hello

[marybeth66]

hello everyone,

I am thinking about the lapband surgery. I have not been for my first visit to the doctor yet... I am feeling sort of scared. I would love to go to the meeting on August 19, 2008. Thank you for letting me know that I am welcome. I am 42 years old and have been fighting the tough fight of being over weight my entire life. I have tried any and all food plans, diets, drugs, etc...... only to yo yo and gain back even more weight. I am at my heaviest weight ever. I am a wife, mother, daughter, sister with a full time high stress job. I am looking forward getting to know you all.

MaryBeth

[akhan16]

Hi Marybeth,

welcome to the group. my name is aleeya. i had the lap band surgery dec 13, 2007. i was scared too but dr. allam and his staff is very nice and very helpful. ask them as many questions you want. u r welcome to ask me questions too and i'll try to answer the ones that i can.

wish you the best and hope to see you at the meeting

[CARE4SMALLSIZES]

Welcome Marybeth

[Lee3]

Welcome Mary Beth

I had RNY on 1/10/08 and I admit I was terrified-I had thought about surgery years before when someone I worked with had it and did great. Then in 2007 my "OLDER"(tee hee) sister had it and is doing great. I gave myself the year after my sisters surgery to try once again to get the weight off. I just couldn't do it-Exercise when you are obese other that walking is painful. I avoided it at all costs. I was also still hungry. My food craving for junk were still there too. It was bad.

I really was afraid to have the surgery because I never had had surgery before. That morning in the hospital I nearly changed my mind and left-It was all fear of the unknown. I am so glad I didn't. I woke up from my surgery and was like oh it's over. The first few months are alot of work-Getting your vitamin schedule down and testing new foods trying to make sure I get in all my protein. THe entire experince for me has been easier than I thought. My only regret is not going thru with the surgery years ago. I feel like I wasted those years carring around my fat suit- I have so much more energy now and I can do more with my kids.

Good luck making the decision. It's one only you can make.

[AnnieP68@yahoo.]

Dear Mary Beth: I was also at my biggest when I decided to get the surgery. I had gastric Bypass. Dr. Allam was not doing lapband back then. I had been yo-yoing all my life. UP DOWN up down. When I was young it was 20 lbs each year and then the numbers got very high when I got to middle age and then I just kept getting bigger each year.

I was nervous too. It's natural to be nervous for any surgical procedure but with the nervousness I was very excited with anticipation. After all, with this surgery there is a reward: the possibility of being a normal size and getting your life back!!

I remember keeping a journal the first few months and I wrote down when I came home that this surgery was way up there with important events of my life: having sex the first time, getting married, giving birth, and gastric bypass and after 4 1/2 years I still agree with that.

Dr. Allam is the best doctor you could have and I must say that the Hampton Bays group is the most supportive one you could find. I have even been in church groups that are good but not as supportive as those in this weight loss group!!

Whatever decision you make, and only you can, we all wish you the best. Knowing what you're getting into and doing your homework is a good thing. Looking forward to seeing you at the meeting.

[Regina]

Welcome MaryBeth sorry I didn't get here sooner I have been extremely busy.

I'm Regina and I had my Gastric Bypass surgery Sept 4, 2003 by Dr. Allam. He saved my life! I picked gastric bypass because I wanted something more permnent. When I told my boyfriend family and friends that I was going to have gastric bypass surgery they were all very supportive of my decision but nervous at the same time. I was nervous myself but I knew I had to do this to help my self once and for all. All the years of dieting always ended up failing. Oh, I did well on some of them in fact I even lost 108lbs on one of them but gained it back about a year after. As you know by my date of the surgery, I had it almost five years ago. Everyday since I made up my mind to have the surgery and since I lost the weight I wake up and thank Dr. Allam and his team for giving me my life back. I am glad that I did the surgery and like many, here my only regret is that I didn't do it years ago.

My only advice to you is this to make sure that you are 110% ready for the best change that you will have in your life. Once you have either surgery you have to commit, 110% there is no going back. Part of your commitment to yourself to be successful should be to KEEP ALL YOUR FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENTS WITH DR. ALLAM sadly some stop keeping these after the surgery and they think that it is okay but its not. They are only setting themselves up for a problem. Also, another part of being successful after the surgery is to try to MAKE THE SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS. I can tell you this that in my almost 5 years of going if I missed a handful of them that’s a lot. I hate missing them. They have helped me stay on this wonderful journey. Sadly, some have dropped out and there aren't many that still attend from when I had my surgery. They say that people who have the surgery, do their follow up appointments, and attend support group meetings are very successful.
That should be part of everyone’s commitment once we all start this journey. I know it is mine.

I wish you all the luck and please keep us posted. You already know when our meeting is so I won't repeat that. You will receive a reminder email from me along with everyone else about the meeting.

You are also welcome to join us since you are now part of our growing family at our Annual Picnic August 10 at Indian Island Park in Riverhead. All the information for that is under Patient Corner so try to make it if you can. You can get a chance to meet us and ask us questions if you want.

Good luck

[Sissy]

Welcome to the family. You've come to a great place - Dr. Allam is an excellent surgeon!!! Good luck & God bless - Darlauyh

[marybeth66]

Thank You all very much you have made me feel so welcome. I was wondering about the food part of all of this. how do you prepare? Is there a special diet that needs to be followed before the surgery. and then after surgery I know there must be. what are the most common food plans for the lapband, or is it different for each person? Thank you

[Jamie]

Hi Marybeth,

I'm Jamie and I had lapband surgery in June of 2008. I have lost about 95 lbs so far and I don't regret a single day. It by far was the best decision I have ever made. There are going to be many questions that will pop up the more you look into this, and all I can say is to make sure you research both procedures to see which one you feel fits your lifestyle. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THIS DECISION YOURSELF!!!!!!! Research, ask questions, and talk to the professionals. Come to the meetings and meet all of the wonderful people involved. We will answer any questions you have and if you want to do it privately, you can private message anyone you want to and only they can read your questions, but any question you may ask on the board may help someone else that may not know or is too shy to post.

If you want help, you are ,more that welcome to call me @ 324-4975 and I will get back to you as soon as I can,

Jamie