Hi All...

I finally have a surgery date! I'm excited and disappointed all at the same time. Everyone including Dr. Chua told me that they were scheduling surgeries 2 weeks out and my date isn't until June 30th. I am so tired of waiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish they would have never given me the "2 week" info. I hope all of the pre-op stuff will keep me busy until then and maybe I'll go on one more "diet" just so I won't feel that another month of my life is being wasted. What an ungrateful impatient little brat I am...lol.

Darcy

Congrats, Darcy. The end of the month will come before you know it.

Once you are banded, you must remember that this is a LIFE LONG journey - not a quick fix. This is not a temporary diet.

The reason I am reminding you of these things is that you may not be one of those people who drops a bunch of weight right away. You may be one of the average bandsters, and lose only 48 pounds your first year - that's 1 pound a week, and the stats say that the AVERAGE bandster weightloss is 1-2 pounds a week. That's AVERAGE weightloss - meaning you may lose more one month, and less another. Some months you may not lose at all. Another month you may lose 6 pounds.

SERIOUSLY. Most people who have a weight problem have made that the focus of their lives. It's part of the trick of avoiding the real, more important things that life brings our way. We become SO focused on what we eat, when we eat, how much we eat, when we will eat again, how much we're losing, how much we haven't lost... That the really and truly important things take a backseat - working on relationships, doing things that enrich our lives like hobbies, trips to the beach, taking care of the demands of daily life. Our weight has become the center focal point of everything we do.

You know what? Life is so much more than our weight. I don't want to look back at my life and remember that ALL I could think about that whole time was that I was too fat, and what I was going to do to fix it - and that all the other important aspects of my LIVING are mere blips on the radar, few and far between. I have about 20 years of those kind of memories.

I recommend to everyone to try and let their weightloss journey be incidental to their lives. We all know what's nutritious to eat, what brings health and vitality. We all know that moving our bodies is good for us. We HAVE to start living like healthy people - the band will help us with the quantity issue, and the ever present hunger issue, but it is up to US to LIVE!!!

I want to find a new obsession - something that takes the place of my food obsession. I have long bouts now of being obsessed with other things - I'm working towards a permanent recession!!

I wish for us all peace in this aspect of our lives. We have given it too much power for too long.

Thanks Donali...

I know that my weight problem has taken on a life of it's own over the years... and I also know that I have let it stop me from enjoying life to the fullest. I think that being taunted and teased on a daily bases from third grade on somehow pounded the idea that my weight was directly connected to my worth. That seed of thought has grown with each passing year and has become stronger and stronger. I am so ready to spread the Round-up and tend to a healthier garden of thought.

Please be assured that I don't look upon the Lap Band as a miracle cure. I do look upon this surgery as providing me with a tool that will help control the quantities of food that I eat as I learn to deal with emotions and fears differently. I am really not counting on quick weight-loss with this surgery... mostly my hopes are focused on permanent weight-loss. My sister had the quick weight-loss with the RNY... but she is now battling weight gain much like she did before her surgery. I hope that the surgery I have chosen will give me lifelong success in a time period that the changes in my head can keep up with the changes in my body.

It's like quitting smoking... I just couldn't do it without the patch... I needed help... I needed a tool to help me make a better choice. I think that is why waiting for the surgery has benn tough... I want to stop thinking about this... planning for this... waiting for this... I just want to get the surgery behind me so that I can start the journey to a healthier and happier me.

Donali... you are awesome and you look MAUVELOUS DARLINK! Thank you so much for reminding me to look at the other great things in life that are totally unrelated to my weight.

I couldn't do it without the band, either. With all I have learned in the last two and a half years, I finally am at the point that I no longer feel like my weight struggle has been a "bad" thing, or something to be ashamed of. It took a lot of therapy to get to this point, though! I take responsibility for my choices, but I also accept that my appetite is NOT "normal" - and that is what the band gives me - normalcy. And frankly, if I ever lost my band, and/or regained what I've lost, I would be just as messed-up about it as I was before. Well, maybe not AS messed-up, but certainly close. I am trying to deal emotionally with that fear, because although it is unlikely, it is a possibility that I will be one of the few that loses my band, and if I am unable to maintain my weightloss with my newly gained intellectual tools, I will regain my weight - no question about it. And I do NOT ever want to hate myself the way I did 2.5 years ago. So my working on accepting myself regardless and separate from my weight is very important to me, and is never far from my mind.

Not sure that's a better obsession than food, though...

My sister had the RNY too, about 4 years ago. She has gained almost all of it back. :think It just crushes me, because I know how it affects her emotionally. When I got banded, I offered to pay for her banding, but she declined. I don't know if she's one of those that could have a band installed over her RnY, but I wanted her to have the opportunity if she chose.

The reality, though, is that she is a beautiful, intelligent woman - regardless of her weight. Unfortunately, when weight interferes with our mobility and emotional health (let alone our physical health) it is difficult to think about anything else.

I went shopping last weekend with a couple of friends for one of their upcoming second weddings. She'd brought along her 14 year old daughter, who was also shopping for her celebration dress. This child is very slender, always has been. She nominated me to help her in the dressing room, and I was stunned to see this child had stretch marks all over her thighs, small breasts, stomach. I was so saddened to realize that I bore my stretch marks with shame - another outward testimony to my obesity - when I may have had them anyway!!! It is shocking to me some of the fallacies I still held - I had no idea that a person who has never been fat might have stretchmarks on their thighs/stomach.

I'm glad you have realistic expectations. And remember - my pep-talks are as much for me as they are for anyone else.

June will fly by and you'll be banded in no time. Who is that hottie with the new dew and amazing words? Far out Don! I feel really fortunate that I've already accepted that weight loss will be slow. No, it's not fair that we can gain weight faster than we can lose it, but such is life. I actually gained 2 pounds while eating a fraction of the way I did last month; I didn't want the scale to rule my emotions, so I decided to wait till my one month post-op to step on again. That damn scale calls to me daily, but he can go to hell. As long as I see one pound lower, I'll be happy. I know that my body has to let go of the weight eventually. What goes up, must come down now that I'm eating children's portions.

You can Pep-Talk me anytime! I feel very lucky that I am able to garnish all of this information prior to going through with the surgery. Reading each individual experience has giving me a well rounded idea of what to expect and I think it has also kept me grounded and realistic about my expectations. (o:

I totally relate to your appetite comment Donali... mine is definitely NOT normal. I am typically a closet eater... but let me tell ya... I sure can fit a lot of food into that darn closet. My sister had the same problem but I think it was even harder on her as she was not overweight as a child. SHe is a year and a half out from her surgery and is VERY concerned about the sudden ability to gain weight. Now she is concerned about what people will say or think if she gains her weight back as so many were against her choice to have WLS. I didn't know that there was an option of having a band placed after bypass surgery??? I sure hope that will never be necessary for her... damn... she's been through so much already!

I know that I am going to blab from sea to shining sea about this option for WLS. I think that will also help keep me in line as I want others to see that they don't have to cut and re-route their GI tract in the name of weight-loss.

I really do love your hair Donali!

I really do love your hair Donali!

Thanks. And thanks to everyone else for their supportive and ego-boosting comments. This board is GREAT!!!

Hiya DeLarla...

I'm counting on you guys to keep me occupied in the meantime! I think that your weight-loss is terrific... 24 lbs is a lot of weight gone forever!

No worries... and my pouting/brat session is nearly over now.

Darcy

A little advice regarding your pre-op diet: Every doctor gives different instructions for each patient. I had surgery with 6 other people (2 Lopez patients, 4 Ortiz patients.) Each of us had different pre-op instrucions. One girl didn't get any at all because her doctor forgot to send them, then she had issues getting her bloodwork because she ate that morning. Another girl had to stick to liquid Protein shakes for 3 weeks prior. I was told a low cal diet for a week then liquid fast the day before. Others went out for big Mexico dinner the night before.

Regardless what they tell you, I suggest a liquid fast the day before for the simple reason of avoiding a big bowel moevment after surgery. I juice-fasted the day before and the day of my surgery (3pm) so I didn't have a bowel movement afterwards. The thought of one coming on horrified me because after the surgery I felt like hell. I certainly couldn't bend over. My body was pumped swollen with gas (from anesthesia) plus I was sore, swollen, grouchy, uncomfortable. Plus you'll have an IV attached to a pole that you have to drag everywhere you go. No, I did not want to attempt a BM after surgery! I don't think I could have cleaned myself either, and that's not the kinda thing I'd buzz my nurse for! Hope this wasn't too much info!

Oh, and pack light! Everyone else brought way too much stuff that they never used. I brought a cloth totebag with a shoulder strap packed with basic essentials - nothing more. Sorry for busting my friend's chops, but Francesca brought 6 nightgowns and never wore one (sorry Fran, all in fun here.) People brought laptops, books, magazines, extra shoes, several outfits but never used anything. TV and socializing was all we had the enthusiasm for. Everyone wheeled luggage around while I had a simple bag thrown over my shoulder. However, I was the only one that went alone while they all had family to help with luggage. But really, it's only a couple days, so do yourself a favor and bring just the basics. I brough moisturizer but left all my makeup and jewelry at home. I did bring a bottle of Gatorade, which came in handy. I lugged around my own water but the hospital had bottled water so I could have left it behind. You'll live in a hospital gown while there, so you can wear the same outfit to and from. Something loose & comfy, nothing binding. I started sipping Gatorade the minute I was brought back to my room because I was really nausious and wanted to start flushing the anesthesia & drugs from my system ASAP. I never vomited while others did - maybe the Gato helped?

Nope... no such thing as too much information in my book! As far as I am aware there is no special pre-op diet with the surgeon I am using. I do plan on trying practice better eating habits over the next month to hopefully make the transition a little bit easier. I have definite plans for coming here and whining my ass off afterwards.... hehehehe. Apparently the possiblility exists that I will get to go home the same day as my surgery... I am really hoping for that! I've spent enough time working in hospitals and know that he safest and healthiest place for me to recover is in my own home!

I'll plan my last supper celebration the week before my surgery and I think I'll take your advice in regards to the liquid diet the day before. I have bashful bowels anyway... they would never get my butt to produce in a hospital setting. (o:

Thanks for the info!