Wow...7 years already?!

That is good to know! I think I can handle that! After reading everyone's posts about the band, I am really excited and want to get it. My insurance carrier does not cover it but in January, I will switch to a carrier that covers some, if not all, of it. Money is the biggest issue!

Christina424, it's nothing like a sour stomach or stomach virus. If I eat something that won't fit through my stomach opening then the stomach starts producing large amounts of thick mucous tring to lubricate and help the item through. This mucous starts to build up over the stuck item, the feeling is obvious but not more than a bit uncomfortable. Eventually the mucous gets high enough to trigger a gag reflex. It's fast and painless. Now should you ever actually get a stomach flu, that's when it can get hard. Just as everything that goes into your stomach has to fit through that small opening, so does everything going out!! If you have a sour stomach, my advice is to stick strictly to liquids! Good luck :)

I am considering lap band but I have a huge phobia of throwing up! Is it like stomach virus or sour stomach? I don't want to get the band and throw up all of the time! Help!

Hi I would to share with you my lap band experience Can u send me your email?

I'm considering lap band surgery I am 5'6" and 233 pounds I have a type of back problem genetic, so my spine isn't fused. I recently had back surgery and was told if I didn't loose weight my back surgery would have to be more extensive in the future...scary to say the least . I gained 80 pounds after my fathers death 20 years ago and have gone up and down between 190 to 260, most days I can't look at myself in the mirror...today I got a shot of my reflection/ backside in a large window and thought ,sweet lord is that me I didn't recognize myself....I'm afraid and still think somehow I can make this happen on my own...but I am afraid now I don't want screw and braces in my back....any advice for someone looking into surgery.....

I know this is for the lap-band surgery, but I read the comment from Kirsty and wanted to comment. I am 56 and at 19 yrs old I had stomach stapling. I was 237 lbs at 18. High blood pressure, eating to get full, emotional eating, eating to get warm, eating just because... I spent a month in the hospital w/complications/a hospital strike/ and pneumonia. My stoma swollen shut causing extremely painful bronical spasms. I was released with an extrenal gastric tube and fed myself pureed baby food for 9 weeks. Still everything came back up. The weight poured off me. In 9 weeks I was down 40 lbs. I got down to 136 after a year but it took exercise. Now after 35 years I have semi watched my weight fluctuate from 145 (my most comfortable and healthiest weight) to a scary 201. I caught myself and I walk 3 times a week for an hour a day and eat protein first, a green vegetable and I wait an hour to an hour and a half to drink a glass of milk. I can't eat rice, or pasta and I try to stay away from bread. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend weight loss surgery as a tool. But it is not a cure. Also.important is phsycological guidance. If anyone tells you the way people (men) look at you as a thin person vrs a fat person makes no difference, they are lieing. Many of my friends marriages broke up after they had a different body. Beware...

U look great! Proud of you

I was banded last November and I agree it was the best thing I ever did for myself (5'9" currently at 165). I belong to a group that all got their bands around the same time, so we all went through the ups and downs together which was my saving grace. I am glad to hear there were no problems getting a mommy makeover since there is a port issue. I am just now starting to look into getting it done myself. I have worked my butt off this last year and it is discouraging to still have loose skin in the stomach area and boobs that look like deflated balloons! Good luck on getting to your goal of less than 200 (onederland!). You have done so well so far, you CAN do it!

Hi there! Thank you so much for sharing your story! I am at the very beginning stages of the weight loss surgery process. I have done a ton of reading and have consulted with my doctor to get the process underway. I just have some reservations about doing the surgery.
My biggest concern, I guess, is just eating. I wouldn't label myself an "emotional eater", I feel like I'm a more of a "because I can" or "because it's there/available" eater, or because I'm bored. Know what I mean? For example, if I know there is a bag of popcorn in the cabinet and think about it, I can't get it out of my head. I can go and do/think about something else. But in the back of my mind it's still there and I'm not satisfied until I eat it and then I feel terrible. Is that emotional after all? Either way, my question to you is, did you have that problem? Because I worry that this will continue after my surgery and I will continue to be over weight. Thanks in advance for your help! =D

Hey there,

Welcome and thanks so much for sharing your journey with us. Congratulations on losing so much weight, you've done a great job and you look awesome! Did you find changing your eating habits difficult? From everything I've read and experienced, the mental aspect of eating can be harder to overcome than anything else.