Suzzzie.

OK, I'm REALLY behind in posts on here, I'll try to catch up this weekend... but I had to pop in to say that ... I GOT A DATE! Lol. I was in Las Vegas this past week and on Tuesday morning the surgery center called me and set me up for surgery on JUNE 15, 2007!!! Only TWO more weeks until I can start living my life again!! I'm so excited! A friend asked me if I was scared at all about surgery, and not being able to "eat" like I always have. (She's considering lap band too.) I am totally 100% NOT scared or worried about surgery. Food... thats a whole other issue, but I'm ready to change my life, thats why I'm doing this. I'm just so stinking excited!!!

I have sevral deal breakers. ANY drugs is OUT OF THE QUESTION. No heavy drinkers (occasional social drinks are fine.) He MUST have a job and his own car. I have to be the only one he is dating. Maybe I am asking for too much??

I KNOW!! I totally agree with you... But here is something I heard at a WW meeting once - that you shoujldn't judge someone who is 'smaller' because they may have already lost a bunch of weight that we don't know about... also that we shouldn't be bitter just because they saw themselves at a weight that we were at a few years ago and decided to do something about it NOW vs. waiting until they were THIS big. While I DO get annoyed with people who are only like 45 pounds overweight, I need to remind myself that I too was once ONLY 45 pounds overweight. Does that make any sense? And TRUST me I know how you feel... I need to lose 220 pounds...to reach my goal of 165.

I look at this calander and am so frustrated that I don't have my date yet! I didn't get a chance to call the surgery center before 'end of business' and I will be in Las Vegas all next week...so if they don't call me next week I'll be bugging them first thing Monday June 4th!! Its killing me. Literally! I want so badly to start the pre op diet (mine is only 48 hours though!) because right now I keep thinking of foods that I won;t be able to eat for a very very long time...and food that I will never be able to eat again, cause I only eat them when I binge - like ice cream (which I just ate almost a whole 1/2 gallon of!!!) - I need to get a GRIP! I'm having anxiety about not being able to binge eat anymore. How sad is that? Does anyone else miss the IDEA of eating until they pop? OK, so I'm crazy, I know. Food is all psychological for me. It makes me happy and it is my friend. I just feel sad that I won't have it anymore... and yet I am SOOOOOOOO ready to give it up and start a NEW HEALTHY life!! Anyone else have these thoughts/feelings? Or am I losing it?

There are quite a few KS/MO people here! Too cool! I live in KC, north of the river. I'm being banded at WTLSC by Dr. Ellison ... HOPEFULLY soon. I'm going to bug the heck out of them and call tomorrow to find out when they will get back with me about a DATE! I have also noticed that there are a few nurses here! Always happy to see sister-nurses!

PS, the tredclimber is also FABULOUS. But, I can only do about 5 minutes on it right now. Its a GREAT workout!

As far as tredmills go - i don't like them! I can burn double the calories in the same time frame using the elliptical. On the tredmill I feel like I'm just walking walking walking forever... but on the elliptical I almost feel like I am running(!) and I haven't been able to run in YEARS. Lol. At my gym both the ellipticals and tredmills have TVs and DVD players on them, so that helps pass time too.

Has anyone seen the commercials for the new TV program Big Medicine? It will premeire on May 28 on TLC. Here's the website: TLC :: Big Medicine It looks very cool. I can't see where it says they do the bypass, or lap band ... maybe they do both? Anyway, just thought I'd pass this along, in case anyone else was interested in seeing it! STILL waiting to hear back from my surgeon about a date!! I am so so tempted to call them today to see what the hold up is. Lol... "hold up" - I just had my first consultation 2 weeks ago. I think I just feel like its taking so long cause I've wanted this for about 4 years. Oh well... I'll be in Las Vegas next week, so that will distract me for a while... Have a good day all!

OMG! I totally know what you mean!! I can't even tell you how nice it is to know that I'm not the only one!! Yes yes, misery loves company... OK... so new concern! Only my 2 best friends know I'm doing this. I was talking to knoe of them tonight and she asked me "So do you think you'll be able to stick to the program?" OMG!! I told her 'Of course! The Band won't let me binge!' ... But is that REALY true? I know you can 'cheat' the band by eating ice cream, chocolate, or drinking your calories... What if I choose one of these methods as my new 'binge'? It's really made me think about things. I know that the Band isn't a CURE, merely a TOOL. I know to consume the proteins, then veggies, then fruit, pasta...etc... I've read so much info on the Band that my Surgeon laughed at me. (I'm a nurse, and I don't really like doctors too well, so I gotta know whats up here!) Maybe I'm just overthinking things now? I KNOW I want to go through with this... It's the best decision for me. And, no, she wasn't trying to talk me out of it or put doubts in my mind. She is considering the Lap Band too, and was just getting info from me. What do you guys think? I know right now our main focus is just to get through our pre-op diets and get Banded... but what about after... once you are able to eat real food again... what's YOUR plan?

23 pounds is 23 pounds! But, yeah... I would probably want it off faster too. Maybe this fill will do the trick!! Good Luck!! I got my pre-op packet in the mail tonight. Its so exciting. I can't wait to find out what my surgery date will be!

I haven't had surgery yet. I'm hoping that they will call me today with my date!! I'm a nurse, and I've researched the lap band for soooo long that I feel like I know quite a bit about it - but I STILL have questions! There are questions that I forgot to ask my surgeon too. HAha. Good luck to you!

No no no! Haha, that would be HORRIBLE!! No, the port is implanted just under your skin, and a layer of fat. They access it (to fill/unfill) using a needle, kind of like a shot. When I went for my consultation the Nurse Practitioner let me 'see' hers and feel it. She is pretty thin now, and I couldn't even see a bump there, but when I applied slight pressure I could feel it. Pretty groovy! GOOD LUCK!

Janine, were you talking about me? I live in Kansas City MO. ANYWAY... I LOVE the calander! Can you update and re-post it when we get more dates? Cause I know I am still waiting for my date. I'm REALLY hoping that they will call me TOMORROW with a date!

Only my 2 best friends know... and it will stay that way until I am ready. I have many reasons for not wanting to tell people... A few of my family members have had gastric bypass years and years ago, and have gained all of their weight back. I know that they would all try to talk me out of it. My mom has struggled with her weight since she had her first child (my older brother) and I grew up doing weight watchers and jenny craig and all sorts of diets with her. Surely she'd be supportive? Nope. My mom is a huge old chicken. She would think the risk of death and complications was far too great. I'm perfectly healthy right now... in spite of the fact that I weigh nearly 400 pounds. No diabetes, no hypertension, cholesterol is only 98... But I WILL have these problems later. At this weight I have to expect to develope these things, and they run in my family. Even with all of this, she would much prefer that I just exercise and control portions. But ya know what? I'D prefer those too! I've tried and tried and obviously haven't been able to do it very well. My co-workers know nothing. I've arranged my consultation and pre-op for my days off. When I have surgery I will try to schedule it on the Friday before my weekend off so that I have 3 days recovery. That will have to be enough. I'm a nurse, but I work Oncology, so I don't have much lifting to do. Even though it is hard to keep such an EXCITING thing a secret from all the people I care the most about, at this point it is just to keep the drama down. I know that after the surgery, after I star to lose weight there will be questions. I will select who I do and don't tell. I will probably tell my mom within a week after surgery, just cause it is so hard to not share things with her. Wow...sorry so long winded!

my best friend talks about Costco ALL the time, but since I'm single there seems to be no point to shop where everything is bulk. I dunno. I've never even been there! Am I truely missing out?

Oh no! What happened?? I went in for my pre-op labs and EKG this morning. During general conversation I mentioned that I was a nurse...and that made the poor nurse who had to draw my blood nervous. Haha. She had to stick me 3 times to get blood...and I have GOOD veins. I was about to draw it myself! EKG came out fine. Guess I was so relaxed that my heartrate was only 58, which is a bit slow. Had to pee in a cup, which I hadn't had to do in years. Met my surgeon, Dr.Ellison. He is very nice and made sure I didn't have any questions. He is one of the younger docs at the practice, but I felt very comfortable with him. After my lab results are in the office should call me for a surgery date. I'm so so so excited! I guess thats it for my update!

I have my pre-op tomorrow, all I was told about was labs and EKG. My insurance is paying for mine. All docs are just different, plus they look at each individual case to see what needs to be done. Good luck everyone!

I don't understand why you have to self pay up front? My insurance approval came in only a few days and I have Fed BCBS...?

Just wanted to say Hi and introduce myself. I just found out I'm approved today... if I wasn't going to Las Vegas the last week of this month I could have gotten banded in May. Oh well. I go for my pre-op EKG and labs on Friday 5/18. Should get my surgery date that day. I'm sooo excited!

I just wanted to update here as well... I GOT APPROVED!!! OK, even though I KNEW I would be approved, I'm stillmore excited about this than I thought I would be! I'm trying to keep this a secret (only my 2 best friends know about it, and are SUPER supportive!) but now I feel like shouting it from the rooftop!! I turned 30 two days ago. The whole weekend when I was out with friends (first a concert, then Dave & Busters) I kept lookig around me at all the thin people and thinking that will be me in another year or two. The lady at the Weightloss Surgical Center said I'd possibly have my surgery within 2 weeks! ... But I'm going to Las Vegas May 28 (2 weeks from today) so it may have to wait until the week of June 4th. We'll see!

UPDATE!! I GOT APPROVED!!! OK, even though I KNEW I would be approved, I'm stillmore excited about this than I thought I would be! I'm trying to keep this a secret (only my 2 best friends know about it, and are SUPER supportive!) but now I feel like shouting it from the rooftop!! I turned 30 two days ago. The whole weekend when I was out with friends (first a concert, then Dave & Busters) I kept lookig around me at all the thin people and thinking that will be me in another year or two. The lady at the Weightloss Surgical Center said I'd possibly have my surgery within 2 weeks! ... But I'm going to Las Vegas May 28 (2 weeks from today) so it may have to wait until the week of June 4th. We'll see!

HAha. That is how I met this guy...and about 3 others that I've had 'relations' with over the past 2-3 years. I love myspace for making new friends, and getting together with old friends...but then there seem to want one thing. Good for you for not calling him!

Ahhh, Puddin. When I see a skinny girl with a cute body I always think to myself "Oh, the sin I could commit with that body." Seriously. Thats all I think about... being thin and desired and the 'things' I would do. But I don't think I will, if I ever get that body (the one you have now is what I want). I've ALWAYS been the fat girl. I can't imagine anything else. For the past 1 1/2 years now I have let a man that I really really like take total advantage of me. I've not had sex with him, mostly cause I think he is too beautiful to be scarred by seeing my fat body naked. We've done 'other' things though. Things I'm not proud of. Things that usually leave me feeling used and even more worthless than I usually feel. After I see him I vow to not see him again... and a week or so will go by and he'll call. I adore his beauty, and he is 6' 5" and muscular. He has a good job, and drives a freaking Mercedes. Seriously, that is exactly the superficial things I want in a guy... if only I was thin I feel like I would try to take things further with him, but as it is I hold back and only see him when he wants something from me. It's a sad cycle that I'm having trouble breaking. I've never had a guy desire me before... whether his desire for me is true, or just so that he can get whats he wants? Ugh. Sorry for rambling on... But I totally understand the mindframe... It's somewhere between where I am, and where I think I want to be someday.

I understand how you feel! My BMI is 53.6, according to the papers I got from the doc office. I have overweight friends, but none that are as big as me. Its sad when we're walking somewhere and I have to slow down, or stop cause I can't breathe after awhile. I can't bend over to tie my shoes, so I have to kind of hike my foot up onto the bed, or couch where I'm sitting. But alas.... i'll be thinner soon... Welcome to this thread.

I have a friend that uses plentyoffish.com. he says its free. you might check that out?