Am I doing the right thing??

Hello All,

I thought I'd join this and ask for your thoughts....

I'm booked in for my gastric band consultation on the 7th June, and quite honestly.....I AM TERRFIED!!!.

All my family and friends think I am mad, and I'm sure a few think I'm taking the easy option and should try diets (again), but I personally can't take the "yo-yo" effect anymore....I am a fit & healthy person on the inside, but with a shell that doesn't match (thats what the doctor has said) and I now want the body to match!!!...and if 1 more person says the old cliqche "you have such a pretty face" I will bop em!!

My main worry is obviously the surgery, but I keep thinking "what if the band doesn't work?" and "Can I ever go out socially for a meal again?"....and most of all...."how big is the fill needle?" (i hate em!!)

So if anyone can shere their thoughts and experiences with me I would be VERY gratefull!!

Thanks

Kerri xx

Kerri, I am 53 and got my band on Feb. 27th, I remember thinking the same thing after surgery. Did I do the right thing? Am I going to be able to handle this? Well, I have now lost 30 Lbs. I feel great and can eat most anything. I have not found anything that I can't. Just follow the directions. We go to dinner twice a month with friends and I find that I eat slower and much less than they do. So hang in there. It is kind of tough at first. I think we all find parts of all of this that are overwellming. I just had fill #3 last Wed. They numb the area first and there is just a little sting from that. I don't even feel them doing the fill, just pressure from the nurse pressing on my stomach. I started at 260Lbs and a size 22. Now I am 230 and a comfortable 16. Slow but steady. And remember to take your vitamins. Liquid seems to work best for me.
Good Luck on your Journey, There are a lot of us out here. BillieT

Thanks so much for the encouragement, and Congratulations on your weight loss!! It's being on here thats gonna get me through, people who haven't been through it or felt like I do can say they understand or say im stupid, but until theyve been at that dark place where you don't want to go out its all just words

Keep up the good work!!

Kerri x

Kerri
I asked this question myself about 2 years ago. I can tell you for me it was the RIGHT thing. The worst thing for me was that I didn't do it sooner. I could NOT face turning 30 at 320+ pounds. I had done everything there was and nothing worked for me. I always failed. For me the band conquered the BIGGEST problem for me, my mind. It was always telling me that I was starving or hungry and it always made me eat.

I can tell you that for family and friends, if you do this you are doing this FOR YOU, not them. While it is good to have them behind you, if they can't be then let them go on their merry way! I can tell you that I have lost a lot of friends who didn't support me, but have also learned who my real friends were and gained better relationships with them. It is easy for them to judge and say this is the easy way out. I can tell you if this is the easy way, then I wouldn't want to see the hard way!

This has not been easy for me, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! I have lost 165+ pounds and gained a whole new me. One that I like, one that is beautiful and most of all one that is healthy. No one can take that away from me!

Yes, after some time you will be able to eat with friends again, socially. BUT you will learn a new way to eat and a new full. You won't be pigging out anymore and that is a good thing!

As for the needles, don't look! They are a part of the game, but only every 6-8 weeks or more for a few seconds. Worth it all, let me tell you!

Good luck on your decision, let me know if I can help you!

Hi Boo,

Thanks so much for your reply, It's my 30th next year and thats what has spurred me on, I want to have a party and be able to go shopping and buy a dress in a non-plus size shop!!!

You have made me feel so much more positive about my decision and the aftermath i have coming!!!

Your weight loss is fantastic , and I can't wait to join the club!!!

Keep me posted and inspired!!

Kerri

Im booked in a ready to go!! paid my deposit and having the op in September, after my last "blow out" holiday!!

Im really excited about my new life ahead, family and friends are still unsure, but they will have to accept my decision, i do appreciate they are worried, and that worry seems to be coming out negitively!!