New Member and Surgery is Sept. 15th

[Marienola 0]

Hi everyone,

I'm from Texas and my surgery is scheduled for Sept. 15th. I am very excited and nervous obviously - but looking forward to the results! I have been reading your posts for about a week and they have been very helpful! I am inspired by those of you who have had success and hope that I am posting and joining the success stories very soon. I am using my insurance to pay for my surgery. At first it seemed like a lot of stuff to do - weight history for 5 years (I haven't been the best at going to my Dr regularly), 90 days of supervised diet and exercise, 90 days of seeing a nutritionist and a psychotherapy visit; but now that it is all done and my Doctor's office was so very helpful - it wasn't bad at all. I started the process in April of this year (I had actually been to a seminar in January of 2007 but thought it was too much to do and didn't pursue it). I have two other coworkers who were banded 2 years ago and they both look AMAZING now! My deciding factor was that in October 2007 I was diagnosed with Diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I decided at 40 years old I didn't want to live the rest of my life taking pills and shots all of the time. I have had a very hard time keeping my sugar under control, but I am happy to say that after a week on the liquid diet - my sugar was 100 this morning!!! I haven't seen it that low ever!!

So this is day 7 of my liquid diet and at first I thought I was going to starve to death...but after day three (and crying that night because I was so hungry...lol) it is much easier. I just did my pre-op surgery registration on Friday and learned of some pain pump catheter that I am going to have (not crazy about that and then the nurse told me "oh we will show you how to take it our yourself") and I go on Monday for a pre-op visit with my Doctor.

My BMI is 44 - which was shocking - but why didn't I think it would be after living on sugar and carbs for years and not exercising????

So that's a quick version of my story. Anyone with advice, any helpful info, etc., please let me know. I look forward to all posts and look forward to hearing from people going through the same journey. Thank you for reading this and have a beautiful day!

:thumbup:

Edited September 7, 2008 by Marienola

[Maincat 14]

Hi there Marienola,

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure that you'll find lots of positive encouragement here, as well as information.

I'm approaching the end of my weight loss journey with my last target being six pounds away. During the journey I've been through a range of emotions but I've always tried to stay positive. You'll find that sometimes you hit a plateau that can be difficult to deal with, but with time and work from you the weight will come off, along with other medical issues being dealt with along the way.

Give yourself a reasonable time scale to lose the weight. I gave myself a year. You'll probably lose a lot of weight quickly at the beginning, then it tapers off. Did I mention stay positive?

You'll also have NSVs (Non scale Victories) along the way. Mine had a lot to do with clothes fitting, dropping sizes, people saying how good I looked... I'm sure you'll have those too. Take loads of photos!

Good luck with your weight loss journey.

[mljalways 1]

We sound alike......I am 41 and going through the process, I too have diabetes and the thought of it going away made my decision to band very easy, I just hope my insurance thinks so too. What insurance did you have?

[Marienola 0]

Hi there and thank you for responding! I have Aetna. Another friend of mine that was banded April 7th had Cigna and she didn't have any co-morbidities and was approved. How far along in the process are you? I just made sure I did every little thing my insurance required including keeping daily calorie logs and exercise logs. We should keep in touch since we have similar journeys.

[Marienola 0]

Thank you so much Steve for your reply and encouragement! You know - talking about the NSV's...I travel a lot for my job and one of the things I have hated is getting on an airplane and praying that I didn't have to ask for a seat-belt extension! I know that sounds silly but it is always so embarrassing - I even have it down to a science that MD80 airplanes seatbelts are not as long at 747's...lol! So I always check and see what type of plane I am flying on so I know whether to dread it or not! I also always take window seats so I can lean as close to the window as possible so I won't crowd anyone...I know to some people that may seem silly - but just one of those things. So my next flight is in January - can't wait to see how many inches of seat belt I can pull through the buckle! LOL!

I hate pictures of myself now, so hopefully that will change soon!

Congratulations on your very successful journey and thank you so much for the advice!!

[chicamam1 1]

Nice to meet you. I am scheduled for the 15th. Hopefully going forward, we can share stories and be a help to eachother to keep strong!! I wish you the best of luck.

[Marienola 0]

Good luck to you as well and thank you for the well wishes! Let's keep in touch!

[susancarole 0]

Welcome Marienola,

I was just banded this tuesday september 2 (5 days ago) and I feel pretty good! I did the liquid diet a week before surgery with the last day on only Clear liquids. Since the operation, which took approximately 2 hours, I have to be on liquids again for 2 more weeks. I am looking forward to my first non-liquid meal, but alas it is a week away! I have lost 17 pounds just prepping for surgery and the 5 days since.

I came through the operation just fine with only a nauseous feeling directly after surgery. There really is not that much physical pain. I also had some "gas" pain trapped by my ribcage and my shoulders which was the most painful part of the process. However, not everyone gets the gas trapped in their body. I did a lot of walking after the surgery and after a day or two, all the gas finally left my body.

Good luck to you!

[Marienola 0]

Hi Susan and congratulations on your surgery and weighloss and thank you so much for your reply and well wishes! I was reading my Doctor's post-op instructions and I have to be on full liquids the week after but the second-fourth weeks it says a pureed diet - which I can't believe I am looking forward to...LOL! Best of luck and please let me know how you are progressing.

[mljalways 1]

I am just starting, seminar was aug 26th and my consult is Sept 29th. I assume they will submit to my insurance then and I will hope. I have Tricare prime, bmi 37 with diabetes and high blood pressure. Wish me luck!!

[Marienola 0]

Best of luck and please keep me posted!!! I called my insurance agency and spoke to a representative that told me where to go on their website and verified coverage for me.

[kingbird 0]

I am also a new member to the forum who is scheduled for surgery on September 15th. My surgeon is Dr. Grant Moffat at the Credit Valley Clinic in Mississauga, Ontario. I am currently going through the two week Optifast diet and I have my pre-surgery clinic tomorrow. Hopefully this is the start of a successful and rewarding journey!:thumbup:

[corvetterol 0]

Hello, I am also going to get back this month on the 18th. I start my liquid diet tomorrow. I am kind of nervous if I will have enough control. I kind of feel scared about getting banded. I have heard of so many success stories and know that this is a good option for me. I am worried about sugars and carbs also because sometimes I have a sweet tooth. Well I hope everything works out for you. How much weight do you need to lose? I have to lose at least 100 pds. I am excited but also scared? It's weird/

[chicamam1 1]

:thumbup:wow awesome! good luck. I am starting my liquid diet today as well a week before surgery. Please let me know how everything goes and hopefully we can stay in touch

[Marienola 0]

Well I worry about the sugar and carbs as well because I am truly a sugar addict - but I know I can do this and so can you! I think it is normal to be scared, but I have four personal friends that have had been banded and they all look amazing and have had tremendous success. I went to a class this afternoon that my Doctor's office gives and requires and it answered a lot of my questions and made me feel better about it. I can tell you that the liquid diet does get easier after day 3. I even have a roommate that eats all kinds of junk food in front of me (McDonald's in the car with me) and I just drank my Protein Shake and somehow made it through. I really want to succeed and have tried about a million diets and I just know that this is going to work because I am so determined. Just take it one day at a time. I find myself saying to myself "just make it through today" and somehow that seems to help...lol! Best of luck to you and please keep in touch and let me know how everything goes!