Getting to Know You

[vsaun123 22]

Hi Spot!

I see we have the same date!!! How are you handling the pre-op diet? I am starting it in two days and seem to have last meal syndrome...ie: eating everything in sight!

[TerriF 9]

Has anyone else read the tread about not being able to get insurance if for some reason your insurance should change or need private insurance? Have the hubby checking today to see what happens after we retire and he goes on Medicare if I can still be covered under the company insurance during that 4 yr lapse. After all the research why the heck didn't I think of this.

[TerriF 9]

I found out my answer which really puts my mind at ease. I am on this little mini roller coaster...seeing the nutritionist today.

[tmw41 1]

Hello all!

I am 41, married with 2 grown kids and 3 grandkids that all live out of town...(husband is 15 yrs older so I inherited all the kids and grandkids!) No children of my own, but we have 2 dogs that get treated better than most humans!

I have had back problems since I was a teenager (and in shape) but that has been made worse by my weight gain over time. My breaking point to decide to do this has been pretty recent when both my back and my knees got so bad I could barely walk. It is such an embarrassment every day at work as I hobble down the hall to the ladies room, out to the parking lot, etc... I work with a bunch of fit people that work out multiple times daily, so I feel so judged most of the time. Whether they are actually judging me...who knows but that is how I feel. Some folks won't even look me in the eye anymore as they pass me in the hallway.

I live in the Houston area and I am getting banded a week from today, April 4th by Dr. Spivak. I don't have any pre-op diet to follow but I have started replacing at least 1 meal a day with a Protein Shake more as a way to test out a few different brands/flavors. My husband is incredibly supportive as well as the few people I have told. I was so embarrassed that I let myself get into the position of neeeding surgery, but everyone I have told has been so supportive since it is obvious my weight is really beginning to take a toll on my body. I am having sugery on a Monday and my husband convinced me to take the entire week off so I could heal properly. Not an ideal way to spend vacation time, but I know it will be worth it in the long run!

At this 10 seconds I am not nervous about the actual procedure, but I am really scared about everything that follows. Knowing that when I wake up in the recovery room, my life will be different is hard for me to get my hands around. I am ready to make this change, but if I am to be completely honest I am scared too.

Don't get me wrong...I am excited too! I have never been a great fan of exercise, but since walking is so painful for me now I have to say I am looking forward to being able to move again. Just dropping 20-25 lbs will help in that respect. I don't think I will take being ABLE to exercise for granted again! I am tired of living in pain, having no clothes that fit, etc. I am looking forward to being able to shop somewhere other than Lane Bryant and Avenue. I have shopped there for so many years I cannot even begin to imagine what that will be like.

Anyway, that is a little about me. It's been nice reading about everyone and I am looking forward to hearing about everybody's experiences as we all go thru this in the next few weeks.

[Woodslass 22]

Hello all!

I am 41, married with 2 grown kids and 3 grandkids that all live out oftown...(husband is 15 yrs older so I inherited all the kids and grandkids!) Nochildren of my own, but we have 2 dogs that get treated better than mosthumans!

I have had back problems since I was a teenager (and in shape) but that hasbeen made worse by my weight gain over time. My breaking point to decide to dothis has been pretty recent when both my back and my knees got so bad I couldbarely walk. It is such an embarrassment every day at work as I hobble down thehall to the ladies room, out to the parking lot, etc... I work with a bunch offit people that work out multiple times daily, so I feel so judged most of thetime. Whether they are actually judging me...who knows but that is how I feel.Some folks won't even look me in the eye anymore as they pass me in thehallway.

I live in the Houston area and I am getting banded a week from today, April 4thby Dr. Spivak. I don't have any pre-op diet to follow but I have startedreplacing at least 1 meal a day with a Protein shake more as a way to test outa few different brands/flavors. My husband is incredibly supportive as well asthe few people I have told. I was so embarrassed that I let myself get into theposition of neeeding surgery, but everyone I have told has been so supportivesince it is obvious my weight is really beginning to take a toll on my body. Iam having sugery on a Monday and my husband convinced me to take the entireweek off so I could heal properly. Not an ideal way to spend vacation time, butI know it will be worth it in the long run!

At this 10 seconds I am not nervous about the actual procedure, but I am reallyscared about everything that follows. Knowing that when I wake up in therecovery room, my life will be different is hard for me to get my hands around.I am ready to make this change, but if I am to be completely honest I am scaredtoo.

Don't get me wrong...I am excited too! I have never been a great fan ofexercise, but since walking is so painful for me now I have to say I am lookingforward to being able to move again. Just dropping 20-25 lbs will help in thatrespect. I don't think I will take being ABLE to exercise for granted again! Iam tired of living in pain, having no clothes that fit, etc. I am lookingforward to being able to shop somewhere other than Lane Bryant and Avenue. Ihave shopped there for so many years I cannot even begin to imagine what thatwill be like.

Anyway, that is a little about me. It's been nice reading about everyone and Iam looking forward to hearing about everybody's experiences as we all go thruthis in the next few weeks.

Welcome, and thanks for sharing with all of us!

I think all of us are scared and nervous. I think it's only natural to be that way - if you weren't, you wouldn't have really thought about all the aspects of the lap band. In a way, it's good that you are because you are going into this with your eyes open!

I'm self-pay, so once I wrote that really large check, I accepted that I am fully comitted to changing my life, including my eating habits. I've done pretty well on the pre-op Atkins-type diet my doctor put me on, and as of today I've lost 10 lbs in 7 days.

Funny story - on my ticker below, I was only showing 3 lbs lost. My husband saw it and said "Hey, that's not right!" I told him I wasn't counting my Water weight loss, which I estimated at about 6 lbs out of my 10. He demanded I put that on my ticker, because as he said, it doesn't matter if it's Water or fat or muscle, loss is loss! So there you go

I hope you have lots of support, tmw! And know you will have tons of support here. I can't wait till mid next week when some of us are able to come back here and give an account of how we are!

Carlene

[emptyNest 4]

Hi everyone!

I am 51, married and the mother of 2, ages 23 & 24. I'm a software engineer at the University of Illinois, where I've been for the past 12 years. I love my job, and surprisingly enough, even though we're all desk jockies I'm one of very few 'large' people in my office.

My kids are both out of the house as you might have already figured out. The oldest, my daughter is living in St Louis and working in a dress shop. My son will be graduating college in May and is going into Education. He's getting married in July to a complete doll. She's a size 0, and working on her masters in NUTRITION. Can you believe the irony? Fortunately, my kids seem to have taken after their father in their physical attributes. He is 6'3" and slender.

I have 3 horses, 2 dogs and 1 cat. All spoiled. My horses are all looking forward to me losing 100 pounds!

I'm glad to see so many nice people in our little April group and I hope we can all stay positive and supportive through this journey.

[Woodslass 22]

Hi everyone!

I am 51, married and the mother of 2, ages 23 & 24. I'm a software engineer at the University of Illinois, where I've been for the past 12 years. I love my job, and surprisingly enough, even though we're all desk jockies I'm one of very few 'large' people in my office.

My kids are both out of the house as you might have already figured out. The oldest, my daughter is living in St Louis and working in a dress shop. My son will be graduating college in May and is going into Education. He's getting married in July to a complete doll. She's a size 0, and working on her masters in NUTRITION. Can you believe the irony? Fortunately, my kids seem to have taken after their father in their physical attributes. He is 6'3" and slender.

I have 3 horses, 2 dogs and 1 cat. All spoiled. My horses are all looking forward to me losing 100 pounds!

I'm glad to see so many nice people in our little April group and I hope we can all stay positive and supportive through this journey.

How nice that you have a nutritionist in the family! I would be totally taking advantage of that I have a friend who's husband is a personal trainer, and I'm thinking about asking him to be my drill sergeant for working out when I get the ok from my doctor.

7 days to go for me....this time next week, I'll be at the surgery center being prepped for my lap band! WOOHOO!

[Spot 20]

Hi Spot!

I see we have the same date!!! How are you handling the pre-op diet? I am starting it in two days and seem to have last meal syndrome...ie: eating everything in sight!

Hello EastEndMTBr!

Yay for another April 6th bander! My pre-op diet is going well. Fortunately, I have quite an easy diet to follow and just have to do the Atkins diet. Lots of temptation, but I'm overcoming it. I just wrapped up and bunch of candy for a baby shower I'm hosting and managed to not slip even the tiniest bit in my mouth!

Knowing that when I wake up in the recovery room, my life will be different is hard for me to get my hands around. I am ready to make this change, but if I am to be completely honest I am scared too.

Hello tmw41!

I hear you on this. I am prepared to have a panic attack of sorts after surgery. With my last surgery, I had the big OATS thing done on my ankle which involved the doctor breaking it and months of crutches. I started to panic, thinking about how I can't go back (and that cast is stuck to me and I can't get it off), yadda yadda yadda.

I'm glad to see so many nice people in our little April group and I hope we can all stay positive and supportive through this journey.

Hi emptyNest!

I agree! I hope we become quite an active board, too! I know there's a lot of people on this entire message board that we can gain help and support from, but I think there's a little something extra special about getting familiar and friendly with those who are starting their new lives at the same time.

[vsaun123 22]

Hi everyone!

I am 51, married and the mother of 2, ages 23 & 24. I'm a software engineer at the University of Illinois, where I've been for the past 12 years. I love my job, and surprisingly enough, even though we're all desk jockies I'm one of very few 'large' people in my office.

My kids are both out of the house as you might have already figured out. The oldest, my daughter is living in St Louis and working in a dress shop. My son will be graduating college in May and is going into Education. He's getting married in July to a complete doll. She's a size 0, and working on her masters in NUTRITION. Can you believe the irony? Fortunately, my kids seem to have taken after their father in their physical attributes. He is 6'3" and slender.

I have 3 horses, 2 dogs and 1 cat. All spoiled. My horses are all looking forward to me losing 100 pounds!

I'm glad to see so many nice people in our little April group and I hope we can all stay positive and supportive through this journey.

[vsaun123 22]

Hi EmptyNest,

I too am a horse lover...been looking at my chaps hanging on the back of my office door...day dreaming of when I can fit into them again....i had them made custom when I was skinny many years ago...I'm hoping to be up and riding this summer..I was feeling bad for the horses lately...my last horse was a ClydeTB cross..he and I were a match made in heaven... What type of horses do you have? Do you ride English or western or endurance?

Good luck on the journey!

[brenda62 47]

Hi my name is Brenda and I go in the 4th of April!

I am 48 and the mother of 5...24,22,19,17 and a 12 year old. I have to grandchildren that are 2 and 4 and so much fun. I am looking forward to the future for the first time in years, and I know it is becuase I know the band will change my life. I have had to wait two years to get it done. I had colon cancer and was told I needed to let my body heal first. So the time has come and I am also two years cancer free now!

I started my pre op diet on the 26th of March and am down 12 pounds already. I have been trying to figure out how to get the weight loss ticker on here, but have only managed to get it on my Facebook account. It is great to read about everyone on this site it is a great support. I live in East Wenatchee, Washington and am about three hours away from a support group. I have my families support, but this really helps.

smiles

Brenda

[kkf1979 10]

I am 31 years old married for 5 years no kids yet (one of the major reasons i want to loose weight). Like some of you i am like an Amazon next to my husband, he is also one of those very skinny people that can eat anything he wants and not put on weight, one of my aha moments was when we went somewhere together and someone thought i was his mother ( I wanted the ground to open and swallow me).

My surgery is scheduled for the 7th of April. I am on day of 9 of my pre-op diet, have been battling with daily headaches but today is not as bad as day 1 so i guess it gets better. i am down 5 lbs so far, not as much as i want but it is still better than nothing. I am also really scared of the lifestyle change especially the two things that keep coming up from reading the board 1. Chew your food properly 2. Eat slowly. I am going to have a big issue with this cos i eat really fast usually in less than 7 mins and i hardly ever chew my food properly! i have a lot of learning to do.

I really do hope that the lap band is the solution to my problem cos i honestly cant wait to start a family, i have been so depressed this last month cos every single weekend there was either a friend's baby shower or baby dedication to attend.

I am glad i have this group for support and i cant wait to start this new phase of my life.

[Spot 20]

I am also really scared of the lifestyle change especially the two things that keep coming up from reading the board 1. Chew your food properly 2. Eat slowly. I am going to have a big issue with this cos i eat really fast usually in less than 7 mins and i hardly ever chew my food properly! i have a lot of learning to do.

Hi kkf1979!

I am going to have problems with this, too. With a husband and three growing boys, I've gotten in the habit of eating fast because if I didn't, I might not get a second helping, lol. My doctor suggested I practice eating slowly during my pre-op diet and, well, I never remember. Me thinks I'll have to suffer some consequences before I get the chewing thing right. Actually, I lie. Since I'm on an Atikins-like pre-op diet, I bought some peanuts and have been eating them one-by-one, slowly. Not so much to practice eating slowly, but so my treat lasts longer as I can't have too many or I'll eat too many carbs.

They should give us pre-surgery shock collars to help us train better, lol.

[Woodslass 22]

Well that makes three - I eat really fast. I think I learned this from my dad, who was in the Navy - they all learn to eat fast because they only have about 10 minutes sometimes. So I'm going to have a major hard time with this too.

Know what I did? I went and bought a few sets of toddler spoons and forks, and I've been practicing eating with them. I may look pretty stupid, but I know I'm taking smaller bites now

Something else I'm going to have a major problem with is not drinking while I eat. I usually have a huge glass of something that I gulp down, but I think that's also because I was eating a lot of things that are salty. Now that I'm doing the pre-Atkins, I think I'm weaning myself off that, so I really have to watch my drinking while eating. And chewing...boy this is going to be hard.

[emptyNest 4]

EastEndMTBr,

This is awsome! Another horse person getting banded the same month as me! I have a Quarter horse Paint (Double registered) gelding and a Quarter Horse mare. She's my fave. My DH has a Tenessee Walker that he rides when I go on the trails. I mostly trail ride now, and I hope to hit them hard this summer when I can get on Katie without the saddle slipping. She's always been a trooper, but she's small, and I'm sure she'd be grateful if I'd lose 100 pounds!

I've always ridden western. I used to barrel race back in the day, and I've done some team penning. I'd be happy if all I can do is get on by myself, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking that I'd like to get thin enough to do some of the speed stuff again.

Lets keep in touch!