Good afternoon ladies, I was just browsing through this site and stumbled upon you guys. My surgery date is 9/2/08, which is right around the corner. I have heard so many positive and negative stories and I'm a little anxious about the surgery. Do you guys have any advise for an up and coming "bander"? I'm so glad to find that there are so many sisters out there who are taking this step Any information or insight you guys can offer will be greatly appreciated.:tongue:

Welcome to the forum! Have fun reading past threads and creating new ones. Congratulations on your surgery date. That makes you a September Samurai! I will be banded 9/9. There is also a forum for sept. banders.

Don't have any words of wisdom, just wanted to welcome you to the board and I hope you have an uneventful surgery and a speedy recovery

Sheila

Well welcome. ONe thing i can say is in being honest. I would have hoped that the weight would come off faster. being told 1 to 2 lbs a week.. yr like yeah ok.. but it really is 1 to 2 lbs a week... it is not the magic bullet by no means..... it is a work in progress. Congrats on your band date...

Welcome and congrats!!! Like mstrina said, it is NOT a magic cure and you will have to work to see results. Don't get discouraged when the scale doesn't move, and don't feel like you can't get to your goal fast enough. This is life changing, and for the better, and if you stick to your guns it will be PERMANENT in a sense. Enjoy the journey, take time to fall back in love with yourself, and it will be fine! :-)

:thumbup:Thank you ladies so much for the replies. I feel better but I have to admit, I wish this was a quick fix. I"m realistic enough to know that it's not. Congratulations to those of you who have already had success with your weightloss and good luck to those of us who are preparing to. I go for my pre-op visit on Wednesday (8/25). Did all of you do the pre-op diet? I have really struggled with that. My thoughts are that if I could successfully lose weight on my own, I wouldn't need the surgery. Have any of the rest of you felt that way? If you did the pre-op diet, were you successful? :confused2:

I did the pre-op diet but compared to others mine was pretty easy...but not easy for me!! 3 shakes per day, with 2 lean/healthy meals per day. A lot of restrictions and stuff, but I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. My friends/family that did not approve of the surgery were so quick to say see - if you just change your diet you will lose weight without the surgery. But the pre-op diet and post-op diet are not diets that you can live by...it's preparation/healing. Because trust if I could do this on my own, I wouldn't have spend $15K of my own money to have the surgery! If anything the pre-op diet encouraged me and I was able to see that I have the power to do anything I want...and the surgery is helping me get to where I want and need to be. So stay positive and good luck!!!

Welcome to the site. As everone has said, it is not an easy, magic cure. You still have to work out and watch what you eat. You will have good and bad days but don't give up. Just follow the rules, go for your follow up appointments and fills. Restriction does not happen overnight. You have to gradually get to that point. After a year and half I think I have finally reached it for me. Everyone is different. I have been "obese" all of my life & never imagined being the size i am now. I have about 30 pounds that i want to lose which will put me safely under 200.I have not been that since like 6th grade!! I was anxious and nervous too but more so about conpleting steps required to get approved and awaiting the big day. Once it got here, i was cool. My band surgery was my first ever surgery and overnight hosptial stay. Don't worry, You will do fine. I have no regrets.

Welcome and good luck on your surgery. Just to give you honest expectations, the day after surgery may be painful. I personally was holding my stomach because the band initially is a weird feeling, and for me I thought something was gonna fall out. I was banded 9/11/07, and it took until this June to get to a restriction where I was able to lose weight. At this point I now watch what I eat, not because I particularly want to all the time, but because if it's something that I shouldn't have my band will get rid of it real quick. I can't overeat, or eat fatty foods if I wanted to. This is just my experience, and each person's band can be different. But once you start getting fills, you will get to know your band real quick.

I hope this helps, and I hope I didn't scare you, cause I love my band right now.

BlestButrfly - hope you had a easy and uneventful surgery today...