O2BThinAgain

Congrats! It's coming up so soon....but not soon enough! I can't believe how much I'm losing just on the liquid diet. I've lost 12 pounds already in 8 days! I haven't put 1 foreign/bad/illegal food/beverage/sauce in my mouth! I'm just so afraid that if I do that something stupid will happen & they'll go in there & just sew me back up. I've waited TOO LONG for this to happen. Besides, it won't be that long before we can start eating again. Believe it or not, I've been fantasizing about what I can have during the pureed phase! Twisted eh!

Nah...Roanoke is way SW from here. I'm fairly equal distance between Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA. I'm using the Isopure Protein powder. I found it the cheapest at Vitamin Shoppe. I have chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mango/peach. They also have apple/melon and punch. I mix the flavors a lot. It's a whey protein with 0 carbs & 0 sugar. It calls for 2 scoops, but I usually do 1 scoop 4 times a day & 2 scoops once a day. 2 scoops has 50g protein and 210 calories, except chocolate has 220 cal. I also will do like 8 oz. Water & 4 oz. skim milk, with a little bit of crushed ice. It tastes good, plus mixing the flavors give some variety. I'd seen some that have like a cappucino flavor or some kinda latte. I'm thinking about that one too!! I've also tried the Designer Whey protein in Chocolate. It's good too! Also, does your work have Health Care Flexible Spending accounts? Do you participate? If so, you can have your physician fill out a medical necessity form for the Protein shakes and you can turn it into your Flexible Spending account for reimbursement. Or, if you have enought healthcare expenses to write them off on taxes then you can write off the Protein drinks, only as long as they are considered medically necessary.

Congratulations! It's really coming up soon for us all! You're not too far from me....I live in Fredericksburg, VA. We'll have to hook up sometime. Do you golf by any chance?

Well, our "single digit" countdown is on now, eh? I found a neat list of items to have on hand for post-op. It's in this website, I just forget where. Has anyone started gearing up yet at home for post-op? I've only bought a heating pad so far....well, also my Protein powders. I'm getting excited, nervous, impatient!!!! I'm so proud of myself...I haven't cheated at all so far on my 2 week pre-op diet. I almost took a tiny taste of some sauce from my daughters sesame chicken last night and my 9 year old son caught me and said, "Don't it Mom!!! You'll be sorry!". That stopped my in my tracks! What a great son to have around, both he & my daughter are being so incredibly supportive and helpful. It is so nice to have that kind of support. My husband is still kinda "wierded" out about the whole thing, so I haven't gotten a lot of support from him yet. I bet when I'm thin again he'll be right there though.....but I need him more so now! Jeez....men, I tell ya!

Yeah, I've found the mental part of it too! I'm tempted to lick a spoon or something, then I remind myself that's it's only temporay & if I give in there'll be no stopping! I've found that, for maybe 2 or 3 shakes a day, I'll mix 4 oz. skim milk & 8 oz. of Water & a tiny bit of crushed ice. I asked our dietician if this was ok & she said yes. This helps to make the shake a bit more substantial. Where are you having your surgery done?

WOW!!!! We're on a roll this week with approvals! :tongue2: I guess since the holidays are over folks are getting back to work at the insurance companies. Now, I have a question. Are you a mom with 7 children or are you like a "007" secret agent mom?

Let me know how you like the Unjury.

That's awesome! Whew-whoa!

I don't know about who can attend the meetings. I'm going to go tomorrow, so I'll ask then and let you know.

I started doing a liquid lunch today, to prepare for my pre-op diet, which I start next Tuesday (02/26). I've been reading about which Protein to use. I've tried soy in the past, but I didn't lose anything. I don't think my system liked soy, so I'm using whey. I bought the Designer Whey powder, which I tried for the first time today. It's not bad! They also have fruit drink Protein Powder, which I bought, to add to Water in between meals. It's supposed to help keep ya full. I had one this morning about 10:00 & had my lunch drink around 12:30. We'll see how it works! I did get to the gym yesterday & had a great workout. Going again Wednesday evening. I forgot my pedometer though. I need to find it! Has anyone tried any other shakes? I don't want to do Slimfast, as I think it's overpriced & I've never had luck using it, even when I used it faithfully. I need low-carb & low-sugar. I saw another one that I'd like to try, called Syntrax nectar. Has anyone heard of or tried it?

My date is 03/11! Good luck to you & PLEASE let me know your progress!!! How exciting! God Bless! :mad:

I'm having my surgery done on 03/11/2008 at MCVH-VCUHS. They have a support group at Stonypoint, every 3rd Tuesday of the month @ 6:30.

My band date is 03/11 and I've also been thinking about how I'll cope with missing eating. I love textures & tastes & trying new foods and I was concerned that I'd feel deprived. Don't get me wrong....if that's what it takes to be thin again, well, so be it! However, everyones posts have made me feel much better! I was going thru the "Last Supper" syndrome and have decided to stop it & set my mind over the matter. I bought a new scale and I'm focusing on moderating now, in order to get into the right mindset these last few pre-band weeks. I guess there are all kinds of phases to go thru! :cursing:

Holy Mackeral! You've lost 23 pounds already AND you haven't been banded yet!?!? Good job..... I've got the pedometer out, but I haven't been able to get to the gym this week. Striving for tomorrow evening, as my son has something at school this evening that we need to attend. I've been doing well fighting the "last supper" syndrome these past few days! I did go golfing on Sunday also. It was cart path only, so we did a lot of walking! Guess I should have put the pedometer on then!

Yeah.........:tongue: I'll start our list & whoever else wants to join in can too! I'll have to see if we can do some sorta thing thru Ticker website to track our steps! If anyone else knows how you're more than welcome to create something that we can use/copy! Athena's Marchers Exercisers: O2BThinAgain Mom007

Ok ladies! February is only 2 days away. I'm committing myself to stop the "Last Supper" syndrome and, starting Friday after work, going to the gym to exercise @ least 3 days a week. If you can't get to or don't belong to a gym, how about starting walking? We can get pedometers and target for so many steps a week. :frown: I'm not sure about what a good number is to target for, do if anyone knows what a good goal is, please chime in! So......do I have any joiners/challengers? :biggrin::party:

I know....this is just so weird! Maybe we're just psychologically trying to get ourselves SICK of eating.....I just don't get it! BUT......I'm glad to see that I'm not alone and that others have this happening too! :redface: Anyway, I'm letting myself do this until the end of the month then I'm taking over! Mind over matter....food matter, that is. I'm making exercise my February plan. I started exercising again this month, then it got foiled when my husband went out of state for work last week. Between the cold weather the kids & taking down Christmas decorations, I haven't gone back yet. Let's all start with a February exercise plan.....whatcha all think?

This is awesome! More and more of we March bandsters are coming together! I'm so psyched for this! I've started a weekly countdown on my calendars and have even changed one of my computer passwords to "Icantw82BThin"! Imagine that! I'm going thru a wierd phase right now. I feel like I should take opportunities to eat things that I know I won't be able to eat afterwards. Is anyone else having this happen? I know how I've felt mentally when I'm thin, so I know I won't have major issues with eating then. I just want to get those last things in, like a finale of sorts, before the real celebration (or work....depending on how you look at it) starts. Could this be the "Last Supper" syndrome? :redface:

I had my first appointment yesterday. The dietician and the surgeon feel that I should not have any problems, however another dietician was quiet pessimistic. :cry She doesn't think I'll be approved....maybe she's just being careful. I don't know!?!?! My BMI is 39.7, with 99 pounds to lose. I do not have hypertension or diabetes, but my cholesterol is a little high, but not considered dangerous. I have joint problems though (2 knee surgeries on left knee), a herniated/a protruding/a bulging disk(s) in my upper back and incontinence. I was psyched until the last lady saw me. I work at the hospital that does the surgery, so maybe that will help. I'm in Virginia & I have Anthem BC/BS Choicecare/Blueview. I really, really want this badly!!!! My knee is starting to bother me again and I'm tired of being a load & having my upper back hurt. Also, I can't stand having "hidden areas", if you know what I mean!!! Any words of wisdom, encouragement, advise would be most encouraging while I wait!!!!

Sorry, I don't know of any doctors down your way. With your coverage, do you need to have a referral from your doctor? If not, you can go straight to the Bariatric/Gastro doctor yourself. If you doctor doesn't want to give you a referral I'd think that, unless your doctor has documented & specific reasons why you shouldn't have a referral, you should be able to tell them that you want the referral regardless if they like the idea or not. That's what WE pay insurance for! Is your VA Anthem with Blue Cross & Blue Shield? Do you have the PPO option showing on your card?

Jeez, Louise!!!! I haven't been on this forum lately, as I'm going to be a March bandster. You've DEFINITELY been tested on this one! Maybe after all of this you can start doing presentations on how to deal with insurance companies! One positive thing to keep in mind is at least BC/BC covers this type of surgery. The insurance that I had with my previous employer not only did not cover lapband/gastric surgeries, they didn't even cover medically necessary breast reductions! Thank God that they know that these things are physically beneficial in the long run! I pray ya hear your good news today......SOON! Keep your chin up!

Wow!!!! You've lost 29 pounds in a month! Great job! You must be so proud of yourself!!! I'm having my procedures done at MCV with Dr. Kellum. I'm extremely pleased with my insurance process. I had documented all of my weight loss/dieting history, any health issues, I had routine blood work performed 2 months prior to check cholesterol/glucose/thyroid (which I had never done before), etc. So, they apparently had all of the info that they required and handled the processes effectively. You're absolutely correct, in that this surgery will reduce the chances of having other health complications in the long run. Which, in turn, will reduce the chances of having to need other procedures, etc.. That's the goal here, well....other than to look & feel great too.....which helps the mental health also in the long run!!!! Gosh, I can't wait to SEE the real me again! It'll be very cool!

Glad to hear things are going ok for ya! My date isn't until 3/11. I'm really looking forward to it. I have just about the same amount of weight to lose as you do, so it'll be neat to hear how you're doing! I've started back to working out so that I'll be a bit ahead of the game by the time surgery comes around. Keep me posted & congratulations to you too!

Has a nice ring to it....."Athena's Marchers". Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, the arts, industry, justice and skill. We want justice with our weight issues...right???? We also have a war against fat & food!!! Also, Athena was given the favored city, which she named Athens because she had the better gift to give. Athena's gift was an olive tree, which was better because it gave the people food, oil and wood. Food again!!! But, olive oil is the "healthy choice". Am I reading too much into this? Jeez, food,can we EVER get away from it?????

All, I'm not certain what to do, so I figured I'd check with folks who've been there. I've been approved for breast reduction already and I'm going in for my first appt. with surgeon/dietician this week to discuss lapband surgery. I've completed a bunch of pre-paperwork (paperwork they review even before they'll consider you for an appt.), so I've passed the first step. My breast reduction approval is good until the end of March '08. I know that there's awhile to wait before you can get your lapband surgery, if approved for it. My concern is if I have the breast reduction before the lapband will they turn me away for the lapband? I have upper back problems and, gosh, if breast could be donor organs I'd have signed up long time ago!!!! My plastic surgeon said that they only drawback he could think is that they may become smaller than I'd like (no problem to me!!!). I just want to make sure that (a). I don't blow my chance for lapband surgery AND (. my boobs don't end up sagging a whole lot, if at all, if I have it done beforehand. I don't want to wait until after lapband surgery to have my reduction if I don't have to. I have about 88 - 93 pounds to lose. I'm, at the least, a DDD.....swigging low~w~w!!! I have upper back problems also. "High Beam Headlights" would be awesome. I'm tired of walking around with poor posture because of them.....they get in the way! Also, I'm wondering if the insurance would still pay to have it done once I have the lapband & lose weight. They may not consider it "medically necessary" then. Decisions.....decisions...... Any suggestions?????