Anyone change their mind??

I'm scheduled for lap band surgery on May 20th. I'll be a self pay and it's costing me around 18000 plus interest on my care credit card.

I've lost almost 32 pounds in 3 months and with the help of protein shakes, have finally discovered that dieting doesn't have to mean starving...

So.. what I'm looking for are people who were going to have WLS and didn't but have lost their weight on their own.. or people who lost a lot of weight without surgery at all who can help me sort out my feelings about this whole thing. I'm feeling like I can do it on my own at this point but I want to be sure I'm not letting my fear and my hesitation on spending the money make up my mind.

I currently weight about 310, down from 343.5 in January...

Thanks!

QM, hi there.  I am not who you were hoping for to talk with, but hope I offer some insight. I am a lapband reject, and decided to look at the rejection as a new starting point. I had a lower bmi when I sought the LB (37-38 with comorbids like asthma and bp), so I may be in a more managable place than you.

My personal yardstick for a person considering any WLS:

age 40 + (you look pretty young!)

good habits in place already (regular exercise, overall good choices with food quality/portions)

75-100# overweight

I would hope that you have in the past have done more than sets of false starts with changing your health-life.  In my mind that is the most important measure. I could understand the argument for a younger person who is 100# overweight  to have WLS: why wait for permanent knee/hip/back damage?

So, my bottom line, if this is the first time in your life you have hunkered down to do the hard work, by all means, delay the WLS just to see. You will always wonder if you could have done it without the debt or the surgery. As Miz Mary is likely to say: save that moola la for plastic surgery! LOL!!!!

You can always reshedule this!

My highest weight was over 335.  Not sure if I hit 340 or so because my scale became erratic at that weight.

Anyway, I was getting desperate at that weight, considering lap band then, did LA Weight Loss instead and got to 272 when I had a hard time making it work for me, then within months was back up to 290 and within a year 320. 

I started again to reconsider surgery at 320, this time the VSG, but couldn't bring myself to do it and instead walked into a gym, talked to a trainer in tears (he himself had gone from 400 to 210), and began on the path of dieting and exercising.

I found I loved training, but weight loss was slow as I tried a variety of calories and macronutrients on for size.  I lost about 25lbs with him (took me 9 months), then switched trainers and diets (move to Atkins) and got the next 40lbs off in a year.  I also became...gulp...an athlete!  I am now in the 250s, a size 14 (yes, small for this weight, but am very muscular), and am training for a triathalon sprint in August.

I went from a full size 26/28 and in some cases 30/32 to a 14 (Lane Bryant tops and dresses are too big for me).  I learned that pounds aren't what matters (I'll probably end up a very fit 175 and a tiny size for that), but fitness is...and that activity drives me.  I became a swimmer, runner, weight lifter, boxer and may one day become a trainer as well....

Some days I am jealous of WLS fast weight loss...my friend Lauren had the VSG and lost 150lbs plus (what I needed to lose)...but I don't regret my decision and have learned that the numbers aren't what should drive us.  They should be a warning and nothing more.  They are not an indicator of true fitness.  At the gym, though I weigh 120lbs more than some women, they can't do what I do.  And no one would guess I am more than 50lbs over traditional weight for my height of 5'6....

My thoughts for you?  Do what FEELS right.  Get to know yourself in this regard.  I won't tell you what to do, but I believe most people can do diet and exercise and keep it off if they change thier mindset and beliefs....

I had a by-pass surgery scheduled for last June and Insurance was going to cover it because of all my co-morbidities, too. I Lost 20 pounds in 2 months just eating the diet (low carb) that I would have to live on after the surgery and, like found that it was not that hard to lose without surgery if you find the right balance in what you are eating. So I bailed! I hope to lose all the weight on my own with Atkins and the co-morbidities should disappear with the weight. Atkins is working for me but low carb is a lot easier to fit into in our society.

I can see why you are thinking about not doing it. 18000 is a lot. A new small car! Since you are on self pay and doing well with low carb, I would say put it off and keep working the low carb. You can always schedule later.

I hang out lurking around here and on Atkins.com forums and am doing pretty good without the re-plumbing work.

Best of luck and

:-) And.... you are right to be thinking hard before you take this big step. The lap band can be undone, but you would probably have to pay for that too!
Jan

 I was dead set on getting the VSG, I was on a waiting list for 6 months to get into a class that I had to take for Kaiser to pay for the surgery the classes would have taken another 6 months, during that time, i did some deep soul searching (i was over 300 lb's too) and I decided to keep trying, I have discovered that not only can I do this without the surgery but now I am sooooo Glad I opted to go with out it, i am still in my transition journey, but I have Released 42 lb's and I am confident that I am changing and my physical body has no choice but to change along with me! good luck to you on what ever you decide, and congrats on your weight loss thus far!  Blessings!

Michelle

I have decided not to have WLS and have lost 40 pounds on my own since Thanksgiving. If you are self pay you will be responsible for any potential problems that any insurance company can say was caused due to your lap band - things like hernia, infection, erosion of the band into your stomach, slips and who knows what. It may cause you problems trying to get life insurance and health insurance in the future which could put you in a serious financial crunch if you are unlucky. You won't believe the problems we had getting a particular life insurance policy that DH needed for work just because we had attended an information session - didn't even have surgery.

16 years ago I lost 100 pounds in 6 months on Medifast - I had a strong goal in place as motivation to get me though this bland diet (unfortunately I had serious unrelated health issues a few years later which is when I started to put the weight back on). There have also been posters here that have followed the post RNY diet - without the surgery and lost similar weight - after all it's all based on a very low calorie diet which is why people lose so quickly. It should be done under the care of your PCP for safety. Of course if you have RNY or DS you have the additional help of malabsorption which is a bonus that lap band doesn't offer. The one bonus you have with surgery is after paying so much money you feel strongly compelled to follow through with the prescribed diet for awhile.  You still have to deal with head issues to deal with and perhaps the money could be better spend on psychotherapy to deal with food issues? Something to think....

I'm taking a different route this time. I'm very conscientious about my treadmill workouts - at least an hour. After following a healthy diet and losing some weight I came across a book called The China Study by Colin Campbell PhD and that has turned both mine and DH's whole lifestyle around and now we're losing weight and feeling great. I just finished reading another book which I recommend if you have children - called Fat Land by Greg Critser. I all can say is I wish I had known this information a long time ago. I know DH and I will lose all our weight and keep it off now with certainty.

No matter which route you choose, I hope you find success.

Skylar

Yep, I changed my mind too! I went into the WLS office on October 9 and weighed in at 319. I started on the low-carb/high fiber diet that the dietician put me on. Due to my insurance, I had to meet with her for six months....well, I have lost 31 pounds all by myself in that time. I decided to put the idea of weight loss surgery away for the time being and focus on losing weight with a healthy lifestyle....eating better and working out.

I am determined to do this!

Surgery is such a tough and personal decision.

My heaviest was 450. I had been looking into WLS for over year at the time, went to a couple of seminar's, read stories from this website, etc. In the end, I knew Weigh****cher's worked (it had in the past for me- I just didn't stick with it when it got harder.)  I decided that I wanted to make a truly honest committment to the program and to changing my life.

Best decision I've ever made. That was just over 3 years ago and I've lost 212 lbs. It hasn't always been "easy" but I'm don't think losing this much weight is easy for anyone, with surgery or without. The difference this time, for me, was that my heart was 100% into it. I am determined to follow the program and learn how to make healthy choices and changes in my life. My life is so much better now. I'm doing things I never thought I'd ever do. Sometimes the scale does not reflect my hard work each week, but I've learned that I see the progress over time...and that's what it takes....time.

As someone who has lost a great deal of weight without surgery, I'm telling you it can be done. But I know that this is a deeply personal decision. You need to do what you feel is best. If you are thinking that you want to continue to try to lose weight without the surgery, I say go for it!

Good luck with whatever you decide. You can check out my weight loss website- the link is in my signature.

After MANY years of dieting, losing and re-gaining, I started to think about WLS.  I spoke to some family members who were in the medical field and also discussed it with my PCP (he gave me the name of good surgeon).  I decided to try it on my own one last time.  I said if I don't do it this time I will have to have surgery or face dieing way too young or being way too sick for the rest of my life.

I started watching what I was eating and walking.  I then got the support of a friend who gave me the added push and encouragement I needed. I started a serious work out program 6 days a week and am thrilled that I've lost a total of about 145 lbs and I've met my original goal and now trying to lose an extra 15 lbs.  I'm  very glad I was able to do it this way.

The important thing is you should do whatever is going to work best for YOU!!
Good luck with your decision.