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August Rush sounds good to me cause I know I'm in a rush to get this poundage off . Watch somebody come in and tell us how it's not good to rush...we know, just a name folks. Just go to pre-op forum and at the top left hand you'll see New thread click on that. You can start it there. It may get lost though as there are already 2 August threads out there. I'll go for it and see if we can stop posting in the other threads and just concentrate on August Rush.

Bumping :thumbup: This is a great thread and should be continued as encouragement for us newbies.

This sounds like a good idea too. My date is 8/16 but I'm going to start my liquid diet on 8/2 . I'm a little nervous because dealing with the aggravation of my Surgeons office and just being so overwhelmed with being so heavy now I was having a drink every night for over a month so I want to make sure my liver is cleaned out before my surgery. I meet with the surgeon 8/3 and he hasn't said anything about the pre-op diet yet but I'm going to follow the advice I've read online and in my research.

That sounds good..August rush to awesome!!! Awesome August bandsters!! August bandster bunch!! August bandster babes!! Anymore?

I wish Dr. Ren was my surgeon. I started out with her but my ins. is out of network with them . I'm now with a practice that I am not comfortable with. The surgeon seems qualified and Ok. His staff is causing my much unnecessary grief. I am a person that anticipates the worst too so I know how you feel worrying about things that have not yet happened. My surgery is 8/16 and I am worried about dying on the table. Throwing up all the time which I loathe. Them opening me up and finding my liver is diseased and they can't do the band or worse opening me up and finding I have cancer Now isn't that all crazy? but that's me! I think it's natural to have all sorts of anxiety going into surgery. Relax and search out Dr. Ren on the site she has numerous positive posts.

Hi Jen, I feel you . I decided not to tell anyone except my DH and I told 3 good friends. I also told my Cousin , 1 of my Sisters and 2 nieces all of whom live out of town I am not normally a secretive person but I really didn't want to hear all the "friend of a friend" stories and people not even understanding what lap band is . At this point I know I told 1 person too many. One of my friends is the type that feels she has to tell her Dh everything so that's already at least 1 person that knows that I don't want to know. He would never say anything to me but he's the type that is small anyway but decides he wants to lose weight so he just fasts and that works for him. So I'm sure he doesn't understand why I made this choice. I have decided that here is where I really grow up (I'm 55!!) I'm not a person that can easily look at someone and say "oh,I'm just dieting and exercising" but if a person asks me that I'm not close to I don't feel like I have to share my personal business or decision and I will tell them that. I will probably say I worked hard at dieting and exercising which is true. If someone asks me that I'm close to or who really needs help I'm sure I will most likely share with them what I did on a need to know basis. I'm in a somewhat small community so I'm sure at least 1 year out it will be common knowledge but here is where I take my Star Jones moment and feel (hopefully) this will be the best thing I ever did , but I don't want to be the poster child for lap band surgery. In other words I guess I'm saying , yes once you tell one person most likely your private business will get out. They have their good friends that they whisper to so eventually I suspect everyone will know or guess especially when they see you lose and not regain.

8/16 for me too!! We must stay in touch. I know it will be here like tomorrow but it seems so far away right now as I sit here eating pigs in the blanket to get them out of the freezer before I start my liquid diet. :scared2:

I'm jealous of all of y'all!! I wish it was me. Gas pain and all. Keep reading and researching and check out the videos on Youtube to keep yourself inspired there are some great examples on there. I'm glad I found them. I happened to catch the We channel today and caught one show about women that have had extreme weight loss and 2 of them were banded I was so encouraged.

Janet, That was a wonderful response. I have not been banded yet (8/16) however, I feel like you. I have done every diet under the sun. I even sent a woman that was on Oprah a few years back that had lost weight $1,000.00 over the internet to help me lose weight. Yes, embarrassing but true. I did every and anything to lose weight and I had some success but could never keep it off for long because I didn't change my habits or thinking. I feel like you I am not going to risk my life having major surgery to lose weight and then 5 days out I'm having the same junk I'm used to having or going against my Dr's instructions. I feel that would be like a drug addict or alcoholic coming out of rehab sober and then falling back into the same bad habit that will eventually kill him. I don't mean any disrespect to Jessica. I know how she feels I have been there done that. I have the fear too that I will have the surgery and not lose weight ...just fall back into eating whatever not a binge or volume eater just eat whatever, whenever. Like you fish but not baked ...fried. I was having a drink every night there for a while. I realized that I have to change those habits starting now. So I cut out the drinking and I'm stopping eating earlier. I used to sit in bed and eat as late as 8,9pm. I hope I never forget the fact that I had surgery to lose weight and let that be a motivating factor to help me to do what I'm instructed to do and to do my best to conquer this horrible weight problem once and for all. Dee

I think it is only natural that we have doubts & anxiety going in to have surgery. I have anxiety myself but like others have said I only wish I had done this in my 30's or 40's or even 3 years ago when my PCP first recommended it. I know I can lose weight , I've done it many times before never getting to goal and never being able to keep it off for more than a year. Now I can't wait to get it done so that I can hurry up and lose my weight , getting to goal and this time have a real hope of keeping it off. All I'm looking forward to is having it done so that I can really enjoy my 50's the way I should.

Hi, I did a search but I've only seen older posts from 2009 regarding this Dr. He seems like a nice enough guy but his staff has really not been pleasant to deal with (for me) and are giving me second thoughts. My surgery date is coming up soon and I would like to know the experience of others . Thanx in advance.

Another 8/16 here!!

Congrats on your surgery date. What are you feeling guilty for? This is just a tool it is not the easy way out. I'm looking forward to my surgery but if you read around the site you will see that this is not so much an easy journey. You will be eating healthy and working out to accomplish your goal. I applaud you though for keeping it to yourself right now. I just posted to someone in the introduction thread that was venting because of all the unsolicited opinions she's getting from every one. I told my DH of course and 3 close friends and I'm already sorry that I told 1 of them because she's the type that feels she has to tell her Dh everything . If I had really thought it out I wouldn't have told her because I would rather her DH not know. I wish you the best!!

Thank you so much IG55!!

I think it is perfectly natural to feel anxious about having surgery. I am so looking forward to the other side of my surgery day. I just want it to be over and wake up after the surgery. I am one of those skeptics that think that I'm going to be the one to die in surgery or they'll open me up and see that I hae cancer or something. My surgery is 8/16 and I've been stressing about those things already. You have a great surgeon. I wish I had them. My ins. is out of network for them so I had to find someone else. You'll be fine.

This is exactly how I feel. It really is nobody else's business and when you tell people they are going to tell you their "friend of a friend stories" or they will tell you what they think about it without having a true knowledge of what LAP-BAND® is. Even when I was calling my insurance co. the woman kept referring to LAP-BAND® as Gastric bypass. I talked to my DH about it and he's ok with it. He knows I have struggled with weight my whole married life . Let's not even talk about all the money I've spent pursuing 1 magic diet after the other. That is all the validation I need. Yes, when I start losing and get to goal (I will) I cannot see looking at people (especially, those I care about) and not being honest but even then that will be on a need to know basis. This decision is very personal and I went through 3 years before I finally decided to go for it. I don't need or want anybody else's uninformed opinions. I often wonder why people feel the need to tell everyone about this decision. I'm on a hair forum and 1 member started a thread "should I have gastric bypass?" I was like "poor thing!!" I understand that some people are more open than others believe me I am so excited about the surgery that I would like to tell more people but I know what that would bring. I have my own fears about going through surgery . I really don't need all the other negativity.

Congrats IndigoGirl55!! I 've never posted to you before but I admire your posts and that you are always willing to help us newbies. I'm finally going to be banded on 8/16 and I can't wait. Our stats are about the same. Same age, same weight starting out. I'm hoping to follow in your footsteps too and be at goal by this time next year. I know it will take a lot of hard work and I'm ready for it. I can't wait!!

Pick a Dr. and see if he has an information seminar schedule set up. That's how I started. I got a referral from my PCP and then I called the surgeons office to set up an appt. to go to the info seminar. When I was picking surgeons the 1st question I was asked was what insurance do you have? and then have you been to the seminar? Once you do that they can set up an appt for you to see the surgeon. I didn't need a referral I was just complaining to my PCP about my ongoing weight problem and he suggested I look into lap-band . I'm in NY though and for some reason everything is more difficult here .

This is why I did not tell the general public that I'm choosing to do the surgery. I didn't want to hear the "friend of a friend" stories and "I heards".... I think you should find out exactly what happened to this woman that she died from the lap band. I'm sure there is more to it. I have researched this surgery greatly and have only heard of 2 people dying and they both had outside circumstances.

:cool: That's funny!! I'm 5'2" ... so according to her and I'm sure the insurance charts I should be 110 lbs. I would look like super crackhead at that weight. Do what feels and looks right to you as long as your healthy and fit.

After much craziness with my surgeon's staff I finally got a surgery date of 8/16. I have to have a heart to heart with him to tell him my frustrations with them but barring any foolishness from him I hope to be banded on the 16th. I've been going through this process since about 10/09. I can't wait and will be needing you all for encouragement on my liquid diet and all the rest. I'm not as anxious about the pre-op liquid diet as I am about the dreaded bandster hell after the surgery. That's me though always looking ahead to problems that have not yet realized :cool:

The bolded is how I feel. I think they are more conservative with weight loss with the band ,telling us if we do well you can expect to lose from 1-2 lbs per wk. I have seen many in my research that have done much better if they follow the protocol. You can set your goal for wherever you want to be and go for it. I'm 5'2" and my goal is 140-150 . I hope I'm like Leigha and I get to that point and see that I can make it to 125-130 so that I can truly be the petite I'm supposed to be. :cool:

I mostly feel invisible being 100lbs overweight. I really started to feel it this past year. I was dismayed when I went into a designer bag store and just stood there with no one asking me if they could help me. I had to go stand at the counter and almost demand attention. I felt they thought I could not afford their bags. The same day I went across the mall to the MAC store, same thing. No one asked it they could help me and the store was empty . When I turned around o leave the store then 1 young snip asked if she could help me. I kept walking.

I mostly feel invisible being 100lbs overweight. I really started to feel it this past year. I was dismayed when I went into a designer bag store and just stood there with no one asking me if they could help me. I had to go stand at the counter and almost demand attention. I felt they thought I could not afford their bags. The same day I went across the mall to the MAC store, same thing. No one asked it they could help me and the store was empty . When I turned around to leave the store then 1 young snip asked if she could help me. I kept walking.

This is so true!! If I had not been approved for surgery here . I would have gone to MX to get banded. I could not go to my 1st choice DR because my ins. is out of network for him and I did not want to get stuck with a bill for thousands of dollars. I want to be thin not go bankrupt. It's really a shame. I wish you the best.