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ya know Ive been reading threads for over a year now and am all ready for surgery. Hears my worry. Im self pay and its took all i have to scrape up the thousands and thousands of $ to have it. From all these threads people seem to have more problems than success. Im so worried that somethings gonna happen. Erosion, port slippage ,band slippage,infection,just to name a few. what are the chances of nothing happening and what are the chances of something bad happening. Im getting scared.and im out of $

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marmar, don't rely too much on the negative things you read here. realize it's part of human nature to pay more attention to the negative, and certainly to vocalize it.

i mean, how many people ask to speak to a manager because an employee did such an awesome job? i bet for every negative thing you read on here, there are a ton of positive things you don't read.

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That makes sense I am gonna follow everything my doc says to a T and Pray Pray Pray

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Marmar- I hear ya! I am self pay and it freaks me out to think of having to have another surgery to fix something or whatever. I cant afford it! Im already freaking out about the 300$ fills. My surgery has been SOOOOOOO stinkin smooth! No complications and not too many side affects besides gas and that didnt last long. Im 3.5 weeks post op and feel like nothing even happened! Jus make sure you have a great surgeon with a great repuation! You will be fine!

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I was banded 12/07 and I've been so blessed on my journey. I did listen to my doctor and I had a great one. As you can see, I've lost a total of 128 lbs and I have maintained that for 11 months. I recently had to go in for a slight fill because I was getting hungry in between meals. All went well and hunger is gone again. Just remember this is a change of lifestyle. Any WLS is. If you're committed to that, there is a 97% chance of no complications. Don't get worried over how long it takes to get to your "sweet spot" because it will happen and if you convince your doctor to be too agressive in the fills it will mean unfills. Just be honest with your doctor and it will happen.

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Guys, remember that the "squeaky wheel" gets the attention. You notice the negative stuff. AND for every negative poster on this or any other forum, there are hundreds of people who never, ever post on any forum on any subject; they are happily living their lives and enjoying the results of their surgeries.

Most common problems related to the band (PBing, getting stuck) are operator error. Remember to cut your food into bites about the size of a nickel, take a bite, put your fork down and chew it well, swallow and then pick up your fork and take another bite.

While the SOUND of an aggressive fill is good, the REALITY is that a very aggressive fill can likely mean that you will end up too tight and need an unfill. Go with your doctor's plan, make your regular appointments for fills and you'll get to your sweet spot soon enough.

There was one poster on this forum who had to have his band removed after just six weeks because he ended up being allergic to something in his band. How often does that happen? Even less than once in a very blue moon.

And, I hate to say it, some people got their bands expecting that they were basically buying weight loss. That they wouldn't have to change anything, just merrily go on along the road they were heading down before surgery and the weight would just magically disappear. They are very disappointed in their decisions about getting banded.

If you follow your doctor's instructions and accept that you will have to modify your bad behaviors, and regard your band as an awesome tool, you will more than likely do fine.

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In the 1980 presidential election, it was thought prior to election day to be too close to call. Turned out they were talking to the vocal minority. That can be the case in many forums.

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I had the same worries as you. I am also self-pay. I am now over two weeks out and have had NO problems so-far! I am still paranoid about a leaky band -- because I couldn't afford to have it replaced if it happened. BUT, I am not going to "borrow" trouble.

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One thing that happens a lot of the times is we spend so much time on the boards before surgery just trying to find out every little thing. Then we have surgery and come back for a little while to talk to others who just had surgery too. Lastly, you no longer really need to come back because things are going so well you don't even think about it. But, if something goes bad, you immediately come back to the board...

I hope that made some sense. My point is that a lot of people who have no problems at all (like myself after 7 months) don't come back to the boards all that often, just because there is nothing to talk about :confused:

So, don't worry too muh!

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I was just like you.......thinking so negatative that I wasted one year ( I am self pay). I was banded on July 3, 2009 and now I feel normal. The first 2 days were the only days I felt little sick but now I feel gret.

1. Find a good doctor even if his price is higher.

2. No matter what follow "orders"

Good luck,

Bindi

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I had to pay $11,000 of the $16,000. I feel it has been a great choice and am happy with the money spent. I have lost approx 48 lbs since March 3rd, 2009. I will admit there are times (very few) that I wish I didn't have the band so I could eat all I want.....but then of course that is why I have the band. I won't tell you what to do but I am very happy with my choice. Good luck!

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    • Doughgurl

      2 days until I fly out to San Diego to have my Bypass Surg. in Tiajuana Mexico. Not gonna lie, the nerves are starting to surface. I don't fear the surgery itself, or the fact that I'm traveling alone, but its the aftermath that I'm stressing about the most, after this 8 week wait. I'm excited to finally be here, but I am really dreading the post surgical chapter. I know its going to be tough, real tough and I think I'm just in my head to much now that the day i here. Wish me luck, Hopefully I'm one of the lucky ones, and everything goes smoothly. Cant wait to give an exciting update,. If there is anyone else have a June bypass or even a recent one, Id love to have someone to compare war stories with. Also, anyone near San Antonio Tx? See ya soon with the future me. 💜
      · 1 reply
      1. Phil Penn

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    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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