The Why of it All
I hope to share some valuable information with anyone who reads my blog. I have been thinking for quite some time now about writing this blog, but since I'm not really a technology wizard, it's taking a bit of time to understand how blogs can and do work!
My goal here is to share the knowledge I have gained over the many years working with Lap-Band patients as well as my own experiences as a Lap-Band patient myself! Are these really "secrets"? Well, maybe not entirely, since if you spend enough time reading and talking and more reading and more talking, you might get all the information that I have gathered over the years, but do you really want to sift through the pages and pages on the internet (worrying if it is even accurate?) I also know that there is very little valuable information for those of us who are now living with the "Band". Sure, there are a few books out there, some poorly written or some with more technical medical terms that leave us needing a medical dictionary to translate!
WHY did I choose to have Lap-Band surgery?
Well, after years and years of frustrating dieting with minimal success, I guess you could say my weight finally caught up with me; it became a health hazard. I have heard many people say, "Well, I really don't have any health problems as a result of my excess weight". That was me. (Up until a few years ago.) During my annual check-up with my doctor, it was discovered that I was 'pre-diabetic'. We are talking Type II diabetes, which was strictly related to my obesity. My blood sugars and blood pressure were elevated and so was my cholesterol. NOT A GOOD COMBINATION. Now did I mention that I am also a breast cancer survivor? More about that later, but needless to say, I finally saw the writing on the wall and that writing was telling me that I seriously needed to lose weight once and for all. So a spent another 6 months or so struggling on weight loss plans that left me hungry, grumpy and with little to show in the way of weight loss and that is when I decided that I needed a helping hand. To make my long story shorter, I had the surgery and at my next doctor's appointment after losing about 45 lbs., my blood sugars were normal, blood pressure normal and cholesterol normal. HEY! My doctor said that I literally turned back the hands of time; medically speaking. For the first time in a long time, I felt great!
I love my band and am excited to share my journey....there is plenty more to learn!
