PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

My surgery date is set for Mar. 18th and today I finally got authorization from insurance. It couldnt have come at a better time. Any suggestions.

I'm due for my surgery in 2 weeks, March 24th. I started my liquid diet yesterday. I was told that you couldnt have any liquids with sugar, carbs, or caffiene. I bought a lot of Crystal Light drinks, and tons of chicken broth. I know you're also supposed to have protein shakes. There were none at the Walmart that I went to. Since I still need to buy some, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what kinds to buy. What were some of your favorites? Thanks so much, Cait

My doctor just said that I should lose 5-10 pounds before surgery. Since my initial consultation I have actually gained 6 (My grandmother died last weeks and we were with her in the hospital for a couple of weeks and ate nothing but junk). I would like to do a liquid diet before my surgery which is one week from today. Can someone please tell me what a liquid diet consists of?

Hi, I found out at my appointment yesterday that I have gained 20 pounds since last May when I did all my pre op stuff. I finally have a surgery date for March 25, 2008 and my doctor told me to drink Liquid Protein until surgery to help. I freaked. I have intended to do all the "last tacos, last pizza" etc and now I am so depressed! I am really trying to switch mental gears, but I am not doing well. Trying Slim Fast until my Bariatric Meal arrives, but I gag and really am almost grieving! Pathetic, right? I do OK in Am, then by evening I am eating dinner and hating myself. So, my question is, how much damage am I doing? Am I going to be unable to be banded if …

I was scheduled for my band on March 6th. I went in, was put under and woke up with five incisions and no band. Does this happen often? My surgeon told me that one of the instruments couldn't make it through my fat; it kept bending. I was okay with this at first, but as the days go by and I am on a super strict liquid diet to drop 30 pounds in about 2 weeks I've become kind of depressed. I feel like a failure. I know I have lost 60 pounds since September. I know that I have lost a total of 72 pounds since I started all of this early last year. I have done what I was told to do, albeit perhaps more slowly, but I got there. I got to my required maximum pre-op wiegh…

I am on the pre-op diet (surgery next Thursday the 20th) I am on Optifast and have been doing 2 Soups a day and 4 shakes. I just realized I am almost out of Soup and can hardly stomach the shakes. (not much of a sweet person and they are so sweet and expensive. Are there any other soups available that I can substitute with? :smile2:

Hello All, I have a lump that is right near my cleavage. It keeps on getting bigger and bigger and I do not know which doctor I should see. GYN, Derm or family practice. Has anyone had these kind of lump (its right on my breast plate) I've done some research and found out that breast cancer have a tendencies to be in the middle or towards your arm pit. But this lump is towards the middle of my chest. Please someone help me understand what it is??????????

Hi...So am wondering what others have heard and how you decided upon which procedure. At first I thought the lap band but now my surgeon has explained more about the bypass and that sounds good to me. I will qualify either way so that is not an issue. How did you choose the lap band over the bypass?:smile2:

Okay I turned in my paperwork on Monday and I am now waiting to get in with the doctor. In the mean time I had my allergies flare up. I stupidly didn't mention the nasal spray (flonase type) I use when they get bad. Now I am worried. Anyone know how long before surgery you have to give them up? Just curious if anyone else with allergies has any information. I know I can ask the surgeon but as a self pay patient I am hoping to get this done asap. Don't want to screw it up but honestly I enjoy breathing.:smile2:

I am very freaked out about actually "going under the knife". I am hoping some of you could shed some insight to the actual procedure starting from the point you walked into the surgical center... do they put you in a gown? Make you count backwards .... please share your exerpiences as I am freaked out by the fact its getting down to the wire on submitting to my insurance. Thanks!

Hi, I have heard some people mention a breathing tube while they are under anesthesia... is that true? If so why? Just curious. Thanks, Shannon:huh2:

My hospital is saying that the Dr. REQUIRES a minimum of 3 DAYS STAY??? Surgeries on Thursdays but the hospital stay will be wednesday - friday....anyone else out there had a 3 day stay??? Is this normal ???????Or are they trying to collect extra $$$. Thanks All.:grouphug:

ARGH! My kids were sick Friday (pink eye and sore throats) and they're taking antibiotic eyedrops. I've been fighting like the devil to stay healthy. I'm due to be banded tomorrow. No problem with pink eye (phew!), but my throat has really been hurting and looks pretty irritated to my untrained eyes. I hope they wouldn't cancel my surgery over it. (It's too late in the day to get out to my PCP today). If I don't have a fever (and I don't so far), do I have to mention this tomorrow morning? I'm guessing a fever would cancel surgery?? Otherwise would it be a go? I'm gonna have a sore throat anyway when they remove the breathing tube, right? Any advice? :confused2:

Hi there, I've been going through my 6 month weight loss program, pre-op requirement through the insurance company. I'm really struggling to lose weight... I'm trying to alter my behaviors that have gotten me to the point I'm at now, but there have been some issues at home that just make it so difficult without extra help. I've actually GAINED approx 10 lbs since I've started back in December. It's very emotionally draining and makes me think that it'll never get better. My PCP is great and she prescribed Phentermine to help with the pre-op weight loss. She only wants to have me on it for a month or two. Does anyone or has anyone else taken this as a "push" in th…

I had a baby on January 16th. How soon is it safe to have the lap band done? I have an apt on April 2nd to start the process. How soon will they allow me to have the procedure done? Any info/comments would be great. Thank you!!!!!!

My insurance coverage requires 6 month supervised diet before surgery.. I have done this before but too long ago to get documentation... But have failed miserabley at keeping off many shorter/unsupervised attempts in the past (enough dieting and regain to be a BMI of 46) What if I lose the thirty or so lbs to bring BMI to less than 40... Do I have to regain to get the long term help ( ie band) that I need ? Anyone else been there?

I'm beginning to chicken out of the surgery. Is it worth giving up food and never getting stuck or PBing or sliming. I'm not sure if I want to live life like that. Should I have the surgery?

I have copied my sleep study report below. To me it doesn't look complete, but then again I've never seen one before! I was wondering if anyone could help me to understand this? Thanks in advance! SPLIT NIGHT POL YSOMNOGRAPHY POLYSOMNOGRAM TECHNICAL SUMMARY: This is a 16-channeI polysomnogran. Duration of the recordingis 363.0 min. .Four channels are used for EEG, two for oculog'am, and one each for chin EMG, nasal-oral airflow, chest respiratory effort, abdominal respiratory effort, ECG, oxygen saturations, body position, microphoie for snoring, and two for anterior tibialis muscle activity. Lights out at 11:29 PM andlights o…

Hello All, Well tomorrow is the first day of my 2 week preop diet. I have my lunch bag ready to get me through the day and I pray that I can be victorious during this time. So, please pray for me, or if you're not religious please send best wishes and good thoughts my way. I will need it to change 42 years of habit. Warm wishes to all the Shrinking Shamrocks, and everyone else on the journey.:drool:

I am scheduled the 19th for my surgery. I'm worried because I just did my class with the dietician a couple of days ago and she stated that if you eat too much fat before surgery there could be too much fat around you liver and the surgery would not be completed. Now, I only have a week to go and was not put on any preop diet. I can be very good from now until then but I'm afraid that it could be too late as I didn't have much prep time for this thing. I'm also self pay. I don't want to pay $16500 to find out that the procedure wasnt' done as I can't afford to do it again. Any suggestions or thoughts would be helpful.:huh2:

I was told that if you are diagnosed with sleep apnea that you have to start treatment before you have surgery for gastric bypass, I was wondering if anyone knows if that rule holds true for lapband also? Thanks for your help!

I had my psych visit yesterday and I think it went well. As I was leaving she said "I'll get this together ASAP and fax it over to your Doctor so we can get it off to the insurance to get you approved." Not that I read into that! Anyway I schedule the surgery Monday the 17th, I am so nervous that my insurance is going to deny me. My only comorbidities are sleep apnea and GERD. I know I will be feeling the ill effects of this weight once I turn 40 and now I am 37, how hard is it to appeal? I live in Rochester NY and have CIGNA

Not too long ago, there were several lists on what to take to the hospital, what to buy for after the hospital, etc... Would someone please point me in that direction? And how do I get this stupid "ticker" to come up on every post?? It keeps dissappearing.

So I'm 21. Its obvious that I don't have alot of money laying around. Coming up with the $3000 (I was quoted) that is not covered by the insurance was a feat of itself. So I get this call from the surgeon office exactly one week before surgery, and their like we need the surgeons fee before friday. I was like ok how much is that (remembering that there was a $500 fee to the office that I had put aside for), on the other end of the line I hear shuffling paper. That will be 3500, we only accept cash or a cashiers check. I felt like someone had punched me in my stomach. I don' know what I'm going to do, I have three days to come up with the cash, and I don't see how thats p…

I am slowly working my way through the many hoops needed by Tricare Prime to be banded at a MTF. Today is my appointment with the nutritionist. What can I expect? I have had to keep a weeks worth of food records on Mypyramidtracker.com. After doing that I see that I eat on average 1700 calories a day. When I go in there will the nutritionist do a "Duh...no wonder you're fat!" (not in that form of wording of course:biggrin:) and want me to be on a lower calorie plan before she will give her okay? I know no one can predict what any particular nutritionist will do in any specific situation, but has that happened to anyone else? I have my appointments for "Therapeut…

Most of the things that I have read just say that the port is stitched into the abdominal wall. In another thread somewhere on this site, people were talking about ports flipping. One lady said that she had her port moved after it flipped to a location between her breasts. It seems to make a lot more sense to me that this location would prevent flipping and be easier to find for fills. Has anyone else had their port put in this location or an alternative location?

i have a question and i need some advice and some help. I am 4 weeks post op. I have lost 11 pounds . I saw my surgeon today. he says i am doing good. i told him that i can eat a cup to a cup and half of food. i am more hungry and can eat more in the afternoon. think i even ate 2 cups at a time a couple of days ago. anyway, i asked about a fill. he said i am doing good and he may not give me one like i was told he would on my 6th week visit. i am discouraged. i want a fill. i think i need one to. he told me to eat only a cup of food, 3 times a day. how do you do this with no restriction? any suggestions? i told him that i am hungry and that i would like a fill two weeks f…

My PCP is referring me to Dr. Hilario Juarez as he is on my ins. plan. I have found some helpful info on obesityhelp.com. I was wondering what he requires for his pre lap band patients. Can anyone be of help? He is located in Phoenix Arizona.

I have a consultation with Dr. Spiegel. Could anyone who has used him please give me some information about what he requires. Does he require a Pre-Opt Diet? What was your personal experience with him? Are you glad you had the surgery? How long were you down? How long until 1st fill? I appreciate any information you could give.

I am in the early stages of my 6 month medically supervised diet and have been reading the boards - I see many of you refer to such - I can only imagine it is related to vomitting - am I right? What causes it? Type of food or quantity?

Hello, I went to my first support group meeting last night (I have not been banded) yet. They were saying that if you tend to be a sweet eater you should consider gastric bypass over the band - they claim it's more effective... Have any of you found it to be a problem?:huh2: Thanks, Shannon

Is there anyone out there who keeps changing their minds? I was approved very quickly by my insurance but I keep delaying setting up a surgery date. I know I have to loose weight but I'm not sure it's worth giving up food that I love for the rest of my life. My husband and I love going to nice restaurants and on cruises (where there's always lots of good food). It seems like most people are so excited about it all. I don't know if I really want to give up this great pleasure in life so I won't schedule my surgery date. Anyone else felt like this?

I got rejected today but it was what we were expecting. Humana is for sure making me do the 6 month diet plan. I was not upset with the fact that I can't do anything about it but diet. I actually started about two weeks ago and has been going well so far. I am supposed to get all my labs and stress test done once I get to the 5th month so we should be fairly close to ready on the 6th month. My fear is that after all this, I will get rejected again. I am upset that my deer season is now in out the door but I did it with a broken leg and arm, so maybe not.

Hello, I'm probably still about 4 months away from surgery. My insurance requires 6 month visits with my PCP before surgery. I won't get to meet with the surgeon until after the six months are up. I look at all the before and after pictures and get so excited, but also concerned. Can I do this? Will I still find a way to fail at this too? My thinking now is going back and forth between: 1. Cut back on what you eat and get used to the restrictions before you have the surgery. 2. Eat all the things you love because after the surgery you won't be able to have them. Have any of you had these same thoughts? How hard is it to eat and do the right things after surgery?…

Hi, Going in for my consulation next week and after finally making the decision to do this... I think I will be crushed if insurance denies me... Has anyone been denied for just having a BMI of 40 and no co-moribities? Thanks, Shannon

I am now on day 3 of my 5 days of clear liquids pre-op. Suprizingly it hasn't been that hard. I am being banded on 3/13. I'm scared, nervous and excited all at the same time. Wish me luck!:smile: Heh, how do you add the ticker?

I'm considering getting the surgury. I've always been an emotional eater and never stopped when I was full, always looking for that stuffed feeling. How full do you feel after surgury? Is it noticable enought that you want to stop eating? What is a typical amount of food you eat before feeling help. Looking forward to hearing about your experience.:smile:

I have done the homework and I am convinced that this is the solution for me. I live in Chicago and I'm starting the process at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. My first appointment is with a dietitian. The woman who set up my appointment today said I can expect surgery six months from now. Six months from now seems like a long, long time to wait. I am committed, but wondering if I should be considering other doctors or places to get the surgery. How long did most people wait? How do you deal with the wait? I can just imagine being bigger by then with more to lose

Dear LBTers! I'm getting my band tomorrow, March 12th. I'm very excited... and get this... I'm also very nervous. Not sure if anyone has ever felt this way before surgery! :thumbup: :thumbup: LOL. Just wanted to send a general thank you out to everyone I've had the pleasure of communicating with on this site. You're all so terrific, inspiring and supportive. I look forward to the ongoing post as I join the banded! Take care, all.

How weird does the port feel? It looks kinda big. When you lose weight, can you see it or is it deep enough in the muscle tissue? March 21st approaches soon. I cant wait but am still nervous. THANKS to all who post here! All of you who continue to post really help us newbies out, and i will continue the tradition as much as possible. Thanks again.

Hey all! Just prior to surgery (while being prep'd) when my surgeon came to speak with me, he told me that I was getting a New Improved version of the band. My surgery was just a week ago (Nov. 27). He told me that on the old band the adjustable part only went 320 degrees aroud the band but that on the new model that I was getting it went 360 degrees. Better and more even control with this one. Yeah me! Just curious if anyone else here was told they were getting the new model. Also, even though I felt I had researched it well, I didn't know that (about the degrees around) until he told me just before surgery. Just me on this? Not concerned, only curious if any…

Can you tell me if you experienced any emotional issues BEFORE you got the band. I was expecting the "mourning" of my friend (food) after the surgery and trying to prepare for it but got blindsided by the feelings I'm already having. I guess the silliest thing is that I have been fat almost all of my adult life and yet I am crushed at the diagnosis of "morbidly obese". I look at myself in the mirror every day yet having someone tell me that and seeing it on paper is killing me. Wow! I really didn't think I was in denial about it but I have been in a funk and feeling absolutely HUGE since I started this. Give me your thoughts. Thanks!!!:blushing:

After a long journey, I have surgery date scheduled. I am looking forward to it, but have started to wonder if it is going to be as "big a deal" as I am hoping. I am 5 10 and weight 270, I have fought for years with weight and finally decided last June that I needed to do this-so now that all the insurance stuff has been met, I am ready to do it. I haven't told anyone except my husband, because he has to drive me to and from the hospital-so hoping for some support here. :rolleyes2:

I have my surgery date set for tomorrow (March 11th). I am getting very nervous that I will not be able to enjoy certain foods eventually again. I am wanting to enjoy all foods just in smaller portions. I no this is a tool to help control food intake but am nervous to give up (pizza, bread, steak, roast) ect. I know some of these foods have also been the cause of my weight gain, but would still like to enjoy a slice of pizza once in a while, or a small steak, ect. Just wondering if other people have went through this or are going through this same phase. I sometimes feel I am to young (28) to have to give up some of the good foods for life. Any comments appreciate…

Hi, Just got a call from my Dr. office. the surgery date was changed from 3/25 to 3/26 and to a different hospital. They said the first hospital couldn't get the lap band. Has anyone heard about this happening? The Dr. has done lots (over one thousand lap bands) at the hospital I'm going to, so it probably is for the best, I'm just nervous and this didn't help.

Hello all, I have been on here for a little while and there sure is alot of good information on this website. I am schedualed to have my surgery on Tuesday the 11th, and was wondering if you can feel the band or port. Thanks

I just read something online about sleep apnea and anethesia and I am freaking out. I am very worried now about post-op. Anybody had issues because of it?

Hi everyone, I LOVE this board, way more organized than elsewhere I've read. I only wish I'd stumbled upon this board sooner. I have a surgery date of Wed, 3/19 @ 6:00 am. On the pre-op clear liquid diet now, with SlimFast Optima 3x/day and am having difficulty not cheating. Nothing crazy, today I had some Soup and a few slices of lean turkey luncheon meat. I needed it to just keep doing my housework. I really wish I could've done a low carb/high Protein diet to shrink my liver instead of these nasty liquids and sugar free Jello and popsicles. I seem to have a metallic taste in my mouth and I almost would rather starve myself than do this particular diet. Sorry to…

hello All! This is my first post. I wanted to find out from all the veteran banders.. One of my main motivations is to have a child. I have PCOS and i have been told if i can just get some weight off then i should be able to concieve with no problems. How long after the band is it safe to get pregnant? Thanks so much for everybody's thoughts and answers...:thumbup:

I had my referral orientation class thru Kaiser back in December and have my psych consult next week. Then I think its a meeting with the nutrionist and surgeon before I get a surgery date. I've been trying to lose a little weight on my own because they said that they will require everyone to lose a small ammount of weight before the dr will perform surgery. I'm hoping that I've got a good headstart. Hopefully I will find out next week how much I will be expected to lose presurgery!