Just curious...

What made you decide to get banded? Was there a 'last straw'?

Here's me - I'm thinking about doing it... seriously considering. I've tried to lose weight the old fashioned way (diet & exercise) many times, plus I've tried a lot of the fad diets. Nothing works!!! I found out I have hypothyroidism last Nov. and found out I have PCOS this month. Even my doc told me it is going to be really hard for me to lose weight. I asked her about a script for Phentermine and she told me if I wanted to kill my heart go ahead, but she'd have no part in it... and she suggested the lap band. I went back to the same doc today and asked her for a referral. It was kinda hard to talk to this 130lb woman about weight problems, but she was sincere. I told her how my weight effects practically every aspect of my life... and as I choked back tears I said 'it sucks'. I couldn't speak anymore or I would have busted out with big fat tears. I'm still not certain about it. I come here and read all the info, peoples problems, peoples successes, etc. and it makes me feel confident about the surgery. Then I step back into reality and I think to myself "I'll try it myself one more time"... that'll be the third time I've said that to myself since I initially thought about getting banded. That'll be my third try at DIY. Honestly my spirit has been beaten down due to all of my past failures.... all of the times I've genuinely worked my A$$ off to try to lose without success. It makes it hard to do. Then the icing on the cake.... even the doc tells me it'll be hard to lose on my own. I second guessed this statement and did my own research about people with my two health problems and weight loss.... only to confirm her statement. The more I think about it, the more I want to do it..... and the more scared I am. I don't know what I'm scared of..... I guess it's all of the possibilities of little petty day to day problems people have. All of which pale in comparison to the results the band provides. I can't help but think 'what if it doesn't work for me?'.

I feel like so freakin many of the problems in my life revolve around my weight. What if getting banded doesn't fix the problems? I know it will. I'm a very optimistic person but anything related to weight loss automatically turns me into a pessamist. I'm not a depressed person, but thinking a lot about my weight and how I'm going to get it off depresses me.

I guess I'm just looking and hoping for a sign or something.... something that will make me say/think "YES! I want the lap band!" Something real. I'm not a spiritual person, so praying about it wouldn't do me much good. I just want to find a way to be at peace with this decision. Any advice?

A simple answer is, "What you are doing isn't working. You need to do something different."

Losing weight won't fix all the problems in your life, but it will make taking the challenges on much much easier. Because you'll not be spinning your wheels fighting the same old fight of weight loss and you'll have the energy to deal those other issues.

As for lapband verse bypass, that's a whole different thread...

It's the best thing I've ever done for myself. Period.

I know what you mean about your 130-lb. doctor. I bought phentermine off the internet when my doctor declined a script. I had chest pains and my heart raced, needless to say I stopped taking it. I started taking Alli and I haven't had too much loss and lots of side effects. My doctor has not been a help. You can really search for doctors that were fat and understand the struggle. I found a seminar myself and I'm going Thursday. Hopefully if the band is what I choose (which right now seems like an awesome option) I pray that my doctor will refer me. Good luck to you. I just wnat you to know I feel the same way!

My final straw came when I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. I've had extremely high blood pressure since I was 22 (I'm 37) and I've been medicated out the wazoo for it. At the same time I was diagnosed diabetic I was told I have a slow thyroid so now I'm on HBP, Diabetes and thyroid medicine.

Somehow I could live with the HBP, but the diabetes diagnosis corked it for me. A few years ago my PCP (who's also like 130 lbs) asked me if I'd considered Gastric Bypass. I burst into tears. At the time I'd lost 100 lbs and I felt like a complete and total failure.

I too thought I could lose it on my own. My last attempt was Medifast. I lost 30 lbs, got sick and was diagnosed with a white blood cell issue (now resolved) so I had to go off the diet and promptly gained back the 30 lbs, plus 20 lbs more. Right on. Crap.

While I didn't want Gastric Bypass (not interested in rearranging my interior), LapBand seemed doable. I figured I could live with it, even though my eating habits and life would completely change.

It took me almost three years to make the decision, but like I said, last year when I was diagnosed with diabetes I knew what I had to do.

I have a peace about it because I want to live. I was married almost two years ago and the thought of not being here on earth to spend time with the love of my life breaks my heart. I can't leave him alone. I have to do this for me. For him. For my nephew who was just born. For my family.

I'm so very tired of being fat. Of wondering if I can get the seatbelt to buckle on the plane, of wondering if I'll fit on the ride at Disneyland, of opting out of rides because the bar comes down too tight on my stomach, of the elastic and not button/zipper jeans, of asking, "Do you have a table - we don't want a booth" at a restaurant, etc. etc. etc.

Unlike you, I rely on my faith and prayer. I can't speak for you obviously, but I know that this is the right thing to do. My insurance company is a stinker and they approved my surgery the first time around. I feel I've been blessed with an awesome doctor at my PCP's hospital, a team of nurses and a surgeon who doesn't judge and who has been supportive and caring and a PCP who feels that this will prolong and probably save my life. I feel this path I'm taking is an answer to prayer.

So many tears have been shed, so many prayers have been prayed asking for guidance, help, support, acceptance. I feel this is an answer to prayer - the answer that I need.

My body hangs on to fat. My mind hangs on to fat. I know more than anything else, I need to let go of my "negative tapes", as my mother calls them, and to start playing more positive, loving tapes.

It's an emotional time. So much is wrapped up in our weight and self image. There are days I don't even look in the mirror. That has to end. I'm scheduled for my pre-op appointment tomorrow and on May 15th I'm banded. I know it's not a cure-all. I know I'll have to bust my butt to get this weight off, but I believe that in the process of trying to lose it, I'll be shedding the old girl and watching the new woman come alive.

I think she was there all along. Just waiting to get out.

I hope you make the decision that is right for you. I believe we know our bodies best and that only we know what is right for us. Everyone's story is different - I'm hopeful I'll lose weight like crazy after being banded - if I don't - that's okay. My body will react the way it was created - the way it was meant to react.

I'm looking forward to the new me. I hope you find the new you too. Whatever path you take! Take care!

...I found out I have hypothyroidism

...I told her how my weight effects practically every aspect of my life...

...Then I step back into reality and I think to myself "I'll try it myself one more time"...

I could have written this, (except substitute diabetes for PCOS). I remember my psych evaluation, telling the shrink that this is the one thing in my life that I fail at, time and again.

This has been the easiest diet I've ever been on, simply because I'm no longer a "bottomless pit of hunger". I personally wouldn't change any part of my lapband journey.

I know what you are talking about. I tried all the diets and pills and sure I would lose weight for awhile but it always came back. My sister was banded in December of 2006 and she has lost 150 lbs. She was my inspiration and with the encouragement of my family I started researching doctors and visiting with several clinics. I was to have back surgery last summer and the little voice told me not to. Instead I decided on lap band and was banded October 9 2007. Yes you have little worries, know it is not a quick fix but a tool to help you make some lifestyle changes you can live with. When you accept that then you will know you are ready. Only you can decide when that is. For me it was the best thing I have done and I did it for me and my health. Not my husband cause he loves me no matter what I weigh and not for my children or friends but for me. I can't begin to tell you how much better I feel. I can get a good nights sleep and wake up rested which in turn lets me have more energy to live my life. Living takes on a whole new meaning and you have a better outlook on life. My blood pressure is down, less depression, no sleep apnea and less pain in my back (which will lessen the more I lose) No one can tell you to do it we can all be here for you when and if you decide this is what you want to do. All I can say is it was the right choice for me. I wish you the best of luck and if you decide you are ready you have a good support group here.

Banded 10-9-2007

Weight Loss Surgical Center

Dr. Lee Nigro

49 lbs. lost

I think it comes down to you. Is this for you or not, I stuggled for almost a year back and forth with if I really needed to go this route if I really couldn't do it on my own. And the answer is maybe i can but that's no gaurantee I'll keep it off and there's no gaurantee i'll even loose it. But now I know! I know that a year from now I won't be the same person sitting in my house waiting for my friends to come visit me or not going out because I have nothing that fits me or doesn't make me look like a sausage. I know that I will change my life and not waste it on FAT!!!! I refuse to allow this to define me anymore and the only thing I can do to make that possible is give myself the best tool I can to make it. good luck in whatever you choose I hope you make the best choice for you.