Reason for my lapband

I was asked to comment about my lapband surgery.  The reason I decided to get the lapband surgery was for my health.  I have a liver disease called NASH (Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) which is caused by having a fatty liver.  I also had diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholestral all due to being obese.  For years the doctors told me that all of this would go away if I lost weight but I was satisfied taking pills to control everything even though I knew that those pills affected my liver counts.  It wasn't until I had to pull the plug on my Uncle who was 63 and had all the same diseases that I had.  His doctors told me that the only reason he died was because he was obese and the illnesses related to his obesity and that it was entirely preventable.  I have 4 grandkids that I wanted to see grow up and my being 55 meant that I wanted to live longer than 63 years of age.  I had my surgery May 7th, 2008.  I have lost around 57 pounds but that is just a bonus.  The biggest results are I no longer have diabetes or high blood pressure.  For the first time in over 12 years my liver counts are normal and I am taking 11 pills less a day than I did before my surgery.   My visit today I was told I am no longer obese.  I went to Disneyland last week and didn't get stuck on a ride because I was too fat which happened 18 months ago.  The hardest things for me to get used to since the surgery was not drinking when I eat and learning to chew, chew and chew some more.  I would have lost more weight if I had exercised when this all began.  I didn't start that until 2 months ago.  I was basically lazy.  But the benifits from the surgery and the support of Dr. Sasse, Jena and the staff has been so rewarding.  I can't help but smile.   This is the best thing I have ever done for myself and I would recommend it to everyone, with one word of advice, you still have to do the work.