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Tina, I hear ya with the love affair with Diet Coke. I had my last sip of it at 5:59pm Sunday night! I was taking every second I had! But you know what? I bet we won't miss it as bad as we think we will. Oh, I also chewed gum on Sunday and ate 3 pieces of See's candies. So sue me, lol. They were delish. I played my CD on my Ipod too. I had the choice of them putting on any of my favorite music, but I just wanted to relax and also didn't want to choose what they listened to. I wanted them focused while they were cutting into me!

I like your new ticker Candy! I like the ones that show our actual weight. It's easier to keep track of our progress! So, is your work okay with less than a month notice for surgery? What are you gonna tell them for why you need off and how long will you take off?

THAT IS FREAKING CRAZY!!! I knew you were gonna go super fast. I've never heard of the process go so fast and I'm SO SO happy for you! We'll be less than a month apart which will be so cool. Definitely call me tomorrow, I can't wait to hear all about your appts. Very cool that you also have Dr. Baggs, I really like him alot. You go girl! Keep to that 1200 cal diet and I bet you'll be down 25 lbs by surgery. You rock!

Tina you're cracking me UP! Deep breaths...deep breaths... You can shower totally normally on surgery morning, I even shaved my legs (knew I wouldn't be able to for a while). BUT--after showering, don't put any lotions or perfume on. That's all they care about. I put the saran wrap on today and when I talked to Liz just now she said I didn't have to. But for ME--I feel better keeping the glue as dry as possible for the next couple days. I'd rather play it safe than have the glue open and start oozing or bleeding. That would freak me out big time! My incisions are looking really good and I still don't have a single bruise anywhere on my tummy! I have a little bruise on my arm from the shot of heparin and a little bruise on my other arm from the IV. I'm so surprised at my tummy though, I totally expected to be all black and blue and it's not at all. I'm not complaining though!

You'll be there any day Reggie, don't worry about it. Just keep doing what you're doing and it'll happen! I'm so excited for you to have a cm appt and to get a surgery date, it's gonna be awesome when we're all on the post-op side of this, isn't it? I'm so dizzy today but my pain is much better. Liz should be calling this afternoon and I'll probably get to start having full liquids tomorrow so that'll probably help with some of my dizziness. I need protein! I took my first shower today and covered up my tummy with saran wrap and first aid tape. It felt so good to wash my hair and body but WOW---it took a toll on me. That's a LOT of exercise with 0 calories in my body, probably another reason for the dizziness. I'm very tired today and I didn't even wake up until 10:20am, but I'm gonna listen to my body and sleep until I can't sleep anymore. Then walk, then sip, then sleep, then walk, then sip...etc.

Tina, I had the same thoughts...if I can lose 40 can't I lose 100+? The answer for ME is Yes. I probably can lose it. BUT--can I keep it off for the rest of my life? No. I've lost weight several times and every time I gain it all back and then some. I don't want to keep playing this health roulette into my 40's and 50's, etc...I need to get my weight under control while I'm young and lucky to have NO health problems. Don't worry, after all is said and done you'll be SO glad that you did it and your family will be shocked at what a hot mama you are (even though you are absolutely beautiful already!) Start listening to that CD, it really is awesome! The second and third tracks for pre-op I listened to twice a day starting 3 days before surgery and I listened to it during pre-op prep AND surgery too. If you're feeling some anxiety it would be great to start listening to it now. You can DO this. (((hugs)))

TINA--I ABSOLUTELY do NOT regret it! I keep telling my hubby that and I've tole Nicole too. I'm trying not to complain too much about the pain because I know it'll all be worth it! I only want to talk about it here because it's so important to know what to expect. Let's put it this way, I cried when I had my wisdom teeth pulled, cried with I had Sophie (from pain and emotion) BUT I haven't cried yet and I'm feeling better almost every hour so I don't think it's gonna happen! This was by far the 3rd best decision I've made in my life! (First was getting married, second was having Sophie). I know this journey is gonna have it's up and downs with pain and emotions and "do I regret it?" thoughts but I know it's all going to be worth it for all of us! NICOLE--You're right! I have a pillow under my legs too. What divas with our 5 pillows!

TINA--I ABSOLUTELY do NOT regret it! I keep telling my hubby that and I've tole Nicole too. I'm trying not to complain too much about the pain because I know it'll all be worth it! I only want to talk about it here because it's so important to know what to expect. Let's put it this way, I cried when I had my wisdom teeth pulled, cried with I had Sophie (from pain and emotion) BUT I haven't cried yet and I'm feeling better almost every hour so I don't think it's gonna happen! This was by far the 3rd best decision I've made in my life! (First was getting married, second was having Sophie). I know this journey is gonna have it's up and downs with pain and emotions and "do I regret it?" thoughts but I know it's all going to be worth it for all of us! NICOLE--You're right! I have a pillow under my legs too. What divas with our 5 pillows!

Tina, will you have someone staying with you the first few days? I hope you do because it's seriously impossible to get out of bed alone. And all the little things that Brian's doing like getting me water, broth, heating pad, medicine, EVERYTHING. I'm not doing really very much alone. He's holding onto me whenever we walk... A tip if you haven't heard for when you're in bed. I have 2 pillow laying normal, then on laying long ways so it's under my back and then one more laying normal on top. My mother-in-law is a nurse and recommended doing that because it'll prevent the gas from rising up the body. It totally worked! My gas is pretty much gone from in between my boobs and I've never had any gas pain in my shoulders or neck.

Ok, I'm gonna go that. I've only been doing 1 or 1 1/2. I'll do 2 for the rest of the day. How many times a day did you walk and about how long each time? I walk around the house about every 1/2-1 hour when awake and we've taken about 2 big walks for about 20-30 minutes really slowly twice so far today. Does that sound like enough or not enough or just right?

Riley, how much of the Lortab did you take? 1, 1 1/2 or 2 tbsp?

I wore a long cotton summer dress to and from the hospital but when I got home it was annoying me because the weight of the dress annoyed my incisions. I changed as soon as I got home into a pair of yoga pants (they come right to or below my belly button and my incisions are all above it) and a very light weight soft cotton tshirt, the over the head motion is totally fine, just go slowly. I've been wearing the same kind of thing since then. Good luck to you!

Don't want to freak you out, but it's more dramatic than I expected. I didn't realize how much pain I'd be in and thought that the meds would totally numb me and they don't. Today my pain in the port area and above are what is so sore. I'm sure it's normal pain but I didn't realize how bad it would be. Time is so foggy after surgery, but I was in at 815 and out at 900 and then I recovered until 1130 when I did barium swallow. I don't remember much of recovery except that I kept asking for more Fentanyl, lol. My nurse was Gail for post-op and Ayesha for pre-op. Both ladies were very sweet and I liked them alot. They took me down to radiology and I waited in the hallway for about 20 minutes before the dumbass came to take me in. If I wasn't so out of it I would've been cussing them out. Barium was kinda icky but I only had to take 2 sips and she said my band "looked beautiful". Went back up to recovery, Dr. Baggs came in and talked to me and then I recovered a bit more and at 1:30 got dressed, got my discharge papers, took my first dose of Lortab for the ride home at 1:45 and left at 2pm and was home by 3pm.

I'm feeling a teensy bit better today. The INSIDE of me hurts today, on the left side under my boob (where my stomach is). The gas is SO much better, i can actually take a deep breath now without feeling like dying. I weighed yesterday cuz I was curious how much Fluid and gas was in me and was 259.8 and I weighed JUST now and was 256.6!!! My lowest weight yet! GAS SHMAS! I'm not having the 10+ gain that they told us we should expect. I'm not gonna argue with that! So since post-surgery yesterday I'm down 3.2 lbs (sure it's mostly gas and fluid but that's so cool!) I'm feeling lots better today and I'm even due for meds in 1/2 an hour.

Thanks Tina, actually I didn't get morphine for the way home but the ride was totally fine. Gail (my nurse) just gave me my first dose of lortab 15 min before leaving instead. I didn't want such a hard drug in me...I don't really like medicine so it's tough to even take this much. We even hit a few bumps that were unavoidable and it didn't hurt at all. There was no traffic and it took just about an hour, no biggie at all. I don't have any tips YET cuz I still feel pretty shi*ty but I bet I will soon. Oh, I guess one would be to have someone to help you in and out of the bed and chairs. It's impossible to get up, at least today. I went outside and walked with hubby for about 1/2 hour REALLY slowly, it felt good but it's still hurts to take a deep breath. Painful AND annoying. I just took another dose of Lortab at 5:45 and let me tell you--KEEP ON TOP OF IT. I was so uncomfortable and really ready to take it even though it tastes like crap. I've been peeing like a race horse too! I guess I'm getting all of those fluids out of me. And I'm naughty and curious and I weighed, lol. I was 257.5 this morning and 259.8 at about 5pm. Not as bad as I thought it would be...can it still go up? I wouldn't think it would, but...I'm totally gonna weigh everyday, I don't care that I still have gas and fluid in me, I'm too curious! I'm definitely feeling better now that the meds have kicked in some. Thank god for codeine!

I'VE GOT A BAND!!!! Hey everyone! I'm home and resting. We're watching Saturday Night Live and I'm trying not to laugh, lol. Everything went great, I have an APS band with 3 cc's in it! My liver didn't even have a single speck of fat on it and he was so proud that I was 13 lbs below goal. I was 257.5 and officially down 40 lbs! I was so glad. I'm having LOTS of gas pain between my boobs and it's really hard to take a deep breath. My tummy was numbed so I can't feel that pain yet, but I'm sure it'll suck pretty soon. I got home at about 3pm and have been resting. My folks will bring Sophie this evening in time to help put her to bed. I think I'm gonna go take a little nap. I'll write up my surgery story tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for all the prayers and good thoughts, I really appreciate it. You're all the best. Donna, I'm so glad you're here! Pretty soon we'll be probably making this a post-op thread.

Here we go girls! Cross your fingers for me and wish me luck! Reggie--thanks for the sweet message! I will call you soon.

OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS!!! Check out my ticker! 257.2!!! I got below my own personal goal this morning, with a little help from Milk of Magnesia! That crap made me gag so bad I thought I was gonna puke. I hadn't had a #2 (sorry TMI) in 2 days and knew it was gonna be a doozy when it kicked in. SO---I'm officially down 40.3 lbs PRE-OP! My personal goal was to be down 40 lbs because it's a LOT of weight and it's a nice round number to start counting my post-op weight loss from. 50 is gonna be here so fast! I'm heading out to the bay area now to our hotel, going to get a salad a California pizza Kitchen and hot tub and get a massage. SO nice. Hubby has an Iphone and I'll update you all as soon as I can. Wish me luck! (((hugs)))

My daughter is only 4 1/2, so the reasons I'm not telling her many details are kindof different from yours, but I totally understand where you're coming from. Luckily for me, my sister just had hernia surgery about 6 weeks ago and we've going over to help with her 5 kids (2 of them are babies). My daughter has seen her "owies" which consist of 4 lap incisions that look almost like our will and she knows that my sister can't lift her kids up and we have to be gentle with her. I just told her that I'm having surgery like Auntie did on my tummy and that I won't be able to pick her up but we can still snuggle and she'll have to hug me soft for a while. She's fine with that and gets it since we've been at my sisters lately. Maybe you can tell them it's surgery for a hernia? The surgery scars are exactly the same, the only difference in my sisters hernia scars and mine will be my port scar being bigger. Good luck!

Reggie you crazy woman! What the heck were you still doing up at 2:22am??? LOL! I've made it a personal goal to be at 257.5 on surgery day so that I'll officially be 40lbs down BEFORE surgery. I'm getting so close! I just woke up and weighed and I'm 258.8!! Only 1.3 more lbs to go! I'm kinda done with the last meal thing and am doing Protein Shakes for all day today and Breakfast and lunch tomorrow. Then, tomorrow night I'm gonna have a salad at California pizza Kitchen while we're in Emeryville. I'm thinking that with only liquid and a salad before Monday morning that I'll probably be at my goal! Also, from what I hear, I might be getting weighed in my gown and on a different scale that sounds kinder than the normal one in bariatrics. OH! AND---I listened to the healing/affirmation CD yesterday and then last night I put the two pre-op tracks on my Ipod and my hubby and I both put a headphone in and listened to it as we went to bed. He was asleep before it was even 5 minutes in!!! Guess it worked for him...lol. I listened to the visual imagery and was so tired and relaxed and then I fell asleep about half way through the affirmations. I woke up in the middle of the night in the SAME position (on my back too which I NEVER do!) with the headphones still in both of our ears, lol. I'm definitely taking my Ipod and listening to that during surgery. Thanks for the tips Riley and Nicole! Anyway, I'm rambling...wish me luck on the scale!

Hi girls! I got my surgery time for Monday, I'm the first surgery and have to be there by 6:45 for an 8am surgery. YAY! We're keeping busy tomorrow re-landscaping most of our front yard and then we'll head to Berkeley Sunday after lunch. Reggie, I just went to Medicine 1 and told them i was in the Bariatric program and needed to do a weight check. There was NO co-pay and they just had me wait a few minutes for a nurse to come get me, weigh me and that was it! You're getting so close!!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Tina, were you SUCKING on the spirometer, not blowing? LOL. I blew at the beginnning and didn't get why it wasn't working...what a dork. Once I figured it out I was doing 10 seconds at 4000! TURBO. Nicole was cracking up at my turbo lungs, lol. We'll see if I can still go that after surgery. 3 DAYS!!!! I get to call today at 1:30 to find out what time my surgery will be. Hopefully early, but not crazy early. Also, I'm drinking diet coke and chewing gum up until Sunday night. I'm TOTALLY dedicated to this, and I'm completely willing to give those up forever...just not until Sunday. I wanna enjoy it as long as I can!

YAY Reggie! I know you can do it. Just keep drinking that Water and keep your salt intake low. BTW Reggie--I'd love to hear from you on Sunday, or anytime for that matter! You have my cell phone number. :confused: Keep me posted with your weight, I'm so excited for you to get a surgery date!

Wow, lots of catch up reading to do! You girls have been busy on her today, lol. So--TINA! Are you kinda freaking out now that you're officially ready for surgery? You're done now, right? You'll just call next Friday for surgery time and then have surgery on Monday? CRAZY!!! How many people are having surgery on my day? Were they lapband or rny? I'm getting so nervous! Still not scared, but the waiting is starting to kill me! I've kept myself SO busy this week and that's helped but I've pretty much got constant butterflies 24/7 since Nicole had surgery on Tuesday and I've been talking a lot with her and it's so REAL now and I'm next! We'll leave on Sunday at 2:30 to head to Berkeley to spend the night. We're gonna go shopping and have a yummy dinner, hot tub and my mother-in-law is gonna give me a massage. (She's staying at the hotel with us). Hopefully I'll sleep okay and not toss and turn all night. NICOLE--I'm SO glad you're feeling better every day. So great.

YAY! Congratulations! What an exciting day for you. My big day is on Monday, it'll be fun to keep up with eachother since we're only a few days apart. Hope you get lots of rest and can give us your surgery story soon!