KKSUNSHINE

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 Well the past 2 days have been very interesting.
I went for my last visit with my PCP yesterday morning.  I had them fax over the last of the paper work to the surgeons office. I got a call at 7:00 on Wed night from the surgeons office needing 1 more piece of information from me. This morning when I got to work I had an email from the that said I had been approved and the dates that were available for surgery. I was shocked. The time on the email was 7:13, so that means I got approval in less than 15 min. WOW!!! I had prayed for that and God exceeded my expectations on getting approved. I am scheduled for surgery on May 28th. 
I go for my pre-admission testing on Monday, May 24th. 
Its amazing. I am so blessed to have this opportunity to get my life back. I am ready to start on this new journey. 
With Gods grace & hard work I will reach my goals.

Things have been going pretty good. I have 4 more days until my last visit with my PCP. I am getting so excited.

My husband & I went to the beach for our 4 yr anniversary on May 6th. We were there for 5 days. It was beautiful...the weather was great & the water was pretty (no oil). We had a good time. I ate wayy too much but on the Tuesday after we got back I started on liquids to detox myself. So I have been on liquids for 4 days now & feel alot better,plus I have lost 8 lb, but I know its not real weight.  I don't want to be any heavier this time than I was last time at the PCP office.

I have joined several more online support groups also. I found a new group, its actually a foundation for WLS....its called Weight Loss Foundation of America (wlfa.org) is the website. Its a nonprofit organization that helps people get financial assistance with WLS. I think its awesome. A lady in California started it. So check out the site. Its a great way to get involved in the WL community.

Also check me out on You Tube....at bamamgirl7995. I am vlogging my journey. I believe this is another way that will keep me accountable.

I will check back after my visit with my PCP on Wed. I am hoping to find out from the bariatric coordinator how far they are out with surgery dates so I will know how quickly I can have surgery.
Well gotta run headed to a support group meeting......my 2nd one this week. I think I'm a support group addict now. haha!!!
 

I recd a call from the Drs office yesterday saying that my blood work came back & everything was good. They said they faxed all of my needed paperwork to the surgeons office. I emailed the surgeon office to verify & they said it had been received. The only thing left to get to the surgeon is the weight program sheet from the PCP on May 19th. So everything is right on track. My appt on May 19th is at 8:30 in the morning so I am going to have them or either myself fax over that paper to the surgeon that same day. Hopefully she will be able to get everything to BCBS of AL by that Friday, May 21st.
I believe I should hear back from them that next week with an approval & surgery date. I will then need to get my short term disability papers completed for work & then everything will be done.
I am getting very excited....its so close. It has gone by alot quicker than I thought it would (since my consult with the surgeon). Looking forward to being on that losers bench.......

I had my 6th visit with my PCP today. I did blood work, which the nurse said would be back tomorrow & they would fax the results to my surgeon. I also gave them the form to release my records to my surgeon. I have my 7th & FINAL visit with my PCP on May 19th & want to make sure they have sent everything except the last sheet that needs to be filled out on that day to the surgeons office. I believe that everything will be to the surgeon by Friday, May 21st & they will get everything to the insurance company that next week. I really want a surgery date for the 3rd week in June. That is my desire!!!

I pray that this next few weeks will go by quickly. We are going to the beach from May 6th-10th so that will be fun. That next Wed will be my Drs visit. : ))

Its great to see so many on here that have had such wonderful results. It really encourages me.  

I have been on full liquids since Monday & have lost 5.4 lb as of this morning.  Monday & Tuesday was not bad, Wednesday I finally got REALLY hungry but I was determined. I now KNOW that I will be able to do this a week before surgery.

There were a couple of things that I learned....I learned what TRUE hunger really feels like & as amazing as it was I didn't have any head hunger, the hunger that I had was ALL true hunger....stomach hurting hunger. I also really listened to my body and realized that I get to "satisfied" on very little food. I am thinking that is how banders eat....eat only til satisfied and then stop. If that is the case then I am glad that I have become aware of that feeling.

I am looking forward to the get together tomorrow in Atlanta. I can't wait to meet some of the people from OH. 

I have also started a You Tube page. I haven't downloaded a video yet, but I hope to do that this weekend. I want to record my journey on there in order to hold myself accountable & hopefully encourage others as much as I have been encouraged through their Vlogs. 

Determined & motivated.......want to keep it going.  

I attended the nutrition class today....very informative. I was so glad to learn how I would progress with my stages of eating along with how long I would have to be on full liquids before surgery & after. There was so much information but all so great. I took lots of notes.
We did talk about taking meds. I have to find out if my bp medicine can be cut in half or crushed b/c I have a feeling its too big to swallow like I have been doing. I also found a multivitamin that I like by Bariatric Advantage. I wasn't sure what all I would need to take but as of right now just the multi. I will also be taking the B-12 & the omegas. BA also has a chewable omega vitamin, so I'll be getting some of those as well.

I'm very excited & getting more prepared by the day. I did have somewhat of an AHA moment today. Instead of thinking about all the things I will be giving up with the band, the bread, the pasta, etc.... I am going to focus on all the things I will be getting like, energy, better fitting clothes, coming off of high bp medicine....I am going to make a list of all the positives and focus on those instead of the things that will no longer be apart of my life. I am going to say good bye to the old me & the old way of eating & hello to the new me & to my new partner, the band. I am going to name her just need to come up with a good name. haha!!! I know it maybe silly but that is just the kid in me, I guess.  I am going to make the best of this journey. I am naturally a positive person anyway, so I feel that I can make this a positive experience. That is just the way the good Lord made me. I know that He will guide me each step of the way.

Well enough for now. Til later.......

This Wednesday I go for my nutrition class. I am not sure what to expect but am looking forward to it. Its just another step closer to the day.  I will have my 6th visit with my PCP on the 19th and will get labs done at that time as well. 

On the 17th I am attending a group meeting in Atlanta. I am excited to meet other banded buddies. I hope it will make me feel very much apart of this community.

I have spent hours upon hours watching You Tube bandsters. It so motivating to see others reach their goals.

I have started to set some small goals for myself. I want to walk or do the elliptical for at least 45 min per day 5 days a week. I will have to juggle my schedule because there are some days that I have to leave work at 3 to take my son to work so I will not be able to go down to the gym after work but I can always go at lunch. I would love to work up to 90 min per day 5 days a week of cardio. I use to do that several years ago & it really helped me lose alot of weight.
I am not sure when I should begin doing strength training. I know that is SOOO important, but don't want to get started & then have to stop when I have surgery.


  Dreaming about the day I'll be banded & sitting on the losers bench!!

Today I found out about a lap band get together in Atlanta in April. Thank you Patty!!!
I asked my husband about going & he said sure.
I can't wait to meet some of the people from OH. I have been to a couple of support groups & feel so motivated when I leave. I pray that this will leave me with the same motivation. I truly believe it will.

I have been on line the past couple of weeks watching videos on you tube by skymoon1982. I have gotten so much out of them. I thank Melonie for putting herself out there like she does & being real. She is such an inspiration.

I am amazed at the people who have lost 100 lb within a year. That is my dream. I know I will have to work hard, but I am ready for the challenge. I went for my 5th PCP visit on Thursday & he said he would like to see me at 145-150. I would love being at that weight. The lowest I have been as an adult was 168 in 1998 & I was small. So to be 23 lb less than that I would be really small.
I was 190 when I got married in May 2006 & gained up to 255 in March 2007. I can't believe I let myself get there but I did. I have tried to lose back down but never had very much success. I have been around 240-250 for the past 3 years.

I have 2 more visits with my PCP, 1 in April & 1 in May. Then I will have it all done.,...ready for insurance submission.
I have a calendar & am marking off the days. Trying to keep myself busy with support group meetings & appoints so it will go by faster.

Ready to start my banded life!!

I went to the lunch support group meeting today. It was good, I really like the group. I have my 5th PCP visit tomorrow. I pray I haven't gained, not that it really matters at this point, but just don't want to.

I have decided I am going to do my best to post on here at least once a week until my surgery date. I will probably continue that afterwards also, but know that I want to remember how I was feeling & look back on these blogs to do that.

I am getting excited about going to the nutrition class on April 7th. I have all my appts lined up for when I will have everything done. I have my 6th PCP visit on April 19th & my 7th & final visit on May 19th. I will have my lab work done at my PCP office on my April visit. That will be it. It is hard to believe it has gone by so quickly...I mean of course I wish it would go faster, but time has gone by faster than I thought it would. 
As for my eating, I have been drinking a protein shake for breakfast for the past month. I really enjoy them & they keep me full for about 4 hours. I have been increasing my protein intake as well. I have decided that I am going to consume some protein at each meal/snack. At the support group meeting today we were given 2 goals for the week. 1) increase protein & 2) move more. I am going to continue to do my 30 min of walking each day however, I am also going to add 1 of my 15 min breaks a day to walk also, either morning or afternoon...that would give me 45 min of cardio, at least, each day. 
We are working alot of overtime at work so it hard to get in more than the 30, but I am going to do my best to get in at least 60 min a day, 2 days a week (M-F), then on Sat, I can add something else like a cardio DVD.

I have a spin bike & I need to get my butt on it. I know I have to build up on that though. I miss the days of spin, when I was addicted to it & would go to 2, sometimes 3 classes a day. The classes were 45 min each. My legs looked pretty good for the first time in my life. 

Well I guess that is about it for now. I will check back in tomorrow with the results from the Dr.
 

I attended the March support group meeting today. It was interesting. I did find out a couple of things I didn't know.
I found out that there are 2 size realize bands, 1 is 9cc & 1 is 11cc.
My surgeon will give the first fill 6 weeks out & then 6 weeks after that depending on certain criteria, such as r u following the diet, are you getting hungry between meals, etc.
I also found out that he only make you do 1 week or less on the preop liquid diet & 2 weeks of liquids post op.
Just listening to everyone share their experience caused me to be more excited about having it done.
I also was told that you needed to have a surgery date before attending the nutrition class. I told the coordinator that I had already scheduled a class b/c my surgeons nurse said it was fine. She said well then she must not have seen any reason for you to be denied by insurance. That made me feel good too.... I found out also that after the information is submitted for insurance approval it normally takes 24 hrs to 2 weeks for an approval. I am praying that mine will be closer to the 24 hour mark. : ))
I desire to have surgery in June so I can be off work for 2 weeks to re-cooperate.

That is it for now. I do have a busy week ahead though. I have another support group meeting on Wednesday at lunch time & then my 5th follow up with my PCP on Thursday. Looking forward to being on the loser bench real soon.