PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

Hello All, I am a newbie here. I am planning surgery in June and am desperatley needing help with choosing a protien supplement!!!! They ALL taste like vomit:angry_smile: to me!! I need to know if anyone out there has a way to make these things taste better so I can get them down without gagging! I have tried several different powders (Unjury and such), and a liquid one called "Isopure". I just can't stand ANY of them!! Any help will be MUCH appreciated:smile:. Theresa P

Tomorrow is my pre-op and i'm starting to get really nervous and excited! I bought all the recommended items and then some that was listed on a thread I saw a week or so ago. Tomorrow is going to be my last day before I go on a clear liquid diet. So i'm sitting here wondering what will my last solid meal be? What was your guys last solid meal before going on the liquid diet? Thankfully I only have to do a liquid diet the day before surgey!

This morning in church a nurse from my work came up to me. I had told her my plans on being banded, she had been supportive. But today she came up and said she had to talk to me prior to my surgery (which is Tuesday) Don't know why but I asked if she was going to try and "talk me out of it". She said yes, so I said I'd rather not. She walked away. I'm sure she had the best of intentions and had heard about someone that had a bad band experience, but, two days out , I didn't need the negativity.

What sort of preparations did you have to go through the day/night before surgery? I'm seeing my surgeon tomorrow and will ask about specifics, but looking at his generalised list, it's looking most, uh, unpleasant (to put it mildly). I can understand the need for complete lower intestinal cleansing for gastric bypass, but why for banding as well? Guess I'll be stocking up on the Charmin and trashy magazines -m

Hi everyone :tt2: Well i am all set to have my band done on the 13th march 08 so only 1 week to go OMG i am a bit scared as i do not know what to expect but i have decieded to tell my story through videos and pics i have had the ok from my surgeon that my op can be camcorded which is great ( not that there will be much to see ) but i think it might help others like myself if i was to see what someone else went through from start to finish . i will be setting up a site soon ( i will post on here to let you know when i have done it ) plus feel free to email me if i can help in any way or if anyone could offer advice to me also . :) will see you all soon take car…

Hello, I'm really having a bad morning today... I'm totally disgusted with how I look and how I feel... I spoke to the nurse practitioner at the hospital I'm planning to get the surgery done at and she said if all goes well, it looks like a surgery day in mid to late May... I know I should be thrilled with that and most of the time I am, but today I just feel like I can't wait that long... I had the worst time trying to find clothes to fit me today... My pants were tight, my shirts suddenly got shorter or wait is it because I'm getting rounder??? I feel like spring is right around the corner and I'm just not prepared for less layers and more skin... Sorry if I'm rantin…

My DW and I are staying at a really nice hotel in Miami the night before (it is a 2 hour ride from the Keys) and I saw the computer in the lobby. (A good sign) I think I would have backed out if not for all of you. I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am. So here I go. Thanks for all the support and great answers to my questions.

I got the call today and I am approved. Can't wait to join the banded group.:wink:

I just started my 4 week Medifast diet. The doctor requires it of all his patients. I am just wondering what is a resonable goal to set for myself. Did anyone else have to do a 4 week diet and how much did you lose? Thank you for the help.

on pre-op liquids...did anyone have a problem ummmm going number 2? lol. I have been constipated from it and I am wondering if that is normal? I am trying to decide if I want to take ex-lax or something...never had to do anything like that before, so this is a new one for me! I am on day 5 of my pre-op protein shake and clear liquids diet.

Can you wear deoderant when you go in for surgery? They told me to shower the night before and not to have lotion etc. But is deoderant included in that??:confused2:

I possibly may be starting the pre-op diet soon (I got the preliminary phone call about maybe having the surgery on April 29th - just waiting for the actual call now), and I was just wondering, besides Carnation Instant Breakfast, what else can you have on the pre-op diet?

was banded feb 18th,was on liquids the rest of that week,then puree foods the following,and i had dropped another 6lbs, i had lost 20 pre op. now that i'm on solids or trial and error on foods,i've had a few times thrown up,and i know they don't want that to happen due to slippage,i am going for first fill 4/03 hopefully i 'll notice the weight coming off,i've been at a standstill on the scale,is due to my body adjusting etc. i'm sort of frustrated here

I am having surgery in Tijuana, Mexico on April 7th (I live in Dallas) so of course I will have to travel after the surgery to come home. But because I didn't have any time off from work I had to take a leave of absence for a solid week... and I decided to go to Las Vegas on April 10th - 13th to maximize my week off. The tickets are purchased and the hotel is booked so I am going but I just wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions or advice on what to expect?

Hi, I'm new, having my consult with surgeon on Friday, Can any one suggest a protein drink that does not have the gritty texture to it? That is going to be my biggest problem with getting all my protein in the beginning. Help Carol Lv

Hi all! Sorry if this has been asked before, but if I do a search on "weigh" I'm sure everything will come up! :thumbdown: Anyway, I was wondering: when you went to the surgeon/doctor for the first time (the weight they give to the insurance company), did they keep your clothes on? What about shoes? I'm not quite 225 yet (for my 40 BMI) and was wondering if the clothes can help me "gain" weight a bit. Thanks! PS. I will be seeing Dr. Bertha in Jersey. Any direct info on him would be great!

I quit smoking 1/1/08 and gaining at a rapid pace!! My surgery date is 4/16 and i can't seem to get my cravings under control and stick to some kind of pre-op diet!! Anyone go though this?? If I can't control myself now, what will happen once surgery date comes? Seems like everyone on here has lost weight pre-op... and I'm gaining... :cheers2: Any suggestions??

I am curious as to what determins the size of band you get? I have noticed that some are 4, some are 10 and some are larger.

My port is just above the waist left hand side, and when i lydown is noticeble, when turn it seems to have a large lump up. Had lap banding sep 2006, my surgeon says is normal as lose more weight. Has anyone had this problem will it go away to speek with less or more fill, embaresed if get a new partner. Help:wub:

Hi! First timer here. While researching lap-band doctors and facillities, I've been "shopping" pretty hard to find a good and affordable situation (I have no insurance, etc.). Now I'm finding that there are a few types of lap-bands. Although I'd ultimately leave the decision up to the doctor, I also want to be a bit "in the know" in terms of the options, before it happens. As I understand, there are two manufacturers with FDA approval for use in the US-- Allergan (AP) and Johnson & Johnson (Realize). I've also heard the term "SELF-adjusting" used by one doctor's office I recently called, referring to a type that's just comming out on the market (I'm reme…

I went to see the surgeon last week and in our discussion he told me he calculated my ideal weight to be 129lbs. I can't even remember the last time I was 129, I was probably 10. I'm 5' 7" and definately do not have a small frame. Has anyone else's surgeon told you that you should be much lighter than you wanted to be. I was thinking 160/170 would be great!

I just had my wonderful Easter dinner. A choc. protein shake and boiled veggies. Yum Yum. I really am doing ok. I don't feel like I missed anything. It is just sooooo different than any other Easter dinner I have ever had in my 49 years. I hope everyone pre-op had a wonderful day not concentrating on food for once.

I was given an outline of the steps during the seminar I attended and recently saw my doctor for the referral letter and have an appointment to see the psychologist this week. But when I was with my doctor he called the surgeons office and they were talking about tests that I would need done later? :thumbup: Nothing they gave out at the seminar talks about these tests - can anyone tell me what tests they are and where along the "steps" the come in to play? :crying: Thanks, Robin

I am about 13 days from surgery and I am beginning to get beyond nervous and freaked out....I am worried the surgery won't help me. I think it would really help me if I knew what other people's eatting habits were before getting banded? The reason I ask is I guess other people's negative comments have begun to eat at me. They say that I don't over eat all of the time and binge eat when emotional (upset, sad, angry, etc) and that the surgery won't really help me. I do admit that I use food as a punishment & reward. If I don't eat breakfat & lunch then I feel like I have "accomplished" something but then for dinner I over-eat, not junk but a bigger piece of m…

Has anyone not told thier kids about their lapband surgery? I'd like to not tell my kids. I don't want them to think they could eat anything they want and think they could just get surgery when they grow up. I have 4 normal size kids and 1 a little overweight.

I've had surgery before that doesn't scare me - BUT - I hate catheters :wub: and know that sometimes with short surgeries you don't get them. Do you have to have one with lap band surgery?????

I have been contemplating weight loss surgery for a few years now. I'm 33 years old, weigh 280 pounds at 5'9". I've tried all of the diets, been to weight loss campuses, and still no luck! Now I'm having more and more health problems from it including type II diabetes, high BP, high triglycerides, high cholesterol, knee, and back pain. I'm not scared of the surgery, but I am worried about the aftermath. I know that I'm obsessed with food, does the post surgical therapy really help you deal with this? Does everyone need plastic surgery? I work out a lot and am hoping to avoid that. Also, what is the rate of failure? I know two people who have had gastric bypass that have g…

I was hospitalized exactly two years ago with pneumonia. Will this mostly likely disqualify me for surgery? When I saw the nutritionist and she asked me about it and the expression on her face changed a little bit. Maybe I'm just reading more into it than I should've.

hi i know that i don't post much on here but i am really here reading alot.i go on the 22 of april and talk to the surgeon well my friend went the other day and they told her that one test that has to be done is they have to run a light down you to check your stomahce for infection and stuff my question is when they do this do they put you completely asleep or just sudate you :thumbdown:

i was traveling 4 hours for my surgical testing so they were able to do all the testing in one day. i met with a physician's assistant who talked about family medical problems and any medical problems i have (which is none). she checked some reflexes and then had me lay down to push on my belly. she asked what the scar was from on my tummy and i told her it isn't a scar. i have two small circles on my stomach that just never tan. i met with the nutritionist and a nurse who measured me. turns out i'm an inch taller than i thought and i weighed less than my scale at home. my BMI is 35.1. while i'm happy its not the 37.5 like i thought but i was worried of being tu…

I've been going through Beliteweight and they tell me that I can supply them with the LMN and then take the MMPI 2 test in Detroit the day before the surgery. They assure me Medicare will approve, but what if they don't? Is this risky? My Psych doesn't give the test and it would save me money as the test in Detroit is free; however, I'm concerned about what happens if Medicare doesn't approve? I can't self pay as I am disabled with BiPolar II Disorder (stable on meds). Should I try and find someone locally to administer the test and just cough up the money ahead of time first or go ahead and take the test in Detroit? :confused2:

:embaressed_smile: I just have to have nothing but liquids the day before and nothing at all midnight before surgery. Is this normal? Don't I have to reduce the fat around my liver?... or does it just make it eaiser for the surgeon and mine dosen't need the aid (which is the impression I got from the doc's office)?

I have done the right thing, but right now three days out I have done nothing but cry today. I am tired, hungry grouchy and just sad. This is so not who I am. I am usually very positive and happy. Thank you for letting me vent. I am sure this is normal but I just need a "pep" talk. thank you all peace

I am on day one, I have done pretty well, I am not hungry at all, I never usually am. So I have about 32 oz of Water down, a shake and a half, the champion shake gave me a stomach ache. So for dinner not wanting to take in the Protein shake of any sort, I had some egg drop Soup (1 cup) and now about an hour and a half later i am having some chicken broth since I haven't consumed near enough calories today OR protein. So now my options are: To get the protein in - have a nectar Drink (23g protein) but not enough calories have a nectar shake (23g protein) and have a slim fast shake 190 calories and 10 grams protein to get the calories in the ball park of 800 for …

Hello everyone, I just got approved for surgery on 4/3/08. I can see that this is a very supportive group and I will be spending a lot of time here. I wanted to know if it is possible to get a fill during surgery/on the surgery date? If so, I would love some feedback on how it worked out for you. Thanks.

Can anybody tell me about how much payments would be for a self pay band? If the fees were around $9,000 what would the least payments be?:thumbdown:

Just started in looking at having the band surgery, told my doctor a few weeks ago to give me a referral to a local surgeon. Yesterday I got a referral letter from my doctor and a referral response on my insurance companies letterhead. Does this mean that they are gonna pay for the surgery? It has a certification #, EDI trace#, procedure codes, and other codes as well. Thanks for any info you can give me. JDH

I just ordered more samples and davinci syrups! hehe. Sorry didn't mean to get your hopes up for something exciting... Kaluah and Peppermint Paddy...anyone tried them?

Hi all, First, thanks for all the encouragement. In 48 hours my wife and I head off the Keys to a nice hotel in Miami. We are two hours away and didn't want the travel stress the morning of the operation. Then I'm being banded Tuesday morning. Hopefully home that night. Taking the rest of the week off then back to work (as a Hospice Chaplain) on Monday. Didn't cheat on my two weeks of optifast only pre op diet. So I'm hoping the surgery will be quick and easy.:cheers2: I'll let you all know how it goes.

I had the mini gastric bypass 7 1/2 years ago and I had good result up until year 3. I have regained about 55 pounds of what I lost back.:cry I can't make up my mind if I should have another bypass or have a lap band placed over my stomach. I have read so many mixed reviews about the lapband. My question is are you happy happy with your lapband? Is it really helping with suppressing your appetite or do you feel hungry alot? I would appreciate any help anyone can provide.

I was told i have to do this and for booklets and all the info and 3 months of Vitamins i will have to pay $630 out of pocket for this...I mean its ok if i have to. I am luckily not a self pay my insurance will be paying for the surgery. Just curious if anyone else has had such a thing and was a self-payer. Thanks.:confused2:

I am having the banding on 4/7 and would be interested in getting peoples thoughts on good postop diets. What worked what did not work. I am nervouse about the whole thing and starting a preop diet tomorrow. Any advice? Any good tricks for making the diet work in the workplace?

My general practice doctor called me at 7:30am this morning from his personal cell phone! I panicked, I am scheduled to have my band Monday and I have been doing a lot of testing so I was scared something was wrong. I returned the call and first thing the he said was "you know the surgery has been postponed" and I am like no i didn't. Well turns out there is a rash of people going into respiratory failure after they get home from surgery. My doctor knows one person personally who is now in a vegatative state. He spoke with my sleep doctor and he decided that the outpatient procedure is probably not the right way for me since i have such severe sleep apnea. I am now in lim…

anyone here diagnosed with hypothyroidism? When I went to my PCP to get the referral to a surgeon, he gave me the referral, but said he wanted to check my thyroid. They called today with my bloodwork results and said I need to go on meds for my thyroid. I imagine this will delay any surgery (and possibly the consult :shades_smile:)until it is under control? Anyone with similar experience, please let me know! Thanks guys!

Ok my doctor hasn't mentioned it to me yet... But in my consultation he mentioned that I would have to quit taking a couple medicines a month before the surgery... My major concern without going into alot of detail is I take birth control to control periods.... I don't need if for any other reason since I have my tubes tied... However, without the medicine I am almost home bound with periods that are so heavy and never ending that they are disabling. Has anyone else been in my shoes? If you don't stop the medicine what happens? I should add last time I went without the medicine my period was 16 days straight.

Finished all may lab work, psych test done, seen dietician. Will see Dr Vierra on April 4th to summit insurance paperwork and set a datefor surgery. Hope to have surgery 2nd week in May after my vacation. Working on diet of 1000 to 1200 calories a day. So far lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks.:embaressed_smile:

I have read and read but I cant find anything on where the port site is. I am a physical therapist (HOW IRONIC IS THAT?! :embaressed_smile:) and I often work with patients on transfers. This sometimes requires my arms to be in close to my body when lifting, and am wondering about the sensation of feeling the port under my skin. Thanks for any info!!

Has anyone not passed their psych eval. I am not sure why I am so nervous about this. What specifically are they looking for? I mean, I know it's going to be a huge lifestyle adjustment. Not sure what they are looking for. :wink2:

Finally! All of my loop-jumping is over and I can finally get on the road to a new ME! I know my loved ones are sick of hearing about ME ME ME, but I cannot be more excited to start getting healthy -- and they are so excited for me. I am worried about the pain after surgery, though. I don't take pain well. I am also worried about the IV needle, as I am quite scared of needles (for some reason, the needle involved in the fill does not bother me). I am kind of scared/excited about the post op diet. It will be invigorating to stick to a diet (and --hey-- I HAVE TO! lol). So, what can some of the old pros tell me about the pain, the post op diet and the IV need…

I have an appt. with my PCP tomorrow (had sent him a draft LMN) and am wondering if anyone has ever had a problem getting their PCP to do a Letter of Medical Necessity. I obviously have the BMI (37.2) and have GERD but included codes for Sleep Apnea (for which I have all the symptoms and my dad has it!) but haven't been tested for it, also have high cholesterol and triglycerides and painful joints. Just curious if anyone has had their PCP turn them down. Thanks.:confused2: