Juniper

All About Me Where do you live? Fort Worth, TX How old are you? 37 Are you married, dating, significant other, partnered? Engaged Any children? Yes, three! 1 girl, 2 boys. Grandchildren? Not yet, and hopefully not for awhile. I'm still busy spoiling my kiddos! Pets? Yes, 1 Puppy and 1 Kitty. Current Health Morbidities? Borderline HBP, lots of knees problems, and thyroid disorder. What are your greatest Fears? Spiders and cockroaches top them all, but related to the lapband, I'm afraid of never waking up after the surgery, and of being in the hospital. What are your weight loss short term goals and Long term goals? Short term, I want to be able to tie my shoes comfortably again! Long term, I want to be STRONG! I want to be able to do an entire class of Kickboxing, hike 20 miles, and lift my son - did I mention he weighs almost 100 lbs?! Also, I want to be small enough that my (soon-to-be) husband will be able to carry me. :tt1: List at least one thing you want to do/wear/eat/buy when you reach your goal? So many things... I want to wear a LITTLE black dress, and dress up in sexy school girl costumes! :w00t: I want to be able to buy clothes from a non-fat girl store! I want to go on vacation somewhere tropical and WEAR A BATHING SUIT! Doesn't even have to be a bikini, as long as I'm not worried about being too fat for the beach. I want to make love in positions I haven't been able to get into in awhile!! :thumbup: Okay, probably TMI, but that's definitely one thing that's got my fiance being so supportive. *laughs* And I want to live long enough to see my kids become adults, and have kids of their own, and enjoy my life without limitation...

Wishing you all the best!!

I'm so sorry you are going through that! I hope you get to feeling better very soon. Thank you for sharing this, though. It's just the kind of mistake I would have made, too!

Amy, Thanks for so much detail. Since I'll be at the same place, it really helps me get an idea of what to expect. I have to say, I got a little teary-eyed, though. I really do hate hospitals, and I'm very, very nervous about the actual surgery. I'm so glad to hear that you got to come home so quickly! I hope I get to do the same! I wonder, is the heparin shot just something they do with everyone? I've never had problems with my blood being "thick", and I tend to be a bit of a bleeder as it is, so I kind of worry about them thinning my blood anymore. :thumbsup: I'll remember to steer clear of the juice and go with water! Hope you get to feeling better soon!

oh no!! no puking! glad to hear from you, though. :-)

man, i only wish my allergies were from flowering trees and bushes... here in texas it's from WEEDS!! hehe

maybe if you explain that you have seasonal allergies, and maybe even look up what's in the air in your area right now, so it really sounds like you know what you're sneezing at!! but be safe. make sure you let them know if you take ANY allergy medications, and don't take anything to try and keep down your fever. (oh, how many times have parents sent their kids to school with a fever after dosing them with tylenol... ) better to wait until you're nice and healthy than risk a slower, more difficult recovery! *wishing you the best*

Hey TxAmy! I'm sending you lots of positive thoughts for your surgery! I can't wait to hear how it all went for you! I never went to a seminar. Maybe it's just too personal a decision for me, but I hate going to groups like that. I'm the same way with Lasik surgery. I want to do it, but I don't want to sit through a seminar about it. I want to talk to a doctor personally! I did go see the nutritionist there, and she told me the same thing, that I could choose some other type of protein powder, but Tracy (Dr. Hagood's nurse) was quite insistent. Then again, she admitted at my first appointment that the WLS were new to her, so maybe no one's told her. Or they had some inventory they wanted to get rid of! :thumbup: They've given me a tentative surgery date of the 28th, but that all depends on my pre-op appt on the 21st. I will plan it when I hear it from Dr. Hagood that he thinks I'm ready. No, I didn't know he did the fills, but that's good! He seems like an interesting guy from the little bit of time I've spent with him so far. Very subdued, and to the point. The psychiatrist told me that he really enjoys the "scientific" part of being a surgeon, but his bedside manner is a little lacking. That's fine with me. I'd rather he be good at performing the best surgery possible than engaging in chit-chat with me. Best of luck with your surgery, and relax... you'll be sucking ice chips and sipping soup before you know it. :thumbup:

Robert, I would not recommend using MiraLax if you're having problems with diarrhea. MiraLax is a treatment for constipation primarily.

oh yes... not puking = very wonderful!

My doc insists that I use Myocel. You'll find that if you do a quick google search, the only place to buy it is from ONE website, or my doctor's office, of course. There's a reason for this.... IT'S DISGUSTING! I've done MediFast, and tried all their shakes, soups, etc., and I've done several other types of protein drinks, and this Myocel has got to be the worst tasting. The ONE good thing about it, it does mix well. Unlike some of those MediFast drinks that are always chunky no matter what I do. I tried some of those Isopure drinks, and the Grape and Fruit Punch weren't bad, but the Apple Melon tasted (and looked like) it had some serious chemicals in it!! :thumbdown: I also tried to get a jumpstart on my pre-op diet, but after doing really well Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, I blew it Sunday (not horribly, but still) so I feel like I'm on Day 2 again, and all I want to do is sleep! Best of luck to us all in making it through this and losing that liver fat!

I'm at Presby Dallas, too, but with Hagood. I had a choice between Anderson and Hagood, and I just flipped a coin, pretty much, since they both seem to have the same type of experience and Katz isn't doing the surgery any longer (my first choice). I hope everything goes well at your appointment! Maybe we can "buddy up" for support! :thumbdown:

TxAmy, Your pre-op diet looks a lot like mine. Do you mind telling me where you're getting your surgery done, and who your doctor is? You can send a private message if you want. :-) I've started mixing my protein/milk with instant coffee and a little unsweetened cocoa powder, and freezing it. It's the best thing I've tried so far!

I'm with UHC, and so far I've had to get a Nutrition Consultation, and a Psych Exam, but those requirements were from the Doctor, not UHC. UHC is requiring that I get a cardiac and pulmonary clearance, but that's supposedly because my BMI is over 55. I'm working through my PCP to get this, and hopefully it won't take long. Otherwise, I have to do the pre-op diet for 2-3 weeks (lose at least 20 lbs - again a requirement of the doctor, not UHC) and that's it! No 5 year weight history, no 6 month physician supervised diet. And my UHC rep said she does approvals within 24 hours of receiving them if all the required documentation is included. I have to say, it's much easier with UHC than I expected. :drool:

but the perfectly set iPod tunes don't hurt!

Congratulations!! I'm going through the process of getting approved with UHC right now, and they've (so far) been very helpful and responsive! Best wishes, and may the mailman be speedy!

I've decided not to tell anyone at work. I lost a good deal of weight once before, and everyone made so many comments on it, but then once I started gaining the weight back again, it was silence. I have a hard enough time dealing with compliments, so I really don't want people to know they should be looking for change! Eventually they'll probably notice, but in the meantime, I'll be able to go through my "adjustment" period without feeling like everyone's watching, just waiting to see the pounds disappear. I'm still trying to come up with what excuse I'll use to take off sick time from work, though. I'd really like to take a week, but I guess it all depends on how good my excuse is... :-)