anglov

You have voiced a lot things in my head. I hope today goes well for you. My surgery is tomorrow. You aren't alone. We are ALL in this together.

My day is tomorrow too. I am sitting here very nervous myself today.

Good Luck!

Best Wishes! My surgery is Wednesday!

See, my problem is that I have had all these questions answered. I love my dr and the staff is great!

I just started dwelling on them again today. I guess it is nerves. I know this is the right thing to do for me. Thanks for the pep talk. I just need to keep my feet grounded and my eyes ahead on the prize. Thanks so much!!

Okay so now that I am in the final leg of my journey to banding, lots of things are running through my head. A lot of "what if".

What if something goes wrong?HOw will I pay to fix it since I am self pay?

What if they find something else wrong inside while they are in there?

What if it doesn't work?

And the ultimate...what if I die?

I am finding myself dwelling on these most of the day. I don't let it show on the outside. On the outside, I am confident, calm, collected. I am so nervous on the inside that I am chewing up the inside of my cheeks. A nasty habit I do without even realizing it until it is all chewed up and hurting.

I have started eating some food in the evening because my blood sugar drops too low. I feel better knowing I have some food at night. Only a few more days until I have the surgery so so nervous!!

I am really struggling with the all liquid diet. I only have to be on it a week but I am sooo hungry. I have had to eat something. It's smalll but it helps. I am having really bad headaches where everything is blurry so I ate a small sandwich. Being diabetic I think has something to do with it. I may just have to eat a little something every day. After I ate my headache went away. I don't know what to do. I guess I need to call the dr office tomorrow and see if it would be okay.

My surgery date is May 12th too. I am feeling okay right now but once I get in the pre-op room I will start getting the jitters. My BP shoots up, my anxiety is high. Anesthesia doesn't scare me that much. It's just a normal feeling to be afraid of the unknown.

I am diabetic and I didn't get anything different. The protein shakes from the doctors are low in sugar anyway. I just found some that are low sugar or no sugar added.

Today I went to the hospital for Pre-OP testing. I am cleared for banding...paid my bills. I also started my pre-op diet today. Ran into a fella that was in my education class and is getting banded the same day. He is an hour after me. It was good seeing a friendly face.

Isn't it funny how you can wake up and you aren't hungry at all but when you know all you can have is a protein shake suddenly your stomach is growling so hard it hurts? That was me today! I felt like I was starving. I had tomato basil soup for lunch with unflavored protein powder. It was pretty good but it would have been better if I had a grilled cheese to go with it.:confused:

It was a struggle. My boss and a few others decided to order chinese. They asked me. I declined. They asked me again telling me I might want to get it out of my system. I declined. I went to my testing, came back and they had already eaten. Yeah, Me 1 them 0. Then they decided they needed milk shakes. Again they asked me. I declined several times before they left me alone. They know I am on the diet starting today. Geez, let me the flip alone. Yes I probably will be beyond foul and mean before this is over. :thumbup:

Thanks. I got my band date back in March so this has been a long waiting game.

Time is winding down. So much is running through my mind these days. What will it be like? What does "restriction" feel like? Will I know when I need to get a fill? What will it feel like when I eat and supposed to be full? I hear all the terms and phrases and I understand them all but I don't "know" them.

This has me feeling scared and nervous. I know I will be fine it's just the unknown that has me cautious.

The good news is I am continuing to lose a little weight each week. I think the fact that surgery is close at hand is keeping me on track and making better choices. I am down 13.5 lbs so far and I haven't started the pre-op diet yet. I have just been choosing less starches than before. I don't drink soft drinks anymore. I never drank diets, just regular and it was nothing for me to have 4-6 a day. I have said it many times before, Vitamin water zero is my water of choice. I do drink water at restaurants. I choose a lot of salads and veggies w/out sauces, more than I used to. But, and a big BUT, if there is something I want, I will have it. I can't deny myself anything but can have everything in moderation. You have to learn to control the overeating but if you deny what you truly want then you up the chance of losing control. Control is the point of the surgery in my opinion. Taking control of my life and my eating can lead me to many new possibilities.

I have 16 more days until my one week pre-op diet. I am getting so close and so nervous. I start pre-op diet on the 5th, I have pre-op testing on the 5th and band date is the 12th.

I am officially down 10.5 pounds. I have slowed down quite a bit. At least I am not gaining. Of course all scales are different.

I found in the grocery store (Kroger) in the health food section a wide selection of pureed soups in cartons with screw on caps. There were I think about 10 different varieties. They are a little pricey since they are organic but I may have to give it a whirl. I plan on making homemade chicken noodle soup and puree it and then strain it. Nothing is better than homemade. I also thought about doing the same for vegetable.

I have designated a shelf in the fridge for just me. I have one whole cabinet that is just for my stuff so my mongrel family doesn't dip into it. I drank the Special K protein water, pink lemonade and it was pretty good. It has 5g of protein and 5g of fiber. Can't beat that. I am stocking up when they go on sale. They are a little pricey too. I think it was $4.29 for a box of 7 packets. That is 61 cents a bottle of water. Not bad if you think about it. Not any worse then a soft drink but certainly healthier.

I am one step closer to my new life...:w00t:

Way to go! I am self pay as well. My band date is May 12th. I have done labs, xrays, ekg, pet scan, stress test and now I have to go in for pre-op testing the week before surgery. Crazy!!

Take notes. They are going to give you a TON of information. Congratulations!!

Thanks to both of you!

It's good to know there is light at the end of the tunnel. I hope I am just as successful.

I felt I really didn't have a choice regarding telling people. If I was to lose a large amount of weight or well any weight for that matter and they see me eating mini meals they are going to think I have developed an eating disorder. We all eat together most days at work.

My company is self insured and they specifically excluded it even if medically necessary, which it is. I will try that though. I know they have covered the testing but I have a 3k deductible so I have still paid about 2k out of pocket so far. I plan on claiming what I can on my taxes. My feeling is that since I am paying for this then I have more of a reason to succeed.

The countdown commences. The skeptics come out. The rude comments continue. The supports are there but not in as large of numbers as before. The question that is on everyone's mind is "Will I succeed or will I fail?" Hmmm...dare I prove them wrong? YES I DARE!!

There are a lot of things I have given up on in my life because the going got too tough. Well, this is an investment in my life. A very hefty investment. I am self pay and with that means I will bear the success and the failure heavily. More incentive to succeed. To use my tool to its fullest potential is a priority.

Do I have fears? Yes. Do I have second thoughts? Yes. Do I think there will be times that I fail? Yes but I sure hope not. I am going into this with my eyes wide open to all possibilities. This is probably the hardest thing I will ever do next to child birth and raising 4 kids and raising teenagers. :thumbup:

This is the best support site I have come across. There is more compassion and support than I could have hoped for. I have gotten tons of tips and advice here. I have received valuable insight into what to expect and what could happen. It is good to be in the know. I feel very prepared. No one is preaching to me or at me. It is like we are all lifelong friends. I think it is because we are all on the same lifelong journey together. We are each other's lifeline.

I am looking forward to sharing each leg of my journey with you and hopefully my experience will help others as I have been helped. 30 more days!!!

I too am diabetic. High blood pressure, cholesterol, the whole nine yards. This is for me and if I am taking a drastic step to make things right for me then that is what I am doing. I recognize I can't do it alone. I love this site. There is so much good information, sharing and support. You don't find that on any other weight loss site to the degree that is on here.

I know this will sound, well, WEIRD but THANK YOU!! I have heard reference to sliming but no one has actually described it before. That is definitly something I don't want to happen. CHEW CHEW CHEW and then...CHEW CHEW some more is the new motto!!

I am so sorry to hear that. That being said, you probably aren't ready if you gained 20 lbs just to have the surgery. I wish you the best and we are here should you decide to come back.

Taco Meat is my enemy!! I love to make tacos at home. I usually put my taco meat on baked scoops. Well I have been craving the heck out of them for weeks so I made it the other night and proceeded to PIG OUT on it. I was miserable but my craving was gone. Or so I thought. There were these leftovers in the fridge...Day 2 of the Taco Meat invasion. And then I was miserable AGAIN!

I guess I need to start of a list of NO NOs for food in the house. I'm not sure I can make that again and not try to pig out on it. Of course after the band that would not be a good thing but I don't want to even take the chance.

I don't know what it is about this meal but all my other favs that I decided to have in moderation before surgery have been, just that, in moderation. All except for taco meat. Frankly, if I had some I would eat it now and it is 9:30 in the morning.

Is it just me? Does everyone have this meal or food that just drives them to inhale the food like it is the air that we breathe?

35?? That's great! I have been on here reading and "studying" what others have been going through. I am trying to work on habits now that I will need later on. I gave up soft drinks now I need to work on concentrating on eating and chewing very well. I tend to inhale my food. I just want to try and head off potential problems if I can.

I was going to be banded next week but I needed to get more prepared plus time off and all. I am really glad I put it off another month.

I am so proud of all you have accomplished so far. You are hope for the rest of us.

My surgeon said nothing 15 min before and 45-60 min after. I always drink with my meals this is going to be really hard once I am banded. By the time I think about I have already been slurping my water during my meal.

I weighed myself today and I am down another 2 lbs. for a total of 10 lbs. I feel good about that. The biggest change has been no soft drinks. I drink flavored water only. I am making more healthy choices. Not always but mostly. I was really craving tacos. Well taco meat that I put on baked scoops. I finally made it tonight and it was ALOT. I am stuffed and miserable but my craving is gone. I had a protein shake for breakfast and smoked chicken for lunch. I still haven't gotten this whole eating without drinking. That I guess is my next task to master. It's hard to imagine not drinking while I eat. I get so thirsty. :thumbup: I try to have one protein shake per day instead of a meal. Breakfast is the easiest for me. I do trade off and occasionally have an egg for breakfast. Protein, protein, protein. Protein and low carb. Got to get into the habit now. I found a food journal on bariatriceating.com and a few good recipes but was confused. Some of the recipes had 12g of FAT per serving. I expected it to be less fattening. I started a binder for my food journals and recipes collections. Getting it together a little a time. BAND DATE 5-12-10:thumbup: