Tell Us About You!

[trish5713 2]

hey fellow all stars! My name is Trish, I'm 21, and I live in northeast pa. I'll be getting banded on August 12, two weeks from today!!! I'm a veterinary nurse and I love love love my job even though it can be difficult at times. I also volunteer once a week at the local zoo helping their veterinary department with procedures and such. I also love football and can't wait for the season to start. I'm a lifelong NY Giants fan. I've been heavy my whole life so I'm curious to see what life's like on the other side.

[GaryB 0]

Lanikila - I just realized that my tailgate menu will be reduced to soft and mushies...:thumbup: Can't wait...

[GaryB 0]

Hi Trish, I am a season ticket holder for the NY Giants for 22 years ... over the years, they have been secretly reducing the size of my seat...haha. I play golf in Marshalls Creek, PA, near that great candy store....that I will never step foot into again...

[ShelbyD 0]

Hi everyone. My band date is August 6th. I start my pre op liquid diet tomorrow. I am married to my high school sweet heart and have been for almost 20 years. We have four children our oldest son is 19 and about to start his sophomore year of college, we have a boy 15 starting his sophomore year of high school, next boy is 11 going into the sixth grade, our youngest and our only girl is 10 and is going into the 5th grade. My life for the last 19 years has been all about my kids. This surgery is just for me and I am very excited about doing something for myself!

[trish5713 2]

Hi Trish, I am a season ticket holder for the NY Giants for 22 years ... over the years, they have been secretly reducing the size of my seat...haha. I play golf in Marshalls Creek, PA, near that great candy store....that I will never step foot into again...

season tickets!?! i am insanely jealous. i've been on the waiting list for basically my whole life and my dad's been on it for at least 30 years. hopefully when the new stadium is done i can get my hands on a few. so what did you think of the whole shockey ordeal?

[GaryB 0]

I have great seats, 9th row sunny side. Shockey was a loud mouth, but real good player. I have his jersey, so now I need to get a new Eli #10...

[trish5713 2]

i had a shockey jersey too! i can't decide who i want to replace it with though. i'll probably end up waiting a while anyway since they can be expensive and anything i buy now hopefully won't really fit by the start of post season :wink2:

[Shamrockgirl60 1]

Hi all, I am 60 and don't look it for the most part. I have one husband, on daughter, one granddaughter, two golden's and three cats. We live in the burbs just outside Boston. Both are retired for now. Hubby had heart surgery a little over two weeks ago and is doing great, he's almost back to normal, he had his aortic valve replaced. Had to be done. He should be totally back on his feet in 4 weeks or so.

Meanwhile I met my surgeon yesterday, and he's very pleased with my progress going through all the meetings and seminars and getting my weight down 13.3 pounds (they wanted me to lose 12) and said I was an ideal candidate for Lapband, in fact his nurse called today and said they wanted my permission to take photos and a video of my surgery. I said fine as long as they don't show my face LOL. When I find out where it's going to be online, I will post it LOL.

My tummy will be "a star" LOL

So looking forward to next week and my surgery. Can't wait for the rest of my life and having fun and shopping for some snazzy new clothes in normal sizes for a change.

Wish everyone here the best of luck and wishes for successful surgery and that this well make all their dreams come true.

take care

Pati

[Futr littl Debi 0]

Hi everybody - my name is Debi. I am 47 years old and live in Orange County, California. I have 2 grown boys - 25 and 22. My youngest still lives with me while going to college.

I am a lawyer, working in the compliance area of a large health insurance company. I didn't care for practicing law, so this is a good fit for me. It also leaves me sitting behind a desk all day, so I have just grown and grown over the years.

Like most of you, I have dieted many times. I am great at losing weight. I am not great at keeping it off. That's why I am so excited about this surgery. I love the idea that as you lose weight, you can get a fill so that it keeps working. And later, during the maintenance of your weight loss, you can still actively monitor your fill level so that everything stays good. What a GREAT concept!

I am scheduled for surgery 1 week from tomorrow and couldn't be more excited:thumbup:

[jordanj 0]

Hi Guys! I'm Jordan. 21 years old. And.. I am a girl! Just so you all know hehe. I'm at my heaviest weight now, but I got big in high school and never lost it. I'm currently a senior in college, Indiana University. I'm majoring in Informatics, cognate in Fine Arts. I work in the IT Department at my school, and right now I'm working full time as an Intern in the IT Department at a big company around here. OH.. and I'm taking 3 online classes right now along with work.. but they're almost over! (thank god!)

I have 0 kids.. yet! I plan on having atleast 2 or 3 in the future. :hurray: AND.. i have a dog.. he's my life! 1 year old SCHNOODLE named Felix, but I like to call him Fe-Fe. hehe.

I'm getting the lapband more as prevention. I don't wanna get health problems later in life!! And, I want to be skinny!! And, I want to run and play with my kids when I have them!!

I will be banded August 18th!!! By Dr. McEwen in Fishers :party: So very excited. I start my liquid diet on Monday, 2 weeks before surgery. I'm a littttle excited about that.

Also, I'm self-pay :wink2: insurance said "no way". that sucks. but, it's gonna be worth it, I hope.

Nice to meet all of you! We need to all keep each other updated!:biggrin2:

[Roheryn 0]

Thanks Momto!!!!

Oh and Lana....I can't lie I ate myself here as well Congrats on the Masters that is very exciting...you probaly won't know what to do with yourself when you are finished with Uni!! Hey and North Carolina hey?? I spent a few months at a summer camp in North Carolina just out of Lenoir about 9 years ago now..a very pretty part of the States!! I just go and watch Last of the Mohicans when i need a reminder

Congratulations Melolo..I hope this all works out for you!!

Greenerpastures...I have planned out a LOT of gardening to get done before my dad and I get our surgery....there's fence building, lots of digging and hopefully concreting ...in 28 days we may be pushing it :crying: Then we'll be resting a while...lucky for me it is winter here so the garden is kind of dormant at the moment!

Welcome Gary!!! It is great hearing about ya'll!

[jadeesmjk 8]

Hi All,

My name is Judie and I am a SAHM of 2 little angels....the oldest is a super, high energy 5 yr old named Jason and a fearless and crazy 19 month old named Joshua. Joshy's adoption will be finalized the week after my surgery....YAY......what a good month to celebrate!

I am married to a wonderful man who is a firefighter and we have been together for 8.5 yrs now. We also have 2 dogs and 2 cats (all rescues) and a fish called "Fred the Big Cheese" (my 5 year old named him, not me! LOL)

I love to read and do craft work (which i dont really have much time to do either) and I am trying to get certified as a Medical Transcriptionist, through online training.

I have ALWAYS been overweight, I was 11 lbs 10 oz when I was born (my poor Mom!) and I think I might have been thin for about 5 minutes when I was 7 yrs old.....then puberty hit and that was all she wrote!

I had a hip replacement surgery on 10/23/07 due to an injury in 2001, and my weight just made it progressively worse until I could barely walk anymore. I spent about 6 yrs in excruciating pain, due to my injured hip and "fatness".....now my hip doesnt hurt anymore, but I am still fat. Go figure, my insurance will pay for every fr@@*&$^n joint in my body to be replaced but they will NOT pay for WLS!! How does that make any sense?!?! So needless to say, I am self pay.

The thing that really moved me to have this surgery is the fact that my son (4 yrs old at the time) said to me - "Mommy, I want you to be thin so you can be healthy" this was after he asked me "Mommy, why are you fat?" with all the honesty and love in his heart. How do you explain to a young child that you are fat because you have eaten too much too often and didnt exercise, and didnt care enough about yourself to stop doing one and start the other?!?! It was heartbreaking to say the least.

My family loves me no matter what, but I owe it to them to be around to see them grow up. I owe it to myself to love me and take care of the body that God gave me and to treat it with respect and dignity that I deserve, whether I feel deserving or not.

Sheeesh! I am really sorry to be so long winded, I guess I am a little emotional and over tired......

Good to meet you all and I am really happy to be a part of this support group.

Hugs,

Judie

[robint 0]

Hello August All Stars, My name is Robin and I live in Louisiana. I am a administrative assistant for a mobile and modular building company. I'm married to my wonderful husband and have 2 children. My son is 9 years old and my daughter is 6 years old. I completed my 6 month pre op. diet and now have a surgery date of 8/21. I am very excited about becoming a loser and enjoying life with my family. Just the small things like being able to play with my children outside and not getting out of breath, going to the beach and feeling alright about wearing a bathing suit.

As it is getting closer to by band date, I am starting to get nervous. I keep praying that I am making the right decision.

[innotu 0]

My surgery date is August 6th!! I can't believe its happening and so quickly...only 1 week to go .

A little bit more about me....

I'm 48 years old, married and mother of 3 boys (20,25, 28) - all the men in my life are gorgeous, active, athletic and fit. All 3 boys went to school on sports scholarships (football or hockey). Now that my husband and I are virtually empty nesters we've transferred our doting to our new babies, 2 beautiful dogs (labradoodle and multi-poo). I am a professor at a local university here in BC and also hold a senior management role in a major bank.

I am an over eater - I have very little control over my eating and often zone out while I'm eating. I eat while doing something else (working, on the computer, watching TV etc...). I have had a weight issue my whole life (I was born 9lbs3oz to a 98lbs, 4'11' mother)- I'm told we were both lucky to survive the ordeal. I was born big and haven't looked back (I weighed 175 lbs at age 11). I went on my first diet at age 10 and have tried just about everything to lose the weight. Children can be cruel - I was the brunt of many jokes and much teasing. My mother had a hard time finding clothes for me so I ended up wearing the same clothes over and over again - it was hard on both of us. I know I carry these scars with me and have been an overachiever in the rest of my life to make up for feeling inadequate on the weight side.

I recognize the lap band is only a tool and that my success is dependent upon getting help with the psychological issues as well as the physical issues. I really don't understand why I overeat. I have a wonderful life - a great husband, 3 wonderful boys, a senior management role with a major bank, a wonderful teaching position at the local university as well as 2 masters degrees and almost done my PhD...so all in all I've had great success in my life with the exception of my weight...very frustrating.

I have lost and gained, lost and gained consistently over the years - it is not unusual for me to lose 60lbs and gain it back (plus more) over 1-2 years. I would like to be able to extend the success in my life to my weightloss and maintenance. I pray that the band is the tool to help me do this.

I am quite excited about getting my band - I feel a great sense of hope and excitement but also fear. Fear that history will repeat itself and that once I've lost the weight, I will gain it back. I know I have a problem, perhaps an addiction? Perhaps food is replacing something else? I don't know. I do know that I am able to manage other aspects of my life, I just can't get to the crux of why I overeat and how I can overcome this compusion/addiction.

My experiences as a child, have made me cautious - only my husband knows about my surgery plans. I feel there is a stigma associated with being fat and for that matter with seeking surgical help - Most people believe that it is just a matter of self-control - just eat less and exercise more - boy do I wish it was that simple!

The extra weight I'm carrying is also taking its toll on my health (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, chronic ankle pain, and edema). My hope is that the band will help me to bring some control to my eating and thus my health.

Thank you for sharing a part of my journey and good luck to all the August Bandsters!

Innotu

[dglaeser 0]

Hi, my name is Dawn. I'm 38 years old and have been living in Austin, Texas for almost 16 years. I'm an Engineer at a large company, which has been quite stressful lately.

I have a daughter who is 12 (going on 25), but she is a great kid! I also have a wonderful and supportive partner that I've been with for over 7 years.

My friends, family and co-workers know that I'm going to have the surgery and they have all been supportive. It was too much work to keep it a secret.

I started my journey Oct 2007, it's taken me this long to make the decision, do the 3 month diet and then get approved. I would have been banded earlier this year, but I went on a 2 week vacation to Colorado this summer.

I will be banded on the 13th. I started the 2 week pre-op diet today and have all my pre-surgery tests scheduled for Friday. Then one more appointment with my surgeon on the following Friday (8th). It's all very surreal.

I've been reading the message boards for a long time now, but just started posting.

Good luck to all!!!