anglov

Thanks for the responses. I am the type of person that expects the worst and hopes for the best. This time I just want to see if I have a chance to go to my daughters 1st dance recital. Crazy I know. I also know everyone is different I just wanted to get a feel for a variety of possibilities. Again, crazy I know.

I am interested to know how you felt the day after surgery? Also interested in those who had a hernia repair at the same time. I wanted to have some idea of what to expect. I scheduled my surgery for May and then that night I come home and my daughter brings me her paper that she has her dance recital the next day. I have to be there because part of the recital involves the mothers. Any advice or tips?

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?

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?

I have told my co-workers. I have some support and some fake support but talking behind my back. I felt I should tell my unit because I am their team leader and there are going to times like during the pre-op diet that I am going to be less than my sweet self. We are close so they are going to notice if I eat differently and start losing weight then they would feel "hurt" real or not, that I didn't share. I really don't care. It is for me. It doesn't mean I am a failure or taking the easy way because there isn't anything easy about it. I have been sharing some of the things that I will have to do and they are all surprised. They had no idea. It's not like liposuction. You don't suck the fat out and heal and you are smaller. I will mention that there was one person I know who had it and didn't tell anyone, which is fine it's her choice, but as she lost weight quite rapidly, she didn't tell them it was due to surgery. People were gushing all over her success because she said it was all her new found exercise and diet. Which in part it was true. She just left out the big part that it was the surgery too. Someone who knew spilled the beans so to speak and word got around and people felt betrayed because she led them to believe that it was just plain old diet/exercise. They didn't feel the surgery was such a big deal to lie to them. They were offended by her leading them on. No way to win I think.

Ok, first I must say I have had nothing but bad experiences with WW. Well, with the people there. I didn't find support there just rudeness, every single time I joined. That being said, in slight defense or possible explanation, maybe they are so stinking mean because they feel like you had extra "help" and they don't. Jealousy or maybe they feel like you lied when your accomplishments are not totally due to WW. That still doesn't give anyone the right to dog you like that. You are better than they are because you are have the courage to get banded. Those that aren't banded or not going through the process have NO IDEA what the surgery entails or what banders have to go through with their diets. I won't be banded for another month but already I am overwhelmed by all the "rules" we will have. Much more so than WW. If you think about it though, I wonder how many WW people have had surgery and didn't tell anyone? To lose a large amount of weight in a relatively short period of time on WW is nearly impossible in my opinion. We are all human and make mistakes so fast weight loss is not the norm. My last thought...at least you were honest with them and didn't lie. Props to you.

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. 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:

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:

Well this is what my dad said. He said get the picture downstairs and you should look like that. Well that pic is of my when I was 17 in my prom dress. I will be 40 this year. I flat out told him I want to look healthy. I chose to tell people and with that comes the negativity, I know. The group I work with eats a lot and I mean A LOT! They would notice if I was losing weight and not eating like normal. Plus for me it is more motivation to do the right thing so I can show them I will succeed. Plus there is one person at work who didn't tell people and actually started saying it was her "new diet" and all the exercise she does at home. Turns out now people are finding out it was the band and yes she had a large part in following the guidelines but they felt lied to by her. I am not going that route.

That is awesome! Once a Kentuckian always a Kentuckian. My band date is May 12th. I am so excited.

Why is it that people think when you are doing something life altering that they have an automatic right to speak their mind? I just can't imagine opening my big trap and blurting out things that I know would hurt and then be shocked when it does. This morning my Dad said very hurtful things to me. Even when it was pointed out that it was mean and hurtful he argued, to the point of yelling, that it was not hurtful but true. At first I thought people at work were supportative but now those fake supporters have been talking about me behind my back. They say I am just lazy and taking the easy road out. They say I am going to fail again. The surgery won't help. They know people that it didn't work. Well did they know whether or not the person actually followed the many guidelines? I only ask that you don't assume anything about me because you obviously don't know me. I wonder, are you talking about me because you are jealous that I have the guts to say YES I NEED HELP and I am taking this giant leap forward? Don't judge me. I do this for me not you so stop making this about you and your obsessive negativity. :thumbup:

Why is it that people think when you are doing something life altering that they have an automatic right to speak their mind? I just can't imagine opening my big trap and blurting out things that I know would hurt and then be shocked when it does. This morning my Dad said very hurtful things to me. Even when it was pointed out that it was mean and hurtful he argued, to the point of yelling, that it was not hurtful but true. At first I thought people at work were supportative but now those fake supporters have been talking about me behind my back. They say I am just lazy and taking the easy road out. They say I am going to fail again. The surgery won't help. They know people that it didn't work. Well did they know whether or not the person actually followed the many guidelines? I only ask that you don't assume anything about me because you obviously don't know me. I wonder, are you talking about me because you are jealous that I have the guts to say YES I NEED HELP and I am taking this giant leap forward? Don't judge me. I do this for me not you so stop making this about you and your obsessive negativity. :tongue:

I had my father say something to me this morning that was beyond hurtful. He said I needed to take the picture downstairs and that is what I need to look like. The picture...is of me when I was 17 at prom. HELLO>>>>I will be 40 this year!! Why in the HECK would I want to look the same as when I was 17?? It really hurt. I just turned and said to him, I want to be healthy not 17 years old again. I don't need that kind of pressure. Now I wonder if he is going to constantly say these things to me making me feel like a failure before I have even begun. My mom tried to stick up for me and tell him that was mean but he just started talking louder and louder and saying it over and over. Ok, so my dad is 73 and jogs 5 miles a day and exercises over an hour every single day. I am not my dad, obviously. He has never said anything to me about my weight EVER until I started considering surgery now he says things like you used to be pretty and once you lose weight you will be a knock out. It hurts....

All of you get banded before me so I am hanging on your experiences. The 12th will be here soon enough. I start my mandatory pre-op on May 5th. It is suggested I start a high Protein low carb diet or three Protein shakes with one high protein low carb meal another week or two prior to that. I gave up soft drinks too. I am hooked on Vitamin Water Zero. I HATE plain water, makes me gag. I am paying close attention to the protein in a meal. It's hard and still keep it low carb.

I am married and a mother of 4. I have struggled with my weight since 1990. I am paying cash for this procedure because my insurance/company denied it even though it is medically necessary. I have to make this successful and need all the help and guidance I can get.

My insurance denied me too. They have the exclusion even if it is medically necessary so I am paying cash. The cash price for mine only covers hospital, surgeon, anesthesiologist and 6 months of post op visits and fills. My insurace has covered the office visit and surgeon's consult because they ran it through with a regular office visit diagnosis code. I only had to pay a specialist copay. I have a 3k deductible but they ran testing through that and it was covered but because of my deductible I still have to pay some. I had an intake visit which included a physical, psych eval, nutritionist and education class. I was billed separately for psych and physical so that only cost the copayment. I also had labs that day that ran after insurance discount $200. I then had a PET scan, which is a chemically induced stress test. I was given medicine that caused my heart to simulate a stress test without me doing anything. The cardiologist monitors it. After the insurance discount I still owe $1400. I then went for chest xray, EKG and more labs. I have one more pre-op lab and I get banded on May 12th. I am diabetic and have a blood clotting disorder so I have extra labs done. Part of me feels that since I am paying it myself then it is more of an investment for me. I am only afraid of complications that I would have to pay out of pocket. My surgeon said if he goes in and sees a hernia they will repair those for free.

Ok, I have full respect for you to be on here living this journey with and for your wife. Not many would come on this site to seek help or advice for a spouse going through this. Props to you. I would NEVER question her sincerity or committment to the surgery. Go days without solid food and see how sweet and good natured you are. I gaurantee you will think a lot about food. I expect to when I am on full liquids. Heck, I think about food when I am dieting anyway. You may not cheat but honestly who doesn't at least think about it. I mean isn't that why we are here? Diets didn't work and I would guess most had a cheat or two. So your wife asked. You declined to keep her on track and one day she will realize that and hopefully thank you. If she doesn't then take pride that you were that supportative. Would my husband get McDonald's for me? Probably but then again you wouldn't see him on here seeking advice or help on what to do for me.

My short term doesn't kick in until I am off for 5 work days. By the time it kicks in and the paperwork gets processed I will be back at work. I have to use my own vacation time those 1st days anyway. I work a 4-day work week and because of that I get more time off while using less of my vacation time. If, God forbid, I have complications, the short term is ready to kick in after I have used my vacation time. Just think of the vacations after you lose the weight. They will be so exciting. :bored:

My doctor said I MUST do a 1 week all liquid diet with the day before surgery nothing but clear liquids. He said he recommends that I do another week or two prior to that with 2-3 shakes a day and one high protein meal. I already try to do 1 shake a day and then work my way up to two a day so I won't be shell shocked when I have to do a solid week of all shakes. I am worried I won't be able to do that.

Mine is set for May 12th. I too am worried about the pre-op diet. I will be at work for only 3 days of the diet so that is good for my co-workers. I think they are afraid of how mean and cranky I may be. :bored: I plan on eating every thing that I love that I either won't be able to have anymore or won't have for a long time. The KEY is not pigging out on it. I promised myself that I will have my last meals but in moderation. If I gain any weight they may cancel my surgery. I will lose some on the pre-op diet but if I gain a bunch then I might be in trouble.