Do You Regret Getting Banded ??? VOTE !

[NanaRenan 0]

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...

1) I can eat anything I want, if I space out my really small bites and chew them well. A lot of things I THOUGHT I loved, I found were really only 'tasty' when I could slam them down quickly!! But upon actually chewing and savoring them -- they've lost a lot of their appeal! But either way, the band doesn't dictate my choices, I have to do that. Just like I chose to eat a lot of things that were really bad for me, now I choose to only eat things that are good for me.

And if I have a moment of weakness and go way off normal...well, I can't fall TOO FAR off the wagon, and the band has me sort of tethered TO the wagon, so it can't go off and leave me behind as it used to.

2) I would go on Jay Leno, Larry King, Oprah -- anyone who would let me tell them about my band and how it has changed (and quite possibly SAVED) my life! I can't imagine keeping that to myself. I thank God that at least a few people were comfortable telling me, when I commented on their weight loss.

If they had brushed me off with "Oh, I just dieted and exercised." I should have skulked away feeling crappy all over again because I've been such a failure at that over and over again. And for that reason, I could never risk making someone else feel that way by denying the band or avoiding the truth.

[jomarie 0]

Ramone,

I am so glad that you did this poll. I have yet to be banded and I too worry about having regrets. I worry about the unknown, having something in my body which I have no idea what it's going to feel like and thinking what the heck have I done; plus I'm afraid of the pain. It is so good to hear that more than 80% of the people polled don't regret being banded. I love reading about everyone's experiences especially since this is a big life altering decision and any bit of information that can calm someone's fears and worries is always helpful.

jomarie

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:

[ramone 0]

Yes, I found this poll very helpful as well :biggrin2:

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,281]

I don't regret it one bit. I have lost 25 pounds since surgery on 2/11, and the majority of this comes from within.

I have not had a fill yet, but I will make sure I don't get so tight that I have a problem eating food. It is not good to be so tight that you are purging or getting reflux every time you eat. All I'm looking for is the ability to eat small portions, and to feel satisfied for a good amount of time until my next scheduled meal.

All that being said, I have noticed there were several votes for regrets. I would be interested in hearing more from these posters. Not in a bad way, but I would think it to be fair to hear all sides of the spectrum.

Do as much research as you can! There is also a small forum here for people who have had some complications you might want to skim through as well.

Good luck in your decision!

[Foofy 0]

I love my band! Most of the time, I have no problems at all eating whatever food I want. I just have to eat slowly and chew really well. The few times I have had trouble have been totally my fault. Usually, eating while distracted and swallowing too much too fast. Then, that little fist clenched on my stomach grabs me and lets me know that I have broken our agreement. It hurts, but it gets my attention and modifies the behavior. It's the only thing that ever worked for me and I am happy, happy, happy. I am probably embarrassingly frank about the band and regularly yank up my shirt to let people feel my port and admire my tiny scars.

[anniedub 0]

I LOVE MY BAND!

I'm only one month post-op, but already I feel like this is the best decision I've ever made. Sure, sometimes when I have to stop myself from eating chocolate, or if I PB something, I start thinking "stupid lap band, wrecking all my fun..." but then I WAKE UP TO MYSELF!

If i didn't make a serious lifestyle change like the band, then I would have been on the fast-track to serious health problems - type II diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, just to name a few!

I'm lucky in that I got in early enough (i'm 22) to prevent these things before they happened - I didn't need to have a heart attack before I realised how much I was slowly killing myself with food.

My only regret? That I didn't do this 5 years ago!

[readytoloselbs 0]

Hi, I am three days post op and I do not regret it at all. I am losing weight and I feel great today. I feel like I have more energy. I am ready to start improving my overall quality of life!!!!

[ErikMesa 0]

I've only been banded a week so thats not really long enough to rate my decision. Still I think it's one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself. I look at the comorbid conditions I dealt with (hypertension, arthritis, severe sleep apnea, borderline diabetes) and think anyone of those could've killed me. I work in a hospital and see diabetic patients come in with missing limbs. I see cardiac patients come in 100 pounds overweight with 95% stenosed coronary arteries. Even with my folks I see my dad with sleep apnea and a knee replacement not even able to get around anymore (he's lost weight finally in his late 70's). I see all this and it's my motivation to do this. I have only myself to take care of me when I get old. I don't need all these medical problems.

When you talk about "imposter" it made me think right away of something else. The imposter is the life I've lived for 13 years as someone who is morbidly obese. It's that jolly happy cheerful guy who smiles and has a great personality. It's that guy who looks in the mirror in the morning when he's alone and is disgusted by his appearance. I've never had hangups about being fat however that doesn't mean I've enjoyed it. The imposter is the guy who just grins and says "thats not polite" to a little four year old kid in the store when he says "you're really fat" and whos mother just smiles and says "sorry" and looks away.

I view that as the imposter. This fat body that got in the way of who I really am. I was once in shape. I was in the navy. I played senior hockey and was pretty darn good at it. While weight was always a challenge I was physcially active enough to keep it under control. That ended when I was hurt and couldn't exercise and skate anymore.

So the imposter is the fat body that attached itself to me and prevented me from being "Erik" all these years. I view the lapband as a tool for kicking out the imposter from my life once and for all. Now "Erik" can reappear and be himself again. Honestly the psychological "high" I get from knowing that in a year or two I'll be like I was before and be able to do the things I did before is enough to keep me going.

Clearly the lapband was the right choice for me.

ErikMesa :regular_smile:

Edited April 7, 2008 by ErikMesa

[mylapspirit 2]

Getting the lapband is one of the best things I have ever done for myself. It is an awesome weight loss tool and I have had amazing success so far and it has been an amazing adventure since late August 2007.

I would recommend it to anyone who has struggled with their weight - who has heard the hurtful comments of people who love you and strangers, too - who has comorbidities and have to be on so many meds - who can't walk around 1 block without getting winded - who is laughing on the outside but crying on the inside and hating themselves and who on every Monday Morning has said they were starting another diet that week.

Life is better with the "Band". I have learned to finally control what I eat and to have a "normal" relationship with food. Yes I have had to work the band. I keep a food journal daily, I exercise at least 4 times per week, I set small goals and try to be honest with myself. I have gone from a tight Size 34W now down to a comfortable Size 22 and I am looking forward to being smaller. I no longer have the food cravings - I now have a shut off valve that I never had before.

I finally have HOPE in my life that I will reach my goal and be happier and healthier.

This was a great poll and all the comments were interesting.

shelli:biggrin2:

[greyhounder 0]

Happy to be banded here. If not for my band, I would continue to gain weight and would become even more unhealthy. I don't mind the restrictions that come with the band -- this helps me be successful.

Bec

[Headhunter 6]

I do regret it very much. If had to do it again, I would NOT.

2 Reasons:

1:) Severe complications, one result being that my band is non-functional.

2:) I discovered afer the band became non-functional that i did indeed posess the ability to lose the weight without that kind of assistance. In other words, I found that (for me, and me alone) I never really needed it the first place.

Edited April 20, 2008 by Headhunter

[steph_co 9]

I have no problem with red meat, Pasta, rice or bread. There isn't a single food that my body has rejected and I have decent restriction. It seems to go up and down based on the time of day, weather, my mood, hormones, etc (I'm half joking.... grrr) and I could probably use a bit more fill. But I HAVE been at the point where I could only get down a cup or less of food and been full for 4-6 hours after that meal. And even at that, I could eat whatever. Just have to eat slower. But I think people in general could use a reminder to slow the heck down. DH wolfs down food like I haven't seen (but I KNOW I used to do the same thing). I'm amazed to watch other people eat because I can't believe I used to do that.

I do not feel like an impostor. I did something for my health and I am having to work to get the weight OFF. Now, it does not come BACK as easily, but if I want it to get OFF, I have to do the work. It's really easy to eat around this thing.

My only embarrassment, and maybe it comes from my younger days when I used to get in trouble for it, is eating so much slower than my tablemates. Then people look at me like, "WELL?? Aren't you done YET?" I find myself apologizing for it, but I guess I really shouldn't. I'd be embarrassed NOW to eat the way I see a lot of people do. Yikes.

[Alexandra 55]

I have had complications, too, even to the point of having my band removed and replaced. Three surgeries in all, two more than I'd bargained for in the beginning. Also an endoscopy, a couple of stints on medication for reflux, and a lot of sleepless nights.

But I don't have one single regret and am 100% glad I made the decision to be banded. Knowing going in that the worst thing that could happen was that it would be removed is one of the biggest reasons I chose it over bypass. With two small children I couldn't take the chance of being sidelined by some major complication like those I'd heard about with RNY--rare, sure, but when they happen they seem to be extremely serious. I wanted something that would leave me whole even if it had to come out or be reversed.

The band is the very first time in my life I've had real control over my weight, which was nearing dangerous levels and making me an unfit parent. Over my first three years I lost 130 lbs, 50 of which have come back on through my difficulties. But I am very much healthier and more active than I used to be, and I have a realistic chance of losing the weight again and more.

No surgery is risk-free. We ALL are taking a chance, whether it's going under the knife or staying morbidly obese. We have to consider what makes the most sense for each of us, and consider all our personal circumstances. Sure, things can and do go wrong, but HOW they go wrong and how they can be fixed are important things to consider.

The "worst" happened to me and I'm still 100% glad I made the choice to get banded.

[Lillyanne_M 0]

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...

1. It's not my band that tells me I can't eat Pasta and rice. It's my doctor! It is hard to stay away from those things, but I'm following his advice as closely as I can. It's no different from other diets in that respect. Which leads me to

2. I don't feel like an imposter because I guarantee I'm working as hard as anyone else on a supervised diet. Sometimes, this is even harder than Weight Watchers because my doctor says I have to stay low carb. It is definitely possible to overeat and defeat this band. Also, I don't exactly volunteer the info that I have a band. I don't lie about it, but I say I'm eating less and exercising more. And that's the honest truth. The band is not magic. This is a lot of work!

Good Luck!

[readytoloselbs 0]

I am very happy I got the band. Today is my first birthday in about 10 years where I am down 15 pounds. If I had not gotten the band, I would have gained more weight. I feel much better and more energetic. I am so happy I got the band and the things that I may not be able to eat (like french fries), I don't need them in the first place :>