Good Afternoon. Not sure where to start…as this is my first post…but I wanted to say “Thank You”. You see…I found your forum just last week…as I was searching for info b/c I was feeling a little unsure and nervous my decision. After jumping through all the “hoops”…I received my insurance approval for Lap Band last week. My surgery date is not yet set…but I suspect it will be in mid August. After finally getting approval… an old thought came back into my mind…will I really have a chance to succeed w/ the Lap Band…or do I need to consider the RNY??

My concerns stems from the same experience many of you I suspect have had…yo-yo dieting success/failure...and the loss of will to “try one more time” that comes with it. I just wanted to know that if I do this…as I only have one shot…that I’m making the right choice with the Lap Band.

So…I guess I should apologize now…as I tend to be verbose…so I’m sorry if I’m rambling.

Anyway…I’m 38yrs old…5’6”…and currently about 285#. In my adult life…I have focused and dieted…and lost at least 60# maybe 12 times…with three of those times being over 100#. And every time…well you know the story.

A year ago…after gaining most of weight back from a previous year’s big loss…my wife insisted that I needed to go buy some clothes…as I had nothing I could wear. As with many of you I’m sure…clothes shopping is one of the worst life experiences I have.

Anyway…when I agreed and did so…my wife saw something…I don’t know exactly what…but I think for the first time she got it and understood how much of an issue my weight was to me…and how unhappy I was with myself because of it…and how my self image issues were the prism through which I viewed the world. It was at that moment she brought up the idea of bariatric surgery. (As she put it..."I just want you to love yourself as much as everyone else loves you.")

After several discussions and research…we decided he Lap Band was the way to go due to a number of reasons…but mostly b/c it is the least evasive and that my main issue is portion control.

Since then…I’ve had two doctors…one the psychologist doing my evaluation and the other the physician who oversaw my sleep study…both question why I was doing the Lap Band instead of the RNY. When I explained al of my reasons…both suggested I was making the wrong decision (esp. the psychologist…vehemently I might add) and that I should re-evaluate…as my chances for success w/ the Lap Band are substantially less than the RNY.

So now for 5 months…I have been questioning my choice. I didn’t want to go thru this and lose only 10-20#...when my personal goal is to get below 200# (and more if I can). I just needed to know that there was a legitimate chance of hitting my goal with the Lap Band. So I searched for info on the Internet and for every positive stat…I’d find a negative one. Not knowing what the agenda was for those posting information on the Internet…I just had to take what I read with a grain of salt…but this realization added little to my comfort level.

Then I found this forum…and have read about the successes…and the encouragement…and even some of the problems/issues…but mostly how Lap Band has changed lives. This information was not coming from web sites trying to get you to do what they want…but from people who have…who are living with the Lap Band. I am happy to say I’m no longer questioning my choice of Lap Band…b/c from what I have read here…I know Lap Band will give me that legitimate chance…the rest is up to me.

Anyway….I just wanted to say Thank You to those responsible for creating this forum and for those of you who post information and insights. This forum has given me hope and encouragement. I have some questions about things/expectations and such…but I’ll do some more reading before I post them just to see if I can find the answers with boring you more. I also promise that my future posts wil be shorter.

Again…thank you.

Bud In Indy.

Welcome, Bud, to LBT!

At 5'3" and 285, my BMI was 52. I was completely miserable, and I had some health issues sneaking up on me. At my pre-op tests, I was diagnosed with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. I hated clothes shopping, and I'm with you that it's the very last thing I ever wanted to do at that weight.

As you can see by my ticker, as of today, I'm down 51 lbs, and was banded in February. I feel wonderful, AND, my diabetes is controlled WITHOUT meds, my BP is normal now, WITHOUT meds, and my cholesterol is coming down, also WITHOUT meds, and my doc is THRILLED that I'm doing so well.

So, congratulations to you for making this decision. It sounds as if you are ready for this journey, which is NOT easy, but SO worth it.

Let us know when your surgery date is, and we'll be here cheering you on! (and lending support whenever you need it!)

Bud, that's really one of the nicest posts I've ever seen. You remind me, at least, why I keep coming back to this site. When I was researching my banding surgery it was so hard to find other weight-loss-surgery patients who could relate to the desire to NOT go whole hog and have RNY right out of the gate. That idea had indeed been floated by doctors and acquaintances, but it just never seemed right to me. Finding an online community of like-minded people was the single best thing that happened to me with regard to my banding journey.

Welcome to LBT, the best of luck to you in your journey, and keep posting! :biggrin1:

No, Bud. Thank YOU! You expressed so eloquently what I (and I'm sure many others) have wanted to express. Good luck on your journey--your life will never be the same. I'm still a newbie and am losing slower than most who were banded when I was (March 19) but I'm older than most and had a bit lower BMI than many and, despite all of that, I AM LOSING! This board has been of immeasurable help to me. Good luck finding your niche and let us know how you are doing. Congratulations on the rest of your life!

Welcome Bud,

I could not count how many question and concern were answered for me very quickly .

I would have a concern or just wanted someone to understand how I was feeling with my band. You have to be banded to know how it feels.

Bud, my band doesn't let me overeat. My band doesn't choose my foods for me , I have to do that. It DOES tell me when I have had enough.

At first it yelled with pain (heartburn) but now I know the feeling I get before the heartburn. I get the "signal" on different amounts of different foods. I KNOW the signal very easily now 11 months after surgery.

Just a "little food for thought" ( corny lap band joke) tee hee

edie

You are on a wonderful journey. The support here will give you WOO-HOO's when you move forward and a listening hear when you struggle. We will go through this together. You have made the choice and now are ready to get on the "band wagon"! Congrats!! Let us know how we can help you. There are no stupid questions....just stupid not to ask! Shopping for clothes is overrated!! It's only fun when you can shop due to your desire to do so and not because you have to find something to wear.

Bud: This post gave me goosebumps! WELCOME to the BANDSIDE of life! I've only had one fill and have very little restriction, but I'm ON MY WAY, and yes.......... up and down up and down the scale that was me and portion control.

I just wanted to take a moment and say Thank You again...for your kind words and for welcoming me. Take care...have a great day...and a better weekend!