Spydr

Although I hate everything that crossed my path in the last month, except for small children, I have not gained a pound! My weigh in on 9-29 and today are the same! What the hell? I swear I ate for all my future hunger and have nothing to show for it, except a REALLY BIG grocery bill. Started liquids today and can't believe you can live on less than 500 calories a day. That was today. Tomorrow you may find me on here pulling my hair out. Come on November 16th. I want some cream soup!!!

Thanks to all who took the time to share their toughts on the matter. As I approach my first day of liquids, my fear grows a little. I can tell you this, tonight's dinner is going to be great! I guess it makes sense that people who have found success with the band are out living life to the fullest. I will be joining their ranks soon. I hope I am one of the success stories who can provide hope and support to those in the process. I will hang around a while after goal. Mainly to show off! Although this can be a scary place sometimes, I will be forever greatful I found the information I have and I hope I can help others in the future. Do I sound like a Miss America contestant or what?!

I've been wearing my fat suit for years. I just can't find the damn zipper to take it off! Oh Tyra, if only it were that easy!

I have been reading these forums for a few months and I am schedlued to be banded on Wednesday the 16th. Here is my question: Have you found that too much reasearch can be a bad thing? I like having all the input I can but I have found the more I read and study, the more afraid I become. There are always going to be "worst possible cases" but I read about so many on here. I guess if everything was peaches and roses we wouldn't need a support group! I think I am letting the bad parts of the surgery and life after get to me. I am going through with it but it has caused a great deal of stress and panic in my life since I set the date. The site, in many ways, has become like a car wreck on the highway, you just have to look. I can't not read the bad things because I do need to know them. I guess there isn't a real point here except maybe we should focus on the positive threads as much as the negative ones. I see lots of victory and encouragement around here and hate that it is overshadowed by the scary stuff. Perhaps this is what everyone goes through 9 days pre op. If so, sorry, I didn't know. I'll be hanging out over here drinking my last soda!

The teeth brushing is a stoke of pure genius. I feel the same way and I never thought about it before. Thanks for the idea!

I will be the first band of the day on November 16th with Dr Jay in Dallas, Tx.

Every doctor is different but if you trust them to treat you, youhave to follow the instuctions. I start my one week liquid pre op diet on Wednesday. I can have 2 slim fast shakes a day plus broth, jello, popsicles and such. They told me if I can see through it, I can have it. I will also be chewing the hell out of gum so I don't feel like I'm totally missing out by not chewing.

I think the work return depends on the type of work you do. I wll be banded on November 16th by Dr Jay. I will take off that day and the day after so I can enjoy the drugs and sleep! I work from home and can do so in bed. All I do is answer the phone and work on my laptop. It might be pushing it a little but I keep things very low key. If you have to do a lot of physical things in your job, returning to work may take more time. It's not like you can lay in bed all day anyway. From what I understand, walking helps the gas pain so I will still be taking the dog out. I may not be moving too fast but I'll be out there. Good luck to you!

I too have covered my lap on an airplane because the seatbelt would not fit. Many years ago I went to Six Flags and got on a ride. The bar pinched my skin but I didn't say anything, rode the full ride in pain and had a large chunck of skin hanging off my body when it was over. I stood in the bathroom bleeding and all I could think was I hope no one sees. Not thinking about my own physical pain but about the embaressment factor. I don't go on rides now but I look forward to doing so in the spring of next year. Screw the extender! I won't need it!

Just submitted for membership. I hope to have clothes to give away as early as Yule!

Anna Nicole did lose all her weight with TrimSpa and you can do it too. Take the TrimSpa, then take some more, then for lunch have 3 more pills, snack on some pills for dinner and take a big fistfull before bed. Anyone can lose weight if they are willing to kill themselves in the process. I was always too scared to OD. Guess she wasn't. I can't hate her for doing what I wouldn't do. I always said after I lose all my weight, I was going to contact every diet service, plan and infomercial out there and show them before and afters and say I did it on their plan. I should make enough back to pay for my band!

I am a great lover of soda. I will drink them until the day of my surgery. I just back from the OB/GYN and have learned something new. Carbonated drinks cause Calcium loss in the blood and thereby weaken your bones. Caffine has the same same affect. I take plenty of calcium to help counter my soda intake but it was interesting to read and hear about. Not exactly on subject but a little extra info never hurt anyone.

My local drug store can add flavors to any liquid medicine. You might ask if they are willing to do that for your OTC meds. Worth a tgry.

I agree with Alex. Overload them with data. The key to getting anything approved regarding medical treatment and payment for me has been paperwork. I submit anything I can get my hands on. I got an old calander and went back to the 80s and wrote a list of everything I tried. I feel sorry for the person who has to sift through all my paperwork cause there is a ton!

My concern with the smaller bands is that I had been reading and hearing about people being almost filled and nowhere near goal weight or feeling restricted. I thought a larger band would give me more to work with. My doc says the same as others, that he will decide once they get a look inside but he uses the larger band with great success and says slippage possiblities are less. Just my thoughts.

Thanks MaMa. I laughed so loud I woke up the dog!

I was flipping through the channels on TV tonight and found WWE wrestling. I weight more than most of these big guys and I can't tell you how much that sucks. I know I won't be this way for long but, it still wasn't the way I wanted to end my day. Maybe I could beat one of them mup pre-surgery. Yeah, that would feel good!

I'm glad I read this thread. I didn't know that most OTC pain relievers were a no no. You might also want to try some hot tea. I like anything with peppermint to help me relax. Also, blackberry tea will help you remain calm and centered. The warm teas and Soups sometimes help my tummy. That is if you can convince yourself to have more soup!

My band date is not until November so if a "Bandster" wqants to correct me, feel free. My doctor has said I should be drinking enought that I pee every couple of hours. He has said there is no such thing as too much water. If it's hard to do, try ice chips. Water, in a chewy form!

ThinkThin: That's a great way to put things. "Eating for Future Hunger". I too will be engaged in the last meal thing. I know I can still go to the places I love, I just want the chance to indulge one last time becvause I have no plans to cheat my band.

I now have a date of November 16th for my surgery. I have a few things I want to do before that date but I have a question. What would you/did you do before you had the band put in? Go to certain resturants, drink sodas, sleep on your side, what? I have several resturants who will miss my business but I have promised them all a "last meal". I understand that buble baths are out of the questin for awhile so I want to do that. What am I forgetting? I have time and would hate to regret that I didn't do something. Of course, the best thing is now I can start my list of what I want to do when I get skinny. Buy off the rack, sit in an airplane seat in comfort, climb stairs...ect.

Reward 1: Spa day, becuase I need to be rubbed on! Reward 2: New clothes, the old ones are too big! Reward 3: New mattress, since I don't want to sleep in the big dent I created over the years! Reward 4: Tummy tuck and Boob job, because I deserve to look as good as I feel!

There are 16 people in my family who have had Bypass and the results are a mixed bag. 2 have gained back all the weight after 8 years. It kept 5 people out of the ground. All have had some problems but that goes with any WLS. I have chosen the Band because I can't afford the Bypass. I'm sure I'll have my own set of problems. I would never poo-poo someone else's choice of WL. Just because it doesn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work. If I had to remove my band, I would go Bypass if it were needed. It saved members of my family in more ways than I can count.

Thank you so much Heather. Good info to have.

The Magic Bullet would be great for early post op since it mushes everything. It doesn't really chop very well, everything ends up soupy. I would vote for the cheaper Wal-Mart version.