My tentative surgery date is 3/19 and I am going crazy waiting!!!

Nervous about approval, scared when I do have it I won't succeed. I guess that is normal when one has failed soooo many times... like hey if I have to control my eating after the surgery then I could control myself before the surgery ..

I was thinking the same thing. I hope I can do the diet.....I sure have not done so well so far.

Don't worry, you will be amazed at how well you do. First off, just knowing the band is there and working for you will be a huge motivator. Secondly, even if you do mess up and eat the wrong foods, your band is there to keep you from really overdoing it. It is going to make you get full faster and stay feeling full longer. Granted, it is a tool, but by eating right and exercising, you will lose the weight.

Another thing I have found is that it is important to have your support system in place. For me, I find when I wander away from the boards for a bit, I lose my motivation. But as long as I am here, checking in daily, looking at the before and after pictures and talking to others who are going through the same thing I am, I keep my motivation and continue to do well.

It is much easier to follow the rules when you have this tool - that is the difference. If there were no difference, surgery would be kind of stupid, huh? I had the same questions before surgery. Yes, you do need to follow the rules, but because you have the band you can do it! I am still working toward getting to that place - it can take several fills to get to where your band is doing it's job - but even with the small amount of restriction I have at this point I can tell a big difference. It is easier to stay motivated to do the right thing when you don't feel constantly hungry. I also found that before surgery the doctor/staff very much play up the 'you have to do your part' thing. By the time my surgery date arrived I felt like you are feeling "If I have to work so hard to do this why have surgery at all?" Listen to what they say, follow the rules, keep in contact with others who have been through this, and be patient with yourself and you are going to do great. Just remember that everyone has a different path with the band (don't get too discouraged when you read about people who are doing better than you) and there is a learning curve with it. But with the help of the band you can do it. Good luck!

kbinaz is absolutely right...there is a HUGE learning curve with the band. It's easy to ready a doctor's pamphlet which gives you the do's and don't's and go, "Oh yeah, hey, well there it is in black and white. This will be easy." but to put it into practice is a lot different. You're gonna have a LOT of "AHA!" moments along the way and a lot of "Well, I will never do THAT again!" moments as well. Nine months out and I am still getting both of those moments...sometimes on a regular basis. Not as much as in the beginning of course, and when those "Uh oh" moments hit I usually just smile (limply of course) and shake my head thinking, "You dodo...you KNEW this was going to happen and you did it anyway!" I am learning and I am progressing, but that doesn't mean I am any less human in "testing the boundaries" occasionally, much to my own dismay after the fact. It's not all peaches and roses, but comp[ared to life BEFORE the band....there is NO comparison. The behavioral changes and "sacrificies" I have made have TOTALLY been worth every minute of it.

Thanks everyone, I am just going crazy with anticipation.. can't wait to get the surgery done. It's been something I have been thinking about for so long, but now that it is a reality I just cant wait!!!