Hey All You July BABIES!!!

There's just one day between me and you and I'm just like you thinking I'm at the top of the hill and about to go down. I have already bookmarked this page. Have you made a list of what to take to the hospital with you? What about shopping for what you will need immediately upon returning home? I've been so focused on losing the required weight that I forgot to think about these things. Now I'm focusing on getting my house in order (major overhaul). I guess I will find time to shop and pack. Lurnia

Hey Marie, Wow, when is your date? Before me or after me? I am so excited and yet so scared at the same time. Glad to hear that you bookmarked the page. This way we can keep in touch. If you like, use the link and e mail me your e mail address and I will send you mine. That way we can stay in touch even when we get home from the hospital. I am working on a list of things I need to do and get before surgery. As far as what I will take with me to the hospital....everyone I've talked to have said that it's senseless to take a lot of stuff with you because you won't need it. The one thing everyone agrees on is chapstick or some kind of lip balm. You lips will be very dry and that will help the discomfort. Socks are another good item to take because your feet may get cold in the hospital depending on your room. Make sure you have something very comforty to wear home from the hospital that isn't restrictive. I have heard that wearing a bra is sometimes hard depending on your type of surgery...open vs. lap. These are just some suggestions and if you have more, please let me know. I will take any advice I can get. Lots of Love Kathy-12 days & counting

The closer my 7/12 date gets, the more I realize I'm up and down. . . up and down. . .emotionally torn. For example. . . I love my DH--absitively, posilutely. He's my support, my champion, the whole knight-in-shining-armor package. The problem? I just can't get over the fact that I DO NOT want him there at the hospital on 7/12. In fact, I was ecstatic (quietly) to find out that he would be coming late because of a meeting he could in no way get out of. My parents will be there--that fact doesn't bother me--but the thought of him being there...ugh. It's like I've got this voice in my head saying, "It's not necessary. He can come in there when it's all over." I've puzzled over this reaction for several days. All I can figure is that I'm trying to not make the surgery a HUGE deal, so he won't worry. I don't want him to take his concerns about anaesthesia (he has had horrible experiences) and apply them to me. I even had the thought a couple of times..."You know, I'd just rather NO one be there until I'm ready to go home from the hospital." My parents would shoot that down out of the sky--we're close--so I kept the thought to myself. It's all nerves I guess, a way to psych myself into thinking, "Look it's not _that_ big of a deal" so I can get over the fact that hell-yes-this-IS-a-big-deal. My head....a strange orchestra right now.... ....Any others finding themselves listening to such bizarre tunes?

Tha only bizzare tune I'm having is with food issues! My surgery is July 17th, I start my 2 week liquid diet on July 3rd. I've said there are a few things I want to eat before July 3rd, and have had them and seem fine. Then last night I get a weird craving for blueberry muffins ... make them and ate 4! I don't want to gain anymore weight before July 3rd, but my brain keeps thinking of things I should eat while I can! Jan

Hey Jan, I felt the sameway until I went to the classes and heard how important it is to do the liver shrinking diet. This is too allow the surgeon the space he needs to get to our stomach & intestines. I am on liquid protein for both breakfast & lunch.....I can have a high protein snack such as a stringy chesse stick. For dinner I have to do a small piece of chicken or fish, salad or steamed veggies. And that's it!!! It's very difficult because I too am dealing with the "Last Supper Syndrome". It's not easy but it's all part of the separation we will have to go through with our divorce from food. It's been a love/hate relationship for years but yet we always return to our love and gorge ourselves. I so want a Jomocha shake from Arby's before my surgery. So I have planned to be really good until Sunday before my surgery on Monday. That afternoon or evening after church I am going there and get a large one....drink it and let it go. This is what you have to do also. Reward yourself with one great thing you know you are going to miss the most. Love it, hug it and then eat it as you say good-bye to it. Just remember that your life is more important than any food you could every want or need. Lots of Love Kathy-12 days & counting

Hi there Englishlady1, I think you are trying to down-play the surgery for your own sense of well-being but put yourself in your husband's place and I bet wild horses couldn't keep you away. He will be worried whether he's there or not.....probably more if he wasn't there with you. I know I would if it were my husband going in for any kind of surgery. He had hernia surgery and I was there for him. As far as the funny tunes going on in your head.....I do believe that's normal. Let's face it this is a serious surgery and even if everything goes textbook perfect it's going to be a whole new way of life for us. We will go through a divorce with our best friend...FOOD!! The separation period isn't going to be easy but this is something we need in order to live a full and productive life. It's going to greatly improve our quality of life also. For me, I have weighed all the pros and all the cons and I know I'm making the right decision for me. Am I scared to death? YES!!!! I'm I dreading the pain after surgery? YES!!!! Am I afraid of failure? YES! YES! YES!!!! But this is something I have to try. Everything else has failed and I have met so many wonderful people who have testimonies to what this surgery meant to them and their families. So I am up for the challenge!! Everyone get ready for the RIDE OF YOUR LIFE!!!! Lots of Love Kathy-12 days & counting

Hey good luck. I am July 5th and I am anxious too. Do you have a pre-op diet? I was only told to be on a liquid diet for 3 days prior to surgery. That's it. I went for my PAC meeting today about the diet after. It wasn't as informative as I expected so keeping in touch will be a great tool for us. I also will bookmark this page. You are getting great response. Good Work!

Hey Pam, Way to go on your July 5th surgery date. I will keep you in my prayers for a speedy recovery without any complications at all. My doctor put me on what they call a liver shrinking diet. I have to do a protein shake for breakfast, one for lunch and then what they call a sensible supper. I don't do sensible....don't they know that..... If I could do liquid lunches & breakfasts along with sensible dinners I wouldn't need the surgery but when they explained this was so the doctor would be able to get to my stomach to do his job.........I decided this wasn't such a bad idea after all So I am trying as best I can to follow through. I feel as though I am starving but I know that's because I am used to filling this HUGE stomach full each and every meal. I went for my classes last Wednesday, June 14th and I found them to be very good. The first one was behavior modifacation class. Second was what to expect before, during & after surgery. And the last one was a dietician who explained what we would need to do right after surgery and from there on out. I found them very informative and educational. I will keep in touch with you. If you would like we can exchange e mail address through the e mail on OH. That way we compare notes and check in on each other as to how we are doing. Thanks for the response. Lots of Love Kathy-11 days & counting

Hi Chynne: I prayed and prayed for a July surgery date and I just made it by the skin of my teeth. My date is July 31,2006. God is so good. Now if I could just think of something else until it gets here. Good Luck to you. Gloria

Hey Gloria, Congratulations on your upcoming surgery. I know it feels like it's a long ways away but believe me when I tell you it will come like a runaway train. You will feel as though you have weeks to go and then BAM!!! you are looking directly at your surgery date. I am so excited to see this weekend come. I work the rest of this week and then the weekend is going to fly because I have to go shopping to get my vitamins and some CIB, all the things I think I will need when I get home. Surprisingly I am very calm....don't know how I will be the day of the surgery but right now I feel happy and at peace with my decision. Most of that I contribute to my Lord & Savior. He has set me on this path and I know without a doubt I am doing what is right for me. Prayer was what brought me here to start with. I was deeply praying for God's help with my weight. I gave it to Him and the next thing I knew I was heading down the road for a gastric bypass. It was a long time coming but I also know it was in His time and not mine. So, a year from the time I started seeking this surgery, I am having this surgery. It hasn't been easy but it has been an adventure each and everyday. I have met so many people on OH here in Virginia, bonded with some that have become very good friends. I wouldn't change a thing now looking back. I couldn't say that when I was going through the rough times of denials, six months of medically supervised dieting, exercise programs, etc. But it is finally happening and I couldn't be more grateful. I am so glad you are a July Baby along with the rest of us. Even though your's is the end of the month and mine is the first of the month. The important thing is that we are doing something to change our lives for the better. I will pray for you to have a joyful month waiting and preparing. I will pray that God will ease your anxieity until your day is here. And then have a very clean & successful surgery. May your recovery be fast and complete and may you lose all the weight you desire to become the healthy person you need to be. I pray that you would give God all the glory for this for it's in His name we pray!! Amen!!! Lots of Love Kathy-6 days & counting