Cappy

Awesome! Congrats! Keep us posted and let us know how your surgery goes!

Did you have any reflux to start out with? When I had my test they told me I had slight reflux, which had recently started to bother me at times. I'm hoping that will go away with the band. Well, we are all in this together, whether its LB or RNY! I get banded on the 20th, right before your surgery....YIKES, its getting close!!! I wish you all the best! Please keep us posted after your surgery!

Lisa, I'm so happy you were able to change the date:biggrin:!!!! I really look forward to meeting you and Lisa and sharing this journey together! I tell ya, this board is really a saving grace for me! Since I have chosen not to tell anyone, except my hubby and aunt, about my surgery, its so nice to have someplace to go to talk about my thoughts, concerns, anything! See you on the 28th:regular_smile: I'm starting to get more nervous as the days approach! As much as I'm reading and absorbing here, I still feel so unprepared...its just so hard to grasp how much my life is going to change. I've been eating bagels for Breakfast the past couple of days because I know I won't be able to eat them again after surgery...and pizza, how the hell am I going to give that up? I love pizza - its a Friday night staple in our house! I know what some of you may be thinking...is it more important for me to eat pizza and stay fat or is it more important to finally get the help I need to loose this weight and get healthy? Obviously, I choose to be healthy...but will the transition really be as easy as that? When does your MIND finally wrap about the fact that you CAN'T eat those things anymore and how does that play with your emotions? Anyone else wonder about this? Well, from what I've read here and what I'm hoping for me is, once I see the weight coming off, food will become less important over time. I can't wait until I'm eating to live rather than living to eat! Have a great night guys!

Hi Everybody! Congrats on all your surgery dates! Like jmegirl said, make sure you all join us over at the November 2008 board! kerrimez77: I'm also having surgery on the 20th:w00t:...WHOOOOAAAAAAA!! I don't know about you, but time is just flying by for me...its only a month away! I'm nervous but excited! Best of luck to everyone here....hope to keep in touch with all of you on the board!!!

You can hear an AMEN, HALELULIAH and PRAISE THE LORD! :Dancing_biggrin:

Hi Guys! Slim2b: OMG:ohmy:, 52.1 pounds, that is sooooooo awesome:thumbup: I cannot wait to be where you are!!! Congrats, your doing an amazing job! I'm glad you said that Geiss's office isn't very aggressive with fills...I've read too many stories about being over-filled and the choking and puking....I'd rather be a little less filled and loose slower....I don't care if it comes off slowly, as long as something is coming off and I'm not gaining, I'll be happy! Keep up the great work!!! msjessy: I too don't recall being told you have to go in every month! Then again, my memory is SHOT so they may have said it and I just don't remember:embaressed_smile: Do you know what they do every month? Is it just to weigh in? Like you, I'm not afraid of needles, so I'm not anticipating anything scary with the fills. But I am wondering how a needle might feel in my stomache, never had one there! I'll take your word that it was painless! How is your weight loss journey going? When were you banded and how much have you lost? Are you loving your band? fatgirlinNY: Hi there! Congrats on getting the approval! All my testing was done in a two month period, went pretty fast....next thing I knew, I had a surgery date! Its exciting and scary all at the same time! We are definitely DOING THIS!!! Wishing you all the best! Keep us updated! Hope everyone else is doing well! Just wanted to say a quick hello! Have a great night and I'll speak with you guys soon!

Whoooooooaaaaaa! Awesome....congrats!

Your words are so encouraging! I will take everything you said and absorb it like a sponge! Thank you so much for taking the time to write me back....you are an inspiration to so many of us here....all the best to you!

CONGRATS!!! I cannot believe how much you have lost in such a short period of time! You are totally an inspiration to so many of us here!! So I have some questions....you obviously have done an incredible job losing the weight but overall, how has your entire journey been? Did you hit any obsticles? Are you exercising? What has been the hardest thing for you since being banded? Hope you don't mind all the questions....I'm just so curious...I'm being banded next month and whenever I read success stories like yours, I just want to hear MORE! These stories help ease my mind and help me believe that this band will really change my life for the better! But I know its not going to be easy and just want to be as prepared as I can be. Thanks so much...and congrats again!!!!

WOW, Kacee, you ARE a success! I know your soooo proud of yourself, as you should be! Its stories like yours that give me such hope! You sound so confident and happy in your own skin, and this is what I've longed for! You put a huge smile on my face....thank you!

Hello All: Lisa: Did you call Dr. Geiss's office and change to the 28th? I hope you did! Would really love to meet you! Let us know! Chris: I hope you decide to stick with us too on this board...no big deal that your early December, your still a Notorious November to me:smile2: I am also panicking about the holidays...I'm suppose to go to my brothers for Thanksgiving...I was going to bring my "liquids" but I'm still deciding whether or not to do that. I really don't feel like having everyone ask me a million questions...my family is a pain in the butt! And this year its my turn to have Christmas Eve...that should be fun:glare: Wish I could just skip the holidays this year and just stay home with my hubby and kids...bahhhhh humbug!!! :laugh: susancarole: Thanks for the encouraging words...its really good to hear from someone that has already been banded and to know that things do get better/easier after some time. I've already made some changes: I cut out all diet soda/carbonated drinks, its been over a month...it was really hard at first, but now I'm drinking lots of Propel and other flavored waters (with either low or no calories), so its gotten better; I'm chewing more slowly and NOT drinking while I'm eating...UGGGGGGGHHH! I LOVE to eat AND drink! I think this will be the hardest habit for me to break! Were you a drinker while eating? If so, how are you doing with this? Good luck on your first fill! Let us know how it goes! Sue: So happy you got your approval...no more worries! Well, at least no more insurance worries:wink_smile: I can't wait to meet you on the 28th at the educational meeting! Regarding your comment on whether or not to tell anyone about the band...from the very beginning, I knew I wasn't telling anyone except my husband...then I decided that I needed to tell my Aunt because I may need her help with the kids the day after surgery because my husband has to go to work that night...so I HAD to tell her. But that's it!!! Noone else will know. Too many people have too many opinions....I really don't want to be under scrutiny to see if I'm losing the weight and how fast it comes off...I would rather just have people know that I'm eating smaller portions and exercising, which won't be a lie! Who knows, maybe sometime down the road, MAYBE I'll tell...but probably not! Lisa P: Figures, I just ordered a box of Medifast because I don't know what it tastes like (I've had Optifast, thought maybe it tasted like that?) so I figured I would try it out. Doesn't seem like a big hit around here! After reading your post about unjury, along with some others, I think that's what I'll be ordering in the near future! Thanks for the tip...I really appreciate it! Elisa: Great job on your weight loss!!! How are you doing so far? Tell us about your experience, would love to hear it! Glad to hear the fill wasn't so bad...I've heard both good and bad things about fills, guess I really won't know until its my turn. Keep up the great work:thumbup: Well, have a good evening all! Gotta run for now...I'll chat with you girls soon!

Hi All! Lcubed: Hi Lisa...I'm going to the meeting on the 28th, I guess I won't be meeting you then:sad:. Hopefully we can meet at one of the December meetings....sorry about that, I was really hoping it was the same day:frown: I too am getting more nervous each day...still doesn't seem real...but it will definitely be for the better! Sue: I'm not sure about insurance approval....I did receive my paperwork in the mail from Geiss regarding my surgery, the day of the educational meeting and also received some paperwork that I have to bring to my regular doctor for approval...he needs to fill out and return to Geiss's office. I assumed that since I received my letter, that I was approved already? Maybe not? I hope so....I'll be pretty pissed if I get another letter or a call saying I wasn't approved...good luck! As far as eating goes, I've definitely been eating more over the past 3-4 weeks...not sure if its due to surgery worries or just the stress of "family" crap that I've been dealing with...whatever it is, I'm definitely out of control...I haven't even gotten on the scale because I'm afraid to know how much MORE I've gained! I'm on a rollercoaster ride and I really just want to GET OFF! Take care guys, talk to you soon! Fran

I don't know WHY you don't see 51lbs gone, but I SURE DO!!! YOU LOOK FAB:w00t:!!!! Seriously!!! Keep up the fantastic work!!! I can't wait until I can't see MY 51lb loss:wink_smile:

Hi Everyone! Welcome, Amanda! 68lbs gone...way to go!!!! Congrats!!! Hi Chris...glad you finally got your date:thumbup:sorry its later than you wanted, but it will go by quickly! Can you believe we are really doing this:ohmy:? Still doesn't seem real to me! Anyway, just wanted to say hello to everyone! Have a great night! Fran

Awesome!!! Congrats on your date....it will be here before you know it! Best of luck to you...let us know how your feeling after you've been banded!

Hi All! My name is Fran and I'm 41 years old I am a Capricorn, hence the name, Cappy Married 15 years to an awesome man (22 years together total) We have two beautiful children, 7 year old girl and 3 year old boy:tt1: We have a 3 year old, insanely energergetic, brindle Boxer named Zeus...LOVE LOVE LOVE dogs:tt2: Since I'm young, I've always had a little more meat on me than others...joined a gym at 19, worked out religiously 5-6 days a week and from 19 to 25 my weight fluctuated between 130 and 145 (I'm 5ft 3 in). I married at 26, I slowly started putting weight on...and by the time I got pregnant with my first child at 33, I weighed 195lbs. I haven't seen onederland in 8 years:sad: But all that is gonna change:teeth_smile: I'm being banded on November 20th:thumbup: and although I am nervous and have some worries, I know being morbidly obese is a death sentence waiting to happen...I have too many people in my life that I love, I want to be around a long time to enjoy them!

Thanks, Dana....I know in my heart that this is what I need to do! I'm drained...I'm disgusted...I'm frustrated...I'm dissapointed...I have sleep apnea....my blood pressure is the highest its ever been...I can't play too long with my kids because I just don't have the energy...I'm out of control and I need HELP! For so long I denied this, "I can do this on my own, I don't need the band...that's taking the easy way out", and I would talk myself out of it...but the posters on this site truly helped me to realize that the band most certainly isn't the EASY way out! Its going to be hard work, life changing...but the band is the tool that I need to finally help me be rid of this extra person I've been carrying around for YEARS. I wish you continued success on your weight loss journey, your doing a great job! And thank you for your encouragement, it means so much:biggrin:

MacMadame pretty much covered it! In my case, I met with a PA first...she went over the whole lap band procedure...we saw a video of the procedure on the computer and then at the end she asked if I had any questions. Then I met with the surgeon, who basically went over everything again and answered all of my questions...in his office he had an actual band and a port and explained how it fit onto the stomache, etc. After meeting with my surgeon I felt so much better about my decision. He really made me feel so comfortable and the best part was, he wasn't pushy...never once was he trying to be a "salesman"! That really impressed me. Good luck to you!

Hi Tomina: My experience so far hasn't been bad either...I had my consultation in August, set up all my testing and got through those in about a two month span...my surgery is set for November 20th...it takes a little bit of time but the best thing about time, for me, is that I'm able to do as much research and reading as I can to better help myself prepare for the changes that are to come! This board is a wealth of information! Hang in there...and best wishes to you!

Awesome!!! Congrats!!! You will have to make sure you let us know how your surgery went! Mine is on the 20th, so I would love to hear how you did...good luck!!!

So sorry your having such difficulty! You keep pestering them and hopefully they will be so sick of you that they will give you the approval! I wish you lots of luck and will say a prayer for you!

Hi All: shrinkinmom: It was so great meeting you last night! When I saw all those people in that room I thought, how the hell am I going to find her? Thank god you were the only one wearing a dress...LOL! Your so very sweet and so easy to talk to...I hope we all have a chance to meet in the near future! shrinkinmom and I met at a meeting last night with Dr. Geiss's group...they had a few speakers and this one guy, who was banded in June and has already lost 48lbs, got up there to speak about his experience with the band...he had us do this motivational exercise where we all stood up, closed our eyes and made us imagine ourselves at our current weight...he asked us to look in the mirror, what do you see? then he asked us to imagine ourselves 5 years from now, where will you be then? How much more weight have you gained? How do you feel at this weight? He went on and on and made us get "real" about how we will look AND feel if we don't do something about our weight. He went as high as 15 years down the road, where will you be? Imagine you can't move, imagine all your joints hurting you and you can't do anything because your so obese...your on all kinds of medicine, you have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Let me tell you, I was literally crying, imagining where I would be 15 years from now, heavier than I am now....I felt both sad and disgusted...then, after a little while of this he asked us to imagine us at the weight we want to be at. How do you feel at this weight? What are some of the things that you couldn't do in the past but can do now? How do you feel when you look in the mirror? And so on. I know you all can't possibly grasp how powerful this exercise was through this post, but let me just tell you, it totally moved me...it helped me to get real with myself...what a great meeting! Not sure if this person will be speaking at any future meetings, but he should!! So, I get a letter in the mail today from Dr. Geiss's office regarding my surgery date and when I have to go to their office and they wrote down the WRONG date! They have me in for surgery on the 21st, which was my original choice but then changed my mind to the 20th. I was told I had this date, not a problem. I have to call tomorrow and straighten this out! I hope it was only an error on paper! Lcubed: I'm not positive, because I don't have my calendar in front of me, but I am scheduled for the educational meeting and it MIGHT be on the same day as you. Is the 21st the last Tuesday of the month? I'm pretty sure that's when I'm going. I'll double check and let you know fpr sure. It would be so great to meet you, I hope its the same day! And thank you for trying to help me with the signature...someone on one of the other boards helped me! I appreciate you trying to help! Well, good night all! Time for me to go relax and watch some T.V. Talk to you all soon!