pnw218

Hey Girls! Just four more days! I am suddenly quite nervous, upset tummy, etc. Gonna pack tonite I think. I am going to Portland to visit my sister on Tuesday, will fly from there on Wed to meet my husband in San Diego Wed evening. I guess we will find out what time surgery is on Thursday when we get there? Will be interesting! Would be fun to take a group photo before surgery! Sarah, what time do you arrive on Thursday?

I am starting to get a little anxious about the med issue. I have about 4 meds I must take daily - 2 for depression, omeprazole and welchol. Will the surgeon tell me which ones I can try to swallow and which ones I should crush up? Sounds like I should buy some apple juice also. The flight home concerns me as well. I have two 2-hr flights; guess that will be good to break it up a bit. Let me know how your flight is :thumbup:

Lee, I know!!! I have hit the teary mode tho, saying goodbye (or see ya later) to all of my favorite foods. Had cheesecake for Breakfast this am and now I have a huge tummyache. lol At work today, trying to get the desk in order to be gone for a few days. Finding it very hard to focus tho. Where are you having your surgery done?

Sorry you are having a down day Bitsy! I get bored laying in bed and have very little patience, so I can understand your frustration. I am sure I will be complaining by this time next week and you will feel wonderful : ) Don't fight it. If your body is telling you to rest, that is what you have to do. One or two extra days down now will be better than overdoing it and spending a week or two extra being miserable. No pain, no gain! whoops! in this case, no pain, no loss! : ) When the scale numbers get smaller, it will all be worth it. I keep reminding myself of that this week before surgery! :thumbup:

Hope it all goes very smoothly! I will be "joining" you later this week!

mnb, thank you however she is my youngest! My oldest daughter is 24 and my son is 22 : ) I just got back from my final cruise as an overweight person; the next vacation I will hopefully be much smaller! I have had issues in the past couple of years with ankle swelling during flights. I am hoping this will resolve by losing weight. I have been to the Sahara Desert area of Africa. Was visiting a friend who teaches English in a refugee camp about a year ago. That will be so exciting to show off the new you!

I feel your pain Tiffy! I had my first gall bladder attack on a cruise ship on the way to Belize and Honduras. Fortunately, after spending 6 hours in the ER on the ship, the pain subsided and I was able to wait until getting back to the states for surgery. The only issue I had with the actual surgery was that the dr spilled the bile from the gall bladder into my abdomen and they had to vacuum it out. My insides hurt big time but the lap surgery was still better than being opened up. I was back at work in a week. AFTERWARDS .... another story. My system never adjusted to the increase of bile and it was food in, food out. I was so fortunate to have a flexible work schedule because it would take me a couple of hours every morning before I could leave the house. I finally went in to see a specialist and they put me on cholestyramine, a powder that I mixed in juice or Water each morning. That helped for about five years. I started having issues again last summer. The new dr I went to said I could either increase the powder or try another med, Welchol, which is a tablet. The new med worked great and it is so much more user friendly. I had to avoid food and meds before and after the powder; I take the pill at night. My mornings are soooo much better! Anytime I hear that someone has had their gall bladder removed, I try to share that med info. I was miserable for almost a year before seeing the specialist. Loved my gp but he didn't realize the issue with the bile or how to fix it. Kept saying my system would adjust. Hope you are feeling much better now! And you have one less body part to worry about : )

thanks for the reply MNB! When I told my youngest daughter (15) last week and explained about the BMI, etc., she said that she really doesn't see me "obese" just a little overweight. I answered any questions that she had - her last one? Mom, are you going to be skinnier than me? Cause that would be really weird! LOL She is 5'9" and less than 130lbs, so I told her that even if I do get down to 130, I would still be a little bigger than her proportionately. She was fine with that! haha! People really are cruel in their comments sometimes; I don't think they always mean to be hurtful, but often just aren't thinking. Well, at least I hope so! I was looking at your photo albums. Does the world map mean you like to travel? That is my passion, every time I get! take care! congrats on your success so far!

I have to agree with bkind mostly. I have had a variety of surgeries and delivered three 9lb babies without pain meds. A tummy tuck is brutal. I was off the pain meds during the day within about 3 days, just used them at night. It is trying to use those muscles that burns for awhile, like maybe a month? lol However, I would not hesitate to do it again. The scar healed just fine and is low enough that I will wear a two piece swim suit when I am smaller. It is so nice to have that roll removed. I think the dr said he removed about 3.5 pounds? I don't remember exactly. I am hoping that I won't have to repeat that surgery after the weight loss, but will if I have to. The breast lift surgery is easy. I have actually had it twice. The 2nd time I agreed to add small implants beneath the muscle to help the lift last longer. It had been about 8 years inbetween with large fluxuations in weight. The first couple of days is typical as far as being uncomfortable and the first shower is terrible! I couldn't believe what I had done to myself. However, as soon as it started to heal in a few days, I was over the initial shock and showing them to anyone who was interested. LOL

Thanks all! I am a pretty stubborn person, so while I wouldn't cancel the surgery based on their comments, I really just don't want to deal with anything negative. I did tell one of our employees on Thursday, she is my assistant. However I prefaced it with "don't be judgemental, no negative comments, etc". She was very understanding (very a skinny person, lol) and wished her sister would do something proactive her about her weight for health reasons. She also had 3 teen/young adult children who are allowed to express their individuality thru tattoos, piercings, etc . . . so I figured she was quite safe to tell, haha! She is also a prayerful person and that aspect was important to me. I am totally obsessed with this surgery now. I finished my last major project - getting my mom moved last week into a senior housing apartment. Now I only have to finish up the usual stuff at work and fly to San Diego! oh. And eat my "last meal". Haven't decided what that will be yet ... so many to chose from. LOL Definitely having a big steak tho on Valentine's Day!

I want to be YOU! :biggrin2: Just 5 more days and I will be waiting for the numbers to start dropping so I can sit on the loser's bench! Congrats! It is so inspiring to hear how well people are doing. It makes me very excited!

Determined1, your name says it all. It seems when life gets difficult, someone always says: God won't give you more than you can handle. And there are times when I have thought that I was gonna lose it, and prayed "really God, that's enough! You have more faith in me than I do!" : ) All I can say is one hour at a time, one day at a time. Stress will kill you as fast as almost anything else, or at least ruin your life. I try so hard not to worry about the deadline I have to meet tomorrow, and just take care of what needs to be done today. Easier said than done, I know. I hope you get the answers you need soon. Please let us know. Stay strong.

Thank you for the replies and good wishes! I am so glad to hear others talk positively about Dr. Almanza! I tried to select a dr and location responsibly and not just choosing who was the least expensive, altho their pricing was very competitive. I figure this is one time you shouldn't go just for the bargain price. Should I take my own laptop? It says the guest house has a computer available for use, but thinking I may want my own? I am getting excited!

Wow! It is great to read all of your posts; it is very encouraging. My surgery is next week on the 18th, my 49th birthday. Time to take charge and get back to a normal weight. Have any of you dealt with friends/family saying that you didn't have to lose enough to warrant the surgery? To me, the 60 +/- pounds is enough and I couldn't do it on my own. I have hesitated to tell most people because I don't want 1) their uneducated opinion about surgery in Mexico and 2) any other negative comments. Seems it is usually some skinny person who has never had a weight issue in their life : ) Thanks in advance!

My 2 cents worth . . . I had a vaginal hysterectomy at 42, had a very easy recovery and was on vacation in 3 weeks. I was careful not to overdo it but other than being a little sore, it wasn't bad at all. Everyone is different tho; just wanted you to know that it doesn't always take the 6-9 weeks to recover. Good luck! I hope the doctors can provide you with enough info to make a good decision.

YES!!!! I will be there!!! I am getting excited and just a little nervous. The 18th is also my 49th birthday - which is significant to me. A starting over point. I hope to be 50 and fabulous in one year. Look forward to sharing this event with you!

Wow! It is so nice to have found this website and this thread! My husband and I have just decided that I will have the lapband surgery in February - and we plan to tell no one, until it is over and I am losing weight, and then only maybe : ) If someone directly asks me, I won't lie about it, I just don't want anyone else's opinion at this point. I will be 49 next month, am 5'4" and about 192. Not a real high BMI at 33 as far as the insurance parameters go but definitely high enough that it is out of my comfort zone. I have also had several health and sleeping issues that I believe are likely weight related. The Atkins diet used to work well for me in my younger days, but getting older mixed with stress and depression starting in 2002 has done me in. I started working out at Curves several months ago, and while I haven't kept up on the food side of things, I do feel better and stronger. Small steps I figure. I have been researching locations in Tijuana Mexico and expect that is where I will go. Insurance won't pay unless the BMI is higher and after completing a 6 month monitored exercise/diet program. I want to look better (or awesome) when I turn 50 next year! I need to get with the program now! :biggrin: