AHHHH after 2 years its finally here. I got my letter today (even tho I was told over the phone a week ago) saying surgery was approved.. insurance covers everything but $250.00 deductable and $200 class they require me to take before hand.

Now.. time for the scary part. In my letter it gave me all my appointments.. on April 5th I have pre-op with surgeon at 11:30, then at the hospital where im having my surgery I have pre-op labs at 1 pm... then i have to be back at the other hospital for the pre-op class at 2:30. seems all fine and dandy till i read the scariest part...

At your pre-op class you will pay your fees, take pre-op pics and weigh in.

OMG ok i know its not JUST me who went through this so help me out. my doctor did not require me to loose any weight.. however was very firm about not gaining. Well .. I haven't a clue if I did gain any or not.

I cant just run to walmart and buy a scale (i weigh 384# last appointment in january) I wont lie.. i havent like totally changed my eating habits but Ive tried hard to do so. Its just.. well i have this thing in my head saying "this is your last chance eat all the good meals (bad) you love in your life in case you cant ever eat them again.

then there is this other thing.. well kinda. I dont want to go home the same day. I expressed this to the girl at the surgeons office but shes like ohhh youll be fine. well.. i have 3 dogs and i just DONT want to be home that first night and make my hubby take care of me. Surgery doesnt even start until 12:30 pm i wouldnt be home till late evening.... gahhhhhh

So.. omg im so scared that my surgery will be rescheduled if i gained any weight. Its not like my cloths fit any different ive worn the same size for 2 years now and they arent tight.. but they arent loose.

Heres another problem.. I have pcos and friday i go in to be put on birth control and I'm sure i will need to do a round of povera which will cause me to have a reallllly bad time of the "month" considering I havent for over a year now. Wel.. wont that cause me to bloat up? what bad timing.

I was thinking my pcp gave me Water pills.. how much weight does water pills usually drop? is there anythign I can do to guarantee im ok by april 5th? .. realistic stuff not run two miles everyday if i could do that i wouldnt be fat in the first place.

Heres the big thing.. i cant reschedule my surgery the day I got my surgery approval was the day I got a new job offer. they agreed to extend the offer an extra month (i start may 11th) but i have something i have to do for my parents for 10 days a week after my surgery in another state soo.. well there isnt time to reschedule my surgery if it doesnt happen now. i know it wont ever happen.

HELP!!!!!!!

ps i was gonna buy a scale offline but even the ones on ebay are like 50 bucks plus 15 in shipping.. well im poor atm saving for deductables. my pcp cant give me an accurate weight cuz im to big.. and i dont wanna go into the surgical office and say look im worried i gained weight can i check so if i did i can starve myself next week? LOL ooooo the joys of life!!

Let me get this straight, you have all the pre-op stuff on April 5, so what is your surgery date when you have surgery at 12:30? Or was that in another post and I missed it?

And, this Friday is the 25th, so you have a week and a half after your provera to get over your "monthly monster" this go-round...is that enough time?

I'm thinking no diuretics, not a good idea before surgery, not unless you Dr says it's okay. Nope, don't do the Water pills. That could mess you up better than weight gain will.

And as far as not going home the first night, well, the insurance may not go for that. What's the possibility of a sister, mom, or good friend whisking you away to an inexpensive hotel for a night of recovery? No dogs, no distracted and overly concerned, unnecessarily worried DH, warm heating pads, lots of pillows (create a recliner of sorts on the bed) and long halls to walk every few hours. Is that a possibility?

Forget the scale, what's five or so pounds when you are over 300? I don't mean that ugly, but I'm 220 and I can fluctuate 5 pounds in a day, it would seem your Dr. would be much more concerned about your overall weight than a few pounds gained which could easily be water retention. Ya know? Plus, you will have just had this PCOS treatment (which I am not at all familiar with but have seen others posts about it) so that would have to be taken into consideration with your band Dr. Does he/she know about this treatment you are having? Plus you say your clothes are no looser or tighter, that's probably a good indicator you are fine.

And you start a new job in May. You and Crystal/Vinesqueen need to hole up together and sing the stressed out blues!

Aww Katie, I hope this all works out okay for you. It really sounds like it will, you just need to see it from the other side, and the other side is comin like a freight train...wooohooo!!! You are gonna do great, and feel tons better when you get some weight off, even just getting below 300 will make a huge difference in how you feel about everything!!

Looking for updates...take care, I'll be thinking of you!

I just went for my seminar and they said I have to be on a liquid diet for 10 days prior to surgery. The insurnace lady said that if you have gained any weight they cancell the surgery on the spot. But she said that 90% of the patients lose 8-10 lbs on the liquid diet. Are you going to have to do the same? That would be a great way to lose the weight and shrink your liver at the same time, maybe call and ask the surgical nurse her thoughts on this. Best of luck to you and congrats on the approval.~Mandy

wow, I actually gained 10 pounds before surgury, and so did another person who referred me to my doctor. We are encouraged to lose weight --it helps a great deal, but they didn't cancel anything because of the gain. I was 236 day of surgery. Is there a certain weight that you must not go over prior to surgery?

KATIE!! CONGRATS!!!

Now - TAKE A DEEP BREATH...

1. It sounds like all of your ducks are in a row - the only ??? is your weight.

2. Instead of stressing about whether or not you've gained, start TODAY with some healthy eating. You KNOW you're NOT saying goodbye to anything forever, so you don't need to do the last supper thing this week and a half.

3. I know all of this is a huge surprise now that all is approved and happening so fast - BUT - you have waited TWO YEARS for this!! YOU ARE READY!!!

Breathe, breathe, breathe...

You are SO ready. You are going to do great. Your dream is coming true - embrace it!

And Kathy is right on the money - have a friend whisk you off to a hotel for overnight.

((hugs))

i must have missed surgery is April 11th. Maybe they start me on a liquid diet the last week? im not sure.. is this something I could do on my own?

i know most of its paranoia because of how "strict" they said they were. and i have got rid of most of the fried out of my diet, and i know its not much but ive been out running around like madness with appointments for work (its a hospital, lots of hoops to jump through) and of course for the surgery.

as far as the dread of my monster, last time I was on provera took 2 weeks to clear out so its okay for surgery, but wont be for my pre-op stuff which my guess, they understand considering they are making me go on birth control.

obviously i dont want to do anything to add extra risk, i know loosing a few pounds helps your liver and the surgery but it just seems so soon to loose a few lol and can i mention the emotions that go with this whole thing? my god.. im so happy im not doing the bypass because i probably would chicken out. as most of you know about my website that I'm doing it just seems weird to me that i have so many emotions and questions since i have spent so many days researching but i guess when the shoes are on your own foot EVERYTHING is different!!

thank you for all your support

I like what Donali said better than what I said...Congrats!!! And Take A Deep Breath!!!

I'm adding you to the April Bandsters list...wait, I think you are already there...I'll check and if you aren't I'm adding you!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, and I just noticed April 11 on your signature, it was probably there to begin with, having a duh moment, or two.

Katie, just about all of us go through huge emotions just before we're banded: anything from fear to elation to panic, and that's just in one hour! Your reaction sounds totally normal to me. As for the weight loss, each doc has a different protocol. I think you need to speak to someone at your doctor's office to find out what will happen if you have gained weight, just so you know what you're up against. That said, with the changes you've made to your eating habits, you're probably going to be OK. Just remember, the nerves are a normal part of getting banded. You're taking a big step.

BTW, I agree with Kathy on the Water pills -- they're probably not a good idea.

I was told to loose 40 to 60 pounds a month and a half before surgery and if I didnt It would be cancelled, and in fact if I misrepresented it or such, they would know i hadnt lost the weight when they got a look at my liver... if my liver was too fatty and didnt indicate that I had lost the weight.. they would pull out, I would owe the anastesiologist and all the money but the band implant.. etc etc..

Sooo needless to say I was scared. I lost the 40 pounds in a month.. ON MY OWN.. I was tooo scared not to.

If you go on a low carb or liquid diet till April 11th, you should be fine.

Also, I was in the hospital for 3 days.. And they wanted me to stay longer but I had a flight to catch..

I dont understand the get out the same day approach.. BUT many have done

I like the idea of you going to a motel afterwards...

good luck