RavenClaw779

Three month wait - are you kidding?!? I'm going through Ellis Hospital(Schnectady, NY) - they assigned the surgery date and time at my first meeting with the PA which was 1/14/10. My surgery is set for 3/10/10. Of course when I checked with the case manager she'd yet to submit it to BCBS for approval...she's waiting on the test results from next weeks' whirlwind of UGI, Cardio, sleep Lab & Nutritionist...so maybe it won't be 3/10... Let's say I'm 75% sure I'm going to do it. I'm not going to kid myself - I've done the diet-lose-gain+ crapola too many times to count. I know proper portioning and I cook 95% from scratch(WW Cookbooks are #1) but I overeat, stress eat, boredom eat and I'll need that physical push back to actually make progress.

My surgeon's office gave me a list of four psychologists and I didn't think to ask if I could choose a provider on my own. My bariatric center is 45 minutes away, so I chose the counselor who was closest. What a ding-dong! She was late, locked herself out of her office and couldn't finish the consult in the alotted time so she had to call me at home several days later!? Her biggest concern - how she was getting paid for her time. I wasn't too surprised to hear that someone in my support group had a similar experience with her and got the similar recommendation - "Attend two support group meetings prior to surgery". Take it for what it's worth - it's really just to weed out someone who is doing this for the wrong reasons(to please a spouse...) and someone with obvious psychological issues. Frankly I always thought that my ability to eat a whole large pizza on my own made me a psycho - guess not!:scared2:

So..after this morning's post I'm off to run errands while pondering my decision. As I walk into Walmart I notice the obese gentleman sitting in his van in the fire lane trying to muster the energy to get out. Hmm - that could be me in a few years I think. In the store I see two very obese ladies having to shop using the motorized carts - in one case the cart's motor is grinding so bad it sounds like a cat stuck in a mailbox. Once again, I think to myself, that could be me sometime down the road. Off to the pet food aisle and as I heave a 20+ pound of dog chow into my cart one-handed and older gentleman comments something to the effect of, "You get around pretty good for a big girl!" Gee - thanks! All kidding aside, I know my own strengths and weakness(clearly Good Eats is one) and have always tried to avoid judging someone solely on their appearance. But with this decision weighing on my mind, it made me more focused today. I noticed all the people shopping who were clearly struggling with their weight and in a number of cases their health was clearly on the downswing. I'm in relatively good health and I have to opportunity to add a tool to my arsenal so that someday a much smaller me will heave that dog food bag and the only comment will be that I'm pretty strong for a woman!:scared2:

I've battled my weight for 20 years. I've been 200+ for 10 years. I told myself in January 2009 that if I didn't make significant progress in my weight loss efforts in the course of a year, I'd pursue gastric by-pass or lap-band. My doctor is all for it. Ditto for my psych consult. I know the #1 reason to do this is for my health. Nevertheless, I feel like the facility I'm utilizing (a "Center of Excellence") views me as just $$ and I'm questioning their level of caring for me as a person/patient. I've been through extensive nutritional counseling and I get it. A friend of mine is an RD and we've been working on various behavioral approachs to weight loss/control. She asked me if I'm able to lose the 10% required for surgery, why not set a second goal of another 10% and so on? If I've coped with stress in the past by eating what makes me think I won't find a way to continue doing so? (Her question to me) Then I went to a support group meeting last night and watched as the GBP -v- LB battle ensued - a "my procedure is better than yours" free for all. Ended up talking to a lady who had the lap-band in 6/09 was 250 and is now 205...roughly 1.5 lbs a week - what one could do on their own with a sensible diet. I'm just putting this out there - has anyone else wrestled with this as I am? Am I just self-defeating or scared? Thanks Bandsters for listening! :thumbup:

I hear you! I am very lucky in that I volunteer in the nutrition center of my local hospital so the RD's are behind me all the way. My husband on the other hand while not unsupportive is of the "if you just tried harder..." school of thought(he doesn't have a weight problem and hasn't battled it for 20+ years). I was going to keep my surgery to myself as we live in a small town with a big gossip problem, but I felt that I probably should tell the family. BIG mistake - and one you'd think I'd have foreseen considering my sister-in-law has blabbed every confidence any friend has told her. I didn't even get to inform my mother-in-law before blabber-mouth called to tell her. Now everyone knows and feels compelled to ask the What? Why? and recount the "OMG I Heard...Horror Story". And the diet sabotage has begun...last week it was a family birthday dinner at the Outback that I just HAD to go to(per my s-i-l) - didn't. Today it's a phone message from the monster-in-law..."Family dinner tomorrow night...I know you're on your little diet, but maybe you can bring your special food..." - NOT! I'm sending the hubs and renting a movie - saving myself from an evening of BS Q&A! Like most women I do most things for others i.e. the family - But this journey I'm doing for me:thumbup:

My surgery is 3/10. When I had my initial meeting with the surgeron's PA I was told that a "MediFast" diet was required 2 weeks prior to surgery. Four shakes plus 5oz protein and 1 & 1/2 cups veg. My starting weight at the first appt - 279. My pre-surgery goal weight - 252. I was 263 on 1/29 when I had to meet with the "MediFast Nurse" - six weeks prior to surgery. They wanted me to start the MediFast diet then - to lose 11 pounds?! I have had an indirect calorimeter done at my local hospital which indicated I need about 1900 cal to maintain my weight; about 1200-1500 to lose about 2 pounds a week. A week in to this diet I had severe allergic reactions so I called the nurse. She tells me that I can use Slimfast or other low-carb/high protein shake mixes, "that's what the people who can't afford MediFast use"?! and that this diet phase it like Adkins - 70+grams of protein a day and less than 65 carbs being the goal. Incidentally my actual CT's are being done next week - so my liver has yet to be examined in any way. I'm ravenous and ready to call my doc for an rx for an appetite supressor! :thumbup:

My first meeting with the nutritionist is next week; my surgery is 3/10. Last week the "Medifast" nurse reviewed the pre-surgical diet (basically 4 Medifast Shakes & one meal of 5 oz of protein plus a cup and a half of veggies for about 500 calories a day) with me and told me to start. Since I'm 8 pounds from the weight my surgeon wants it's a bit of overkill. Nevertheless the reason for the pre-surgical diet is to help shrink the liver to make it easy to manipulate the laproscopic tools and because the less you weigh before any surgery the safer it is. Every doctor is different but I think most limit this to a two week period prior to the surgery.:thumbup: