JoannMarie

I have been told - quite graphically - if you eat absentmindedly, too fast or too large a bite - your band will remind you it is there. and in such a way you are not likely to forget for a while! That sounds like a pretty good deterent to me. I also think recovery is not going to be too bad. I am planning on taking it very easy for 3-4 days, but most ppl I have talked to are starting back to a semi-normal schedule after that point. Even during the "take it easy" stage I will be walking around the house and outside if the weather is cooperating. I am fortunate enough to be retired and not have to keep a work schedule right away, but I also think we need to get up, get out, and push ourselves a bit. Marg - I will be especially thinking of you next Tuesday... Our December bandsters get started next Monday, folks! I hope each of you will post the day before your surgeries so we can say special prayers for your speedy recoveries. There are LOTS of people to keep track of and we don't want to miss anyone!

Welcome Steph! The 29th will be here before you know it! We are glad to have you as a Holiday Hottie! I hope you have time to read back a few posts and meet all the great people who are December Bandsters.

Marg, Thank you for your kind words. (I especially liked the part about sexy sixties!!) I am glad you are feeling better and things are working out better for you. We all need support on this journey - that's why we come here. I know you will be holding my hand many times before we reach our goals - and after. I am just glad to have friends to share the journey with. God bless you,

Hi Skittles, I will definitely keep in touch. I am so anxious to get this show on the road - tonight I am feeling so excited and ready to start this journey. The people who brought my machine told me they have a way of checking my apnea with the machine I have so I don't have to have another formal study. Don't know how they do that, but I will certainly check it after I have lost much of the weight I want to lose. Good luck with your machine. Keep me posted on your progress and I will do the same!

Hi Gretchen, I am Dec 4th also. We have 10 days and a wake-up!! My surgeon gave me a pre-op diet to follow for one week before surgery. Technically it should start Thursday, but since that is Thanksgiving, I am hoping she will let me start on Friday. I can have Adkins protein shakes (GNC), clear broth soups, sugar free jello, SF popsicles and SF fudgesicles, the lower sugar fruit juices such as apple and orange, light yogurts (3/day), 1/2 cup cottage cheese (3/day), and sugar free drinks such as Crystal Light and variations of same. I have started a modified version today and had protein shakes and a reasonable dinner. I kept busy with an art quilt project nost of the day, and did not have any problems. I believe the key for me is to keep my mind and hands busy! I am so anxious to get this show on the road! I see the surgeon on Wednesday after all my labs are drawn and she will give me my post-op diet at that time. She went over it quickly at my consultation, and it sounded pretty standard. I have not told a lot of people about this - my DH, of course, and my kids, and a couple of close friends. I figure there is plenty of time for me to share later if I choose to. Meanwhile, "I am eating smaller portions and exercising." After all - that is the truth.

Skittles, do some checking on that machine trade-in. I just got mine about a month ago and the Water reservoir is very easy to change. I also have arthritis in my hands, but have no problem with this reservoir. Medicare paid to rent my machine from the company for 13 months and after that it is mine. No one said anything about a trade-in or when that could take place, but if you can't use it - it should be replaced. Medicare may take care of that for you. It is scary when you think about all the bad stuff that happens with sleep apnea, and if yours is severe, you are at risk. It is time to be assertive. I would love to hear more from you also. I feel pretty cocky about this whole thing many days. I have been on LBTalk since last spring and feel like I've heard it all. HA! That's just when something will come up and bite me in the backside! I know I will need all the support I can get, and especially from banded people who have been successful. Thank you for your help!

Oh Marg - you are going to do so well. Look at your track record - you have not taken "no" for an answer, no matter what the obstacle was. At this point you are a steamroller that cannot be stopped! You are right about the "good cry." That day was a trigger for you to get rid of all the stress of insurance denials, loss of your sister and your parents and everything else that was piling up on you. As women we tend to stuff that grief inside in order to comfort everyone else. Along with the grief we stuff food, too, unfortunately. I am not telling you anything you don't already know - WE ALL do it. Maybe the act of taking this major step in your life helped you to release all that stress and grief through your tears. Timing and location might not have been the best but we don't always have the choice of time and place. I'm so glad everything is working out for you now. Maybe rumors about a hysterical woman got back to the powers-that-be and they decided to behave better! You will be in my prayers for your surgery and recovery.

As my DH says, "11 days and a wake-up!" It's 12 and a wake-up for me. I'm getting alternately nervous and excited, too. It's hard to believe this is finally happening.:cool2:

I see my surgeon on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and will ask her then. My hope is that she will give the okay to postpone my pre-op by one day and allow me a modified Thanksgiving. I will not be cooking it (thankful for THAT!) so I won't have leftovers to be concerned with. I plan on small amounts of my favorites - of course there are many of those - but keeping to very small amounts will satisfy me, and I hope satisfy my surgeon. If she plays hardball - I'll have the turkey broth and cranberry jello - and be thankful to have my surgery date the next week. It's all in what you set your mind to, and my priority is my surgery and following the rules for success. When Thanksgiving rolls around next year, I'll be close to goal, and my bet is I will eat very small amounts of my favorites!

Marg, did you say you were in a low BMI study? The latter part of my career (retired now) I worked for a major pharma company, and later for a contract research company in clinical research. I worked on the administrative side, doing fun stuff like making sure all the FDA requirements were met, finding investigators for clinical studies, patient recruitment, informed consent documents, etc. Clinical studies are very controlled by regulation and scientific protocol - that may be why you have been subjected to so many tests. With the family history (your sister) of heart problems and your own medical history, they want to be sure you are a good candidate. But more to the point - a clinical research protocol is set up with certain tests required, and that may be affecting your situation. This protocol probably has a lot of tests required so the results of the study will be valid over time. You sound so much better in your last posts. I hope you are able to put all the yucky stuff to the side where it belongs and realize what a great thing you are doing for yourself. That is the first step toward doing great things for others, too. Make a positive commitment to YOU and your health. Everything else will follow and the doors will continue to open for you. I'm 66 this year - and after the last 2 years of AGING much more rapidly than I ever dreamed I would, I've made that commitment, too. We all get old and it's not easy under any circumstances, but it can be made better at any point along the way by making the commitment to a healthier lifestyle. You are doing that, and you are going to be successful!

Pete, you are doing really well. Congratulations on weight lost before your banding - getting used to a new eating lifestyle and starting your exercise program ahead of time. Way to go!

Mr. Mike, let us know what your doctor's office has to say about the way you are feeling and the drop in sugar. I don't know what kind of pre-op you are on, but could more protein be added? I do worry about this with the pre and post op diets - if I don't have plenty of protein I have a major drop in blood sugar, too. I have ordered some samples of protein supplement drinks from Bariatric Advantage just in case. There are tasteless powders that can be added to other foods also. Please keep us posted on your doctor's advice to you.

Auggies and all - I am glad this has come up. I was also beginning to think I was the only one. I mentioned this to the psychologist I am seeing for the surgery, and he said this is very common. He also said it is not a bad idea (of course, not carried to the extreme!) because many people have a period of mourning after surgery. He said it can be good to "say goodbye" to these foods we will not be eating in the future. Let's face it - we can still eat a hamburger later on - but it will never be what it has been in the past. It's what it was in the past that we think we will miss. and maybe we will for a while. I believe that will pass if we just have patience with outselves, just like Jodi says. So I'm trying not to go too crazy, but to have a few "last meals" this week. One will probably be a milkshake. Funny - I have not had, nor have I missed, milkshakes in the last 5 years or so. But in the last few months (since I found out that will be THE BIG NO-NO - I am craving them. Go figure...

I am so glad to hear from so many other Dec bandsters! My date is the 4th and I am supposed to start the pre-op on Thanksgiving. I see my surgeon the day before T-Giving, and will see if I can postpone a day, but if she says no - it will be broth and jello for me - without complaint! I am so excited to get this done (at least that's how I feel today - maybe not so much another day...) I hope everyone who is December bound will continue to post and keep us informed about your progress.

Hi Skittles! I have been coming to LBTalk since February when I started this journey. I've read your posts before - not sure which thread because I monitor and post on several. I always enjoy hearing from you because you have been so successful - you are my age - and you are so positive and supportive! I have finally reached the end of the wait and all the tests - my surgery is scheduled for Dec 4th. I alternate between peace and panic (as my cyberfriend Phyl says), but overall I am very excited to begin my new life. It is so good to hear positive experiences from another person close to my age (I'll be 67 in May). I am sorry to hear of your fatigue. Has your doctor done any blood work for you? There are several possible causes for fatigue that would show up in blood work and your problem may be easy to fix. I did discover in all my testing I have sleep apnea (also a cause of fatigue). It is mild but I use the CPAP machine like a good compliant patient. I hope weight loss will make that unnecessary in the future, but I understand the apnea may not go away since it can also be the result of being my age... They haven't yet made a band for that, have they! I am looking forward to losing weight, being more mobile, less joint pain, a healthier body, and the ability to hike with hubby and play with the small grandchildren now being added to our family (youngest daughter is finally coming through!). I would love to keep posting with you - I know you have a lot of success behind you and you will have good insight for me just starting this new life experience.

Hi Kim and welcome! Looks like there are lots of December bandsters, judging from this and other December threads. You can put your ticker up anytime (I got mine from tickerfactory.com). Hopefully you will lose a few pounds on your pre-op diet, whatever that may be. It will look good on the ticker and give you a head start! I am amazed at the differences in the pre and post op diets from all the surgeons out there. I don't start mine until Nov 27th - and my surgery is Dec 4th - only 7 days... It is pretty strict, though. Good luck to you!

Mrsace, have you tried to make the font smaller in some areas of your signature block? That may help make room...

Pete - thanks for all your work on the banner. I have a lot of trouble getting the banners and/or tickers to my signature block. I always get the "invalid file" notification, no matter what I do. To get my ticker I finally emailed Alex, and he very graciously got it to work for me. I had the same problem with your banner. This time I went to the link, copied the banner into my hard drive, then used the browser window to find it and upload it to my signature block. VOILA!!! Whatever it takes! I hope you and your family are getting along well. Has there been any action on the job front? Know that we all are thinking about you and sending good thoughts and prayers your way. We'll all be having a great Thanksgiving this year - enjoying our turkey broth and sugar-free Jello! Personally, I am going to have a sugar-free fudgesicle for dessert - or maybe a pumpkin Protein shake! I will love every minute of it because it means I am one day closer to the start of this incredible journey. :tongue:

Tmbowe - you are in my prayers today. I pray for you a safe and effective surgery and a speedy recovery - and a great start on your journey. Please keep us posted.

Hi 2Much! Welcome to our group of December Bandsters! I live in Independence - close to Kansas City - where do you live? I'll be having my surgery in Topeka, KS, since the only Center of Excellence in KC area did not work out for me. I am a medicare patient and the Topeka group accepts Medicare payment - the surgical group in KC area did not accept Medicare payment alone - so I would have had to make up many $$$. I am very happy with the Topeka group, even though I'll have to drive about 80 miles for surgery and fills. They are very experienced and have a very good track record - and I love the staff. They are very professional, helpful, and always reachable. I have 16 days left! Surgery on Dec 4th. I start my pre-op next week - possibly on Thanksgiving day! I alternate between excitement and terror - as one of my friends said "from panic to peace and back again." It is a big deal to change your life completely when you are 66 years old! But I know it is going to be a great change and I can honestly say I am ready for this challenge. I have never backed away from a challenge yet, and don't intend to now... For eggnog protein drink, check out the Dec 2008 forum - there is a posting there that lists protein drinks of every flavor - including eggnog! Some of the previous posts on this thread also have some recipes. Keep us posted on your surgery and progress! It will be very helpful to all of us to support each other through this new phase of life.

Hi Keshia, This website was listed in my packet also. The nutritionist suggested getting the sample pack to see what I liked and wanted to order. Thanks for reminding me!

Welcome Keshia - it's always good to have another friend on our side. Your date is coming up quickly. I've been shocked at how fast time has gone since my date was set - after all those dragging months of testing, the days are flying by now!

Carol - remind me of your date again? I won't be starting pre-op until T-giving day per doc's order. I hope to be able to have at least a piece of turkey for dinner, but if doc says no - I'll have turkey broth and Jello - and be just as happy as a clam!! Enjoy your prime rib and trimmings! It won't be that long and you will be enjoying a more normal variety of foods - this is just the way it has to be for now... We can do this!

Good for you, Trina! And you are #1!!!! You will start off the week AND the month for us. 16 days for you, girl!