Hi... i was very active on this site about six months ago.. i started going for all my pre op testing.. my mind was made up .. i was def getting banded. My husband lost his job...and with that we lost medical insurance. I am a stay at home mom of two. SOO instead of just gaining more weight and using this situation as an excuse to get bigger while i waited for new insurance i joined a gym and tried on my own. Since NOvemeber i have lost almost 40lbs. LOW CARB AND HIGH PROTEIN. My husband was hired thank goodness only a month after losing his prior job... but his insurance took 90 days to kick in. I now have insurance again and its the same as before. Im torn... should i continue doing this the "natural" way... or should i just go for it. I am still 250lbs and only five foot ...

No one can tell you what is best for you. For myself I have done it the natural way many times, but it has always come back with extra weight... so that is the reason I am pursuing this course. Talk to your family and doctor and between you, you will come up with the correct path for yourself.

Your very right... no one can make up my mind... i was just alittle torn. i just got off the phone with the office of the surgeon... I am going for it!!!! I will start making my appts again tomorrow. I called my insurance and they said the approval takes 24 to 72 hours. wish me luck!!!

I am happy for you, let us know how you do.

thanks so much.. you will see me on here more often...

although i felt i needed surgery for weight loss...my sister lost 72 pounds on her own!!!!!!!!!! she changed her diet and exercises...she has kept the weight off for 6 years...no surgery needed...weight loss is possible without surgery...

Good luck with everything, it sounds like you have made up your mind. :0)

I went through all the hoops to get surgery a few years ago and was ready to schedule the date, and then my company switched insurance companies to one that excluded WLS. I was devastated and went on a diet and exercise plan. I lost about 60 pounds and was feeling great . . . thought that I could do it this time on my own. Inability to get surgery which I thought was my last hope gave me motivation galore.

After several months of maintained loss, I started gaining a little at a time. Less than two years later, I was back to the same exact weight I was before.

Out of desperation, I finally made the decision to self pay and just do it. It was the best decision I ever made. Losing without hunger is soooooooo much easier than feeling constant deprivation (which I always felt while dieting). I lost 100% of my excess weight in less than a year.

Banding is the best thing I ever did for myself. I don't feel deprived or feel like I am "different" then everyone around me. I always remembered noticing people in the past that ate like a bird and were full satisfied, and I never understood how it could be that way until now. I am satisfied on little now, but I am satisfied . . . and that has made all the difference in the world.

you guys are great... At the gym this morning i just starred out into the parking lot and just imagined myself not worrying anymore about "weight related" things. Running around with my kids.. focussing on them more than the jiggling. LOL anyway... I came home and made two more consultation appts. Thanks for the boost!!