Disney Nut

Thanks, Missy. I know I was being crazy, but please put it down to newbie jitters!

So...do you think I stretched my pouch?

Hey, tomorrow is my big day too! I'm feeling all the same emotions you are. I think we'll all done fine.

At long last, my surgery date is almost here. I have to be at the hospital at 11:00am tomorrow.

Sorry...I haven't gotten the hang of quoting yet! I love what you say about awaking from the spell of fast food cravings! I know just what you mean. As far as telling people, my mantra is "You can't UN-tell someone." It has helped me keep my mouth shut about many things through the years. I am not ashamed about my surgery, but I also don't wish to share what I feel is a personal decision that I arrived at after much thought, prayer, and research. I don't need to hear negative reactions from misinformed people who feel that I've taken the "easy" way out. (Ha!) Before you tell a person, think about what their reaction may be...AND the reaction of anyone they will tell, because news of your surgery will spread.

I've told no one outside my immediate family about my lapband surgery on Monday. But when I dropped my adult son off at his day habitation program (he has mild autism), I had to tell the director of the program that my son may be worried about me on Monday because I was having surgery. I don't know why I told her that it was lapband--usually I've just said minor surgery. But for some reason, it just popped out of my mouth. It turned out that she had band surgery last year--and with my doctor! She's lost 80 pounds. Talking to her relieved my pre-surgery jitters. And best of all, she's going to talk to my son to reassure him that I'll be fine, and she'll keep an extra eye on him on Monday. I was given just what I needed when I need it. The Lord does truly provide!

Hope everything goes wonderfully!

BTW, Sparkplug...this born New Yorker knows what you mean about attitude! Still, it's tough. I was on the subway a couple of days ago. I played that mental game of "Am I the heaviest women on this car?" It can be hard to be surrounded by skinny, sophisticated New Yorkers. I can't wait for my surgery on Monday!

I absolutely feel this way! The women my husband works most closely with are in the marketing department - and all are thin and stylish!

I'm a week away from my surgery, but I want to ask a question I've been pondering for a while. (This is for well after my surgery, when I'm eating normal foods.) My husband's sauerbraten falls apart with a fork. So does my crockpot pot roast. Do you think these are tender enough for a banded person?

Thanks!

I love filet mignon! I'm getting banded a week from today, and I've been concerned about this too. I hope I'm one of those people that can handle it with tiny bites.

I know how it can be to have a mom who is an RN. I could never pretend to be sick...Mom always caught on! That being said, realize that what you're dealing with is love compounded by too much knowledge. Your mom is a very educated woman and knows everything that can go wrong. I can think of two ways to counter this: 1. Fight knowledge with knowledge. Talk statistics to her, about the safeness of the procedure. Hit her with the statistics that show that obese people have a greatly reduced life expectancy. Just surf the web and you'll find plenty of information. 2. You could also try "Mom, I love you and I know you're worried about me. I've researched this and feel the benefits outweigh any risk." I don't know if these will work. But she sounds like a smart lady who loves you, so try them. Good luck - I'll pray for you.

I chose WLS in general because: 1. My weight and comorbidities mean that unless I get down to a healthy weight, I will not live an average lifespan. 2. My current weight prevents me from doing many things I'd like to do, and some things I don't like to do but must get done (housework). I chose Lap Band because it seemed like the logical first step. Why surgically reroute your intestines unless you've tried a less invasive procedure? After all, doctors will set a broken leg rather than amputate it. I've read that Lap Banding does require that a patient make behavorial changes "up front" as opposed to gastric bypass patients who lose the weight right after surgery much more easily. But then a year or so out the weight loss slows and gastric bypass patients have to start focusing on the new behaviors. I want to learn my new behaviors now, while I'm still "revved up" mentally from getting my surgery. I hope this helps.

Prettygirlswag -- I'm drinking Unjury Chocolate Classic. I also bought Matrix Cookie Mint (I think that's right). And I'm allowed two soups a day, so I have Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle. I like the Chocolate Classic. Unjury let's you buy samples, so I tried a couple of flavors before I started. When I was on the long-term liquid diet, I drank HMR 800 chocolate shakes. I like those also, but my nutritionist set a limit of 5 grams of sugar per shake. The HMR shakes have 19 grams.

I'm on day 5. My biggest problem is squeezing all the shakes and water in. I feel like I'm constantly sipping something. My doctor set a limit of 1200 calories a day, and I've yet to hit that level. I'm coming in around 1000 to 1100 calories daily.

That's fantastic!

Argh! How annoying! The hoops we have to jump through to get our lap bands!

Hey, I'm getting banded on September 24th also!

I'm being banded on September 24th. I feel kind of funny admitting this, but the liquid diet isn't bothering me that much. Probably because I've done a hospital-supervised 12-week liquid diet before -- twice! I did fine and lost a lot of weight on the liquids, but when I started solid food again, I had no control. I can't wait for the band to help me!

I love the "Walk It Out" video game for the Wii system. I walk in place on the Wii balance board, and the screen shows my character walking around an animated island. For every step I take on beat to the music, I get a point. The points are used to build houses, trees, bridges and the like. It makes my walk fly by!

I'm scheduled for surgery on September 24, at which time I'll get both the lap band and plication. I like the idea of have a redundant system in place for weight loss, but only needing one surgery. At yesterday's pre-op testing they told me that the doctor would not do plication if the gastroenterologist present detected a hiatal hernia or some other stomach issue. So I know the second question I'm going to ask in the recovery room is, "Did he do the plication?" (My first question after all my previous surgeries has been, "Where are my glasses?")

You acknowledged the behavior and won a victory! Even a partial victory like animal crackers is good. It means your willpower is getting stronger. Congratulations!

I'm on this same roller coaster ride right now! I start my liquid diet tomorrow, and my surgery is scheduled for September 24th. Sometimes I can't wait to start life with my band and plication. Other times, I think of all the problems that could happen, and I think I'm crazy to do this. But I'm not getting off this roller coaster till it comes back into the station...or in this case, the surgery recovery room!