Kat817

Keep in mind tho that if you are taking any B vitamins, it will change the color regardless of how much water or anything else you drink. It will be a bright yellow. I was shocked when I first started taking the B complex because of that! Kat

I use the unjury vanilla with the DaVinci SF syrups in different flavors to make all different kinds. I love the caramel. I also use the unflavored in broths, and they say you can make it in jello, I have not tried that yet, but my journey and relationship with unjury has just begun!!!! I am being banded Monday!!! You can find the syrups at www.davincigourmet.com they work really well with the unjury. Kat

My husband has nicknames for everyone and everything....he refers to the grandkids as Sally if they are crying or whiny...he tells them "cry baby Sally sittin in the Alley", makes them quit fussing and laugh at him singing. He refers to them as "Paula Punk", anything to tease them. Our son, when he was a teenager, he would call him Billy because he (DS) thought he was Billy Badass. So the other night DH told me he was gonna call my band Billy.... Billy Bandass. The man may need psychiatric help????!!!! Kat

I got up this morning and read all the new posts....and it almost made me cry. Thanks for the warm welcome! Eileen, I am going to have to trade the coffee for this delicious, tasty, yummy (I am trying to convince myself) Optifast!!! As far as my DD and Dgd go, they are living with us, we have a place for them, she bought a fairly small double wide mobile home, and put it on property we have just out of town. We used it as RV rental space for awhile, so it was easy to set up. However until things calm a bit we don't want them out there alone. He did say to her the night before last that he was moving to south Texas where his Dad lives. But he also spouted a bunch of other junk we know to be BS so who knows??? Until then, they are staying for awhile. Which is where they need to be, but it is not always easy living with an adult child. The Mom in me wants to tell her what to do. That does not work!!! Who raised this child to be so doggone independent???? We leave this afternoon when DH gets off work (he is finishing up things to take 10 days off) to head to Albuquerque, where we will fly out to Mexico early in the morning. Albq. is 3 hours away, and we have to be at the airport in the morning at 4:15, so we got a room there for the night. Sure wish Trish was back home in Albuquerque and doing well. Poor girl, I do wish you well!!! My surgery is scheduled for 10:15 AM Monday. So far I feel excited more than anything else, although I am VERY emotional, so I know the nerves are at work!! BTW DD and the baby will stay with my parents while we are gone. Thanks again for the warm wishes!!! Kat

This thread seems particularly cruel tonight, as I continue my pre-op diet!!! What I will miss the most.....french fries....Almond Joy candy bars..... and the fresh homemade cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing my neighbor makes all the time. I want them all...right now!!! But I think I will just have a bottle of water so I can run back & forth to the bathroom all night long!!! We fly out Sunday, surgery on Monday!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!!! Kat

NOISE???? I had no idea you could hear it enter the port!!! I am SOOOO glad I have all you guys and LBT.....hell I would have likely freaked out thinking something broke off in me!!! Thanks for the info! Kat

Pat, I don't mean to intrude, but another thing he may consider, is hiring a P.I., we are going through a divorce in our family as well, my daughter and her philandering...soon to be ex husband! He happens to work for the same company as my husband does, and he got wind that the FSIL (no, no, no, the F is for Former son in law, although the other definitely applies too!) was buying a lot of guns. Talk about scaring us!!! Our daughter and 16 month old granddaughter are living with us, as she gets back on her feet. Her attorney suggested checking out the weapons issue, so they hired a PI, found out 10 days after she left he moved a woman from Arkansas in, he had met on line. Now not all of this was found out by him, we have since learned all kind of things. But this woman let my daughter in to the house to take pictures for a market analysis (her story). She found an assault rifle set up in the corner of the bedroom, and a loaded 9mm pistol with 2 extra, also full, clips on the nightstand. All this and a 6 yr old in the home. She also got pictures of the filth in the house. It was all turned over to social services, and is in the court system now. We can only hope and pray that the courts see what is going on. But push for that psych evaluation, and tell him to DOCUMENT EVERYTHING!!!! The last hearing we had, my daughters notes on a McDonalds napkin of the things he said when he was visiting the baby, were allowed! Write down everything, and date it. I will be thinking of you as we too go through this, and hope you get to see your little guy very soon. My heart breaks for you not seeing him. Kat

Way to go!!!! I have been thinking of going and joining our local Curves, or Contours, after I heal a bit. Do you enjoy it a lot? Good Job .....Keep up the good work!!! Kat

I really wish you hadn't added the bit about not cheating!!! My first one was "It's not TV! It's Kathy!" however when done a 2nd time it improved to "Smart. Beautiful. Kathy" . LOL!!! Now the good one came when I did my DH's "What can Rick do for you?" And do I ever have answers for that!!!! Kat

Thanks so much for the good wishes! Hope your appointment went well, anxious to hear what you found out, and also how the Dr. handled it. Let us know!! As for the travel arrangements, we will drive. Canon City is about the same distance from me as ABQ is, 180-190 miles. We would be about your 1/2 way point. I say we, because my SIL and I are doing this on the buddy system!! But if we can coordinate schedules, and you can make it this far, you are welcome! PM me and I'll give you my number, so when the time comes we can check it out! Kat

We too have BCBS of TX. Our policy does cover WLS. There were 3 issues that had to be met, and there were no variations on those issues we found. #1. you had to have a BMI of at least 40 or be 100 lbs. over your ideal weight, and have medical documentation that you have had this for 5 years or longer. #2. You had to have minimally 2 co-morbidities, ie. Hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, etc. And #3. You must have 12 consecutive months within the last 24 months of Physician supervised weight loss efforts, including but not limited to bi-monthly nutritionist consults, and a medically designed exercise program. I qualified the first 2 no problem. #3 hung me out to dry tho. I had records of weight loss attempts, receipts from weight loss centers, etc. but they were not being medically supervised. And I had not had any formal nutrition counseling. I was denied, appealed and denied again. Chose not to throw good money away hiring an attorney and fighting it. Instead we opted for me to have my surgery in Mexico. We are using the settlement I received from a car accident I was injured in to pay for it. We fly out early Sunday morning, surgery Monday...I am SOOOO excited!!! Good Luck to you, I hope you find a way to make it happen! Kat

Something between burgundy and hot pink color wise....high cut satin panties. And a white JMS lace cup bra. Hoping someday soon it will be JSES (Just someone elses size). Buying a nice pretty bra and panty set rather than these huge "over the shoulder boulder holders" is one of my fondest hopes for this WLS!!! Kat

Trish, I am being banded Monday, in Mexico. I too will be traveling to get my fills. I will be going from the Farmington NM area. Anytime we could get together to go I would be game...it might help expense wise. I had planned on going to Canon City, CO as well. Let me know how this works out. I will be thinking of you & hoping you get good news! Kat

My SIL has this, and her podiatrist had inserts made for her shoes....they ended up looking exactly like the footbed in Birkenstock sandals...so she bought the sandals and tried them, and now wears them year round. When I herniated the L4-L5 at the S-1 station in my back, she had me buy a pair, and the sciatic pain was gone in hours. They may not be as pretty as some others, but it worked! If my back is hurting I will put my sandals on, and it just sort of realigns me....I use a pair as houseshoes...slippers... Every now and then you can get them cheap at Ross or even on ebay...it might be worth a try. Hope your feet feel better soon! Kat

I already feel extremely lucky, I too have a large support group here, My husband and kids are behind me 100%. A few of my friends were a little unsure about it, I told them to ask me anything they wanted...and they did!! But they then realized I had researched it well, and was going to do it! Now they are all on board! I have several people I know who have had it done already, so that too should help. And I know having you and others on this board will be one of the best forms of support I could have found anywhere! I am soooo glad I did find it!!! Kat

Right, I understand they all do it differently. But was glad to hear that you too had a pre-op diet similar to mine. Maybe I will be as lucky as you were concerning the hunger! Continued good luck!!! Kat

I was just wondering if you lucky folks that were not hungry the days following surgery, had followed a strict pre-op diet? I was lurking around reading different threads, and someone actually said they were not pre-op dieting so they would not be hungry following the surgery. Just wondered if you did a strict preop? Thanks! Kat

I finally made the switch from regular Dr. Pepper to Diet several years ago, then changed to Caffeine free as well a couple of years later. Since I started getting VERY serious about this surgery, I have one every week or so is all. I now drink either water, or caffeine free, iced tea with Splenda. It took awhile to not miss it, but now that my date is so close I am glad I made the change ahead of time, because each day it seems I think about something else I might "miss". This food addiction of mine is horrible!!! Good luck to you on Monday! Kat

Many years ago, when my oldest daughter was in 2nd grade she and some friends caught a rabbit. It had been a pet that a teenage neighbor had apparently tired of (beast of a girl). My Dad built her a hutch, she named the rabbit "Lucy" and all was fine. A few months later she wanted me to bring the rabbit to school for show -n- tell, so we put it in a cat carrier and off Lucy and I went to school. During her little show -n- tell talk one of the kids ask her why she named her Lucy. I listened, wondering myself how she at her age had known it was a female. Her answer was very simple.... because it was loose when I caught it. Loosey? OMG!!! When we later took her to the vet I had to laugh when they wrote her name as Lucy...I did correct it! Gotta love the way kids think! Your little babies are so sweet...enjoy them! Kat

If you are still on clear liquids, and cannot have the shakes/smoothies for your protein, try zero carb isopure....it is available in bottles like the Sobe drinks, I got mine at GNC. Thay have 40 g. of protein per bottle. It is a little tart for me, so I added splenda!! Is best very cold, IMO, so I plan to use a small glass with lots of ice, and work on getting the bottle drank each day. I was just taste testing all of it prior to my surgery next week. But it is a good protein option for the first week or so when you are very limited on options. Hope you feel much better really soon! Kat

I am 45.7, and my real age according to them, is 46.1 not too far off. I too need more exercise and to lose weight...I never woulda guessed that!!! :omg: Kat

Hold that door open to Bandland, I'll be following you one week from today!!! I am so excited...both for the surgery, and for the eventual diet changes....pre-op dieting now!! Kat

My husband (and I hate to disagree, but HE is the best there is!!! ) and I went to school together from 3rd grade on, we graduated together, many years ago!! Yep, he knew me when I was skinny!!! We were friends, but never dated. We each went on and married other people, and then divorced. We then met up in a bar! I was dancing with him and thinking, "I can't believe I never thought of him like this before!!!" Then he went away to school. Many long, sad stories later we finally found our way back together! 7 years ago we were married, and I have never been so happy. Marriage is one of those things that when it is bad, it is REALLY bad, but when it is good, it is humbling it is so right! He will be with one week from today when i get my band!!!! Yeehaw!!! Kat

Our insurance covers it, but you have to jump through very exacting hoops for up to 2 years to qualify. I knew the only way I was going to get this done soon was to self pay. I ended up researching surgeons in Mexico, and am due to be banded on the 24th of this month...I am SOOOO excited, also getting a tad nervous!! Many of the surgeons in Mexico, include airfare, and all related expenses in the charges, which from what I found range from $7900.00 to about $12,500.00, depending on which Dr. you choose, and where he is located. Always keep in mind cheapest is not always the way to go, you need to really check them out, and talk to several patients of theirs. Also many will set you up with a Dr. closer to you for follow up fills etc., or they will do them at no extra charge, if you go back to Mexico. Almost all charge additionally for the fluoroscopy used for the fill. I have seen LBT-ers who have refinanced their homes, used credit cards, combined tax refunds and credit cards, all kinds of things. Personally, I used a settlement I received from a car accident I was injured in. Good Luck to you, don't give up!! Kat

That's what happens with my friend and I on yahoo, we never seem to be there at the same time! Kat