Hey everyone..

I went today for my first appointment to see the DR. about the surgery.

I'm debating if I should even go have it done or not...I feel like it's going to cost $17,000 and there are no tricks...it's DIET & EXERCISE...oldest story in the book...

Instead of spending 17k on a surgery, I should just get it together and go to nutritionists...

I have like 120lbs. to lose...

Can all of you provide some insight as to why the band is helping you and why it is the best option...?

Thanks!!

I will be banded on 11/20/07. The reason I am doing it is that I have tried diet and excercise alone and I can't stick to it. I believe the band will make me think about everything I put in my mouth because I won't want it to get stuck and be in pain.

Good luck on your decision. I know how difficult it is and I've had the exact same thoughts.

I have been banded for 1 year, without the band I honestly can say I could'nt do it on my own. With me the good thing is you want over eat your band want let you. I also tried every diet in the book, this was the best money I ever spent. I am self pay also.

Skinny and Betty have it right - if it were 'just diet and exercise' I would have been able to do it a long time ago. Now it is so nice know diet and exercise are facilitated by this wonderful band and that I may actually have a chance at keeping it off.

go to the before and after page...you wont question it then.

I also want to mention that if you are paying for this yourself there are many less expensive options. My doc was $9950. You can find a lot of information about cost by searching in the forum, or just post a question about it.

I'm almost 11 months with my band and I know, after a lifetime of dieting (since junior high) that without the band, I would have only gained weight this year, not lost.

What it does is help with hunger pains, portion control, and motivation. I have been on diets for a whopping three months at a time and by then I lose my motivation and give up yet again. I have NEVER waivered in motivation since being banded. I may have a bad day or two of eating bad (still eating less) but I have never given up and I know now, without a shadow of a doubt, I will be able to stay motivated.

I am also private pay..went the Mexico route. That has also helped me stay motivated...I spent this much...I need to stick with it.

When I heard about the band, and did my research I was so excited about it. But, I thought I could never take so much of "our" money just for me. ($7000 or so). When DH said go for it and he'd support me, I never waivered in my determination to get this done...no doubts, no...what have I done. It has been great.

Thank you all for your responses...I left the DR's office feeling very hesitant...but this is giving me a reinforcement of encouragement.

Go for it... please! I also thought i could do it all by myself with another program or diet BUT i finally knew i would fail again as i had all those previous years. If i couldnt get control of myself to the tune of 140 lbs. overweight I knew i needed extra help and that i would never do it on my own. I was banded on 7-12-07 and have not regretted it one minute. It has already changed my life. i have lost 50 lbs already and buying new clothes and everyone is noticing. I used to hide from people and not go out to functions etc but now already i am ready to go out and let people see the new me evolving. This has made me already soooooo very happy!!! Do it... dont wait... it will be the key that will open up a whole new world that u can hold your head high and sneak a glance of yourself in a mirror and be proud instead of avoiding mirrors. I was terribly depressed and now not at all.. my blood pressure went from 100 on bottom to 68 on bottom in 2 weeks after surgery. I had problems with my knees etc because of the weight on them and now i am walking everyday and exercising daily and with no pain.. The lapband has freed me from the prison i was in and set me free! If you want to be a happy person then reward yourself and go for it. Saving money and not spending it like for the surg. is not a good decision because what do u need the money for if you arent around to spend it because the weight got the best of you if u know what i mean! Do this just for you! Brenda/vamaillady

Whatnow - I think what did it for me was when I went to a patient seminar and heard the statistic that there is a 95% chance of regaining all of your lost weight if you just use diet and exercise alone. It sure feels true to me with all the diets and exercising that I have tried to no avail.

I honestly feel that I need something to KEEP me accountable to myself and I feel that the band is it.

Quoting the following from Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Volume 196, Issue 3, March 2003, Pages 379-384 :

a rate of weight loss on a diet and exercise program, 20% at two years; a rate of regain of lost weight, 95% at two years

I had surgery in Acuna,Mexico. It was only $7500. That was 3 weeks ago and I have lost 15 pounds. I would do it again! The hospital was clean and the nurses and Dr.s were great.

Gail

For me it just helps me not eat so much!! I love being able to go out for Mexican or Italian food and order what I like, but only eating 1/3 of it (or less)!! I am very grateful for what the band does for me...and I was self pay too...$13000. Worth every penny for the self-control it helps provide.

Thank you all for your responses...this is very encouraging for me..and definitely reconfirming the fact that this is the right choice for me.

I can't wait to change my life.

The thing is, I find I can exercise consistenly now, week in week out. Holidays, I still run. Injury, OK, I have a week off, then I run again, I dont throw in the towel. No lap band surgery has helped me to do that. I found that strength within myself - BUT (very very big but) I couldnt do that until I'd had some weight loss success. I needed the validation that having actually lost weigth gave to the exercise, so there was some point to it. That kept me going to the point where a love for running took over.

As to the weight side of things, this is how it has worked for me. Early on I lost weight automatically. I could eat very little and I was full of the new zeal and vigour that we all are at the start of a very big life change. It was enough to probably get a good 1/2 of my weight off. Gradually my body adjusted to the band to the point where that inital lack of appetite and disinterest in food was replaced a bit by my old feelings - I am always ready to eat, never say no to a cookie, etc. But once you've lost a lot of weight and you're a regular exercise, I dont know, you're able to look at habits like that a lot more objectively and can actually decide they're destructive so you wont do them anymore.

Of course, you can do that for weeks at a time and then most of us fall off the wagon, begin to let old habits creep back in.

That's where a lap band really helps you. I can fall off the wagon and start to not cook or shop properly, eat convenience foods, graze all day etc but I cannot physically eat enough to gain weight. I have to work hard to lose it now, but I cannot gain it easily. So you have time to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and decide to keep going. And its really the keeping going bit that's the key to your success, not the falling off the wagon bit.

Its no perfect solution for sure. For lots of people it does NOT solve your mental attitudes and problems with food but it does give you a very good weapon with which to fight and one which, when wielded properly, truly works.

If someone could just flip the switch and I'd never be interested in food again, I'd take that but for now, this is a very manageable, easy to live with tool that has really really worked for me.

Very well said, Jacqui!!

jacqui - great response..

whatnow - yes, it is diet and exercise, but the band makes it so much easier to restrict your food intake. i can eat pretty much anything i want (just very little) and still lose weight.