Lap Band Success Stories - CIBO Clinic

I got really good at knowing where there would be a reflective surface in public. I knew where there would be a store front and look in the opposite direction. I really didn't know what I looked like. I thought I could hide it with a scarf and dark clothing.

I am the director of patient services in CIBO Clinic. Initially, I do the education of the patients when they first come into the clinic. I am responsible for their initial educations and their initial assessments before they go forward. Basically, the psychotherapy, the nutrition, and the medical all come differently for each patient. I am the one who's responsible for that.

I used to live in a world where 295 pound girls live. It's honestly a very different world from the world I live in today. It's not as simple as weight loss. With all that extra weight on you, it becomes something that controls your life. It changes your behaviour. It changes the way you think of yourself and others. It controls every aspect of your life and every aspect of your behaviour.

In time, as it comes off, things change. You change. When I see these patients and where they are now, I can close my eyes and imagine what they're going to be like a year from now. They don't believe me, but then we see it happen. It's the most exciting thing. Honestly, I've got the best job.

The biggest fear for patients initially is the fear of failure and the fear of losing food. Food is a really close friend to a lot of us. You know you want to lose weight, you know you want to be healthier, but that's the only friend you have. Even if this is a toxic friend, it's the only friend you have! You don't want to give it up. There's a lot of fear around that. The biggest emotion here is fear.

I've heard patients say, "Oh, I'm so glad about what I'm going through." The best part is when they say, "No, you weren't big!" That's even better.

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