wickedme

Leaving in 15 minutes for surgery... I don't think it will seem real till I"m laying on the table.. I was very excited today when I weighed myself to find I had lost 17lbs,, its a huge accomplishment for me, and I am at the weight I was at when I broke my leg 08/17/2007.. With more weight loss maybe it won't hurt anymore!! Best of luck to any MARCH 3RD BANDSTERS HUGS AND WELL WISHES

Tomjerry,,, 3 wks,, ouch.. 2 has been rough.. Its not so much the hunger, but wanting to chew something. My hubby and kids are home due to the snowstorm and I asked him if he would make dinner at lunch so that I didn't have to smell it,, he forgot of course and said I could have a piece of the meat to chew on, but would have to spit it out!! It reminded me of the Sally Fields movie I saw where she had cancer and wanted to eat with her family, so she chewed the food then spit it in a napkin!!! Try the EAS Advant Edge choc fudge,, 17 g protein and totally tolerable cold.. only 4 carbs 110 calories. I got a case at Sams and Bjs for 24.99. I have the vanilla in the powder too, and its good with a little cinnamon or other cal free flavoring. (like almond) 16 hours to go for me...

I was allowed 3 shakes and one small meal at night.. I substituted pureed soup of lesser values for the shakes a few times, probably ate a little more then I should at the small meal, and ate salad with very little EVOO on it on the days I exercised.. I had 14 cal popsicles and raw veggies for snacks.. I survived with only two hypoglycemic meltdowns so I think I did well..Tomorrow it is 5 straight shakes and 5 bottles of water.. I'm ready for 3/3 surgery and have lost 14 lbs,, doc okay'd me at 10 lbs lost.

I've also substituted light progresso soup for a shake, I even pureed it and drank it.. It wasn't bad and is one of the things I can eat after surgery. It had more Protein, less fat and carbs then the shake too! sipping is my goal this week, drinking the shakes too fast defeats the purpose as I'm sure you all know. also back to conscious chewing. I have been going to the gym, but had such joint pain I was getting discouraged so I started Water aerobics there,, it is fabulous and there are lots of fluffly ladies to chat with, and some older ladies who have lost a lot of weight and are trying to keep it off.. I have found myself telling people about my surgery over the last week, I think it will make me feel more accountable for my actions if others are looking for me to succeed...

I have been on pre op diet,, 3 shakes, one small meal for 10 days,, the first five were brutal and I was weak and tired,, got sick at the gym and had to go home twice,, I switched from the slim fast to the EAS advant and it much better.. regardless of the no food, I have only lost 1 pound,,, I am very frustrated with this and hope its just my body reacting to the starve mode.. I'm surprised that none of you mentioned raw vegetables, it is one of the things I am allowed,, have had a mixed green salad with 1 tsp olive oil just to satisfy the chewing sensation in the afternoon. Also eating sugar free pops at night for a snack. My pants are looser,, but that won't get me to surgery if I gain a lb!! back to the gym yesterday, hope it helps me.. surgery 3/3,, can't wait for it to come,, starting to get anxious..

Hey, just wondering if anyone else is going to Casco Bay.. I got a call this morning for my meeting with "social worker" and wondered who and what comes next.. I assume its the dietician and then figuring out what tests I need to have done,, sleep, ultrasound and such.. can anyone tell me?? the suspense is killing me lol... all this waiting and thinking.. I'm just not patient enough!! I'm totally psyched to see the shrink on Friday,, what a freak!

owhynot,, thats great! I will let you know when I am headed to a post op support group, would love to meet some time. It would be great to share experiences too. I'm in the last meal mindset,, need to lose that thought and remember I will be able to eat about anything "as long as I chew it and not over do it..." my new motto :ohmy: I have a plan to stay totally busy for the next 18 days, spring cleaning early! Stay healthy!

Got my approval earlier then expected.. I'm a March 3rd Bandster.. woo hoo Still processing that it is real and happening, lots of things to get done in 19 days.. at home and in my office.. I'm a one girl show at the moment and can't really afford to hire someone so I need to close for 2 days, then go in.. Its mostly phone work and its in my dads house so I can sit in a rocker with my feet up if I need to and even lay down should I need to.. My dad is worried about complications because hes 86 and I care for him while I'm at work in his home office.. My siblings are just going to have to step it up a notch (or 50!)for a few weeks.. My daughter will help when she gets home from school too,, I will owe the kids big time,, a trip to Washington when I'm better will be fun! No anxiety yet,, anyone else? Need to make a list of things to accomplish between now and then so I can organize my brain! Best wishes to all, and a speedy healthy recovery,, can't wait to hear your stories on the flip side!~

So excited,, got an early approval from the insurance company on Tuesday, and a letter of approval from them on Wed... Its really happening, had myself an excited screamfest in the car when I read the letter, it made it real! Now I'm a March Bandster!

Thats fabulous Sheesh! Sounds like your feeling good too.. I so hope to be where you are in 2 months or so.. I want to get excited but am terrified to get my hopes up that all will work out.. I need to go forward with my recovery plans regardless of not knowing though because I have to arrange to close my office and get extra help.. not to mention doing some shopping for food I can eat and planning out some meals for my kids while I'm recuperating in case hubby has to work late.. Hes a terrible shopper too.. Off to the gym shortly

We have mainecare that we pay a sliding scale premium for because my husbands job ins was 150 wk for 2 adults and 2 kids,, According to the surgeon all insurance companies make adjustments in the first 2 months of the year.. When I went to get my prescription for Crestor that I have been on for 8 months the pharmacist told me that my lipid dr. had to send another referral to prove all the generics hadn't worked,, they truly didn't. My triglycerides were ranging from 90 to 435, and my cholesterol never went below 265 after 2 years and I had constant leg pain. If they are making those kinds of changes my lap band approval doesn't look promising.. And I need it for many different reasons. On a lighter note, I joined the gym 2 days ago and feel good about it. I just hope I don't gain like the last time!! I know that they said on biggest loser that it didn't happen, but their full of crap. I gained 11 lbs last year in the first 2 wks at the gym, I lost it again and then some, but it did happen. My body builds muscle really fast, but it doesn't stay if I don't keep at it.. At 282 I can wear a size 20 without it being tight if that tells you anything. OH,, the barimum swallow was to make sure my hiatal hernia didn't get any bigger,, which thankfully it didn't. The only thing they found was a small area in front of my small intestines that was acidic and didn't absorb the barium. I'm not sure what that means and won't find out till I meet with the surgeon. Its just a waiting game!

I had my appointment with the surgeon and all went well. I ended up having to do a barium swallow.. yuck.. and interesting having to flip flop on a tilted table with an inch of space to move in.. The surgeon got everything ready for her assistant and told me that my insurance had changed their policies 2 days before my appointment. I either had to be diabetic with other comorbities or have high blood pressure,, I'm border line diabetic treated with meds so the surgeon didn't know whether they would approve or not. The assistant was confident... who knows.. I have pre op on 2/17 and start my pre op diet that day, surgery will be on 3/3... I won't know if the insurance approved until I have done pre op for 1 week,,, argghh. I had lost weight so as long as I don't gain everything will be a go on approval. I'm truly disappointed with this, but am trying very hard not to dwell, it is not easy though... "whatever will be will be" So tell me where you all are at!

I read your post and was wondering how it all turned out? I have a hiatal hernia also, and although it was small when it was first diagnosed I know it has gotten much worse in the past 5 years and I am not going to have a throat scope before surgery to find out how bad. I am so looking forward to now having anymore issues with the hernia, its is constant and makes life uncomfortable for sure.. Hope you are well

Just wondering if anyone has dealth with this private insurance company.. a friend is looking into it but has been unable to get anyone on the phone to ask whether they cover lap band, and if so what are the procedures.. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Thats fabulous encouragement for recovery. I am starting to think about those things now that I am getting closer. I was out of my office just one day and it took me all day just to get my head back on track, I would hate to miss more then that.. Be well and stay away from those who aren't.. There is a terrible stomach flu going around here,, 4 days and I'm still foggy! Keep us posted on how your doing..

Thats wonderful, I'm really happy for you. I can't wait to feel better and more motivated to do more. I just got the call from Dr. Wolffe's office to meet her at the end of the month,, hope it won't be long after that.. It is starting to feel like its not going to happen. I'm sure everyone got to that point at the end of the process. Rkidder, what was you toughest time after surgery and why?

I finished everything I needed to do in October and was told I would be having surgery late December/early Jan.. No calls came in and I was getting to a point of losing hope so I called them. They said they had scheduled me to meet with the surgeon on 1/26, finally! I had stopped checking into the site, and had started to fall back to old ways of not taking accountability, not eating right all the time, and getting into the mental blahhs. Was it a test? If it was I almost failed. Today I am back on track and plan to lose the last 8 lbs I am struggling with so there will be nothing in my way when I see the surgeon. I have told my hubby he is going to have to help me get with the program. I'm not sure what I am going to do about exercise,, guess I need to get on the DDR and get a walking CD too, it is way to cold and icy here to be outside much. I can't believe I almost let this opportunity slip away,,, "Ruby" inspired me to get it together! If you haven't caught an episode, check it out. So glad there is someplace I could share this with!

My stones were calcium,, and 2 months ago I went to the doctor because I had an ear ache and my teeth hurt.. thought for sure I had a sinus or ear infection, turns out is was salivary stones!! Bizarre, I had never heard of them.. He told me to suck a lemon, hot pack my jaw area, then massage. I felt the stones break loose because my mouth instantly filled with saliva.. I know that I have had this before too and didn't know what it was. I also passed some minute stones around thanksgiving, they took about a week so there were more then one and I didn't have to go to the emergency room, they just gave me pain meds.

After a serious bout with kidney stones in February my doc found 11 stones sitting in my kidneys. No one seems to know why they formed or what to do about them, but sit and pray they don't come out at the same time!!! All are still relatively small.. My concern is that I started to pass them because I got dehydrated.. I have told the nurse, and its in my charts about this, but I'm wondering how hard it is to keep hydrated in the first few weeks, and how long you had IV for fluids in the hospital.. If they send me home fully hydrated I should be able to keep up with it.. My other fear is that should I have an attack the pain makes me vomit!! Has anyone had to deal with this? and how easy is it to mess the band up if you do vomit?

I left the house this morning at 7 am to go Christmas shopping, everyone was still asleep and I just left a note.. 6 hours later I came home with sever foot pain and was having a hard time walking so when dinner rolled around I told hubby what was for dinner, chicken Fried Steak, which was actually baked,, (because he complained I have white meated him to death) potatoes, fat free country gravy and grean Beans.. He came over and showed me the flower mixture and it looked a little odd, but I didn't care, he was cooking, I told him he could add a little more black pepper for flavoring if he wanted to. A short time went bye and I could smell the meat cooking, he said it didn't look right.. oh well,, so he went to cupboard and said what is in this container?? I started laughing, he had used my vanilla EAS Protein shake mix to dread the steak in.. roflmao It really wasn't that bad after he breaded it with flour again, but he was very disappointed about his red meat meal anyways,, I told it was probably a sign that he shouldn't be eating it... Had to share..

Over the past 6 months I have made some serious adjustments to my mind and health, but the waiting for the surgeon appointment with no contact from anyone and no one to be accountable to is really difficult. I am definately eating less, and have not gone over 1500 cals. in a day for 5 weeks. I am drinking protein shake with skim milk and a banana for breakfast most days, occasionally a bowl of oatmeal or cereal. Salad, cottage cheese or a shake for lunch if I didn't have one for breakfast, and a low fat regular meal for dinner. I have gone down a shirt size and can pull most of my pants off, but have not lost a pound in 4 weeks,, its making me crazy. Right now, the lbs. do matter because I need to lose another 8 before surgery. I am trying to be more active, but its getting cold here and walking is not an option.. I would love to get a treadmill, but haven't found a decent one I can afford yet.. Anyone going through this?

mine was an hour or so, lots of talking. I was cleared then got a phone call a week later because they saw I had been to the emergency room for diverticulosis and had told the on call dr. that I had been having multiple anxiety attacks... I was recovering from a broken leg and had been out of work, broke and trapped in the house for 3 months or so and was going stir crazy... I had to do 3 sessions with a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist,, which turned out to be one of the best things I could have done.. It really didn't even delay the process either.. I have much better control over what I choose to stress over, and am more able to sort through and process lifes wonderful calamities without losing as much sleep and getting stressed,, which causes me to graze...

My pre op is two weeks of 3 protein shakes and one small meal, 50% protein.. last day is 5 shakes.. My doc has found that people are more successful after surgery if allowed to drink puree'd soups and stuff as part of the post/liquid diet.. they have to be low cal and low sodium and fat, but its better then a month of shakes and water.. I was trying to convince myself that it will be easy but I have come to realize it won't be because I have tried to do it and only go through a day and a half... this is truly not the easy way out.. the easy way would be to just continuing to slowly kill myself overeating... your all awesome,, thanks for posting

Welcome Shelbie! I haven't been banded yet, but am waiting for the call to meet with the surgeon..everything else is already done.. they are booking into Dec and Jan,, a little dissapointing because had they not had to hire a new social worker I would have had surgery this month.. I'm not discouraged, but am really ready for this to begin. You have had great loss, but can relate to feelings of discouragement as I will feel the same if it was me. I know that everyone loses at a different pace, but it will be hard to take if I am one of them because everything has been a struggle for me. what happened that you had slippage and herniation?? Is there something that will help avoid those issues? I notice it was just after surgery so was wondering if it was because you were sick?? I am working really hard at trying to chew and eating less. cutting up everything really small is helping a lot. I have noticed I eat faster when the kids are talking at the dinner table,, need to work on ignoring it. Any tips or suggestions on what to do or not do??