Cappy

Hi All! Lcubed: Hi Lisa...I'm going to the meeting on the 28th, I guess I won't be meeting you then:sad:. Hopefully we can meet at one of the December meetings....sorry about that, I was really hoping it was the same day:frown: I too am getting more nervous each day...still doesn't seem real...but it will definitely be for the better! Sue: I'm not sure about insurance approval....I did receive my paperwork in the mail from Geiss regarding my surgery, the day of the educational meeting and also received some paperwork that I have to bring to my regular doctor for approval...he needs to fill out and return to Geiss's office. I assumed that since I received my letter, that I was approved already? Maybe not? I hope so....I'll be pretty pissed if I get another letter or a call saying I wasn't approved...good luck! As far as eating goes, I've definitely been eating more over the past 3-4 weeks...not sure if its due to surgery worries or just the stress of "family" crap that I've been dealing with...whatever it is, I'm definitely out of control...I haven't even gotten on the scale because I'm afraid to know how much MORE I've gained! I'm on a rollercoaster ride and I really just want to GET OFF! Take care guys, talk to you soon! Fran

I don't know WHY you don't see 51lbs gone, but I SURE DO!!! YOU LOOK FAB:w00t:!!!! Seriously!!! Keep up the fantastic work!!! I can't wait until I can't see MY 51lb loss:wink_smile:

Hi Everyone! Welcome, Amanda! 68lbs gone...way to go!!!! Congrats!!! Hi Chris...glad you finally got your date:thumbup:sorry its later than you wanted, but it will go by quickly! Can you believe we are really doing this:ohmy:? Still doesn't seem real to me! Anyway, just wanted to say hello to everyone! Have a great night! Fran

Awesome!!! Congrats on your date....it will be here before you know it! Best of luck to you...let us know how your feeling after you've been banded!

Hi All! My name is Fran and I'm 41 years old I am a Capricorn, hence the name, Cappy Married 15 years to an awesome man (22 years together total) We have two beautiful children, 7 year old girl and 3 year old boy:tt1: We have a 3 year old, insanely energergetic, brindle Boxer named Zeus...LOVE LOVE LOVE dogs:tt2: Since I'm young, I've always had a little more meat on me than others...joined a gym at 19, worked out religiously 5-6 days a week and from 19 to 25 my weight fluctuated between 130 and 145 (I'm 5ft 3 in). I married at 26, I slowly started putting weight on...and by the time I got pregnant with my first child at 33, I weighed 195lbs. I haven't seen onederland in 8 years:sad: But all that is gonna change:teeth_smile: I'm being banded on November 20th:thumbup: and although I am nervous and have some worries, I know being morbidly obese is a death sentence waiting to happen...I have too many people in my life that I love, I want to be around a long time to enjoy them!

Thanks, Dana....I know in my heart that this is what I need to do! I'm drained...I'm disgusted...I'm frustrated...I'm dissapointed...I have sleep apnea....my blood pressure is the highest its ever been...I can't play too long with my kids because I just don't have the energy...I'm out of control and I need HELP! For so long I denied this, "I can do this on my own, I don't need the band...that's taking the easy way out", and I would talk myself out of it...but the posters on this site truly helped me to realize that the band most certainly isn't the EASY way out! Its going to be hard work, life changing...but the band is the tool that I need to finally help me be rid of this extra person I've been carrying around for YEARS. I wish you continued success on your weight loss journey, your doing a great job! And thank you for your encouragement, it means so much:biggrin:

MacMadame pretty much covered it! In my case, I met with a PA first...she went over the whole lap band procedure...we saw a video of the procedure on the computer and then at the end she asked if I had any questions. Then I met with the surgeon, who basically went over everything again and answered all of my questions...in his office he had an actual band and a port and explained how it fit onto the stomache, etc. After meeting with my surgeon I felt so much better about my decision. He really made me feel so comfortable and the best part was, he wasn't pushy...never once was he trying to be a "salesman"! That really impressed me. Good luck to you!

Hi Tomina: My experience so far hasn't been bad either...I had my consultation in August, set up all my testing and got through those in about a two month span...my surgery is set for November 20th...it takes a little bit of time but the best thing about time, for me, is that I'm able to do as much research and reading as I can to better help myself prepare for the changes that are to come! This board is a wealth of information! Hang in there...and best wishes to you!

Awesome!!! Congrats!!! You will have to make sure you let us know how your surgery went! Mine is on the 20th, so I would love to hear how you did...good luck!!!

So sorry your having such difficulty! You keep pestering them and hopefully they will be so sick of you that they will give you the approval! I wish you lots of luck and will say a prayer for you!

Hi All: shrinkinmom: It was so great meeting you last night! When I saw all those people in that room I thought, how the hell am I going to find her? Thank god you were the only one wearing a dress...LOL! Your so very sweet and so easy to talk to...I hope we all have a chance to meet in the near future! shrinkinmom and I met at a meeting last night with Dr. Geiss's group...they had a few speakers and this one guy, who was banded in June and has already lost 48lbs, got up there to speak about his experience with the band...he had us do this motivational exercise where we all stood up, closed our eyes and made us imagine ourselves at our current weight...he asked us to look in the mirror, what do you see? then he asked us to imagine ourselves 5 years from now, where will you be then? How much more weight have you gained? How do you feel at this weight? He went on and on and made us get "real" about how we will look AND feel if we don't do something about our weight. He went as high as 15 years down the road, where will you be? Imagine you can't move, imagine all your joints hurting you and you can't do anything because your so obese...your on all kinds of medicine, you have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Let me tell you, I was literally crying, imagining where I would be 15 years from now, heavier than I am now....I felt both sad and disgusted...then, after a little while of this he asked us to imagine us at the weight we want to be at. How do you feel at this weight? What are some of the things that you couldn't do in the past but can do now? How do you feel when you look in the mirror? And so on. I know you all can't possibly grasp how powerful this exercise was through this post, but let me just tell you, it totally moved me...it helped me to get real with myself...what a great meeting! Not sure if this person will be speaking at any future meetings, but he should!! So, I get a letter in the mail today from Dr. Geiss's office regarding my surgery date and when I have to go to their office and they wrote down the WRONG date! They have me in for surgery on the 21st, which was my original choice but then changed my mind to the 20th. I was told I had this date, not a problem. I have to call tomorrow and straighten this out! I hope it was only an error on paper! Lcubed: I'm not positive, because I don't have my calendar in front of me, but I am scheduled for the educational meeting and it MIGHT be on the same day as you. Is the 21st the last Tuesday of the month? I'm pretty sure that's when I'm going. I'll double check and let you know fpr sure. It would be so great to meet you, I hope its the same day! And thank you for trying to help me with the signature...someone on one of the other boards helped me! I appreciate you trying to help! Well, good night all! Time for me to go relax and watch some T.V. Talk to you all soon!

Hi Everyone: My name is Fran, I've been married to an awesome man for the past 15 years (with him for 22 years) and have two beautiful kids; my daughter is 7 and my son is 3. Growing up I was pretty average in size but always felt big. I joined a gym when I was 19 and steadily worked out until I was 25 years old, my weight ranged from 130-140. Once I got married at 26, I stopped working out consistently and started putting on the weight. By the time I got pregant with my daughter at the age of 33, I was 195lbs. And for the past 5 years I've yo-yo'd from 212lbs (the lowest weight I reached after my first pregnancy) up to my highest weight of 257lbs. Last year, in March, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea...nothing more embarassing and UNromantic than wearing a mask to sleep. I thought that would be the kick in the arse I needed to start losing the weight...but having SA has only made it more difficult for me to loose. My CPAP definitely helps me, but my energy level is still not where it should be, therefore I find it difficult to push myself to exercise. More recently, my blood pressure, which has always been normal, has started escalating. I've spent way too many years miserable, sweaty and cranky..basically, I'm just uncomfortable in my own skin. I want to get healthly for myself, for my kids and for my marriage! Good luck to all of us here...and thanks for sharing on this board, its been such a comfort for me!

Surgery date - November 20:biggrin: Highest Weight - 257:frown: Preop diet starting weight - TBD Surgery weight (Your weight the day of surgery) - TBD Current weight - 252:frown: Goal weight - 130 :redface:

Hi Everyone! Slimtobe: Your doing so great on your weight loss...congrats!!! Your another inspiration for all of us here, I cannot wait to be the one to say I've lost 45lbs! I too would love to meet everyone....let us know when you all plan that! Shrinkinmom: I hope your still making the meeting tonight! Since my hubby can't make it, my Aunt will be coming along for the ride! I wanted another set of ears there with me, in case I space out and forget something...LOL! I'm wearing a black sweater, green satin top and black pants. See you later! Have a great day everyone!

Okay, now I feel really dumb! I actually did type it in the signature block at first but then I thought, this doesn't look right and I deleted it. I never bothered to TEST IT!!! DUUUHH! Thank you so much, Jaime!!!

Ohhhhhh, okay....I wasn't typing it into the big box, I was typing it below that...there were two options, I can't remember them at the moment but one said something like add your URL code here and the other choice was for downloading pictures. I put the code where it said URL. At least that's what I think it said, I can't remember right now. I'll try putting the code in the big box and see what happens. Thanks so much!

Thanks, Chunky Chick!

Hi All: My surgery is also with Dr. Geiss on November 20th Quick question...I've been trying to add the "Notorious Novembers" to my signature (tried using a couple of different websites by clicking on some of the other posters' signatures) but whenever I create and then copy the code, try and paste it into the "signature picture" (option 1 - where it says to enter URL) and hit save signature, I get the message, "invalid file"....what the hell??? What am I doing wrong? Can someone please tell me how they got their signature to work! I would soooo appreciate it! Thanks.

It just says "invalid file" when I hit save profile. I just don't get this!!! Very frustrating!

Hi Lisa! I forgot to reply about Sue's Thanksgiving suggestion...thanks for reminding me! Yes, I think your idea was perfect, Sue! I will tell everyone that I went to a nutritionist, she put me on a liquid diet for a couple of weeks and then on to a more strict, low calorie diet. They'll buy it. Thanks so much! It did turn out to be nice today....and go figure, my daughter's soccer game was still canceled! I would love to meet you guys in December. Can you refresh my memory, are the support meetings available to us all the time? We can go to every meeting if we like? I'm sure they told me, but I don't remember. Have a good night, guys....have to go put the kiddies to sleep!

Hi All: I've noticed a lot of you have added signatures from sparkle.com and other sites like that one. I'm trying to add "Notorious Novembers" to my signature, since my surgery is in November, and its not working....I cannot figure out what I'm doing wrong!!! I created my new signature, copied the proper code, went to Edit Options, Signature, and tried to paste it in the proper place but I keep getting an error message! What am I doing wrong???? Can anyone help me? Thanks so much!

Hi Everyone! Thanks for the responses on whether or not you feel your band or port. I keep thinking about the foreign object that's going to be in my body and its a strange thought, ya know? Wasn't sure if you felt it or if you were aware of it, but you guys made me feel better about it...so thank you! I've read other posts regarding pain with ports and how sore it is in the beginning, so I am expecting that will be the case. But its true, everyone is different and what might bother some might not bother others....I'm hoping to join the latter! Shrinkinmom: When I spoke with Liz, the first available date she had for surgery was the 20th or the 21st. I originally asked for the 21st but after speaking with my hubby, realized the 20th was better...so I called her back and she changed it to the 20th. So, if you were expecting a call from her around the same time as me (she called me on Thursday), then maybe you will get the 21st. I actually wanted a date for the last week of October because hubby was on vacation....but they were already booked. I will definitely see you at the meeting next Tuesday....but I won't be with Steven, he has to work OT that day....so I'll be by myself. I'll look for you! Good luck with getting your date!!! Candle: 128lbs:thumbup:WOW!!! What an inspiration you are! How long did that take you? How has your journey with the band been? Many struggles or has it been pretty smooth sailing? Congrats on such an awesome loss...you give me such hope!!! susancarole: I cannot believe you hit 30lbs already:thumbs_up:...OMG!!!! It's only been a little over a month since you've been banded....that is just incredible! I can't wait to be down 30lbs!!! Congrats and keep up the awesome work:w00t:!!! What a miserable day it is today....its pouring rain by me....my daughter has a soccer game today....I'm wondering if its going to be canceled??? Keep up the great work everyone! And have a great day!

Hi Dana! Welcome to the board! I've been contemplating for a long time whether or not to get the band....in July, I finally decided to go ahead with it...I finished all my pre-op testing and I just got my surgery date...I get banded on November 20th! YEAH!!! I've expressed several times on this forum how excited and fearful I am about this surgery. I try to stay positive by reading through all the posts, just like yours, that say how happy people are they decided to get the band. It helps keep me positive, so thank you for sharing your story! Although I am reading so much, I still feel like there is so much more to learn and this is where I sometimes get scared because I want to be as informed as possible about what to expect! Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and thank you for helping me keep positive! Best of luck to you!

I agree, great attitude Pink! I've had such a mix bag of emotions since I've decided to do this. I sometimes feel like you, Pink, and think how wonderful things will be this time next year. I'm going on a Disney cruise with my family in September and all I can think about is, maybe I can actually enjoy this vacation without being MISERABLE! I won't be carrying around all this extra weight, I will feel so much better about myself! Then, there is the other side of me that relates so much to No Shrinking Violet...I'm on this site all the time reading and trying to get as much info as I possible can and yet I feel like I still haven't even touched the surface on what my future is actually going to be like! I need more info, have lots of questions and want to try and avoid all the things I read that terrify me about this surgery....I know everyone is different and we all won't experience the same things, but there are lots of similar problems that people have that just terrify me and I want to do everything I can to avoid that situation! Is that even possible:mellow: I'm sure everyone goes through similar feelings at some point prior to surgery. Its just great to have this forum so that we can all come here and discuss whatever is on our mind, good or bad! I wish good luck to ALL of us!!! I hope we can all keep in touch!!!

I'm keeping them crossed for you! GOOD LUCK!!!!