Hello

Is anyone bheing banded on 31st of Aug- Thats the date when i'[m being banded & thought we could support & share sucess stories??:thumbup:

Hello, good luck with your banding on the 31st. I am being banded on Sept. 8. We should talk.:thumbup:

Denise

hello there!!

you wont be far behind me then!! How you feeling about it?

Lately, it seems all I can think about. My sister had RNY (bypass) the end of Feb, and she is down 68 lbs. She looks fabulous, feels great, her self esteem has never been higher. She had a real rough go of it though. Bilateral blood clots in her lungs, pleural effusion. About 6 days after she was released from the hosp., she was re-admitted to ICU for another 5 days. She actually almost died. Eventually, the docs regulated her coumidan levels and she was released. After that she had a rough time with the whole stages diet...liquids, purees, food. It was a long time before she could eat/drink anything. Well, here it is 5 months later and she is feeling better.

After seeing what she went through I was not going the RNY route. I opted for the lap-band. I have two friends also who one year ago had the lap-band done and both are having success. One lost 125 lbs and wants to loose 25 more, the other cheats and has lost 85 lbs but doesn't seem to want to committ to the lifestyle change. Both are men.

My husband is also having the surgery. He is scheduled for 9/25. I'm beginning to have second thoughts about the lap-band. After talking with my sister and two friends, I'm not sure if I will have the strength for the lap-band. I'm beginning to think I might do the bypass. I weigh 237 and I am 5'6" tall. My BMI is 38.3. I crave sweets all the time. I eat emotionally with this type of food. My sister says that you cannot cheat with sugars or you can get sick with the bypass. That is why she opted for it vs. the band. I originally wanted to do the bypass, but after seeing what my sis went through I quickly changed my mind. Now, I'm not so sure. So here I am researching both again and talking with both types of patients. I'm in the medical field and see a lot of the negative with both types. I tell myself that there are healthy people that don't come to the hospital because they are not suffering with the side effects of the surgeries. Hence, only seeing the negative. I feel more confused then ever. I have a call into my surgeon and I am waiting to hear from him today hopefully.

I am at a point in my life where I don't want to be heavy. I wasn't always this way. I'm ready for a lifestyle change, I just need the correct tool for me.

How do you feel about your surgery?

Check out the August 2008 support group. There is a schedule there of all of us being banded that month!

Congrats!

well originally i was very anxious about it all thinking that it may not be the best thing for me as i really didnt know enough about it, however after being on this website it has made me so excited about it all after reading so many success stories.

Me myself I am 25 and about 203lbs and 5.5" and want to get to about 126lb's so i know i have still got quite a journey however I want to enjoy the benefits while i am still young instead of waiting another 5-10yrs and be in the same boat but older.

I can understand what you are saying about choosing between them both, my philosophy would be that the bypass is a much more serious operation and if the band does part of the job for you- if you find yourself still falling back on sweet things when emotional you should look into having a counselling session as this may solve the underlying issues.

To be fair, if you are like me you eat these things because you are unhappy with yourself which sort of gets you into a downward cycle while having the band- the more weight you lose the more positive you will feel and the less you will need to rely on things to give you a short term happiness fix.

did you manage to speak to your surgeon today?? I hope they have helped...

Hello Kelly,

I'm feeling less anxious today. Yes, I spoke with the nurse in my surgeon's office, she reminded me that I have to have an EGD to check my hiatal hernia. The type of surgery will depend on the severity of the hernia. I am also going to have that repaired at the time of my surgery. I go for the EGD on Aug. 18. So it will be what it will be according to the results of the EGD.

I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better about your surgery. It won't be long. I can't wait to hear about the surgery and all the post-op talk.

Have a great day, talk to you soon,

Hi Denise!!

I am glad you feel less anxious now- i was like that at first (sh*tting myself) but the longer I think about it the better + more confident i feel. So hopefully you feel the same... I hope your EGD appointment goes well - least that will help you make your decision on which route to go down.

Keep me posted & speak soon :teeth_smile:)