ginny two

I'm glad to hear that you are doing well, Cappy. I'm sorry that the pain is bad for others. :cool2: I'm a big baby when it comes to pain, so I selfishly hope it's not too bad for me. :cool2: I'm supposed to stay at my fiance's house for several days after the surgery. He is really sick right now with a bad cold, maybe the flu. :smile2: So, I haven't been able to be around him. I hate to admit that I am a little irritated that he is sick. He gets sick a lot and then he stays sick for a long time. I think it's because he doesn't take care of himself. Sorry, I feel so mean and selfish saying that! I would love to stay with him and his daughter because I love them and they are fun. (My daughter will be at her Dad's.) BUT, I also prefer to be at home where all my stuff is close by. Okay, I'm annoying even myself now with all this whining. I hope that those of you that are dealing with pain feel instantly better when you read this next word........*POOF*

BTW, Sorry that last post was so long!

Pat, funny you should mention alcoholism. I've been sober for 19 years. Addicted to food and shopping, but not using alcohol anymore. I have been comparing this in my mind to alcoholism and recovery. The lapband is my antibuse. Right now I am in detox. After my banding I will be in rehab. Once I can eat solids, I will be out of rehab and into the scary real world. Thank God for my antibuse, because if I use my "drug" I'll get really sick! If I start eating around my band it means I stopped taking my antibuse so that I could fall off the wagon intentionally. This board is my meeting. You guys are my support group. Jaime, I'm glad you shared what you did. I wasn't thinking it would be so hard right away. I'm still on the pre-op. It's not being hungry that bothers me. That passes. It's the emptiness. I feel empty. When I feel stuffed then I am a little numbed. I remember telling a co-worker a long time ago, "I don't care what happens during the day. As long as I can go home, sit in my chair and eat my Oreos and Diet Coke, I'll be happy." I had a very stressful job, but I got through the day by thinking of the moment that I would sit in my comfy chair, all alone, with my stack of cookies and my huge Diet Coke. That would make everything all right. Is there a section on this board that deals specifically with sharing these kinds of issues?

WOW! Thanks for sharing so much. My surgery is also on the 24th. I'm having a very hard time tonight with my all liquid pre-op diet, so it helps to hear that it is the hardest part. (I feel like killing something or smashing expensive vases against a brick wall.) Anyway, I'm sorry that you had to dip into your retirement money. I totally believe that it will be worth it. Financially, you will save a lot of money on health costs and food in the future. The most important thing is that your daughter needs you. (I'm a single mom of a 12 year old girl.) I have a hard time facing the damage that I have done to our lives by spending SO much money on food. (I guess I shouldn't assume that you have, too.) It's horrible. I've been evicted and lost other homes due to spending money on food instead of rent.:cursing: Ummm, I could go on and on, but maybe I should do that in my journal. I'm going to have to face the emotional aspect of my food issues if I am going to succeed with the band. Keep posting. I really want to know how you are doing! :eek:

I actually wore make-up to GNC and K-mart today. LOL! I haven't had surgery yet, but..... I FEEL PRETTY!!!!!

Ouch! Ouch! I'm in pain! I'm on the second day of my pre-op and I'm in sugar withdrawal. Major migraine goin' on here. I know it will be better tomorrow, though. I saw this show on the Discovery channel the other day about brain structure and personality. They said that if you repeat positive "self talk", you can change the anatomy of your brain so that you will automatically think positive and actually be happier and more successful at your endeavors. I need to do that. I've been such a Debbie Downer all my life! Everything I read about this surgery says that a positive attitude makes all the difference. Maybe I'll start tomorrow after this blasted headache goes away. (They didn't say anything about procrastination.)

Good Luck to everyone having there surgeries today and this week! I started my pre-op liquid diet today. The only problem is that I have not been a milk drinker since I was five years old. I just can't stand the taste. Unfortunately, my nutritionist wants me to drink two cups a day. :smile2: Does anyone know of another way that I can get at least 8g of protein and 12g of carbs???? That would be without adding calories. I've tried adding sugar free chocolate syrup to it, but that was pretty disgusting. I just held my nose and drank it all down like medicine. I can and will drink it if I have to, but I sure would appreciate a substitute. I just sent my nutritionist an e-mail asking her about it. She already knows that I don't like milk. "Yuh hafta drinkit", is what she said. Barf. :thumbup::ack2::crying::ack2:

Hey, Everybody! I hope everyone is feeling great, no matter how many hunger and/or gas pains they are experiencing. I'll be banded on the 24th and I'm wondering what shape I may be in three days later on Thanksgiving. (I know everyone is different.) I can deal with not going anywhere that day, but on Friday night there is a service at my church that I really don't want to miss! I guess if I can manage to ride home from the hospital, I can handle riding to church. From what people say, I don't think it will be too bad. I'm planning on doing lots of walking since it sounds like that is the ticket to reducing the gas pains as much as possible.

You're an inspiration to me! I have to be on a 7 day, liquids only pre-op diet. I have been envying the people that get to have a lean cuisine one time a day. BUT, they have to do it for two weeks. I figured it was a trade off. Knowing that there is someone else out there that is doing the liquids only thing pre-op and having the strength to do it for a longer period of time, will really help me. Sorry. Me, me, me, it's all about me. I'm really surprised that your doctor is doing it this way. Isn't it weird the difference in surgeons protocol? P.S. xtightend, you crack me up!!!!

Well, it turns out that my ex knows a lot about the subject. He watches a lot of the Discovery channel, LOL! Either that, or his wife has been researching it. Anyway, I'm sure that went a long way in his attitude toward it. I've kept the surgery thing just to my closest friends, too. My brother and his wife freaked out last year when I first started the journey, so I just shut up about it. This is funny, but my ex's mother has known all year. She's one of my best friends! :thumbup: I guess it's Jerry Springer time! She watches our daughter for me a lot and knew I was going to the hospital at least once a month. She has too much class to ask why, so I told her. I know she can keep a secret and I didn't want her to worry about me.

Just wanted to share that I told my ex-husband about the surgery last night. I had to, because I want him to take our daughter for the week. I could have told him it was none of his business when he asked what kind of surgery, but I knew he'd ask my DD and didn't want her to be stuck in the middle. I expected him to criticize me for taking a risk with surgery for my "weight problem". (We have a VERY strained relationship at the moment.) Instead, he was so happy. He's always been worried about me dying young due to obesity. He said that he is thrilled that I'm taking this step, because he wants our daughter to have her Mom around for as long as possible. He wants me. JUST KIDDING! LOL! Speaking of my DD, I better go make her lunch before she has to leave for school.

Hang in there, Vangirl! Sometimes the scale won't move for a few days and then like magic it will go down a few pounds. Maybe you are retaining water for nature's own reasons. Can you call your nutritionist for advice? Will 5.5 pounds really make that big of a difference to your surgeon? Are you able to get some exercise, like walking or swimming? I'm sorry that you are so hungry all the time.:thumbup: Drinking a lot of water helps me, even better is some nice, hot, herbal tea. (Decaf.) I just ordered some hypnosis CD's in hopes that they will help me with the hunger and my attitude. I'll let everyone know if it works for me. LOL! I'll try anything! Good luck! Even if your date does get pushed back (horrors) at least it will happen, right? Don't give up hope!!! We're here for you!!!

Congratulations! You and I will be one day apart on everything. I start the pre-op on the 17th and have surgery on the 24th. We can check in on each other!

Congratulations, Heather!!! Yikes! They cut it so close, how come you weren't going crazy? Or were you? LOL!

Thanks! I just started panicking, because I only have four and a half days before my pre-op diet starts. I've been eating low refined carbs and having a lot of protein drinks as replacement meals, just to ease myself into it. But, now I feel like eating everything in sight! I feel like having a Diet Coke, too! ARRRRGGGHHH!!!!

I'VE BEEN APPROVED!!!!! :eek:

:hurray:Wow! I'm having so much fun playing with my signature, thanks to all of your cool signatures, that I'm barely worried about my insurance approval! I received a letter from Cigna saying that they didn't see my surgery as being medically necessary. :thumbup: The good news is that it also said, "this is not a denial", they just need more medical info to prove that it IS necessary. Either my surgeon's office didn't include everything, this is an automatic type of scare tactic, or maybe Cigna will be really tough to get approval from. Great grammar, I know! How about the reviewer comes to my house and I will SIT on them. That will make two of us that have a medical necessity!!!! :w00t: Here's a shout out to all the other 24th-ers that we've been hearing from!!! Froggi, are you still out there? We have company. I will cross my fingers and toes and hope that the approval comes through on time.:eek: Big hugs to all the Novembers that are recovering right now!!! Keep up the good work.:cool2:

ARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!! I got a digital scale yesterday, so that I couldn't "fool" myself with the old one. Well, it registers about five pounds higher than my trusty old fashioned baby! :party: Just like the stupid nutritionist's mean, mean, scale! Stupid scale, not stupid nutritionist. I LOVE her. HEY JODY!!!! Anyway, I hate the obsession with food and numbers on the scale. I'm going to make an effort to let go of it. I'm going to change my weight ticker right now, in an effort to not freak out over the five pounds. Who's with me???? Let's kick the heck out of this obsession's tooshie, so that we can get back to our loved ones and our lives, eh??? There is so much more out there than numbers on a scale and numbers on the label of our clothes. Being healthy and feeling good will give me a much better life for the next 45 years! In fact, it will give me many more years to live and see my children grow up and hopefully have families of their own. I want to be a Grandma and watch my grandkids graduate from college! I want to look good, too, don't get me wrong. I just don't want to rely on the numbers to tell me how I'm doing. I can feel how my clothes fit. I can feel the difference in my body and in my strength. I'm sorry, I'm babbling on now. Thanks for listening to my rant!

LOL! I'm going to write that in calligraphy and frame it! It's been nine days since I've had a Diet Coke.:ohmy: After reading this thread, I threw out the DC that I was drinking and haven't had one since. One day at a time! I was so sick for the first 4-5 days. I had a horrible headache (I was getting caffeine from tea to curb that withdrawal) and was nauseous for 5 days. I was exhausted and wanted to sleep a lot. Every time I got upset about something, I was dying for a DC. I suppose that may still happen. I was a bear to live with, too. I almost gave custody of my daughter over to her Dad. JK. She probably would have been happy about it at the time, though. Actually, she's been very proud of me. (She's 12) She's been encouraging me and letting me know that she realizes that it's a huge deal for me to give it up. One day at a time, one moment at a time. I'm sure that this is how it will be with the food, too. It's such an addiction. Phew!

WOW! Really? That's great, because that's the one I'm most worried about. If I go off of that for even a day or two, I really crash. Thanks so much!

Thank you so much for the info! I feel a lot better now. :eek:

Thank you, Sandy, for the encouragement. I'm glad you are feeling so strong about getting through the back pain. I'm worried about whether I'll really be able to do this. I take six different medications for bi-polar disorder. I CANNOT go off of some of them. I can't wait for my doctor's office to open this morning so that I can call them and discuss this. My nutritionist had said that the nurse that reviews my records before submitting them would catch that as being a problem, but I'm not so sure. Maybe there will be liquid equivalents or they can be pulverized. *sniff*