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1st Post Op Appt tomorrow!

I'm having my first post-op appointment tomorrow. I think it's supposed a group appointment to see how everyone is doing. Sounds kinda crummy and like a great way to cram a lot of people with co-pays in at one time. No wonder this guy makes a killing, lol.   I'm down about 17 lbs now! And I'm really feeling almost back to normal, except eating of course. I can really finally breathe deeply again without any pain or struggling. The only things are that my shoulder hurts for some reason (I don't think it's still gas-related), and my incisions hurt after I've been sitting for a while and I get up.   Work is also getting back to normal for the most part. I started a new job a week and a half before I got the band, so it was like everything I learned fell out of my head during my time off, lol.   Oh my goodness, one other thing...I had the hiccups for about 5 minutes today...thought I was going to die!! I thought my hiccups were bad before I got the band...holy crap! And I'm the type that's afraid I'm going to bust the band with a hiccup...ugh.   I can't wait until I can eat somewhat normal food again. I miss going out with my friends and enjoying them with food. Soon I'll be able to do that again, I'll just eat less. But I hate feeling like I'm losing touch with my friends just because I've made this life choice. They're very understanding, but it sucks when they're going out somewhere and they say, 'oh, I guess we can't go there, Amy can't eat there.' I hate being the inconvenience.   Hopefully not too much longer...! It'll be worth it! :cool:
AggieAmy

AggieAmy

2
 

5th day!

Good Afternoon!   My babysitter (haha) has gone home now. My fiance lives in Los Angeles and came here to take care of me after the surgery. He left about 30 minutes ago to head back to his temporary home. Hopefully he'll be moving by the end of the year. He has to sell his practice and property out there (because of the economic status of the area), before he can head this way. Very exciting!   So 5 days out now...   I've lost almost 15 lbs since the beginning of my liquid diet, so it's been about 2 1/2 weeks. Not too shabby in my book! Everything feels pretty good: the swelling has gone down almost completely, I still get a little gas here and there, but it's not bad, and I'm getting around pretty well. We were out most of the day yesterday and I did get a little tired by the end, so my energy is still down, but it's definitely improved in the last 5 days.   I've also noticed that my posture is going to have to improve. Before the surgery (and thinking about this now sounds awful, lol), I would hunch over a little while sitting and rest my belly on my legs and my boobs on my belly, completely unconsciously. Well, no more of that! I can feel how the band kind of tucks up under those folds and gives me a bad feeling of indigestion, but as soon as I straighten up, it goes away. That's going to be something to get used to...   Jay also took my before pics last night, even though I've already lost some weight. I'll have to post them soon.   Oh! And food! How could I miss that! lol...   I've gone on to full liquids--back to protein shakes and soup, but now creamy soup is an option as long as everything is blenderized, which I'm definitely on board for. Everything has stayed down! No nausea or vomiting (thank goodness!!!). I'm already learning to slow down and chew chew chew. I did it a little before, but it didn't really ring true until the band got in there.   And I'm going back to work tomorrow! I have a very sedentary job, desk work where I don't have to move around much or lift anything, so it shouldn't be a problem. I'll still be getting up and walking around though to get my walking time in.   So far, so freakin' good! :closedeyes:
AggieAmy

AggieAmy

3
 

2 days Post-Op :)

So I am 2 days post-op and I feel pretty good!   I'll go ahead and describe my surgery date and yesterday... Although I do need to preface this by saying I had an issue with my car on the 27th (the night before my surgery), and it was undrivable for the 28th, which kind of through a monkey wrench into the whole thing, but it turned out ok.   July 28th, day of surgery-- Woke up around 7am to start getting ready, went ahead and took a shower (my doc's instructions said "a good shower with soap." Ummm....I do believe all of my showers include soap, but maybe that's just me. ). My fiance called the repair shop for my car and then said they could take it that day, so I called AAA to have the car towed and asked them to please rush it as I was having surgery that morning. I got to thinking later that they may have thought that was a lame excuse...but oh well! It was true!   I was scheduled to be at the surgery center by 9am for my surgery at 10am, and the towing company said they would try to be at my apt by 830am. I was absolutely terrified that I would be late, but I shouldn't have been! AAA has always been so good to me and my fiance, especially when we say we're in a hurry. The tow truck was there by 810am. They loaded up my car and we were on the road by about 825am, plenty of time to get to the surgery center.   We only hit a little bit of traffic getting to the center, and we ended up getting there around 855am.   I filled out my paperwork (felt like my hand was about to fall off with all the different forms I had to sign!), and then I waited to be called back. It didn't take very long, I was back within about 10 minutes. I changed clothes and gave them a urine sample for a pre-surgery pregnancy test.   The nurse then had me get into bed and hooked me up to the IV, gave me a shot of antibiotics, and hooked up my leg squishers (no idea what the real name is, but they're the things that keep my circulation going through my legs--circulators..?). She took my vitals and asked a ton of questions. After her pre-op procedures were finished, she invited my family back.   After another 10-15 minutes, we were greeted by my surgeon, Dr. Smith, and the anesthesiologist for more questions to ensure my readiness. Everything went swimmingly, so the anesthesiologist gave me the anesthetic and rolled me into the OR. The last things I remember were switching over to the OR table and the nurse putting the oxygen mask over my face and telling me to take deep breaths.   Then I woke up!!   My throat was sore and I was unbelieveably groggy. All I wanted to do was sleep, but the nurse kept telling me to wake up. I wanted to kick her, lol. I had another oxygen mask on and she was telling me to keep breathing. I think I slept for another couple of minutes before she took everything off told me to wake up again. I woke up more and more until finally I was moving my head around to see where I was. It was difficult to swallow because of the intubation having given me a sore throat. She asked me if I was ready to stand up and I just kind of laughed, and said, "really?" She said absolutely and expected me to be able to get up in the next couple of minutes, and would help when I was ready.   She helped me up and had me walk across the room to a chair so she could take my vitals again. They let my family come back to see me and I was feeling better and better by the minute...until they asked me to get up and walk again, lol.   They took an x-ray of my band as I drank some barium and said everything looked good! They sat me back in the chair and had me drink some ice water and then helped me get dressed. It kind of felt rushed, but I was glad to be going home so quickly to get into my own bed!   I was groggy for the rest of the day and slept a lot. They sent me home with an incentive spirometer (you suck in air as much as you can and do so every 2-3 hours to prevent things like pneumonia). I used that and took pain meds and was drinking water and broth by the end of the day.   July 29th-- I had scheduled a dental cleaning for the day after because I thought I'd be feeling alright to go have that done, and I was right! I woke up and I felt ok, but then I took some pain meds and felt really good, so I went ahead to the dentist. Everyone was pretty optimistic about the surgery and they were surprised I was up and moving around so well. I was up for most of the day and took a short nap that afternoon, but was up and walking around easily for the majority of the day.   I did have a small bout of nausea last night, but was able to take my anti-nausea medication and felt fine to go back to sleep.   This has been a pretty good experience so far! The only pain I have is right around my port site. I can feel it in there and it just feels different and slightly uncomfortable, but I was told that's normal.   I've also had some of the shoulder pain, but that's mostly gone away now. Just a few twinges here and there.   I hope this helps calm some fears! I feel a lot better now that it's done! Let me know if y'all have any questions for me!
AggieAmy

AggieAmy

6
 

2 more days!

Actually, it's more like 1 1/2 more days. I finally got my surgery time--10am on July 28th! I'm getting more and more excited!   I was thinking about how I'm going to exercise after the band. I got to looking at P90X last night. I know lots of people who have been using it and they really love it! I'm going to look at the forum after I'm done with this entry to see if anyone else is doing it. I've read and heard reviews that it's great for beginners and advanced exercisers. The Insanity workout is also a candidate. I just want something that is going to help tone, not necessarily gain muscle or anything. I've also seen that the P90X nutrition plan is favorable to LAP-BAND® patients because of the protein intake.   Anyone reading my blog have any suggestions? They'll be greatly appreciated!! :thumbup:
AggieAmy

AggieAmy

4
 

3 More Days!

Yay! Only 3 more days until I'm banded! I can't believe it's finally going to be here...   I'm getting nervous... Constantly questioning myself... I hope that's natural and normal. I have support from my fiance, stepfather, and sister-in-law, but I've had a hard time winning over my mom, brother, and dad. I find that a little strange that blood relatives are not so ok with this. Or I suppose the strange part is that my non-blood relatives (if I may call them that), are so keen on the idea. It's not that my family is telling me not to do it, they're just asking me if I'm really sure this is what I want to do---over and over and over...   I believe in my heart that I'm prepared for this journey. It's always been in my nature to rebel. I don't think they understand that this is not an act of rebellion, but an act of liberation. My family is overweight to obese, each and every member. I don't want to continue to live this way. I'm miserable unless I'm eating and eating leads to more misery...that vicious circle from which everyone suffers.   Now the pre-op diet, on the other hand, may be the death of me... I'd kill for a steak or a cheeseburger, lol. :cursing::mad:
AggieAmy

AggieAmy

4
 

Ugh...

Ok, I'm getting annoyed...   Called Aetna earlier today to see if there were any updates on whether or not they're covering my surgery. They informed me that Dr. Smith's office submitted a pre-determination instead of a pre-certification for coverage, and that the facility they use is out-of-network. Umm...wouldn't they have known that it was out-of-network all this time? It's not like Aetna is an uncommon insurance provider. And the office submitted the information on 3/19/2010. Shouldn't they have contacted the insurance company by now with that kind of information, or vice versa? I can understand that everyone is busy, blah blah blah, but geez, so am I! I had to make time to go see them, the least they can do is let me know whether or not I can actually do it through them! It's common courtesy! What ever happened to having the patient's best interest at heart? It's all money-driven these days and bad bedside manner.   Totally calling them on Monday to see what the heck the deal is. Tired of this mess...
AggieAmy

AggieAmy

1
 

Suspense!!

Ok, the suspense is already getting to me! It's only been one day! I want to know if I'm approved so badly! If anyone out there has Aetna for their insurance, let me know how long it took for them to provide you with an approval/denial.   I had an eye appointment today and they dilated my eyes so everything is reaaalllllyyy bright right now. My eyes have pretty much stayed the same though, which is good. Maybe after I lose weight I'll get Lasik, hehe. The doctor gave me new contacts, a different brand, and they're just a little blurry, but I think that's the dilation. Not a fan of anyone dilating my eyes!   This LAP-BAND® surgery has pretty much taken over all of my thoughts and my entire day, and I'm glad about that. It makes me think that after it happens, I'll be committed to making it work for me So many people I know have had it, so I'll have an amazing support group, and then there's all of the support on this site. It's so amazing and so wonderful!   I just can't contain my excitement!!! :eek:
AggieAmy

AggieAmy

1
 

Final Steps

Ok, so I went to my last appointment before finding out whether or not my insurance will be covering my surgery. Doc said it'll take 2-3 weeks to submit the paperwork and find out yay or nay. Then the pre-op diet (which from what I've read on this site is liquid, strictly), and then surgery!   Keep your fingers crossed for me! :eek:
AggieAmy

AggieAmy

1
 

1st Post

I was advised to start a blog for this enormous change in my life to document all of the changes. What a daunting task!   I started this journey back in October, when I attended an seminar about the Lap-Band® with Dr. Adam Smith. I was extremely impressed and had actually spoken with some of his patients and heard great things, so I figured what the heck, let's do it.   Because I have my insurance with Aetna, there were requirements prior to having the surgery. I had to have 3 months/4 meetings with a nutritionist (either one with the Dr's office or one of my choosing), and a psych consult. Due to work being so hectic as of late and a promotion that has taken a great amount of time from doing anything else, it's taken me until just this past Monday to complete all of my required appointments. I need to have one more meeting for insurance purposes to make sure I will be covered before they will schedule a date for me and I need to have my cholesterol tested before that meeting. Surprisingly, Aetna has agreed to consider high cholesterol as a co-morbidity! Great news for me as I have no other co-morbidities!   I so hope everything goes well and that insurance will be covering my surgery. I'm tired of living the way I do and I need help! :thumbup:
AggieAmy

AggieAmy

7
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