LilMissDiva Irene

Hey Miss Lili! Where in Mexico are you going? I'm going to MX for surgery with Dr. Aceves on Sept 15th... If that's where your going, hope to see you there - roaming the hallways! :thumbup: Keep in touch! To all, I am a September Sleever... I can't wait! I need to lose about 130 Lbs. I'm having a revision surgery to remove my band and replace it with a Sleeve. I'm so excited!!!! Whoot!!!

Hello all, We have decided to close all threads that seem to have heated up beyond the bounds of this forum. Rules to keep in mind from here: *Be respectful of one another. If you cannot do this, further moderation will be applied to each individual not following this rule. Thank you, Moderation Staff

Hello all, We have decided to close all threads that seem to have heated up beyond the bounds of this forum. Rules to keep in mind from here: *Be respectful of one another. If you cannot do this, further moderation will be applied to each individual not following this rule. Thank you, Moderation Staff

Thanks Jordien, Tiffy!! I absolutely 100% know this is the right choice for me! I know, because I made it all by myself. I was not given that choice with the band. All I knew was my insurance covered the Band and RNY. I couldn't have RNY because I was already nutrient deficient and blood Iron anemic. I think RNY could likely have killed me. So, I'm getting all my preparations in order and I hope this next three or so weeks goes super fast!!!!

Thanks layla & dansha! I’m ready! Actually I realized the date is on the 15th and not the 14th but I do still have pre-ops, etc that day. J

Wow Congrats!!!! 45 in a month?? That is phenomenal! :-D

Oh duh! I should have been able to figure that out… LOL BBJ, feel better soon! I’ve been watching your progress very closely. I’m going to Dr. Aceves next month, and your journey is helping me to decide if my choice is a good one. J Please let us know how you’re doing!

I have really been slowing down a bit. Guess I've been a little pre-occupied but I know I will need to bump it back up again! I can't slip up now! mary, I hope you are doing good as well! Thank you for keeping me motivated. If no one posted here I probably would just drift off far, far away. So thank you!! gg, hows the injury coming?? Have you gotten back to the C25K?? Hows everyone else?? Do your workouts! Your body and the scale will love you for it! :thumbup:

Sorry this is all new to me… what is the “L” word?

Hello hello Hello!!! So, I knew I wanted to start a journal at some point, and I didn?t quite know when or where to begin. When I began to think about it, I figured I?d start my story at the beginning. That?s a lot of typing, so if you are interested I have pasted a link. ~*~ LilMissDiva's Journey Journal ~*~ - LAP-BAND? Surgery and LAP-BAND? Discussion Forum Read my story if you like, and it?s a long read. I have been banded for nearly 3 years and I?m topping where I was on banding day. How is that, especially with as much as I weigh? It is what it is, that?s all I know. I also know that I?m a fighter. I?m not going to ever give up until my goal is reached and health is that goal. Actually that link will lead you to my umpteenth attempt at trying to work my band. I?ve had surely well over 20 fills. In fact I have an appt at the end of this month to have the fluid unfilled. Nina from Dr. Aceves office said it?s a good idea, just in case to prevent there being as much swelling during the surgery. Done! You don?t have to tell me twice? lmao! This will be my ?Countdown? thread. So at first it will countdown the days until my revision? (yay!!!), then it will be my new and fresh journey to start over again. I need something that I believe in 110% that will not only help me get to goal but will help keep me there. I believe in this surgery just that much, if not more. I have become so accustomed to the results from this website I?ve seen from countless others, that when I go back to my old message board and see those results? well anyway? I only wish this were my one and only, but like a bad first marriage, Mr. Right is waiting in the wings to sweep me off my feet. I?m glad I didn?t allow the misery of this one keep me from trying something better. Now before I hear any ?It?s just a tool, you have to do the work?, don?t bother. I really don?t want nor need to hear that. Trust me; no one else on Earth knows this more than I do. After a failed first experiment, I know full well this surgery is only a tool. My first tool didn?t work on me worth a darn? You know? it?s not supposed to be harder to lose with your tool than without it!! I am quite the writer and I can type away until I realize I?m at six pages, so? with that I?ll end this entry. I just wanted to say hello to everyone. I?m super glad this place was created, thus by chance introducing me to the surgery I should have gotten in the first place. J Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and helpful. An extra special thank you to all the numerous sleevers out there who post here with their experiences. Good and bad! So without further ado? I have 3 weeks and 6 days until surgery day. YIPPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! Surgery Date: 9/14/10!! Surgeon: Dr. Aceves in Mexicali MX :scared0:

Good morning all! Correction!! My surgery date is in fact 9/15/10 and not 9/14/10. Whoops! What a booboo, but hey at least I didn’t not (grammatically incorrect I know) find out and it was the day *before* I thought. Ha-ha now that would have been a big deal. Besides I'm sure the surgeon’s office would have been sending me reminders and it would have clicked eventually. So, all is good on that front! I will need to arrive in San Diego a day early. The reason is I will be riding into Mexicali and shortly after; I will undergo all the wonderful pre-operative testing that is imperative to be performed before undergoing such an invasive procedure. I’m getting ready though! More ready than I have ever been with any previous surgery. I’m also so glad I have the funds to be able to make my own decision this time, and not rely on insurance to make it for me. I need to create myself a to-do list since I will be traveling a distance to get there. I won’t fly in either since I’m scared to fly. I’m not that far anyway. San Diego is only a 7 hour drive from me. I will undergo any extra stress to do what I must. To be perfectly honest, I never thought I’d be so excited to have my band removed. I sincerely have zero faith in it anymore. At some point you become so detached with something that had so much promise. When you get like that, it’s time to move on. I had a choice though, keep the band and risk more complications, weight gains and misery – or work to have it removed, revise to something else and get your life back. I choose the latter. I am a fighter and until my last breath I will always forage on to become the best person I can be. All that starts in the head and it will manifest itself onto my body, my personality and everything in between. If that means cutting my losses and admitting a failure (not in a bad way) and making that into a success then I have done what I needed to do. I would encourage anyone to do this for themselves. The band did get me semi-results before it started going bonkers on me. It was very short lived. Only up to 4 months in, and I had gone from 283 on the day of surgery down to 227. The difference I felt in those 56 Lbs was incredible. I felt so freed of the bonds of that extra weight. I was wearing clothing sizes I hadn’t in more than a decade. I was so energetic and life was just bliss. I want that for myself again, more than anything. I was a much better person, easier to get along with and my outlook was super positive. Well when one goes in the wrong direction, and especially with WLS surgery this can be quite amplified, it can really put a strain on your inner self. Sure the bones can feel it physically, but the heart and mind I think go more into self-destruct than anything else. It spirals and spirals until you wake up one day and realize you have lost total control of that steering wheel. What do I do then? Accept the path I’m going down into certain crash? Or, rather do I grab back onto that wheel and veer it back onto the road. It will be a bit jittery getting back on that road, but at least I did something about it. I do not accept a negative fate. I have way too much to live for, to fight for… So with that, you all know a little where I’ve been and surely now know where I’m headed. Blessings for the day!

Thank you! I'm so ready

Well I’m very pleased to meet you! I have needed to have some kind of outlet to let loose and scream at the top of my e-lungs. Well you have given me just that. I have been fat and skinny my whole life. Up 100 down 150, up 180 down 100, up 60… well, you get the picture… This time is going to be different though. This time I am going to take into consideration a great many factors. I’m going to first and foremost remember that I have so much to live for; so much to give for, and so much to lose. I’m not just talking pounds here. So listen up. My name is *ahem* Irene, aka, LilMissDiva. I have been fighting mightily since the day I was born. I was born in a struggling family. We never had a lot. My parents divorced when I was 5 and my Mom remarried when I was 6. My stepdad was a jerk. He mentally abused me. I have come to terms with that and it will no longer affect who I am on the inside (just as simply as it can affect who I am on the outside). My Mom never knew how to teach us healthy habits. She was a bit of a hippie back then and her main concerns were just keeping us alive basically. I guess she never considered the long term. No worries, I don’t blame her at all. That’s how most people lived back then. It was ok to feed your kids Pepsi and chips for lunch, right? That’s not what’s important here anyway, and I refuse to let that be any kind of excuse for who I am today anymore. I’m a grown woman now. I can’t keep falling into excuses of days gone by when I never had control of my life anyway as a child. I do now though and I need to take the reigns and make my own destiny. My future is looking bright, educated and best of all fit. Yeah I said it, fit. Not skinny, not pretty but fit. Healthy. What does fit and healthy mean to me? Well it means I can walk on my knees without them popping and hurting. It means I can withstand at least one straight hour of cardio without feeling like the worlds fading to black. It means I can go into any clothing store and fit any article of clothing in any section. It means I can go anywhere and not feel humiliated because I have to squeeze into their tight chairs, etc. How do the last few things equal health? Well, mental health mind you. It’s all very relative… goes hand in hand. You see, if I say “I feel good about me”, then mentally you are on the positive. I’m sure you get what I’m saying. Here is my stance. I was banded on February 11th in 2008. By all accounts I should have reached goal by now. Even if I were a self-proclaimed “slow loser” should I be there by now. I’m not however. In fact I’ve gained some back and now I feel like I have to start all over again. Good thing I’m that type of girl otherwise I would just sit on my couch yet again, open that sweet bag of Doritos and something sugary to drink and away I go. That is not me anymore however. The band saved me. How? Well I’ll tell you. The day I had surgery was the day I put my life into my surgeon’s hands, yet it was also the same day I took my life back. It was the day I decided that no matter how tough life got, how ugly the world gets – I will ALWAYS make sure I’m the best I can be. To myself, and to everyone around me, I’ll be the best. Things did get really bleak for awhile and that was when the weight piled back on. Sure, I noticed – who wouldn’t? But did I acknowledge it? Those are two different realizations and I only noticed… didn’t acknowledge… until now. Yes, I’ve tried to jump back on that horse many a time – but again I only noticed. I now have come to the full realization of what I have let happen to myself. No one else did this but me, and when one acknowledges something negative – one must also follow through and correct it. I wanted to wait to create you, my darling diary because I wanted to know for sure I truly was ready. I’ve created others but I never took it or my gains seriously. However in the last few weeks I have made some strange kind of transformation. I call it my own personal butterfly effect. So many use the ideal that when one changes physically they go from a caterpillar to a butterfly. But what about the inside? Well for me I had to make that transition on the inside before it met the out. I had to really fully comprehend the “me” in my heart and in my mind. Those are the only to “me’s” that really matter anyway. The outside me is only but a reflection, like that in the mirror of the inside me. The inside me made the transition, thus I am ready. Why didn’t I finish it out on the first tryout with the band? Well, I’ll tell you. I simply wasn’t ready. I was still a baby caterpillar swanking around, bouncing off the leaves and exploring my new world. It was fun at first, but once I realized I would have to cocoon, I ran off into the grass and hid. Hid I did and I had to go through a whole year’s worth of story (that which I will not divulge here, sorry dear diary). Well, like any good story the main character must go through a myriad of situations and ultimately come up with some lessons and conclusions. Then and only then is the caterpillar truly ready to cocoon and make that transition into the beautiful butterfly. That would be me by the way, in case you were wondering… In conclusion, dear diary, I promise to write in you often. I want to tell you all about the wonderful things that go along with becoming a beautiful butterfly, the colorful images and feelings that go along with it and the newness of learning to fly. Why all of this? Because, Irene is no failure. Never has been and never will be. I just took the scenic route, that's all. Had I not done that however, I would not have witnessed how incredibly beautiful the journey is and will continue to be. Until next time…

My Official Countdown Thread :smile2: - Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery (VSG) Forum Here is a link to my new Journey. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive over the years. (((Hugs)))

Yay Congrats Jane!!!!!!!!!!! So very inspirational, thank you for sharing this with us! :scared0:

I'm definitely keeping my band. I'm going to buy a mason jar and label it "The Big Mistake". LOL .

thin, I also agree with Jane. I also am not sure if you really truly feel that way or are just speaking from a jaded point of view. Much like being married a true friendship comes with give and take on both sides. If one is giving more than taking and vice versa, the end is going to be ugly. I do believe though that there are some really great matches out there who one would consider a real friend. They are really few and far between. I could count on one hand how many of those I really have. One of them being my husband, so he almost doesn't count. I think closing oneself off from the possibility of gaining a good friend is a very bad idea. So much can be gained and learned from others. It would be a travesty to not have this in your life. I consider many I've met along the years from this website as well as LBT to be some really awesome and true friends. These are even people I have never even met in person, but have spoken with via telephone! Like the OP I also had a friend just like this. We met when we were 7 and remained friends for many many years. When we became in our late 20's we lost contact for many years. Not long after banding we met up again. Well since childhood she's always been the taker and me as she called me "her wind beneath her wings"... and would even sing it out to me. "Must have been cold there in my shadowwww..." Ok that sounds funny now, but can you imagine? Anyway, 25 years later she hasn't changed a bit. Everything and anything we did had to be revolved around her. I'm not that same shadow anymore and didn't want anything to do with that. So, just as quickly as we'd found each other again, I lost her. She's fine without me, and believe me, I'm more than fine without her! It didn't even hurt to be honest. I felt a huge weight lift off me, and I know this split up is forever now. Thinking back, we never had anything in common. I was just her friend out of convenience because I was always there to "give" to her in one way or another. Enough. However, that won't keep me from keeping an open mind to all the other wonderful people in this universe!! It's not their fault she's a B***h!!

Hi all who were sleeved or revised from Dr. Aceves. Quick question: When you decided to go with Aceves, how long were you scheduled for? 4 weeks? 2 Months? Longer? I'm mostly curious of those who liked to get in as soon as possible, and rather not if you purposely scheduled months in advance. Thanks in advance!! You all have been a blessing.

Great thanks all for your responses! I have been in contact with his coordinators and I was thinking mid to late September. They said that would be no problem at all. No exact date as yet since Dr. A still needs to look over my medical forms. Good luck everyone!!

LOL Dais, you know... it is a really hard decision. I am trying to make the best decision for all kinds of issues I'm having. He right now is in the front running. There are so many factors in play right now. Especially now since Cirangle had to reschedule me for even two more weeks until my consultation, that did not help his cause. I'm just covering all my bases before taking that final step. If it means anything at all, I'm actually going out of my way to get passports, etc. Just in case I say, "Lets do this", I will be prepared to go. You have been super SUPER helpful with Aceves information!! (((hugs)))

Great thanks so much! This is good news, and definitely one in the favor of Aceves.