Waiting... UGH I'm not good at that!

[Me3 0]

So, I'm jumping through hoops with the insurance. Have guaranteed approval once I complete PCP appointment Feb 4... may have to go March 4th but waiting to see on that front to complete the pre-requisites. My surgery will either be the end of February or 2nd week in March depending on the approval date.

With eating lately, I have this mentality that this is the last time I can eat like this, or have this food or that... and I have jumped to 257 pounds... I am 5'9". :thumbup::thumbup:

I HATE waiting. I feel like I want to get this started and I find myself wanting to sleep the day away when I'm not at work etc...

I know this is foolish anxiety, but am I the only one that thinks like this?

::sigh::

Hugs,

Heather

P.S. I know part of this too is a friend of mine who is nearly 400 pounds, who has deep psychological issues, is having some major life stressors at the moment that she dumps on me a lot to talk. I just feel so heavy, it's ridiculous. I know I need to try and ease the effect she has on me, but it's difficult to watch someone you care about self destructing; especially when your trying so hard yourself to make positive life changes.

Edited January 19, 2010 by Me3

[PalmBayTish72 4]

I can totally relate. Waiting sucks...Big time! I have my psych eval today, nutrition appointment tomorrow and then I have to wait and see if I get insurance approval. If not, I'm self pay, so I have about 4 to 6 weeks to go before surgery. I'm trying to be good in my eating habits, but I am already going through the "food mourning" process, however, I have had some really awesome people remind me that I'm not saying goodbye forever to those foods necessacarily. I am just not going to be able to eat them as often and as much as I used to. But isn't that the point of us being banded?

As for your friend and stresses, I can understand. I hate to sound unsympathetic and I'm not telling you to abandon your friend, but is it a healthy relationship for you? A person can only handle so much...Oprah once referred to it as having a "toxic friend". You can be supportive and a friend, but you CAN'T allow yourself to be the dumping ground for all of HER problems, especially when it causes an emotional strain on you. You can politely suggest she seek professional help and you can be a role model to her and maybe she will become motivated to change her life, but DON'T let her issues bring you down, especially when you are undergoing your own life changling experience.

Just my 2 cents...

[tattooed 0]

Hi Heather!

I feel for you! I don't even know for certain if I'm going to be approved by my insurance and the anxiety is killing me! And I haven't even met with the surgeon's office yet!

I hope everything goes well for you and I'm wishing you the best of luck!

I couldn't help but notice you're a tall bander too! I'm 5'10" myself but my doctor is putting me at 5'9" to bring my BMI up...I've been trying to gain right now to make sure I at least get to a 35 BMI but it's soooooooooooo tough to just eat to eat! I've been trying to gain "healthfully" if there is such a thing! I'm at 230 as of this morning. I literally jumped from 215 to 230 since Christmas.

ugh anxiety....and waiting....it's a pain in the butt! My new mantra has been "good things come to those who wait..." lol

[patsal 1]

Waiting sucks! This whole process has been a hurry up and wait cycle for me. I am now waiting for the hospital to call me to set up the last pre-op testing. I am going crazy--I have a very narrow window of opportunity to get the testing as I have two required days I MUST be at work next week--I have been patient since last Thursday (1-14) but I am losing it! If I have to have someone else administer the test the kids are not going to do as well since they are used to me, special ed. and very accustomed to routine. So back to the old cycle take care of everyone else and if there is time take care of me, or take care of me and then mop up the mess later:confused:.

Hang in there Me3, the time will go by reasonably quickly!

Edited January 19, 2010 by patsal

[adagray 1]

Hang in there! I know the waiting is soooooo hard. It took me a whole year to get my surgery between the requirements by my insurance company and two appeals. Don't worry too much about the extra weight gain. This is one of the most stressful processes I have ever been through so, OF COURSE, I was gonna gain. The good thing is that you will drop that extra weight fast after you get the band. I'm not saying go out and go crazy, but try not to stress too much about it. You have enough stress already.

One thing I would recommend to help you pass the time is try to start making some changes already that will prepare you for after surgery. If you haven't been exercising already, start an exercise program now. Don't worry about losing weight by exercising... just do it to create the habit and figure out what you would LIKE to do for exercise. I did this prior to surgery and it was so valuable for me. It was the first time I was exercising just for the sake of exercising and not because I was obsessively watching the scale and trying to lose weight. It helped me to learn how to enjoy exercise just for how it makes me feel. Also, if you haven't been drinking at least 64 oz of Water per day, start working on making that a daily goal. And, 60-80 grams of Protein per day (or whatever your surgeon recommends). These are all things you can start doing now that will help you later, but won't make you feel hungry or deprived since you don't have your band yet.

Oh, another thing I did to pass the time pre-band, is I had a friend come over and help me go through all my clothes (in my closet and old stuff I had in boxes). We went through all of it and she made me get rid of anything that I should never wear again (either too old, out of style, not flattering). And, we took the stuff to save and sorted it into boxes for 'stage 1', 'stage 2', and 'stage 3'. Stage 1 is one to two sizes below what I currently wear, stage two is the next two sizes, etc. That way, when I shrink out of my clothes, I have boxes of clothes organized and ready that I will WANT to wear. The 'stage 1' boxes sit right above my current clothes in the closet as motivation to me. The rest are in the garage so I don't feel overwhelmed w/how far I have to go. There is nothing in my closet or drawers that doesn't fit me right NOW. That is a great feeling!

I'm sure you can think of some other ways to pass the time. Best of luck to you. You are in the home stretch!!!