I'm extremely excited and ready to start this journey. I've struggled with my weight my entire life, as a lot of the people on here have dealt with. I had dieted, exercised, the whole lot. Once I lost 80 pounds all on my own and then when I lost my support system it all got turned upside down. Now I weigh more than I did when I started. My current weight is 440 pounds. The most I have ever weighed in my life. I have so many struggles and I feel like crap all the time. So I finally decided I needed to turn in this direction or I will just continue to slowly kill myself.

Sadly my insurance doesn't cover it so I had to take out a personal loan. But I have a great company that I work for, and my visits post-op will technically be covered.

I'm extremely excited, I know it's going to be hard and I know it may not come off as quickly as I'd like, and I won't let myself get discouraged. I know it will work and I know I can do it. Reading all of these forums have really helped me understand the band and what I'm in for, and I'm ready to take it on. December 17 is where my new life begins!!

Best of luck. You have a great attitude and a good understanding of how this works from your post.

It is hard work but all weight loss is. I found the difference is the weight stays off!!

This is a good board to come to for all kinds of info and personal stories.

Please let us know how your journey goes⭐️

Welcome @jiggyiggy120. We're a smaller group than some of the other WLS folk, but we're here to help and support. Good luck and let us know how it goes. You may have seen this already but I'll post it again so you can see what getting a band can do.

Good luck! My top was 444. I lost some.... 385 lbs on surgery date 4/26/14. I'm now 252. Best decision in my life for sure.

You can do it!

@@jiggyiggy120 Hey - we have almost the same Bandiversary! I was banded December 18th 2014 - 11 months ago. I am down 65 pounds and I feel TREMENDOUS!

Like you, my insurance didn't cover it, so I self-paid. I'll tell you something - it was the BEST investment in myself I could have ever imagined! My knee pain is GONE. My ruptured discs in my L4 and L5 due to obesity - HEALED. I can run up stairs! I can sit cross-legged! I can walk for miles and not get tired!

I can wear a freakin' size 14! I can buy new clothes at a 'regular' store and feel amazing doing so! WOO!

I'm with you, sister. I have had nothing but great results from my band. Slow and steady wins the race. My weight loss has been consistent and gradual... and I've worked hard at it but the band has made it possible.

I'm SO EXCITED for you!!!!

I am going to be a week ahead of you. I get my band on Dec 9. Weight hasn't always been a struggle. I was 175 or less the entire time I was in the Air Force but then I got out, got lazy and it started creeping up. Now I am 255 (only 5'6) and can't stand it any longer.

Best of luck to you. I look forward to following your progress on here

Brad

@@jiggyiggy120 congratulations! So happy for you -- and you, too, @bgtribble. I remember how excited I was and, really, still am in so many ways. Choosing myself and my healthy future and putting myself first was such a powerful gesture. I am very happy, not just with my weight loss (yippee) but with my whole way of life now. I was spending so much time and energy on worrying over this diet and that diet, food, food, am I on or am I off, etc. Now I really feel free. Having the appetite monster off of my back is a beautiful thing. I still love food. I'm an excellent cook and I like to be "in" food, if that makes any sense. But instead of eating so much I just try a little now and find I am sated. The links below in my signature really helped me understand how the band works and how to work the band; maybe they will help you, too. Keep in touch and let us know how you are doing! It's a big forum so you may have to "ping" more than once for us to find you amidst all the posts. But we're here and routing for you both. I love my Band!

@bgtribble

We have almost the identical stats. I am also 5' 6" and my heaviest weight was 259 pounds. As an adult I had always maintained a healthy weight for my female frame - about 145 - and was a lifeguard, canoe trip instructor, avid backpacker... never a 'small' person but fairly 'trim' and definitely healthy.

I got married and had a baby and then the weight started to creep up on me... 10 pounds heavier, 20 pounds heavier... and over the past 15 years, I ballooned up to 259.

Now that I'm back in 100's again I feel I have regained my 'old' Self. I'm not at goal weight yet, however I am feeling SO much better even at this interim stage of the process 65 pounds down!

Like dear Bandista above (she is a guru - listen to her!) I also love food and cooking, and am able to still enjoy beautiful food and meals out... but in smaller portions.

The best thing is having the background of satiety constantly there. The "Hunger Monster" that derailed my weight loss attempts in the past is no longer there. Now I have a can of tuna & mayo or a small piece of tender steak or 5 Tbsps of egg salad and that's it. Give me three slices of roast duck, a few spears of asparagus and no starch (potatoes, rice and breads are out for me) and BOOM. I'm sated. No desire for anything more.

Happy for you, jiggyjiggy120 - you are about to embark on getting control back and feeling better. It's a tremendous thing!

jiggyiggy120 My surgery date is 12/18/2015. I wish you the best!

May i ask if you discussed the sleeve with your Dr.? The price is about the samee more... I hearing Dr's are getting away from the band,

I had the band and it worked great for 5 yrs, than out of the blue it slipped and had to come out, the weight started to come back real fast so now I am getting the sleeve.

remember you need to get the band filled and that is not free... I was geeting it filled each month

Well my surgery date got moved....

And I got home about 5 hours ago! I got my surgery a week early. I'm too nervous to get any major surgery done. This one was scary enough for me. But anything that makes me have to get a part of my stomach taken out or organs rerouted just sounds downright scary to me. If this slips, it slips. If it's too much for me, I'll get it out. I luckily have a good enough job that even though my insurance doesn't cover it, I haven't really had to pay out of pocket for anything. I feel confident and ready. I don't know what the future holds. I know that once I have the support and motivation I need I can stick with something. I lost a lot of weight on my own before. But I was working closely with a trainer and she helped me with everything. And once I lost her I lost that motivation. And I was just lost in general. I know that now that I got this I will have that constant crutch. Something to guide me. If I fail, I fail. At least I tried. But I don't see myself failing.

I'm with you

@@jiggyiggy120

I was banded just under a year ago, and I am feeling absolutely AMAZING. I had a brilliant surgeon who had done over 5,000 band procedures. He did an incredible job. He believes in it, and I believe in it. To date I am down almost 70 pounds, and I have never felt better.

I've gone from a size 22 to a size 14. I can buy normal clothes again and I feel full of energy and gorgeous! My knees and back are pain-free after years of agony. I am running up stairs without so much of a wheeze! Woo woo!

I have had zero complications from the lap-band. I don't even know it's there. No worries to report. Nothing but success. Yes, the post-surgical gas pain sucked (48 hours). It took a while for the weight-loss to begin, as the band needs to be filled gradually to the 'green zone'... like everyone else, it took a while. And now? I have to try and remember to eat and the weight is melting off.

The hunger monster is gone. What a blessed relief to no longer be obsessed with food! I am in love with my lap-band.

I feel blessed that I chose this particular bariatric procedure. It has been effortless for me. I have watched my diet carefully - high Protein and high fibre, low carbs and no sugar, white or wheat. I can feel my ribs. I look 15 years younger. I have a sex-life again. Hooray!

Best thing I have ever done for myself. I've given myself the gift of life with the band. I feel 15 years younger and I am so much healthier. 30 more pounds to go.

Best. Decision. Ever.

I'm going to see if I can add a couple of before and after pics to my profile. Check them out!

How exciting! It will be the best thing you've ever done for yourself. Stay excited! Can't wait to see your progress!