Well Feb 14 has come quicker then i thought haha. Tomorrow is my first consultation with the surgeon to get the process started. i obsessivly think about it everyday, breaking the bond i have with food will prove to be the toughest thing i think i will face in life, i know many of you say it could be worse, but if your a foodie like my self and food is just about everything to you, you know how i feel. I am worried about the pre-op diet and i dont even know if i have one or to what extent it is if there is one at all. Most of all i am absolutely terrorfied of going "under"....i dont think they can give me enough valium prior to surgery to take the edge off. I suffer from at times extreme anxiety and am just dredding that moment in every imaginable way you can dream up. Anyone who reads this that is already banded, do you find after you get over the intial hurdle, you dont look to food like you use to? thanks for the venting!

Congrats on taking the first step towards a healthier YOU! I am a foodie too, I always have been the one to reward myself with food....but I am looking at new ways to reward myself since I had my band placed. I just had mine on Dec 22nd, so I am still a 'newbie' with the band, but can tell you, even though I've had my share of setbacks, I am still just as glad today that I have it. Have you ever had surgery before? Don't let yourself get too worked up over 'going under'. Talk to the anesthesiologist prior to the surgery, they will offer you something to help relax (much stronger than valium!) you while you wait in the pre-op area. I was not nervous at all, so I turned it down, but they came in and offered it to me 3 times prior to my surgery. As they were wheeling me into the OR, they gave me something and I was out...I dont remember anything until waking up in the recovery room.

The band is the tool to help you get to the new you. You will have to make changes and some sacrifices as well, but know that it is for the best. You can do this!!!

I still love food and actually more so. All of the negative self talk and shame about what I should or shouldnt be eating is gone and I can finally just enjoy really good food. Much smaller amounts but I can and do eat anything.

I think we will always love food. We just have to learn to eat to live not to live to eat. Good luck on your consultation! Let us know how it goes. Change can be really good! I also have anxiety, but your doctors will know before hand, and help you relax. And, it is ok to be a little scared, afterall it is unkown territory (for now).

thanks everyone and no ive never had any surgery before of any kind, not even a "twilight" type sedation. I personally would prefer to just be knocked out and wake up when im all done lol. I will update tomorrow after my consultation, hopefully everything goes well and i can get an idea as to when this can happen!

food is a necessity to living. our problem is the choices we have made. the choices we have allowed.

I still think about food alot. the difference is I am now thinking of proteins, carbs and trying to keep my numbers good. I measure everything with my digital scale. I never guess.

I ate the best food yesterday, do you remember a time that you thought that? I have really started to enjoy mixed greens and fresh spinach. I don't eat most of my meals with bread anymore so now I us the greens as my "sandwich". I had the tastiest tuna fish with chopped pickle and 1 1/2 T of miracle whip light. I ate 4oz. felt full and loved it.

for supper I had a turkey burger which I ate along side of some asparagus. ( steamed and I add a sprinkle of olive oil, lemon & sea salt) Heaven.

One of my favs for breakfast is scrambled eggs with mushrooms & cheese. I use 1 egg and egg whites together, no butter. so good!

I think this "new" life is making me more creative. you will get there, read all the posts on here. you will be surprised with the good things people eat!

I was terrified of going under anesthesia. Terrified!!! But let me tell you, they set me up in my bed with my iv and I got to watch tv while I waited for the surgeon. While I waited, I was given warm blankets, and then met the anesthesiaologist. They gave me something in my iv and I felt like I drank a bottle of wine. They wheeled me in to the OR, and I got myself on the operating table, all while feeling quite calm. They told me they would take good care of me, and thats all I remember. Then I woke up, in recovery, and it was the most comfortable I have ever been!!! I went in and out of sleep, and was even able to get up and go to the bathroom after a few hrs of being in recovery, with some help from the nurses, who were wonderful. I had heard a few people here say, you just have to give yourself to the nurses the day of surgery, and dont stress just relax. I never thought I could do it, and i was a mess the day before thinking I was going to die from some horrible complications...but the day of surgery, a calm came over me and I felt so ready. I did like everyone said and just let the nurses care for me...it was actually enjoyable!

I was terrified of going under anesthesia. Terrified!!! But let me tell you, they set me up in my bed with my iv and I got to watch tv while I waited for the surgeon. While I waited, I was given warm blankets, and then met the anesthesiaologist. They gave me something in my iv and I felt like I drank a bottle of wine. They wheeled me in to the OR, and I got myself on the operating table, all while feeling quite calm. They told me they would take good care of me, and thats all I remember. Then I woke up, in recovery, and it was the most comfortable I have ever been!!! I went in and out of sleep, and was even able to get up and go to the bathroom after a few hrs of being in recovery, with some help from the nurses, who were wonderful. I had heard a few people here say, you just have to give yourself to the nurses the day of surgery, and dont stress just relax. I never thought I could do it, and i was a mess the day before thinking I was going to die from some horrible complications...but the day of surgery, a calm came over me and I felt so ready. I did like everyone said and just let the nurses care for me...it was actually enjoyable!

those are basically the things im worried about lol, i just had the consultation it went good the dr is really easy going which is nice for once, and didnt b***h at me for being fat what a FIRST! lol...now i gotta schedule the endoscopy, and the other clearances and then i can set my date im thinking may-june....long road ahead but hey gotta do something! im really glad he didnt try forcing me into choosing the sleeve, id rather have the band for life then my stomach removed!

This is my first time here. I am excited, scared, thrilled, aprehensive, and charging ahead! I am going with the lap band also because it is adjustable and the surgery does not remove body parts. Removing body parts is so very final. I have been obese fifty years now and want to live longer than my obesity will allow therefore the lap band. I medicate with food, fill emptiness with food, celebrated with food and feed depression (and lonliness) with food. It is only in the past few months that I have started to look at food as fuel. Through therapy, I believe that I can learn to work on lonliness, depression and emptiness. I can celebrate with exercise, hiking a path in the woods or walking beside the ocean. My insurance requires that I lose weight for the next 6 months while participating in the Oregon Weight Loss Surgery Clinic at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Today I met my bariatric surgeon: Dr. Emma J. Patterson at that clinic. I like her, she is very personable and quite knowledgable. She easily put me at ease and I am excited that she will be doing the surgery. It will not happen until September or October of 2012. I am on a journey and it is exciting. I really wonder how I will feel about how I look when I am 250 pounds lighter. I have not been below 200 pounds since I was in High School back in the 1960's.

those are basically the things im worried about lol, i just had the consultation it went good the dr is really easy going which is nice for once, and didnt b***h at me for being fat what a FIRST! lol...now i gotta schedule the endoscopy, and the other clearances and then i can set my date im thinking may-june....long road ahead but hey gotta do something! im really glad he didnt try forcing me into choosing the sleeve, id rather have the band for life then my stomach removed!

I am so glad that your consulatation went well. It is great that you like the Dr.. Just take it a day at a time, and enjoy your journey, and transition! You will be in my thoughts. Best wishes.

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