Wenjea

In just a few hours I will be leaving for the hospital to get my brand new shiny band. It's like Christmas and my birthday all rolled into one. Good luck bandmates! I will see you on the other side and we can moan together. I'll be there with you in my heart!

Pinenut- if you work in Tacoma then maybe we could meet to walk on Rustin Way. Sue and I walked there last week and it was very nice. Do you get a lunch hour? I can't believe that you are going to work on Monday! Take it easy girl. is anyone having to wait forever for your message to post? I'ts taking forever!

Pinenut- if you work in Tacoma then maybe we could meet to walk on Rustin Way. Sue and I walked there last week and it was very nice. Do you get a lunch hour? I can't believe that you are going to work on Monday! Take it easy girl.

welcome almanorgirl to an a-MAY-zing group of people.

Evilha - I am planning on feeling up to it, Sue said she would drive me. Guess I won't really know until I'm there.

Sue - I have class untill 1pm, then I have to stop by Item House and fit review two coats. By that time I will be close to picking up Missy and getting her to dance. I could walk after I pick up Anna from fastpitch. I should be home about 5pm. Whats your evening look like? Pinenut - thanks for the tips.

Pinenut - Good luck and lot's of prayers for you on the 17th. We will have to share our stories after we are back on our feet. My surgery is scheduled for 7:30am on the 17th. i have to check in at 5:30am, yuk!

CJQuilter - if you spend some time on the May banders thread under general discussions then you will get a first hand look at lots of people just getting banded. It is a variety of people with different experiences and very educational. Welcome to the Washington banders! Where abouts are you? Who is your doctor?

I'm more excited then nervous. i have a real feeling of peace about it. I'm ready to get on with the rest of my life. I had to give Julie some of my clothes today because they were to big already. That was fun! I have a bunch of things to do tomorrow to get ready but it's not like I'm not going to have time to rest or anything. lol

Cindy - My doc says 90 grams of Protien a day. It helps healing, keeps your hair from falling out, gives you plenty of energy and keeps the hungrys away. He has us load before surgery to get through the week of post-op, clear liquids only. The 2nd week post op we add back the 90 gr. of Protein. I put 1 1/2 scoops per drink to get it in. I can't remember for sure but I think we drop down to 60 grams of Protein/day once we start mushies. Hope this helps. Thursday banders . . . . aaaaaaaahhhhh! . . . . . I'm soooo excited and a little nervous but am sure this is the answer for me. I have to be at the hospital at 5:30am. Geeeez! I've got a million things to do tomorrow to be ready. Good luck and big hugs and lot's of prayers for all of you! We can do this!! Together!! Take your Happy Thoughts with you!

I agree that vitalady is a good place to start, especially the first time. After you get started you can probably find some of the stuff cheaper else where but it's nice to know what you need and what it looks like. They have vitamins that dissolve quickly, chewable, and sublingual that other stores don't have. Plan on spending some money there. . . . it isn't cheap!

For all those who stalled on the weight loss . . . . take your measurments. I took mine this morning and have lost a total of 8 3/8" off my body. I gave away a new vest to a friend this morning because it looked to big on me. YEA! Don't give up!

twinmommy - come on band mate . . . take my hand and we will do this together . . we are out of options and you know it. . . . . if you are like me you have already cheated just a little bit with a pinch here and a lick there. That is why we need this band, it helps keep us accountable. We are almost there . . . less then 48 hours . . . . looking back is fat land . . . .looking forward is where we wanna go. We can do this! Wen - it's nice to know I'm not the only one going through this stuff. Thanks for being there! Can you believe we are this close to bandland!

I'm stalled out on the weight loss!!! Frustrating !!! I even walked an hour yesterday to get the scale moving and nothing changed this morning. This is the third day in a row that the scale is stuck! I wanted to be down some more before surgery. It's only two days away! I have sooo much to do before then. I have to clean house . . . so I'm getting off this computer and getting busy! hi Mer!

Hi everyone! I have two questions . . . I am on day 12 of my pre-op liquid diet and my weight loss has totally stalled for three days. I'm getting a little frustrated over it. I walked for an hour yesterday hoping to move it some but this morning it is still stuck on the same weight. Any suggestions or comments? This is a little on the gross side but on this liquid pre-op I am only having like one significant BM a week. I took some Colace yesterday and still nothing. I want to be somewhat cleaned out before surgery. Comments and suggestions are welcome. My thoughts and prayers are with you SillyWillyMommy, KYsunshine, and keiko. Happy surgeries and quick healing w/no gas to you all!

JennyC and losinit - Good luck tomorrow! You are doing the right thing!! Hugs and prayers for both of you. Come back when you can and heal quickly.

Thanks Mer! I won't be able to walk on friday because I will be just home from the hospital! Can't believe it's almost here . . . . a little scary!

Is there one? I meet with a couple of gals on Friday to walk along the Grandview Trail in UP and they both are Dr. Oh's patients. There are also support groups at St. Josephs on the first and third Monday of each month down by the cafeteria. I havn't been to this one but we are planning on it on the 21st.

There is always room for another a-MAY-zing bandster! Welcome to the site. How is it going for you? There are a lot of Dr. Spivak patients on here.

lapdancer - how did the hibiclens work for you? How do your scars look now? Is that something that your Dr. recommended. I want to minimize scarring and infection and this is the first I've heard of antiseptic. It makes sense to me.

hi Evilah - I'm being banded by Dr.Oh on Thursday May 17th. I am about a week and a half into my liquid diet only. How about you?

ragdoll - could be worse! I get three protein shakes, and all the SF crystal lite, SF popsicles, and broth a girl could want. Oh yes, and I get vitamins too. I could hurt someone for what you get. Did I mention I am on week two of six weeks of this diet? The good news is I'm down 20 pounds!!

hey twinmommy - we were posting at the same time. Good luck buddy!!

Thursday is coming fast!! Hey Thursday band mates, we are almost there!! Good luck to all of you who are getting bands this week, heal quickly and safe surgeries and no gas and best wishes and lots of hugs!! For all of you who aren't just post-op, GET OUT THERE AND WALK!! It's a beautiful day in the NW and I'm off for a walk.

Most of the docs here in Northwest Washington seem to be pretty good. Many of them have worked together before and all of them seem to have very similar pre and post-op requirements. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of them. I would go with who you feel the most comfortable with, location, cost, in hospital or out and intuition. You will be fine either way. I have never heard of anyone having a horrible experience with any of these guys and the bigger issue is if you don't have it done then what will you look like in three years. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Do you really think you can lose the weight and KEEP IT OFF on your own? We all went through the head stuff before surgery thinking we should be able to do this . . . . it seems so drastic . . . I will never be able to eat the foods I love again . . . . . etc. etc. The truth is you will be able to eat again but not in the quantities that you did. Hopefully you will make better choices. you will go through a 'Last Supper' phase and probably gain weight before surgery. You will also go through a 'mourning of food' during pre-op. Then you will begin to get excited about the idea of actually losing weight instead of gaining. Then it becomes a reality as you watch the scale move down! That will give you the willpower to get through pre-op. You will be a little scared and excited at the same time as surgery gets closer. You will face some food demons that tempt you to cheat. You might give in or you might not but you still will go for it because you are catching the vision of the thinner you and you are beginning to believe it is possible. This is where I am now. Three days before surgery and I can't wait to get on with the rest of my life. I am sure of two things. one- I will gain it back if I don't go through with this and two- I will be successful and be thin again with the lap-band. hope this helps.