adamsmom

Amymoe, I know it must worry you that your kids are scared. I guess I would advise that you reassure them that you're going to be just fine. Don't let them know you're scared too. It is a scary thing. I know how scared I have been when m kids have had surgery--they must feel the same way about thier mom, so I really try to protect them from it. Talk up all the good things that will happen because of this surgey--how you'll be able to do things with them that perhaps you haven't been able to do before--how you will live longer because you will definitely, not maybe get your diabetes under control. Let them know that you know they're afraid, but it will all be over before they know it and you'll be back home as quickly as you can be. This is probably the hardest decision I have ever made, and believe me, I am waking up at night questioning myself for dsoing this, but I know I have to do this. Just 8 more days!

Hi Amy moe--I have decided not to tell my children exactly what I'm having done. For one thing, I am having my procedure on an outpatient basis. My kids will know that mom has a doctor's appointment. When they get home from school, I'll be there and they'll be told that mom had a little hernia operation on her tummy and won't be able to eat the same for a while. I'm doing this because my kids are both on the autistic spectrum. Anything medical freaks them out and I don't want to burden them with having to remember not to tell anyone at school what I really had done. My oldest is going through a lot of anxiety issues at school--with trying to fit it, etc and layering the autism on top just complicates things. I don't want to upset my kids, so I'm keeping this all as low key as I can.

Welcome, Amymoe. Geez--your surgeon sounds tough! I am not on a pre-op diet, but I am experimenting with protein shakes for lunch so it won't be such a shock to the system when I have to have them. I purchased a single-serve blender made by Hamilton Beach. It's small enough for me to keep at work, and the jar has a lid so that it can be used as a cup to drink from. Our surgery is just over a week away. Yes, I am getting nervous!

Only told my DH, BF and mom. People at work are too cruel. You should have heard some of the comments they've made about others in my presence. Maybe I'll tell later on, but for now, I'd prefer to keep this private.

Welcome Whiteb4. I'm a little scared too. I was awake in bed last night thinking, what if I regret doing this? what if it doesn't work? what if I'm one of the ones who gets sick? I think it's healthy to be a little scared. This is a very big step, and we have to be aware of the fact that even though this is isn't as drastic as bypass surgery, it's still a pretty big step. I know my boss will have a cow when I take time off for this. Who knows that I'll be able to work again one week post-op? Then I have to do the positive self-talk: this will work out. My health is more important than my boss getting all bent out of shape because I'm trying to take control of my weight. I deserve this opportunity. For me, I'm trying to make sure everything is prepared prior to the surgery date. I bought the liquid Tylenol yesterday and Gas-X strips. I'm buying the post-op foods I'll need so there won't be any reason why I can't have the things I need after surgery. We wil all be fine. ANd a year fom now, we will all be several pounds lighter!:thumbup:

OK, ladies. I'm trying to ready myself for the day. I just got back from Costco, where I picked up my liquid multivitamins and chewable calcium/K/D--chocolate flavor :tongue2:. I also purchased one of every flavor of Unjury protein powder, per my nutritionist's directions. This will be for my shakes/smoothies, etc. The flavorless one can go in just about anything, and the chicken broth flavor can go into soupd, or meaty flavored gravies, etc. While at the drug store today, I plan on picking up Gas-X and liquid Tylenol. At the grocery store, I'll be getting some chicken broth, miso soup base, SF popsickles, SF jello. Can you think of anything else? What's on your shopping lists?

Hi Amy, Join us on the "Who's getting banded on January 13th?" thread. There are a bunch of us who have that date, me included. Look forward to hearing from you!

Congratulations! That's a fantastic weight loss! Now, was it worth all the pain and discomfort? My surgery is in 11 days. Yikes!:biggrin:

My surgeon allows showers the very next day. I think you should shower--it will make you feel a lot better. Just don't spend a lot of time soaking your incision sites--if they get sprinkled, they'll be fine.Pat them dry and enjoy a fresh, clean body.

Perfectforme, Good luck on your pre-op. Please tell us all about it. I will have mine on Wednesday. It will be interesting to know what they tell you. Do you have to do a hospital orientation as well?

I reclined on the table in my doctor's office, while they hooked me up a bunch of wires am=nd ran the test.

Hey there, "Perfectforme". Glad to have you with the January 13th bandsters. Glad it's not a Friday!!:confused: Anyways, tell us a little about yourself: where are you getting banded,who's your surgeon, etc? My surgeon does not require the pre-op diet, except for a very few cases. I am yet to get my pre-op meeting, which is on Wednesday, and only 6 days prior to surgery. I guess he could tell me to go on a diet then, but at his seminar he said he rarely requires it. I was the person who actually asked about this. he responded that he didn't think it made much difference in most patients. The ones with lots of belly fat are who end up with the diet. SO I'm sitting there thinking, well, everyone here's got belly fat, dude! I mean, come on, if your BMI is 40+, you got some belly fat, even if you carry your weight on other parts of your body too! But, he says he rarely requires it, so I'm enjoying myself without going over board. :cursing: My surgeon also moves his patients through to solid foods post-op pretty quickly, too. I can shower the same day, but not get in a bath tub and submerge the incisions, and he is now beginning to do fills on some patients at the first post-op appointment, which is about a week after surgery. Everyone's different. I agree with Bumble Bee, though. You should follow your own doctor's orders. He or she has reasons and knows what works best for them. Keep su posted and hang in there. Now does anyone do a hospital orientation? I have to go to one called "Band Camp" It is run by the nurses at the hospital and designed specifically for band paients. They do another orientation especially for the bypass patients too. I'll get my appointment for that next week sometime.

I agree, Bumble Bee. I am also not going to tell my children exactly what I'm having done. For one thing, I am having my procedure on an outpatient basis. My kids will know that mom has a doctor's appointment. When they get home from school, I'll be there and they'll be told that mom had a little hernia operation on her tummy and won't be able to eat the same for a while. I'm doing this because my kids are both on the autistic spectrum. Anything medical freaks them out and I don't want to burden them with having to remember not to tell anyone at school what I really had done. On another note: I am soooooo excited about this surgery coming up. I know it's not the magic pill, but it could be the tool I've needed all these years--to be successful and stay motivated because I know that I will get results if I use the tool properly. My problem always came up when I would exercise my butt off, eat my allotted points, or calories for whatever diet I was on, and end up weighing more at the end of the week or only losing a little bit. This can get really discouraging after a while. :wink: I'm looking forward to pulling out some clothes I haven't been able to wear in a while, as well as getting the chance to buy new clothes. I'm looking forward to being able to wear cute shoes without experiencing excrutiating pain, and to wear rings that my fingers have been to fat to fit for several years. :thumbup: I'm looking forward to being able to take a day trip to San Francisico, like we did on Sunday, and not be out of breath because I had to walk one block up hill. I'm looking forward to my knees and back not hurting. :Yawn: I'm looking forward to joining my guests in the pool during the summer time when I have them over for swim parties. Up till now, I've always had the excuse that I'm too busy taking care of my guests to be able to join them in the pool. I'm looking forward to getting more fun back into my life. What about all of you?

OK, so today, I completed all of my pre-op requirements with attending my psych eval.:frown: The psychologist has decided that I am sane, so now it's time to hurry up and wait for my one-on-one with the surgeon. I really think the number of hoops we're required to jump through prior to surgery is a bit much; however, I have had it a lot easier than some of the posters on this site: no 6-month supervised diet and no pre-op diet required, and for that I am truly thankful. So all of the post-op folks: how long did it take for you to get an actual surgery date after getting as far as I have thus far? I have had my chest x-ray, EKG, nutrition consult, group suppoer meeting, group education appointment, blood work, urinalysis, and of course, the psych eval this morning. Thanks,

Welcome Sil and Bumblebee! My pre-op appointment is on the 7th--next Wednesday. Are you telling people? Family, friends, coworkers? I have decided to tell only my DH, BF and mom for now. I am not telling my coworkers--too many unkind comment-makers where I work. I'm going to be having a "hernia repair".:Yawn: I live with my DH and two sons. aged 13, (will be 14 on Jan 24th and 8. I am a vice principal in an elementary school.

Dunkley, so sorry to hear you have to do an awful starvation diet before your surgery. I am one of the lucky ones. My doctor doesn't require this. I am very grateful because I don't think I could handle the stress of preparing for surgery whilst starving myself at the same time. Good luck and hang in there. It'll be over soon.

I'm getting banded on January 13th, Donald Waldrep, MD, Roseville, CA

Thanks, Godschild. I will be sure to post all updates. I can't believe this is happening so fast! I can only imagine that had it not been for the holidays, I might have been banded already! Yippee

Ok, so I went through all the pre-op stuff, and I guess it went pretty quickly. Shiela, who coordinates patient surgeries at my surgeon's office says I should teach the clinic on how to get through the pre-op process fast. I completed my psych eval yesterday, and the doctor came to the conclusion that I am sane and a good candidate for a Lap Band. I could have told him the same and it would have saved my insurance heaps of dough! Anyway, I had my interview with the nice guy and filled out 2 questionairres: one had 165 questions and the other had probably less than 20. Mt PCP faxed over the medical clearance, and I got the call today that I have successfully jumped through all of their hoops and am therefore "Band worthy". My pre-op will be next Tuesday, the 7th and my surgery date is the 13th! Holy &%*! I am both excited and nervous, plus amazed that it went so quickly! So the next big obstacle is getting this past my boss---she's a workaholic and very high strung. In 30 years as an educator, she has saved 300 sick days and almost always works on weekends for no pay! I am her vice principal and I know she will totally have a cow when she hears I will have to be off for about a week to recover from "hernia surgery". If I tell her I'm having something elective like this, she will surely have a cow and then kittens too! SO my plan is to go back to work next week (the 5th) and tell her I had tons of heartburn during the winter break and the doctor thinks I have a hiatial hernia. I have to meet with a surgeon on wednesday. Then , I'll come back to school on Thursday and tell her I'm having surgery the folloing Tuesday. SOrry, it can't wait; must be done, blah, blah, etc, etc. I hate to lie, but I feel I have no choice.

Ok, so I went through all the pre-op stuff, and I guess it went pretty quickly. Shiela, who coordinates patient surgeries at my surgeon's office says I should teach the clinic on how to get through the pre-op process fast. I completed my psych eval yesterday, and the doctor came to the conclusion that I am sane and a good candidate for a Lap Band. I could have told him the same and it would have saved my insurance heaps of dough! Anyway, I had my interview with the nice guy and filled out 2 questionairres: one had 165 questions and the other had probably less than 20. Mt PCP faxed over the medical clearance, and I got the call today that I have successfully jumped through all of their hoops and am therefore "Band worthy". My pre-op will be next Tuesday, the 7th and my surgery date is the 13th! Holy &%*! I am both excited and nervous, plus amazed that it went so quickly! So the next big obstacle is getting this past my boss---she's a workaholic and very high strung. In 30 years as an educator, she has saved 300 sick days and almost always works on weekends for no pay! I am her vice principal and I know she will totally have a cow when she hears I will have to be off for about a week to recover from "hernia surgery". If I tell her I'm having something elective like this, she will surely have a cow and then kittens too! SO my plan is to go back to work next week (the 5th) and tell her I had tons of heartburn during the winter break and the doctor thinks I have a hiatial hernia. I have to meet with a surgeon on wednesday. Then , I'll come back to school on Thursday and tell her I'm having surgery the folloing Tuesday. SOrry, it can't wait; must be done, blah, blah, etc, etc. I hate to lie, but I feel I have no choice.

OK, so I guess I got my own question answered. The surgeon's office called today and I have a date:: pre-op is on Wednesday, the 7th, SURGERY DATE: Tuesday, January 13th!!!!! I am ex cited and shocked both! This moved a lot faster than expected. Wish me luck!

This morning is the first day of my winter break! My body sooooooo wanted to sleep in, which I was able to do to a certain extent. But, I had to be at my medical office to do lab work by 8:30 this morning. The blood work is a bit annoying because I already had it done last month, but they wanted a pregnancy test too. AS IF!!! I also had to pee in a cup for some other tests. Then off I went to Sutter Roseville Hospital, a fair commute from Elk Grove. I had to attend the group support meeting, another prerequisite before I get to have thee consult with Dr. Waldrep. This was their first gastric band only support meeting. Until today, they had bypass and band patients in the same group, but the bandsters complained that many of the topics didn't apply to them so it they started this group today. There were a combination of pre and post-op patients--mostly post-op. There was one woman who'd lost 95 pounds since her surgery a year ago and one guy who'd lost 60 pounds since his surgery about 5 months ago. Pretty much everyone else was a struggling bandster, with not much weight loss. This was discouraging. I was interested to learn that this practice (SALSA) is now seriously considering doing first fills one-week post-op! This was a new one on me. ALso, there are very few patients who have to do the pre-op diet, and the post-op diet has very few restrictions: clear fluids on day one, full fluids on day 2, pureed foods on day 3, mushies on day four, and regular food thereafter! I have read lots of blogs and forum postings and never heard of any clinic doing it like this. I also talked to my mom, via Skype this evening as I do most evenings. SHe lives overseas, so it's a great way to talk and see each other in real time. I only told her this week that I am planning to get the Lap Band because I didn;t know how she'd react. I was pleasantly surprized to to see that she's very happy for me and all for it. I have her full support and that means a lot. :biggrin:

This morning is the first day of my winter break! My body sooooooo wanted to sleep in, which I was able to do to a certain extent. But, I had to be at my medical office to do lab work by 8:30 this morning. The blood work is a bit annoying because I already had it done last month, but they wanted a pregnancy test too. AS IF!!! I also had to pee in a cup for some other tests. Then off I went to Sutter Roseville Hospital, a fair commute from Elk Grove. I had to attend the group support meeting, another prerequisite before I get to have thee consult with Dr. Waldrep. This was their first gastric band only support meeting. Until today, they had bypass and band patients in the same group, but the bandsters complained that many of the topics didn't apply to them so it they started this group today. There were a combination of pre and post-op patients--mostly post-op. There was one woman who'd lost 95 pounds since her surgery a year ago and one guy who'd lost 60 pounds since his surgery about 5 months ago. Pretty much everyone else was a struggling bandster, with not much weight loss. This was discouraging. I was interested to learn that this practice (SALSA) is now seriously considering doing first fills one-week post-op! This was a new one on me. ALso, there are very few patients who have to do the pre-op diet, and the post-op diet has very few restrictions: clear fluids on day one, full fluids on day 2, pureed foods on day 3, mushies on day four, and regular food thereafter! I have read lots of blogs and forum postings and never heard of any clinic doing it like this. I also talked to my mom, via Skype this evening as I do most evenings. SHe lives overseas, so it's a great way to talk and see each other in real time. I only told her this week that I am planning to get the Lap Band because I didn;t know how she'd react. I was pleasantly surprized to to see that she's very happy for me and all for it. I have her full support and that means a lot.

So, yesterday I drove all the way from my job in Stockton to my surgeon's seminar in Roseville--that was about a 90 minute drive in busy traffic. Dr. Waldrep is very informative and didn't make people feel like they asked stupid questions even when they did. He showed videos of band surgery and also explained bypass. The room was a mix of prospective bypass, band, and undecided patients. A woman there was supporting her husband; she was a former bypass patient of Dr. Waldrep's 'she'd lost 185 pounds. SHe told her story and that she had just run the California International Marathon 2 weeks ago--very inspirational. When we were leaving, I ended up being on the same elevator with her and thanked her for sharing. It was a long walk to the parking lot. She said to me, "Remember how you feel walking right now, and don't ever forget how this feels to you." I said, "I'd like to forget it right now." And she said, "But don't you ever forget. A year from now when you're thin, remember this walk so you'll never go back." Those words will probably stay with me a very long time. Dr. Waldrep's staff are also very efficient. I'm a bit annoyed because I have to redo blood work I just had done last month because they have a lab slip with all the blood tests and urine tests, etc, preprinted. What a waste of time to have a pregnancy test. For crying out loud! I'm 45 years old, the lining of my uterus was burned away in a uterine ablation and my husband's had a vascectomy. If I'm pregnant, that would indeed be a sign from God! This end of things is a bit conveyer belt -ish, but I guess it's their way of making sure everything is done. They have a very extensive website at www.salsa.md/ We began the meeting by getting weighed on a fancy machine--gave all sorts of body fat analysis reports and other inforamtion to make you want to cringe. Then they took the humiliating "before" picture" front and side views--not pleasant. I envisioned myself a year or two from now, with my "after" picture--me all made over, with a new hairdo, cute clothes, make-up, and high heels. My before and afters in a magazine or commercial for Lap Band. More likely, though, in my wallet as a reminder of where I was and how far I'd come. I weighed 2 pounds less than last week when I was at my doctor's. I don't think I necessarily lost weight as much as this is a kinder scale. So to date I have done my EKG--a non-eventful experience at my PCP--healthy heart :biggrin: Psych eval is on the 29th; nutrition eval is on the 23rd; I will get my new lab work and chest x-ray during Winter break, and my mandatory group support meeting, which is on Saturday. After that, I will be ready for my one-on-one with THE DOCTOR:biggrin:. Only a matter of weeks now before I get my surgery.

So, yesterday I drove all the way from my job in Stockton to my surgeon's seminar in Roseville--that was about a 90 minute drive in busy traffic. Dr. Waldrep is very informative and didn't make people feel like they asked stupid questions even when they did. He showed videos of band surgery and also explained bypass. The room was a mix of prospective bypass, band, and undecided patients. A woman there was supporting her husband; she was a former bypass patient of Dr. Waldrep's 'she'd lost 185 pounds. SHe told her story and that she had just run the California International Marathon 2 weeks ago--very inspirational. When we were leaving, I ended up being on the same elevator with her and thanked her for sharing. It was a long walk to the parking lot. She said to me, "Remember how you feel walking right now, and don't ever forget how this feels to you." I said, "I'd like to forget it right now." And she said, "But don't you ever forget. A year from now when you're thin, remember this walk so you'll never go back." Those words will probably stay with me a very long time. Dr. Waldrep's staff are also very efficient. I'm a bit annoyed because I have to redo blood work I just had done last month because they have a lab slip with all the blood tests and urine tests, etc, preprinted. What a waste of time to have a pregnancy test. For crying out loud! I'm 45 years old, the lining of my uterus was burned away in a uterine ablation and my husband's had a vascectomy. If I'm pregnant, that would indeed be a sign from God! This end of things is a bit conveyer belt -ish, but I guess it's their way of making sure everything is done. They have a very extensive website at www.salsa.md/ We began the meeting by getting weighed on a fancy machine--gave all sorts of body fat analysis reports and other inforamtion to make you want to cringe. Then they took the humiliating "before" picture" front and side views--not pleasant. I envisioned myself a year or two from now, with my "after" picture--me all made over, with a new hairdo, cute clothes, make-up, and high heels. My before and afters in a magazine or commercial for Lap Band. More likely, though, in my wallet as a reminder of where I was and how far I'd come. I weighed 2 pounds less than last week when I was at my doctor's. I don't think I necessarily lost weight as much as this is a kinder scale. So to date I have done my EKG--a non-eventful experience at my PCP--healthy heart :rolleyes2: Psych eval is on the 29th; nutrition eval is on the 23rd; I will get my new lab work and chest x-ray during Winter break, and my mandatory group support meeting, which is on Saturday. After that, I will be ready for my one-on-one with THE DOCTOR:biggrin:. Only a matter of weeks now before I get my surgery.