SweetCori

Anyone in the Livingston County area? Or know of any support groups around? I'm in Gregory. So I'm sure none in my area specifically, but I'm not against travelling a little! Just not an hour and a half once a month to Detroit ~shudders~. Once every 6 weeks for fills is enough tyvm!

Hi all. Wow. What a thread. I'm 34 y/o and my dad has 22 years sobriety. His older brother went into treatment shortly after him and has been sober ever since. Their dad, my Pop, has kidney issues due to alcohol, and his father died due to alcohol. So it definitely is in my family. I was 12 and turned 13 while he was in treatment. Happy birthday Cori! As mentioned by Green, my house was full of parties and fighting. My mom was 14 and my dad was 22 when they got married. They were 5 months pregnant with lil ole me. So the odds were stacked against them from the get go. My lil bro and I both knew what beer was, pot and it's accessories, heck we even knew that the white stuff was used in one of the rooms and to stay out when it was. There was lots of fighting. Lots of verbal and emotional abuse. I don't think there was physical, but Mom has admitted in the past that it probably bordered on physical abuse. If my bro and I were woken up during a fight, we'd get up and get dressed and go get each other and be packed and ready to go if Mom walked out. As far as Dad's alcoholism, we never knew what kind of mood he'd be in when he came home from work. Starting at least half an hour before he'd get home, we'd all change our mood and just sit waiting to see how he was going to be. Whether we could have fun or not. I've never been a Daddy's girl. I was always jealous of the girls who had that special relationship with their Dad. I've always loved my dad but I hated him for a very long time. 2 weeks before he went into treatment, he left us. I saw him a couple times and it was very hard. Then his work said either he got treatment or he was going to lose his job. While my dad was in treatment, in order to see him, we had to attend a program of our own. At the time, they only had Al-Anon and Growing Tree (for kids 11 and under). I went to Al-Anon one week with my mom, but I was 12 years old. Everyone there was in their upper teens or adults. They couldn't relate with me. So after that I went to the Growing Tree with my lil bro. But yet again, I was too old for that. So I mostly was like a helper with their activities. I didn't have any counseling of my own. After Dad got out of treatment, we stopped doing anything. So I never really dealt with my feelings about his alcoholism. He still scared me for many years. At times, I still have that feeling. Even though I know he'd do anything in the world for me. While he was in treatment, was the first time he told me he loved me. I still have the letter. Mom and Dad's relationship improved over time. Their 35th anniversary is in June. They're happy. And the fact that he was in treatment seems to be a thing of the past. I will say that because I never dealt with my issues about my dad's alcoholism back when I was a kid, it had definitely affected me later in life. I have Cerebral Palsy. I just basically walk funny. I use crutches now and then if I need some added support. No big deal. I've always had a weight problem. I've always had a problem with depression. But because of the kind of house I grew up in, everything was kept to just the family. So a bright, happy smile was always on my face, no matter how horrible I felt. When I was 22, I had moved into my best friend's apartment, a couple hours away. One extremely depressing, lonely night, I considered suicide. I didnt do it, obviously. But it was my lowest of lows. After a few days of not being able to put a smile on at all, and my best friend being worried, I finally called Mom and Dad to tell them. Mom answered and got mad and tossed the phone to Dad. He and I have never really been able to talk. We've had maybe a 3 heart to hearts ever. We talked for over an hour, and I told him how I blamed myself all these years for his alcoholism. "If he hadn't met my mom when she was so young, and if she hadn't gotten pregnant with me. If I hadn't been born with a handicap." I felt his alcoholism stemmed from all that. Even though I knew our family history. He said it was by no means my fault. I believed him, but to this day, part of me feels like it is. When I got a little older I did start dating someone for about 10 months who had been sober a while and still attended AA meetings, so I started going to Al-Anon while he was in another room with AA. I'll admit, it helped me then. I stopped going to meetings when I broke up with my ex. I know my depression and weight gain is due to lots and lots of issues but I think a core part of it was my dad's alcoholism. Even though he's made amends in his own ways, the feelings are still there. The main thing I got from it was that I didn't have my first drink until I was 21. And even though my brother and I know how to party and can get pretty drunk (definitely a thing of the past for me now!). Neither of us made a habit of it. I maybe have drank 6 times a year, 1 big blowout. Wow, what a ramble. I hope you don't mind me going all over the place.

He's a really nice doctor. Really happy with my progress. Said my surgery was nice and boring. I've only had one issue with the office itself, but everything since then has been great. I'm very happy I got this done and glad I had the opportunity come up. How are things going with you? And your experience with Dr. Webber? I hope you find something. I'm part of a few online groups but it'd be nice to have something face to face. I tried looking up for support groups in the area and didn't come across anything.

Hey hun, I'm a fairly new bandster (banded 1/12/09), but I will say your feelings are perfectly alright. I was nervous and excited for weeks before the surgery. It wasn't until 2 days before I got the scared feeling. And boy do I wish I hadn't gotten that. I ended up with a major migraine the morning of the surgery. Luckily they give you good drugs to sleep! haha As for the feelings after, right away I was happy I did it. I have no regrets. I worry now and then that I'm not doing something right, but I'm just in my 8th week and still adjusting to eating. As far as pain, I really didn't have a ton of pain. It hurt a little for a couple days, and after that it was more of and uncomfortableness for a few more. sleeping was where I felt it the most. But I was a stomach sleeper and had to adjust to sleeping on my back or on my side propped up with a pillow. Hunger is a whole different story. Going through the states on the post-op diet, I was hungry a lot until I got to week 3 when I had soft foods. But if you look around through the forum and all over the web, you'll find plenty of sources to help you out. Good luck to you!!

I'm Cori from Gregory Michigan. 34 y/o and single. Teeny tiny town. I have Cerebral Palsy (barely use crutches, I basically just walk funny) and was banded on Jan 12th, 2009. I started my Pre-op diet at 283.1 pounds on 12/20/2008. I'm currently down to 248.6 pounds. YES! I finally got past the 250 mark. But my final goal is to get to 140 pounds, although I'll be perfectly content to get down to 150. I just figure a buddy or mentor might be able to help me better. I have questions all the time, and although I can look here for the help I might want or need, it's not the same as talking one on one with a person. Be it by email, phone, text or whatever other means are possible. Thank you!

Congrats to you!! I just got below 250 last week and wow I know how you feel! That was my first weight loss goal during this life change.

I'm so glad I came to read this thread tonight. I talked to my nutritionist a few days ago because I've been feeling like I wasn't getting enough calories in my diet. Well, she said I should be getting about 1200 calories. I know there is NO way I'm getting that much. So I started on dailyplate yesterday and after 2 days, I'm kind of discouraged. I stayed between 450 and 600 calories both days. That doesn't seem right to me. But I"m full after eating. I haven't had issues with not being able to work out either. I worked out 4 times this week instead of my normal 3 and I'm planning on making it 5 times a week in a couple weeks. I have Cerebral Palsy on top of the weight, so I'm gradually moving forward. I'm not feeling week and malnourished. The only concern I have is, as time progresses, I don't want to start having those kind of issues because I'm not eating enough. I get full while eating. I'm getting my protein in. I'm just worried about the future. I've lost a total of 34.5 pounds since I started my pre-op diet on 12/20. So I've lost a good chunk of weight. Almost 25% of what my total goal is. I just want to keep the weight loss steady.

I did mine at Harper on the 12th. Message me if you'd like.

I was a stomach sleeper before my banding on Jan 12th. While I was in the hospital, I just could not get comfortable on my back, so they did prop me up kind of on my side with pillows behind my back and one under my belly. I did great with that. I have since started sleeping more on my side in the past week or two. During the night I have turned over onto my stomach in my sleep. I didn't wake up in pain, but it was a very uncomfortable feeling.

i'm on week 3 where i can have soft foods and i had a string cheese for a snack last night. or i have sf jello or pudding, or a sf fudgsicle. they're yummy!

Yes, I'm having diarrhea issues too. It's because we're eating liquid diets. It won't really get solid until we start eating regular foods. I just have a little tenderness and itching going on right now. But doing great overall. yes, I'm STARVING most of the day. But I keep Water on me. I probably don't eat as much as I should. But I'm kind of scared to. Next week I'll start working on a Breakfast, lunch, dinner routine. If anybody wants, I have YIM, MSN, and unlimited texting on my cell phone. Send me a message :-)

I was also up a few pounds yesterday but I didn't weigh myself till later in the day. I'm sure it's due to swelling or something. Pain in my shoulders is slowly going away same with my belly. But I'm still slow to move around.

Hey hun, my email is sweetpetals33@yahoo.com please send me an invite! tyty

Hey all!! Day 3! I got home yesterday and tried posting but I'm on dialup and it was taking forever and I needed to rest. After a very long hour and a half ride which thankfully, I slept through due to lortab. My surgery went very well. All my fat is under my skin and all my organs were clean. Dr Laker said it was a very boring procedure. The best kind! I was up and walking around just a few hours after surgery. Everyone was impressed with how well I was getting around. The only problem I'm having is the no twisting or bending. I have Cerebral Palsy, so I've always had to twist or bend in order to make adjustments cuz my legs are tight. So I shall need a lot of help getting in and out of bed for a few days. I was able to eat last night, so yesterday was day 1 of my post-op diet. Doing good so far. Just have some pain around my belly and soreness in my neck due to the gas. Hope everyone else is doing great too! Maybe we need to start a new thread in post-op? lol now that it's not pre-op? heh

I'm ready! I don't even think I'm going to sleep. I have to leave at 3:30am! GL to us all! I'll be thinking about us!

Woohoo 3 more days!! I'm excited. The liquid diet has been hard, and I started my period halfway through it (sorry men lol). But I survived it. I ended up pretty sick though for a couple days and could barely drink my shakes, but I did it. Because I'm self-pay they do the pre-op testing the morning of my surgery. My surgery's at 7:30am and I have to be there at 5am. Which means, leaving my house around 3:30am. I know somebody who's not going to get any sleep Sunday night. I have a whole list of stuff I was told to bring. Pretty much the same stuff as listed above. But also a paper and pen to write down any questions you might have for the surgeon. That is important. I know I'm forgetful. I also have to remember my crutches that I use very rarely (I have Cerebral Palsy also). We bought a new scale last week, and I was weighed at my consult back in October, so I don't know how different our home scale is from the Drs office. But if it's correct, I'm already down 10 pounds. Which is actually 27 pounds less then I was going to be starting! So I'm already way ahead of the game. I already feel better. My knees aren't creaking as much when I go up and down my stairs. I can pull off my jeans without undoing them!! I've felt great. Less headaches (except for when I got sick). I'm happier :-) I can't wait to get to the next stage of my journey for the new year. My email is sweetpetals33@yahoo.com if you would like to get a hold of me sometime also. I think setting up our own group of messages or whatever would be great. Not just January Bandsters but the elite group of January 12th Bandsters! hehe Good luck to us all if I don't get back on here before Monday!

Yes, this Pre-Op diet has NOT been easy. I'm on week 3. I started week 1 with 2 shakes a day and a lean protein, veggies and salad for dinner. And that was during the week of the holidays. I did good! No sweets or anything. Then for the past week and a half I've been doing 3 shakes a day. Yes, I'm hungry. But I made this decision on my own to have this surgery. So I must do what is required of me. It's all for a better me in the end and I believe will be well worth it. 4 days till my banding! I'm anxious and really looking forward to it. I'm down 10 pounds already pre-op so I think I'm doing good.