This list of questions has been posted on a few bandster blogs, so I thought I'd answer. .

ANY REGRETS? Are you happy with your decision and would you do it again?
Very happy. I would do it again tomorrow and the day after that if I had to.

ARE YOU SORRY, YOU DIDN'T GIVE TRADITIONAL DIETING ONE MORE TRY?
No. I'd done the "one last try" thing for years, and it never did work. Also, there is an element of dieting (or being careful in what I eat) with a band. It's not a magic wand

WHAT IS THE WORST THING ABOUT HAVING THE BAND?
Pbing, which I do quite a lot (sometimes) and the fact that the band only works on my stomach, not my mind. Sometimes head hunger can be excessive yet my band won't let me eat; that can be difficult

WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT HAVING THE BAND?
Losing six stone (nearly 90 pounds). Defintely a good thing! I had dieted all my life and never lost weight like this, and never kept weight off, till now.

On a scale of 1 to 10 HOW HARD WAS/IS IT PSYCHOLOGICALLY TO GET OVER THE FACT THAT YOU CAN'T EAT THE SAME WAY ANYMORE?
About 6 - 7 (1 being easy, 10 hard). I do struggle sometimes with head hunger and wanting to "pig out" and I can't, and that isn't easy

HAS BEING BANDED MADE YOUR PERSONALITY CHANGE? For the better or worse?
Are you still able to party a little? (I am a wine drinker...can't imagine giving it up completely) and are you a party pooper now cause you can't party as much?
Not sure about that to be honest. I still drink wine and still party as I did. But in every day life I'd say I have changed. I am quieter in a lot of situations, no longer need to "overcompensate" for my "failings" (ie being fat).

I am more calm in myself, and probably less outgoing, happier to take a back seat. It hasnt' made me more assertive as some bandsters find.

HOW MUCH HAPPIER ARE YOU WITH YOUR BODY? I am wondering what I will look like 50-80 lbs thinner. I am 47 and will have a "lose skin" issue.

With my clothes on I am about 80% happier with my body (still got fat calves and ankles and I prob need a face lift). With no clothes - hmm, lots of work needed, I have a lot of loose skin on my tummy and I have no behind at all, just saggy skin. I'm 43.

HAVE YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS CHANGED? Spouses? Family? Friends? Strangers?

See above re personality. Family - no, my dh loved me like I was, that hasn't changed. At least one of my kids have said that they think I looked better fat (!!!) prob cos my face has gotten a lot thinner.

Friends - some are different towards me, not everyone likes it when the fat friend becomes a thin friend.

Strangers - yes, you do get treated differently when you are thin.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE THE SAME PERSON OR COMPLETELY DIFFERENT NOW THAT YOU HAVE LOST WEIGHT?
A bit of both. It takes a long time for my head to catch up with my body. I still avoid normal clothes shops, and buy a size that is too big online (!)

Also, and this is probably a post in itself; when you are overweight long term and struggling always to lose weight, it is easy to think that if you were thin then life would be perfect, everything will be different. But it's not. All that has happened is that I've lost weight. The rest of life is just like it was. The good, the bad and the ugly. But now, I have nothing to blame for the bad and the ugly (in the past I'd have blamed my weight)