Hello Marian , Im right behind you girlfriend , mine is Sept. 17th , I can't 'weight' we have to keep in touch , I had so much trouble with my insurance , but now Im in line !!!God Bless YOU and email me , please

Hi Jan! My name is Linda and I am from Schererville, Indiana. It is 30 miles east of Chicago, Il. I am having my surgery on October 10th! I will be glad to be your angel.. I know what you mean about not a lot of support! I come from a large family. I am the oldest of 9. I am obviously older than you since you are in a custody battle for your children.. I am 57 years old and left my abusive husband finally after 30 years of marriage!! I have 3 grown children and 2 beautiful grandchildren and I want to live long enough to enjoy them and be in much better physical shape! My 80 year old mother has been very concerned about my health bec of my weight (BMI 45.5) She is the one that talked me into considering bypass surgery. Anyway, I have 3 sisters who live close by. One works full time, so she won't be much help after surgery. My other sister lives 1/2 mile from me and I asked her she could help out after surgery with checking in on me, etc and she responds by saying what about my daughter and daughter-in-law. (What does that say??) and my baby sister who is 39 will come to check on me daily. My Daughter will also, but she is in school and has 2 small children. She will help but can only come once a day. My daughter-in-law I am not counting on much, (she tried to talk me out of surgery over a year ago. ) So I know how that feels to not have the support that is needed!! Are you in a metropolitan area or rural? Through this web site and talking to various people in my state, I was able to find out about a local bypass support group in my area. Some hospitals have them. You might want to check that out also.. Are you changing your surgery date bec your parents wont be able to be there for you bec they are on vacation?? Are they planning on being with you for surgery and afterwards?? I wish you the best and my prayers are for you and your children. Linda from Schererville, Indiana..

Hi Sandra! Boy, do I know what you mean... I have been unhappy with my weight for years, but felt so defeated until I heard about Carnie Wilson and read her book "Gut Feelings".. Did you read? she was very honest and helpful! I first inquired into RNY August of 02. I went to a seminar in my area sponsored by a local Chicago suburb hospital. I had an apt for a consult scheduled, but chickened out after my daughter-in-law gave me a bunch of neg info from the internet... I guess I was not really ready... Last February a friend of mine told me about University of Chicago's barriactric bypass clinic and how she went for a consult and told me they did the laparosopic proceedure also. So I made a consult apt in March 03 and had a BMI of 45.5, met with the surgeon and was told I was a candidate for laparoscopic RNY. That was the deciding factor for me bec I am such a chicken. I have never had any surgery and was terrified at the aspect of it! Well, he told me I was but until they actually started the proceedure they wouldn't know. It has to do with how compact all your internal organs are and if they can see well to work laparoscopically... So I am still nervous!! I am also nervous and somewhat scared about afterwords, ie how well I tolerate food, etc. But, I do know I need to do something or I will not be around on this earth much longer. So, good luck to you and I will say a prayer for your health and success. Linda from Schererville, Indiana

Finally! October 10, 03 at the University of Chicago. My surgeon is Dr. Prachand. I meet for a preop on Sept 30th with anethesist, surgeon and nutritionist along with my support persons

OH I HAVE SURGERY ON THE 3RD WHERE ARE YOU FROM? WHAT TIME IS SURGERY? IM SOOO NERVOUS HOPE I AM DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT TOMMOROW WE START OUR LIQUID DIET SO EAT THE GOOD STUFF TODAY LOL,WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!