First Step Taken....

I've taken the first official step in my journey. Last night I attended the informational seminar at Hurley Bairatric Center for weight loss surgery. There were about 50 people all there to learn how to lose weight through surgery - quite amazing. I guess I didn't do enough research about this seminar, because I found out after it started that it was specifically geared toward the Lap-Band procedure. I had decided against this method and want to have the gastric bypass (Roux-En-Y) so at first I thought it was going to be a waste of time. However, it turned into a blessing in disguise. By learning more about the Lap-Band procedure I became reassured that I'd made the right decision to go with the RNY. Here are some of my reasons for choosing RNY over Lap-Band: ** Lap-Band has an expected weight loss of 30% to 65% of your excess weight. RNY is closer to 75% expectation. It's said that eventually the weight loss rate will equal out with both surgeries, but that balancing could take up to 3 years with the Lap-Band. RNY patients see a much faster rate of weight loss with most results coming within the first 18 months; Lap-Band patients lose weight at a much slower rate and it could take up to 3 years before you reach your goal weight. ** Lap-Band is only a "restrictive" surgery. You continue to absorb all the calories you eat. RNY takes advantage of both restriction and malabsorption. ** With RNY you experience the "dumping syndrome" which encourages you not to eat foods with excess sugar or that are high in fat. Lap-Band patients can eat whatever they want without the side effect of dumping - yes, even high calorie foods like milk shakes and soda which could cause weight gain. ** With the Lap-Band procedure you must return to the doctor for regular "fillings" of your band. A small amount of saline is injected through a port just under your skin to make the band tighter around your stomach. I don't want the commitment of having to go back to the doctor every couple months for these fillings. Although, the advantage of this control is that for special events/trips/pregnancy you could have all saline removed from the band to make the opening larger for a set period of time. ** I guess my greatest fear with the Lap-Band is that I'd sabotage myself. I don't like the fact that I'd be able to have high-sugar food without any adverse effects on my system. Oh sure, I love sweets as much as the next person. But I'm turning a corner here and I know that there are foods in my current life that I need to part ways with in order to achieve my goals. So I have set an appointment with the surgeon for September 12th. I have a ton of paperwork to fill out and need to contact each of my doctors to have them send my medical records to Hurley. I got a list of the criterial from BC/BS so I know what requirements I need to meet. My only concern is that I don't have 12 consecutive months of a documented clinical weight loss program. Sure I've talked to my doctors about my wieght loss programs in the past, I just hope they documented it in my medical records and that this isn't an issue. I'm excited that I'm moving forward. I feel good ~Pam