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Hello all. I'm Juli. I am 5'9, my current weight is 245 and my BMI is 36.2. As an elementary music teacher, I am looking forward to having more energy and less injury with my students.

It's been three years since I first attended a weight-loss seminar and the "beginning" is finally in sight. Originally, I went through all the lab-work, psych consult, supervised diet for 3 months, and was ready to submit everything to insurance for approval. Then, one roadblock after another found its way in front of me... 3 surgeries followed by my mother's diagnoses and death from cancer. Now, finally after redoing psych visit, lab work, nutritional consult, and sleep study, I was approved by BCBS of Texas on the first try! (TRS Active Care).

My Surgeon is Dr. Todd Wilson of MIST Houston. The pre-op is August 24th and my surgery will be on August 29th, 2012. The surgery will be at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

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Best of luck!!

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Good luck Juli! Your surgery is the day before mine!

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Good luck Juli! mine is 9/10/2012

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I'm getting banded 9/4....I'm super excited for this chapter of my life :)

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Hi Juli, I'm in Houston too. I got banded on 8/1/12. Your gonna love it! I hope you have as easy a time as I have. I am just a little over 2 weeks post op and feeling great!

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Hi Lucie,

Are you able to go back to work yet? I'm really anxious about the timing of my surgery... two days after school starts. Did you have shoulder pain? I had my gallbladder out last year and my shoulder hurt really bad afterwards. I've heard there might be similar pain with the banding.

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Oh wow Juli you have had a rough 3 years. Sorry about your mom, but now its your time to be the star and shine your way to a smooth healthy life. Congrats

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Aw, thank you Slim&Sexy. You made me smile. Juli

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Juli, sorry for your loss. Happy to here you are moving forward with your band. This is the time for you. Good luck and I wish you a speedy recovery. Keep us updated. Take care.

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Thank you. I will. :)

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I did go back to work, I drive for Metro, so I took just a little more then a week off of work, I didn't know how the bouncing in the bus seat was gonna effect me, but I didn't want to take off more then the sick days I had accumulated. It was only troublesome the first 2 days maybe, then I was fine. I didn't have the shoulder pain, thank goodness, but I did have a pain when I took a deep breath right around my left lung under my ribs, but it only lasted a few days and I was fine. The problem I am having now, and I guess its not really a problem, is that I am more hungry. The swelling has gone down and I am in that stage where I still have two more weeks till my first fill, and my mind is freaking out cause I feel like I am gonna eat and gain back the 20 lbs I lost before they get in there and fill me up again!! haha.. Its in my head though, I am still just eating Jello, and Soup and Protein Shakes, but my stomach is growling more now. Keep in touch with me when you want. It would be nice to have someone right here in Houston to talk to.

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How was your day? Is your stomach still growling? Those two weeks will go fast. You're doing so great having lost 20 lbs.!

I have a question... Do they put the port on a specific side? Is it always on the left or right? Just curious... and clueless.

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Mine is right in the middle. High, right below the ribs. I think it depends on your Dr. though. That is where most of my pain is though. Cause the incision is about twice as long as the other incisions. There are 5 altogether.

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you will gain someweightback once on solids and its ok its normal pain in theshoulders is only when iover eat my first fill is tuesday

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    • LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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