Anybody ever call off surgery almost at the last minute?

I've been really gung-ho about having lap band surgery since August.  Been doing the expert's dance.  All that needs to happen now is for the insurance to ok it (which they will).  But all of a sudden I don't think I want it after all... -I've lost 33 pounds all by myself (about 1/3 of what the doc told me the band will get me) -I can't stop thinking about the fact that this thing is going to be inside me for the rest of my life and it's starting that's scaring me -my therapist said, when I talked to her today about it that no matter what I decide to do I still have to deal with the same stuff (eg learning to stop eating emotionally and learning to just let myself feel) Anyone else been in this place?  I'm feeling confused and not sure where to go from here.  I would like to lose more than the surgeon said--he said with the lap band I could figure on getting down to 227--I would like to get down to at least 175. I'd be really grateful to hear from anyone with experience with being morbidly obese and getting it off and keeping it off.  Is is possible? Joan

Hi Joan.  Good luck with your decision.  I considered the lapband, then the VSG, but ultimately decided against them both to pursue what my trainer did.  He went from 380 to 200 with diet and exercise--only thing is, he didn't "diet". His training has taught them that they don't work in the long run.  Anyway,  you can go to my blog to learn what he did and what he has me doing.  And yes, it's working.

I was supposed to be at the surgeon's office, check in hand on September 18.  I woke up that morning and said UT UT!  I was going to get banded.

From then until now I lost about 75 lbs. 

 

It is quite possible to lose the weight and keep it off!  If you're a statistics type of person then you may be swayed back into WLS because there's a very select few people that achieve success long term doing it the natural way. There are many reasons why people fail. Some fail because of medical conditions like thyroid disease. Others fail because they have dieted so much their metabolism is really messed up and they can't seem to find the right plan that works for them. Anyways, I won't go into all the reasons that people fail... that could take a long time.  What you need to ask yourself is probably the same things your psychologist asked you. I'll play the psychologist for a moment. What has your dieting history been like? Why have you failed in the past? What did you learn?  Why do you feel that you need WLS to lose weight? Do you believe you can succeed without WLS? My last question for you is "Why did you choose the lap-band?" I ask this because you sound a little cautious about the results you will achieve with it.  Perhaps the RNY or the DS are better choices for you?  I'm pro-WLS and plan on having surgery myself.. (Unless my thyroid medication miraculously cures my obesity problem!)  I have looked at each and every surgery out there over the last 2 years.  I've finally decided that the DS was the one for me.  I, like you, felt I could achieve the weight loss that the band would give without having the band at all. As for if you can do this without surgery. You know what you're doing right now is working for you right?  Well, can you maintain that long enough to get you to goal and then slowly increase your portion sizes to find the right maintenance plan?  Can you maintain that for life in your current state? If you answered Yes..well.. then you have your answer. If you answered, "I'm not sure" then you should postpone your surgery and do more research.  If you answered, "No", then you only need to decide which surgery is right for you. That in itself is a completely different discussion that I would be more than willing to help you with.  Feel free to PM me if you would rather talk about it in private. A few more months while you clear your head is not going to hurt you.

What Chris just said hits it pretty much so I won't repeat anything.  Another possibility....before post op jitters?  

Just make sure you think thoroughly before you do anything if your hesitant.  Like Chris said, a few more months will not hurt anything.  You can postpone all you want, but you can't take away the band that easily.

Only you can tell if you're ready for it or not. 

Good luck! 

You do not mention how old you are, but in my humble opinion, if one is over 40 and 100# to lose, If you are not that age, and have never *really* tried to live right, then by all means, go for it au natural for a while. I would be lying if I said some part of me, when I was rejected for WLS was not completly relieved. Almost ever example you listed, i felt that way.  It would have been hard, really hard to know I rearranged my innards, whether by RnY or LB! I would have blamed every little thing on it, too! On the other hand....I have realized how little food my old body needs now, and it scares me to think I can keep my weight down without rearranging my innards. I NEED the restriction, i fear.  Time will tell.  The highest weight I have been is 230 at 64 inches tall. As a genre, that is considered lightweight. I am now at 180, would like to take it down a notch. It takes such a good level of commitment, every day, to do all the things that get you to where you want to be.

Hi Joan, I am coming from a unique perspective here, because I have had the lapband, and later had it removed.  I am now trying to re-lose the weight I gained back afterwards. I will say that your therapist is exactly right.  Yes, different types of weightloss surgeries can help you tremendously, but they are truly TOOLS to HELP you.  NONE of them will do all of the work for you over the long haul.  Some of them work harder for you in the beginning and some may be easier and it may seem like you don't have to do as much of the work on your own initially -- but believe me -- down the road, you will.  You still have to change your lifestyle, your eating habits, the way you look at food.  It doesn't change ANY of the mental issues we have with food. I had my band removed in November, and had planned to have the VSG surgery at the time of removal.  I was gung-ho about that as well and had done all of my research, etc...etc... but I changed my mind within the last several weeks right before.  I knew I was going to have to change my life drastically anyway -- I had to change my life with the lapband, so I knew I would have to do it this time with the VSG -- and so I figured, why not try to change my lifestyle and my way of thinking WITHOUT having surgery this time?  This is the choice that I made for ME.   I was too scared to go through with the surgery again.  Unfortunately I had problems with the lapband.  Of course not everyone does, and lots of people have tremendous success.  It really is a personal choice that you will have to look deep down inside of you to make.  Ask yourself if you are truly ready to make those changes in your life....PERIOD -- surgery or not.  It sounds like you have already committed to that and are well on your way.  Maybe you should see how you do on your own.  If at some point down the road, you feel that surgery is the right choice for you, maybe you should then re-visit it.  Of course it is possible to lose weight without surgery.  Many do.  But we are all different -- we all have different motivations -- we all have different support systems in our life, and we all have different experiences and life cir****tances.

It isn't a decision to be taken lightly though.  That is one thing I know for certain.  Good luck to you!

Had to laugh when I saw the title of this post...I was supposed to have RnY 2 days ago...I cancelled one day before. I was terrified. I started the process of visiting a nutritionist 10 months ago...Went through the psych appointments...I was psychiatrically cleared, cleared by the surgeon, approved by insurance. How many people out there would have been happy to have had such an easy process... to get WLS, right? I started reading the RnY message boards a few months ago. Almost immediately, I started to have concerns about RnY. I read about people "cheating," gaining their weight back, about complication after complication, about people still needing to follow a low-carb diet. I asked questions about all of this--and was repeatedly referred back to my psychologist. I went back and saw him again--he said all my fears were normal...But I had a feeling that I might be one of those who gained, had complications, etc, etc, etc...Plus--I KNOW eating lower-carb works for me, I just have a hard time sticking with it. Then I see all these people who have to eat low carb for life anyway! So why do I want to rearrange my insides when I will end up having to eat that way no matter what? Know what I mean?

Hi Christine!  yup, that is kind of where I was on my WLS final decision, too...why not change it all now.  Fer shur, the surgery kind of forces one to follow that way of eating...but not necessarily. If one is a snacker, lets say eats a little anything every hour and has too many calories over time, no weight will be lost. One can still eat around any surgery! I would only add here that WLS does help get the initial bunch of weight off by eating low to no carb, and of course very low calories, but after that, it is back to you and your choices.  Most people can get to where they do eat grains, veggies again, after a few years out.  I also realized my life goal was not to have WLS, it was to have a healthy body!

On last nights episode of "Big Medicine", a lady had RNY and it has only been 18 mos. and she has been gaining weight.  They did a test on her to see if she had stretched her pouch, but she hadn't.  She says she can eat like 3 pieces of pizza and be hungry a few hours later.  She also said she can eat most foods now too.  She was going to see a dietician to learn how to eat.   Obviously, in no way does this surgery guarantee that you won't gain it back.  A relative of my husbands had RNY about five years ago and has gained back 75% of her weight.  She can eat sweets too without dumping. Brenda