AmyMT

Good luck tomorrow, StLouisGal!! Your wait is nearly over. :cursing: Wishing you a complication free surgery and a speedy recovery. ~Amy

I had surgery 17 days ago. I am feeling great and am healing up nicely. The hungries have popped in again, but I am doing pretty well at sticking to the program. My first fill is scheduled for Feb. 27. I am really looking forward into fitting into a smaller size. I know it will happen one of these first days. :glare: ~Amy

I am glad to hear that you are doing so well, 4jin! :glare: StLouisGal, only a week left, :eek:. Somedays it seems like so long ago that we were all waiting to hear about approval, and it was just a few weeks ago. lol. Keeping up the good thoughts for you both! ~Amy

Welcome home to bandland , 4jin. I hope everything went great. Hope you have a very smooth recovery! ~Amy

Congratulation, StLouisGal. Just two weeks away!!! :biggrin2: woo hooo. 4jin, your date is coming up soon! I will be keeping you both in my thoughts and praying for complication-free surgeries and recoveries for you both. :biggrin: ~Amy

I am just wondering if the case of nerves I am having before surgery (it is tomorrow) is normal? One minute I am so excited to be getting banded and the next I am thinking "what am I doing?" I know I am doing the right thing for me, but there are moments when I could just about jump out of my skin with nerves. So do any of you have any advice? I would really like to make it to surgery tomorrow with a little sanity left..:wink2: Thanks. ~Amy

Chrisann, I was at Benefis in Great Falls. There is one surgeon in Great Falls and one in Missoula that do banding (from what I understand). I am healing up pretty well. My port seems to bother me once in a while, and all 4 incisions are itching like crazy, but other than that, I am feeling pretty good. ~Amy

Hi everyone, I am back!! Everything went great for surgery on Tuesday. I was nervous right up until I went to sleep, but it all turned out great. I have been home since Wednesday (the 3 hour drive home wasn't the best part of that day) and have been resting quite a bit. I am not too sore, and the gas is lessening so I am doing pretty well. Thanks again for all the thoughts and support. It was great knowing you all were here thinking of me. Yay :redface: I'm banded. Wooo Hooo ~Amy

Congratulations 4jin on getting your surgery date. :redface: I am back... my surgery was Tuesday and I got home on Wednesday, but I have been resting a lot. Everything went really well. I am not too sore and I am healing nicely. StLouisGal, I hope you get your date soon. Yay I am so glad you both are getting so close to getting your bands too. All your support while waiting really helped me get through. ~Amy

Thank you everyone for your encouraging words. It is almost 4:30 am here and I am getting ready to leave for the hospital. I have to be there by 9:30. I managed to sleep pretty well last night and my nerves aren't making me nuts. . . yet. lol Chrisann, yep I am in Montana. Roundup is a little over 200 miles from me, but in MT distances, that is hardly anything.:w00t: It is within about 50 miles from Billings, the biggest city in the state though, if that makes you feel any better. Once I am out of surgery and back home, I will talk to you more. Well, back to getting ready to leave. Road report says the highways are only intermittantly snow packed, so things should be pretty smooth going, (i hope :smile:) I'll see you all when I am home and banded :tongue: TTFN! ~Amy

Good luck to all the others getting banded this week: Jan 21- mo7293 (Maureen), graham, lee41 Jan 22- purplegoddess, DPJDMOM, bcgates, AmyMT, bcgates, BensonRN Jan 23- min, Ang1982 (Angela) Tigger_Shorty (Rose), WhirlWinds Jan 24- holleyhobby,jst4kel,kimmycrs, Somogyi1, rakes4321, RomeGA3, Road_King Jan 25- Noni(Mary), htay73il (Hope), Thor, rakes4321(Amy), khoffman (Karen) Diane - south fla Jan 26- Louise (London) I'm up tomorrow and I'll let you know later this week how I am doing. ~Amy

Good luck tomorrow, BensonRN!! I hope your surgery goes smoothly and you have a very quick recovery. ~Amy

My hubby is taking me. We have a 3+ hour drive:car: to get to the hospital because there are only a couple of surgeons that do lap-banding here. My mom will meet us there (she only lives 2 hours away from the hospital). I just heard from the nurse and they are moving up my surgery time so I have to be there 1 1/2 hours earlier than originally planned. I am hoping the weather cooperates (we are hoping for a high of 2 degrees today :wink2:). Thanks everyone for the reassurance that what I am feeling is normal. One good thing about having this moved up is that I have less time to fret about it. ~Amy

Yay!! 4jin :huh2: :banghead:WONDERFUL news. Congratulations. ~Amy

First off, I second Chrisann's nomination that 4jin be an honorary member of the New Year's Knock-outs, StLouisGal too if she wants to be :pray2:. Secondly, you give that insurance company he!!, 4jin! You know we are all behind you! Keeping up the prayers.:wink2: And finally, I got preregistered for the hospital yesterday and it is coming up so soon!! I am getting excited.... and nervous:unsure:. But the good thing is that I am pretty well adjusted to this liquid diet thing. ~Amy

StLouisGal, My doctor's office suggested Low Carb Slim Fast, but I can hardly gag that down. They did say that substituting another brand with similar calorie count and protein grams would be acceptable, so I am using Atkins Advantage shakes. I am even beginning to like those. They have a few less calories and 5 grams less protein, but I try to make up for that by using some Unjury. I am glad that I have only one more week on this before getting banded. I really hope that I won't be hungry afterwards like I am now. :eek: ~Amy

Hi 4jin, I have been thinking about you all weekend. I am keeping up the prayers that you hear good news very soon! I am struggling through the liquid diet now. But the good news is after 4 days on it, I had lost 6 pounds!! I am on day 7 now so I hope it is still working that well. Keeping up good thoughts for everyone else waiting for approval. :smile: ~Amy

Thanks!!! I was wondering what happened to so many of the smilies. ~Amy

I am on day 5 of the pre-op liquid diet. It has been pretty tough, particularly because I have been CRAVING tacos. But I have managed to stick with the program. I have lost 6 lbs. in 4 days and that sure helps to make me want to stay on track. I suppose that I have cheated slightly because I have had some cream Soup but I have managed to stick with just liquids. Best of luck to you!! ~Amy

Hi all, I just got insurance approval and I have a "date" with Dr. Rohrer on Jan. 22. I'm really excited to be getting banded (a little nervous too). I am in Bozeman, but I grew up 40 miles west of Havre. ~Amy

4jin, I am sorry to hear about the struggles you are having with the insurance. I really understand what you are going through as I was exactly where you are just last Friday. I have confidence that you will hear good news after all this torment and I will keep you in my prayers. ~Amy

Hi, My name is Amy and I am very excited to be getting banded in less than two weeks. I just turned 40 a month ago and I have two kids 11 & 9. My hubby is super supportive of my decision to be banded. I am glad to have found this site. ~Amy

I was just approved! My surgery date is Jan 22. ~Amy

:update: I'm APPROVED!! :banana The insurance called this morning and told me. I can go ahead with my Jan 22 surgery date. Wooo Hooo! 4jin, :hug: I will keep :pray: you get good news by tomorrow!! ~Amy

:cheer2: Wonderful news, StLouisGal!! Congrats. ~Amy