I can't begin to describe how blessed I have been this year. Before I was banded, I was lost. I would wake up most mornings and just say to myself "where do I even begin to dig myself out of this hole". Yes I was referring to the massive weight gain that I had in the past 2.5/3 years. I was falling into a depression but no one knew about it because I was putting up this front that I was the most confidence "fat chick", because I had to...it was my defense mechanism. May of 2009 rolls around and I am desperately searching on the internet for a surgeon to finance my surgery because I am a part time employee and full time student with no health insurance. That's a different story though! The angels sent to me Dr. Webber at Harper Hospital in Detroit MI. This was the start of a new life for me, it was the end of my sorrows, the beginning of a lifetime of happiness. I wasn't going to be overweight for all of my 20's, I will enjoy the last 5 years of my 20's shopping in the same stores as my girlfriends...going to a party and not cry because I have nothing to wear, attract guys with my real confidence and not just a pretty face. More importantly I was going to live to get married and have children w/o any complications. So this Thanksgiving I want to give the greatest Thanks to my Dr. Webber, who without him, I would still be lost and in the deepest hole that I wouldn't be able to get out of. I want to give thanks to him for convincing me to have the surgery and reassuring me that it was going to be OK when I was scared and crying the morning of surgery and about to change my mind. I want to give thanks to him for keeping me safe when my life was in his hands for the 2 hours of surgery. I want to give thanks to him for being the person that saved my mind, body and soul! So thank you Dr. Webber I love you! I was banded May 22nd 2009 and 6 months later I am down almost 70 lbs!! I am happier than ever, and I wish that everyone reading this is as happy as I am and has the greatest success as I have had so far. Goodluck to everyone....and God Bless!

Great story! You must also thank yourself for having the courage, knowledge and fortitude to seek help for yourself and the determination to be a weight loss success.

Congratulations!

Thank you so much Happy! I do thank myself...especially when I get through my hour and a half of cardio...:ohmy:. Not to mention all of the wonderful people and support on this site! It's great...I'm truly blessed!

See, I knew you were a determined, hard-working lady.

WTG!

How ironic I just read this. I'm being banded by Dr. Webber tomorrow.

I'm so happy for you. It sounds like you are doing great! Congrats on a job well-done and best of luck on the rest of your journey.

Amy

Amy....Congratulations! I wish you the best of luck on your journey...and you are going to be more than fine in his hands! Goodluck...and keep us posted :ohmy:

What a great post... I too am blessed w/my surgeon... I was banded May 19th by Dr. Wizman in Florida. I had a fill last week, just 1/2 CC and when they had me drink the water, it went down fine... but once I got home... and esp the next morning... I knew I was WAAYYY too tight as I could hardly even get water down... long story short, my surgeon met me that night at 8:45pm to take some out some fluid.... I am going to send them a basket of some kind at his office to thank them for just being wonderful people... the surgeon is awesome and caring and his staff is great too... I also think I am gonna have a new years eve party for my friends who have been SOOO supportive of me as I started this journey..I am truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life!!:ohmy:

Thanks so much for your post Jen, and congratulations on your wonderful success!

This is the perfect time of the year for this thread! I can't even begin to adequately express how thankful I feel. When 2009 began, I thought to myself... "Well, another year is beginning and I'm as fat as ever." I had no idea of the tremendous gift I was to be given in just a few short months.

Right around the end of March, my mother called me to let me know how her doctor's appt. went. She told me that during her appt., the doctor told her that she really needed to do something about her weight because of the health problems it was causing. The dr suggested the Lap Band. As soon as my mom told me this, I jokingly told her that if she got banded I would never speak to her again because I had wanted to get banded for over 2 years, but my insurance wouldn't cover it. I must have rattled on quite a bit about the band and shared all of my information because when I went to visit my parents a few days later, they offered to pay for my band if I would go through this "journey" with my mom. My answer was a "no brainer."

For the next 6 weeks, my parents and I went to several different informational meetings at various hospitals. My mother had to have her surgery at The Ohio State University because she had a kidney translplant there about 4 years ago. I decided to have my surgery in Cincinnati by Dr. Curry.

To make an already long story short, I was banded on 6/8/09 and to date, I have lost 45+ inches and 55+ pounds. My mother just had gastric bypass surgery on 11/23/09. As it turned out, she wasn't a candidate for the band. She is recovering wonderfully. :thumbup:

I had no idea when 2009 rolled in that I would weigh significantly less when 2009 ends. I am truly thankful for my parents, my supportive hubby, my surgeon and his staff, and for my band. I feel truly blessed. :frown:

I'm thankful for my Wife. Been a rough year with her being laid off, and me trying to support both of us. I had a couple bouts of Cellulitis this year in my legs and my wife did all the paperwork and upfront studying about the procedure.

Since being Banded I'm down almost 50 pounds and now weight what I did back in 2006. My body is already reacting in a Healthier manner, and I'm just at the start of my journey.

Without her none of this would have been possible, so this year I am very thankful for my wife.

It's amazing to be reading your stories right now. I must say that this journey is not an easy one to go through, especially alone, and it is really amazing to have someone or more than one person there to help along the way. However, as mentioned above, we should thank ourselves for having the courage and strength to make a change. Just know that there are many out there thankful to you for being their inspiration...keep up the great work!! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I feel so blest b/c of Dr Helms in Pell City. He is my PCP and he suggested in Dec 2008 that I needed to have the lapband surgery. I told him that I was too old for it b/c of information I had received from a New Orleans seminar a few years ago. He assured me that I wasn't too old and if I didn't have it done, I might not see my 70's at the rate my health was failing. From there, I went to see Mr Les Miles in Birmingham and after all the insurance requirements were met, I was banded on August 11th. I am now down 57 lbs and I feel so lucky. I am thankful for the people on this forum that are so helpful, informative, kind and really concerned about each other.

This year is ending so much better than last year and I am now looking forward to 2010 to see what it brings me.

I just know that it's going to be filled with many blessings.

I'm so glad I came on board today, I want to ditto so much of what you all have written. I was banded on Jan. 20, 2009 (me and Barack began our journey's together - they let me stay awake long enough to hear the swearing in - since the nurses wanted to watch too)...

I knew it was just a tool, and I have worked it though not to the "t" but in a realistic, life-long sustainable way. I'm down 50+ pounds and need another fill, but have exercised, and was able to get through a near death experience with my dad only because I was feeling so much better and had more energy! I am a firm believer in things happening when they are supposed to... and life can only get better.

So thanks to 2009, family, friends and co-workers who have been so supportive, and Annette - the leader of our support group - it's the beginning of a whole new way of life.