My

I am so delighted that I decided to have weight loss surgery.Many people think this is far too drastic of a move and that it is only for lazy people.But, after pondering the situation for many years, I feel that weight loss surgery was the best decision I ever made.

I had lap band surgery in May of 2007.I have lost 180 pounds.I am very slim, trim, and fit.I exercise daily and have more energy that I had when I was a teenager.As I was losing the weight, I used Vitamin E on my skin to prevent droopy bags of excess skin.My diligent Vitamin E usage coupled with my youth prevented those bags that are common with a lot of weight loss surgery patients.

Lap band surgery presents slower weight loss than gastric bypass, but I feel it is a much safer route.When I start eating too much or gain weight, I can see the doctor to have my band tightened.If I am having trouble eating or keeping food down, I can have my band loosened.These are called adjustments or fills and unfills.They are performed in the doctor’s office with a needle.The needle is inserted into my port which was surgically implanted below the skin to the right of my belly button.It is not painful and generally takes less than five minutes.The fluid injected through the port then fills a band that is placed around the upper part of my stomach, restricting the amount of food I can eat.

Gastric bypass works a bit differently in that the main part of the stomach is bypassed or rerouted so the patient actually has a smaller stomach.No adjustments are possible without surgery.Though this surgery has faster results in the beginning, patients can gain weight back if they stretch out their new stomach.They also tend to have trouble with sugar products, where lap band patients have no restrictions on the foods they can eat as long as it passes comfortably.