va_viv
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Everything posted by va_viv
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Hey! Thanks!
Uggh, I got a call on Friday that my time was changed. I was suppose to be there at 6 am, surgery at 8 am, but I was told Friday to be there at 10 am, surgery being at 12 pm. I'm kinda upset because I REALLY want to go home that same day and the Dr. told me that usually only the first surgery of the day goes home...but if all goes well then maybe surgeries after can too. I reallllllly hope I can. I hate hospitals with a passion so the least amount of time that I'm there the B-E-T-T-E-R! lol
I can't wait either but I'm starting to get super nervous, don't really know why but I'm feeling very anxious and nervous. I know all is going to go well but I guess the fact that it's happening is what's making me most nervous.
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what city and state are you from and what occupation
va_viv replied to lovemysgt's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I live in Northern VA. I'm an office manager at an accounting firm. I graduated from college this past May with a BBA. I'm hoping (after my banding) to find something in the gov't. -
October 2010 Bandsters!!
va_viv replied to Sarah71407's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I have the same feelings as Esorami, my Oct 6th band bud, :thumbup:! I panic about failing and not being able to get to where I want to be. But I push that feeling out as best as I can and try to stay positive. Now, I'm just a bit nervous about the surgery itself, not because of the pain but I really HATE hospitals and all things related. lol -
Help! STARVING on pre-op diet!
va_viv replied to BostonPA's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Wow Boston you're progress has been great! I'm getting banded on Wednesday. I can understand your hunger issues. I feel ya! BUT YOU CAN DO IT! Just keep your eye on the prize. The first couple of days were HELL to say the least. But I pushed through it and so can you! Maybe you should up your water more, I found that drinking 120 oz of water has really helped me. My pre-op diet is all liquids but my surgeon has allowed me 3 sugar-free jell-o and popcicles. Which has helped tremendously! Good luck to you and stay postive you'll get through it! :drool: -
October 2010 Bandsters!!
va_viv replied to Sarah71407's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Starting tomorrow the hospitals around the country (and world) will be filled with the greatest people ever...October bandsters!!!! I know we're all feeling nervous, scared, excited, nervous, hungry, tired, nervous...and did I mention nervous? LOL At least I know I am. Anywhoo, I just wanted to send a virtual high five to everyone getting banded tomorrow and the following days. You guys are going to do GRRRRRREAT! We are all excited for you and can't wait to hear how everyone is doing. Just remember that WE CAN DO THIS, WE WILL DO THIS. Tons of luck to you guys and happy thoughts for a speedy recovery. You guys rock! -
October 2010 Bandsters!!
va_viv replied to Sarah71407's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
@lila70 - It's normal to feel all kinda ways right before surgery. I've had 2 previous ones and I'm still nervous about this one. For me it's a "this is it, do or die" type of feeling...not really die but I think you know what I mean. I'm feeling like this HAS to work and I think I'm feeling a little pressure. Not from anyone else but from myself. It's a bit hard to explain. BUT...I must admit those moments are only temporary because I think about how good I'm doing with my pre-op (and you are too) and I reassure myself that I CAN do this. I am POSITIVE this body was given to me by accident (LOL) and now it's time for me to find mine, now I'm finally ready to do so, that's my challenge...and who am I to shy away from a challenge. You're going to be fine and do GREAT. Just think you've taken the first steps to making yourself healthier and living a better life, surgery is just a major step in your journey. You can do it...no worries. And I guarantee you that after surgery you're going to be like "that was it?" Hope that helped, tons of luck to you! :drool: -
Coming off Birth control
va_viv replied to racheyrach's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
My surgeon told me that I HAD to get off of birth control or he wouldn't do the surgery. I really didn't want to because I have PCOS and that helps me get regular periods, if I'm not on BC I won't get my period for at least 5 months at a time, it sucks but we gotta do what we gotta do. It's a small sacrifice we have to make in order to change our lives. Good luck! -
how many days a week do YOU workout?
va_viv replied to Erin18's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Congrats on your banding! So happy and excited for you! Hope your recovery is going well! I'm glad you agree with me and I wasn't the only person who had heard/thought that. I think the reason why you shouldn't lose muscle is because, like I mentioned above, you just pick up fat...making the chances of having a high fat index high as well as the possibility of gaining some weight back. Plus..why not work out...we're losing weight and looking H-O-T we MUST show it off. LoL I hope that after my banding I am able to be up and getting some sort of exercise in. OH and you're AWESOME for doing the boot camp, I'm sure you'll be able to do it again in no time. Tons of luck to you! -
how many days a week do YOU workout?
va_viv replied to Erin18's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I read somewhere (the other day) that it is important to exercise if you've had WLS because we're losing weight in a relatively faster speed then those that do it without WLS (I don't know if that's necessarily true with the band) and since that happens we lose muscle very fast...so what we eat turns into fat A LOT faster (which will affect us in the long run), so if you exercise you're building up your muscle again which is preventing you from producing fat. What was interesting was that last night on the biggest loser Dr. H mentioned something to that affect...so I'm assuming that what I read had some truth to it. Thought I woud share -
Opti-fast.... Day one
va_viv replied to taeboguy-too's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
That's right. You'll notice that all doctors are different but many require a 2 week liquid diet prior to surgery. For me (and taeboguy, we both have the same surgeon) I have to do 2 weeks of Optifast, which is 4 shakes, 1, bar, 1 soup and 3 sugar-free jell-o and popcicles a day. You can also have crystal light and decaf tea I think...I'm just sticking to Water. The reason they make you go on this diet is to shrink your liver has much as possible since they have to move it during surgery as well as to lose some weight before hand. For after surgery, my dr requires a 10 day liquid diet (not optifast) things like low fat Soups, (just liquid) broths, sugarfree jell-o and popcicles, cream of wheat...things of that nature. After that stage we go to mushy/pureed foods for I think 4-6 weeks I can't remember (don't have the papers in front of me), I just know that it's a LONG time. Then we should be finally ready to go. Hope that helped...GOOD LUCK!!! -
Great! I really like Dr. Halmi, and from what I've heard around he's very well known and respected around the country.
We couldn't be in better hands.No worries, 3 mths will fly by. Congrats on sticking to it! It takes a lot of dedication. Just remember, after this you're going to look H-O-T!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tons of luck to you!
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2 weeks until Banding
va_viv replied to taeboguy-too's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I only went once, there was only 1 person there that was banded. There was a guy there trying to decide whether to have the band or bypass and immediately the bypass people were like "I know for me if there was a way to cheat [with the band] I would find it" and so on. I'm just personally looking for more bandsters at support meetings. But, I've also read that's usually the trend (all bypass no bandsters) at those meetings. You should check it out for yourself, you might have better luck :smile2:. I live in Lorton and going to Fairfax is a hassle but not to bad, I'll let you know how the Fair Oaks one goes. -
October 2010 Bandsters!!
va_viv replied to Sarah71407's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Oh my do I know how you feel!!!!! Trust me it will get better. I'm on my 7th day and it gets A LOT BETTER! I seriously thought I was going to go crazy, my insanity only lasted 2 days or so. Just resist and drink TONS of water. I have been drinking 120 oz of water a day and it has really helped. Hang in there!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!:smile2: -
Opti-fast.... Day one
va_viv replied to taeboguy-too's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Hey! They only had the tomatoe soup and chicken soup at the FFX office. I definitely don't like it. I really like the shakes though, I don't know if it's hunger or what but I'm always kinda sad when I finish one. HAHA I appreciate that they let us have the jello-o and popcicles. It makes it a lot easier. Sooo, i'm down to my 4 shakes a day, no soup, 3-4 jell-o (the fourth if I'm extra hungry to offset the no soup) and 3 popcicles and tons of Water. Glad it's not bad for you, my first day I wanted to breakdown and cry from hunger...I'm back to being normal now. :smile2: Good luck! -
Hey Melissa! Tons of luck to you, no worries the approval will come sooner then you think. Mine took about 2 days, then everything took off from there...and very quickly (sometimes I think too quick lol).
You're ahead of me, I haven't tested any protein shakes but I definitely will soon I NEED to get on it
. My pre-op diet doesn't include protein shakes, I'm doing optifast. Lucky you that you only have to do 3-days of the liquid diet, mine is 2 weeks. The first couple of days was rough but I got over it and now I'm doing well, I'm kinda proud haha. You'll do great with yours, no worries. Extending it might be a good idea because after surgery we have to do a liquid diet (as least I do) for a least a week so you'll be extra prepared. I wish you tons of luck and will pray that you get your approval soon. This is all part of the process and it'll fly by. Let me know when you hear the good news! We're going to look H-O-T!!!
Take care! Vivian
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2 weeks until Banding
va_viv replied to taeboguy-too's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Whaaaaat? That's cool! I could always use another big brother LOL. Well, I really hope to see you around the office and maybe the support groups. Are you in the Fair Oaks office or Woodbridge? I went to the support group in Woodbridge and didn't really like it, there were mainly gastric bypass people there and mainly concentrated on them. I'm going to try and go to the one the Fair Oaks hospital offers...hopefully I'll find more bandsters there. Good luck!!! -
Has anyone else had this problem?
va_viv replied to wantinghealth's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I have to get a medical clearance from my pcp in order to have my surgery. I had an appt with her that was similar to a physical and I was good to go otherwise. I think all that she reported was that I was physically healthy to have the surgery. She took a look at all the tests that the surgeon required (EKG, lab work, urine test, x-rays etc) and she determined that I was good to go. Sorry you're having trouble! :smile: -
2 weeks until Banding
va_viv replied to taeboguy-too's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Hey! Congrats on your date! I'm getting banded on the 6th of Oct! We're awesome! I started my Optifast diet on the 22nd, the first days were rough but now it's better. I'm a chocolate lover and I got the chocolate shake, chocolate bar, and the chicken soup. I must say that the chocolate shakes are good...definitely a million times better then I expected. The bars are ok too, they're kind of grainy which is weird. I make sure that I leave them out for an hour or two to make sure it's soft, it tastes better that way. Now to the soup...I HATE IT!!! It is really gross and I just can't do it. I had it the first day for dinner and haven't had it since. My surgeon lets us have 3 sugar free jell-o and popcicles a day so I just subsitituted the soup for a extra jell-o (so I eat 4 a day) and lots of Water. I've been drinking 120 oz of water a day and that's what has helped me with my screaming stomach. Tons of luck to you guys! Remember, you can do it! If I can you can....TRUST ME :smile: -
Whaaaat? Only 2 days?!?! Lucky you girl. My surgeon requires all his patients to do the 2 wk optifast liquid diet, I guess it's so we can lose some weight and get our liver to shrink a bit. It's a bit rough let me tell ya, especially because after surgery we have to another 10 day liquid diet (then go to mushies). I cheated a bit yesterday, but it's hard on weekends, weekdays no problem. Anywhooooo, I'm doing the best I can.
So are you getting excited?
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October 2010 Bandsters!!
va_viv replied to Sarah71407's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
The only people that I'm telling is my mom, sis, her hubby, and my boyfriend...nobody else, and I have a large family. I just feel like my 3 brothers and their wifes don't need to know, and my dad has a big mouth. I want to be able to tell people that I know will be supportive and I don't want anyone's negative energy around me because this process is hard enough without there negativity around me. If you don't want to tell her then don't. This is about you and your journey and you want to make sure that your process is as smooth as possible to solidify your success. Keeping it positive is important, plus you don't need that stress. GOOD LUCK!!!!! :biggrin: -
relatinship changes after weight loss/surgery
va_viv replied to purple3797's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
This is something that has concerned me as well. My boyfriend and I have been together 5 1/2 years (for 4 of those years I've been overweight) and we're definitely in love but something deep down inside tells me that he's not 100% ok with me getting the surgery for the same reasons you mentioned, he feels threatened. He told me once "I'm afraid that when you lose all the weight you're going to leave me" it sucks and it's such a hard position to be in..but I'm just taking it one day at a time and if this relationship is meant to be then it will definitely be.