Band_Groupie

My prayers were answered!:biggrin: My youngest, DS has two minor procedures being done tomorrow at Children's Hospital (nothing serious). The prep today involves no eating, laxatives, etc. TMI. It's 11am and he's "starving" already :glare:(13 yr. old going through a growth spurt needs hourly food). The hospital doesn't give you the time of the procedure until the day before. So, I've been saying prayers that he would have a morning procedure...another 1/2 day of no food would not be pretty.:rolleyes2: The OR nurse just called and he's the first one scheduled tomorrow!:rolleyes3: 6:45am check-in...yay! A tiny miracle...but one all the same...he and I were doing the happy dance around the kitchen! I'm a little nervous:unsure: about the general anesthetic he's getting for the first time, hour and a half under in the OR...sounds like forever to me (he's got asthma and so many allergies)...please send prayers! We're having "jammie day" and playing games...distractions. I'm off to play (Wii)...

Miralax...sounds familiar today! Exciting today? Hmmm...no Disney trip planned, no WI coming up soon...exciting?...hmmm...it's 11am and I'm still in my jammies...youngest DS is home from school so we're getting ready to play a game...OK, I know...I'm excited to play Wii bowling with him! In real life I get low scores bumper bowling, but I rule at Wii bowling!

SS- Darn, cappucino "sounds" good...I'm now designating you the "Official Taste Tester Extrodinaire"! Thanks!

Yesterday- I hesitate to share much about my kids here, except the good stuff. So lest you think I have the “Leave it to Beaver” family, you can be assured I don’t. We all have our issues don’t we? With 3 kids between 13 and 21, let’s just say we’re majorly going through those “teenage funk” years. My middle one, DS, is 18 and has been in that distant teenage funk for awhile now. When he's not working or doing homework, he can usually be found in the basement- his cave of video games from which he rarely emerges (except under protests from Mom)...He's turning into one of those cave fish...pale skin and I swear his eyes are bulging from sitting in the dark playing video games. Some days I curse the person who invented them and wish they'd spend eternity in video game hell...yep, I'd tape that guys eyes open and make him watch that first video game for eternity...what was it? Oh yeah...PONG...even better (think about it)! This weekend he brought up a board game from the basement for us all to play and I about fell out of my shoes...DH and I looked at each other in disbelief…WHO IS THIS CHILD??!!…Can I keep him…no, really…I’m NOT giving him back! I'm calling it my Christmas miracle!

Yesterday- I hesitate to share much about my kids here, except the good stuff. So lest you think I have the “Leave it to Beaver” family, you can be assured I don’t. We all have our issues don’t we? With 3 kids between 13 and 21, let’s just say we’re majorly going through those “teenage funk” years. My middle one, DS, is 18 and has been in that distant teenage funk for awhile now. When he's not working or doing homework, he can usually be found in the basement- his cave of video games from which he rarely emerges (except under protests from Mom)...He's turning into one of those cave fish...pale skin and I swear his eyes are bulging from sitting in the dark playing video games. Some days I curse the person who invented them and wish they'd spend eternity in video game hell...yep, I'd tape that guys eyes open and make him watch that first video game for eternity...what was it? Oh yeah...PONG...even better (think about it)! This weekend he brought up a board game from the basement for us all to play and I about fell out of my shoes...DH and I looked at each other in disbelief…WHO IS THIS CHILD??!!…Can I keep him…no, really…I’m NOT giving him back! I'm calling it my Christmas miracle!

Great rules Julie Ann...especially liked the will power. Do you have a link to the excel spreadsheet? Thanks!

Welcome Rae and happy new banding! Come back often and let us know how you're doing. -BG

Wow! That's this week...congratulations! Let us know how it goes. "bits and bobs" love that...I hope my surgeon visit goes that smoothly (Dec. 23)...I've got lots of bits and bobs to go through with him before I'll feel comfortable. Hope this week goes fast!

Thanks! Yeah...no one ever asks you to justify it when you tell them you're going on a diet (would those same medical professionals I told have said the same thing if I told them I was starting Weight Watchers? I think not)...why do we have to justify WLS?

Well, I’ve been thinking about starting to track my calories on one of those food tracking sites. I’ve been reading that so many here do this…heck some of them even track their food and every calorie they burn exercising and just walking around. So I’m thinking, I’m committed…I can do WHATEVER it takes to make sure I’ll be successful with the Lap Band…I’m not afraid of working hard…heck, I just bought a fancy pedometer. They want me to track every calorie…I can do that, I’ve done it before…I’ve done WW, Atkins, and Alli among others. I’ve tracked calories before. I was pretty successful at some of those diet plans…I’m the expert dieter…I can stick to a diet like nobody’s business…I can even up to 50 pounds on a diet, it’s just the keeping it off that I have trouble with. I’m as anal as they come…I love lists and spreadsheets. I never much enjoyed the time it takes to track every calorie, but if that’s going to help me then I’m all for it! Except, the thing is I’m not sure I want to go down that path again. I guess it smells too much like a “diet” to me. And aren’t the mottos here “Diets don’t work” and “If you do the same thing you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten”. When I first started looking into the Lap Band it looked like the miracle I’d been searching for forever…Eat healthy, but mostly regular foods, just a lot less of them and the best part…you won’t be starving all the time. But after perusing this site more, I’ve found there’s a LOT of talk about dieting after the LB…even some of the diets I’ve been on before. I’m not saying that doesn’t or won’t work; different things work for different people…I’m just not sure it’s right for me yet. It just seems counterintuitive to me. The reasons I’ve always gained weight back is because yes, I felt like I was starving, but also because I got tired of not being able to eat normally. I hated thinking about food 24/7, planning and cooking special meals separate from my family, and tracking everything…it’s just not a normal relationship with food and isn’t that what I’m trying to change? OK, before you say Well, it doesn’t sound like you’re willing to do the work it’s going to take to make the Lap Band work, maybe you’re not ready for it”. I’ve seen those posts where someone thinks the LB is going to do the work for them…I get it, I know it’s going to be hard work. I get that I’ll be on a very strict pre-op and post-op diet, and I get that I’ll be giving up some foods forever, drinking protein shakes when needed, and yes even cooking some different meals from my family on occasion. I see the benefit in tracking my calories at the beginning year of having the Lap Band or later when I’m not getting the results I want or when the Dr. needs me to track them. I’m willing to work hard to change my eating habits, and choose healthy things-high protein. Maybe it’s a matter of semantics, but I don’t call that a diet, I’d rather think of it as a lifestyle change…and somehow counting every calorie for the rest of my life doesn’t sound like anything but a diet. I also remember that when tracking calories it made me think about food more…obsessing over it in a different way. Maybe I’m overly optimistic about this, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to eventually work past the head hunger and that I’ll get to the point where I have a normal relationship with food…not obsessing over it with stuffing my face or with a “diet”. Or…maybe I’ll need the accountability that tracking food helps with...I don't know. Honestly, I’m not certain where I stand on this yet, I may be tracking every calorie in a few weeks. I guess it will be one of those things I’ll have to figure out as I go along. I'm sure the answer is different for everyone.

Well, I’ve been thinking about starting to track my calories on one of those food tracking sites. I’ve been reading that so many here do this…heck some of them even track their food and every calorie they burn exercising and just walking around. So I’m thinking, I’m committed…I can do WHATEVER it takes to make sure I’ll be successful with the Lap Band…I’m not afraid of working hard…heck, I just bought a fancy pedometer. They want me to track every calorie…I can do that, I’ve done it before…I’ve done WW, Atkins, and Alli among others. I’ve tracked calories before. I was pretty successful at some of those diet plans…I’m the expert dieter…I can stick to a diet like nobody’s business…I can even up to 50 pounds on a diet, it’s just the keeping it off that I have trouble with. I’m as anal as they come…I love lists and spreadsheets. I never much enjoyed the time it takes to track every calorie, but if that’s going to help me then I’m all for it! Except, the thing is I’m not sure I want to go down that path again. I guess it smells too much like a “diet” to me. And aren’t the mottos here “Diets don’t work” and “If you do the same thing you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten”. When I first started looking into the Lap Band it looked like the miracle I’d been searching for forever…Eat healthy, but mostly regular foods, just a lot less of them and the best part…you won’t be starving all the time. But after perusing this site more, I’ve found there’s a LOT of talk about dieting after the LB…even some of the diets I’ve been on before. I’m not saying that doesn’t or won’t work; different things work for different people…I’m just not sure it’s right for me yet. It just seems counterintuitive to me. The reasons I’ve always gained weight back is because yes, I felt like I was starving, but also because I got tired of not being able to eat normally. I hated thinking about food 24/7, planning and cooking special meals separate from my family, and tracking everything…it’s just not a normal relationship with food and isn’t that what I’m trying to change? OK, before you say Well, it doesn’t sound like you’re willing to do the work it’s going to take to make the Lap Band work, maybe you’re not ready for it”. I’ve seen those posts where someone thinks the LB is going to do the work for them…I get it, I know it’s going to be hard work. I get that I’ll be on a very strict pre-op and post-op diet, and I get that I’ll be giving up some foods forever, drinking protein shakes when needed, and yes even cooking some different meals from my family on occasion. I see the benefit in tracking my calories at the beginning year of having the Lap Band or later when I’m not getting the results I want or when the Dr. needs me to track them. I’m willing to work hard to change my eating habits, and choose healthy things-high protein. Maybe it’s a matter of semantics, but I don’t call that a diet, I’d rather think of it as a lifestyle change…and somehow counting every calorie for the rest of my life doesn’t sound like anything but a diet. I also remember that when tracking calories it made me think about food more…obsessing over it in a different way. Maybe I’m overly optimistic about this, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to eventually work past the head hunger and that I’ll get to the point where I have a normal relationship with food…not obsessing over it with stuffing my face or with a “diet”. Or…maybe I’ll need the accountability that tracking food helps with...I don't know. Honestly, I’m not certain where I stand on this yet, I may be tracking every calorie in a few weeks. I guess it will be one of those things I’ll have to figure out as I go along. I'm sure the answer is different for everyone.

That's the start of my list for getting the band, plus the other things mentioned; less invasive/risky, fills/adjustable, and reversible. You've done your research and picked what's right for you. I went to 3 hospital seminars before I found the right fit for me (ranged from totally LB unfriendly to the Doc assuming we all wanted the LB) ...it's different with everyone and we need to all respect others choices. My siblings are all obese and I know if one of my sisters came to me about my LB I'd advise RNY for her for many reasons...you have to feel confident in your choice.

All that work/finals will make the week go fast, so it's a positive! I swear time slows down when you're waiting for something...remember waiting for your birthday/Christmas as a kid...forever! Good luck Friday and let us know how you did! -BG

Stories like yours are so uplifting. I just need to prepare myself that it will probably be months after banding before the band helps me...I believe most of us think everything will change the day of the surgery, but your case sounds more like the "norm". Thanks for sharing!

Yeah, Dr. said something about a stomach bug being rampant right now...we all got the flu shot (even DS since he has asthma)...maybe it wasn't flu since it was so short lived...but those shots don't protect you from everything :-( Made me worry what happens if you get the stomach flu with the band? Slippage? Eeek!

Last night: I feel like all I’ve done is go to the Doctors/Dentist this month!:biggrin: My youngest came home from school today with a high fever and a sore throat…then he vomited on the carpet…then the kitchen floor:puke: (yes, I'm not an idiot...I had already given him a big barf bowl, why he didn't take it with him as he ran to the bathroom, I don't know:glare:) so into the bathtub and a call:phone: to the nurse for advice and an appointment in the morning. He’s resting now, so I just sat down to look at my calendar and put in his appointment (yes, you know me well…my very-anal-color-coded-by-person-calendar…I’d be lost without it:wink2:). I counted up 18 Dr./Dental appointments for the kids and me this month…and the only 2 LB ones were my PCP visit and my upcoming my surgeon consult. Who knows how many visits Mr.SA has, he keeps his own calendar. So take out Christmas holidays and what is that…more than one appointment every weekday! Boy, it sounds like we any unhealthy bunch…and the rest of the family are all skinny as rails! I won’t share my families medical issues- just mine (Mr. SA is the opposite of me about sharing that kind of stuff with anyone), but let’s say we’ve already reached our family prescription deductible. Oh well, all those waiting rooms have given me time to actually read the book I started this summer…halfway now…I never find time to read anymore. I guess it’s also a good prep to for all those LB appointments I’ll have next year! :thumbup: Oh, he’s awake…got to go push the fluids… Today: After 6 more “vomit session” :puke:and me steam cleaning the carpet DS finally fell asleep last night…fever still raging. He was all better this morning but we kept our Dr. appointment anyway so they could do the strep test. So we went “dashing through the snow” :driving:again today (our Doctors office was closed, but the one in Richland was open). Rapid test negative:thumbup:…here’s hoping the longer one is too. He’s got 2 exploratory procedures coming up this Wed. (no surgery, nothing serious) so I’m hoping he’s well for them. That's life.:biggrin:

Last night: I feel like all I’ve done is go to the Doctors/Dentist this month!:rolleyes2: My youngest came home from school today with a high fever and a sore throat…then he vomited on the carpet…then the kitchen floor:puke: (yes, I'm not an idiot...I had already given him a big barf bowl, why he didn't take it with him as he ran to the bathroom, I don't know:glare:) so into the bathtub and a call:phone: to the nurse for advice and an appointment in the morning. He’s resting now, so I just sat down to look at my calendar and put in his appointment (yes, you know me well…my very-anal-color-coded-by-person-calendar…I’d be lost without it:wink2:). I counted up 18 Dr./Dental appointments for the kids and me this month…and the only 2 LB ones were my PCP visit and my upcoming my surgeon consult. Who knows how many visits Mr.SA has, he keeps his own calendar. So take out Christmas holidays and what is that…more than one appointment every weekday!:glare: Boy, it sounds like we any unhealthy bunch…and the rest of the family are all skinny as rails! I won’t share my families medical issues- just mine (Mr. SA is the opposite of me about sharing that kind of stuff with anyone), but let’s say we’ve already reached our family prescription deductible. Oh well, all those waiting rooms have given me time to actually read the book I started this summer…halfway now…I never find time to read anymore. I guess it’s also a good prep to for all those LB appointments I’ll have next year! :biggrin: Oh, he’s awake…got to go push the fluids… Today: After 6 more “vomit session” :puke:and me steam cleaning the carpet DS finally fell asleep last night…fever still raging. He was all better this morning but we kept our Dr. appointment anyway so they could do the strep test. So we went “dashing through the snow” :driving:again today (our Doctors office was closed, but the one in Richland was open). Rapid test negative:thumbup:…here’s hoping the longer one is too. He’s got 2 exploratory procedures coming up this Wed. (no surgery, nothing serious) so I’m hoping he’s well for them. That's life.:rolleyes3:

15# in a week! Wow that's great. Good luck...it's right around the corner...hang in there.

Dag...I can relate. I'm hopeful that my asthma will disappear with weight loss, since I was only diagnosed a few years ago with "Adult onset Asthma"...but I now know I'm severely allergic to almost everything environmental (who knew?) so I'm sure it won't completely go. I know my Christmas tree is giving me some problems right now...deck the halls and all that...it's worth it! Did you have any problems just post-op with coughing? I know I'm fearful I'll go into a coughing fit before I heal and tear something loose..eek! I've heard some say they cough at night after the band...hmmm.

Nope, no “Afters” or even “Befores”. Remember?...I know I told you!?:wink2: I went back to the Urologist yesterday (See my “12/5/08 Urodynamics” blog…if you want to sing a wacky Christmas Jingle with me) for my “Glamour Shots” (Yee Old Tiny Camera up the gazoo photos).:eek: I wonder if I can get a copy for my fridge?:thumbup: After all that (again) my Urologist comes in and says they didn’t find any problems:confused: from the original surgery so he’s going to send me to a Specialist at Magee (Specialist? I thought you WERE a specialist!). Oh, and he gave me a reassuring “Don’t worry…you won’t be leaking the rest of your life.”…what am I, a faucet? :sad:Sigh. I seem to always be the “exception” or have the weirdest medical things happen to me that the Doctors can’t/take forever to figure out.:out: Just ONE example of many; 2 years ago during 3 months of a TERRIBLE no-sleep literally-can’t-leave-the-house-because-I cough-so-hard-I-vomit:puke: constant cough, it took 5 Doctors and 2 Specialist and about 5 different diagnosis of everything from hand-foot-mouth disease to small pulmonary embolisms:ohmy: for me to finally get a “we think you have adult onset asthma…that was aggravated by…”…who knows?:biggrin: The good new is, none of my problems have been terrible things that I know so many have to deal with…Hey, if the worst thing that happens to me is peeing every time I laugh, which my youngest just told me I do way to often :laugh:(the laughing, not the peeing, although that's true too), then I’ve got a lot to be thankful for! Asthma for me is like being obese and the many comorbidities it causes…you just get tired of it, tired of not feeling healthy.:frown: I think one of my first questions for the new “Specialist” will be “Is there a chance this could improve with weight loss?” I asked my Urologist that (after also telling him I was getting the LB) and he said “Not for you! That only happens with people that are huge-morbidly obese…You’re not that overweight!” :sosp: Yeah…us low BMIers hear that from anyone we tell :biggrin:(I’ve only told 3 Doctors and 3 Nurses and ALL of them have used those same 4 words…You’re not that overweight!:wub: To which my immediate reply is always “I’m 100 pounds overweight!”:mad2: I was surprised how that just came out the first time and how defensive I felt about wanting to get the LB.:huh2: Some of them came around and eventually said positive things once they saw I was serious about it, but it was a weird conversation even with these medical “strangers”. I felt like I had to give a list of what a failure I’ve been at weight loss and all the terrible things I’ve let happen to my body because of that in defense of wanting the LB. What negativity…not me.:hand: It reinforced my decision not to tell anyone but DH-Mr.SA (and of course the WHOLE WORLD on LBT). So come on World…get behind me on this (just don’t make me laugh).:lol2::yikes::eek:

Nope, no “Afters” or even “Befores”. Remember?...I know I told you!?:wink2: I went back to the Urologist yesterday (See my “12/5/08 Urodynamics” blog…if you want to sing a wacky Christmas Jingle with me) for my “Glamour Shots” (Yee Old Tiny Camera up the gazoo photos).:eek: I wonder if I can get a copy for my fridge?:biggrin: After all that (again) my Urologist comes in and says they didn’t find any problems:confused: from the original surgery so he’s going to send me to a Specialist at Magee (Specialist?:glare: I thought you WERE a specialist!). Oh, and he gave me a reassuring “Don’t worry…you won’t be leaking the rest of your life.”…what am I, a faucet? :sad:Sigh. I seem to always be the “exception” or have the weirdest medical things happen to me that the Doctors can’t/take forever to figure out.:out: Just ONE example of many; 2 years ago during 3 months of a TERRIBLE no-sleep literally-can’t-leave-the-house-because-I cough-so-hard-I-vomit:puke: constant cough, it took 5 Doctors and 2 Specialist and about 5 different diagnosis of everything from hand-foot-mouth disease to small pulmonary embolisms:ohmy: for me to finally get a “we think you have adult onset asthma…that was aggravated by…”…who knows?:rolleyes2: The good new is, none of my problems have been terrible things that I know so many have to deal with…Hey, if the worst thing that happens to me is peeing every time I laugh, which my youngest just told me I do way to often :laugh:(the laughing, not the peeing, although that's true too), then I’ve got a lot to be thankful for! Asthma for me is like being obese and the many comorbidities it causes…you just get tired of it, tired of not feeling healthy.:frown: I think one of my first questions for the new “Specialist” will be “Is there a chance this could improve with weight loss?” I asked my Urologist that (after also telling him I was getting the LB) and he said “Not for you! That only happens with people that are huge-morbidly obese…You’re not that overweight!” :sosp: Yeah…us low BMIers hear that from anyone we tell :rolleyes3:(I’ve only told 3 Doctors and 3 Nurses and ALL of them have used those same 4 words…You’re not that overweight!:glare: To which my immediate reply is always “I’m 100 pounds overweight!”:mad2: I was surprised how that just came out the first time and how defensive I felt about wanting to get the LB.:huh2: Some of them came around and eventually said positive things once they saw I was serious about it, but it was a weird conversation even with these medical “strangers”. I felt like I had to give a list of what a failure I’ve been at weight loss and all the terrible things I’ve let happen to my body because of that in defense of wanting the LB. What negativity…not me.:hand: It reinforced my decision not to tell anyone but DH-Mr.SA (and of course the WHOLE WORLD on LBT). So come on World…get behind me on this (just don’t make me laugh).:lol2::yikes:

"He is very supportive and understands...well as much as a thin person who has never had a weight problem can understand. He loves me for me and that is more than I could have ever asked for." I think I've written the same words here...My DH-Mr.SA (Skinny Ass) after he got over the "isn't this too drastic?" is supporting this process totally. It's nice to have support from your best friend! Welcome, and congratulations newlywed! -BG

Good for you! February, that's great! Keep on bloggin'!

Great stories...keep'em coming! Sounds like a lot of us thought WLS was "too drastic for me" initially...I know I like was surprised I was even a candidate when I decided to "just take a look" at LB...denial.

Why don't new comments made to my blog show up under my user CP section-that's where I check for new things right? Or is there another place I'm missing...probably so, knowing me...LOL. I did get the notifications on my email, but I don't check my email that often so I've been missing things. I try to keep up with current blogs, but some comments were left on older ones. Thanks!