I'm beginning to chicken out of the surgery. Is it worth giving up food and never getting stuck or PBing or sliming. I'm not sure if I want to live life like that. Should I have the surgery?

when something is truly worth having, sacrifices are just part of the game. make your choices wisely. g2s

You are the only one who can decide what is right for you. Personally, the sacrifices are minimal compared to the reward of living a healthier and hopefully longer life. Giving up carbonated beverages and some foods seems like a small price to pay not to be 250 + pounds anymore!

Is it worth giving up food and never getting stuck or PBing or sliming.

Only you can answer your question.

I'm not sure why you say you have to give up food. We all eat food, otherwise we'd starve. SInce you say "chicken out" I assume you have a surgical date. Honestly - you may want to postpone until you can get to a more confident (either way) place.

I know that pre-op I second guessed myself, but as soon as I would think "this time when I lose the weight, I don't have to lose it again a year later" all of my doubts went away.

You'll want to feel reassured with your decision. Taking the time to get there is worth it.

Getting stuck, sliming, etc. is part of having restriction. I don't know a single person who would say it's not worth it.

Sounds like you have a lot of thinking to do.

You know one thing about the band is it's adjustable. some banders prefer a slightly looser restriction than others. You might lose weight more slowly than those with tighter restriction, but that's a choice you can make.

I don't slime or PB, my weight loss I would say is slower than some, but I don't have issues with eating chicken, steak, apples, salad etc.

I do want a bit more restriction (tightness) in my band, but I'm not one that wants to be so tight, that normal healthy food doesn't go down.

I have given up some food by choice. I've eaten a portion of one piece of pizza in the last 3 1/2 months. I rarely eat bread. I don't eat a whole dessert by myself, I take a bite of my husband's instead.

Some banders keep their band a little tight to lose the weight and then a small unfill, so they can eat a little more once they've reached goal.

That's an advantage to the band, it's adjustable and we can use that in a way that suits us.

The band has given me a little extra willpower to say NO to those foods.

angelface - I am having surgery in 3 days. I have had the jitters about all of it this week. Lots of people have told me it is very normal to get nervous before surgery. I guess it is like wedding jitters. Just sit down and think about what brought you to the lapband in the first place. Go back in thought to the beginning and work yourself back through it. This is a decision only you can make, and you should make it with care. Do what is right for you. I wish you the very, very best.

If you aren't ready to make those sacrifices then I would slow down the process and get your head together first or at least while you are getting what you need to get done in order to have the surgery. I've spent a year going through the motions and I'm not sure if the process had been fast for me if I'd have been ready say in summer of last year. As each day goes by, I understand my relationship with food more. I am more in tune with the mind/body aspect of it than I've ever been. I hope that this will make it easier in the end. Does every one need to be in the "right" state of mind before surgery? Probably not, but I can't see how it can hurt.

And you know....you can always say no right down to the last minute.

angelface - I am having surgery in 3 days. I have had the jitters about all of it this week. Lots of people have told me it is very normal to get nervous before surgery. I guess it is like wedding jitters. Just sit down and think about what brought you to the lapband in the first place. Go back in thought to the beginning and work yourself back through it. This is a decision only you can make, and you should make it with care. Do what is right for you. I wish you the very, very best.

3 days? Nix my previous comment. You are just nervous. I was totally nervous the week before my almost band. I even wrote out a will and told my family my final wishes for burial. How melodramtic is that?!?

Believe me, it is worth it. I PB maybe twice a week, usually less. It is part of the learning curve to eat the right way and it is very important to not be overfilled. I think some people use PB'ing as a way to restrict their food intake more than necessary to lose more weight. That is not necessary. That is literally the ONLY negative thing I can think of about the band. I am being totally honest when I say this has made my life worth living again. Just looking at each new, lower number on the scale and knowing that I am not going to have to use all my time and energy to not gain it back makes the surgery worth it. It really does work, it really is not painful or uncomfortable, it is totally worth it!!!

Totall worth it. And almost everyone gets nervous before surgery. Hang in there!

Like others said: it's unlikely you're "forced" to give up on food. Chances are, after healing & before you get filled properly, you'll be able to eat pretty much anything you could before.

You control how much fill you have. If you keep it too loose, you'll likely struggle more with losing the weight but be less likely to have issues like PBing or slippage.

I've taken my fills too slowly I think, out of caution, which has made my journey toward goal a slow one. I'm not the slightest bit regretful of getting banded. Best "health" decision I've ever made. I'm sure you can see I've got a long way to my goal yet. But the band is making it possible. And it will for you too.

:smile:

Was one of the activities you had to do for your doc or your insurance to fill out a list of the diets you've tried so far? It's a great exercise.

There's enough pleasure in eating now and then to make it all feel not too bad. We had a devonshire tea on the weekend - scones with jam and cream and a big pot of tea. Yummy. Of course 1/2 a scone and I was BURSTING to the point I couldnt even drink. They dont agree with me. But man the little bit I had was good.

Then I've had a week of barely being able to eat. Everything feels yuck going down, nothign goes down smoothly. I havent PB'd or even slimed, just felt EVERYTHING. Can be bothered eating. Dont care. I've eaten what I need and nothing else.

That's the thing. food becomes just food. Its not much more than fuel. If it doesnt want to go down, you eat what you can, make sure you're nourished and forget about it. You dont miss gorging yourself in orgasmic pleasure at every single meal. Every now and then is plenty.

You really cannot know what that's like till you've experienced it, you cant get your head around it pre surgery, you just have to close your eyes and jump.

Jachut, thank you for your post, it reinforces my decision and it was what I personally needed to read. I also started having second thoughts late yesterday and all last night. My surgery is one week from today, so I'm glad it wasn't the night before. I finally realized that if I didn't go through with it, I would forever be fighting my weight, just like I've done EVERY DAY for the past 10 years. Not that I won't have to continue to be aware of what I eat, but if it's a drastically cut amount, then it won't be so much of an effort like it is now.

Also, if I back out now, I'd just want to re-schedule it as soon as I got over my fear and have to start over on this pre-op, 2 week liq. diet. That alone is enough to make me not want to back out.

Could anyone please explain "sliming" to me? I've heard it meantioned quite a bit and I did a search on the board and can't find an explaination.

I'm sorry if this has been addressed somewhere else. Thanks!

Caterpillarfly, see this thread.

Before surgery, my motto was ask me in a few years if I regret having it (meaning let's see if I get the weight off and keep it off). My surgery was last April.

Right after the surgery, my motto was what the hell did I do to myself. It took me ALL DAY to get a Protein shake down. After a few days it was MUCH better. I proceeded to loose 30 pounds over the summer. By fall I was slightly restricted and returned to some old eating habits. Knowing we were going on a family vacation to Disney, I didn't bother getting a fill. After that the holidays came around, still little restriction.

So more recently, I finished enjoying my birthday in Feb. called the doctor and scheduled a fill. I was up about 15 pounds and knew it was time to get my act back together.

Getting the fill wasn't so easy, they've never been able to do it in the regular doctor's office, but this time they couldn't do it using flouroscopy either. My port that sits under my skin had turned. I actually had to have an outpatient surgical procedure to correct this (last wednesday). I was put out, had a day off work, and have another scar, but it was nothing. I didn't even take the pain rx I picked up.

But laying there waiting for the surgery, I was praying to God that if the doctor didn't make it in (we had a lot of snow) then I would eat right the rest of my life. Well needless to say, he showed, he flipped it, stitched it, and filled it.

I'm back on the bandwagon.

the decision is up to you.

yes you can loose your weight.

yes, you can put it back on.

No matter what, it's about what you put in your mouth.

I feel I've got a 2nd turn with this and mentally I'm ready to make the most of it. I've totally seen the emotional eating that I have to put behind me.

I swear, yesterday, i bought a can of pringles and a dip and ate most of it. Yet I can't get this salad down today for the life of me. But I feel better trying this than I did yesterday.

It's totally what you put in you and the band will not do all the work.

That's what you have to be sure you are ready for. Your part.

I don't think I was ready a year ago. I don't regret doing it though.

This last year was a learning mode.

I shouldn't treat it so lightly as if you should fill and unfill whenever you want, but it can be done.

I'm more restricted now than ever before, but i'm want the weight off again. Eating the chips and dip and I can see the scale NOT move. just adds to my new motivation.

Keep communicating - I didn't

Attend support meetings - I didn't but am going to (they're once a month around here)

Exercise - i'm betting if I did, my port would have stayed put.

if you want a friend; i'm here

hope this helps someone: it helped me just putting it out there

Angelface - Like other's have said, only you can make the decision to have this surgery. In the past, when considering WLS, I was like "no way". That was because I wasn't ready to let go of some of those things. I started seriously researching and thinking about this a year ago. I read books, I talked to people who've had it done, I went to a seminar, and I've read post after post here. I've tried to make myself aware of the complications as well. I've tried to look at it from every angle so that later, down the road I can't tell myself I didn't realize certain things could happen. Because at the end of the day, I made the decision. My husband asked me a few weeks ago "you know you might not ever be able to drink a coke again or a beer?". And you know what? I'm okay with that. I've finally decided that those are very small prices to pay to be healthy again. I'm so miserable right now. Yes, I can drink all the sodas and beer I want, but I'm not happy. I'm ready to let go and stop the hold food has on me. The idea seems so freeing. I know it will be hard and there will be days when I'm cussing myself because I'm dying for a Dr. Pepper (or a beer depending on how bad the day was :huh2:), but I'm going to do my best. I've tried all the diets before, but the difference this time is that I'm ready to let go. I feel really good about my choice now. I get to set my surgery date on Friday, but I've already started a modified version of the diet my surgeon requires pre-op so it's not so "cold turkey".

I'm excited, scared, nervous, but ready. So, the moral to this long-winded story is that you get to decide for yourself. Do your research, talk to others, but make sure it's right for you. Don't rush into it if you're not sure. Good luck to you. I wish you all the best!