Just wanted to introduce myself, my name is Michelle, I am 31. I live in Southern California, inland empire. I will be having my surgery very soon, lap band. I weigh 260 & am 5 ft 2. I was originally going for bypass, but changed my mind because it was just something that caused me anxiety. I am excited to start my new life, I know it's going to be hard, as I'm a soda, sweets, fried foods addict. (kinda) I also eat healthy, too...so I am hopeful that this will be a great tool to help me break free from bad habits. I definitely noticed people are negative about the lap band, and I really look forward to hearing your stories. Thanks

Michelle

Welcome to the forum MissL and congrats on your decision to have the lapband! Don't worry about the negative feedback regarding the band. It's just as effective as any other WLS, they are all tools meant to HELP you not do the work for you so as long as you go in with the right mind set and determination you can reach any goal you wish! Good luck to you on your journey! Do you have a surgery date yet?

There were thousands and thousands of bands placed over the last 15 years. Early on doctors were rather ignorant on how the band actually worked it's magic(or not). Aftercare was not all that good with many doctors and of course, many docs jumped on the bandwagon hoping to make a quick buck.

We know more about the band now and hopefully you've researched your surgeon and you're comfortable that he/she offers a great aftercare program?

The band is a great tool but will require more maintenance than the sleeve or bypass. It will also require you pay more attention to soft signals/stops that tell you when to stop eating. The band does not stop you from eating too much like the sleeve or bypass. Look forward to hearing about your journey.

Edited June 11, 201412 yr by 2muchfun

Welcome to our family! Life is good with the band...at least for me

Set aside some time to do some soul-searching and get your mind ready. It's as much a mental transformation as a physical one.

You have to accept that the band doesn't control the QUALITY of the food you eat. It also doesn't make you drive to the gym.

You make the hard choices...steamed vs. fried, boxing class vs sleeping late, veggies vs chocolate. But, the rewards are amazing!

Good luck and check in often! We are a friendly group (most of the time)

It also doesn't make you drive to the gym.

I love it

Apparently I need to explain this to my personal trainer at the gym. He thinks the band should get all the credit for my hard work and I should get none. He's about to become my former personal trainer

I love it

It also doesn't make you drive to the gym.

I'm actually concerned more about the mental part.mi made a pot roast a few weeks ago and the comfort, escape, peace I had while eating...I literally thought, there is NOTHING better than this right now. That's scary to me because I know somewhere I developed a crazy relationship with food" now.....it was really awesome, I bet I could've won an award it was so good, but even now I can remember the pot roast with potatoes and it gives me a peace...

How crazy!!!!!

The mental part usually goes away once you're banded and filled properly. The high you get from getting down on the carpet or grass and keeping up with your kids will replace that relationship you have with food. Unless your kids are brats LOL

Here's a post from someone I can't recall, but it fits:

"In my case, the most fearful thing I had to do in order to succeed with my band wasn't switching to skim milk, surviving a liquid diet, or giving up bread. The most fearful thing was giving up my emotional attachment to food. In the nearly 5 years since I was banded, I've made a lot of progress with that, but the attachment is still there. It forms one of the innermost layers of my turtle shell. Working on that layer will probably be a lifetime job for me. At times I'm not even sure I truly want to get rid of it altogether. At times I'm afraid that if I shed my shell completely, I won't be able to survive. On the other hand, I seem to be doing fine without that thick old bitch layer. So I'm going to pay attention to my dreams rather than my fears and pray for a miracle. And why not? It can't hurt to try!"