Hello everyone..I just found this site while doing a bit of research.

I'm a 34 yr. old mom of two. I've been heavy most of my adult life. I've taken diet pills and lost lots of weight but always put it back on. The thought of this procedure seems both exciting and frightening at the same time. I would dearly love to get back to being active so that I can do all the things I enjoy with my family.

I guess what I'm wanting to know is....does anyone here regret having had this procedure done? Was it harder or easier than you expected? Was the procedure itself painful? How often do you experience any discomfort now after the fact?

Would you do it again?

Thanks in advance for any replies..

Hi Tinkerbell!

(Right now my younger daughter is prancing around the house in her Tinkerbell outfit. )

You've come to one of the right places to hear lots of people's personal experiences. We were all worried about all of the same things before deciding to have the surgery. For my money, it's been one of the best decisions I ever made--and it was a pretty easy one to make, too. It's given me a power over my body I've never had before and thought was a completely lost cause.

Children are extraordinary motivators, aren't they? They're the reason I ever said the "s" word to myself in the first place. I thank all the powers that be that I had my kids AFTER the band was approved in the US, because if it had all happened 10 years earlier there would have been no alternative to the RNY. And that scares the bejesus out of me.

The procedure was a lot less painful than giving birth, that's for sure. But surgery is no picnic and it took a few days to bounce completely back. Since then I've had no complications to speak of, and the adjustments are quick and easy. I have no discomfort now unless I eat unthinkingly, which is exactly what the band is designed to teach me not to do. (And I AM learning, really!)

I would indeed do it again. And again after that, if I had to.

Tinkerbell

I have ZERO regrets. I would do it over again in a heartbeat. It has been so much easier then I ever imagined. I have lost 80.5 lbs in almost 11 months with minimal effort. I just started exercising full board Feb 1st, most of my weight loss was with No exercise. I have not felt deprived one single bit. Good Luck on your decision.

I too would do it in a minute. I thought the pain was a lot less than I thought it would be. My only regret was I didn't do it sooner!

ARe you kidding of course I would do it again!!! I just wish I had known about it sooner.

Thank you all so much for your replies.

I had mentioned to my husband a while back that I was thinking about the gastric bypass surgery and he said NO WAY...he'd heard too many horror stories...

A couple of days ago he come home from visiting a good friend of his and and told me this friend was going to have the banding done. I think if I can convince my husband that it's a safe procedure he'll probably go for it. He wants me to lose weight...he's getting concerned about all of the health problems that can occur due to being overweight. He says he wants me to be around for a long time so we can grow old together..lol

I'm going to call his friend too and talk to him about it.

ABSOLUTELY NO REGRETS!!!!! I love my band. I have had No problems and have lost 43lbs since Nov. 04. I was back to work 3 days after surgery (preschool teacher) with little to no discomfort.

Good luck!

Hi there - you've had the star treatment from the top people on the forum already! I'm only 11 days post-op and this forum has been an absolute Godsend, especially over the first few days. I chose to keep my treatment secret so having this support has been vital.

Before the surgery I felt very nervous, mostly about what I was losing which for me, was my relationship with food. It has been such an important relationship I wondered how I would cope. However, like you, I knew that if I wanted to live my life and unzip the mental fat suit, I would have to do something major.

I found the surgery very straight forward. Of course there is discomfort but it's a bit like doing too many sit-ups. (Something I haven't done in the last decade by the way.) The worst and most irritating pain was in the left shoulder. They use a gas to inflate your abdomen so that the instruments can be used more effectively. This irritates your diaphragm which in turn gives you this weird referred pain in your shoulder. But even that went after a week and certainly wasn't bad enough to keep me awake or anything.

Since the surgery I have felt a great sense of well-being. It's like a liberation. The choices in the first couple of weeks are very simple - you have liquids or you risk mucking everything up, and if like me, you've just handed over a great deal of cash, that's the last thing you want to do! It's a pretty good detox, I can tell you!

I live alone so it's been easy to please myself. I would imagine it would be harder with cooking for kids and husband, but maybe for the first two weeks you would want to make arrangements so that you don't have to be tempted by anything!

I've probably gone a bit off base in my answer, but thought you might like to hear from someone who's a bit of a newbie. I think talking to someone face to face who has gone through it is a really good idea. It's also very important that you consider the possible complications as well, both medical and psychological. This isn't a quick fix. The band is a tool that you have to learn how to use. I'm at the beginning of a journey but it's one as yet, I have no regrets about starting.

Scotty

Scott: "unzip the mental fat suit"

I LOVE IT!!

Tinkerbell, I convinced my dh by having him sit down in front of the computer and reading LBT and the Inamed website. He didn't need anymore convincing after that! Good luck!

Before the surgery I felt very nervous, mostly about what I was losing which for me, was my relationship with food. It has been such an important relationship I wondered how I would cope. However, like you, I knew that if I wanted to live my life and unzip the mental fat suit, I would have to do something major.

Wow...you really hit the nail on the head with that one...I've lived my life so long turning to food for "comfort"...it seems that is how I deal with stress. The thought of not having that is frightening and it's also scary to know if I CAN make the changes and stick to them. I would to do this...put my family through this only to fail in the end...which of course would just lead me to eat eat eat...lol

I've probably gone a bit off base in my answer, but thought you might like to hear from someone who's a bit of a newbie. I think talking to someone face to face who has gone through it is a really good idea. It's also very important that you consider the possible complications as well, both medical and psychological. This isn't a quick fix. The band is a tool that you have to learn how to use. I'm at the beginning of a journey but it's one as yet, I have no regrets about starting.

Scotty

No way...I loved your answer!! I'd love to hear more about the psychological complications....

There is another thread on here titled "Any Regrets?" and one after another, no, no, no, only wish I had it done sooner, only wish it were available a long time ago, etc, etc. This is what convinced my husband...throughout all of DeLarla's port problems and the difficulties of others, not one person regrets it. I'm sure they are out there somewhere, but they are probably not working the band program like folks here are working it.

I can't wait to get mine.

....does anyone here regret having had this procedure done?

It was the best think I have done for myself in my ENTIRE life!!!

Was it harder or easier than you expected? I can honestly say now that the surgery was the EASIEST part .....it's following through after the surgery and making allt he lifestyle changes that's the tough part!!! Was the procedure itself painful? Was a piece o' cake..!!! sugar free and fat free of course! How often do you experience any discomfort now after the fact? None at all!

Would you do it again? In a heartbeat!!! No regrets whatsoever...oh, maybe just one......that I hadn't done it sooner!!! I wish they had had something like this available when I was in grade school.....it would have saved me a lot of heartache through my teen years. It would have made my life totally different. But I say everything happens for a reason and it happended when it was supposed to happen! So don't waste another minute...of the rest of your life....do it now!!! Good Luck to you! You will never regret the choice you made to have this surgery....

I've been struggling lately with eating junk, not exercising, gaining weight. So my response at this time is a little more subdued than the others.

Would I do it again? Absolutely! No question! The surgery itself was very easy for me. I've lost 63 pounds, but that is in 18 months. I'm a slow loser and it's my fault because I have not really been able to stick to the program consistently. I've lost 63 pounds that I would not have lost without the band. But no matter how many times I read, "It's just a tool," I guess I didn't really believe it. Believe it. After getting banded, you will still have to focus on eating right, eating healthy food, not eating junk. If you want to call it a diet, you wouldn't be far off the mark. You will need to exercise. But you will not be able to eat as much or as fast as you do now. Read the past threads on this board and notice how many of them have to do with needing to regain control, motivation for exercise, etc. Understand that you will be doing a form of "dieting" or "sticking to an eating plan" afterwards, just as you have before. Sometimes the band makes it easier, sometimes it doesn't. It's a tool, it will help you lose weight, and it's pretty safe. But it's not magic. Make sure you understand that and really believe it. Then, if you still want to do it, I say "go for it." I'm glad I did.

Nancy (on a hard day)

I was banded on 2/9/05, so I guess that makes me a newbie. I think it has been te best choice I ever made. I had a chance o be in the OR during a lap-band surgery,I was in nursing school at the time. I ended up doing a report on the subject about 2 yrs later I had the procedure. It so far has been great. I have lost 26 lbs and feel great .Today my blood pressure is 104/72 Pre -op 140/90. I had little pain and was back to work in 1 week. (I work in an MD's office. ) no regrets at all . good luck in your decision.

Hi Tinkerbell,

Speaking as a long term bandster (20 months), it was the best decision that I have ever made. I have no real problems to speak of . I have no regrets except that I wish the lapband was available when I was younger.

Babs in TX

334/180

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6/23/03