Am I Ready For LAP-BAND Surgery? Or, Am I Worthy?

Tuesday, 16 October 2007 10:18

“No matter what the problem is, our experiences are just outer effects of inner thoughts.” Louise L.  Hay

You Can Heal Your Life

Surgery? That’s a tough decision, certainly, but one that can be quite fruitful in more ways than one. Luckily, there are many LAP-BAND resources available that can help ease the burden of the surgery decision making process. This website is one of them!

I started this blog with a quote from a favorite mentor, Louise Hay. Whenever I feel sorry for myself or believe that life isn’t giving me what I want, or that I am not worthy, I pick up her book to help straighten out my thinking. She has yet to fail me.

It’s easy to put off decisions that will make such an impact in our life. Whether we believe we don’t deserve happiness, or we tell ourselves that we are meant to be curvy and lush (fat), we defeat ourselves with negative thoughts.

That’s why it’s good to put your plan in writing; to take your positive thoughts and write them down before they turn negative. Then, create a plan from these thoughts.

Let’s review a few examples that may be of help.

Positive Thought: I want to be at a healthy weight so I can enjoy my children while they are young.

Plan: Find a LAP-BAND surgeon that you can trust. Great communication is also important. Make sure you are comfortable with asking questions and that the answers received provide you with closure about those questions mulling around in your mind.

Plan: Create a list of surgeons near your home that perform the gastric lapband. Schedule a consult with two of them. Choose a surgeon and come up with pre-operative plan that works for you.

Positive Thought: My physicians and other health care practitioners support my decision.

Plan: Include your primary care physician in the decision making loop. He/she is a vital part of your health care team. Sometimes you may have to provide some education about what the surgery is and what it entails. That’s okay and it’s not unusual.

Plan: Inform your primary care physician about your plan, or if a referral is needed for the surgery, arm yourself with research before the referral appointment. Don’t take no for an answer if this is what you want.

Positive Thought: I have the knowledge I need to make good decisions.

Plan: Not all information will lead you to surgery as an answer. However, it’s good to know what is being said. I don’t know about you, but I hate surprises when it comes to my health.

Plan: Log onto websites that provide different points of view about the procedure. Read articles, do literature searches. Go to the library and see if there is anything worth reading on the subject.

Positive Thought: It’s good to be prepared.

Plan: Create your support group before you go in for surgery. There are great groups out there that meet on a regular basis. Also, join LAP-BAND blogs as this is a great way to solicit support from people all over the world.

Plan: Engage and educate your family members. The more they know what is expected of them, the more comfortable they will be as they know how to help you.

Positive Thought: Food is my friend.

Plan: Learn what it takes to cook with a lap band. What foods to avoid, what foods to have around, when to snack, what portions to eat.

Plan: Purchase serving dishes that are cup sized or smaller so you know how much food is considered a portion size when you have a band.

Plan: Know what restaurants have great and tasty kid menus. Many people like to order from this menu as it provides smaller portions of food.

Plan: Include your family in the meal preparation decision making.

I hope this was helpful. Let me know!!

As I began with a quote from Louise, I will end with another.

“I recognize my body as a wondrous and magnificent machine, and I feel privileged to live in it. I love lots of energy. All is well is my world.” Louise L. Hay

Visit www.newhopetalk.com where you can find the Carole's Corner Forum, I look forward to hearing from you!