U_go_gurl68

I had my surgery yesterday and was scared to death. Lots of emotions were running through me and I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I am feeling pretty good right now, although, a little sore and gassy. My Gas-X strips sure are helping me. They also gave me phenergan and lortab, but I have been using rapid release liquid tylenol except for when I am having trouble sleeping. I don't want to be doped up all the time and I hate the way lortab makes my head feel. Good luck to all those waiting to be banded and those recently banded. We are all in this together. Sincerely, Stephanie

Hi all, I am glad to see the activity here is picking up again. I had my surgery yesterday and all is doing wonderful. Better thank I expected. I am a little sore and gassy, as to be expected, I am taking my Gas-X strips and liquid Tylenol Rapid Release. I don't care for the way the Lortab makes me feel, so I am saving it for bedtime. The tyenol is getting me through just fine. The less narcotics I take, the faster I will heal. I don't want to slow anything down. Any way, I guess I better go walk some more. Thanks for all the support. Sincerely, Stephanie

I hope everyone is recovering well. I am just a litte sore and gassy, of course. Those Gas-X strips are becoming my new friend, for now, LOL!!!! I hope we all keep in touch. Good luck to all of you. I will look for your success stories here or drop me a line on myspace. Sincerely, Stephanie

baby bandster smarquezrn checking in and doing well. Yesterday went better than I expected. Thanks for everyone's support. I will be checking in quite frequently. I still need lots of support and encouragement; we all do. Thanks again everyone and thanks a million to cathychatts for keeping up with everyone. Sincerely, Stephanie

What part of Central Texas are you from? I am from Waco and work as a Pediatric nurse at Hillcrest. My BMI is less than 40, but I do have some developing health issues. My insurance wouldn't cover my surgery bc I wanted to go out-of-network, so I am self-paying. I borrowed against my 401k to fund my surgery. I will be banded Monday (june 30th) in Plano. I am going through TLCEdge in Plano. The people are super nice and have been so patient with me with all my questions and frequent changes in scheduling my appointments. The cost is $11,990, which includes all surgically related fees, ekg, labs, and 6 months of aftercare and fills. If you do end up having to pay yourself. Get some of your testing done through your family physician so your insurance can pay, lessening the amount you will owe in the end. For most insurance companies, you should qualify, unless the employer excludes it from your policy. I hope you get it all worked out. Sincerely, Stephanie

Just received a call from the anesthesiologist. Wow this is really happening. Finally our day is drawing near. I am feeling so many emotions right now. Some are probably due to hormones and others are because of the changes I am starting to go through emotionally and soon physically. I still don't quite have the support I wish I did from my fiance, but that is ok too. My kids are also nervous, which doesn't make it easy for me right now. They are 15, 17, and 23, so they are old enough to understand the risks and what they mean for them. It is hard not to get a little down when I think about the worse case scenario and what it would do to them. But I figure, if I don't do something now, they will just watch me get older and fatter and pretty much die a slow death in front of their eyes. Not the way to LIVE and not the way I want to live. I feel that way everytime I see my mother, because she has many major health issues and doesn't really seem to care about what it means for her. She wants to live her life the way she wants to live it and so what if something happens. She lived doing and eating what she wants and that is all thats important to her. I feel like I am just watching her slowly kill herself, which is the main reason for my decision to be banded. With all this said, thanks for letting me vent one last time before Monday. I know in my heart all well turn out well for me and for all of you. Like I said, I don't really have the support I wish I had from my family, but I do have the support from my new online family. This is the way I see all of you. So as I go in for my surgery, I will imagine all of you being there with me; I think this will make it much easier. My surgery is not until later in the day. I don't have to be there til 1p. Which I guess isn't too bad since I have a two hour drive. It just leaves me more time for thinking. And more time to get really thirsty, LOL!!!!! The bad thing is, they said I will be there about 5 hours and then have another 2 hour drive back home. I would stay out of town, but I will be so anxious to get back to my family and my little dog Daisy. Thanks again for all your support. Sincerly, Stephanie

Hi all, I am a self-pay very soon to be bander as well. I will be banded on Monday (6/30). My cost was around $12,000.00 which included, labs, ekg, nutritional counseling, surgical related fees and 6months of aftercare and fills. (TLCEdge--Plano, Tx) I know what you mean about the credit issue. I guess getting credit these days is not as easy as it use to be. I wasn't able to get approved for financing, but that is ok. It all worked out for the best considering the payments were going to be higher than I wanted to pay anyway. I ended up getting a loan against my 401k. I was going to make a withdrawal to pay for the surgery, but the financial mgr where I work, encouraged me to take a loan against it instead. This way I wouldn't have the high penalties and I would still be earning money at the same time. My payments are going to be much lower. It was guaranteed approval since the payments were going to be deducted from my check, not only that, they had my 401k account for collateral. i was able to get my money in 2 days. Good luck to all of you. Sincerely, Stephanie

Amisha, I enjoyed reading your post. I sometimes feel that way in regards to my job. I am a nurse working nightshifts on a pediatric unit. I have heard comments and rumors of comments that only the "Cute" people work on the day shift. I have to admit we do have some pretty cute, little day shift nurses, but we have some on nights as well. It appears as though the day staff are always making comments about the night nurses not having much to do, as on days, and we are a bunch of lazy people. Well I am due to go to a dayshift position in mid August. One of my nightshift co-workers was asked by our unit manager if she thought I would do well on days due to the fast paced atmosphere. My friend and co-worker, who is also very thin, felt offended she would ask such a thing. She asked her why she felt I wouldn't be and that we are quite busy on nights as well. When she mentioned this to me, I was very offended myself. I know I am overweight, but I do tend to my business. I hope I never get that negative attitude the day staff shows the night nurses. I hope to always remember where I came from and help others along the way. So I guess that is what I have to say to others going through the same thing. When you get to be that so called "normal" person, never forget where you came from. Always look to encourage and support others who are in the position you were once in. Never say unkind things or make jokes behind anyone's back. Remember the pain you felt when the comments and jokes were made about you and try to add a little happiness in another persons life, even if just by a friendly smile. Sincerely, Stephanie

I am not sure how good your credit has to be, but the payments were sure going to be expensive and depending on your credit score, they could even be higher than the amounts given on these finance companies websites. I chose to borrow against my 401k. The payments were going to be much lower and I would basically be paying myself back and also not have the penalties as with early withdrawal. Although weight loss programs aren't tax deductible, surgery is because it is for the treatment of a disease--obesity. Found that bit of info on the IRS website. Oh, by the way, I am also using TLCEdge as mentioned in earlier posts. The current cost is $11,990 which includes 6 months of aftercare and fills. Psych exam not done there but they do have someone available for $250.00 if you can't get one using your private insurance. Also if you are required to get a sleep study or upper gi, that will also have to be done through your private physician. The people there are very nice and some of them have also been banded with awesome results. Good luck with your journey. I will be banded on Monday (6/30). Sincerely, Stephanie

Sandra, Congrats on your weight loss. :thumbs_up: Sounds like you are doing very well. I hope I have great results like yours to report soon. I will be banded on Monday. I am so excited and starting to get a little bit nervous. I would love to hear about your experience sometime. Anyway, good luck on reaching your goal. Sincerely, Stephanie

Pat, Glad to hear you are doing well. Yes you have been missed, as well as all the others. Glad you guys are coming back. Since I haven't been banded yet, it is always nice to hear the experiences and wisdom from all of you experienced banders. My surgery is Monday and the excitement and nervous feelings are starting to get worse. I am kind of glad to be at work right now, because my stomach is in knots. Thanks to everyone for all the support I have received here. It is so hard when you don't have the support you need, and I am just not getting it at home. Sincerely, Stephanie

Time to get this party started. I will be banded on Monday as well. Hope everything goes well for everyone on the 27th and 30th. Can't wait to hear about your experiences and share mine with you. Thanks for all the support I have received here.

Welcome Erin, I read your post earlier, but didn't have a chance to reply. I am at work right now, and thought I would pop in a say hello. I am very excited, but starting to get a little nervous. And I am definitely hungry. We have been so busy at work, that I am using up all my calories from the liquid diet. Not really losing much though. I tend to retain Water when I am on a diet, so I guess this is what is happening right now. After a couple of weeks it should drop. Anyway, I am glad you are part of our little group. Stephanie

Hi everyone, Had my pre-op appt yesterday and all went great. I am still on for Monday; yippie!!!!! I am so excited. I hope everyone is doing well and ready to get this party started.

flowers, Hi my new friend. What happened to make you change your mind so quickly? when we were exchanging messages earlier, you were so excited. I don't want you to jump into anything you are not ready for, but don't let other people's opinion stand in the way of something you really want. I will be around to encourage you, no matter what you decide. No one in my family wants me getting the surgery either, but I have also tried just about everything and had great results too, but like you, it didn't stay off. Not only that, but the older I get, the harder it is to get it off. Everytime I have tried to get back on a program I tried before, it just won't work again, no matter how hard I try. I have made up my mind that yo-yo dieting is not for me. Plus, it is better to be fat than to yo-yo diet. That is very hard on the heart. I have so many issues related to food, but I am not going to let them kill me. I am an emotional eater. I have binged and purged. I have exercised to death only to end up eating again, because I think I am hungry, when I was probably just needing some Water. I have tried so many different things and nothing provides me with lasting results. You are worth doing anything it takes to be happy and healthy. Don't listen to those that tell you otherwise. I am so sorry your parents aren't being supportive. As I mentioned to you before, my fiance is not either. But he will come around, when he sees how happy I am and so will your family. No matter what you decide, I am here for you. Give me a call sometime. I will still let you know how my appt goes.

Same here; we are getting banded on same day. Good luck to you.:biggrin2:

You are oh so right!! We got into an argument today over my upcoming surgery and he knows I will do it with or without him. I am so ready to get on that dance floor and tear it up, LOL!!!!! Thanks again for being there. I will let you know how my pre-op appt goes tomorrow afternoon. I am working now, but took a break to check in and see how everyone is doing. Have a great night.

Thanks so much. I do a lot of venting on here and it sure helps to have the support of people that understand.

You are so lucky. It is nice that you will have someone to share your experiences that understands. The people on this website are so awesome, but having someone to share everything with first hand is great. As mentioned previously my fiance doesn't want me to have the surgery. I met him for lunch just now, and the sore subject came up again. Somehow this topic always starts many more. The fact is that he is insecure. He is also a stick man and doesn't understand how I feel. When I told him I needed his support, he said he does support me even if he doesn't agree. He said he couldn't help the way he feels, but if I felt this is something I have to do because I am not "disciplined" enough to lose weight any other way then he would be here for me. Talk about slap in the face. Like this procedure doesn't require discipline in order to have desirable results. For some reason, he is not listening to me. He thinks this surgery is a sure thing to instant weight loss and I have explained it isn't and it still takes hard work. I guess he will see how hard it will be after I have it done. He did say though that maybe he will be ok with it once it is done and he sees how it is affected me. He thinks of this as my "last ditch effort to lose weight". Whatever!!!!!! With that attitude, I am so happy to have all of you here for support.

Wow, you do sound like a busy woman. Good luck with everything. I am excited for you. Im actually not dreading turning 40 this year. The only thing that bothered me is, I was supposed to have my surgery May 30th originally and had hoped to be totally healed by my bday. My mother is planning a party and I won't be able to eat much or drink at the same time for that matter. I guess I will have to share a margarita with her, since she can't have a whole one anyway without getting wasted, LOL. Then sit around and chat until I can have something small to eat. Since my bday is 9 days after my surgery I won't have too many choices. Oh well, the good thing is I will be able to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas without overdoing it this year, LOL!!!!!!

Well congrats on going to Grad school. You will have a lot to keep you busy over the next few years. I am in need of a good vacation myself. Haven't had the time lately. The last one I went on was in 2005 to Cancun. I love it there. I would move if it weren't for the hurricanes, LOL!!!!

I can't stand the way the Optifast shakes taste, so there is no point in even trying to change them. Slimfast is not too bad, but they have always made me hungrier, that is why I never could stick to them long term. If you have chocolate flavored ones, maybe you can try adding some artificial flavorings, such as vanilla, coconut, mint, etc...depending on your tastes. It doesn't add any more calories, but could really help in getting those things down. That is what I plan on doing with Protein powders when I get done with these awful shakes. I did the Body for Life program at one time and had some really good results, but because of a knee injury, I couldn't keep up with alot of the exercises so I gained all my weight back and then some. After that losing weight has been very difficult for me. Anyway, while doing the program, I found lots of recipes for making those protein powders/shakes taste much better making them easier to go down. You should look up their website if you want some recipe ideas. Maybe when we are all at our goal weight, we will have to get together for a nice beach vacation somewhere fun and show off our new bodies, LOL!!!!!

Hi all, I also work 12 hour night shifts. My surgery is scheduled for June 30th and I will be taking off of work for 2 weeks. I am also a nurse, but work on a pediatric unit, so the parents help out a great deal with lifting if necessary. I plan on buying a canister of Protein powder, such as EAS or designer whey and keeping my magic bullet in my locker to make shakes at work. I also use the Designer Whey protein packets with a bottle of Water when I am working. They have 10grams of protein. I was put on Optifast by my doc, but I just can't drink those at work. They make me so sick to my stomach, but I have too many left to go through and they weren't cheap. With the protein powders you can mix in fruit or artificial flavorings to make dozens of diffent shakes. I have found many yummy recipes for Protein Shakes on the Body for Life website. Good luck to all.

Little Debbie and yesindeed, Glad to hear you are both doing well. Good luck to all those having surgery today.

I am so sick of these pre-op shakes. My doc put me on Optifast and they make me so sick to my stomach. I would use something else but I have too many left and they weren't cheap. To my new MYSPACE friends, I look forward to sharing our experiences together. I will be adding new pics as I lose the weight. When I reach my goal, I will have to Celebrate with a nice vacation in the tropics. Imagine...me on a beach, in a bathing suit without being self conscious, LOL!!!! I can't wait.