va_viv

I would love to join you all. I was just banded Oct 6th and have yet to sit down and set goals...will definitely do that tonight and get back to you on how much I want to lose. Good luck with everything guys!

Congrats everyone! I hope everyone continues doing great! I'm 6 days post-op and feeling great. I came back to work today. :smile2: I really didn't want to but I needed too. I'm still on my liquid diet 4 days to go and I can't wait. I'm so OVER it at this point. I did 2 wks prior to surgery so needless to say I'm def over it. :tt2:

WOW! You look great! Congrats!!!

Wow I wish I had support groups as great as you guys. The support groups that my surgeons office offers are great except for the fact that 99% of people that go are bypass-ers. There was only 1 bandster there. I'll have to do some searching online.

Wow that's a lot. I was just told to eat whenever I want and I can eat creamy soups, SF jello & popcicles and of course water and 2 protein shakes are a must. Maybe you should call the nutritionist they would definitely be able to tell you how to tailor it because it really does seem impossible. Good luck!

Ladybug I was just able to take a shower. I had to wait 72 hrs after surgery....uggh, I hated it and it was the best shower ever! lol Everything is going fine with me but I HATE HATE HATE the gas, I previous had my gallbladder removed and I didn't have this much gas pain. I feel like I have to burp but it doesn't come out and it hurts. I guess there could be worse things. I can't wait to be able to sleep like a normal person. LOL My incisions are starting to itch which is a good thing I guess...yay for starting to heal. I have a total of 5 incisions. YES 5!! WTF? 2 of them are about 2 inches long, one of them is for my port and the other one I have no idea what it's for. The other 3 are less then 1/2 an inch. Anywho, hope everyone is still doing good. Good luck with everything.

Hey guys! I'm back and banded! YAY! Was banded on Wednesday. Everything went really well and I was able to leave that same day. I feel great, not really sore. I woke up from surgery with really bad back pain, they told me it was the gas. As soon as I could get up and walk I did. I walked 3 out of the 4 hrs I was in "recovery". It helped A LOT. Nights are kind of bad because I'm not one to sleep on my back or sleep sitting up for that matter but I guess it comes with the territory. I'm glad everyone is doing well. Congrats on the new October bandsters. Can't wait to hear about your journey. :biggrin:

Congrats! I hope you have a speedy recover. I'm getting banded tomorrow...eeek! I'm a bit nervous. :thumbdown: We're in the same boat! I wonder the very same things. LOL

Hi! I'm getting banded tomorrow and reading that you're doing well made me calm down a bit. Congrats on getting banded! Much luck and success to you! I hope you have a speedy recovery! :thumbdown:

Tomorrow is my day too and I'm feeling the exact same way. My hands are hurting from being cold. So weird! Well, just wanted to wish you good luck and I KNOW everything will go well. I hope we get some sleep tonight! lol:thumbup:

Hey! I'm sorry you had to go through that. It's hard enough to make this decision without having someone else, who is suppose to be there to help you and guide you, knock it down and make you second guess yourself. I agree that was extremely unprofessional. All I can do is tell you why I chose lap band, getting banded tomorrow...YAY. The main thing that attacted me to the lap band was, like you mentioned, the slow weight loss. With the band I feel that you have to change your life FROM THE BEGINNING or you won't be successful. You are learning to eat better and completely change your unhealthy eating habits in order to lose the weight. With the bypass you are almost guaranteed to lose the weight..so it's kinda backwards. You lose a ton of weight then to maintain you must learn to eat better? Doesn't really make sense to me. If a bypass patient doesn't learn to change their habits they'll gain all the weight back. You will notice that there are several bypass peeps on here getting banded on top of their bypass because they have been unsuccessful. I'm not talking bad about them or am saying that they all were unsuccessful due to eating bad..but it happens. My other concern was loose skin. I'm 25 yrs old and I frankly don't have money to be getting plastic surgery. I want to be able to lose weight slow enough for my skin to catch up. I'm not saying that noone has loose skin I'm just saying it's almost a guarantee with the bypass (speaking from experience, I know many bypass people). Lastly, the re-routing of my insides is something that doesn't sound very appealing. I want to get help without having to change my insides. I hope that helps. Think long and hard about this because I know it's a tough decision. Just know that if you're dedicated you'll definitely be successful in which ever surgery you choose, just make sure it's your decision and don't let anyone (like that stupid psych) change it. You'll KNOW when you choose the right one. Tons of luck to you!! :tongue2:

You think so? Cool! Well, I'll make sure to take it with me just in case. THANKS!

My name is Vivian (everyone: Hi Vivian) and I am a (regular) coke addict. I love love love love love coke. I used to drink it mostly during my meals. I had to give it up for my pre-op diet which wasn't hard because I wasn't eating just drinking my liquids. HOWEVER, I never really got a chance to practice the "don't eat and drink" rule. I've always been one that has had to drink and eat. :/ SO, I will be having a crash course on what that feels like. Wish me luck! lol Good luck with the withdrawls I'm sure it'll get A LOT better.

Tomorrow is the day. I'm slightly freaking out now. I'm SUPER nervous. I've had 2 previous surgeries and I don't think I was as nervous as I am for this one...or maybe I don't remember being this nervous. But..I'm trying to control myself and have happy thoughts! To make things worse I broke my cpap machine's hose last night. LOL I must of had a fight. I really hate that thing and I haven't used it much. The dr said my sleep apnea is so mild that I shouldn't have gotten one...but nonetheless, the hospital requires you to bring it for surgery (I guess for when you're asleep in recovery). I don't know who to call to get a replacement hose. What to do what to do. I'm sure it's to late to get a replacement, I'll just have to take it and show them that it's broken. Oh wells! Good luck BostonPA and everyone else getting banded today and tomorrow. Eekkkk! We're almost there!

Hey! How excited. I understand the pre-surgery jitters...I'm right behind you, getting banded on Wednesday. Just remember why you're doing this and you will calm down. Tons of luck to you and I hope you have a speedy recovery!!

I know most surgeons have seminars that they put on and most surgeons won't see you unless you've attended one of those seminars. I'm not sure about everyone else but I didn't need to go to my personal dr before going to the surgeon's seminar. After attending the seminar I set up an appt with the surgeon and was ordered to get a medical clearance from my personal dr, that's the only time I saw my personal dr regarding the band. Other insurance companies may require you to get referred by your personal dr before hand. That being said, it might be completely different in your situation because you're a minor. I'm assuming you're under one of your parents insurance, you might want to get that parent to call their insurance company to verify what you have to do. Hope that helps. Good luck

Hey Boston! I know how you feel..getting banded on Wednesday..I keep asking myself "ok are you ready? are you ACTUALLY ready?" I'm freaking myself out, makes no sense. Be sure to write about your surgery day and how you're doing. TONS of luck to you! We'll be praying for your speedy recovery!

I live in Northern VA. I'm an office manager at an accounting firm. I graduated from college this past May with a BBA. I'm hoping (after my banding) to find something in the gov't.

I have the same feelings as Esorami, my Oct 6th band bud, :thumbup:! I panic about failing and not being able to get to where I want to be. But I push that feeling out as best as I can and try to stay positive. Now, I'm just a bit nervous about the surgery itself, not because of the pain but I really HATE hospitals and all things related. lol

Wow Boston you're progress has been great! I'm getting banded on Wednesday. I can understand your hunger issues. I feel ya! BUT YOU CAN DO IT! Just keep your eye on the prize. The first couple of days were HELL to say the least. But I pushed through it and so can you! Maybe you should up your water more, I found that drinking 120 oz of water has really helped me. My pre-op diet is all liquids but my surgeon has allowed me 3 sugar-free jell-o and popcicles. Which has helped tremendously! Good luck to you and stay postive you'll get through it! :drool:

Starting tomorrow the hospitals around the country (and world) will be filled with the greatest people ever...October bandsters!!!! I know we're all feeling nervous, scared, excited, nervous, hungry, tired, nervous...and did I mention nervous? LOL At least I know I am. Anywhoo, I just wanted to send a virtual high five to everyone getting banded tomorrow and the following days. You guys are going to do GRRRRRREAT! We are all excited for you and can't wait to hear how everyone is doing. Just remember that WE CAN DO THIS, WE WILL DO THIS. Tons of luck to you guys and happy thoughts for a speedy recovery. You guys rock!

@lila70 - It's normal to feel all kinda ways right before surgery. I've had 2 previous ones and I'm still nervous about this one. For me it's a "this is it, do or die" type of feeling...not really die but I think you know what I mean. I'm feeling like this HAS to work and I think I'm feeling a little pressure. Not from anyone else but from myself. It's a bit hard to explain. BUT...I must admit those moments are only temporary because I think about how good I'm doing with my pre-op (and you are too) and I reassure myself that I CAN do this. I am POSITIVE this body was given to me by accident (LOL) and now it's time for me to find mine, now I'm finally ready to do so, that's my challenge...and who am I to shy away from a challenge. You're going to be fine and do GREAT. Just think you've taken the first steps to making yourself healthier and living a better life, surgery is just a major step in your journey. You can do it...no worries. And I guarantee you that after surgery you're going to be like "that was it?" Hope that helped, tons of luck to you! :drool:

My surgeon told me that I HAD to get off of birth control or he wouldn't do the surgery. I really didn't want to because I have PCOS and that helps me get regular periods, if I'm not on BC I won't get my period for at least 5 months at a time, it sucks but we gotta do what we gotta do. It's a small sacrifice we have to make in order to change our lives. Good luck!

Congrats on your banding! So happy and excited for you! Hope your recovery is going well! I'm glad you agree with me and I wasn't the only person who had heard/thought that. I think the reason why you shouldn't lose muscle is because, like I mentioned above, you just pick up fat...making the chances of having a high fat index high as well as the possibility of gaining some weight back. Plus..why not work out...we're losing weight and looking H-O-T we MUST show it off. LoL I hope that after my banding I am able to be up and getting some sort of exercise in. OH and you're AWESOME for doing the boot camp, I'm sure you'll be able to do it again in no time. Tons of luck to you!

I read somewhere (the other day) that it is important to exercise if you've had WLS because we're losing weight in a relatively faster speed then those that do it without WLS (I don't know if that's necessarily true with the band) and since that happens we lose muscle very fast...so what we eat turns into fat A LOT faster (which will affect us in the long run), so if you exercise you're building up your muscle again which is preventing you from producing fat. What was interesting was that last night on the biggest loser Dr. H mentioned something to that affect...so I'm assuming that what I read had some truth to it. Thought I woud share