I want to find out if there is any one out there that can help me with some advise. I have a BMI of 35 and is 5 foot 5 inches tall. I have struggeld with my weight ever since I can remember. For the last 10 years I have been worrying about what I eat and when but to no avail. I can do regular exercise but are not an olympic candidate (saying I will not turn into a exercise yunkie!) I am considerin Lap Band because I can not take it anymore. My marraige is suffering and I also suffer from depression which makes any diet effort nul and void. I am also a bit of an emotional eater. Is there anyone out there who was in the same position and did the lap band and it has proven sucessfull?

And how does it feel to have it? do you feel in in you, is it painfull?

At 5ft 10, with a BMI of 36 I was in a similar position. It worked really well for me, there's a lot of credible evidence around to say that if you're a lower BMI patient, chances are the band will work better for you than if you are heavier. In real terms this means you have more chance of losing 100% of your excess weight instead of the 50 to 70% statistic often quoted.

I have turned into an exercise junkie - I'm sorry to say it but I think if you're going to lose ALL of your weight and keep it off, then you need to learn to love a daily dose of cardio at the very least. If not, you lose weight, sure but you probably wont lose it all.

No, you cant feel the band. Not unless you eat too fast, too much or something that doesnt agree with you. That's the major downside of the band, food can get stuck and you'll need to bring it up again. Its not like vomiting, its quite different, it just comes up without nausea or stomach acid and is usually small in amount, but it is quite uncomfortable and you can salivate profusely before it occurs. Not somethign you want to do in public, so you do learn to eat very slowly and carefully.

Bands require regular maintenence - you need fills on a regular basis and sometimes, it really doesnt do much for you until you've had several fills. I was lucky, I began losing weight right away.

Weight loss tends to be fairly slow and steady with the band, rather than spectacularly fast, but that's good - it means you're losing fat, not muscle.