My friends and family are trying to talk me into getting the surgery. I will be attending a seminar soon. Am just looking into it. Is anyone sorry they had the surgery?

It is not something someone can "talk u into" It is a very personal decision and should be made by u and u alone. Good luck.

My friends and family are trying to talk me into getting the surgery. I will be attending a seminar soon. Am just looking into it. Is anyone sorry they had the surgery?

PLEASE do not let anyone "talk you into it". Go to the seminars, read everyting you can find, and make the decision for you. Your friends and family probably love you, and want what they think is best for you, but they are the ones who will have to live 24/7 with the results.

That said, DH has been banded for 2 years, and he says he would do it again in a heartbeat.

It was the best thing I could ever do for myself. I am not sorry in any way shape or form. If I didn't do the surgery I know I would be steadily gaining weight still and my confidence would be even lower than it already was which was pretty low. I am now almost at goal and sooo much happier and it hasn't even been 6 mos yet!! How cool is that?? I would say go for it if you are ready to help the band help you. It isn't easy so I am not going to sugarcoat it but it is totally do-able with the band. It helps immensely with the hunger--you need to be willing to exercise and make good food choices and you are set. Good luck to you.

~Liz~

03/10/06

241/173/160

5'7''

I would do it again in a heartbeat. Even when I'm at my worst, which is pacing the toilet stall hoping beyond hope that whatever is stuck gets unstuck soon, I'll still say I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Of everyone I know who's banded, I can think of one person who regrets it. She's longer term (~5 years), and has had a heck of a lot of complications, and extreme/unhealthy weightloss. But then again, she may not regret it - I never asked.

As others have said, this isn't a matter of being talked into. It's the rest of your life. Tell your family to back off.

This is a topic that has been brought up many times. I think I even started a similar thread at some point! It is a very personal decision. Read all about it and think long and hard. In some ways it is a huge releif for people to have that restricted intake. The flipside is that you can suffer the consequences of restrcition with spitting up your food or having pain in your chest. You just have to gather info and ask yourself if it is right for you. Can you diet and maintain your weight on your own? Or will this tool help you KEEP off what you could never maintain? I have taken 8 months of research to get there. Here is another great thread on the subject

http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15765

Good Luck!

It's wonderful if your friends and family pointed out to you that this surgery is available. Perhap you didn't know about it before. If so, thank them, that you will learn more about it, but now it's time to back off and let you do your thing. If you want it, you will do it, but it's not up to anyone to *talk you into it.* That should be your decision alone.

You've found a good place to do some research.

Do I regret it? Nope!

Spend an hour every day reading the posts on this forum.

Read what we all say about all the feelings we have.

On a bad day - NO

On a good day - YES

When the scale doesn't move - HELL NO

When you burp up your lunch, or hurl out your dinner, or feel like you can't drink another bottle of Water, it's deffinetly hard.

READ - go to the seminars - make sure you're talking to a surgeon who KNOWS about this procedure - and not just gastric bypass.

Make sure you know if your insurance will require you to complete certain requirements, or pay for part of this.

Start by knowing in your heart, that you're out of control, and can't get your weight issues out of your mind.

It's a tool, it won't fix what's wrong in your head. You have to diet, exercise, and change your lifestyle.

Look at the before and after pictures and think about which side you want to live your life on.

It's not like bypass. It's not sudden. It's not easy - either way.

But it should be your decision - because your family can't go thru it for you... with you, yes - but it's your body.

Melodee: I haven't been banded yet - I'm scheduled for 9/11. Funny date, huh? Well, I'm here trying to get some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing. This forum is a scary place to be sometimes. This morning I'm reading all kinds of negative stuff.

Some folks seem to not have any problems at all and the others run the gamut of complications. I think there's no real way to know if you're going to be one of the lucky uncomplicated surgeries, or not.

I think one probably has to be in enough pain from being overweight that the results seem worth it to accept the risk. Anyone else have anything dispel Melodee's and my fears?

Melodee: I haven't been banded yet - I'm scheduled for 9/11. Funny date, huh? Well, I'm here trying to get some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing. This forum is a scary place to be sometimes. This morning I'm reading all kinds of negative stuff.

Some folks seem to not have any problems at all and the others run the gamut of complications. I think there's no real way to know if you're going to be one of the lucky uncomplicated surgeries, or not.

I think one probably has to be in enough pain from being overweight that the results seem worth it to accept the risk. Anyone else have anything dispel Melodee's and my fears?

One thing I've read here that helps me is to keep in mind many of the posters here who have been banded a while are here because they have had problems. So this forum, while wonderful and full of great info, may not be representative of longer-term bandsters as a whole.

What helped me make the decision to go ahead was the fact that the risks to my health of staying overweight are pretty much 100%, since I already am having some problems. Much lower the the complication rate from surgery.

Lisah25: You made some good points. Thanks!

I'm lucky in that DH is two years into his banding, so I've had an up-close and personal view of what living with a band can be like. I know we are all different, but it still dispeled a lot of my fears.

No...not sorry, I just wish I had timed it better. Of course, is there ever a "convenient" time to make a life-changing decision and then live with the results? I wasn't ready to make the commitment at that time, I just didn't know it. Fortunately, the band does not have a margin of success time. When I am ready to commit to what it takes to make the band work--because it doesn't work by itself--it will still be there for me.

Ignore every single thing your family says, for or against the band. This is YOUR decision and yours alone. They will not be the ones throwing up now and then, they will not be the ones exercising, they will not be the ones watching the scale change. This is a HUGE commitment because, unlike a diet that you can go off, the band is going to be part of your life whether you like it or not, 24/7. That's both a good and bad thing, as anyone who has one can tell you. But it's YOUR thing.

Knowing what I know now, I would have never been banded. I'm sure lots of people will jump to defend the band by telling you that I eroded and had lots of complications, which is true. However, I don't see enough long-term success, and I see way too many complications and way too many people learning how to eat around the band. Maybe one day when the FDA or some other force steps in to make sure all patients are treated by top-notch doctors who do a complete pre and post lifestyle change package, but sadly, too many surgeons are slapping the band on and sending folks home. It's an entire lifetime commitment and mental adjustment, so unless you’re getting the whole enchilada, don’t waste your time or money. If you go forward, make sure to follow through with all the support your doctor has to offer including groups, one-on-one, intense psychotherapy, nutritional counseling… the whole enchilada.

It's an entire lifetime commitment and mental adjustment, so unless you’re getting the whole enchilada, don’t waste your time or money. If you go forward, make sure to follow through with all the support your doctor has to offer including groups, one-on-one, intense psychotherapy, nutritional counseling… the whole enchilada.

I agree with Lisa, it's definitely something we have to be COMPLETELY ready for. It's every bit as much a mental journey as a physical one, and we have to be on board for the whole enchilada.

I really think it's also important to discuss with your doctor ALL your personal physical issues. Think back over your life and try to assess what sort of healer you are. Do you have allergies? Do you have other sensitivities or proclivities? What some people sail through others might find hard to handle. All those "how long did it take you to go back to work" threads are very enlightening--everyone is different.

There are a million and five things to consider before jumping on the bandwagon. Would that every doctor could take all the time needed with every patient, but it's not always so. We have to be our own advocates and really think hard and long about going through this immense change.

But of all the bandsters I've met and talked with, I'd have to say the VAST majority are happy with their bands to a greater or lesser degree depending on where they are in their lives. Only a very few isolated cases have actually said they would NOT have done it again, and in those situations it usually boils down to some element that could have been predictable, or at least identifiable, before surgery.

You know, I'm sort of going through the same thing you are Melodee. I'm not banded... yet... and I'm not sure that I'm actually going to get banded. At the moment, it is a monetary issue more than an issue of not wanting to be. I'm a single mom and at this point it is like... let's see.... am I going to provide my children with a home and food or am I going to be skinny.... :cry I think we all know which decision I have to make on that one.

IF my insurance covers the band or I can figure out a way to do it, I most definitely will get the band. I want it desperately. I get on here every day (almost) and I read the posts and I see all the pros and cons and I still think, after I log off, that the band is for me. My family is even starting to come around. I've been trying to get banded for over 4 years now. At first, they were completely against it. But, as they see my weight go up and my health go down they are more supportive. My friends say I'm obsessed with it, but really, I'm just more repulsed by myself when I look in the mirror. I'm ready for the life change and I'm ready to stop wanting to be invisible.

If you are not at the point that you just absolutely are unhappy with yourself, don't do it. What a shame to do it and then not have results because you are not committed to making it work... and I'm sure you have to be committed to the band. Otherwise, it will be as effective as buying that new dress you just have to have because you know every time you open your closet it will inspire you to get skinny and wear it. Unfortunately, inspiration is not necessairly the greatest drug for weightloss for most of people. I've done it on my own before. I went from a size 22 to a size 8 five years ago. I kept it off for two years. I am now a size 22 again. I know I can do it again, I just want that tool to help me keep it where it should be. It is not fun to compare my size 8 blue jeans to my size 22. Falling on your face is never fun, but doing it so publically as with your health and appearance is even less fun. :faint:

Having rambled on forever already (sorry about that everyone), I will say this. When I do get the band, I don't know that I will do a lot of participating in forums and groups. While I have gathered vital and important information in making my decision, this IS a scary place sometimes. And having been a part of this group and others, I think it is safe to say that people that have negative things to say are a lot of the time more vocal than people that don't. I am a firm believer in the premise that if you surround yourself with negative things, negative results are more likely to happen. And while there is SO much positive to this forum, I don't want to risk somebody mucking up my karma, you know? Not to mention that I'm sure I will be so happy with my new skinny me that I won't have time to sit here in front of this computer while life passes me by. :clap2:

So, in a nut shell... I won't regret the band when I get it... even if I have complications and I have to adjust to my new lifestyle... but the band was also my own idea. I've noticed that the things I have regretted most in my life are things that I did at the prompting of others. Be sure. Be completely sure. And if you do get it... be positive. Be positive that it will work for you. Just go into it with the firm faith that this tool is going to help you achieve your best you.

Good luck to you and I have to say a big thank you to all of those on here that put their personal lives on display so people like us can make up our minds to follow you back to 1derland.

:gluck: Hope