Hey everyone going through Kaiser Richmond!!

Where are you in the process?

Oh My, I am so jealous that I wasn't there today, clearly you all had a ball.Yes we must do it next month by that tme we will change our name to Kaiser Richmond post-op lol. I believe i'm the last person to get banded right? or is there one more person.

Candy, I will be praying for you on monday. Girl, go and get your skinny on!!!

We missed you too!!!!

We will do this again next month:)

Well i have heart burn tonight and need some rest.

Donna i will be praying for ur hubby and mine tonight!!!

I love it...I'm going to get my skinny on!!!!! Thanks Reggie!!!

Hey Nicole...my ver first support group I went to was the one in Richmond....they have a great group of people....there were probably 30 people there...but all gastric bypass...1 lap band which was a man and he looked great....anyway they talked about how they still saw the same person...this one lady couldnt have weighed more than 135 pds west...she was very pettite and had obviously lost a lot of weight...anyway, she said that talking about helped and seeing pictures of herself really helped,,,,maybe have someone take pictures of you and then compare them with old ones...you know to really see the reality of it!!! :thumbup:

Wow iam suprised LBT hasnt recognized our lil group!!! We have over 1k replies and over 10k views! INSANE!!! I wish the other richmond preop people and post op join in.. I dont want anyone to think they aren't welcome:)

Ok so onto life.. Candy i have a blog.. it has the ONLy heavy me pics i own.. and then, my current ones. The dumb thing i did.. lol was not take pics.. I only did head shots. I can tell though in audreys birthday photo though.. so u are right, pictures help A TON!!!

Do you ladies know what i want to do i want to find weight sacs like they have on bl, and do a work out with them one day. I wonder how miserable i would be..

Ack sorry if im rambling.. lol im kinda nervous.. MIKE my hubby is at an interview. IF he gets it, two things will happen. 1. We get to MOVE OUT and have our own home again, and walk around in my skimpies if i wanna damn it! 2. This will be the next step for mikes career. He has done IT for the military, he has been a web designer, QA officer, Tech support, Engineer support, etc. Now he would get the title of Engineer. Which means HUGEEEE stuff. And after a while HUGEEEE money. SOOOOOOOOOOOO I PRAY he gets it!!! Goodness... im so nervous for him:(

Ok everyone cross fingrs talk to u all soon!!

Kinda bummed today, I've gained a pound back this week instead of losing the 3 I average a week . . all from not being able to excercise! I am doing better, so much so that I managed to get 2 miles in before work today, so I'm finally getting back to it, and nowe it's pouring rain! We do need it sorely, so I will accept this is God's way of telling me that I need to stay off my ankle for a few more days. I DO tend to overdo it, all or nothing - gotta get over that, this isn't a race! Except that I SO want to be in onederland . . .I have been competing with 2 other gals from my support group, both RNY, we are all between 210 and 214 and have been racing together toward onederland - you know, working out together etc. - and they have both just passed me for the first time. I hate not winning! I need to get OVER this competative thing.

Nicole, been praying for your hubby, and that he gets this job and a new start in his career, so you two will have new starts together! And Candy dear, IMHO Monday morning is the very best time for surgery @ Kaiser Richmond!! happy, well-rested folks, and you will get Icy's shift! I'm praying for you too, for a super-speedy recovery and a great surgery day story to tell. "Thrive!"

Riley

Query, can we ask them to just make us a group & call us "Kaiser Richmond" so folks can find us no matter what stage of the journey they are in?

SOOO, mikes interview i guess went really well. He said he feels good about it. And they liked that he is willing to move back to the area. I guess they have more interviews, so hopefully everyone else says they arent willing to lol. He says he owned the interview.

Ihope he gets it!!!

Just want to say Hi all & thank you for this site. I just inquired about the band last week with my Doctor and today I am told that I have an orientation on May 12, 2009. I was a little panicked but after finding this and reading all your posts I'm a little more calm. I think I can do this :thumbup: Any advice is great as I'm finding out there is a special "diet" that needs to be followed - UGH!

He "owned" it! Yay Mikey!

Hiya desparate - we were desparate too! Not any more tho :-) Kaiser Richmond is like #4 in the nation for bariatric surgery success, you will do great. We love our lap-bands!! YES there is a special diet that you have to follow, and it's great and it really works, and you'll get it at orientation. DON'T lose weight before orientation! Wear heavy jeans, shoes, and don't take the change out of your pockets! And drink lots of water right before you weigh in, LOL. Your "starting" weight is the one they take at orientation. You're gonna love it! Keep coming back here :thumbup:

Desperate.. it is an EASY AS PIE diet preop. it doesnt feel that way, but other people are forced to do liquids only for 3 weeks, personally i like that we get food till the end:)

Post op here is what i ate yesterday and today

B 1/3 c scrambled egg beaters with bacon and pepper in them, 1/4 slice toast with butter, and 4 tangerine slices.

L 1/3 c fish 2 tbls potaters and a small piece of bread.

D 1/3c bombay chicken, 5 brussle sprouts(yeah i went back for 3 more, was gonna just be 2) and 1/4 slice toast.

S cheese slice

Today:

B 1/3 c egg, 1 inch bannana 1/4 toast

S hot cocoa

L will probably be tuna and some crackers.:thumbup:

Their program is easy and if u follow it you will be in surgery in 3 or less months:D Dont let liz scare you off, that is her job.

Come to our support meetings etc. We are all in this together!!!

UPDATE: Mike had his interview and they liked him, and loved that hes willing to move back. They will know by next week. I just helped him send off his thank you for the interview letter. So good thoughts needed all weekend!!:ohmy:

I can only assume Liz is the orientator - LOL As soon as I get my hands on the support meeting schedule I'll be there. Thanks so much and I'll get my big boots out & ready to go :thumbup:

Liz is the case manager. She is really tough at first but then she warms up. AFTER surgery:)

We post our lil groups meetups on here.. the sac one is the 4th sat in kaiser by arden. And then we do impromptu lunch dates... its good cause we can talk about how the program is working and we remotivate each toher..:thumbup:

Feel free to ask us anything and keep us updated:D We are here for everyone!!

Ok...guess what happened to me today??

I called to get my surgery time for Monday and the lady says "oh ok...you need to be here at 11:30" (Ithought that was a little strange, but whatever), then she tells me my co pay is 250...I thought well ok...they told us $20 on the phone, but whatever it is surgery, so I tell her thats strange they told me $20 and she goes "well you are spending the night".......My heart sank...i told her "umh no I'm not, I thought this was an in and out surgery, I'm having Lapband" she said oh well we have you down for gastric bypass.....umh NO!!!!!!! So anyway, she had to make some phone calls and I called and spoke to Sarah in the bariatric department and they got squard away. It's strange that is the second time that has happened to me where they thought I was having gastric bypass...but I never came into this for that...I knew I wanted lapband before I even asked for a referral!!! Anyway, I am 06"30 on Monday...she said I would be the very first patient!!!!! Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Desperate, welcome to our group. We rock here! We have a great team of supporters and we are here to help anyway we can. You will be fne. I went in knowing that the LB is what I wanted , however over time during the preparation process I battled with my choice. After all my beautiful LB sisters on here got teir bands, I was SURE that LB was for me. I need to know that I have options... The thought of my body part being disconnectected and reconnected scares the hell out of me LOL. Seriously just believe in what you want, starting the 1200 cal diet can be a challenge, but once you see the scale changing for the better it good all the way. The LB is a tool to help us get to a healthier bodies, so we still have to work at losing the weight we can't depend solely on the band to do the trick.:-)). Liz is cool by the when she finds out that you are committed to the program. I enjoyed my visit with her.

Keep visiting with us and I guarantee that you will do well so long as you committ yourself. I wish you well.

Candy-- WOW what an ordeal, I'm glad that you got this figured out and are on your way YIPPEEE!!

Nicole, we'll keep hubby in our prayers!

Hi Riley, Chris, Sheena, momcof and Tina !!

LOL Candy!! They kept thinking I was gastric bypass too...........I had to keep reminding them. I sorta thought you guys are trying to brainwash me into this whole gastric bypass thing!! LOL.

6:30 was my time as well. I got there but had to wait until 7:15 or so until they called my name. There were alot of elderly people there that morning and they went into pre op first. I kept asking everyone if they were nervous and was walking around talking to people. I think I scared one older lady because she told me "you should be nervous too!!" LOL. I told her I was and I talk alot when I get nervous. Needless to say they got everyone out of the waiting room before me.........I think so I could not keep talking and make everyone else nervous!! LOL.

I got changed into this enormous gown that wrapped around me twice. A word of advise don't double knot anything!! LOL. Dr. Baggs could not undo the gown and told me he just felt like getting scissors when he saw all my double knots!! LOL. I had to double knot to keep it on me!! You also get this superman cape that is huge to go over your.

Than you get to sit in a recliner. Quite nice I liked it. Than you get warm blankets, again very nice!! Than you swallow some very sour liquid, get your heparin shot (didn't hurt at all) than the IV. That didn't hurt but I was bruised when I got home. Than I got a bolus in my IV which is fluids I guess..............next thing I know they want me to go to the bathroom before surgery. Well the gown almost tripped me so I had to strip naked to use the bathroom than put it all back on again!! I had ICY as a nurse and was trying to ask her if she remembered Christine and Nicole...........she thought she might!!

Within 15 minutes all this was done. Dr. Baggs came out and we talked a bit at 7:30 than the anthesialogist at 7:45............than both of them asking a million questions and joking around. They told me to relax and I figured hey I have 20 minutes and got out ITOUCH to play a game.........I never even got to turn it on because they were back telling me it was time to go. I went into surgery at 7:50. I was out before 8am.

I could not take my glasses with me so I was blind as a bat in the OR. Probably better because Dr. Bags was cleaning something sharp in the corner.............I told him I was glad I could not see what he was doing without my glasses and he laughed.............again I talk alot when I am nervous!!

The only weird thing was that as soon as you get in the OR they start to undo your gown and that was sorta weird. For me it took awhile because of my double knots.....but I must of looked at them weird because Dr. Baggs was trying to explain what he was doing. I told him good luck I knotted them good. He said I am just gonna have to get the scissor!! He said he was no good at double knots and when frustration kicked in he resorted to his scissors. I just told him as long as they were sterile I was ok with that.

We all joked around about how I had watched the whole 45 minute surgery online the night before!! I asked Dr. Baggs if he was gonna tilt the talble upward (weird so your like half standing up during surgery) and he laughed and said "the things you see on youtube nowdays.......but he laughed and said yea we are gonna do that............I told him I thought I would fall off and he laughed and said that is why we are belting you onto the table.............I never noticed but they do secure you down. Sorta like your going on a ride somewhere..........

The nurse in OR was really cool. SHe was really gentle moved slow and was really concerned I was comfortable. I liked her.................

After that I put on my IPOD and they were asking me if they were talking to loud for me to hear the music, joking around. I asked them to be a little quieter and laughed and that was all I remember..........

Next thing I remember I was in recover and trying to get that crazy mask off my face. I couldn't breath because there was chest pressure and I figured I had wandered into the jungle and had an elephant on my chest..........the anesthioligist was telling the nurse she was fine and than she got scared............I don't know what happened. Lucky for me I thought they were talking about the person next to me so I didn't worry to much. Just had to breathe really slowly and find my happy place!! If I thought to much about breathing it hurt more and was harder to breathe I also didn't know that I would be numb from the neck down for an hour or so............that scared me. So just a heads up it takes awhile for the medication to wear off!! Just sleep away..................

I got pain meds twice. The nurse let me have a nose mask and took off that face mask once the doctor left!! :-) She kept telling them to leave and when they did she told me I will change this for you. I could breath alot better after that!! She was great. She just kept telling me relax your fine, and was really cool. I liked her alot............I also was nasaeous and got anti nasaue medication twice than once before I left to drive home.

I was awake by 10:45am. As soon as my eyes were open they got me in a wheelchair and away I went to radiation. My head was wobbling and I really slept most of the way down. Barium swallow was really not to bad. I slept through it all!! LOL. Tasted like cherry to me and really not to bad. They let my mom go with me to radiation.

Than back to the recliner in the pre op room to wait for the doctor and discharge. I slept for 45 minutes until they came. HE was finishing up a bypass. They told me things were fine to come back in 6 weeks............gave me pain meds and my work release...............Dr. Baggs told me he talked to me mom about he surgery and she had my pictures.........yep you get pictures of your liver,gallbladder, and stomach with and without the band..............Dr Baggs kept teasing me becuase I could n't wake up.............he kept laughing because my eyes were closed but I told him my mind was working and "someone was home." But actually I didn't hear much of what he said...................just remember him laughing at my comments............The nurse had me get dressed. Which I started to do in the middle of the room. I was so tired I didn't care who was there but the she shut the curtains (so unlike me normally!! How embarrassing).....I almost fell over getting my underwear on!! LOL. I could n't bend right................but I made it. Almost knocked over the curtain trying to balance......I had to sorta hop into my pants. (wear baggy pants with an elastric waist and a baggy shirt)

The only bad thing was the bypass patient behind me was sitting next to me and she asked me if I had the band and if I was ok.............I told her I feel like throwing up and I can't bend anything!! Her eyes got huge and she didn't make any more eye contact with me......didn't ask me another question. I am sure I made her feel better about her upcoming surgery;-) an advantage of being first!!

Than wheeled out to my mom's car and was asleep before we pulled out. I slept al the way home. Got home at 3pm. Slept until about midnight and more pain meds.................slept for about three days only getting up for a couple of hours at a time to drink and get more pain meds. I was a wimp I know, I know.................but I love to sleep!!

Second and third day were the worst. I thought I was stupid to to this to myself by choice. Also the pain meds made me a bit loopy which didn't help. It hurt and I didn't feel like eating or drinking anything.The gas pain was the worst part of the whole thing. I thought I would pop there for a couple of days!! By a week I was feeling like I would survive it and the pain meds were pretty much gone except for nighttime.................

Ok yes I did weigh too. 5 pounds up the day of surgery!! OMG. Than the next day down 11 pounds. So I lost that 5 and another 6 right away.................

Now almost three weeks out. Just the port hurts and not sharp pain but more of a tugging, tight feeling like it is healing ....................

So Candy hope that helps walk you through it. Honestly it was not bad and having all the attention of all the medical staff was sorta nice. I am usually the caretaker so it was nice to be on the other side. Relax and enjoy it!! I soaked it all in and felt nice!!

Best of Luck to Candy and than Reggie!!

Edited May 2, 200917 yr by swrktp