Hi all,

I wanted to introduce myself to the community. My name is Jez. I'm a 32 year old female from the NY/NJ area.

I had my first appointment last July, but since I'm prone to impulsive decision making, I took a year to decide on surgery and finally agree to move forward with the Lap Band surgery.

I went back to my surgeon's office yesterday and my surgery is now scheduled for July 14th.

I'm 5'6 and 226 lbs. 40 of which were added in the last year and a half as a result of anti depressants...which were prescribed to me because of my issues with weight!! Totally counter productive.

I spent all of my teen years and college in good shape. Then I started to slowly gain weight and was finally diagnosed with PCOS.

I have a total of about 80 or 85 to lose. I'm both incredibly excited and incredibly scared.

I'm looking forward to posting here and reading all of your success stories and advice

Hi, Jez!

Congratulations on your decision for the lapband! My name is Kimberly and I got the lapband last October and it was the best decision I ever made. I am about 5'8 and weighed 300lbs before surgery. 7 months later I now weigh 223 and still have a little over 40lbs to my goal weight. You will feel so much better physically,mentally, and emotionally. Everyone on here is very supportive and can answer any question you have. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. good luck on your journey!

@@allthatJez warm welcomes! You're did the right thing by waiting and researching. Looking forward to watching you progress!

@@allthatJez Nice to meet you and congratulations on your surgery date!

This is a great place to be for support and information. You will read and hear lots information. The best advice is to always listen to your doctor and error on the side of caution if your not sure of something.

Surgery can always be a daunting thing that some with some nerves and some fears. It is definitely something to take serious, but to help alleviate some of your fears I can tell you that I love my band and I have not even for one second had regret for having had the surgery.

My surgery was about 2 hours long I had lapband with plication done and I spent the night at the hospital as was my Dr.'s protocol for the surgery. The staff made me very comfortable and I was in minimal if any pain at all. The most discomfort I felt was at the port site and a nice ice pack on the port site even when you get home will help with that so much!

You may find you have some gas pain in your back or shoulder after the surgery since they inflate your stomach with gas to help move some of your other organs out of the way and your body will need to expel that gas. Needless to say you will be making "noises" for a bit after surgery Passing gas never felt so good! (sorry if that was TMI)

If you have pain from the gas a nice heating pad or hot Water bottle under you back or shoulder will help with that a a bit. I also found that having some warm decaf tea helped to soothe that gas and my tummy as well.

You can also try some beano or gas-ex strips to help aid that as well.

I'm sure you will do well and if you have any questions or concerns pleas don't feel shy in asking!!

Thanks all!

I've had my gallbladder removed laparoscopically and know exactly what you mean by being filled with gas. IT was not a pleasant experience to say the least.