duckydoom

I submitted my time off request and my FMLA request on the same day. I was approved for the time off already, but the FMLA is still pending at this time (but it won't affect me being able to take the time off). I took two weeks as well, one for vacation, one for recovery. I just told my supervisor that I'm having stomach surgery. I work in an office full of women and they tend to be nosy, lol.

I like your attitude about all of this. I see the band as being a tool to help me lose my excess weight and get back to a healthy place for me. Quite a few people I've talked to see it as being a method of "cheating" or an easy way out, but looking at these boards and reading the pros and the cons of the surgery, noting the lifestyle changes required and the commitment needed, it's definitely not the easy way or cheating! I have a friend of the family who had the band and now that she's heard I'm getting it is totally against it. She had it done 3 or 4 years ago, but had it completely unfilled because she couldn't get any breads or pastas down, and "could barely eat anything." She determinedly did not follow the rules, and thought that it would just magically cure it all, so now she's touting the failure of the band, not of her choices to make it work. I'm set to be banded on the 21st of August (I can't stop talking about it I'm so excited lol), and I'm already incorporating more of the changes I need to make into my diet (weight watchers helped me revamp quite a bit, but it wasn't enough to really make a dent in my weight). So, you're doing great, you have the right attitude, and based on what I've seen on the boards thus far of post-op stories, that's the biggest part of success

One is a Great Dane/Lab mix and the other is a Boxer/Rott mix. They both weigh about 120 lbs apiece, and even though my Dane is almost 7, they still run me ragged at this point!

Right now I'm focused on sizes, simply because I hit my highest size limit (which for me was a 20), and I want to be able to fit into the 15/16 clothes I've bought within the last year. My weight goal is 139, but my size goal is 11/12. It's just hard to pinpoint for me because I find so many discrepancies in sizes out there, ya know? I know my body type is broad and muscular, so it really varies from brand to brand (I can still fit in 14s of some brands and 20s of others...)

Hello, and welcome to the boards I've found that they've been super awesome in helping me prepare... I'm set to be banded on 8/21 If you ever wanna chat, just let me know. How far along are you in the process?

I saw my doc on April 24th, I saw him again on July 5th for a 10 minute visit after all of my info had been compiled to make sure I was sitll wanting the surgery. I won't see him again until August 21st which is the date of the surgery,and I'll probably be knocked out then, lol. My next visit at the office is August 3rd to meet with the NP and nutritionist to start me on my liquid diet... but I haven't had much contact with the office at all, to be honest.

August 21st is my date! Congrats to all of you who've just gotten your dates, I'm so excited for us!

I just got my date, August 21st, so I'm all about what I can do once I'm banded... I'm so excited for this tool to help me finally reach my goals 1. Feel healthy again 2. Go on a cruise with one of my best friends and rock a bikini (next June I think, it's a band cruise, I'm waiting for the exact date) 3. Not feel as though I'm being judged by family for being fat (Christmas) 4. To keep up with my dogs (they're big, and have lots of energy!) 5. To keep up with my husband 6. To be a size 11/12 again by this time next year 7. Continue working out at least 3x/week at Curves and have less pain 8. Start P90x no later than January 1 (it hurts my joints right now) 9. Be able to by regular width shoes at the store! (this time next year, no later!) 10. Feel comfortable in my own skin again - there's no date on this, I'm sure it'll be ongoing.

I'm trying to get myself into a good habit now prior to surgery, and it's like pulling teeth I am not a fan of working out, I hate being sweaty, but I love the euphoric post workout feeling... I've put it off for a couple of months because I was working out after work, on my way home, and I'd find excuses not to go (usually I had too much stuff to do at home, etc). Last week I tweaked my work schedule and I've started going prior to work. I had to buy myself a desk fan for my cubicle to help with the sweat (no showers at Curves, boo hoo!), but it seems to be working. I joined Curves in April and have been a total of 13 times... 7 of which were this month (5 were last week). So, I'm going to stick with that for sure. I only get off of work half an hour later than I usually would, so it's not so bad. I hope you find something tolerable as well! Good luck

I grew up in a chaotic environment, parents had a horribly messy divorce when I was really young, and my mom kind of tuned out. She's been anorexic for years, and would sometimes forget to feed us, so we had lots of easy to make foods lying around that weren't exactly healthy - I was the one who made food for myself and my disabled brother, so often it was crap. Dad made up for his "weekend parenting guilt" by plying us with pizza, candy, icecream, etc. They both meant well, but it set me up for emotional eating and turning to food as a comfort. It's true as MizVicky says, the eating calms me while I'm doing it, but then I'm overwhelmed with the guilt that I've been stuffing my face with very poor choices, sabotaging my weight loss, etc. It's hard because there have been some serious losses within my family and it causes my anxiety to flare up, and all I want to do is eat eat eat eat eat to quell the stress. I know it doesn't help though... I'm trying to find other things to focus on while I wait for my surgery date. Right now I'm getting better at working out daily at Curves, and I'm obsessing over planning the nursery for the baby we're going to try for once I get the go-ahead, and also learning how to do gel nails. I try to mix it up a bit, lol. It's also crazy to look back at pictures of my 143lb self in middle school and high school and think about how fat I thought I was then... my mom is 5'9 and weighs maybe 120 right now, but I always remember comparing myself to her and thinking I was just grotesquely fat. Now I"m regularly asked if I'm pregnant. I cant wait to be 143 again.

I had mild sleep apnea, but it was enough to impact my sleep. I had a tonsillectomy and a UPPP done, and I'm insanely glad that's an operation that can only happen once. I was miserable during recovery, but my apnea episodes went from 40 an hour down to 8 or 9. If it's not the Vitamin D, maybe go see a sleep specialist and see if a cpap could help. The only reason I went with the surgery is I was non compliant with my cpap - I knew it was helping when it was on, but short of taping it to my head (we tried everything short of that, straps, cloth ties, etc), I couldn't keep it on. Overall, I'm glad I did it. It's also a good idea to give going to the gym in the morning a try. I have a Curves membership, and I had gone 4 times in 3 months when I was trying to go after work. I switched it up this week and started going before work, and it's made all the difference. I only get to work half an hour later than I normally would, and I actually get my workouts. I still hate them, but at least I'm doing them, lol! Good luck!

I'm not sure yet - hopefully I find out this week or early next week, I've done all of the prep tests and evals and gotten a 100% good to go from the insurance company, the doc just has to review my info and tell me when I'm good to go. I'm assuming in mid to late July though.

Have you had your vitamin D levels checked? I've suffered from chronic fatigue for years, and it's usually because my Vitamin D is so freaking low (last time I had it checked it was 13, the lowest normal value is 30). My doc currently has me on 50,000 IUs of Vitamin D twice weekly that she rx'd me, and then I take 2000 IUs every night in addition. I'm sure I'll have to change that after my surgery, but it's amazing how much of a difference it makes. Prior to taking the vitamin D I would fall asleep at my desk at work constantly, and wake myself up drooling, or having a sleep spasm Luckily the only people who "caught" me doing it were coworkers and not one of the supervisors! Now I can make it through the day with no issues - I was/am at a point where even caffiene didn't work, and my sleep doc rx'd me ritalin, and I'd still fall asleep with that!

It makes me sad *now* to look at pictures of me, and know how much smaller I used to be. All through highschool I weighed roughly my goal weight and thought that I was "too fat." Now I strive for that weight! It kills me to see myself in family pictures, in fact, I usually try to avoid them! I plan on keeping a pic or two around as a reminder though!

I've probably driven my coordinator insane with my emails for status checks, etc. I have everything in at this point, just waiting for the doc to review and give me a surgery date, and I'm practically having to sit on my hands to keep from emailing the poor woman yet again. I've had my approval letter for the surgery from my insurance sitting on my desk and it's taunting me, I swear! I'm seriously anxious about this - so excited, but wanting to know yesterday when everything is going to happen.... I'm just glad to know I'm not the only one who's waiting!!

It's really helped to reduce my heartburn substantially, and is actually pretty calming to my stomach, too. It's my new "comfort food" since beef broth and noodles aren't going to cut it anymore I've found my energy has increased as well, and I'm not falling asleep at work anymore!

My husband does the same thing, so I sympathize with you. I've been trying to lose weight on my own for quite some time before turning to the band, but he's always eating his chips, fast foods, sodas, etc... It seriously can be nerve wracking sometimes (I literally started crying when we were grocery shopping for a bbq - he was putting so many junky delicious things in the cart and all I could have was chicken...), but he doesn't even realize he's doing it. I've talked with him about it a few times, and now he is pretty good about making better food choices, especially if I'm already stressed and wanting to emotionally eat. He's also picking up on terms such as head hunger, which is really helpful (yet slightly annoying) as well. I'm sorry that it's happening, but hopefully will change!

I've been using bottled lemon juice for the most part - I put about 3 tbsp in my 72 oz bottle and drink it while I am at work. I started a couple of weeks ago, and have noticed the difference (I drink almost a gallon of water a day anyways). It's addictive now, I actually crave my water with lemon in it. There are some great liver cleansing teas you can get as well - I had elevated liver enzymes and then started drinking a glass of Everyday Detox tea (found on Amazon, Walmart etc), and they were within normal ranges again really quickly. The lemon can only help!

I'm waiting for my surgery date, but I've decided I'm going on a cruise with one of my bff's who just had the sleeve done. We're excited to go and wear bikinis for the first time ever. I may get another tattoo (or two, lol) or my nose pierced, I haven't decided. I need to see how my current tats hold up to the weight loss, and then I'll see where to go from there!

My docs made sure that I was on bc before they'd even talk to me (I'm using the ring, and I echo the "sorry for the TMI" sentiments above). I have a friend who had the sleeve done recently though, and she had to be off of her bc for a month before they'd have her in surgery at all. So, I'm curious to see what my doc says about any forms of hormonal bc.

This is a really helpful post to me. I'm still pre-op, but have been trying to curb my eating already - which isn't that effective, I've been having some major issues with head hunger. I did weight watchers for almost a year and a half with no good results, but I can definitely tell when I'm full, and estimate how much food it will take to get me full. If I'm eating greens, I can eat a fair amount - I can eat almost a lb of broccoli or asparagus or peppers all on my own. If I'm eating Proteins on their own, I eat around 6 oz, if I have them with veggies it's usually 3-4 oz and if I eat carbs... well, I can't seem to stop eating carbs when I start. I cut them out almost completely for the past two months, but last night I slipped up and ate almost a whole loaf of garlic sourdough by myself (dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, oh my gosh!), and it was heavenly. It tasted so delightful, but my stomach did not appreciate it. Usually I would have one or two slices and call it good, though. Carbs make me so sleepy and bloated though, I really try hard to avoid them... I just don't always succeed.

Congrats! This is truly inspiring, I hope to have a similar story to share in a year as well!

Whoops, just saw the responses referencing the anti clotting med. Good to know! (my husband just made this face when I read out loud it renders bc ineffective for a month, lol)

I know your surg is tomorrow morning (good luck!) but could your doc maybe switch you to the ring or the patch? Some non-oral form of bc until you can swallow pills? Sleep well in the meantime, and good luck in the morning!

You... are hard freaking core. My boss is awesome, but nosy as well... Hubby and I are having a discussion right now whether or not I let her know why I'm asking for the time off of work and fill out the FMLA paperwork as well (she'll make me, she did for my tonsillectomy/UPPP as well), or if I just take a week or so of vacation time and keep it to myself. She already knows I'm on a diet, so I don't think she'll really notice when I'm progressing from liquids to mushies to solids. I do have a question for you though, when you say don't sleep flat, do you prop up with pillows? I have a wedge I bought for when I had the tonsillectomy, and I could use that. It's uncomfortable as heck but should work. Just curious.