Kellster

Stick with it, GonnaRide and SpideyMom, you can do it! I'm sorry to hear you had such pain and frustrating complications, but it will be worth it soon. Just remember all of your goals and reasons for having the surgery. And know that you are on the track to having a healthy body!

Welcome and congrats, Venus! I love the soups from Trader Joe's - they are creamy and delicious but still low in fat and calories. Also, my doc allows yogurt, and I've become addicted to Fage Greek nonfat yogurt - yummmm. Then there's delicious sugar-free pudding and sugar-free jello that helps tide me over. I was surprised at how many delicious liquids are out there, it just takes some time and effort. Good luck!

Hey all of you getting banded on the 12th, canadiangirl.ca, heavyhevicyndi, beekay, Imdowdy, Me (aka Kellster), and whoever else... Here's our spot to share our surgery stories. :thumbup: I just keep thinking - at this time tomorrow I'll be up and walking around the hospital, with five lil incisions and a silicone thing in my body! WOW! :frown: Looking forward to hearing from all of you, as well as sharing my own story.

Congrats! Glad to have you as another Mayo Bandito!

Oh girl, I am SO ready! I've read everything, bought everything, cleaned my house top to bottom, and done all my laundry!! Day 2 of clear liquid diet, day 14 of pre-op diet, and I am ready for the band, woohoo! Got my Jello, juice, broth, and assorted other clear beverages to get me through today. :frown:

Well, I'm on day 13 of my pre-op diet and today is the first day I'm kinda starving. And that's because today I started all Clear liquids... which barely have any calories!! My doc wants a modified bowel prep which is clear liquids (broth, Jello, apple juice, grape juice, cranberry juice, anything you can see through), for Sunday and Monday before surgery Tuesday. I am huuuuuuungry! I've had three glasses of juice, two or three cups of broth, and quite a bit of Water so far today. I think I'm going to try to mix some unjury unflavored into my drink now to get some satisfaction. HOWEVER - Since yesterday morning (last time I weighed), I've lost 16 lbs since my last weigh-in with my dietician. I can see my double chin receding! My pants are already fitting looser! Holy shipoop this thing is really happening! Why didn't I ever hear of a super restricted liquid diet before? This thing is GENIUS! But then again, I didn't have to drink Slimfast or Optifast, I could have a pretty wide variety of liquid foods. Ok really I need to drink some delicious Protein juice now...

Howdy and welcome! I'm a SoCal girl myself. What insurance do you have? I got approved through Aetna PPO recently so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to me or others on here - there's so much guidance and support! Best of luck on your journey - the surgery date will be here before you know it!

What a great idea! I'm enjoying getting to know all of you Mayo Banditos! All About Me :thumbup: Where do you live? Pasadena, CA How old are you? 28 years young Are you married, dating, significant other, partnered? I have a boyfriend for the first time in almost 5 years. Funny that I meet the man of my dreams when I'm at my highest weight - and he likes me no matter what size I am. :tt2: Any children? My kids are all still in my ovaries. Grandchildren? Ditto to that... kinda. Pets? Henry the hamster, and two kitties Paxton and Paisley that are my roommates. Currant Health Morbidities? Thankfully, none other than morbid obesity and a funny knee. What are your greatest Fears? Tidal waves, tornadoes, and losing my loved ones. Oh about the band? Failure, complications, saggy skin/boobs. What is your weight loss short term goals and Long term goals? I'd like to be under 300 lbs by summer. Total goal is to be 160. List at least one thing you want to do/wear/eat/buy when you reach your goal? My post-band bucket list is LONG. Go skydiving, learn to surf, learn to SCUBA dive, travel to Europe (and fit my booty in the airplane seat comfortably), ride every rollercoaster I find, shop anywhere BUT Lane Bryant, and have a professional photo-shoot of myself at goal! Oh and I hope to share clothes with my younger sister someday! A bit more about me... I'm a business banker by occupation, a goofball in real life, and a perpetual optimist despite the negative news I see everywhere. I love country and rock music. And I am so excited to start my new life! :smile:

Where's all of our new bandster Banditos? Looking forward to hearing more stories. I'm a week out today and can't believe it's almost here!!!

I'll be staying overnight, which is A-ok with me. I've never been in a hospital room overnight, so it might be weird - but I'm kinda excited! Plus I hear the bariatric ward @ St. Joe's is top-notch and brand new. I did have to wait a bit before I met with the doctor. First you meet with Julie, the Dietician, and discuss insurance coverage issues. Then you meet with Rosalie, who goes over the difference between bypass and the band (probably with a few other people). THEN you're weighed and put in an exam room and Dr. Quilici comes in to talk with you. He is a big fan of bypass but if you tell him you want the band, he says OK. I have a BMI of 50+ so bypass is usually recommended, but the risks of bypass and malabsorption freak me out! I was there for a couple of hours the first time. I guess it takes different amounts of time depending on how many people are there with you (questions, etc), so be prepared. Dr. Quilici didn't ask me to lose any weight, he just said not to gain any. I'm on day 3 now of the liquid diet and his info says that most patients lose 10-15 lbs with this, so on surgery day I'll be down about 20 lbs from when I first started this journey. Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions, I'm glad to help! Also, there's a bandster support group that meets in the Burbank area @ a bandster's house - the 4th Wed of the month, we just met last night. Most of the gals are Dr. Quilici's patients so it's nice to get their opinion too. I'll send you an invite for our social group on here, they're a great bunch!

Congrats on starting the journey, Susie! If you're already approved for gastric surgery, I asuume you should be good to go (lucky)! Long story short I was already on month 4 when I went to Dr. Quilici, so I was aware of my insurance requirements, and only had to wait a couple months after that. As far as proving my weight, copies of medical records were sufficient for my insurance, and Dr. Quilici has you fill out a weight/diet history which also helps document it. Day 3 of the pre-op diet, my energy is a bit lower than normal, but I'm not really that hungry! I can't believe in two weeks I'll be banded already!! :thumbup:

Hi Cyndi: Don't worry, you can do it! Just remember what you're doing it for - a successful surgery and a tool that will get you to a healthy weight! I'm on day 2, and I recommend preparing ahead of time, and getting as much of a variety as possible - it sure helps the monotony of liquids. I had coffee this morning and put my usual nonfat milk into it, which was ok by my surgeon. It cuts the bitterness of the coffee, it's dairy (yay calcium) and it actually is pretty tasty. Also, one of my skinny friends (I mean SKINNY, and naturally of course), turned me on to a sweetener that is all-natural and ZERO calories, called Stevia. You can get it at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods or probably any health-food store. I put it in my coffee instead of Extra/SweetNLow/Splenda, and to my surprise - I used less and it was still sweet!! Yum! Of course, the answer to any question you have about your pre-op diet should be answered by your surgeon's office since every surgeon has their own preferences for their patients. Whatever you do, good luck!! :ohmy:

So I'm halfway through day one of the pre-op diet and I feel good so far. Had a cup of juice, nonfat yogurt, and SF Jello for breakfast. Forgot to eat my "snack" of Protein shake... I'll have that in a bit. Then lunch was a cup of soup (mmmm V8 broccoli soup - delish!), some applesauce, and more SF jello. The jello helps for missing the chewing action. I didn't have my usual coffee w/nonfat milk & stevia this morning and was ok... might need to work that in but I hate decaf coffee. I've been drinking Water and that seems to be keeping me full too. dinner will be more soup, some V8 juice, and more SF jello... maybe some pudding. It's amazing to me how much food I can eat for 1000 calories. But then I wonder... am I being too optimistic on my first day? Or am I just SO ready to get this done that whatever I have to do - I'll do it. :drool: TWO WEEKS TIL SURGERY!!!

I'm having surgery on a Tuesday, and taking the rest of the week off. I have a desk job so I don't think I should have a hard time as far as exerting myself. The only thing I'm somewhat concerned is energy, because I won't be eating hardly any carbohydrates. I'm hoping to make it to a party on Saturday night for my best friend's birthday and 5-year anniversary of being cancer free. I know it's soon afterward but I really want to be there!

So I got the pre-op paperwork and my "official liquid diet" info. The doctor likes the two week diet to shrink the liver, and most people lose 10-15 lbs, which doesn't suck. Here's the scoop! Full liquid diet (1000 calories and minimum 70 grams protein) every day starting 2 weeks before surgery Full liquids include: Skim milk, Lactaid milk, or soy milk Low fat cream Soup Any fruit juice without pulp Any vegetable juice sugar free pudding Light yogurt No sugar-added fudgesicle Protein supplement (they recommend World Wide Pure Protein) Liquids that you can consume in any amounts: Water Crystal Light Diet Snapple Tea coffee - preferably decaf Sugar free Jello Sugar free popsicle broth, low-sodium (beef, chicken or veggie) I have some delicious Soups already, and broth, and the Protein shakes. Yay can't wait!

It totally does help, thank you!!

But isn't a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty) the removal of excess skin, so therefore a medical necessity in some cases? I don't want to put the cart before the horse, so I haven't looked at my current policy regarding medically necessary plastic surgery - but I'd recommend it if you're curious!

I've decided to tell a random assortment of people. My close circle of parents/sister/best friends have all been told and are all supportive because they know my long struggle with weight. I've told a handful of coworkers or sorority sisters or friends that have known my struggle or even who struggle with weight themselves. They've been understanding and supportive as well. I usually don't feel ashamed and actually feel buoyed by their support. Then there's the people I haven't told... most of my colleagues don't know. Even my "work bff" doesn't know - he's hypercritical of appearance anyway and has a big mouth and honestly, I just want to see his reaction as I drop weight and keep dropping it. I also haven't told my extended family, mostly because I've always been the black sheep in the sense that I'm the ONLY overweight cousin. Of all of my 14 cousins (including me and my sis), I am the ONLY fat one. So I want to see their reactions much like my work bff's. I'm sure eventually I'll tell most people, I'm certainly not ashamed of it and don't care what skinny people think of my choice. This choice wasn't easy, the road ahead won't be easy, but it will all be worth it in the end. So poo on whoever won't be supportive, that just means more room on the party bus for people whom I want to be around! :w00t:

Totally agree, Bek! And in these days of Spanx or other supportive undergarments, it's not like anyone will even be able to tell! But they can sure tell how overweight and unhealthy I am now... Bring on the loose skin! I'm ready to be HEALTHY again! Oh and I'm also taking Biotin, and am going to make sure I get enough Protein, lots of Water, and exercise both cardio and strength-training. I've heard that all helps. AND I will buy a few great push-up bras.

Hey Mr. Rice Guy! You know what works for me when my coworkers ask me to eat cake or a bagel or something junk food or whatever? I just say "Nahhh I'm fat enough already." That usually shuts them up. Sure, I use self-deprecation as a tool to get people to back off, but seriously, do I really need a double-bacon-cheeseburger with fries and a side of ranch and a chocolate shake? NO. I'm fat enough already. And to me, it's not like they don't know or can't see that I'm overweight, it's plainly obvious. So I don't even listen to their "Oh noooo you're thick, or big-boned..." or whatever. They don't even have to know about the band, and they don't have to agree with your lifestyle, but I think everyone can agree that losing weight is a good thing. Stay strong and fight the power! You can do it!

What do they call the removal of excess skin? I have Aetna PPO and am wondering the same thing regarding them paying for it... I'm anticipating a panniculectomy for sure, and possibly an abdominoplasty aka tummy tuck.

I'm expecting them to go down. I'm a 42DD-DDD now and love my voluptuous boobs. So does my bf... he even asked me (in front of his roommate - gee thanks), "wait so does this mean you're going to have smaller boobs?" to which I responded "unfortunately, yes" and then they both made sad faces.... haha. However, when I was in high school with a healthy body I had a full C and I was QUITE happy with them that size, so I'm anticipating that I won't be too sad. Thank goodness for good bras and a bf who can joke about shrinking boobies but love me anyway!

Mine's on there too! I never knew that Calendar was even there... haha! What a great way to keep track of everyone.

This is a great idea! I admit, I've been a lazy bum lately and have been eating ALMOST whatever I want. But the good news is that I walked up the escalators (big ole stairs) on my way to work today. All five flights of them. I was breathing hard at the top but I felt good! My goal is to do that as often as I can until I don't get out of breath. Oh and hit up the gym too!

I had the same questions... I plan on getting the Allergan AP band but don't know if I'll get the Realize. Here's a great site that compares the two. Really, they do the same thing and the differences are minimal. Compare Adjustable Gastric Bands - LAP-BAND vs. REALIZE Band It's a good question to ask your surgeon, BEFORE you go under! My friend thought she was getting the Allergan one, but came out with Realize.