wanabthin

I came across an old journal and began to reread my entries. I realized if I wrote an entry on that day it would say the exact same things it had said five years earlier....I'm starting tomorrow, never agian will weigh X amount, this time it is for real....and I realized this was insane, I had founght the same battle for the first almost 30 years and I knew I would be fighting for the next 30 if something didn't change. I started researching, went to the seminar on 6/12 my surgery is scheduled for 8/3.

Hi everyone! I'm back from my vacation and of coarse I brought 5 more lbs home with me! I will start my preop diet on the 23rd (4 slim fasts per day) and I have my psych eval tomorrow. I just found out that DH will be out of town the first week of my preop diet and that really scares me. I have found that loneliness is one of my triggers. I will be hanging out here a lot for support I'm sure! I found a great website called Weight & BP Tracker if anyone is interested in getting ready to track all this weight we are going to lose. Its free and it looks pretty neat to me.

Darn It! I was going too but Extreme Makeover was featuring weight loss so I watched it instead. The information for the show did not say anything about the band patient. Do they show a rerun time over the weekend?

Hi, just wanted to share that I found a website called Weight & BP Tracker that is free and seems to have a pretty neat system for tracking weight loss. I'm sure some already know but maybe others don't. You can also journal and track BP and other things if anyone is interested.

I start my liquids on the 23rd and I have already told DH to plan on frozen dinners for two weeks and not to even think about eating out. It is strange to me that the preop/postop plans differ so much. I have to have 4 slim fasts a day for two weeks only that and water. After however, my doc. said only what I can get through a straw for the first two weeks. He also said that a lot of people think clear liquids but that is a misunderstanding, I know all docs are different but you may check on that to be sure that is what he wants. He even told me I coud have soup at hand if it was like a tomato soup. For me that will be much easier than the preop slim fast.

I had my consultation and the weighed me and then told me to do 10 days on slimfast. However, last week I was on vacation and as usual on vacation I gained about 5lbs. So, I will now be starting my preop diet heavier than at consultation. Will this have any effect on my liver? Did anyone else gain before the preop while having "one last meal"?

I'm right now bigger than I have ever been and I really don't like seeing anyone because I know they say "Wow, she has really put on weight" right after I leave. My band date is 8/3 so I just spent all of last week while on vacation w/out of town family and over the weekend at the festival in town thinking, just wait till they see me next year or even at Christmas. It was the only thing that got me through the week.

I went to my consultation on Monday and we tentatively discussed surgery dates but they said someone would have to call me to schedule for sure (she was gone for the day) No one called on Tues so today I called and left a message and no one called me back. They have been great until now, and I'm sure there is a reason (I don't always get my messages returned right away) But, I'm just so ready to scream!!!!! I want to know my surgery date now!!!!!! Sorry, just needed to get that out.

I finally get the call from the doctors office and they scheduled me for August 3! That seems like forever away, and I'm ready NOW! Apparently the surgeon will be out from the 13th of July on, what nerve of him to take a 3 week vacation! (just kidding of coarse) I just really wanted to be banded by the end of July, I don't know how some of you have waited so long for approval, I would be pulling my hair out!

Hi! I just got my date today and while I was REALLY hoping for a July date, it looks like it will be August 3. I'm driving myself crazy I want it to be here so bad. I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow night and let me tell you I'm really wishing I had been banded 6 months ago as to not be the largest person on the beach (from our group anyway) I just keep telling myself, this WILL be my last vacation fat! (and this time it really will be) It is bad that I'm so depressed about my weight that part of me would rather not even go on our trip. Well, I better quit feeling sorry for myself... I just wanted to stop in and say Hi, I'll stop by after I return from my trip, maybe we can all support each other through the dreaded pre op diet!

<p>Thanks for putting a positive spin on it for me, my first thought was...great he will be out of practice!! LOL</p> and I only went to the semiar on June 12th so I really have no room to complain

I just found out today that my date is August 3, I don't know about you guys but it seems like forever to me. As far as the Psych eval, I've never had one but I work in mental health and I have read about a million of them and even done a few for a class I took. They usually do an overview of things such as anxiety level, depression, risk of suicide/homicide, your affect, presentation (eye contact, dress, speech, ability to answer questions), brief family history which I'm sure in this case will focus a great deal on issues with weight. They want to make sure you are emotionally stable enough for the surgery and everything that goes with it. They can last anywhere from 45 min. to 2 hrs. 3 1/2 hours must be for an assessment. I would be interested to know what assessment they give and what they are looking for. By law they must give you all the information about why the assessment and what they are doing with it so don't be afraid to ask questions.

I can't really answer your question as I'm not yet banded, but I wanted to let you know that I remember being really hungry too in the beginning of my pregnancy last summer. Like when you are going to start your period and you feel like you could eat everything in site. For me it tapered off soon and I started to feel normal again (as far as hunger anyway) Your body needs about 500 extra calories right now for the development of the baby. I can't imagine that a doctor would even give you a fill being pregnant. Maybe give it a little time to see if you adjust, and congratulations!!!

I know this does not answer your question, but I just wanted to say, that if I could stick to a strict food plan, I wouldn't need the band to begin with! Thank goodness, that the only information on food from my doctor was all about taking time to savor your food and make smarter decisions while still allowing for the occassional indulgence. This was a booklet from Austraillia where they have been banding for a lot longer than here in the US and it is very well written and also deals with the emotional side of hunger.

So, my plan was to only tell very very few people about getting the band but it has been sooo hard! I'm so excited part of my wants to scream it from the roof tops of coarse the rest of me knows what happens when everyone knows. I find I'm slowly adding more people to my list of very few. Its like when I found out I was pregnant and DH and I said we would not tell many people. Boy, I wish I was capable of keeping a secret!

thanks for the responses. I'm thinking now that maybe I will tell more, I will just wait until afterwards when I have lost some. That way when people ask how, I can just be honest with them. That way I won't have to listen to anyone tell me I'm crazy or that try to talk me out of it!

Hi, I'm hoping to be banded around 7/20, I'll find out for sure on Monday. I'm so excited I can't stand it. I'm wondering if anyone else has had similar stats? I know everyone is different (I just like the motiviation!) so if anyone started around 220 how much did you lose the first five months? Also what sizes were you? I'm just trying to imagine where I could possibly be by Christmas if all goes well. Thanks!

I havn't seen much on this, I'm wondering if anyone was given orders on what not to lift or how much for how long after surgery. I have a 10 month old baby at home so I'm wondering how long I will need help with him. He weighs about 20lbs.

There are medications that the doctor can prescribe. The most common and the ones that are easiest to get them to prescribe is Meridia and Xenical. Xencial however was just made available over the counter in 1/2 does as Alli. (This is the one with the messy side effects) Meridia is an appetite suppressent and it did nothing for me. I have also taken Phentermine but my doc. would not prescribe it so I went to a shady weight loss clinic where they pretty much hand it out to anyone for $100. They all have some pretty concerning side effects (heart palpations, ect.) but the phentermine does work short term. Also, more than likely your insurance will not pay for them anyway, mine never did and I one time paid $250 for Xenical and only took two of them.

I've read a lot about the PB thing. I'm wondering what it feels like? I kind of have a fear about choking anyway. Does it feel like you are choking? That is how I imagine it. Also, what do you do the first few weeks especially if you have to be at a dinner where you can't eat ANYTHING? I'm not telling anyone about my decision so how do I explain it? I know it was always bad enough when I was lowcarbing and would try to get out of eating, but this is much worse if I'm still on liquids or mush. And if you don't plan to tell people, what do you say when they start asking about the weight loss? Thanks!

Isn't there anyone out there who can please help me out with these questions? I would appreciate it.

Well, I'm ALWAYS one who likes to give my opinion so here goes. Disease is not a word that I would use either, however, I would argue until I was blue that food is an addiction! Just as alcohol, nicotine, or any other drug. Some people are more prone to this addiction just as some are with alcohol. What makes this addiction even harder is that you can never just stop. It is an addiction that you have to face each and every day. Binge eating disorder as is now an accepable diagnosis in the DSM-IV just as anorexia and bulemia. Now, I'm not saying that everyone who has a weight problem is addicted, I think there are many different reasons for that, however if you are a person that has struggled your whole life as opposed to someone who was thin throughout their highschool years and then put on weight after having children, I think you should evalutate the possibilities. I could go on forever but anyway, these are some of the things I would share in a conversation like that one.

I'm a counselor too, and I just wanted to say that I agree with phillyms. There are so many reasons that we struggle with weight and environment, heridity, and our eating habits are just the tip of it. Emotions play a huge part in this! I do not have a fear of being thin however, I have spent time wondering who I will be if I am not overweight. It is how I define myself in some ways. I do not know what I will do with my time if it is not spent worrying about food/diet/weight/ect. The other thing is self image. If we see ourselves sometimes even bigger than we are, there is a good chance you will continue to do so even after losing weight. There are many psychological issues surrounding this. It is good to start thinking about these things now and seek help with them if they become too much for you. Good luck in your journey.

So last night went to cookout, drank a few margarittas which completely throws my "you should really stop eating" voice out the window and I ate about 1/2 a bag (family size) of M&M's, chips, hamburger, potaoto salad, macoronni salad, 2 pieces of cake!, and then a few glasses of full sugar iced tea. I came home so miserable and depressed wondering why on earth I do this to myself?!?!?! And we have a vacation in two weeks and I'm already depressed on being the largest person there and having to wear a bathing suit. I am really hoping that the band will STOP these insane episodes. Am I right to assume that knowing if I eat too much I will throw up will keep me from doing this? I HATE to throw up! I really wish I had done this months ago. Hopefully I will be scheduled for surgery around the 20th of July. I just keep thinking...this will be my last vacation at this size!

Hi! Is there room for one more? I have my consultation on 6/25 and they said surgery would be just a couple of weeks after. That puts me in July but since I want to do it on a Friday I'm kind of limited. The first Friday we are on vacation (hopefully my LAST vacation feeling like a whale on the beach!) The second Friday is the 13th which I skipping for obvious reasons so I'm hoping for the 20th. I'm a little nervous but I really think this is the right choice for me. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone and sharing the journey with others who understand. I'll work on reading the other 14 pages to catch up but I wanted to say HI! for now.