Newbie here

My name is Pamela  and I am new here so I have lost of questions especially to those who have had the lap band surgery, I live in Wethersfield and I am the mom of two beautiful kids a son who will be 15 in July and a daughter who will be 10 in July also married to a wonderful and caring man.
I currently weigh 337 and I am 5' 7" I am not interested in a specific number for my goal just to be able to wear a sun dress I bought 5 yrs ago to inspire me ( still not in it )
 
I went to a seminar last night and have an apt on July 5th to talk to the Dr. about the surgery.
I want to loose this weight NOW but am very afraid of the gastric bypass and I am thinking the lap band with its fewer risks maybe be better but I am hearing the weight loss takes ALLOT LONGER.
I am a very active person I started walking every night , I run up and down the stairs in my home for general house work I even work out in the yard so excersize doesnt bother me just the fear of not waking up after the surgery and which one should I choose oh yea and going BALD can anyone help me to add my name and pic and signature? to my posts?

Hi Pam,

What surgery to chose    It is a  decision only you can make. Continue to read up on both procedures, get all the info you can. What ever procdure you decide on will need you to change the way you eat. Both are just tools to help with weight loss. From what I know of the lap band you can lose alot of weight, it may take longer than GBS but is that what is important to you. I am sure that you didn't gain the excess weight over night, and we can't expect it to be gone that quickly either. I too had a hard time deciding which way to go. I can only tell you that for me Gastric bypass surgery was the way to go. I have been successful and have had no problems so far.  Everyone's situation is different, take your time time to decide. Best of luck with which ever surgery you chose. Sher

Thank You Sher,

It is a big choice to make and to be honest one of the things I am having a hard time with is the thought of loosing my hair, I know this may sound vain but its the only part of me ( besides my feet) that I like .

I have a close friend who about 3yrs ago had the GPS ( when they still cut you open all the way) she lost over 100 pounds in about 6 months but she didnt exercise and she lost ALLOT of hair  I know I will exercise ALLOT but the hair issue really has me worried.

as for what procdure to choose. that is a personal decision. It is also something to talk over with your doctor. Who are you uising for a doc?  I was banded monday and i feel ok. I am still really sore. I chose the band becasue of the risk factors with bypass and i wasnt what i felt would be a safe weight for the bypass. I have talked to a few people who have lost 70-100 pounds in a year.  As for the band this isnt a miracle cure. You have to make a lot of changes and adjustments. It is a tool to help you better your life. You are only going to get out of it what you put in it.  i know i am only three days out but this is something my doc has stressed since we started with him.  good luck to you.  the signature can be done in usrer settings and pictures are done in the edit my profile i believe.

Hi Pamela, Don't worry it's perfectly normal to be scared of surgery.  I didn't get weepy and nervous until the morning of surgery and my surgeon told me it was no more risky than a c-section or any other surgery which totally put me at ease.   I was about 263 and 5'6" before surgery and am now 155 and a size 6-8.  I had the full rny bypass done laproscopically by Dr. Robert Bell at Yale and couldn't be happier with everything.  He's extremely skilled at the laproscopic surgery so you would not end up with a HUGE scar..... just 6 tiny incisions so small they get closed up with super glue...no stitches. I live in Cromwell and skipped Dr. Arranow because he only does the open surgery which I knew I did not want and ended up choosing Dr. Bell after talking with another patient of his and seeing how happy she was.  When I finally met him myself I knew immediately that he was the right surgeon for me.   It's really only about 1/2 hr  down 91 to get to Yale.  The care I received at Yale was exceptional. I did lose some hair but it didn't last too long and while it seemed like gobs were coming out, it was never noticable.  I just took Biotin and conditioned really well. ~Good Luck,

Sue

I am not sure if I have picked a Dr. I went onto webmd.com a week ago and typed in weight loss surgery and this web page came up for the Bariatric Surgery Center located in St Vicents Medical Center in Bridgeport , I had to go to one of there seminars so my husband and I went and met a Dr.Demarco who gave a presentation on both surgerys and the pro's and con's of both of them,
when I asked if you have less loose skin with the lap band he kind of stated it all depends on your skin type ( now when I did the Micheal Thurmond and lost 150 lbs my skin was tight so that is a small comfort) but all he said about hair loss was take protein and ur vitamins and you should have minimal to none hair loss.
Do you know anything about this Dr or his practice?

I just dont want to be thin and BALD...I want to be thin, healthy and have hair....

Hello Pamela -  This is a decision that is so very difficult to make.  I was on the fence for a long time between surgeries and chose the band.  What helped me was to research, research, research and every time I found a "pro" or a "con" for the band or the bypass I would write it down. The "pro's" for some people can be a "con" for another so no two people will have the same list.  For example my closest friends put the possibility of not being able to eat sugar without "dumping" as a "pro" on her list and I put it as a "con" on mine. You'll find because this question is so personal some people will have a lot of passion around their particular choice of surgery.   What Sher mentioned is extremely important to remember about either surgery - we have to make changes - the bypass or the band is not a miracle "cure" for obesity - it is  tool. To me - and this is my opinion only  - with the bypass you don't have to make changes right away to realize success - you will see results - however, if you don't make the changes - you will regain the weight - with the band - if you don't make the changes upfront you will not lose - either way you have to change.  This is just my observation of the difference between how change impacts these two surgeries. Best of luck with whatever you decide - make sure you go to three different Forums here to help you - they are the RNY (main board), LAP Band and the Regrets board - all three of these places had a lot of info I found helpful. Congratulations on your decision to help yourself and I hope you wear that inspirational sundress soon!

Tammy

Thank You so much for taking the time to respond to my post I was beginning to wonder if anyone else would..LOL
I have been fighting this weight loss battle for almost 15yrs now and I feel like for the first time I may have a chance to win, I know neither operation is 100% affective because I have a deer friend who about 3+ yrs ago had the gastric bypass ( open) and she did loose over 100lbs right away but then her health took a turn for the worse ( due to medical conditions she had prior to her surgery) she had to have her gal bladder removed and a partial hystarectamy (sp) and since her weight loss she hasnt lost anymore , she lost allot of hair ( all though she was thinning before cause she refused to cut her hair , and the length was causeing a weight on her head ) but her has loss has gotten worse and she has a ton of excess skin and like I said hit a plateau and I noticed she is eating allot like she used to before the surgery.
I am aware no two people are the same and exersize and eating right has allot to do with success
its just these things concern me, like I said I have an apt on July 5th and I am very ancious about that.