Wenjea

Tammy - my insurance said no way too but I decided to go for it anyway. If you figure out the cost of a funeral, hospitalization, having to hire everything done for you because you can't do it anymore . . . .basically what is your life worth because that is what we are really talking about. My husband said I was worth a lot more to him then $12,800. Get a second mortgage on your house or spend some of your IRA because if you don't do this you probably won't be around to enjoy your retirement anyway. Am I convincing you yet? Merrilee - you are doing great with your weight loss! Way to go!! It doesn't look like anyone from Northbend is coming so lets meet closer. We can meet at the Tacoma Mall and walk or down on Grandview if it's sunny. Name the place and the time and I will come. Sue has her pre-op tomorrow so she can come if it after 10:00am. Had my pulmonary, ultra-sound, lung x-ray, and blood work done this morning. Then I went to the shrink and spent forever on the questions. I was waiting for the question,"Do you think this paperwork is dumb?" but it never happened. LOL I stopped by Costco and bought the magic bullet ($49.99) and came home and made a vanilla strawberry protein drink with real strawberries. YUM! It was thick like a shake. That thing works really well.

jessica - i sent it to you on your private message. check your box. Thanks!

nbjen - I can't remember if you have Dr. Oh or not. I had my nutrition class today and then I went to Vitalady for my Vitamins and Protein drink. I really was not all that excited about the protein. I had a hard time finding one I liked. Three shakes a day is going to be hard for me. It seems like we are on liquids a long time with the two weeks pre-op and 4 weeks post-op. I have read some of these other threads that sound like they are on mushies in two weeks with just a few days of pre-op. Not fair! I just keep telling myself it will make a big difference in the amount of weight we lose at the beginning, which is a good jump start. Thanks for the tips on pre-op liquids. I have one week before I start it. Good luck on Friday . . . I'll be thinking of you.

I had my nutrition class today and I have two weeks of clear liquids and 60g of protein a day pre-op plus the vitamins. For one week after surgery I get clear liquids only, the second week I add back my vitamins and protein. I don't get to add mushies until three weeks after that so I have six weeks total on liquids. I can't remember how long I am on mushies before I get solids. The nutritionist said it takes one month for your tummy to heal after surgery.<br /> <br /> I went to the vitamin lady after class and bought almost $200.00 of vitamins and protein, ouch! My surgeon wants me to carbon load before surgery. Anyone ever hear of that? After tasting the different protein powders I'm not sure how I amgoing to drink that stuff three times a day . . . it's not that good.<br /> <br /> In my heart I know I need to do this, nothing else has worked but my brain is trying to convince myself that the sacrifice is not worth it. I'm trying to remember that all of this is temporary and eventually I will be back to eating normal . . . just not as much. Oh the struggle.

welcome Granny - that sounds funny since you are only a few years older then me. I'm not a Grandmother yet but sure hope to be soon. Wow! Next week some of you will be getting your bands! Exciting!! I remember thinking this was taking so long but the closer it gets the faster it goes . . . This is my last weekend to eat the old way (sorry liquid drinkers) I can't decide what to have. Think I will hit cold stone as a farewell to the old way of thinking. That seems really messed up! It was this kind of thinking that got me here in the first place! Jessica - it's nice that we share the same band day as well as the mom of twins thing. You go girl!

nbjen - Friday is almost here for you!! Has the liquid been that bad? Two days till lapband land, I bet you are excited! Let us know how it goes. When you recover we will meet up. Good luck and God Speed . . . . Jenn or Jena - you guys feel like a meet-up on Friday?

Where are you guys finding these videos of fills and LB surgery? I would kind of like to see a fill. Tomorrow I have my nutrition class . . . .the beginning of the journey. We taste different protiens so I will give my opinion on those later. I bought this Alpine Vanilla whey protien from Costco last year that has 22g of protein and sweetend with Splenda. I put it in berry smoothies and really like it. I hope I can use it for the liquid part of my pre-op. Can you use powdered protein or do you have to use some sort of clear liquid protein? May is almost here!!!!!!!

hey! where is everyone? It's been real quiet on here lately. Sue - I finally got my walking in at 8:15 tonight at the YMCA . . . 1/2 hour on the eliptical runner w/arms. My legs felt like jelly when I got off. Mer - if you and I are the only ones meeting up on Friday, we should meet closer to home. Anyone want to meet-up with Merrillee and me on Friday April 27th?

If Sanjaya was still on he would sing 'I am the world' instead of 'We are the world' LOL

I love this! Everybody getting their dates . . . it feels like an exclusive club or a highschool click! LOL I probably won't be so cheerful next week when the liquids start :girl_hug: Good luck everybody!!!

yep, the date is coming fast! I have one more week before I start liquids only for pre-op. Tomorrow is my first nutrition meeting so I'm sure I will be full of questions for you all. Blake is cool but kind of one-dimensional in his performance style. What he does well . . . he is great at.

fluffy - Are you trying to figure out how you are going to make dinner every night for the fam while not eating only drinking? It seems that I live in the kitchen with a family the size of mine and yours. I'm worried about putting stuff in my mouth without even thinking about it during clean-up. I'm thinking of going to Dinners Ready and having them make their own stuff. How do the rest of you cope during the liquid phase of this and cooking for your family?

you are so right about Melinda. Great voice, sweet personality, but where is her neck? the new haircut helped but still . . . . It's totally Jordan!

Friday works best for me too cuz I'm pretty slow movin on Monday mornings. Spending way to much time on here instead of walking and doing housework. This is sooooo much more fun! I'm blond and chubby too! I'm also 5'10'' so you can see me a long way away! I looked at Mer's info and saw a picture, nice smile. you look like someone I will enjoy getting to know. Anyone else coming? It will be fun!

We can do this! Yes we can! Hard is weightloss . . . easy is obesity. Remember the definition of insanity . . . doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Are you insane??? We want a different result then what we have that is why we made the decision for a lapband. I believe in all of you so go drink your liquids and get out there and walk!!!

All of these appointments make this so much more real. It's exciting and scary all at the same time. I wonder how much of this is head surgery as well as a physical surgery. I really hope I can change both!

hi guys! I have to change the time on the Auburn mall meet-up. I just heard from the nurse that I have to be at St. Francis from 6:30-12:00 for pre-op tests on Thursday and then I have my psych test after that so Thursday is out for me. Friday works for me. No appointments. Can anyone meet on Friday? Monday the 30th works around noon or Wednesday the 2nd is open. I just got hammered with appointments this morning so my window of opportunity is greatly narrowed. Who will be there and what will you look like. I could just ask everyone who is overweight if they are here to meet the bansters group but someone might get offended. Let me know!

The nurse just called with all my appointments and classes between now and the 17th, six in all. I had no idea it would be so many plus she still has one more to add. I've already had four. Does everyone else have this many? One more week of eating and then it's liquid land for me. The temtation to eat everything in sight is getting mighty strong!

hey twinmommy, I'm getting banded on the 17th also. i have twin girls who will turn 13 on May 11th and they are very excited to have a mom who will be able to shop at the cool stores. I want them to be proud of me and not embarrassed of my weight. I start clear liquids on the 3rd and continue for at least one week afterwards. If that doesn't kill my food addiction then what will! Love that there are so many of us on this site. It sure makes a difference when you can go through this with so many great people.

I'm at Dr. Ohs office in Federal Way, not to far off of Hwy 18 and I-5. He has done thousands of LB's and is a 'center for excellence'. He has a 70% success rate which is high for the band. I really like his staff and there is quite a few of us on the Washington site who go to him. I've heard good things about Dr. fox too.

Jena - lucky you if you have insurance, welcome to the Washington bandetts (so far no men folk have shown up since I've been here) Hopefully the process will go quickly for you.<br /> <br /> Jennifer - Merrillee has mentioned you I think. Are you going to be there in the afternoon? I'm at Dr.Ohs in the morning. You've lost a lot already, that's great! You must be doing everything right. <br /> <br /> Merrillee - I have walked 7 days in a row. That's some record for me. I have to keep up the motivation. <br /> <br /> How about Thursday April 26th at the Auburn mall. Is the carosel still there? How about on the food court side of the carosel at 10am? Does that work for people? I think that is in front of Cinnabons which is torture for those of you already banded or on pre-ops so if you want to pick a different place just let me know. I'm pretty sure I'm spelling carosel wrong but I don't see a spell check on this thing.

wow! Lapbandit you have been so successful! Please share your secrets with us who are just starting out in the near future. I want the same results as you.

Totally Jordan! she is the complete package!

I have to laugh at the picture cropping thing. My sister uses markers to change her pictures and make herself look thinner. Sometimes she changes what she is wearing to black with the marker so she can blend in with the shadows. LOL! So here is to never having to crop a picture, put your kids infront of you, or stand in the back to hide your body!!!<br /> <br /> Make sure all of you get your digital cameras out and take a before picture so you can see how far you will go. You can print out the picture, hide it in your underwear drawer and destroy the negative by erasing them off the camera. I love to look at the before and after pics on this website . . truly inspirational!<br /> <br /> Anyone come up with a good May gang name yet?

My mistake, sorry, I wish I could go to Australia sometime though.