Thinking ahead and wondering

Hi everyone: Still doing my own research on which procedure I want gastric/lap.  I had a talk with the nurse prac. at Dr. Royes office and at the moment I switched from lap to gastic.  Now I would like to know from everyone and anyone what should I expect down the road if I have gastric. Will I ever be able to eat normal food again( how long after does it take to start adding regular foods)?  It seems on one web site they gave a list of foods you can eat and there seems to be more that you can't eat(steak, pasta, bread of course anything with sugar , too much fat etc) My family and I travel besides the fact at work they like to celebrate holidays and go out to eat on fridays.  How hard is it going to be to "fit in" with these situations?  Will I have a hard time finding food that I can eat traveling or eating out?  I can't wait to be thin but I also would like to keep a somewhat normal life and not feel like I have to refuse invitations because  the food choices are going to be so limited. I really want to consider this part also in my decision so any help would be welcomed. Thank you to all of you who have given me advice on my other questions.  It's really great and comforting to be able to talk to people who get where I'm coming from.  PS. Someone said there was a forum for the over 50 crowd but I haven't found it yet.  Any hints as to where it is? 

What caused you to decide to go with the RNY ? just curious  Marc

Hi Marc, So far I'm going with the RNY.  After talking to the Nurse Prac. the biggest difference was the weight loss is a lot faster and people with high blood pressure, diabetes etc usually don't need any meds within a few days/weeks.  Thats a big plus.  I won't need to do anything to maintain like the band except blood work every three months and taking vitamins and calcium.  I also have a neice who did this 3 years ago and asked her if she would do this again knowing what she knows now and she said yeas(she also lost 100 pds in 7 mths) I won't have to worry about fills which I didn't realize you usually have to pay a couple of hundred dollars for and not everything (such as replacing the band if necessary) is covered by insurance. I guess if I had been 20 or 30 it would be a better opition but I started thinking about the practical side,. If it doesn't work what do I do if I have to start paying, If I don't loose or my body rejects the band just because its a foreign object in my body will I be covered if I want  the RNY then. Long term no one knows about the band because it's fairly new.  RNY she said doesn't present a problem down the road.  They both can have problems but are both managable.  I did ask if for some reason something goes wrong with the RNY can they fix or reverse it and she said yes. I hope this helps.  Sorry its so long but if I can answer anything else let me know.  I'm still doing some research and doing the tests that are required but nothing is 100% yet.

Dear Sue, Here is the link for the Over 50 Forum: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/over_50/ As I told you before, my sister had the surgery about ? 2 yrs. ago.  She eats everything - just less.  I do believe that you actually have to more careful of what you eat with the lap band, so that it doesn't get stuck.  You also have to be careful of high calorie foods that will go down too easily & cause no problems. She went out with us for T'giving a few mos. after the surgery.  She seemed to eat everything that we ate - just a few bites though. She went out for b'fast at IHOP recently with us.  She ordered a little side of something & then just asked for a few bites off our plates if she something that struck her fancy. She recently had a medical problem (nothing to do with the surgery) & the Doc told her that if she hadn't been so healthy she may not have survived. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the help.  I've talked to a couple of people and they said the same thing.  When I mention it to the dr's office they don't tell you at some point you will be able to eat most things.  I planned to go ahead anyway even if I coudn't but it certainly helps to know my normal life won't be over forever. I guess I'm starting to realize that this is a really big decision and the closer I get to the process, the more questions I have.  My neice had this 4 yrs ago and eats most things just smaller portions but she was 27 when she had it not 55. Thanks again I appreciate you taking the time to answer.  I love that you can get the good and bad from this website.  The more info I can get the better I'll feel about the decision I make. Thanks