This is my first message to post so bear with me. I'm going to get banded this summer. I've been reading a lot of the entries on this website. I'm learning so much from everyone's experiences - what to eat, what not to eat, the golf ball, chew, chew, chew...) My question is this (and I don't know if I'm going to word this adequately) - have the sacrifices that you have had to make (giving up foods you loved before, chewing every bite for a long time, giving up diet drinks, etc) been worth it? The thought of giving up all my comfort food for a long period of time, is very scary. It's been my friend for a long time. But I'm more desperate to lose the weight and I'm hoping if the scale is going down then I won't care if I can't have that ice cream or french fries.

Would love some feedback.

SarahinTyler

Aw, I didn't mean for you to change your post. But how very generous of you to concede! :eekB:

As far as the carbonation debate...well, I've heard conflicting information. It stretches your pouch, it doesn't, it leads to erosion, it doesn't, and on and on. As goes the general sentiment on the board - if your doc says it's OK, then it's OK. And my doc says it's OK.

Hmmm...it's been a while since I had some chunky monkey...

My doc says to let it stay in the fridge a while and then I can have carbonation. I can tolerate about 1 a day. I sip on it through the whole day. I enjoy my 1 diet dr pepper a day It keeps the headaches away! I agree with you...do as your dr says!

oh, yeah. It's worth it.

The clincher for me is that I realised band or no band, if I wanted to lose the weight and keep it off then I could never ever eat that way again anyway. I could avoid eating that way with the help of the band or I could struggle to do the impossible on my own, either way I could not return to that way of eating or I would get fat again.

That's the truth. You cannot be a comfort eater, an overeater, a disorganised eater, a disordered eater. You cannot indulge yourself daily with foods that you love that dont nourish your body and you cannot stick your head in the sand and tell yourself that getting more active round the house constitutes the type of exercise that is really going to change your body.

YOu have to change those things if you want to lose weight and keep it off. You can do it with a helping hand or you can do it a much harder way, neither way is easy, but do it you must.

What you cant fathom at the stage your at is that these foods will cease to matter to you so much anyway and you wont care. You also probably cant fathom that you can and will eat them again, but hopefully in a more sensible way. Or that the restriction on your diet comes in stages, and that you are in control of those stages (ie. when you get your fills) so you can move through them as you feel ready to.

Well, Sarah, the good news (and bad news, depending how you look at it) is that you will always be able to have ice cream :-)

Getting this band has certainly presented some difficulties for me, and some discomfort. But it is unquestionably worth it. I am getting my health back and I am going to live to see my son graduate, get married, etc.

My knees rarely hurt anymore because of the weight I have dropped and my cholesterol has dropped 58 points. I sleep better and have more energy.

I would absolutely do this again.

Are you ready for your life to change? I know this can be a little scary. My whole life has been centered around food. My every emotion has made me want to run to food for comfort. My unhealthy eating not only made me fat, but made my children fatter. Do I want this self distructive cycle to change forever? YES! Will I have to make sacrifices? YES! Can I do it? YES THANKS TO MY BAND! For the first time in my life I feel like I have some control over my appetite. I have not felt one urge to eat a cheeseburger, fries, sweets, chips, or anything else loaded with fat and calories. I know it is time to eat, because I feel a little growl in my tummy. I then give it something healthy and it stops. I don't find myself standing in the refrigerator or pantry anymore looking for what salty or sweet thing is calling my name. I can live without Diet Coke! The last 5 times I have been in a Fast Food Restaurant was only to use the bathroom because I am drinking so much water I can't make it all the way home. I can pack my own meal and take it with me when invited to holiday meal at a friends house. I can finally eat to live and not live to eat. Freedom from addiction is a wonderful feeling!

I was my Drs. first lap band patient. I waited patiently for him to add this to his practice. He is the king of the bypass. I told him that I would have trusted him to do this surgery before he got certified to do so.

He seems a bit conservative when it comes to fills. I was banded on Dec. 17, 2007 and have had 5 fills. His concern is that I will get too tight, and according to his records, I am just about there. I think he may have missed the port a time or two during the fills. I can't feel when he injects into the port, but I definately can hear a pop when he pulls out the needle.

I have only lost 30 lbs, and have another 50 to go. I can eat mostly anything, but have had to give up steaks, prime rib, and soft breads due to them getting stuck. I love my band, and my dr. and it was sooo worth it, even if the weight loss is slow.

:regular_smile:Hello everyone I just got banded on 6/10/08 and I lost so far 13lbs. I feel great.My doctor was DR.STROM of Glen Ridge NJ. what a great doctor and the staff is so helpful through:thumbup: out.I wish what I knew now I would have got this a long time ago.I will keep everyone posted through out.

Howdy fellow Texan! (Sara in Tyler) I'm in Houston & I went to JourneyLite, Dr. Collier & you get free fills for life at their surgery center. It might be worth it to travel or find something similar closer to you. It cost $13500. That includes 1 yr follow-up doctor & nutritionist. Just a thought.

I was just wondering if you could explain to me what a golfball is?

thanks

Susie

OK, I messed around for a year asking that same question, gaining another 30 lbs. The answer is YES. If there was anything in this world you could do for yourself that is really life changing, this is it! You will give up diet drinks, breads, beer, cakes and alot of other bad stuff that you think that you can't live without, but guess what.....you will not care. The scale will go down and down. Maybe up once in a while but mostly down. I can now buy clothes in the misses dept and not the plus size. There is no food better than that!!

Pick a skilled surgeon and you will love your decision.