Mommy2Ps

Hi All! I've 5days post op and I'd like to know if it's safe to swallow my meds, in pill form. They are little pills, once a day. Not Vitamins. My discharge instructions from the hospital says to crush them for 6wks, but that seems a little ridiculous to me. I can't bear to smash and swallow anymore. They burn going down and taste DISGUSTING. Any words of wisdom?!?!? Thanks everyone!!!!

I made it, I made it!!! Thanks everyone for the well wishes!! My whole ordeal can be found here!! Diary of a (Former) Fat Chick: As a matter of fact, I AM with the Band!

I know, sucks huh!?! Dummy me didn't think about it when I jumped at the surgery date!!! Oh well! Small sacrifice, I suppose! haha Have fun and please don't tell me how it is!! I'm probably going to drag my arse down there no later than Thursday!! I can't wait much longer!!!! Prrrrr Edward! :ohmy: Thanks for the kind words everyone!! I'm excited, but still so nervous about the aftermath. The surgery itself will be OK (I've had three others before), but just everything after is what I'm concerned about. I know I'll be OK, eventually!!

Thanks to everyone for the supportive comments!!! J & S, you two don't know how much you've helped me through this process!! I've been blessed to meet such wonderful friends on here and I can't thank you both enough!! Same goes to Heather, Erika & Vickie for being a great support via my blog too! Thanks girls!! :ohmy: Jen- Tomorrow it's you and me (and 7 others!?!)! I'll make sure not to give DK too much of a problem!!!

After years of being on the fence, and starting the serious journey in April, tomorrow morning is my surgery. I'm FREAKING OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not so much concerning the surgery itself, just what happens, oh...for the rest of my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cmon out fellow bandsters and put to rest my fears of the aftermath!!! Will life ever get back to being somewhat normal?!?!? TIA!!!

Hi Jenny- I don't have any pearls of wisdom to offer, but I'm right there with ya! My surgery is Tuesday. I'm also in TX. :scared2: Best of luck to you and I wish you the best!! It's a big change, and I'm starting to freak out too, but thankfully we have this awesome site filled with people who are living the banded life!

Welcome! I'm in TX too. Congrats on having a date! It will be here before you know it! Like you, I also had my gallbladder removed and like he said above, I've heard it's worse painwise than the LB. I hope so! I'm such a pain wimp!! LOL My surgery is on Tuesday!! Yae us!!!

Thanks for the advice everyone. Nope, not exercising regularly, so it's not muscle gain. Nope, not over the 9 days, just overnight. I'm happy to report that this AM the scale was back down....so probably more or less Water weight gain. I'm on 800 calories a day, for 14 days. My surgery is set for Tuesday. I can't wait!!!!!!! Good luck tomorrow, Melissa!! :thumbup:

OOPS- WEIGHT, not WAIT!! :smile2: I've been doing really well, am on day 9 of the pre-op Optifast diet and this morning my scale was 1.5lbs heavier!!! WTF?!?!??!?! :biggrin: Now I did have one slip up and had two bites on Lasagna on Monday night, but that was it. I've normally been missing my last shake of the night, but last night I decided to have it since I've been waking up hungry. Do you think that could be the cause?? Has anyone else ever GAINED weight on the pre-op diet??? I'm SOOOOOO ticked off. :thumbup: TIA!

Hi Chris- I was in your place over a year ago. On the fence and wanting to do something about my weight, but then not wanting to admit to myself that I can't do it on my own and that I need help. One of my reasonings, in my head, was that there was no way I could give up eating for two weeks (or more) before the surgery. It was silly of me to think that I valued food for two weeks more than the rest of my life. Does that make sense? Right now, I'm on day 7 of my pre-op two weeks, and you know what?! I'm still alive! I'm doing it and it's not that bad. I have two kids, the youngest being 13months. Right now, I was on the fast track to having a heart attack by the time she started school, or worse yet, even sooner. I NEED to be around to see my girls grow up. My quality of life should not revolve around what my next meal is going to be, and when I made that decision that enough is enough, I made the call to the surgeon. That was in April and my surgery is next week. I don't know what the future holds, and of course I'm scared of what I'm giving up....but I'm more scared of missing out if I'm dead. That's kind of blunt, but you get the idea! One thing that really inspired me was looking at the before and after pics. Knowing that these are real people who have done it before me just gave me SO MUCH HOPE. If they can do it, so can I. This blog also pushed me too. She's awesome and such a success story. Look at her before and after pics. Unbelievable!! www.cheeseandsunkist.blogspot.com She's on here and she's awesome. Anyway, sorry for the novel. We're all here to support you! Good luck with your decision!!

It varies not only by insurance plan, but what her company will or won't cover. Once my packet was submitted to the insurance, it took them two days to approve me!!! Beachbunny- I have BCBS of GA too, Anthem, PPO and my qualifications were the same as yours. BMI over 40, nutrition, psych eval, and sleep study. My packet was submitted on 5/25 and I was approved on 5/27! Only need to pay for my 20% portion, but that won't exceed $1500. :> Pretty sweet!! Good luck to you!!!

Thank you for all the great advice! I took it to heart and decided, knowing myself, I should opt out of the reunion. It's a 5hr drive one way, with two little kids by myself, and getting used to my new way of life would be just asking for a meltdown!! I know how I am, and it just sounds like a bad idea all around. I told a few of my immediate family and they concur! haha Thanks for everything though. I did consider it, but those who thought I should postpone the surgery...ummm, ya, NO WAY! I've jumped through too many hoops to reach this goal and there is nothing, of my own doing, that is going to get in the way of surgery day!!

I need some input from BTDT banders! My surgery is set for 6/29! My family is having a large reunion the weekend of 7/9. So that's 10 days out from surgery and I'm wondering if I'm going to be miserable the entire time; physically and emotionally. (not to mention it's going to be 500^ where it's being held!) Will I feel up to it?? What the heck will I be eating then since I doubt I'll be able to eat the food at the reunion. It's just aggravating not being able to predict how I'm going to be feeling and dealing with the whole food issue while being out of town for three days. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! TIA!

I'm right there with ya, sister!!! This is my last week of food and next Tuesday I start the exact same diet as you. I noticed you're in TX too. I wonder if we're seeing the same dr! :tongue2: When is your surgery? Mine is the 29th. I hear after the 3rd day it gets better. I wish they could just knock us out for a few days!! haha By this time next week, I'LL be starving and you'll already be a week into it...so I'll be coming to YOU for support!!! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!! WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!!! BIG PICTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL, I thought about that, but I didn't want to put the obvious choice!!

Please pick the flavor you liked the most!! THANKS!!!!

I'm a June 29th-er!!!!!! WHOOO HOOOOOOOO I'm in for the pic post and a cute name!!!!!!!!

Thanks everyone!!! Thanks Julie, it's been a great two days!!!! Us who are being banded within days of each other, or on the same day, REALLY need to keep in touch!!!!!!!! :thumbup: Thanks Gloria too, for the info. I will stalk your blog for answers!!!!

:biggrin:JUNE 29th!!!!! I'm beyond excited!!!! It only took my insurance 2 days to approve me! Don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing, but I'LL TAKE IT!!!!! WHOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO My birthday was yesterday, so I'll call this a belated present!! Thee BEST yet!!!!!!!!!! :thumbup:

You can do it!!!! Soon, when I have to do the two week Optifast plan, I will be looking for your advice!! PS- Which Optifast flavors taste the best?? TIA & Good luck!!!!

My condolences to you and your family. Many hugs to you. Thank you for sharing your story with us. As an overweight mom, my reasoning for getting the band is 98% for the benefit of my own children. Your story just confirms my decision. I'm sure your mom is very proud of you and will continue to shine through your accomplishments. :thumbup:

crickets crickets Cmon guys, I don't want to be the only member in my club! How sad is that!?!?!

I'm already mourning food and I'm not even banded yet! How's that for being sad?!?! haha Claim Jumper is awesome so I totally feel your pain and I guess it's easy for me to give it up since there isn't one in Texas!! Just like the others told you, you might be able to still eat what you love, but you will quickly learn if you can tolerate it and how much. One of my first posts on here was about if I would be able to still eat mexican food after the band!! Thankfully most said I still could, so just like your sandwich, you just might be able to have a tiny portion of it someday! GL!!

Hi. I'd be glad to help you. Just find a ticker site that you like (I like Ticker Factory) and go ahead and set it up how you want it. Then copy the IMG code and come back here and see where it says "User CP" above? Click it and then select 'Edit Signature' (I think that's what it says) and there you paste the code. Do a preview, make sure it looks OK and then click save!! To add pics and such, I used Photobucket.com, upload my pics and then copy and paste the IMG code (it's the last choice) into your siggy. It's super easy once you do it a few times!! Hope that helps!

Welcome! I'm in Ins-App Limbo, so I don't have a date yet. I'm ready though!! Congrats to us for making this decision to better our lives!! Good luck!!