Hi everyone:

I'm new here and have LOTS of questions! I'm sure the answers can be found on these pages, so I will definitely hunt around.

I'm 46 and fat. :wink2: I've been very overweight my whole life, and like most of you, have been very successful losing (and gaining!) weight. I became a lifetime member at WW when I was 12, having lost 90 pounds! Yikes!

I have a hubby and a daughter who will be 6 next month. We adopted her from China when she was 1, and I want to be able to see her grow up; thus the reason I'm here. I have hobbies such as scrapbooking, and I make and sell handmade soaps and lotions.

A couple of my questions (and I hope you don't mind me asking... I will search this site for the answers)...

1) I am at the VERY beginning of this journey, having just received my primary care dr's referral, and making an appointment at the Mass General Hospital Weight Loss Center (don't even have the date yet)... QUESTION: How long did it take for you when you were at the same point I am now until you were banded?

2) I've started to read about post-op eating, etc. One thing that scares me is when you say you must be careful about fruits with skin and breads / fried foods. Now, I'm not a big eater of any of those, but people have mentioned "getting stuck"... what does that mean? Does that mean you'd choke? That confused/scared me.

Again, I'm psyched to be here and have a lot of reading to do, so I apologize for asking questions that are probably answered out there.

Thanks... I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone here!

Judy

1) I am at the VERY beginning of this journey, having just received my primary care dr's referral, and making an appointment at the Mass General Hospital Weight Loss Center (don't even have the date yet)... QUESTION: How long did it take for you when you were at the same point I am now until you were banded?

I started my process in July of '07, it took me sevral appeals to get ins to cover me. Had I not had to fight w/ ins it would have taken me about a month from start to finish. I finally got banded 4/17/08.

2) I've started to read about post-op eating, etc. One thing that scares me is when you say you must be careful about fruits with skin and breads / fried foods. Now, I'm not a big eater of any of those, but people have mentioned "getting stuck"... what does that mean? Does that mean you'd choke? That confused/scared me.

Getting "stuck" means you either took too big of a bite or didnt chew good enough or both. It feels like a lump in your chest or upper stomach, you can actually feel that the food is stuck above your band & will not go down. It makes you feel like you cant swallow your own spit & u end up over the toilet drooling like a mad dog till it comes back up. Some ppl say when they bend over it just flows right back up, but when I get stuck I actually heave & throw up. Not as bad as having the flu, but still miserable & it usually hurts for awhile after. You should really go back to liquids for a day or 2 after it. Though I am guilty of not always following that rule. It is important though so u dont slip your band. It is NOT like choking though, not at all so dont let it freak u out.

I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! I dont regret being banded at all!

Also, dont apologize for asking questions, thats what we are all here for. We enjoy sharing our experiences!