I'm scared

I've been overweight all my life, and am looking into the laprascopic band surgery.  It seems like eating is a major joy in my life, and if I restrict my ability to eat, it will make me miserable.  Was anybody else afraid the surgery would mentally mess them up, like they'd just eat until they exploded or go nuts?  I'm interested in hearing from other scaredy cats who went ahead and got the surgery.  What was it like?  Was it better than you thought?  Was it worse? 

A "what surgery is best" thread will certainly fuel a fire here in computer land. You have to decide through research and soul searching what you want. Personally I had no idea what I would feel now almost 4 years out. I still am never hungry and rarely do I get the full feeling. I get a hicup or two or three instead. Food is a who cares issue for me. I would be perfectly fine just eating protein bars. Eating is a chore now and I like it that way. Dr. Schuhknecht and Dr. Kole both found it interesting that even at 1 year and a half out I was not feeling hungry. So,,,,,, Something was done during my surgery either as a by-product or by design to remove that feeling from me. And I like it that way. Maybe with RNY you will have the same results?? I don't know. I do know some people do feel hunger. I do know some like me who never do. Scared? I was scared but I did what was best. I had full open RNY. I wanted to lose the weight now and I wanted him in there looking around and checking out all the plumbing. EDIT - my restrictive capacity although it less than when we started is still there. I can't eat more than a small child. But I play with my food and my wife likes to ask, "How do the little piggies eat?" kp

I was scared too - scared to give up food.  I tried every diet out there but I avoided researching surgery because I thought I couldn't live without the foods I love.  I finally "reached bottom" and decided on RNY and you know what?  I didn't have to "give up food" and I am doing just fine without those foods I thought I would die if I couldn't have.  I am so happy I had the surgery, I only wish I had wised up and done it sooner.   Like Kevin, I rarely feel true hunger and I only get a full feeling when I get carried away and eat too fast. I'm not consumed with wondering when my next meal will be because I don't feel hungry.  I understand that isn't a benefit we all share and I'm grateful that I seem to have been gifted with it.    I'm almost two years out and I feel great.  I am recuperating from a tummy tuck/facelift and I feel like a thousand bucks because for the first time in my life I feel "normal" (whatever that is).   I like what I see in the mirror and I LOVE how I feel.   Good luck to you!

For sure it is worse than I thought.  I, unlike those lucky guys that don't get hungry, am hungry all the time.  I had Lap RNY two years ago, and it was a great way for me to lose a ton of weight and get a jump start on getting my life together and be healthy.  But it's a battle for me.  I don't lose weight now unless I starve myself and deny myself things I enjoy.  Even a little bit of a treat sends me into a stall.  I don't dump, so I don't have that control mechanism that I thought I would have.  (I am totally to blame for even testing if I dum*****t!) I am very happy that I have lost so much weight.  I know that I need to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm different than many others that have had surgery.  I wish I would have found this site before and talked to other people that were farther out so I would have a realistic idea of what life after surgery is like. If you take the lessons you learn about your body in the early days, you should be ok.  I wasn't scared enough!  But live and learn and carry on with getting healthy!

Hi Squid, You are having the same thoughts we all have had prior to our procedures.  Food is NOT  a major joy in you life, it's a major PROBLEM or you woudn't be here,  Your attitude about food and the reasons you over-eat must be brought foreward and relsoved before you decide what you want to do.

Surgery is performed by surgeons, but in many cases, we need work done on our heads first and afterward.  I believe that the insurance companies are off to a good start by requiring at least a six-month supervised diet before surgery.  I hope that they will begin to require a period of therapy before and after surgery.  KP is fortunate that he doesn't have hunger.  He is the only person I have met on this journey who doesn't this far out of surgery  Some of us are responding to physical hunger, some to mental hunger but it results in either eating or feeling deprived. Before you have surgery, figure out what you can use to substitute for pleasurable eating FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.  Hard truths: You likely won't lose it all (doctors see success as losing 50% of your excess weight. You will replace shopping at Lane Bryant with needing plastic surgery (and the resulting scars) to make your body look normal. You will be "on a diet" the rest of your life . You will need supplemental vitamins and minerals the rest of your life. Portion control will be a concern as soon as you heal and for the rest of your life. You can gain some, most or all back very easily. Someone you care about will react in a negative The surgery causes you to lose, resets you to a normal size through starvation.  The body and the brain will work as hard as they can to add the weight back.  Can you fight that? Look into all possible surgeries, and all possible therapies.  Try them on, imagine how you might feel and act in a year or two, and for the rest of your life. BTW, I lost 99% of the excess weight, have not had complications and am still alive so I could be seen as successful.  But I'm fighting myself to eat properly, to exercise, and to realize that I will never look good without clothing on.  And I know that it is just soooo easy to cheat the surgical restraints.  Do you want this life?

hello! I was banded last June.   I questioned what I was doing and researched and read and asked questions until I knew what I wanted.   I looked at all the different types of surgeries, I went to seminars where they explained the before care, the surgery and the after care.  I talked to people who had had lap band and RnY.  I chose what I felt was right for me, for MY eating habits, for my comfort zone.    I won't bash anyone else's choices, they chose what they felt would work for them and that's what you will need to do also.  There are lot's of sites out there for lap banding.  There are at least 4 forums that I know of off hand.  There is a lap band board here to go read.   Inform yourself before you choose any type of surgery.  I'm a huge advocate of taking responsibility for your own choices.   Talk to your dr., ask him what he thinks, interview him.  Talk to his patients, don't just "settle" for anything to lose weight.   The band takes work, all weight loss surgery does, you have to work with it to make it work and to do that, you have to educate yourself first. Good Luck with your decision! Edited to add: I researched for 2 years before I made my decision on which surgery was right for ME.  Which one I felt comfy with and where I would have it.

I was like you in that I had been overweight my entire life.  I had tried almost every diet out there and felt worse every time I regained.  Initially, I saw weight loss surgery (when I first heard about it) as a horrible way to lose weight.  I was sure that those poor people starved themselves to death.  I wondered how they could give up all the foods they loved so much.  It took me many years of research to figure out that for me, this was the only way I was ever going to lose weight.  I'm not one of the lucky ones who doesn't feel hunger.  I fight with my head daily about what I should eat.  I keep track of every morsel that I put into my mouth.  Why I couldn't do this without surgery is beyond me.  But, the surgery has allowed me to see the weight loss which in turn made continuing on plan so much easier.  I wasn't able to exercise early out and really used excuses not to exercise.  It took me over a year to finally get my much thinner butt to the gym.  At 17 months out (tomorrow) I'm ecstatic to say that I'm still losing.  191 pounds and counting.  No matter what surgery you decide is best for you, make sure you research all of them and discuss them with your surgeon.  They are the best resource when deciding what is best for you. Best of luck to you in whatever path you choose! Jenn