Help me get over being scared. I'm going to get banded 8/5/05 in TJ by Dr. Ortiz.

Tell me how I'm going to eat and how this band will make me feel when it comes to eating?

How has your life been forced to change?

Do you still go out to eat now and then with family?

Do you have to be prepared to barf at any moment when food gets stuck or is there time to let it come back up when you are ready/prepared?

I am not planning on telling anybody except my husband and one of my sisters that I'm even doing this.

Will people know that something weird is going on with me?

During the first 3 weeks of liquid dieting, am I going to just wish to die from hunger? Or am I going to feel bad enough from surgery that I won't mind it too bad....you know.....like when you are sick and don't feel like eating? :paranoid

I feel like I need to protect her from pain is what it comes down to. She has had a lot of crap in her life and if I could, I'd pay for lap band for her if it was what she wanted. She is a wonderful person and I want her to be happy and have "it all".

Maybe "jealous" isn't really the term. ???

I have another, probably very stupid, question!

What is the difference in eating foods that are naturally soft VS chewing something until it is very soft too?

What are some foods that seem to stay there and keep you feeling full?

I just want to see if I got the ticker from the ticker factory working.

You all are going to be sick of me. I'm trying the ticker thing again.

Mercedes,

Go to the ticker factory and design your ticker. Then you copy the first set of instructions. Come back to this board and go to your signature. Paste what you copied. Then save your signature. It won't work until you save it. Then try to preview it and it should show your ticker.

As far as soft foods verses other foods. First of all soft foods are ones that don't really have to be chewed, like ice cream. They are usually high calorie foods and will go right through. So they will not stay in the stoma very long so you will be hungry sooner. That is why you should eat your Protein first then the vegetables. They have to be chewed and will not go right through therefore they stay longer and keep you from being hungry. Eating soft foods is considered eating around the band and will keep you from losing weight.

I hope this makes sense. I am sure there are a lot of lap banders out there that could explain it better.

Jack in reading your messge on 7/26. I felt so much better. i am being banded on 8/8. and what you said really hit home. It is not what I am about to do but what I have done to myself that I am about to fix. Lifs isn't a job it is an adventure and here I go on another one.. to a smaller healthier better me. Thanks Jack.

I'm glad I found this, I'm only in the stage of thinking about it all the way over here in Australia. It's a different process, our health system is different and private health insurance covers it all bar $2,000 or so.

I have a pretty low BMI comparatively - 35 and only just - and am pretty tall so am nowhere near the stage of obesity where I get looks or where I even get too distressed about the way I look. I feel fine most of the time, blend into everyday society. But Healthwise its different, I have chronic heel pain and an unidentifiable problem with my left ankle that has been ongoing for almost a year and want to cry most days from the exhaustion of trying to keep up with my 3 kids and keep the house decent - I simply cant go on carrying this extra 40kg or so around. I have lots of heartburn too - basically I feel like I"m permanently 9 months pregant, cant sit, cant stand, cant lie, cant bend over without reflux. I have highish cholesterol levels but no other health problems, but with diabetes and heart disease in the family I'm taking this step now rather than later.

I'm going to tell everyone!

So............ the band then provides some restriction right from the word go? You dont actually die from hunger that first month. I see the surgeon Tuesday.

some people have restriction from the word go, others have no restriction until they get their first or even second fill.

But no worries, no one who gets the band is in any danger of death by starvation. There is absolutely no indication that death by starvation is one of the possible complications.

I'm glad I found this, I'm only in the stage of thinking about it all the way over here in Australia. It's a different process, our health system is different and private health insurance covers it all bar $2,000 or so.

I have a pretty low BMI comparatively - 35 and only just - and am pretty tall so am nowhere near the stage of obesity where I get looks or where I even get too distressed about the way I look. I feel fine most of the time, blend into everyday society. But Healthwise its different, I have chronic heel pain and an unidentifiable problem with my left ankle that has been ongoing for almost a year and want to cry most days from the exhaustion of trying to keep up with my 3 kids and keep the house decent - I simply cant go on carrying this extra 40kg or so around. I have lots of heartburn too - basically I feel like I"m permanently 9 months pregant, cant sit, cant stand, cant lie, cant bend over without reflux. I have highish cholesterol levels but no other health problems, but with diabetes and heart disease in the family I'm taking this step now rather than later.

I'm going to tell everyone!

So............ the band then provides some restriction right from the word go? You dont actually die from hunger that first month. I see the surgeon Tuesday.

where abouts in australia are you from??

i have been told i have to pay around $3500 for mine

sorry Fee typo - that should be $3,000

I'm in Melbourne and seeing a Mr Geoffrey Draper at Peninsula Private on Tuesday.

I keep changing my mind - I think I'm actually terrified of NOT being able to overeat, how will I deal with all the things that make me overeat now?

Do you know anything about health fund rules here in Aus? I need to ring my fund on Monday to make sure they cover it - ie. is it "clinically necessary" when you're BMI is 35 and the only comorbidities are sore feet and cholesterol a bit high, like losing only 10kg would probably fix both! But whilst I know I can do that, I have no hope that I can lose 30 or 40 and keep it off forever and I'm scared by this glimpse of old age I've had at only 37 (hobbling around like a nana on my poor feet).

I havent done a medically supervised plan since I was about 18 and had a hip injury and was only 80kg anyway! But I've done Weight Watchers at least 10 times, Lite n Easy countless times, Jenny Craig, you name it. My doc didnt seem to think it was a problem.