Hi Everyone -

My name is John and I'm 51 yrs old. Have struggled with my weight for years.....Have been over 300 lbs for the last 10 yrs. Reached my highest weight this past January of 337 lbs. HAVE HAD ENOUGH..........Currently I'm 312 lbs with a BMI of 42. I'm tired of the yo-yo diets........

A resent untrasound shows I have alot of Gallstones so I will probably will have my Gallbladder removed at the same time.

Currently seeing all of the Doctors/Nutritionist required by Aetna as I'm involed in their 3 month pre-surgical program. It requires monthly visits to my Primary Doctor, Nutritionist, a Personal Trainer and the Psychologist.

I am seeing Dr. Fielding @ NYU . I see Dr. Fielding on 3/25/09 and hopefully will get a surgery date which should be early May.

Can't wait to get past the surgery...............

Hi fellow Mayo BANDitos,

I love the Sombrero and the whole color scheme. Very popular Hispanic colors. Very clever.

I got put off a week too. I signed up on the Realize Band site, so I had to change my surgery day on the counter. That was hard. I think I'm at 47 days now.

I'm still worried about the 40 BMI thing. I'm not sure what to do. I's still at 40.1 with no weight loss. I'm scared to fall under, even with the hypertension, but worried the insurance Co. won't be happy if I don't lose weight. I will be so glad when I am finally approved.

I'm so happy for you guys who are approved. It must be a great relief.

It sure is nice to have others to talk to who are in the same place.

Good Luck to everyone!

Rebecca, I worried about going under the BMI but someone told me they take your BMI at your weight when you started your diet. I was under 39.6 BMI with medically controlled high blood pressure, when the doctor submitted the paperwork to the insurance company.

SpideyMom, I agree but think I'll treat myself in October when I'm in SF for a girls weekend!

Hello everyone,

Greetings from North Carolina. I'm new to the forum...I have a May 1st surgery date. GO TAR HILLS. :thumbup:

Oh man Mexican food is my favorite! Maybe I should call my surgeon and reschedule. Just kidding. I do like the idea of putting our shakes in a margarita glass. I wonder if anybody makes tequila flavored shakes? Is salt on the glass okay?

Xavier and Maclynn congratulations on your dates!

There seems to be quite a few May 6thers yeah!!! We will have to keep in touch with each other

I'm 5'1" I would love to lose 100 lbs but would be happy with 60.

Oh man Mexican food is my favorite! Maybe I should call my surgeon and reschedule. Just kidding. I do like the idea of putting our shakes in a margarita glass. I wonder if anybody makes tequila flavored shakes? Is salt on the glass okay?

Xavier and Maclynn congratulations on your dates!

There seems to be quite a few May 6thers yeah!!! We will have to keep in touch with each other

I'm 5'1" I would love to lose 100 lbs but would be happy with 60.

Hallelujah Girl, Mexican is my downfall since I'm a salt,not sweet person. We wil definately have to keep in touch. And while my goal is to lose another 72 lbs, I'd be happy with 50. I have been quite amazed at how many make goal since everthing I'd read said you would lose 50-70% of your excess weight. Here's to making our lives healthier!

Mmmmmm Mexican food... that's also my downfall. I'm from TX (well, ok that's obvious with the name, etc) and it's home of the best Tex-Mex ever. EVER!!!!!!!!!

Oh well. I was talking to someone that had LB and she said she could still order fajitas and have the meat, the onions/bell peppers, the refried Beans, etc. I think that's pretty doable.

Hey TxAmy07,

What part of Texas are you from. My mom lives in Frisco so I've been in that part of your state frequently so have had the pleasure of Mexican there. Joe T Garcia, yum! As for Mexican, that is what I did when I successfully lost weight several years ago. Until I stoppped watching everything I ate and gained it all back again.

I'm from Dallas. :drool: I know Joe T's, mmmm...... That's the best reason to drive to Ft. Worth from Dallas. Chuy's just opened up a new location near us too so that's even more rough! We actually went there on Sunday night before I started my pre-op on Monday. Ahhhhh memories!

LOL, what a small world. Good luck staying away from the Mexican restaurants. :drool: I see a lot of cooking in my future.

Hello, fellow BANDitos!

I had my consultation with Dr. Trace Curry (Cincinnati, Ohio) on Friday, and will call his scheduler on Monday to schedule my pre-op and 2-hour nutrition class, as well as schedule my surgery. I'll be on the Medifast diet program for two weeks (starting the day after my pre-op/nutrition visit), and then my surgery will be immediately after that. So, it seems likely that my big day will be in (early!!?) May. Oh my gosh, I am super-excited and eager. I'm ready. :cool2:

Nice to "meet" you all!

- Christy -

Welcome Sailor! Let us know when you get a date. Hope you get a date sooner than later.

Hi to everyone. I have my surgery date for May 8th. I have been 'lurking' for a while and have tried to read everything I can, but I feel more anxious about my surgery than excitment. Does that mean that I'm not fully ready?? Any feedback would be nice.

Meem, congrats on your date! I have to admit I am quite anxious myself. I think we probably all are. I don't think that means were not ready, it just means we're normal. Think about it, this is a life changing event, and it should not be taken lightly. I don't know how many times I have asked myself if I should go through with this. Then I just ask myself why I even considered it in the first place. That alone helps me realize I am making the right decission. Then I start getting impatient because I just want to get on with the surgery so I can start the journey on becoming the me I have always wanted to be. It is good though to have this time to really make sure you are ready. If your surgery date gets closer and you are still having doubts, just postpone your surgery until you feel that you personally are making the right decission for you. I have read so many stories on here of people getting the surgery and regretting it right away, but then after a few weeks they think it's the best thing they have ever done and wouldn't change a thing. I think the scariest thing about this whole ordeal is fear of the unknown. I think if we could look into the future and see our final results and even every up and down it took to get there, we would say no problem it was all worth it.

Hallelujah, I feel exactly the same way. Sometimes I am anxious, sometimes I am excited, sometimes I wonder what I am doing... I go back and forth.

I was watching an episode of Intervention last week and the girl agreed to go get help and they showed her on the way to the treatment facility and she was crying. She said, "I am not crying because I am sad about my decision, I am crying because my whole life is about to change and by my own choice I will never get to use drugs again and that's hard to comprehend". I had SUCH an AHA moment then, because I totally feel like that! By my own choice, I am changing my life and my lifestyle and I feel like I need these 4 weeks of the pre-op diet to mourn the loss of my "old life" where food was my reward and I was excited to eat vs. eating to make my body healthy.

I hope that makes sense. It is kind of early AND it's a Monday. :smile:

TXAmy and Hallelujah - You both are so right.........

To me anxious is good. That means I wrestled with my decision and am committed to succeeding, therefore anxious to get the surgery done so I can move on, lose weight and live a long healthy life.

Just got back from my PCP, gave blood for my labs, so I should have my medical clearance by Friday. I see the Nutrionist @ the surgeon's office next Monday and then they file with Aetna for approval.

My new Motto - Eat to live not Live to eat..........