How Do you feel about your choice to get banded ??? Please Vote !

Sorry i posted this by mistake in Intro section as well.

My Story

Hi, I'm new to the community and am scheduled to get banded on May the 13th !!! Soooo nervous and excited at the same time. Would really like to hear from some of you about your experiences. Does anyone here regret going through with the surgery ?

My biggest worries is that I may regret the surgery for the following reasons:

1) I may feel frustrated with having a foreign object telling me what I can and cannot eat (unable to eat foods like red meat, past and rice the rest of my life).

2) Feeling like an impostor in front of other people because I have something inside myself that I am hiding from other people. Like I will always be carrying around this embarrassing secret with me...

What do you think about my thoughts ?

BTW I am 23 years old and in college :biggrin2:

Hi & welcome!

This is definitely one of the best decisions of my life. How wonderful that you can take charge of your weight when you are young!!

Some input for you... I can eat anything... including rice, Pasta, & meat... just smaller amounts in smaller bites more slowly than I used to eat. I love that about the band!

I don't get the imposter part. I tell those I think need to know... others I don't. I tell everyone that I'm eating properly & exercising, which is true. I liken the band to a cast on a broken arm or braces on crooked teeth... do you judge folks w/these medical devices harshly??

As far as carrying around an embarrassing secret... what's embarrassing about it?? For me, it was more embarrassing to be carrying around my fat ass!!

Best wishes on your journey!!

Edited March 27, 200818 yr by mdrai

Lap-band has been a real answer for weight management for me. I also can eat anything I want - in very small quantities. But I still get some. Because I lost weight I am able to do physical activities that I have not been able to do since before I started having children (22 years ago) like horseback and bicycle riding.

When people say to me - where's the rest of you?, you look so great...I just smile sweetly and say - I cheated - I got the lap-band and it is the best tool that I ever purchased.

Stay strong - stay POSITIVE. Follow your Drs. advice. YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!:thumbup:

Just don't keep your fill so tight that you can't eat and you will be fine. I can eat anything I want in small portions.

It was the best thing I could have ever done, and I wish I had done it years ago.

I also am thrilled with my band. I still have about 60 lbs. to go but my only regret is that I would have had it done sooner. I firmly believe that it happened when I was ready to make the changes that it takes to be successful. Remember it is only a tool. It is a piece of the puzzle that can make you lose weight. If you are not ready to make other changes, chances are it won't work. It is not easy, but it is the easiest journey in weight loss I have had so far. I now know without a doubt that I will be thin by this time next year. I was banded on 1-7-08 and have lost 38 lbs. Good luck

This "object" is now as much a part of me... as my "heart" and "lungs". Part of my anatomy. This is me- all me- all real- just not the same as everyone else... who is the same right?

I love my band, and feel something would be missing- if I lost it. I control my band -it is just a tool/helper... that I very much needed/wanted. The choices are still mine.

What I wish, I could have hidden, was my inability to control my eating/exercise habits, in a healthy manner=200 extra pounds.. I could not hide that- it was obvious at 367# and growing. It's hard to hide being overweight, or unhealthy, no matter how hard we try.

By now, I may have suffered a heart attack and died, if not for this band. My Dad had his 1st heart attack at 29- Mom several health issues and her heart. And I would often feel "pains" in my chest... not to mention high blood pressure coming on. I had never been diagnosed with any co-morbitities... but they were very much lurking! I had/have no doubts about my band? Good luck and great health to you. Kim:)

this is so funny, last night I had a dream or something about this "Freaking Band" I don't know what is was about, but I told myself "its going to be alright" I guess sub-cautiously I have not truly accepted my band, yet I know it was the best thing I could have done ( does that make sense) I still miss eating like a pig (call me Loca) I miss my companion and the comfort it gave me (damn! I have issues) but everyday it gets better and I know with time my band will be my new friend.

1) I may feel frustrated with having a foreign object telling me what I can and cannot eat (unable to eat foods like red meat, past and rice the rest of my life).

2) Feeling like an impostor in front of other people because I have something inside myself that I am hiding from other people. Like I will always be carrying around this embarrassing secret with me...

What do you think about my thoughts ?

BTW I am 23 years old and in college :biggrin2:

Ok, I am happy with my band, and grateful for the assistance it gave me to lose the weight, but I can't say it was the best thing I ever did with my life (That would be having my son, and marrying my DH) It's high up there, but not at the top, if you get my meaning. So I didn't vot. But I

1) I can't address red meat, because I am a Veggie, but I am pretty sure, if I wanted to, and I chewed well enough, I could eat red meat. I can eat Pasta, rice and bread too. I can eat just about anything anyone else can at this stage. I eat a little less of it, and take it slower, but I eat what I like, so there is no frustration.

2) I refuse to be embarrassed or carry any shame about the band. Do people who go to Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers feel shame or guilt? Hell no. This is no different. You are getting help for a weight issue. It's simple, and nothing to be ashamed of at all.

Best of luck to you.

I love my band. It's the best decision I've ever made...and I make LOTS of good decisions. :thumbup:

I don't regret getting WLS, I don't "regret" getting a band. But if I had it all to do over again I would not get a band, I'd get a sleeve.

It was a great decision for me. I have lost nearly 40 pounds since I began this journey. I weigh less now than I have in many years. Yes there are sacrifices you have to make but the rewards are much greater. I would give up Pasta for life (Haven't had to do that) to ride a roller coaster with my neices and nephew. At 289 that wasn't going to happen. Not eating sweets is nothing compared to being able to fly comfortably in an airplane without requesting a seatbelt extender. So far I have been able to eat just about anything I want (Haven't tried steak) The most important thing is I will be a happier, healthier person at a more normal weight. I can already RUN up a flight of steps without having to take multiple breaks to catch my breath. I haven't had an asthma attack since my surgery, and I feel great.

It is all a matter of your personal goals and desires. I am willing to make the sacrifices to be healthy and that makes me happy. I want to live to see any future grandchildren I may be blessed with.

Good luck with your decision.

I so wish I would have had this option when I was in my twenties. I'm fifty six now and just starting but it's gonna be sweet, kids.

Jack . . . your way with words is simply wonderful! Well said! Thank you!

P.S. . . . I don't regret my band or feel embarrassed either! I also wish I had this options years ago . . . my life would have been so different!

Great poll! I'm also in that pre-surgery 'what if' stage. Hope to see more poll results.

Wow, such wonderful human beings on this board. I am really touched by all of your optimism and compassion. Thank you all of you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me. I have done some serious soul searching this past month and I have come to the conclusion that even with the possible side-effects that I may incur from this band, the rewards are definitely worth it. Also I feel i am ready to start facing this illness head on. I hope to be speaking to you all more and learning more about what it means to be a "bandster"

Most definitely glad I got this band. People who think it's the easy way out don't realize how hard we still have to work to lose & keep the weight off. (at least for me. I'm sure there's someone out there who shot right down to goal and is staying there with very little effort)

Part of me wishes I had it done earlier and didn't spend most of my late 20's and early thirties fat. The other part of me is glad I waited til I did, when surgeons had already learned how to prevent band slippage and a lot about aftercare. And so that I never wonder if I could have done it "on my own".