A lot has happened to me in the past 2 weeks. First of all, my 73 year old aunt was beaten and raped in her home here in our small town, and her assailant stole her car. He has since been captured and the case goes before the grand jury next week. Next, my daughter graduated from the University of Texas. Then my mom got sick and temporarily lost the vision in one of her eyes, and she lives with (and takes care of) my 101 year old grandmother.

In the midst of all this, I have almost overlooked the fact that I AM APPROVED ON MY FIRST TRY WITH BCBS-FEP!!!! I am amazed. So, things are moving rather quickly. I go Wednesday, JUne 3 to get pre-op lab, exercise physiology testing, my nutrition counseling and a psych eval done - all on the same day. I have only told a few people about this. My family is very supportive, but I am soooo nervous. I think once I have the date set, I'll be OK. I think I will start my 2 week diet Wednesday and hopefully have surgery 2 weeks from then.

I'm really worried about my Diet Coke addiction - I'm afarid that's going to be a problem. Any thoughts on that?

I enjoy reading all the blogs and I get tremendous support and reinforcement from them. Now I'll need to "tech-up" and learn how to put a ticker on my blog, and how to upload pictures. I'm just saying, I'm not the brightest computer person. But I am a good nurse!!

First off, I must admit I have yet to be banded I am guessing my surgery will be scheduled the second week in July - YAY. No about the diet Coke thing - my addiction was real bad. The Coke was the first thing I aquired upon waking in the morning and then again throughout the day. I had talked to a gal at work who had the surgery and she indicated that you had to give it up and so I made the decision last October that if this (the surgery) was what I was going to do, I had to get serious. I woke up one day in October and said, I am done. I have not had one since. Was it easy? NO. I had horrible headaches and absolutely craved the caffine. It became a game I had to play with my psyche. I did it by the hour, then the day and now I don't even think of it anymore. I have had a case of Diet Coke in my fridge that has been untouched as well as an 8 pack in my work fridge. YOU CAN DO IT. Much like the struggles I am anticipating the surgery will be it is as much (if not more) mental as it will be physical. I wish you the very best. It is not an easy thing to do, but just take it hour by hour and then day by day. Good luck!

I'm so sorry for all you troubles lately, but congratulations on your approval! Every doc has a different lifetime diet/rules. I'm allowed carbonation after 12 weeks, but I'm not a pop drinker, so this isn't a big deal to me. That said, I think I'd give up a lot more to get the band if needed...if someone offered me skinny for life for a few Diet Cokes a day...well, I know what my choice would be.

There's also a Tutorial right here on LBT with pics, click HERE. Let me know if you get stuck...I had no clue what a 'blog' was when I signed up here LOL.