If there are any Christians out there who are looking for special support during this time I thought we could start a thread related to this. It might help with those thoughts and doubts as to if this is the right thing we are doing or any other 'shares' that might come to mind. I could use some at this time in my walk.

Sister in Christ,

Valerie

<p>I was banded on 12/12/07. Any idea when the soreness will go away?</p>I am referring to the port incision

For me, the soreness lasted about a month and then slowly subsided . Even now, every so often I'll feel discomfort there but nothing serious enough to take pain meds. I pray that you'll feel better as time goes by.

Praise the Lord Christian banders it has been a while since I been on this sight. Friday December 28th I finally I got banded the saying is lapband is a journey that is the truth. I am asking for prayer for the 2 weeks liquid stage I feel hunger pains my prayer is that they go away quickly. God bless everyone on there lapband journey.

Liz

Soreness lasted about 3 weeks for me, then subsided for the most part, but every once in a while if I lift something a little too heavy, it let's me know it's there.

The funky sensation for me right now is the port migrating around under the skin. My support group members said it was probably from the weight loss. I asked when I went in for a fill the other day, and the nurse said that would definitely happen as I lost more weight. It's not like I feel it moving or it hurts or anything, but one time it will be in the middle, the next time to the left, etc.

Hello guys, I too am a born again believer and KNOW this is God's plan for my life. I am self pay and he has provided a way for me to have this done. Did any one out there see the movie "Facing the Giants"s? Well my weight loss is my giant and I am ready to face it.... I am scheduled for Jan 11th. Can't wait. I am a little anxious but excited to know that this time next year I will be in a different size clothes and they won't be larger. Good luck to all of you out there and keep up the good job. Teresa

totally enjoyed reading the post on christian bandsters... God is so very good to us all.. he has given us another chance to enjoy a much better life and be happy and i praise him for that. i too see a fat person in the mirror. i was banded on 7-12 07 and have lost 60 lbs. i look very different now but sometimes i cant believe its me.. i still see the other image i have seen in the mirror for the last 25 years. God wants his people to be happy and enjoy life and to be proud of his masterpieces which is me and you.. i feel we can serve him better when we can get out the door and able to get around. I feel he gave me this second chance in life to enjoy a much fuller life and i plan to be as good as i can to all people. I am 53 and very active, run a 85 mile mailroute everyday and have 500 customers on my route and i take every moment i can spare and uplift him and try to help the people on my mailroute. just a word of praise or encouragement helps all along the way..we are an extention of him...just a cup of water in my name ..he says.. i keep my granddaughter for a bit every evening after the route and she is 2 and i run after her and do more than my kids that are 25 years old.. thank God! the energy you have as you dump the weight that held you down. my email is thedove2@yahoo.com i want to be able to keep connected with this thread..i live in Virginia.. had my surg. in Richmond Virginia...God is good... love you All... my sisters and brothers vamaillady

i felt the same way as you... couldnt believe i would have a different life or be different in the following months... its very exciting to see yourself chhanging before your eyes.. sometimes i feel its all a dream. i have lost 60 lbs since July 07. i have lost 3 pant sizes. it is so thrilling to be given this second chance to be proud of yourself and have such great selfesteem again. you wont be sorry... fasten your seatbelt... cause you are in for the RIDE of your life! I promise! vamaillady

yes God will be with you All the way! he has with me.. the liquid stage was hard but just always look ahead and think of the surg. being behind you and a great life awaits you with every lb. you lose. the time will fly by and the pounds will fall off I promise.. hang in there! he never puts more on us than we can bare... vamaillady

I am a newbie. I have seriously struggled with my weight for over ten years now. Although I've had weight issues for as long as I can remember (WW at age 9), I was able to keep it in check with lots of effort. I gained the majority of my weight when I became pregnat w/ my first child. At my baby shower, out of town friends and family passed my bloated form by in search of the mom 2 b. I had gained about 90lbs mostly from refusing to adhere to a diet regimine during maternity. I have lost and regained that same 90lbs and more at least 5 times. I had my moment of truth a few weeks ago after falling off the diet wagon once again. Just before Thanksgiving, I joined weight watchers for probably the 20th time in my life. I've tried every diet known to modern civilazation to no long term avail. A dear friend who has struggled just as hard had the surgery last March. She has lost over 100lbs. Her journey has been an inspiration to me. I struggled with my decision to consider WLS because I felt that it would jeprodize my testimony. I felt that if I lost the weight without surgery I could glorify God by saying,"look what God has done". One day while crying out to the Lord about my weight loss failures, a sense of peace about persuing WLS overcame me. I believe that God impressed upon my mind this thought: If you had a drug addiction, were an alcoholic or suffered from some other form of bondage, wouldn't you do what ever it takes to overcome it? How many______________ addicts (fill in the blank) only wish, hope for and pray for a way out of the torment for their demons?

With those thoughts, I began to see WLS in a new light. I Know that God could touch and heal me from my condition right now. Afterall, He took my 25 year smoking habit away cold turkey over 5 years ago. I have prayed fora similar miracle and surrendered my weight so many times. For what ever reason, whether it is my own lack of faith, fear, or some other obstical, the fact is, I am not healed. Prehaps God has chosen to heal me by way of a doctor's hands through the miracle of WLS. Regardless, I must take the pro-active approach here and step out in faith by saying yes to this option.

All that being said, I am scared, anxious and impatient. Please pray for me to be led of the Lord and for confirmation by way of open/closed doors as I travel on this journey.

I have an apointment w/ my PCP on Jan. 22 in hopes of obtaining a referral to Dr. Onopchenko, the WL doctor on Feb. 1st. I am only 5'1" and last weighed 260lbs. This puts me in the super morbidly obese catagory. I didn't even know that such a catagory existed and was mortified when my BMI registared it. At first, I thought that it was some kind of sick joke.:eek: How embarassing! Typing those numbers is horrific, but necessary. I need to make this real. I have shared such presonal information with only the most select few, thereby allowing myself to continue the denial. I have sleep apnea, pre-diabeties, depression and heart valve insufficency. Taking the time to share all of this has been most therputic. Thanks to those who have read this far. I want to live the life God has intended for me and be a good witness. To God be the Glory for the testimonies to come. Any and all advice, prayers and/or comments are appreciated. Be blessed on your journey.

In Christ,

Lin

I am a newbie. I have seriously struggled with my weight for over ten years now. Although I've had weight issues for as long as I can remember (WW at age 9), I was able to keep it in check with lots of effort. I gained the majority of my weight when I became pregnat w/ my first child. At my baby shower, out of town friends and family passed my bloated form by in search of the mom 2 b. I had gained about 90lbs mostly from refusing to adhere to a diet regimine during maternity. I have lost and regained that same 90lbs and more at least 5 times. I had my moment of truth a few weeks ago after falling off the diet wagon once again. Just before Thanksgiving, I joined weight watchers for probably the 20th time in my life. I've tried every diet known to modern civilazation to no long term avail. A dear friend who has struggled just as hard had the surgery last March. She has lost over 100lbs. Her journey has been an inspiration to me. I struggled with my decision to consider WLS because I felt that it would jeprodize my testimony. I felt that if I lost the weight without surgery I could glorify God by saying,"look what God has done". One day while crying out to the Lord about my weight loss failures, a sense of peace about persuing WLS overcame me. I believe that God impressed upon my mind this thought: If you had a drug addiction, were an alcoholic or suffered from some other form of bondage, wouldn't you do what ever it takes to overcome it? How many______________ addicts (fill in the blank) only wish, hope for and pray for a way out of the torment for their demons?

With those thoughts, I began to see WLS in a new light. I Know that God could touch and heal me from my condition right now. Afterall, He took my 25 year smoking habit away cold turkey over 5 years ago. I have prayed fora similar miracle and surrendered my weight so many times. For what ever reason, whether it is my own lack of faith, fear, or some other obstical, the fact is, I am not healed. Prehaps God has chosen to heal me by way of a doctor's hands through the miracle of WLS. Regardless, I must take the pro-active approach here and step out in faith by saying yes to this option.

All that being said, I am scared, anxious and impatient. Please pray for me to be led of the Lord and for confirmation by way of open/closed doors as I travel on this journey.

I have an apointment w/ my PCP on Jan. 22 in hopes of obtaining a referral to Dr. Onopchenko, the WL doctor on Feb. 1st. I am only 5'1" and last weighed 260lbs. This puts me in the super morbidly obese catagory. I didn't even know that such a catagory existed and was mortified when my BMI registared it. At first, I thought that it was some kind of sick joke.:eek: How embarassing! Typing those numbers is horrific, but necessary. I need to make this real. I have shared such presonal information with only the most select few, thereby allowing myself to continue the denial. I have sleep apnea, pre-diabeties, depression and heart valve insufficency. Taking the time to share all of this has been most therputic. Thanks to those who have read this far. I want to live the life God has intended for me and be a good witness. To God be the Glory for the testimonies to come. Any and all advice, prayers and/or comments are appreciated. Be blessed on your journey.

In Christ,

Lin

God Bless you Lin,

Your story was very touching and you are not alone. Don't be ashamed of chosing WLS. Just pray, that's what I did and I told myself If I get approved amen, and if I don't amen. Just put your trust in God and know that he knows what is best for you!

hotmusicmama - I used Spivak too I love the people there. I wish I was local so I could come to all the meetings. I only travel down for fills at this point :eek:

tyme4change - I don't think losing weight would prevent you from getting the surgery - especially if you are self pay. I just had an unrational fear of being turned away if I fell below the 40 bmi. That's certainly a question for your doc though!

teresa, vamaillady, linda: WELCOME!! I praise God each time I see a new person on this thread You are all in my prayers as is everyone else on this thread!! God is good and I pray that we show His light in us as we go through this journey!

I have seriously struggled with my weight for over ten years now. Although I've had weight issues for as long as I can remember (WW at age 9), I was able to keep it in check with lots of effort.

A dear friend who has struggled just as hard had the surgery last March. She has lost over 100lbs. Her journey has been an inspiration to me. I struggled with my decision to consider WLS because I felt that it would jeprodize my testimony. I felt that if I lost the weight without surgery I could glorify God by saying,"look what God has done". One day while crying out to the Lord about my weight loss failures, a sense of peace about persuing WLS overcame me. I believe that God impressed upon my mind this thought: If you had a drug addiction, were an alcoholic or suffered from some other form of bondage, wouldn't you do what ever it takes to overcome it?

Prehaps God has chosen to heal me by way of a doctor's hands through the miracle of WLS. Regardless, I must take the pro-active approach here and step out in faith by saying yes to this option.

All that being said, I am scared, anxious and impatient. Please pray for me to be led of the Lord and for confirmation by way of open/closed doors as I travel on this journey.

I have an apointment w/ my PCP on Jan. 22 in hopes of obtaining a referral to Dr. Onopchenko, the WL doctor on Feb. 1st. I am only 5'1" and last weighed 260lbs. This puts me in the super morbidly obese catagory. I didn't even know that such a catagory existed and was mortified when my BMI registared it. At first, I thought that it was some kind of sick joke.:eek: How embarassing! Typing those numbers is horrific, but necessary. I need to make this real. I have shared such presonal information with only the most select few, thereby allowing myself to continue the denial. I have sleep apnea, pre-diabeties, depression and heart valve insufficency. Taking the time to share all of this has been most therputic. Thanks to those who have read this far. I want to live the life God has intended for me and be a good witness. To God be the Glory for the testimonies to come. Any and all advice, prayers and/or comments are appreciated. Be blessed on your journey.

In Christ,

Lin

:welcome::welcome::welcomeB::welcome::welcome:

I can relate to so much of what you shared! I've been struggling with weight issues since about age 10. I've been to WW, OA, TOPS member for over 15 years w/o success, yoyo dieting for many, many years. My highest weight this year was about 328 and I am only 5 ft tall. I had my surgery in July and I am down almost 60 lb and it's NOT coming back this time! I've already had to give away a ton of clothes and now I'm at a point of getting rid of another bunch of things that are getting too baggy. I recently bought a new bathing suit three sizes smaller than I wore last winter. We are at an RV resort for the winter and I am doing Water aerobics 4X a week to help my weight loss.

I also have sleep apnea, high BP, pre-Diabetes and I have fairly severe knee problems and use a handicap scooter. Recently, I have been using the scooter less and less and walking more. I used to ride the scooter to the side of the pool every morning. Now I park it in the locker room and walk. It gets easier and less painful to walk with every pound that I lose.

We'll all be keeping you in our prayers as you embark on this journey. You will not regret your decision.

Joyross,

I too am self pay. My insurance didnt pay anything on the banding, nor will it pay if there are complications. That was a concern of mine, however, I am placing my full trust in the Lord and will not allow the fear of complications overtake me.

First, I just want you all know what a blessing this thread has been. I so enjoy reading all of the posts and pray for each of you. This thread has helped me so much along this journey. Not only that, whenver I've asked for prayer, I've gotten almost immediate responses and God has answered many of the financial issues we had. We were facing a deadline and through God's mercy and grace and his son Jesus, we got a call almost the 9th hour saving us. I just want to encourage all who are struggling with whether or not to have this surgery or feeling that you are taking the easy way out. That is definitely not the case. Do you take aspirin for a headache? It's the same principle. Did Paul not say we all have a thorn we struggle with daily? For a lot of us, it was food. God made man in his own image therefore the doctors are made by him and all medical marvels such as this lap band is another tool. Praise God for that. I feel so much better......I look so much better and am so much healthier. To the one that's in the liquid stage, just look at it long term where you want to be. Sometimes you'll have to walk away when others are eating but stay focused. You'll get through it and know that every one is praying for your success and if you need a distraction from food, walk or get on this board and vent. Praise God, Thank him for giving us his son Jesus and Happy New Year to all. BTW, I can't use my exclamation point because it refreshes my screen (I need a new keyboard) but know I am so excited and thankful.

It's definitely great to read eveybody's posts. Say a prayer for me folks, as I go under the knife this Friday. I know the lord gave me his okay. I was in tears as I was reading the success stories of others who had the surgery and just cried out to the lord. I was tired of being fat and have been since my early teens. I know it will take more than just the band and frankly, need to pray God helps me with the reasons as to why I turn to food, instead of him for life's troubles. By the way folks, what is the average amount of fills one needs to have? I want to loose 90lbs.:eek: