Tsquared

Mac,

Thanks for that suggestion! I actually thought of that last night and made an appt w/ my PCP for next week....I'm back in forward!!

I attended the mandatory informational meeting last Monday -- took my Mom because she is the one who is the most oppositional to this whole thing.

Lots of developments....1) I was relieved to learn that my surgeon's practice is a center of excellence...apparently that is a big deal. 2) Mom ended up promising her support and declaring that she wanted only the best for me and my health! Yeah!!! :tongue2: 3) Actually found myself debating between being banded and having the bypass....I was so positive before that I wanted the band...now I'm waffling. :confused2: 4) Was reassured that everything the doctor talked about, I already knew from visiting this site!! :thumbup: 5) Have been officially declared a "candidate" by the surgeon:blush:

Now the frustrating part....my insurance makes me complete SIX months of a physician supervised diet! And....drum roll....my first appointment with my surgeon is October 29!! :smile2: That was his first available!! So not only do I have to wait two and a half months to see him, I have to do six months of dieting after that before I even GET to the band. :laugh:

I feel like I've tried and tried and tried to get the weight off and been unsuccessful and now I'm at an all-time high for weight. I've faced the reality of the health concerns and researched and made a major commitment to this and I can't move forward...like I'm circling above the airport but I can't land.

Ugh!

Ell...thanks for the encouragement. The info meeting is tonight and both mom and dad are going with me. I will look forward to hearing about your progress....good luck!!

I had an appointment Tuesday, 8-5-08, with my PCP to discuss my weight, my blood pressure (which is high...duh) and what options he recommended. I liked that he said that I obviously had been thinking about my own options and what did *I* think...I said lap band...he said absolutely.

So, I got my referral...called the surgeon and am scheduled for the "mandatory" informational meeting...it's Monday, 8-11.

In the meanwhile, my parents, specifically my mother, are very upset/disappointed that I have chosen this route. I invited my mom to come with me to the informational meeting and she is, which makes me happy. But, still....I know that they think I'm a failure because I can't be more self-disciplined and lose the weight myself. That's very frustrating. At the same time, I've been battling this weight in one way or another since I was a freshman in college. Once away from my parents' watchful eyes, I started putting it on. A few times I was successful at losing it myself, but it always came back...my mom keeps bringing up how skinny I was when my brother got married...yeah, I was 25, working out 3 hours a day, five days a week. Now, I'm 45, am on the tail end of raising four boys, have had a hysterectomy....need I say life is different?

Anyway...I'm glad to have this place to put down my feelings (scared :frown:, excited :w00t:, nervous ) and document my progress (made the appointments! :ohmy:)

Stepping off the dock...and into the water....