hopeinapril

Goodness Lynn - you are in Delaware. Dr. Peters at Chrias is my surgeon! 3/19 - That must mean that you are having your surgery at Christiana? I think you just might be the lady I sat next to for life classes? I have red hair......

Hi Fenton, Amanda! You have no idea how helpful your posts are. I have no idea as to the particulars.....and am terrified to go to the post-op side of the board! Right now, I am almost 2 weeks away from the band. I am trying not to have "last supper" syndrome. I am going out to dinner tomorrow night at Outbacks. I want to eat steak for one last time....... At least for a while. I'm plan on eating well, steak and a salad. Tuesday, I have my last "clearance" visit with the MD. I'm am getting a little nervous and nutty. I'm not scared of the surgery, just really excited. (OK a little scared because of all the complications they tell you about!) I am having a hard time sleeping at night. (crazy since it is over 2 weeks away). I have bought various Protein supplements. I have purchased all kinds of "clear" liquids for the 2 days prior to surgery and for the day I come home. I have the stuff for the "full" liquid diet. This surgery is occupying my mind like nothing else ever has. Can you tell?

Hi Lonestar: It is a small blender. There are infomercials on tv for it. They usually are mixing the cool drinks, but they will blend all kinds of stuff. I think you can get them in walmart or department stores like it.

Hi Bill: 25 more pounds prior to 3/25, my you have big goals! Good luck! I am going for another 5 or so pounds. Come see the rest of us March bandsters in the March, 2008 support group thread. it is a blast!

Hi! I think my first mini-goal is the be at 250. It is a little over 20 pounds away. I think I will reward myself with a spa manicure. I always do my nails, but it is so much fun to have someone else do it!

Tammy: If you are near a Walmart (and who isn't) I would try the Body Fortress whey Protein. They come in chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and fruit punch. The chocolate and vanilla taste the same as vanilla and chocolate unjury and cost way less. You can get 5 pounds for around $14. I have tried the unflavored unjury, chocolate unjury and the chicken Soup. They are ok. I also have the Healthwise tomato soup, which is a nice change of pace. I hope this helps.

Mine weighs me every time I see her. I really think everyone does things differently. My doc also has a policy of NOT doing your surgery if you gain 20 pounds or more between your first visit and the pre-op visit. I actually lost weight because I was scared!

Hi Dottie: Welcome! I know how you feel as my band date is 3/25. I am very excited. Come see the rest of us March bandsters in the March, 2008 support group thread!

Hi Lainey, welcome! I never thought of the fact that the moon is void of course. I'm not huge into astrology, but I do find it fascinating. It is good that you have so much knowledge about what is going to happen. Of course, too much thinking can stress you out. (Speaking from someone who does think too much) Good luck with your surgery. Come see the rest of us March Bandsters on the March, 2008 support group thread!

The dietician indicated that I need to take a multivitamin and calcium for life after this surgery. Calcium carbonate (aka tums) was the cheapest, best tasting stuff I could find.

My doc said NO protein or anything except CLEAR liquids the 2 days prior to surgery. Before that, no real diet, but I am 1600 calories a day...... Too bad it is the weekend, but I'd check before putting unjury in anything right now. Unjury isn't too bad....I personally like the Body Fortress whey protein better. the only reason I have some unjury is I wanted the no flavor kind, tomato Soup and chicken broth.

If God inspires creation, then he inspired the person who created lapband. Therefore, lapband is a God inspired procedure....... :-)

Me too! I'm glad someone else is having focus problems. I sneak on the website at work, which is something I NEVER do. (It's not forbidden.....I have a job to do, not hours to spend in the office!) I have bought a bunch of things. I have a new heating pad, liquid tylenol, gas x stripes, various types of Protein supplements, flintstones Vitamins, calcium carbonate......and more! I am consumed with the surgery. It seems to be getting closer and closer. I really don't expect to sleep the night before. I hope that I have a early surgery time!

Hi Carol: I just right clicked on someone else's and pasted it in my signature. I'm not sure if you can do that with mac. If not, I'm sure someone knows how to do it.

Gosh Tamra, it is only a few days away. Good luck with everything!

OK, I keep trying to post this and I have issues! The computer freezes, someone calls....lol, here I go again. mrodr41 Congrats on your date! I know how exciting it is to get your date. I have tried chocolate unjury and chocolate Body Fortress Whey protein. They both taste the same to me. I bought Body Fortress at Walmart and it was way cheaper. The Body Fortress came in Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla and Fruit Punch. I have also tried the unflavored unjury. It was Ok, but it made my crystal light thick. The chicken soup unjury was ok as was the tomato soup unjury. So far I haven't come across one that I absolutely hated. I have tried some various recipes. The "chocolate monkey" with banana, chocolate (body fortress), milk and peanut butter tasted awesome! vompton: Congrats on kicking two bad habits at once! YEAH! mmh498: no problem. I love to help if I can. You have a cool ruler! Midwest Carol: Congrats on the date! Come see the rest of us March bandsters in the March, 2008 threads. Michelle88: Congrats on your date as well. Good luck with the 1000 calorie diet! I know you can do it! Lori NC: Congrats and welcome! I gave up all the caffeine. I have mostly given up sodas. I am going to drink some diet clear ones the 2 days before surgery. It is my treat to myself. I am kind of worried about those two days of pretty much only liquid! Busywoman: Good for you! I am happy for you that your insurance is going to pay. I wish mine would. It is great that you had that opportunity! Just think, next year when you downgrade, you can use your savings to buy new clothes! (Since all your current ones won't fit!) Chubbychecker: I have to do the clear liquids for 2 days prior to surgery. Now I am on 1600 calorie diet, which isn't too bad. I have also given up caffeine. My doc says no alcohol a month prior, no aspirin for 2 weeks prior. Neither is really a problem. When do you start your fast?

Congrats lonestar! Come see the rest of us March bandsters on the March, 2008 thread!

mrodr41 Congrats! I did my pre-op visit with my surgeon today and I am excited. There are several lists of stuff to have or take to the hospital with you on the band about lapband. I found it very educational. For instance, many folks suggest you have a small pillow in your car to protect you against the seat belt. I would have never thought of that. It does seem that most folks suggest only a minimal amount of stuff. Good luck!

Wow busywoman, it is great that you can do that! I'm excited today because I had my pre-op visit with the surgeon. I can't believe how close I am getting. We discussed some of my questions. I'm really happy!

lol! I cracked up when I read this! How funny. I wasn't aware that I had almost 140 pounds that I could just go sit on the pot to get rid of! You made my day!

Cameron - Congrats! That is wonderful. I have tried several types of the unjury and found it wasn't so bad. There are some great recipes in the recipe section. I really liked the hot chocolate. The unflavored stuff isn't so bad either. (I put it in crystal light) Busywoman - Congrats! I know how you feel. I keep half expecting someone to tell me that I won't be able to have my surgery. I am so excited that sleeping is difficult! Time will fly by! Pnut - Congrats on your date. We are so close. You are so bright to wait to buy a dress. I'm sure that you will be able to buy a smaller one that you would if you bought it now! TxChelsey - I hope your date is soon! That is wonderful that your insurance will pay for this! It will be worth it to hold onto the crappy job until you have the surgery! Then you can do what you want! We are all doing great and I know we will be smaller and healthier! YEAH US!

Hi Marcie! Well, I think this place is a wonderful place for support. You can count on me! OK, for the signature. Click on Weight Loss Tickler on my signature. It should pop up a new window on your computer. There are 5-6 pages of the bottom part of the tickler. Pick which "ruler" you want. (You click on the dot next to the one you like). Then at the bottom of the page there will be a button that "next step". Click on that button and there are 2 pages of the thing that goes on top of the ruler. (Mine is the ice cube looking thing). Then click on the button that says "next step". That brings up a page that asks you for details, like Weight units (pick pounds), starting weight, current weight and goal weight. Fill all those in. Then click next step. You will see your signature above and below are 2 boxes with a bunch of gibberish in them. Cut or copy the one that says bbCode (Use this for signature forums). Now go to the lapband forum and on the left side of the page there is a "members area" click on the button that says "edit signature. On the top I put my consult date, high weight/goal weight and surgery date. You can type in there whatever you want. Then underneath that you paste the gibberish that you cut or copied. At the bottom there are two buttons, preview and save. If you want to see your signature first, hit preview, if you want to save it, hit save. It will show you your siganture. Now, if that doesn't work, I can look up a better description on the forum. I just can't remember right now where I saw it. I hope that helps!

My sympathies luigismama! I wonder if these people don't think before they talk. Gee, diet and exercise? Do you think that ever crossed a large person's mind???? Good grief. I mean really, do they think that someone will go through surgery on a whim? It just irritates me when I hear stuff like this! My doc is anti-surgery as well. When I tried to talk to her about my weight, she gave me another blood test. Then said that we both knew that I don't have a thyroid problem anyway. She went on to say nothing else, but give me a little book about diet and exercise. DUH! I HAVE tried diet and exercise. I CAN lose weight. I just can't seem to keep it off...... It is not like I think that the band is a magic wand and I will wake up thin and healthy! Well, luigismama, good luck in your journey. Ignore (if you can) comments like that as they are not well thought out and rather rude!

Holy cow mmh498, that is wonderful. I haven't known for long about my date. I only found out last friday. I am on a 1600 calorie diet which seems to be working. Not as well as your diet! I am down a few pounds and see the nutricianist on Wednesday. I'm so glad there are so many out there being banded on the same (or close) dates. It will be great to have many to do this journey together! I've resigned myself to the self-pay idea and am at peace with it. I believe this is one of the best decisions I have made. It will make sure that I stay on task!

Josiebies! Thank you for what you said. I feel the same. I won't date now because I don't want someone who is attracted to me as I am now. I said that to the psychologist and he said "wow, I've never heard that before, that is interesting" I could tell he wanted to delve into it more, but time was passing and I had another appointment. It didn't dent my confidence, but I did feel rather original after that. Good to see that someone else feels the same way. Altspeedy: I have never had a problem attracting men. I agree that it has to do with confidence and attitude. However, if you are more confident once you loose weight, then your confidence may attract more people. Keep your head up and look men in the eye and SMILE. You would be surprised at how many will smile back. If nothing else, it makes for a good day when you have people smiling back at you.