Greetings to all! I'm newly registered here after lurking and reading posts for a while. My banding is scheduled for 10/16/08 in Tampa, FL to be performed at Memorial Hospital by Dr. Wilfred Aguila. I'm two weeks into a three week liquid pre-op diet and feeling excited, although a little nervous, about the upcoming surgery and life changes that go with it. I'm fully committed to making this positive step and harbor no misconceptions as to it being easy or a quick fix to being overweight and the health problems that go with that. I fully realize that it is a lifelong commitment to eating healthy and regular exercise to take the weight off and keep it off. I would be lying though if I were to deny that I wasn't nervous about it and the changes in lifestyle it brings as old habits are hard to break.

I'm six feet one inches tall and weighed 373 pounds at my original weigh in at the doctor's office, since then I've lost about 20 pounds according to my scale at home on the liquid diet (mostly Water weight I'm sure). It feels good to have lost weight but I know it wouldn't be realistic for me to think that I could maintain this liquid diet regimen indefinitely without the aid of a band or something else. It hasn't been incredibly hard but that goes with knowing that eventually I'll be able to eat real food again, albeit in severely limited quantity, and for me that's the light at the end of the tunnel. I believe that I'll adjust to the restriction in food intake much easier with the band than by trying with willpower (or the lack of) alone. Time will tell. I'm paying for this out of pocket but feel that it's more than worth the investment if it helps me attain a sustainable healthy lifestyle. I've enjoyed reading your posts, thanks for reading mine.

Hello!! I first want to say congratulations on getting ready to have the surgery! I have not had it yet but I am going with Dr. Aguilia also!!! I live in Lakeland so I am only about 20 min from you! You will have to let me know how the surgery went and how Dr. Aguilia is! I won't be having the surgery until Jan. because of a new job. I have a question are you a self pay?

Yes, I am a self pay patient. I do have very good health insurance that covers WLS, but I constantly travel for my job and I'm out of the country for more than half of every year. This makes it impossible for me to meet the requirement of six consecutive months of doctors visits for a supervised diet and exercise regimen, which are a prerequisite for the surgery with my insurance. It's more economically viable for me to pay for the surgery than to lose half a years income to qualify for the coverage. It's a shame though as I meet all the other requirements with my BMI, and co-morbidities related to obesity other than the six consecutive visits.

Had my surgery yesterday morning and all went well. Spent the night in the hospital but came home this afternoon. My stomach is a little tender and I had gas pains in my chest after the surgery but walking around helped to ease the pain. I lost 25 pounds on the pre-op liquid diet and I'm excited at the prospect of losing a lot more. All in all a very positive experience for me.