U_go_gurl68

Me too!!! Will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Just finished a chocolate Optifast. They are ok. I have quite a few left, so I better like them, LOL!!! I really like the packets from Designer Whey. I wish they made more flavor choices bc those are easy to take to work, but they do have more in the canisters. I need all the help I can get, that is why I check in frequently with LBT. At least, here I know I can get support from others in the same boat. Look forward to hearing how everyone else is doing.

Oh, I guess I forgot about that. The address I use for my MYSPACE is same as the profile name; u_go_gurl68@yahoo.com. I would be honored to have you as a MYSPACE friend. I have several others from LBT. And thanks for the comment on my page. Stephanie--Waco, Tx

Queen Jane & flowers, Thanks for your replies. I almost thought I wasn't going to get the funding for this surgery in time, but it only took two days. Yeah!!! for me. I was so afraid this would be another set back, but I think this is a sign it was meant to be. My HR retirement financial advisor at work told me to get a loan instead of withdrawing so I don't lose any money and continue to build my retirement. I didn't think I was able to get a loan for the cost of my surgery, but I was. I guess I had more than I thought. Now I am really excited and jumping around bc I can do this without the money of my jealous, insecure fiance. He thought he was going to hold me back and keep me from this, but he is not. Thanks for being so supportive; I so need that right now and throughout this journey. I can also be there for you if you just need to vent or just feel like talking. I wish both of you nothing but the very best. Sincerely, Stephanie---Waco, TX

One more week!!!!!!! Can't wait to start a new life with my banded family. You guys are the best.

Hi tweenwaters, I was wondering the same thing. Seems like activity on this thread has haulted. I am anxiously awaiting my band date, June 30th. I can't wait. Hope everything is going well with you and all the others.

I agree with you 100%. I will be 40 next month and losing weight has been a very big challenge. Ten years ago, it would have not been so hard, but the older I become, the harder it is getting. That is the main reason I am having my surgery. My mother is 20 yrs older than me and she has so many health issues. I totally saw myself following in her footsteps if I didn't do anything and I knew that is not where I wanted to be in 10 yrs, 20yrs. or even 30 yrs. I am fighting this all the way. I currently weigh 206.6 and every year that has gone by has added a few pounds here and there. It seems as though my set point kept getting higher and higher. A few years ago, when I would try to lose, I couldn't get under 180 for anything, now it seems like I can't get under 199 for anything. I had to take control of my life and I feel getting banded is the right choice for me. Good luck to all.

AmosRacki, I know exactly how you feel when you talk about being tired of being overweight and the issue with your boyfriend. My fiance and I have been battling this out too. He says he is happy with me no matter what size I am, so if that is true, then he will be happy with me when I am smaller as well. He is insecure about me having this surgery because he thinks I will want to find another man when I am feeling better about myself. He is very slender and can eat whatever he wants, so he doesn't truly understand how I am feeling and the pain I am experiencing being overweight. I made up my mind that I have to do this for ME, no matter what. I am not saying that I don't care how he feels, but he will come around when this is over. He has voiced his concerns and I have accepted his feelings and he has accepted mine. He has apologized for not being as supportive as he knows he should. He has also told me if I don't get this done because of his feelings towards the whole thing, then I will blame him all my life for continuing to feel the way I do about myself and for any health issues that arise from me being overweight. And he is correct. I think you should do your research and attempt to include your boyfriend as much as you can. Perhaps he just needs to be educated, or perhaps he just needs reassurance. Either way, in the end, do what feels right for you. Don't let anyone stop you from living YOUR life. Especially if their fears and insecurities are more important to them than your health. Thats all I have to say about that. Good luck to you.

Good luck to everyone today. Many thoughts and prayers going out to all of you.

kizzie and all the others, I hope everything went well for all of you. I wish you a speedy recovery and happiness with your decision to be banded. I will be banded on the 30th and I am starting to feel all those things you described in your post kizzie. My stomach is in knots, but at the same time I am so excited. I believe my anxiety is due to the fact my fiance doesn't want me to have this surgery. He wants me to be healthy and happy with myself, but at the same time, his insecurities are getting the best of him. He has this fear, along with making healthy changes in my life, I will want to change partners as well. I keep trying to reassure him this is not going to happen, but he is having trouble believing me. I have all of you wonderful people here on LBT for support, but I wish he had someone to support him as well. I know it is going to take more than me telling him things will change for the better to put his mind at ease, but I don't know what. We have gone through so many things together these past 6 yrs which left us wondering at times if we belonged together. But through it all, we have made it through and are stronger for the experiences; good and bad. I can't wait for my day to come. I think when it finally gets here I will feel much better. Right now, too many thoughts are going through my mind. I think I am worrying too much about the "what if's". I have told my kids ( 15,17, & 22)about my upcoming surgery and they are kind of like, "whatever you want". My mom knows and I think she is nervous too. I haven't told my dad because I don't think he would understand. My close friends at work know and I think they are divided, but for the most part happy for me. Sorry for rambling on. I can't wait to hear about your experience.

Try Dr. Oswalt or Dr. Ted Smith, they do bariatric surgery here in Waco. I believe they are at the surgical clinic on Fish Pond Rd.

Good luck to you. I will keep you in my prayers. As well as any others getting banded today. Today is the beginning of the rest of your life.

Yeah I just caught that myself. Thanks. I edited my comment. LOL!!!:rolleyes2:

SherryL, You are right about the band being on the outside, but have you ever drank a carbonated beverage and have your stomach bloat causing intense pain from the gas build up? I know I have had that happen to me and it was very painful. Maybe I took a drink too fast; I don't know, but anyway I know how much pain I was in. I could only imagine how that would feel if my stomach was smaller. It would be like forcing more air into a balloon that is already full. You do have stitches on the outside of your stomach to secure the band to, hopefully, prevent slipping. So if you do things like drink carbonated beverages, eat lots of gas forming foods, eat too much, etc, you will end up causing problems, which unfortunately can be slipping of the band. I haven't been banded yet so I don't speak from personal experience; just my opinion. Good luck to all of us trying to kick those habits that can hinder our healing and progression towards our goals.

Ditto as to what most of you have said about not drinking sodas. Besides causing discomfort, and band stretching, they are just not good for you anyway. I am going to miss my sodas too, but only for a little while. I have been going through caffeine withdrawals and I just like the taste of carbonated drinks. I don't think I would like them flat. Anyway, I read years ago in a fitness magazine that carbonated beverages slow your metabolism. Not only that but diet drinks have alot of sodium which is not good for weight loss either. Sodium causes Fluid retention and can make your blood pressure go up. We are trying to get a way from all those types of problems by having the band surgery in the first place. Good luck at kicking the habit.

Welcome to the group. We are having our surgeries on the same day. That is so awesome that you and your best friend will be able to share this experience together. Good luck to both of you.

I am sitting here at work reading the WARNING message and nearly fell out of my chair. I am sorry this happened, but not uncommon. I am sure you aren't the only one this has happened to, but you were probably the only one that had the courage to put your experience out there for all of us. Thanks so much for the warning.

Just wanted to send well wishes to all of you having surgery today. Mine is not until the 30th and I can't wait.

I love to chew gum too and this will be a hard habit to break for me as well. I don't swallow my gum but occassionally have accidentally had it go down when laughing too much with coworkers during those late night hours trying to stay awake til the end of my shift. Besides the complications that may arise with the band related to swallowing gum and the gas build up that goes along with it, I guess giving up that habit will also teach me that I don't always have to be putting something in my mouth.

My employer recently added the Lap-band surgery, but has to be performed by our hospital's docs, which haven't been performing the procedure very long. They are great trauma surgeons but I didn't feel comfortable so I went out of network, which isn't covered on my insurance for this kind of procedure. The first place I went to look into lap-band surgery was going to charge me $23,000. The place I am actually going to is charging me about $12,000 with 6month worth of aftercare and fills. The other was for a one year worth of aftercare. In any case, get on the net and research different offices in your area. Some do cost more than others. As far as taking phentermine, I wouldn't recommend that route for weight loss. I have done that so many times and when you quit taking the meds, the weight piles back on and then some. With all the news about obesity in this country, you would think the insurance companies, employers, and physicians would do something about it by including wls in the policies, but when you think about it, if you lost weight and had good health from here on out, they all have more to lose. When it comes down to it, the only one who cares is you, those who are going to go through this and have gone through this and those physicians that are trying to help those of us battling obesity. When we lose weight and stay healthy, the pharmaceutical companies lose out, so do the docs, so does insurance, so does the government, and so on and so on. The truth is they want us to stay fat, it puts more money in their pockets. Think about it. We spend more money in weight loss products, exercise equipment, gym memberships, plastic surgeons for lipo procedures, etc... Sorry to make this long, just my thought about that. Back to what I was going to say, I am having to self pay too and my credit is bad due to an ex husband that ruined my credit. I took a loan out against my 401k and my payments are lower than those companies financing medical procedures. If you have it available, this may be an option for you. It doesn't take anything away, so their are no withdrawal penalties and your money keeps growing. Also the wls procedure is tax deductible because you are having it to treat obesity which is a disease. Under the IRS rules, it doesn't pay for weight loss programs, but will pay for surgery to treat obesity. Good luck!!!!! Stephanie Marquez

I will have to get me a journal just for my weight loss journey. Great idea.

Skinnysons, I hope you are right about this. I have tried and tried to include him in all this , but like I said, the closer it gets, the more distant he becomes. I tell him about things and he doesn't want to discuss it further, he just says ok and looks as though he were upset with me. I guess he will just have to come around on his own and in his own time. I love my guy very much too, but I love myself just as much and my health is important to me. Sincerely, Stephanie

Sarah H, My fiance has been with me at all my appointments too. He has even taken off of work and driven me two hours to get to them. I live in Waco, Tx and my surgeon is two hours away from me. I guess that is what bothers me about this whole thing. If he wasn't going to be supportive, I don't understand why he pretended to be. He is an insecure person, when it comes to me. He does love me no matter what size I am, as he has seen me at my heaviest and tells me how sexy he thinks I am all the time. I don't necessarily feel ugly, I just want to be able to do things without my joints aching all the time. I want to be able to take my dog on walks and play with her without getting tired so quickly. I want to do things with my kids. I want to go dancing. Take adventurous trips. All those fun things without getting out of breath or hurting. I guess the biggest thing is, I am trying my best to hault any problems that may develop due to being overweight. My mother has many health issues and I don't want them. She has the attitude that she doesn't care and wants to live her life doing what she wants without restrictions and if she dies,at least she dies doing what she wants. To me, I guess being that I am a nurse and do my best to help people. hate that attitude in people. I want to do everything possible to stay healthy and alive for as long as possible. I am fighting it all the way. Thanks all, for your ecouraging words. I also don't want to be a size two, I think that would look terrible on me. I think I look better at an 7/8 or 9/10. I want to keep all my curves, just want smaller ones, LOL.

Just checking in. Hope everyone is doing well. Good luck to all of you being banded this week. Will be praying for all of you. My turn is coming on the 30th. Couldn't come quick enough for me. I am sure as it gets closer, I will get nervous, but right now I am too excited.

Great idea, since I am already experiencing problems with my fiance due to his fears and insecurities. I think this would be wonderful.