I am new to this web site - a friend recommended it when she heard I was getting the gastric lapband. Well, that time has come and I will be admitted to the hospital here in Italy (we are military stationed over here) on Wednesday. I am at 5'6" and 252lbs and I have a goal to lose 100 lbs in a year. If you have gone through the process allready, please tell me what to expect. I have the added complication of being a Mom with 5 kids from ages 12 to 7 months, and the 7 month old I am still breastfeeding. Should be a fun adventure!

Luck to you! Wow you have your hands full. 100 lbs in a year is my goal as well. Do as much reading about pre and post op as possible. Make sure you have some help with your little ones, so you can rest and recoup after surgery.

Make sure you have liquid supplements and watch your Fluid intake. I'd probably get in more than 64 oz aday if you can.

Take care, good luck and You Can Do It!

It is possible I did. I lost 101 lbs by the one year mark. It has tappered off now but still very happy.

Good luck is indeed wished. With a little (okay, sometimes a lot) of patience, acceptance , follow through and the aforementioned good luck, the band can be nothing short of a miracle.

Advice? There's more of that here than you'll ever need. Read the relevent forums, paying special attention to stickies and faqs. Identify the threads that are meaningful, and go through them searching for whatever you need – don't just read the recent posts – some of them go back a long way, and some of the information there is still quite valid. Read peoples' profiles to get an idea of who's been around for a while, who is walking the walk.

My own thoughts: Take time after the operation – not necessarily from the pain (I didn't think it was too bad) but to readjust. Life gets different right away. You might need to mourn, to accept a new relationship with food. Follow your doctor's instructions to the T – that's really important. And reward yourself by knowing that you have made an affirmative life-changing choice. It's a long adjustment – habits of a lifetime do not go away overnight, but slowly, with the help of this marvelous tool, we can learn a different way,

Wishing you all the best,

I am new to this web site - a friend recommended it when she heard I was getting the gastric lapband. Well, that time has come and I will be admitted to the hospital here in Italy (we are military stationed over here) on Wednesday. I am at 5'6" and 252lbs and I have a goal to lose 100 lbs in a year. If you have gone through the process allready, please tell me what to expect. I have the added complication of being a Mom with 5 kids from ages 12 to 7 months, and the 7 month old I am still breastfeeding. Should be a fun adventure!

Best Wishes!