I'm getting ready to have my pre-ops January 2nd, then scheduled for surgery on January 13th. I'm getting very nervous. I worry that I won't be able to stop drinking carbonated drinks, but I am determined that I must. I've been struggling with being overweight since I was about 20 years old, and I'm sick of it. I've tried everything, as I'm sure most people who've gotten to the point of having the lapband have. I am worried because I do love bread and sweets. I am willing to give these up for being much thinner though! I mainly want to lose weight because I'm tired and in pain all the time and have no energy to do the things I really love to do. So I really hope this works!

I'm going to Dr. Bryce Schuster in Louisville, KY-having it done at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital. My insurance, BlueCross BlueShield for Federal Employees is paying for it, thank goodness. :laugh: I go on my liquid diet on January 6th. I think that will be difficult. I'm glad it's only for a week. I know I'll have to do it after the surgery, but I think that will be less difficult than before due to still having an appetite.

All-in-all, I'm ready to get this show on the road!

Hi Maybell,

I am about two weeks behind you and have all the same concerns (as well as worried about caffeine and some of my meds being a problem) as you. I plan on taking it one day at a time, I know I look forward to saving a lot of money on not buying soda -

I agree by the time we consider the lap belt, we are ready for it. I have been overweight since at least 4 years old (oh wait a minute, I don't remember before that so I bet it was a problem before that too:laugh:)

Good luck with your pre-ops and surgery. Here's to a happy and healthier new year for all of us!!:laugh:

Maybell....Beware of the federal B/C and B/S..l had my surgery in Sept...In Oct l received a bill from the hospital for $4,000..l called B/C and l also called the hospital...As my luck would have it, the hospital billed B/C twice for me...B/C didn't think anything of paying $21,000 for my lap band..They just paid the bill and then billed me the extra $4,000 saying that the lap band is a durable equipment Thus l had to pay 70/30..NO ONE told me this before...l did fight them..l work for a very large VA hospital and many of us have had the surgery...NO ONE got thios sort of bill but me..they all paid the hospital $100 and the Dr $100 which is what l was expecting..Now, after fighting with B/C, they cut the bill in half bec of the double billing, saying l now only owe the hospital $2,000...and l'm supposed to be happy about that...Wrong....l will not pay any more than the expected $100 and $100 dollars...Once a quarter B/c Federal sends a rep to our hospital to fight claims...l will see him when here's here next....Good luck to you and fight them if you have to....

MayBell~ I quit the caffine cold turkey before surgery. I figured I needed to get through the withdrawal before I had surgery. I also kicked the soda habit, which wasn't a serious one, but I needed to get it out of the way.

My last Starbucks was June 29. LOL, I even remember the day! LOL.

Good luck on your surgery, you will feel so much better after the surgery when you start losing weight!

I also thought quitting cokes would be a hard thing for me. But it was not that bad! I haven't had pop in 4 months. I never keep it in the house so it's easy to turn to water and sugar free lemonade is my new fav. I still crave bread and sweets, especially ice cream!! ha. But with the band I've learned some things are ok it's just I can only have them in moderation and you'll prob feel that way once you get some restriction going. Good luck with everything!

Thanks so much for all your help and advice. It's so nice to know I'm not alone! And I will be careful of B/C B/S, thank you. I've tried quitting sodas right now, but I still have about one a day, and I only have one coffee in the morning. I guess I'll switch to decaf coffee if I can have that after the surgery. But I do usually drink an unsweet ice tea from Panera Bread every day, so I know I'll have to give that up for a while too. But at home I make myself decaf tea with some herbal decaf mint tea in it (as ice tea) so I think if I can drink that I'll be okay. I also love Chick-Fil-A's diet lemonade, so maybe I can have that too, I hope. I have a plan-I've just got to stick to it. I know having help and advice from this forum will definitely help. Thanks so much again!!!:Yawn:

Good luck Maybell, you'll be happy you had your surgery. I had mine November 17th and believe me when I say the pre-op diet is the hardest. Your stomach is still regular size and so is your appetite. I took appetite suppressants to get me through as I was starving.

Now that I'm banded and have one fill behind me, it is much much easier. Be tough, get to the surgery with your liver shrunken and you will be very happy you did.

Best of luck to you and others reading this blog. I'm only a couple of months ahead of you, Once you're banded it will be much much easier.