OceanGal

Good day, all!:confused: I am in the process of going through all of the pre-band hoops (see my siggy) and would LOVE a mentor! I am: ~married (for almost 25 years) to a wonderful man ~have two teenage sons (17 & 13)..help me!! ~work fulltime (textbook manager in a college bookstore) ~in graduate school parttime to get my Masters in library science. ~am 51 years old ~and am VERY busy! LOL!!! :thumbup:

Well....... I got the call on Friday that Fallon has approved :thumbup:!!!!!!!!! I called PVSA Friday afternoon and Caroline said I could schedule my surgery for as soon as Aug. 1st. WOW, that's fast! I told Caroline I needed to talk to my work and my hubby to straighten out my schedule so I could get a couple of days off to recooperate. Called PVSA today and Dr. Haag is off the whole month of August for an emergency.. Drat! I was getting my mind set for everything to be happening in a couple of weeks....now it's put off til September at least. I have grad school and full time work in September & I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to take. :crying: again! Sigh.....well at least I'll get more practice on the chew, chew, chew and not drinking during meals and getting off the coffee (that's the tough one!!), and I'll get to go to a few support groups!!! See anyone on the 21st?????? OceanGal

OK...I have ALMOST finished all the prereqs for surgery...just need to get my medical history faxed to my surgeon from my PCP and attend two support groups... Should be easy-peasy right????? Nope! I just can't make myself call my PCP for my records. I am usually a very take-the-bull-by-the-horns kinda gal. Nothing really holds me back from doing what I want to do......except this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jeesh...and I am really getting fed up with myself. All I have to do is get my head in the right place to get over this hurdle. Has anyone else suffered from cold feet???

Boy, it seems like I haven't been on this board for forever! I took my kids camping on Cape Cod last week and now have a ton of work to catch up on at work. Jeesh! I wanted to make Mondays meeting but needed to get a paper for school finished before I could "play" :party:!! I will be at the meeting on the 21st. Anyone else gonna be there?? All I have to do now are the two support groups, get my medical history faxed over from my PCP and then I'm DONE!!:scared2: YIPPPEEE!!! So why am I getting cold feet all of a sudden?????????:smile:

Howdy All! I just bought a scale (the first one in many years LOL!! :scared2:) I am on the road to bandster-ville and am just curious- How often do you weigh yourselves? I know my weight can vary from day to day (hour to hour sometimes) and I don't want to be derailed by a momentary "gain". I am sure my doc and dietician will suggest how often I weigh myself, but I was curious how often everyone in bandster-ville weighs themselves. Thanks!:smile2:

Sorry I missed everyone on Monday. I was recovering from a colonoscopy. Blech! The good news is that I lost 8 lbs. before the procedure :frown:. The bad news is that I gained 6 back the next day! :biggrin:.... Oh, well I can look at 2 lbs. lost. LOL! I will try to make it to the next one. Anyone else gonna be there? Going outside to enjoy the sunshine! :biggrin2:

LOL!! Hehehehe!!!!!! I was really wondering how I should break down the timeframes! Having only four choices helped. I am glad I started this thread, it has been very eye opening (and amusing at times!).

I love all of these replies! Yup, my scale jumped into my cart in Walmart as I was looking at air purifiers across the aisle. Cheeky little thing!!:thumbup: Once a week~~~on Sundays, before breakfast...no more..... I wonder how long I can keep this pledge?? :confused:

Well, now I feel better! My DH was joshing me about jumping on and off the scale LOL:lol:!! Having a scale is such a novel experience, especially the kind that keeps a running memory of what you weighed last....which is good..or bad...Hehehehe! Once I get banded I think I'll just weigh myself on Sunday mornings..or else I'll be driving myself a little crazy with the daily up 'n' downs.:w00t:

Oh, buggers! I have a colonoscopy that day. Blech!:biggrin:. Just a routine checkup that I've put off for a year. I will try to make the next one though. Some day we will all meet!

Cool, Luigismama! Maybe I will see you? Have first appointment with dietician on the 4th, am trying to find a psychiatrist in the area for that appointment, and then the support groups... Luckily Fallon doesn't need a 6 month diet or anything. YEAH!!!! Good luck to everyone!:sad:

Thanks, everybody! I am not even getting close to being banded (hoping before Thanksgiving :eek:), and got my scale yesterday and have weighed myself 3x!! LOL:blushing: . I can see myself going a bit overboard weighing once I really get losing. Hehehehe!! I am going from NEVER stepping on a scale if I could help it (even turned around at the doctors office so I couldn't see my weight) to getting on and off the darned thing after every meal. Let's keep the answers comin'! Thanks! :sad: You guys (and gals) are the BESTEST (as my 4 yo niece says).

What a wait it has been!:thumbup: I am finally on Fallon Community Health Plan through my work....only a month late! The good news...there is no 6 month diet or anything, :sad_smile:. Just have to see the dietician & psychiatrist & go to the Support Groups. Will I see any of you at the groups???? So, now I am really on my way. :cursing::thumbup: Yahoo!!!! Now...on to make all of my appointments. I am SO excited!:cool2::biggrin::thumbdown:

going way down? I was just sitting here thinking of all of the good things a band will be doing for me, :leaving: and one of the things that came to mind is the fact that I will be eating alot less food. And in this day and age with the price of food going through the roof my grocery bill will be WAY less. Is this true??:confused2: My husband is kinda on the fence about the band. He wants to support me, and I know he will when the time comes, but the idea of the band skivves him out a bit. LOL!! If I can tell him that our food budget will almost be half of what it is now I am sure that will thrill him!:sneaky: So...how much has your food bill gone down??????

My DH will be so stoked when he realizes how much money we will be saving:biggrin:!! He doesn't do the shopping and can't understand why I can't do our food shopping these days for under $150.00 a week :leaving:...... But when he will see the post-op shopping receipt he will be on happy man . Hehehehe!!!!:sneaky: Not really looking for hard figures...but this is one thing (besides the weight loss) that we don't think about much....Well, at least I didn't!!

Hi John! I live in Amherst and am at the pre-band stage. Am going through Pioneer Valley Surgical Associates at Baystate. Although I am pre-band, it sounds like you are right on track (compared with everyone elses stories). Join us in the Massachusetts support area! Congratulations and good luck!

Congratulations , BigRick! :thumbup: The time will fly by! Check in with us afterward & give us pre-bandsters the lowdown.

Forget it...think I figured it out! testing testing 1 2 3

Well.... I went for my first appointment with Dr. Haag last Monday :thumbup: I knew that my work was switching insurance companies on the 1st. No biggie. As soon as I get my new card I'll start making all the rest of the appointments (diatician, psych, etc...). Tuesday, no card. Wednesday, no card, Thursday no card.... As it turns out our HR person didn't get all of the paperwork in on time...so right now I have NO insurance :smile:....ACK! I can wait for all of my appointments but what if.... Hopefully this will all work out in a couple of days.... OceanGal waiting......................

Hi, everyone!:thumbup: I have sort of an off topic question. I wanted to make on of those cool glittery signature name thingies. I went to glittergraphics.com & got the HTML code for the signature I want. Cut & pasted it into the "edit signature" box...and what shows up but all of the code! How do I get it from the code into a real signature?? I tried the help menu but didn't find anything. Anybody? Help?? Update on my journey in my next post:mad:.... OceanGal

I had my first appointment with my doctor yesterday. I have to say... I <3 Dr. Haag!!!:w00t: He is nice, has a wonderful bedside manner and is cute to boot!:w00t: I am sooo glad I went with him. So, if anyone is in Western Mass. and is looking for a doctor check out Pioneer Valley Surgical Associates in Springfield and request Dr. Haag. Or, wait a minute.........don't....he is all mine!!!!!!! OceanGal Amherst MA PS Don't worry...I am very happily married!!

:sad: Hehehehehehehe!!!!!! Having a good doc can make all the difference in the world can't it?:blushing: I KNOW I will never let Dr. Haag down!! Doctor crush here!!:wink2: PS My hubby did NOT go to the appointment with me yesterday..have not told him yet about my new sweetie yet...I'll let it be my little secret for a while. Hehehehe!!!

Ohh, Dr. Haag is sooo nice! He gave me a HUGE folder of stuff to read (no time until school is over in two weeks:rolleyes:). Now I have to make a bunch of appointments. I am sooo glad I decided to go with him!!! Meg in Amherst:cool2:

Hi, mtnihi!! I am going for my first appointment with Dr. Haag on Monday. I am sooo excited! Congratulations on your loss so far! Doin' real good!! Meg in Amherst

Just got the call from Raquel. I have an appointment to talk with Dr. Haag. !!!! My appointment is on the 28th at 4:15. I can.not.wait!! ..drumming fingers on desk... Meg in Amherst :biggrin2: now to call Fallon..........