Originally Posted by bearjr30

Hello, I have struggled with my weight all of my life and i am only 30 years old. I don't want to die at an early age. I have been dieting for the last ten years off and on, and none of the diets have worked. For the last year I have considered surgery, Unsure of what kind, I finally decided on the less dangerous kind. I hope. lol. Can you fill me in. I don't know a lot about this lap band surgery. I know the procedure and all so don;'t worry about all that ...but whats your story...what do you eat not eat...what was it like the day after month week, do you remember? I hope i am not asking to many questions. Also does it hurt. I was reading on oh board it said that you should tolerate pain. that is not good for me. Do you feel it. where can i go whats some web sites..any other information i should know

Thanks for your time and patience,

Christy

bearjr30@hotmail.com

Hi Christy! Your questions are all perfectly normal and you are asking good questions. The best way you can get them answered is to just peruse this board for several days. It's loaded with information and individual experience....so grab yourself a cuppa java and get comfy!

Christy, good questions.

I am able to eat anything, but I avoid breads, rice and potatoes, corn, and most red meat. I do well with grilled fish, chicken and soft veggies, like the micro-steam kind. As far as pain, I really didnt have any, other than a little discomfort from the gas after surgery. Walking a lot made it go away in about 5 days. I spent one extra day in the hospital since my surgery was a marathon event, taking 4 hours. All due to scar tissue in the way from a few abdominal surgeries in the past. Most are done within an hour and they go home the same day.

For me its the best decision I have made. I only wish I had done it 10 years sooner.

I have been banded since May '07 and am 100% happy with my decision. I can eat almost anything anyone else can, just smaller quantities. The only exception to this is donuts and french fries and I dont need those anyway! I can eat small amounts of bread and do better with wheat. I cant go to Subway and get a sandwich for lunch but the lunchmeat is good and fills me up.

I do not feel like I am deprived of anything. I work out hard and try to make healthy food decisions most of the time. My band is more than restriction to me it is a huge motivator and I feel blessed to have one.

I am down 54 lbs and feel like a new person. You can also go to a seminar and or support group meeting and get a lot of information from people first hand if that would help in your decision. Good luck!

Christy,

You might check my journal out, I've tried to list everything in there from start to end.

I can eat pretty much anything, I have had problems with bread (doughy kinds) but somedays I can eat it with no problems, some days, I can feel it pass thru the band.

The most frustrating thing for me was getting to a propper fill level, it took me a long time and lots of patience.

I try and eat low carb, low fat, and low calories. I don't always do it, but I try. I basically try and follow the rules.

The first thing I would do is find a doctor in your area that performs Lap Band and call and go to a seminar. Then I would check that doc out and make sure he is the one for you. You might go to 2 or 3 docs to see which one you like the best. The seminar explain a lot.

I also bought the book Weight lOss surgery for dummies, and Successful habits of weightloss surgery patients, both are good books and discuss the different types of WLS.

Best wishes,

Tonya