Brinabrina77

Hello Ya'll: Mynmann: When I had my surgery the only weight related conditions thas I had were asthma and the "possibility" of arthritis in my knees. I still got approved, but I am more than 100lbs overweight. I think that for conisderation for the surgery, some pople are not quite 11lbs overweight, but they have one or several weight related issues and still get approved. Dr. B is great. Iam not sure if I have told everyone, but I am a veterinarian, so I i have intimate knowledge of the medical field (hence why i was so worried about my surgery in the first place). Surgeons in general have the personalility of driftwood. However, Dr. B does not. I absolutley adore him. He is so non intimidating and so helpful. He practically took care of all the stuff involving my insurance. He sends of the letters and everything. if you do have a problem with the insurance he is very encouraging for you to be persistent about it. His staff are wonderful also. I think you will be pleased with him. When i initially decided to get banded I knew nothing about any of the surgeons. Intially i was going to have Dr. Smith do it. Dr. Smith and Dr. Burnette work in teh same practice. Dr. Bagnato used to work with them, but I think he left them becaseu he did not like dealing with Phoebe medical (i think he said this in a seminar). He has done more surguries than either Dr. Smith or Dr. Burnette. I think Dr. Burnette is jsut now starting to do these surgeries. Why did I not have Dr. Smith do it? Well I know nothting about him personally so that i was not it. I called their office and the make you speak to this lady who is the one who is supposed to deal with the insurance issues. My doctor called her for a week to get her and could not reach her for what seemed to be like a differnt reaseon each day. They got so frustrated that they aaked me to call. I called and called and finally got her. Then they want you to attend a seminsr. At the time i was workign nights. I caught her and she was like "oh, if you want to attend a seminar there is one tonight at Palymra medical". So I drug myself ouot of bed and rushed over there, because I had less than two hours before the seminar started. I walked all over that place lookign for this seminar. I fanlly gave up. So on my way out of the parking lot, i called palmyra to make sure that i at least got the correct hospital for the seminar. The woman who answered was like ,"Yes, Ma'am we do have a seminar, but the next one is not until TOMORROW night. " I was highly upset. First of all it took me more than a week to contact this woman to get my insurance issues straight. When i aske if there was anyone else I could speak to, they told me no. THEN i rush around trying to find this seminar and find out that she told me the wrong date!! The next day, I called my promary physician and asked them t refer me to someoen else for this surgery. I figured if that was the type of care i would get from that office BEFORE surgery, I did not want to know what kind of care I would get from them during or after surgery. The peopel in the pffice were not rude or anything, but at that point i had kind of lost faith in them. I knew nothing about dr. Smith or dr. bagnato at that time so i was neutral about who did the surgery. However, after that fiasco i ended up going to Dr. B. I am happy as all hell that I chose him. I will say that my experieicne with Dr. Smiths office is MY EXPERIEINCE. that may not be the norm there. ParaGirl: I feel you absolutely. Just one those days that you want to leave a series of chalk ooutlines in your wake. i am officially diagnosing you with the "snowball from Hell Syndrome". The day jsut starts out sucking and continues to suck until it reaches the epitome of suckyness. Symptoms include being pissed off beyond all pissivity. (I know that my medical terminology just wows you). I have had my share of days liek that. That is when i normally start askign my coworkers if the vending machines dispenses vodka. (Still no such luck on that one. My coworkers will bring up the fact that i don't drink and I normally respond that it is never too late to start. ) But you did the right thing. You came here and vented. We did nto see you on the news with a donut in one hand and a rifle in the other. For that I am truly proud. ( i just had this image of me in that situation..and then getting shot by swat and my shooter shouting "She has been taken down. I repeat, Big Girl, Down. Shots fired, Big. Girl. Down." into his walkie talkie). Anyway, girl vent. Vent. Vent. VENT!! Just wait to I have a snowball from Hell Syndrome. The first place that I will come will be here. As for your church person... Pffft. Please. He who is without sin may cast the first stone. Til this day, i have not so much as had a pebble tossed my way. Find some you time. Find somethign non food related that will give you soem pleasure. Indulge. Watch TV. Do something that you like to do. Go window shopping. garden. Get a pedicure . Whatever it takes (short of homocide, child abuse, or domestic violence) that makes YOU feel good. Then tomorrow... the sun will shine again and you have been blessed with another day with the potential to be much better than today.

I am not a big fan of exercise either, but i found that two things have helped me. 1. you just have to make it a habit. Yes, it sucks, but you have to make yourself do it. Then once you see the result or moreso what lack of results cause you will make yourself do it. 2. My biggest things that makes me stick to it recruiting a friend. It helps if the friend has similar goal. For example, i have friends of all shapes, sizes, races, ages, etc. However, I can NOT make myself exercise with my friends who are not plus sized or ones who have never been plus sized. They are my friends and try to help, but i don't feel comfortable exercising with them. (One friend is 4'10 and weights between 90-95lbs. While I am breathing like a chain smoker, she is able to complete full sentences. While she is on rep 3000, I am on rep 30. Another is like 5'10 and is built like a supermodel. Picture Tyra Banks in your head. that is her. She wants to just tone up a little. lol) When I exercise with my thicker friends, i have a blast!! We both hate exercising, but we keep each other entertained and motivated. We give obscene names to the equipment, make fun of oourselves playfully, and laugh and sweat and pant through the whole ordeal. It's great.

Hello Allykat: i am so happy that things are going better for you. I jsut got finished eating some corn and chicken chowder (today was the first day of my full liquids YAY) and I feel great. I think i could be a contender on american gladiators now!! I knew you would improve. i knew things would look up. I am glad dr. Bagnato is such a supportive surgeon. I am from the medical field, and a lot of surgeons have the personality of driftwood. I am glad you have such a good relationship with your hubby. Ya'll will make it through this. I am so happy for you. (((((AllyKat))))

Hello Guys: So far I am in the before stages. But here I am in all my chunky chocolate glory

ALLYKAT: much as i joke around in my posts, I completely understand what you are going through. Read my blog entry. I think that the reason they make you drink 64 oz of water a day is becasue you lose that much in tears alone. We are big girls!! I just had a rude awakening about how much my emotional well being was tied around food. The first 2-3 days after surgery you would have been blinded by the size of the "S" on my chest and my cape billowing in the wind. I was so proud of myself for having gone through with this. Then when the first aches set in..whether it be the ache around my port or the ache in my empty belly...I went from being a lion to a lam really quick. I whined. Then on top of that the more hungry i felt, the more I whined. Allykat, Stop stealing my damn quotes woman!! I stood up proudly and told myself... I told myself that i was much happier when i could run to Mcdonalds and get (insert calorie filled item here) or eat as much of (insert nake of food her). The truth of it is...I was not. if i was truly that happy with how i was living, i would not have considered this in the first place. I have wanted this stupid ass band removed several times. If i dould have gotten an old priest and a young priest (like in the Exorcist) to remove this from my body i would have on several occasions. However, that was when I was thinking with my irrational mind. If i really ask myself, i am happy I did it. I know I will be happier once I get out of Phase 1-3 Hell Foods. My worst day of crying was the day i made my blog entry. I kept askign myself, what the hell had I done to me. How in the bloody blazing blue hell did i do something that required me to be on such a controlled, restriced diet. If I coudl stay on one of those things, I would not need this stupid band. then i was hungry all day and i was tired of fricken jello and wonton soup and all of that. today, I am better. Tomorrow i may not be. After all that boo-hooing I had coem to the realization that that type of behavior was NOT me. And when i get like that i realize that I am not me. I still cry, that is when i come here and read posts or look at before and after pics. As much as I despise it on some days, I really knwo that this was the best decsiion I have eer made for me and my health. If you need to call someone and talk, anyone here is welcome to my number. Just PM me and I will give it. I am not a counselor, but sometimes it helps to comiserate. We can even get all dirty and nasty and share our fantasies about how we are goign to utterly violate the first solid foods that we can get our Phase 1-3 Hell Foods eating hands on. I think I am gonna make my first piece of chicken call me Big Mama while I devour it. :thumbup: All in all, AllyKat knwo that you are not alone. Please know that. Realize you made a terrific decsion for you. MIA and AllYKAT you sound like me. Everyone should go read this list... Neat Reasons to lose weight <----CLICK HERE Yeah some of it is superficial but it reminds me of so many things that "normal sized" peopel take for granted. take a look. PS. I remember you telling me that you were not afraid of the surgery, you were afraid that this would not work. I think that is part of why you are so upset now. hang in there, woman. We are all here to support each other.

Gerogia girl!!! Holy (bleep)!! :laugh: I have only seen your face pic on your avatar. I had never seen your before pic. I finally saw it on another thread. Holy (bleep) woman! You look Fanfrickintastic. When I was able to pursue art we have to learn about body and face shapes. You have the perfect lil' heart shaped face. Girl, if I had a heart shaped face (and a set of dimples to go with it)...I would not use such power responsibly. I. would. rule. the. UNIVERSE!!! I was sitting here sulking over my wanton soup asking myself why I am putting myself through this when I decided to browse the before and after pics. I tend to do that when i need inspiration. People, I need to see more Bagnato befores and afters. Gimme some more inspiration. Can we jsut start a thread specifically for Bagnato Bandits before and after pics? Yeah, yeah..I realize i am pushing my luck...but i now feel renewed. A girl can dream, can't she. ya'll are such an inspiration. Keep up the excellent work.

Allykat: i am glad to hear that you are doing so well. My left side and my back were my sources of discomfort. I just could not situate myself comfortably at first no matter what i did. It felt liek they had played twister with me while i was out or something. It is a lot better, but i still feel "tight" in some places. I also think that if you have any amount of boobage no matter what size, it is gonna pull on that port some. I have worn a sports bra since I got home from the hospital. When I take it off I swear I can feel a little more tightness. Then again, it could be all in my head. I am sure that i would have more noticeable bruising too if I did not have dark skin. I did not get itchy around my incisions until recently. I think my dog is making fun on me. i will go for a good while without the urge to it. then he will bring one of his legs up and scrath himself and I am reminded that I can't itch. I am sure that he snickers behind my back. Anyway, I am glad that all is well. i am proud of you, woman. Tell your hubby that he is fantastic..although i am sure that you already do. You better keep posting. Don't just fall off the board like a lot of people do. Actually that goes for all of the Bagnato bandits.

hello ya'll: I'm fine. I am not in that much pain. Out of that entire bottle of pain meds that Dr. B prescribed, i have only taken a total of about 3 tablespoons. If i was a little achy, I took a tablespoon and it seemed to last me all day. At first the incision by my belly button used to give me this twinge if i moved quickly, but that is long gone. Now occasionally I will have this weird sensation in the area of my port. Actually its more so at the incision near my arm. It does not really hurt..just feels "tight". My incisions itch. I want to scratch those things so bad. When I finally give in and rub them through my shirt, I feel like a puppy gettings its belly scratched. Other than that, i am fine. i am still hungry, but i am surving and not cheating. I am not even interested in heavy food. I jsut want something other than Phase 1 Hell foods. I would be happy to be allowed to eat one of those single servings of microwaveable baby peas in the freezer. I looked at a box of Ritz crackers today in my pantry and I think that they winked at me. I left the kitchen before I fell for thier seductive ploys. All in all, I am okay. If Dr. B says that i can not end this liquid diet on Monday, I am going to report him to the Society for The Ethical Treatment of Big Girls. If there is no such society, i will form one. I am so inspired by everyone and their successes. This message board/forum was a God Send. Each of you are so extremely helpful and considerate. Thanks so much for that. Big hugs to all!! :eek:

Allykat: I had been checking this post all day to see if you had reposted. I felt so worried for you. I am thrilled to see your post and your response. I am glad to see that things are going a lot better. Men and their weird way of showing concern. :eek: :: huffs and shakes her head:: again, I am so glad that things are going well. Yay Allykat and Super hubby!!!! Keep us all posted on things are going. Speaking of hunger... I am sure that the growls emitting from my stomach are throwing off the seismographs in california. they probably think all the rumbling is coming from and approaching earthquake when it is just me and my poor empty stomach. I feel like Oliver Twist. "please sir can ihave som'more?" If you see a 5'2", chubby, black lady standing on a corner with a "will work for solid food" sign around her neck, plese make sure that I make it home by sundown so i won't get kidnapped. Then again, as long as my captors promised to feed me, I'd probably go willingly. :cool2: Good wishes to everyone.

Hello AllyKat: Sugah, I agree with everyone else, your husband needs to realize that you are doing this for you. You said that you had two outpatient knee surgeries in the past, did he complain about you being "all cut up" then? He needs to understand that you are doing this for your health because you wnat to be around longer. Of all the things he's worried aobut, he is concerned about your port incision, that you can't wat out like you used to, and that you have something unnatrual in you? How natural is being overweight? how healthy is all the the side effects that you could have becasue of your weight? The thing that kills me is that he waited until *after* the surgery to tell you he was against it? This is not the time that you should be worrying about what ifs. You goal right now is to heal. I am sorry to appear so harsh, but the first thing out my mouth was, "He can't be serious." I guess that I am taking his reaction so personal is becauese it jsut reminds me somethign that i have gone thourhg in my life. Each time i decided to do soemthing posititve for myself regarding my weight, I get the "i love you just as you are" and "you don't need to do that." lectures. I kindly tell them if you love me as I am, then you will love me also when I am healthier. I also tell them that if you love me, you will be happy that I am doing something to keep me healthy enough so that you can love me years from now. I think that change scares people. Your husband is probably jsut realizing that he will be facing some changes...especially cahnges regarding someone he loves. I guess all you can do right now is reassure him that nothing will change. Even though in my opinion, YOU are the one who just had a surgery and are in the recovery period. He should be your support anchor right now, for your emotional and physical needs, not adding to your worry. He did admit that these are his issues. You remember that. Don't let his issues keep you from your goals cuz in the end, YOU are the one who has to live with your health. ps. chicken and beef broth do suck. Try woton soup. i order it from the chinese place without the actual wontons in it. Also remember that you may not be stomaching broth becasue your appettie has not returned yet. I had to make sure that I ate for the first few days then my appetite came back with a vengence.

Today has not been the best of days today. A few days ago, I remember asking if it was normal to not have an appetite during the first few post surgery. For once in my life, I had to remind myself that I needed to eat or drink something. Then today... :: shakes her head in disbeleif :: I woke up absofrikin lutely starving. No matter how much liquids I consumed, i was still hungry. I mean hungry to the point that my stomach was growling. First I was mad at myself for putting myself...one who had had such hard times staying on diet...on such a controlled diet. Clear Liquids?!! For a week?! What the hell was I thinking!! So I was pissed. Then as I got hungrier and hungrier I just got sadder and sadder. I actually had to make myself not cry. The hunger was pretty much taunting me... making sure that I remembered that I was fat. Only fat people are constantly hungry because nothing really satisfies them. i wanted to call into Dr. B's office and tell them how hungry i actually was ask could I PLEASE start the full liquid diet a few days early. Oatmeal. Grits. Something other than what i have been eating. But I was too embarrassed to call there whining that i was hungry. I am still hungry. Each time my stomach gurgles I have the urge to cry. I wont eat anything because I am terrifeid to throw up. I am not asking for a huge meal..not even solid food. Hell, I'd jsu tbe happy eating soem crackers just so something could sit on my stomach. I am still hungry and Ihate that feeling. i have not cheated at all. I will ahve to stay on this stupid liquid diet thing until my first post-op visit with Dr. B. I hate this shit. I hate being sad and pissed off that I can't eat. i hate shoveling stuff in my mouth and still feeling hungry...I don't care if that stuff is just liquid. I am goign to try to go to sleep. The longer I stay awake the more I realize how hungry i am. I feel like a failure already. I it has not been a weak post of and I am already whining. I hope tomorrow will be better. iam trying to tell myself that I will be out of Phase 1 Hell very soon.

Today has not been the best of days today. A few days ago, I remember asking if it was normal to not have an appetite during the first few post surgery. For once in my life, I had to remind myself that I needed to eat or drink something. Then today... :: shakes her head in disbeleif :: I woke up absofrikin lutely starving. No matter how much liquids I consumed, i was still hungry. I mean hungry to the point that my stomach was growling. First I was mad at myself for putting myself...one who had had such hard times staying on diet...on such a controlled diet. Clear Liquids?!! For a week?! What the hell was I thinking!! So I was pissed. Then as I got hungrier and hungrier I just got sadder and sadder. I actually had to make myself not cry. The hunger was pretty much taunting me... making sure that I remembered that I was fat. Only fat people are constantly hungry because nothing really satisfies them. i wanted to call into Dr. B's office and tell them how hungry i actually was ask could I PLEASE start the full liquid diet a few days early. Oatmeal. Grits. Something other than what i have been eating. But I was too embarrassed to call there whining that i was hungry. I am still hungry. Each time my stomach gurgles I have the urge to cry. I wont eat anything because I am terrifeid to throw up. I am not asking for a huge meal..not even solid food. Hell, I'd jsu tbe happy eating soem crackers just so something could sit on my stomach. I am still hungry and Ihate that feeling. i have not cheated at all. I will ahve to stay on this stupid liquid diet thing until my first post-op visit with Dr. B. I hate this shit. I hate being sad and pissed off that I can't eat. i hate shoveling stuff in my mouth and still feeling hungry...I don't care if that stuff is just liquid. I am goign to try to go to sleep. The longer I stay awake the more I realize how hungry i am. I feel like a failure already. I it has not been a weak post of and I am already whining. I hope tomorrow will be better. iam trying to tell myself that I will be out of Phase 1 Hell very soon.

Hello Allykat: I did have a slight cough when I got home and my throat was kinda raspy due to the having the tube in my throat. I hated coughing becasue it irritated my throat and if it was a deep cough it sometimes irritated my back or chest. The nurse just called me yesterday to check on how I was doing. She asked about my nausea (which I only had one tiny less than 30 minute episode of that) and if i had been wearing the wrist thingy. She told me that if i was doing well that i could take it off. I have had it off since yesterday and I have been doing fine. But I would still wait until the nurse calls you and tells you that you can take the thing off. I think that getting up and moving around wil help the cough for some reason. I am glad to hear from you and that you are doing well. Please keep us informed of how you are doing.

Holy Crap People!! Remember my last post when I asked how long it took for your appetite to return. Well, the answer to that would be TODAY. And boy did it return. Today I woke up to my stomach gurgling and was like WTH?! Did that happen to anyone? Like the hunger switch just flipped on one day? I think if someone asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I would probably respond "Pork Fried Rice." My wonton soup (without the wontons) was the best thing ever until this morning. Now I have to keep reheating it because it gets cold before I can finish it because i am now grudgingly eating it. It is only like 4-5 oz of soup. I can not wait to get to phase II of this diet. Do you know what crimes I would commit for something other than clear liquids right now? lol. I hope everyone is well. As always, congratulations on your success!!

My weight (gain or loss) had been the center of my existence ofr years. I mean you could pretty much tell where i was in my eternal "diet" by my mood. If i got on the scale and I was down a few pounds...I am ready to break out the streamers and the champagne cuz all was well with the world. if the scale (liar that it is) had the *audacity* to tell me that I had gained weight.. then Off with It's head and cancel Christmas. I had to stop living like that. It was "this would not be (insert problem here) if i was not fat. it sounds really dramtic to me now...but every once in a while it seems like the purest logic in teh world. even before i decided to have this WLS i was telling myself that everything would be all rainbows and kittens once I lost this weight and started looking more like an "after" photo than a "before" photo. I have to give myself reality checks quite often. I am not a huge fan of Dr. Phil, but I will give him credit for this one. Reality check: you can never, ever, use weight loss to solve problems that are not related to your weight. At your goal weight or not, you still have to live with yourself and deal with your problems. You will still have the same husband, the same job, the same kids, and the same life. Losing weight is not a cure for life. ~Phillip C. McGraw I am slowly teaching myself that I can not use the scale as in indicator of my happiness. I am not going to act as if i have perfected this, but i am trying very hard to not do it. I have already accepted the fact that there will be times that I will still be unhappy with my weight, but i cant let it pull the rest of my life down. I have also realized that my weight will always be an inssue for me...it WILL be something that I have to manage for the rest of my life. However, the key thing is that I won't let my weight completely manage my happiness. It will be a factor in my happiness...i cant help that...but it will not be the sole captain of my happiness. Mia, i honestly think if you keep the attitude that you have you will do great. I can tell by the way you brought out that "S" on your chest and your cape near the end of your post! :blushing: Not to mention you have the support of some of the most fantastic people in the state of Georgia :cough: bagnato bandits :cough:. Note: I do apologize for the length of my posts and the fact that i think i sounded like a psychiatrist..but none of my freinds who are of normal weight have this "the scale rules my life" attitude and they jsut dont seem to grasp it. it still hurts me when i see people doing that because i was the Ultra Princess Diva of allowing my happiness to go up and down with the scales.

Well I know why the area by my belly button hurts. When I first got home I thought i had only three incisions on my abdomen. then i saw the tiniest pice of sting hanging from my belly button and realized i had four incisions. I meant to ask about the back ache too. I still ahve that. I wont say I am in dire pain, but is is aggrivating!! i feel like i have the burp of the century waiting to come out. Matter of fact, I think all i need is one giant, grown man who has been drinking hot beer for three days kinda belches and all will be well. :smile2: AllyKat, i am very happy to hear that you did well. Told ya' that you'd do great! i guess the gas thing varies. I think i had a moderate amount. I have not taking any gas-x yet, but i am gonna start to try it. I jsut HATE chewing pills! i dotn care if they are the flinstone vitamins that we are supposed to take or the strawberry flavored gas-x that i might try to take. Yuk! but get some rest. take it easy and walk around when you can. Let us know how you are doing when you ge the time. Georgia Girl: No more pain for you right? that whole urinary/gallbaldder /what the heck is it thingie has resolved, right?

hello everyone: i am still doing well. Jsut not zipping around the house like i normally do. I have been sticking to the liquid diet, but it seems like i have to force myself to eat it. I am not trying to complain about my lack of hunger, but i was wondering how long it took you guys to actually fell hungry. yes, i know that i *just* had surgery the other day, but i have no idea how my body is able to sustain itself on what I am (more like, what I am not) eating. I guess it it just weird for me to have to force myself to eat or drink.

Hello Everyone: I am home and doing well. i had my surgery on Monday, feb 25th at 7:30 am. I really do not wanna do anything but sleep. Then i get tired of sleeping and i move to the desk chair then i get tired of sitting so i lie down. Then soon as I lie down, I realize that I have to pee due to all the liquids i have to drink and the fluid i received during surgery. But all in all, I can't complain too much. i am alive and I am not in pain. I was the biggest chicken in the world and cried from the time that my catherter was placed until i was induced. I think the surgery lasted 1. 5 hours (well that is what they say). I ended up leaving the hospital around 2o'clock. I was awake earlier but i was waiting on a coworker who was sweet enough to take me to and from the hospital. I remember laying on my back with my eyes closed (1. because i was crying and then 2. they took my glasses and I hate looking at lights and people if they are blurred). They gave me something to relax me. It woorked, but I think it jsut made me cry in slow motion. They told me that they were going to give me a lil oxygen through a mask. then they were sneaky enough to add some anesthesia to this oxygen without telling me. (Those fantastic blessed people, i will love them for that forever). Next thing you know I was waking up in my recovery room. I have the shocky thing on my arm set to 3. It was set to 4 in the hospital becaseu within 15 minutes of me being alert i heaved. Nothing produced, but i still heaved. It scared the sh*t outta me. Of course that made me cry and all I could do was mumble," I'm not supposed to throw up, I'm not supposed to throw up" repeatedly. She increased the shocky thing and gave me somethign in my IV and it worked wonders. The shocky thing is very mild..it feels like touching a refrigerator handle when you get "shocked" btu it does not hurt at all. I jsut keep touching stuff and retraacting my hand quickly becasue I think that something is shocking me. One of my freinds laughed at this and we bot agreed that as crazy as I am, I was headed toward shock therapy at some point in my life anyway. Thank everyone for thier support. I really do think that this was a positive decision for me. I have no desire to be a rail thin supermodel...that is not why i did it. I so far have escaped high blood pressure and weight related diabetes, but i know that I was on my way to having them at some point. I will be smaller..hopefully.. and i will like that..but i want to be around long enough (and then some) to enjoy the wonderful freinds and family that I have in my life. Delicious ideas to please the pickiest eaters. Watch the video on AOL Living.

My inner chicken is in full force right now. I think that I may actually enter the OR clucking...possibly sprouting tufts of feathers. I have cleaned my house so well that Martha Stewart would be envious...just so I can *not* obsess about what will occur tomorrow. I went to the chinese restaurant across the street to get 4 containers of wonton soup. The lil lady looked up me, held up four fingers, and replied, "four?". "Yes, ma'am four containers of Wonton Soup" (some member of this site said she'd get wonton soup without the wontons...and therefore started calling it "nonton" soup). I have sent out my paranoid, "If i don't make it through surgery please know that i love you and please make sure that.....(insert overly dramatic plea here)" emails to all my friends who I am sure will use them as some form of blackmail in the near future. I've made a list of the things that i will bring to the hospital as well as picked out what I will wear to the hospital. I think i even obsessed over the print of my underwear. I think that I am caught in some big time space vortex because I don't ever remember time ticking along so S L O W L Y .. :: insert overly dramatic oscar winning sigh here :: If this is not my last post between now and tomorrow, please try to refrain from snickering in my face at my cowardice... ..At least have the decency to do it behind my back. Anyone have any last minute advice for me? Other than for me to "just relax?" Oh. How is Georgia Girl doing? Anyone heard from her? --Brina No that is not a yellow streak down my back..it is more of a citrus or a lemon color. :thumbdown:

Hello everyone: I am scheduled to be banded tomorrow. I am scheduled to be at the hospital at 6:00am and the surgery will be at 7:30am. The inner chicken in me is is trembling like a leaf. I hope that the 2/25s keep in touch so we can support one another. We will all be going through the same stages at the same time. Best wishes to everyone.

Hello Everyone: Well the big day is Monday. And you, you guessed it, I am still scared as all hell. I am defintitley still going through with it, but that still does not mean that my inner chicken is calm. I was wondering if anyone had any presurgery advice to give me. What to wear not to wear. Anything to bring or not to bring. Surprises that they did not tell you until you got there. That kind of stuff. I have never even seen and operating room (well a one for humans anyhow:huh2:). I have never had a surgery in my entire life so I know that this is part of why this is all so scary for me. I would welcome anything that you guys could tell me. As always congratulations on your success so far. Thanks for being such an inpsiration!

I don't know if we have to weigh in. I am hoping not. I don't think that weight loss was the main abjective of sugar buster's diet, but i am kinda using it as a measure of how well I have stuck to the diet. I keep reminding myself that I have only been in it for two weeks. however, i have deprived myself of so much stuff (ie. not a single smidge of chocolate on valentine's day) that I will hope that I have something to show for it. I hope that something will be a smaller liver. it would be torture to be on this diet for 2 months but at least I would feel as if I had enough time to accomplish something. i jsut hope that my liver is smaller because I have had almost no sugar or carbs for 2 weeks.

I have been sticking with that diet 98% of the time. The other 2% was when I unintentionally consumed something that I was not supposed to. I had been munching along on my ready-made grilled chicken caesar salad. Praising myself for doing so well when I bit into a crouton. Mind you I had had like 50 gabillion of these salads. Then it dawned on me that croutons are little deceptive pieces of bread in disguise. I was eating chicken noodle Soup for a while..yeah.. and my mind managed to drown out the fact that noodles are Pasta. Sigh. was eating clam chowder. When I realized that those little white chunks were potatoes. so again...98% of the time i have been sticking to it. however I am still so worried because I am not losing weight like I should. i asked how much weight people lost before surgery on this diet and someone said 10 lbs or so. I have lost nowhere near that much. I will have been on the diet for two weeks before my surgery. I thought that healthy weight loss was 1-2 lbs per week. How the heck am i supposed to lose 10-15 lbs in two weeks???? :confused2: The fact that I dont seem to be losing much makes me upset. Well that and the fact that my surgery is this monday. I spoke with one of the nurses in the office and stated that I have loss less than ten pounds. I would have rescheduled if I needed to but she said it was ok. I more than a little scared about that.

Well ya'll here is the newest curveball in the soap opera of the Bold, the Black, and the Soon to be Banded.. I am still scheduled to have my surgery on Monday. However, it seems like I will be in this alone. :wub: I am from Florida. All of my family is there. To my knowledge no one will be able to drive me to and from the hospital. I had recuited one of my brothers, but that fell through. Another freind voulteered, but she is now on bed rest. So it looks like I will take a taxi there and one back. Now I have questions: At the hospital, will they give you a place to store your personal belonging. All I am bringing will be about $20 and a cell phone. And that is hoenstly for the cab ride home and to make phone calls if needed. How "out" were you after your surgery? Can I request to stay in the hospital longer if I need to? If push comes to shove, one of the girls *may* be able to pick me up afte work. She gets off work at 3pm. :; insert dramatic sigh here :: 'Tis the story of my luck. Any suggestions anyone?

Good. I am happy to know that I am not the only one who has had second thoughts. Everyone else seemed as if they were so sure that this was the thing for them from the start. I am pretty much set on it...the fact that I have paid for it will definitely keep me from wussing out lol. mia..you cried all the way into the surgery room? Then you have prepared them well for my arrival. I am pretty sure that I will do the same. It also does not help that when they have you register for the surgery they ask you if you have a living will or want to be an organ donor. I looked at that lady sooooo suspiciously after that becasue I could not help but wonder if someoen in her family needed a kidney. I think I will be fine. I am still in disbelief, but i am getting used to the fact that Lord willing and the creek don't rise (i had to say that) that I, Sabrina The 30 year old chicken, WILL have surgery on Monday. And I will cry. AlleyKat, I will keep you posted on what to expect. I will most likely omit the crying and whining that I will likely perform. I will also omit me begging the anesthesia person to "gimme a lil more" cuz i aint going down easy kinda statements. Thank ya'll for responding. Thank ya'll for being an inspiration. I will talk to you later. Congrats on your successes.