Rhondadbe

I'm going to try and make it in December. It's been kind of crazy here the last couple of months for me. Mom passed away unexpectedly 9-19-08 and I wasn't ready for that, although I knew it really could happen anytime. I was with her and that was good. We had been through a lot together the last few years....my crazy siblings. I know she's in a better place, it was just hard at first. I had to put some things "on hold" to get through things.

Thanks so much everyone for the information ! I can't tell you how much I realllllllly appreciate it. I know that I can handle making changes like I couldn't before. I think several things have affected me there. :biggrin:

This past week I had a very tough week emotionally and instead of overeating I didn't feel like cooking. I went and bought a smoothie with Protein powder for dinner. I had nothing else that night ! I did that two nights in a row......very strange for me.....LOL

I liked seeing that I could do that.

I'm confused after my appointment at OSU today. I need to lose at least 100 lbs, maybe 150. We went over my eating habits etc. Then they were trying to convince me that the Lap Band was not the way to go. They were encouraging Gastric Bypass, sort of wanted a choice today......grrrrrr. I have to do the 6 month diet and I'm not doing the surgery till next summer. I have the summer off from work. I've decided that already. Whatever procedure I do. I don't like being pushed ! :eek:

They were telling me that I couldn't lose that much weight with the Lap Band.....wish I would have thought of this at the time....if not why does anyone have the Lap Band done ? To lose 50 lbs ? I doubt that !

I don't like all the stapling, etc with gastric bypass. :tongue:

Any info would be appreciated !! :tongue:

Glad you guys are ok. I lucked out. I didn't lose my electricity. I haven't been on here much and won't be on much this week. I had to go to Mansfield. Mom, who was 85 and in a nursing home several years due to lots of medical issues, passed away Friday afternoon. I left with clothes, food, etc so I could stay a few days. Glad I did. It was awesome spending the time with her.

I took Carnation Breakfasts with extra Protein Powder, used those for meals.....during a crazy time like this, surprised I did ! I took a few other things too.

Hope everyone is doing great !

Hey Everyone !

I need to thank you for the info you gave me yesterday about needing Protein to help me out. I went shopping yesterday at GNC, had been there before and got some of their Protein powder. I mixed it with Carnation Breakfast this morning to see how that worked. I was able to go to church and go grocery shopping afterwards VERY easily. That is not like me.....LOL...I usually am ready for lunch right after church. :thumbup:

I think I'm going to try using the Protein Powder this week in my Breakfast drink, not as much as this morning.....LOL...I do get a lunchbreak at work afterall. I have other stuff I can use if I have something else for breakfast. That will be in my purse with me. :smile:

When you skip your period, you can still have the symptoms, it varies with everyone. Some women go through this real easy, no major problems. I've been lucky with that part, when I skip a period, my symptoms aren't too bad.

I'm so glad to hear she's doing better Look forward to seeing you both on Saturday.

I don't have my Lap Band yet, but I do have experience blending all kinds of foods at work. :shades_smile:

I work at a school with severely handicapped kids and in the past we used to have to blend our own students lunches if they had trouble eating...... chewing, swallowing, etc. For several years the cooks have been doing it and it's much better. :thumbs_up:

I know they blend everythingin a blender except pizza,....then those kids get blended ravioli.... but we used to blend it. Being a school, the meat is usally very soft meat anyway.

I know what they do now is better. It is set up by our Therapists and it tastes good for the kids. We used to have to mix milk with everything.....yuck. Now, they use chicken broth on the main dishes, it doesn't overpower the taste and it adds taste to mild foods. It doesn't look great, but it's not terrible looking either. They have a thickener they use too, I was thinking of finding out where they buy that. I could just get the name of it and do a search. I know it thickens blended foods if too runny and has no taste.

Hope this helps :teeth_smile:

I have been considering getting a Lap Band for several years now. I have talked with people who got the Gastric Bypass, decided I didn't like it after researching it online. Then I started researching the Lap Band procedure online and knew that was the one I preferred. I still wanted to talk with some people who had the procedure done. You can get great information from people who have had the procedure done. I've learned a lot on this site. I'm sorry it didn't work out better for you. I feel like I will be able to deal with just about anything that happens when I have my surgery. The doctors and other support people where I'm having it done are excellent and then there's this awesome site. I know it won't be easy and it will take time. I'm sure it won't be "perfect"...whatever that is, but I'm sure it's going to work out fine !

I hope things continue to go great for you.

:biggrin:It really hasn't been that bad. I had one problem, that isn't typical, but other than that, I just go on with my life and my sense of humor has increased.....:girl_hug:....that has helped me a lot, also I have been in different Yahoo groups since this all started with me. There are lots of different symptoms. I haven't had too many of them, kind of makes up for the first problem I had. I live in Ohio and I wear t-shirts, some long sleeve, all year ! Imagine that :thumbup: I've been doing that since just before 2000, wasn't sure why at the time.....LOL....now I know why !

I joined a very serious group to learn what I needed to learn. Now I'm in an awesome group where the women all know what you're going through and they all have a sense of humor too ! We're all very different, but similar too, just want to get through this without going totally crazy.....LOL My symptoms may last a bit longer due to a couple of things. Mom is 85 and still gets overheated....imagine that ! I hope I get rid of these symptoms before that.....LOL

Mine started kind of early due to having epilepsy, they never told me I lucked out with that........The way my symptoms are going now, I think I'm might be getting close to menopause. My cycle is changing a lot which as far as I'm concerned is great !

A lot of women have it really easy during perimenopause. Don't be too worried about it.:blushing:

That sounds like perimenopause which comes before menopause. I've been going through it for about nine years now. My cycle just started to get a little different on me in the last couple of months.

Menopause is when you stop having your cycle. I've learned a bit about this since I've been dealing with it for a while now........LOL

I'm so excited ! It didn't take long at all to get the form I need to get the money for the class I have to take for my insurance company. It was supposed to take 7-10 days and it took 4 days to get the form to fill out. I'm going to take it to work and make a copy of it before I send it back in. I was told it would take 7-10 days to get it back...........maybe not

I'm going to call OSU and see about scheduling, how I can go about doing that. If I can schedule for a class in a few weeks or a month, I'll probably be ok. We'll see.

Sounds like you're doing great Julie ! Way to go !

I look forward to joining you again, hopefully I'll have good news by then about my money I'm waiting on....we'll see : )

I'm not sure who will be my doctor. I just went to the first meeting and met Mikami, had 1 question ask him after the meeting. He's very easy to talk to !

I'm impressed with what they have at OSU. It came highly recommended by my doctor for several reasons and he made perfect sense.

I need to do a 6 mos. diet there for my insurance so it will be a while for me. I figure probably not until next summer, since I won't have to take time off from work. I'm an Assistant in a school, so I have summers off...YAY !

I am waiting for the money I need for the class, but that's no big deal, I found a way to get it !

Thanks so much ! I bet as the time gets closer I'll be asking for more information. Right now I'm learning lots of good basics here.

Kathy,

So sorry to hear about your folks. I know that has to be hard for everyone. I'm sure the Alzheimers was very hard on everyone. I've gone through all kinds of medical issues with Mom and it's hard, but mentally she's ok, that makes it easier. I truly feel for what your family must have gone through.

I totally agree, he is definitely in a better place now.

God bless you and your mom and the rest of your family.

Rhonda ((hugs))

Thanks Kathy !

I'm an Assistant Teacher, since 1980. I guess you can say I love my kids :thumbup:

I'm so excited. I'm not worried about the 6 months. I'm just going to plan on having the surgery next summer, so I don't have to worry about work. It will give me the summer to work some things out and have some fun !

Hi everyone ! I've been busy trying to get things moving here and it's been so worth it. I went to OSU where I'm going to have my surgery, got great information from them. Found out I needed to take a 6 mos. weight loss class to be approved by my insurance. They want the money for it up front.....that was a problem. But, that has been worked out....WOO HOO !!!! :sneaky: I remembered something I have I can borrow from and it should be taken care of in 2-3 weeks. I am SOOO excited !!!!

I had a great time getting together with a group of ladies who live where I do, thanks so much for letting me join you !! :thumbup:

I hope everyone is having a great week. This is my last week of summer. I go back to work next week . I'm almost ready....LOL...I kind of miss my kids and I'll be in a good class this year....YAY !!!! :thumbup:

I'm so glad I found this thread, I'm in the process of getting my Lap Band. I had my first meeting last night. I had been waiting for several weeks, so I had been researching online and found this site. I had gotten lots of good information before my meeting.

Right now I'm waiting for OSU Hospital to call me back with the information my insurance company needs. If it is covered by the insurance my company has with this company I'll have to do a 6 month weight loss at OSU. They knew that last night. I know 2 women at work have had gastric bypass so it shouldn't be a problem.

It's going to take a lot of patience, never thought I'd have to wait so long. :rofl: I'm just going to hold off till next summer, since I don't work in the summer, will be much easier. :crying:

I finally had the inital meeting last night and it went great. One of the surgeons was there explaining the different procedures people can choose from. They had other people there discussing insurance and other things. They were great at taking questions. I spoke with the surgeon afterward about my meds and he confirmed it's no problem. He said he's suggest Lap Band. I said great...that's what I want to have done :crying:

With the insurance company I have, they know it will require 6 months weight loss program. I called my insurance company to be sure it's covered and the guy couldn't find it, needs the code...<sigh>...I called OSU and they have someone who they said knows all about insurance. I'm just waiting to hear back from them.

Since I have to do the weight loss for 6 months, I'm just going to plan on having my surgery next summer. I work in a school and have summer off. I won't have to take any sick time.

OSU seems to have a very good weight loss program set up. It deals with how you will eat after surgery too, so as much as a part of me wishes I could get the surgery done now, I can see how that will really help. :biggrin2:

When I know for sure about my insurance, trust me......you'll know !!!!

If she goes through with the surgery, I agree with all of you it will be an eye opening experience. I have learned a LOT from this website and my first meeting is tomorrow evening.

I want to know what's going to happen. I want to know what to expect, I understand it's not a quick fix, but if I do it right it can really work. I've watched the surgery online a couple of times. It helps to see how they do it. It also helps a lot to know what to expect afterwards, things to expect after surgery, food issues, how to get enough Protein, etc.

I think they should always be sure people understand what they're getting into with something like this, if they're looking for a quick fix that's easy, that's not what this is. I do get that....LOL

Hi everyone. I'm Rhonda, live in Columbus. I've been overweight all my adult life. I have not been to my first meeting yet, it's next Tuesday evening at OSU. My doctor highly recommends them. I've been thinking about wanting to do something about my weight the last couple of years, but hings have been a little too crazy here for me. I had to wait until things settled down a bit. Now I can do something for myself that I want to do. :biggrin2:

I've been researching online while waiting for my meeting. I'm so glad I found this site. I've learned a lot here and that's a good thing for a procedure like this....going in well informed and prepared. :biggrin2:

Looking forward to getting to know everyone here.

Trust me, I do know what you mean about people who just don't understand. I have 2 siblings like that and they are 15 years older than me, but you sure can't tell it. I had a very serious medical procedure done in 2005 and they still can't believe my life is better. What do they think had the surgery for.....DUH ! I heard that from a reliable family member, not directly from them. If I would have heard it directly from them, they might have regretted it : )

I'm sorry you're running into that, people can be such rude idiots sometimes. But.....the important thing is you know you have done the right thing, you know it is going to be awesome what the band can do for you ! I don't think too many of us decide to to this on a whim, without trying other things, without really thinking about it. Just know you have lots of friends and support here and as people see the change in you they just might change too, but don't wait on them !!!! Just be yourself and do this for you. :thumbup:

I'm so sorry your friend was like that with you. I'm sure that hurt. I'm sure some people, for whatever reason, "just don't get it" about a lot of things.

I'm at the very beginning of all this. I'm so glad I found this site ! My first meeting is Aug 12 and I can't wait ! I have only told a few people from my church what I'm looking into, but I knew they would be there for me, I knew they would support me. I've been through a lot medically and other ways since 2000 and my church has seen me through it.

Please don't let her attitude affect you. You are doing what you know you need to do for yourself. God can heal...yes, but God has also given us doctors who can do these awesome procedures for us !

It makes us healthier and we all know that's good !!!! :biggrin2:

I can truly understand what you're going through !

Please understand one thing.....it is not you ! It truly is your sister. I have two siblings like her....imagine that....there are only 3 of us....I'm on my own now because of crap they have pulled on Mom and I had to get involved to make things ok.

I can only imagine the stories they tell about me. I have heard about a few, but I truly don't care. My decision a long time ago was to dis-own them because of what they did to Mom.

It's all gossip and they have no idea what they are talking about. They talk to Aunts and Uncles that I have stayed in touch with and have been very upfront and honest with. They know the whole story from me.

Don't let her bother you after doing something awesome for yourself like Lap Band ! I don't even know you, but I'm sure you didn't just sit on the couch watching tv and eating bonbons, too lazy to do anything. I don't think that's how any of us got the way we are ! :party:

That's my opinion and I am a little hard headed sometimes.....LOL :Banane34:

You know we're here for you, please don't let other peple make you feel terrible, I know your Mom appreciates what you do for her, she may not understand Lap Band, consider her age, don't take it personal. I have to do that with my Mom sometimes. I know she loves me !

Have a great rest of the weekend !!!!!!! :huh2: