Is It Worth It??

SarahinTyler · 04-28-2006, 10:22 PM

This is my first message to post so bear with me. I'm going to get banded this summer. I've been reading a lot of the entries on this website. I'm learning so much from everyone's experiences - what to eat, what not to eat, the golf ball, chew, chew, chew...) My question is this (and I don't know if I'm going to word this adequately) - have the sacrifices that you have had to make (giving up foods you loved before, chewing every bite for a long time, giving up diet drinks, etc) been worth it? The thought of giving up all my comfort food for a long period of time, is very scary. It's been my friend for a long time. But I'm more desperate to lose the weight and I'm hoping if the scale is going down then I won't care if I can't have that ice cream or french fries.

Would love some feedback.

SarahinTyler

Sandybells · 04-28-2006, 10:34 PM

I can only say YES! YES! YES! I had fears about all the changes necessary but have found so far that it has not been difficult at all for me. I highly recommend this to anyone.
You will get to feeling so much more hopeful (self esteem and so many other ways.):) Just a few pounds and It will already be apparent in range of motion and energy and desire to do more things that have not been possible for a long time.
Good luck with your decision.
We are here for you!
Sandy

BakoGal · 04-28-2006, 10:47 PM

I agree with Sarahin. I am being banded in 20 days, and the closer it gets the more nervous I am becoming about the same things that you note. The chewing, the PBing, Am I making the right decision? I was really certain a few weeks ago. I would really like to hear from more people. As I go on in my "normal" routine, or going to a restaurant, I find myself thinking about how I may never really enjoy a restaurant celebration, like a birthday, again. Did anyone else every feel this way?

SarahinTyler · 04-28-2006, 10:54 PM

Sandybells: Thanks for your reply. You made me feel better. Here's another thing that I'm worried about - I'm a very emotional eater. I don't have to be hungry. I can eat because the sun it out, or the sun isn't out? I would suspect that a lot of obese people are emotional eaters too and that's how we got to this point. I'm worried that I'll still be an emotional eater after I get banded and this will hamper my success. Or does the emotional eating seem to get under control after being banded. Would love a response. Thanks much.

Desi80 · 04-28-2006, 11:12 PM

It is very much worth it. I was banded back in August and have lost 56lbs. I've been pretty fortunate as a bandster that i can still eat the things i love (except breads) i just eat LESS of it. I can still eat chocolate chip cookies, but instead of eating 6-7 in a sitting, i eat 1 maybe 2 if i'm lucky. I still eat ice cream but i can only eat one scoop. There are certain things that my band is a little fickle with, but you get over it fairly quickly, I dont even miss bread anymore.

Desi80 · 04-28-2006, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarahinTyler

Sandybells: Thanks for your reply. You made me feel better. Here's another thing that I'm worried about - I'm a very emotional eater. I don't have to be hungry. I can eat because the sun it out, or the sun isn't out? I would suspect that a lot of obese people are emotional eaters too and that's how we got to this point. I'm worried that I'll still be an emotional eater after I get banded and this will hamper my success. Or does the emotional eating seem to get under control after being banded. Would love a response. Thanks much.

It controls the emotional eating to a degree. You can still do it, but once you've had a proper fill it limits how much you can do it. If you want to crab a cookie or something because your day at worked sucked you can! The only difference as with a proper fill thats ALL you can eat is maybe one or two cookies. The problem comes in that time between getting the band, and getting the right restriction. Its very easy to get out of control with your eating between that time.

Sandybells · 04-28-2006, 11:19 PM

You will have to replace eating with other activities to get to the place where you will feel fine with this. I had started to hate going to restaurants because of the small booths and stares by people. When you start to control your eating and learn to eat to live and not live to eat it will become easier. I have just been amazed at the changes in me.
The band keeps you from getting hungry too often. Getting by with less food is really strange but it works so well.
I have not regretted anything yet and have only PBed once in two months. A PB is a productive burp that has no nasty taste like vomit. It isn' pleasant but you will learn to keep it from happening. Chew to GOO!
I have done things I would never have attempted before the band. I am 58 Years Old and laid two rooms of laminated flooring (all by myself) over the past week. Have started playing golf! Never done either before.
I was not nervous at all before..mostly because I had to fight to get this surgery. A long wait makes for some serious gratefullness when it finally happens.
My after surgery was pretty quick recovery and just a couple days of pain. I and others have Journals that can help you with the questions you may have. Look at the top on the blue bar and look for LBT journals and the search button can get you the answers to many many questions.
Insurances are covered in a section. If you are Not in touch with a doctor that does Lap Band you may ask for someone in your area to recommend one or more. Everyone on this forum tries to help and encourage all the others.
Just remember the band is a tool you 'Work'. It is not magic!
My best to you both!:typing:
Sandybells

StrawartS · 04-28-2006, 11:24 PM

Don't ask me if it's worth it when I'm in the middle of a PB or golfball...but that's the thing about pain - when it's over, you forget it. Kinda like childbirth, or so I've heard.

I wish I had been warned better about the EXCRUTIATING pain of post-op gas, golfballs, etc., but knowing what I know now, I'd still do it. You're lucky to get so much information from the start.

As for favorite foods, don't write anything off yet. I'm sitting here enjoying a diet DP, as I do every night. I don't chug them like I used to, and I don't order them at restaurants, but it's nice now to enjoy a soda by itself. I was at Walgreen's tonight, and I was actually surprised that I passed up the candy aisle for a diet DP...that's all I wanted.

So...the band sucks. I would never recommend it to someone who has a lot of weight to lose, and I wouldn't wish the pain on my worst enemy. But for me, for this moment in time, it was worth it.

PhotoNut · 04-28-2006, 11:25 PM

I just had this conversation with LindaV today as we walked through a beautiful park. :)

I always thought that food was a comfort to me. I feared, even mourned, the idea of giving up my friend, my comfort, my place to escape the stresses around me. I wondered what I would do "out there by myself" once I could no longer turn to food in times of need.

I have been banded for about four months now, and not once have I panicked or freaked out because I couldn't stuff a huge amount of food down my throat in an attempt to find comfort. Surprisingly, it hasn't even been an issue. My thoughts don't even turn to food when I'm stressed or unhappy. I found this very strange and have spent a lot of time thinking about it.

The conclusion I have reached is that food never was a comfort to me. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was my punishment. Hm, ok.. very different approach. But one that really makes sense to me. For example... the day I was to go see the nutritionist and get started on the pre-op diet, I stopped at McDonald's on the way there. My husband and I had both agreed not to eat fast food once we found out I was going to be banded, so even though I knew when I dropped him off at work that I was going straight to McDonald's, I hid it from him. All the way there I argued with myself. I was angry about the fact that I was going to do this even though I really didn't want to give in. I was fuming by the time I was in the drive through ordering the sausage egg buscuit, hashbrowns and medium orange juice (my morning meal for the last two years). As I began unwrapping the biscuit, I began to cry. As I drove down the road I stuffed the first bite in my mouth and it wasn't even good. I cried all the way to the nutritionist's office - while I forced myself to eat every bite of the meal. I was so upset with myself. I was so angry and hurt by my failure. It didn't even taste good. *sighs*

Today, as Linda and I talked about this, it occurred to me that if I had done this to a child - forced that food in their mouth and made them eat it all while they cried and protested - that would nearly be a crime of abuse. And yet, I did it to myself. Thinking back, I felt this way every time I ate. I didn't cry, but I felt like it. I knew I was only getting fatter and uglier while shortening my life. The way I treated ME was cruel.

Do I miss those foods now? No. Am I happy to be free? Yes! Do I wonder if I'll ever be able to have them again? No. In fact, now that I recognize what those foods REALLY represent, I hate them and will never allow them around me again.

Is it worth it? Oh yes. Very much so. I am headed toward -70 pounds and with each passing day I can breathe better, walk better, think clearer, sleep better, and good grief, I look better! Would I trade that for a french fry? Nope. Would I give up my goal of 130 for some ice cream? No way. Would I risk losing my last chance to really live again for a piece of cake? Not a chance in hell. I'll go to a birthday party to be with the people, not the food. I can go out to dinner and order chicken and steamed veggies, and I have just as much fun as I did when I was eating a huge burger with all the trimmings. No - that's not quite true. I feel better! I walk out with my head held high, not hanging low from embarassment while I waddle my bloated, overstuffed body out to the car.

Yes, it's so worth it that I would do it over every month if I had to.

And by the way, Welcome to LBT! :)

Cheri · 04-28-2006, 11:32 PM

So, so, so worth it, but...

This isn't a quick fix or a temporary solution. It sucks, but it's true!!!

If you are a junk food junkie, it is very easy to eat those types of unhealthy foods (which is a total waste of time and energy) even post-band! The goal of the band is to restrict the amount of food you can take in at a given time - that being said, I have regressed a couple of times and fit an entire pint of Ben N Jerry's in just fine, thank you very much!!

The band is a tool, to help you learn how to eat. It doesn't choose what you eat, only how much you can fit. It lies completely in your hands to feed yourself healthful items! So, that is truly the hardest thing about the band.

Giving up soda was a pride issue for me - think of it as a great thing for your body. . . diet drinks=phenylalanine=poison, so you're ridding your body of poison!! I used to drink 2 - 32oz. diet cokes from MCDonalds EVERY DAY! I have not had a carbonated beverage since last August -if I can do that, ANYONE can!!!

You will find that you won't miss things you thought you would (french fries? nah...everytime I try one, it sticks, so why bother? baked potatoes go down just fine for me, and have less fat) and you may actually enjoy things you never did before - shopping will be a great new adventure!!!!

Good luck on your decision - You are one smart chick for coming here to research!!!!! Read, read, read, and then search yourself for the right choice for you!!!

~cheri

StrawartS · 04-28-2006, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheri

You have to be willing to give those things up forever. This isn't a quick fix or a temporary solution. It sucks, but it's true!!!

Cheri, I respectfully disagree with this statement. You can see from all the "Can you eat this" threads that everyone's experience is different. You say you get stuck on a french fry, but I have no problems with them....or anything, really. And I'm as restricted as possible and losing weight.

Pre-op worrying is bad enough as it is. I just really hesitate to use such definitive statements when I've seen them not to be true.

Cheri · 04-28-2006, 11:50 PM

Point taken - and post changed!! I agree that my statement was not helpful!! I kind of think my whole post was true for me, but not necessarily true for everyone (who else can stuff a pint of phish food in thier tummies post-band with three fills??)hehe

But...since we're on the topic... Dr. Pepper?? Girl! The reason we aren't supposed to drink soda isn't because of the poisons or sugar, it's because the carbonation fills your tummy with gas and can stretch your pouch!!! TSk tsk!!!! (like I should even think about getting on you for a diet DRP for a snack- again, who else would eat a whole pint of Ben N Jerry's?!?!?! hehehe)

Thanks, strawrts, for the reminder that while we are all here for the same reason, we are not all the same!!!

~cheri

StrawartS · 04-29-2006, 12:03 AM

Aw, I didn't mean for you to change your post. But how very generous of you to concede! :)

As far as the carbonation debate...well, I've heard conflicting information. It stretches your pouch, it doesn't, it leads to erosion, it doesn't, and on and on. As goes the general sentiment on the board - if your doc says it's OK, then it's OK. And my doc says it's OK.

Hmmm...it's been a while since I had some chunky monkey...

Desi80 · 04-29-2006, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrawartS

Aw, I didn't mean for you to change your post. But how very generous of you to concede! :)

As far as the carbonation debate...well, I've heard conflicting information. It stretches your pouch, it doesn't, it leads to erosion, it doesn't, and on and on. As goes the general sentiment on the board - if your doc says it's OK, then it's OK. And my doc says it's OK.

Hmmm...it's been a while since I had some chunky monkey...

yup my doctor says ok to soda too. Thouh she will take 5 minutes telling me thats its absolute crap. yes, yes it is, but its crap that i love. I've gotten much better about the quanity of it i drink though.

Carlene · 04-29-2006, 08:38 AM

I want to point out that not nearly everyone experiences a lot of pain with gas, PBs, etc. I found that Gas X was my best friend for a couple of weeks, but the pain was not terrible. The golfball is a rare thing for me, and again, I don't find it extremely painful. PBs are a no-pain deal (for me) - just bend over and it comes up, then it's over. It's more like a baby spitting up than anything else - definitely not like vomiting.

I would hate for any pre-ops to think that everyone suffers a lot of post-band pain. It just isn't so!