it again. I had the surgery 7/25 and couldn't be happier. It hasn't been a walk in the park but it has been a Godsend for me.

I had days I was in tears after being banded as the first couple of months I struggled learning to eat differently, and struggled mostly w/ my emotional relationship with food. Before having the surgery, I truly hadn't dieted in years, hadn't exercised and had just "thrown in the towel". Since having this, I am not craving the junk I used to eat. It just went by the wayside. I still have an ocassional treat (in moderation) and that satisfies me. I cannot overeat if I try (not that I do) but my band keeps me in check in that regard.

It does do a lot of the work and as long as you don't cheat it (eating "slider" foods that get past the band easily such as candy, icecream, chips, etc) it is possible to lose most of your excess weight.

The other thing I would like to add is many people feel w/ the band the weight just falls off (like with gastric bypass). There are some people that have this type of results but the typical expected weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week. So, if you do proceed, make sure you have realistic expectations.

Lastly, if there is a seminar and/or support group in your area, I would encourage you to attend to talk to people that have been through it and get real life experience.

Good luck on whatever you choose and to a healthier you.

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,721]

I will add my name to the success list.... let me know if you have specific questions and I would be happy to answer them.

(oh my gosh, i am so sorry, i forgot YOU)

please forgive me...

[BayougirlMrsS 3,933]

C-girl.... thanks for the vote of confidence ... So may people have been an inspiration too me.... but two of my biggest... now thinnest...lol are Makulafamy.. she writes a fab. blog http://cheeseandsunk...gspot.com so funny. When she started her WL journey she was with a guy and then fell in love with her personal trainer.... a girl... Love her, so funny and smart

and if you want real inspiration mumof2boys.... go into the rant part of the forums at the bottom and read Betrayal is a b***h...

This woman has been thru a cheating husband, cancer, surgeries remarried

and another baby late in life.. And lellow... Now that's i'm writing this... so many come to mind..... all the ones C-girl said and guymustang, budd, momomel, tcarroll, Ms. Jean of corse.... Dennis, fatboyslim, kim...... Oh hell i could go on and on, but just look at my friends list and i have tons of inspiration....

I can tell you i have seen way more success than not. Here and in person. I have had 5 friends have the Bypass and all but one has gained all the weight back, two had the sleeve and one has done great, but recently gained about 20 back.... the other not so good. The band... including me 6... i count my self as a sucess... lol.... 3 have done amazing... 1 (my sister in law) just had her band removed and had bypass... she was a terrible band member... and my cousin... another terrible, lazy band member... didn't count on it being "real work".

Love you guys.....

[wildrose1966 396]

I paid $16,000 for the unknown. All I know is that I have to do alot of work and I will be successful and every penny will have been worth it.

[Japandii 8]

Hello all. I'm fairly new. I go from the vsg to the lapband forum all the time.

I found out my employer doesn't cover the vsg so my only choice is the lapband. I have been researching so much that I'm terrified of the outcome. I just need a little help with losing weight but if help is going to hurt me I don't want it!!

My surgery(lapband) is scheduled next month. Should I stop looking??

I'm scared out my mind!! And I surely don't want to waste 2500 to do this if its not going to work. My friend had it and she's fine. I just don't want to be one of those BAD patients where everything fails!!

I just got banded today, before I kept reading others people's expierence a and was super scared, but in all honesty it's not as bad as some people make it sound, my pain is very minimal, mainly just minor back pain, but lap band is well worth it!

[eperez 2]

Japandii

I'm do happy to hear everything went well. I get banded tomorrow and I am scared about the pain and gas that everyone talks about. Take care

[daisychains7 427]

The power to succeed (or fail) is in your hands. In rare cases, there are legitimate complications... but the majority of people who do not lose weight with their bands are not eating the right foods, exercising, getting follow up care, or following doctors orders. At the end of the day, the band will not work unless you do. In some ways, life after the band is harder, but I would do it all over again because I feel healthy for the first time in my life. Give yourself more time to think it over.

[KellyGram 36]

It's time to be honest with yourself:

1) Have you been doing the work to deal with the reasons why you over-eat? It's important to get nutritional AND emotional counseling to learn how to deal with the reasons why we over-eat. If you aren't willing to do that work, the Lap-Band isn't going to work for you long-term. You have to make the behavioral changes. It is a tool to help you learn to control your portion sizes -- but it doesn't affect your ability to eat junk and there is no mal-absorption to 'make' you lose weight even when you're eating crap.

2-Are you willing to exercise? I personally hate it, and because of that, my weight loss was very slow in the beginning. As I lost weight and it got eaasier to move around (I started at 360#) and my activity level went up, which influenced the pace of weight loss. If you aren't willing to up your activity level to help burn off the calories you're eating as well as the one's you've stored up, the Band is NOT for you. You're going to lose some weight but eventually you're going to be back where you started.

3-Do you want the drastic, no-going-back kind of surgery (VSG, et al) or do you want something that can be reversed if necessary? I went with the least invasive, least drastic surgery out there. Its been 4 years and I've dropped 130#. I've dropped 35# with an empty band the past 4 months, because I've done the work to make the changes in my eating and activity patterns. I'm hoping to keep the band for the rest of my life -- it's become a friend in ways -- but I like knowing that if something happens to my GI tract, this surgery can be quickly and easily reversed.