angyl2314

I spoke to my dietician about the better than bullion. She does not advise using it because it is just another protien suppliment and adds to bulk.

Well, just a mere 7 days left. God, this has been the longest and short waiting period of my life. Now that it's around the corner I feel like I am going to freak out. My mom made me the cutest gift for my birthday: a basket of all things I am going to need following the surgery, foods, measuring cups, food scale, etc. It was real sweet. I am going to Florida tomorrow for New Year's and coming back the day before my surgery. Not sure that was the best decision I could have made, but the tickets are already paid for lol. I am trying to get all spiritual and stuff now, trying to find emotional and mental peace. Wish me luck!

Wph74...i don't i have a pre op routine. As a matter of fact, I have been on a 2 month last supper. That's really productive huh? lol From what I gather I just show up at the hospital the day of the surgery. Considering I am going to be in Florida until the day off, I hope there is nothing else I have to do. I am going to email one of the people tomorrow to follow up. My excitement is dwindling just because I feel like I have been waiting so long, although it has onely been like a month lol

It's so nice to see people around my area. I am in White Plains. Now I wish I could find someone with my same doctor...lol.

That's why I have been in the December thread. I like seeing people before and after surgery. I had a slight crisis last week when one of the people was going for surgery on the 5th and I didn't see her until yesterday. Of course my mind is racing. We are 100% so far...whew!

I have no pre-op diet...WHY??? Uh, is that bad? Why am I nervous?

My doctor found an ovarian cyst in me 5 years ago. I was referred to a specialist who had me under observation for 3 months. In that time the cyst tripled in size to 5x8cm. I had to undergo all those tests also, but refused to meet with an oncologist. I had the cyst (and most of my right ovary) removed. I hate to tell you though, the cyst had nothing to do with my weight. I actually gained a significant amount of weight after the surgery having been incapacitated and out of work for a few weeks. Sorry.

Oh thank god, I was starting to get nervous

Welcome everyone! I was feeling so left out on the December Bandsters forum =( Sunshine..my name is Jen, and no, I have no pre-op diet, which I am starting to think is weird. I am going to follow up tomorrow with the doctor's office. I am doing everything possible to avoid complications, including no partying/drinking on new years, and no overdoing it for the holidays. I know how you feel about the appointments. I was able to breeze through them, now I am all anxious because I still have 3 weeks to wait. Sigh

Congrats, Maria. Just wanted to bring your attention to some other threads you may be interested in: "Got my surgery date...December bandsters" and "January Bandsters". http://www.lapbandtalk.com/got-my-surgery-t25539.html http://www.lapbandtalk.com/january-bandsters-t25717.html?p=345058#post345058

I waited until the first possible day following the holidays...Jan 3rd. I am excited!

Hmmm...still no January people?

As my surgery date gets closer, I start thinking more about whether or not I should do this. I finally got my answer last night when I was going through old pictures. I was fat in each and every single picture, no matter when it was taken. Enough is enough...I am done with that. Ready to move on. 23 more days. Thank God for the holidays...hopefully time will pass quickly.

She was scheduled for surgery on the 5th, I think. Havent seen her around. Anyone talk to her? Would like to know how she's doing.

Ok, that's swell. Thanks for the extremely useful (lol?) words of advice.

Thank you for your support. Another question, has anyone done background checks on their doctor, like license certification, complaints, malpractice suits, or anything else? Luckily enough, I haven't found anything bad on my doctor, but I am still looking.

Wow, some days I am excited about the surgery, and then the next day I get scared for some reason or other. The newest drama in my saga is that I am obsessing over my surgeon having only performed less than 10 lapband procedures (but over 700 lap bypass surgeries). The doctor from their organization who used to perform the band surgery died this summer in a plane crash, so he has taken over. Words of support please? =(

You're a day late..thanks though!

Does anyone know how long the surgery is? I've been told like 3 different answers. I went to my patient education group last night and am now miserable. The woman had the vertical band, and seemed limited on her knowledge of the lapband. Needless to say, she freaked my mom out all over again. It was swell.

With my mother who is now out of her mind about this surgery. I am scheduled for Jan 3rd. Her questions. which I cannot answer, but maybe some of you can help me with are: what are the possible long term effects of having a silicone band inside our bodies for such a long period of time (she still remembers INITIAL myths re: breast implants and cancer), how will I feel going out to dinner with people and not being able to eat like a "normal" person, how will others look at me if they know I have undergone this surgery. My intention is to use the band in its intention, as a tool to lose my desired amount of weight, and then have it removed and continuing behavior mod. programs like WW and exercise. I have maintained a significant weight loss of over 3.5 years, but just stopped losing weight. I am confident that with my discipline and proper supports I can maintain this weight loss too. Her questions are valid though, and things that I really did not think about up to this point. Anybody have any insight for me?

Of course I did not really think that's what you meant, but thank you for insulting my intelligence. I hope your cyber threat is not only directed at me. That sure would hurt my feelings =(

She didn't lose her band, she knows exactly where it is...in a bag in her house, just like she mentioned in an ealier post.

I'm so sad that you cannot tell I am complete messing with you. I guess your screenname should be taken a bit more literally. I suppose that's my fault.

Gosh, I sure hope so! I am overweight, but my weight is not out of my means to control. I've reached a point where I have become frustrated with my efforts and am interested in trying something else. I can maintain weight loss, as evidenced over the last 4 years following a 55 lb loss. I am looking for something to jump start the weight loss and I'll take over from there. I have about 80 lbs to lose, which I do not consider to be extremely significant. I am have no health concerns related to my weight, nor have I ever. I am not doing this to "stop dying", I am doing this more for the sake of vanity. Can the band do that for me? With my behavior, eating patters, support group and dedication, I do not doubt for one second that this is the correct option for me. Perhaps your reasons for banding are/were different than mine. You said you had a BMI over 50. I suppose in your situation, it was less elective than it is in mine. Does it make me ignorant because I have not extensively researched the possibility of band related esophagul damage, or because I would rather focus on the pros than the cons? Hmmm, which one of us has their band in a plastic bag somewhere in their home? What happened? Someone forgot to wikipedia the risks of surgery before embarking, huh? Sucks.

A friend of mine who knows that I have been obsessing about this anesthesia thing researched for me and compiled the following information. It's lengthy but to the point...hope it helps: Side Effects and Risk Factors: major side effects and complications from anesthesia are uncommon For healthy patients, anesthesia is so safe that it is difficult to measure the degree of risk any more. People with serious heart, lung or other disease, obviously, have an increased risk the risks associated with anesthesia and surgery increase in older people Overall, the mortality rate for general anaesthesia is about five deaths per million anaesthetic administrations Certain medical conditions, such as heart, circulation, or nervous system problems, increase your risk of complications from anesthesia Serious side effects of general anesthesia are uncommon, especially in people who are otherwise healthy most side effects of general anesthesia are minor and can be easily managed <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p> What happens during General Anesthesia: General anesthesia is given into a vein (intravenously) or is inhaled. It affects the brain as well as the entire body. You are completely unaware and do not feel pain during the surgery. In addition, general anesthesia often causes forgetfulness (amnesia) right after surgery (postoperative period) Inhaled gases are administered to patients who receive general anesthesia with "oxygen" being the most important gas The three main phases of anesthesia are induction, maintenance, and emergence General anesthesia is often induced with intravenous anesthetics, but inhalation anesthetics also may be used Because they enter directly into the bloodstream, intravenous anesthetics usually cause unconsciousness in less than 1 minute During maintenance, the anesthesia specialist maintains a balance of medications while carefully monitoring your breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital functions For general anesthesia, once you are unconscious, anesthesia may be maintained with an inhalation anesthetic alone, with intravenous anesthetics, or most commonly with a combination of the two It also is common during general anesthesia for you to be given other medications intravenously to maintain stable vital functions and to help prevent or decrease pain or nausea after the procedure How quickly you emerge from anesthesia depends on the anesthetics and other medications used and on your response to the medications. Emergence from general anesthesia begins when the intravenous or inhalation anesthetic is stopped You will be closely monitored during emergence to make sure that you are breathing well on your own; your heartbeat, blood pressure, and other vital functions remain at normal levels; and your muscle control has returned Emergence does not mean you will have completely recovered from all the effects of anesthesia. Some effects may persist for many hours after anesthesia has ended; for example, you may have some numbness or reduced sensation However, if you experience numbness or reduced sensation that persists longer than expected, you should contact your anesthesia specialist <o:p> </o:p> Monitoring Agents During the Procedure: <o:p> </o:p> An ECG (electrocardiogram) monitor Three sticky pads on your chest connect to a monitor which shows the electrical activity of your heart on a TV screen. This shows how fast your heart is beating, and allows the anesthetist to pick up problems such as an irregular heartbeat or signs that the heart is not getting enough oxygen. A BP (Blood Pressure) cuff This cuff goes round your upper arm. From time to time it will squeeze your arm tight, to find out the pressure of the blood in your arteries. It is important that this is neither too high or too low. An automatic blood pressure machine usually shows four numbers, the high, average, and low pressures with each heartbeat, and the heart rate. A pulse oximeter This is a device which goes on a fingertip or earlobe, and measures the amount of oxygen in your blood. It works by detecting a slight change in the blood color from the usual bright pink to blue as the blood oxygen level decreases, long before this change is visible to the naked eye. A temperature monitor This is an electrical thermometer which checks that you are neither too hot nor too cold. A carbon dioxide monitor This measures the amount of carbon dioxide in your breath, which shows that you are breathing adequately. It is connected to the breathing tubes coming from the anesthetic machine. In addition to all these mechanical monitors, and the alarm systems built into the anesthetic machine, the anesthetist remains with the patient from the time the patient goes to sleep until he or she is safe and stable in the recovery room.