LAP-BAND Surgery Forums

Well I guess I will not be banded on the 27th. My insurance company denied me. I am getting a lawyer and will appeal. Anyone ever get a denial overturned? Amy

I have lost nothing in the last 3 weeks. I have been following the rules and eating much less than I did before. I am scheduled for my first fill on October 28 which is the earliest time available. Even if I need the fill, why doesn't the fact that I'm eating so little work? Just need to vent! Thanks.

Hi Everyone Since my fill 2 weeks ago,3cc, I've felt very resticted. Food that worked for me before isn't working now. Soups, white cheese, yogurt, puddings, some kinds of chicken and smoothies have been great. I feel I need more variety in my diet. I unforfuntately have been learning the hard way what works and what doesn't. Any suggstions? Thank god for the person who posted the info on peanut butter. Love Margret

I got approval from my insurance and my surgery has been scheduled with Dr. Johnell on November 9, 2004! I am having such a mixture of feelings, excited, scared, nervous, joyous, happy. I have been reading your posts and appreciate this website sooooo much. Kay Soon to be Banded 308/308/ ?

When i eat good, hard food such as a peeled apple or chicken ect there is this rather embarrasing noise that starts from my ouch and up my throat.Does this happen with anyone else? Poeple sitting next to me can hear it.For those who know like my hubby it's ok but when i eat lunch at my desk in between clients, it can be embarrasing.I just pretend like nothing happened!

This is quite interesting........all of a sudden I can eat mac and cheese why is that? Yeah, I know I shouldn't eat it but isn't it strange that I can now?? Anyone else discover this ??? Dunno.......

I have been waiting all morning for the Doctor's Office to call me with the exact date, but I am still waiting. UGH! Soooooo.........I guess I will tell you about it. Yesterday was my visit, and I absolutely loved Dr. Provost and his whole office. I was there for 2 1/2 hours and could have been longer if I wanted to. They took time with me, they didn't rush me or anything. I saw the device that would be going in me, and we talked about hospitals and food too. I met with the dietitian, the billing director and the head nurse. Each person came into my room one at at ime and sat until I didn't have any more questions. I was told so much info, I can't even remember …

Summer of 2004 http://www.shockwave.com/contentPlay/photojam4.jsp?doc=14705035/1096744726729_586

Hello to all. I feel great. When i woke up after my surgery i felt a little pain but it was not severe. I thought i was going to hurt really bad. I stayed overnight in the hospital and it was very pleasant. There was alot of nurses there that had lap band done of them here recently. So they could really understand how i felt. I did not sleep at all last night. The demeral continued to give me headaches so they had to give me ibruprophen to stop the pain in my head. Otherwise it went great. I have six small incisions on my stomach. I cannot see them yet because they have tape on them. The nurse told me that i can take a shower as soon as i get home. I am not hungry at a…

Hi everyone I am on the liquid stage.... again, and i really didnt remember how bloody hard it is!!!!! ( probably has to do with the fact that I got given the wrong post op treatment/rules the first time: got painkillers in capsule form at the hospital after surgery, got a 3 week programme from clear liquids to solids last time ( my booklet had missing pages apparently!)). I am 1 week post op and STARVING! Nothing makes me happy. The main difference with last time is that I dont want anything sweet this time, i crave real food, which i cant drink of course. I spend my time looking for new ( fast and easy to make) soups. Any suggestions? family recipes? Yesterday …

WISH ME LUCK ALL. I DO HAVE A QUICK QUESTION BEFORE I GO TO BED. DID ANYONE HONESTLY CHEAT ON THE 2 WEEK DIET. DID YOU EAT ANYTHING BAD THE NIGHT BEFORE SURGERY. PLEASE LET KNOW BECAUSE I DID. :banana

A friend of mine is considering getting banded but was wondering something I never thought about. She is a smoker and wondered what kind of effects that would have? Would it in any way affect her band? Have any of you heard anything about this or are any of you smokers?? She'd love to quit, (I'd love her to as well!) but she said she didnt know if she could do it cold turkey! Anyway, just wondering if you guys had any input on this for me to tell her... Thanks... Katie

Hey guys!! Got a question? I am 9 days out and having a horrible time getting all my Water in every day. I wasnt told to only drink a little bit at a time..i'm assuming i need my 8 glasses a day...plus i'm not a big fan of crystal light...so i'm drinking decaf tea, sugar free hot chocolate, and regular water. Anyone have any other suggestions? Is my problem getting it in normal even though I am hungry but cant seem to get the water in? Thanks everyone!! katie

Someone ask me how i was doing...good question! I find that i get really motivated,go gung ho for a few days sometimes a week or two then go back to my old ways of eating for convenience and eating for entertainment. I don't lose weight. Since my marriage had hit more than rock bottom and we decided to work harder,be kinder and more receptive to how we feel and talk more, it's been so much better.It feels different this time because he actually admitted how wrong he was and could see just how much he hurt me.I think he realized i have more confidence and would not take his bullcrap and WOULD leave regarless of the fact that we have children.He saw what he would lose an…

I think I am PBing more that most of the people that I've read of, but I'm really sure I don't have too much of a fill. A little history: Banded on 7/2/04 by Dr. Rumbaut Fill on 8/17/04 by Dr. Kuri I'm on Depo Provera, so I don't have a monthly cycle, or an irregular cycle or anything, just no cycle (lucky me). Anyway, I know that everyone goes through days when they are tighter than other days, but this range of restriction for me is really crazy. Mostly during the morning I can't successfully eat anything, so I quit trying that. I drink milk or protien drinks or somethin. Today for lunch I tried to have 2 slices of roast beef and a slice of swiss cheese. Abo…

We have pictures that we put on the computer last night and we cannot figure how to put them on this page. I see some people with pictures under there names and some people download there pictures to show us how my much weight they have lost. Please let me know. I would greatlt apreciate it. Thanks!

I have visited numerous Lap Band sites and always find that women are the majority everywhere. Is the Lap Band appealing women more or are men just too shy to admit they are having surgery? Dan

I was helping a friend of mine move on Saturday (i'm only 2 weeks out but dont worry i was only carrying a couch cushion ) well it was dark out and thier new sidewalk has a crack in it and of course i'm a clutz and fell, right on my stomach!!!! My ego was pretty bruised but nothing else...I was soooo scared of hurting my band of it slipping. I dont feel bad now or anything my stomach is all itchy since my incisions are healing but i figure thats pretty normal....anyway, should I go see my surgeon, I am just really worried about my band being misplaced or messing up my port...is that something that can occur very easily in the first few weeks? As you can tell i'm ramblin…

Well. I've got 10 more pounds before I hit my 200 lb mark. My last fill was on Augsut 23, and i'm still pretty restricted. So hopefully before I go back to the doc I will be there. Although I think his scale is 2 lbs off. So, I don't know. But thanks for the support guys. 280/210/150

It's that time of year when I pack a few bags of clothes for the Salvation Army -- but another discussion here made me think that maybe a tall female bandster could use some not terribly fashionable size 22/24 clothing while on her way down. That got me to thinking that there are probably a lot of us out there who are both getting rid of clothes and looking for new ones while we're in transition. I'm one of those people with clothing in about eight sizes from different phases of my dieting life (and I have the Dynasty-era shoulder pads to prove it) but, like a lot of you, I suspect, I'm short on wardrobe basics in my current size. Would a clothing exchange be impractica…

Guys, My procedure is 06 October an I am getting very scared. Can anyone tell me EXACTLY what to expect? Can u share your experience with the actual procedure? I can research all day, but I want to hear it from the horse's mouth. Thank you sooo much in advance for any words of wisdom. Sue3

Wouldn't you know it, a day before a fill my band decides to make itself known again! I think it knows what's up tomorrow and just wanted to remind me that even though I haven't been able to feel much restriction lately it's still in there. Were its little silicone feelings hurt? Today at lunch I had one piece of seaweed go down the wrong way, and holy cow, NOW I remember what PBing is all about! I haven't done it in a couple of months, not really, but today I had to actually leave the building and try to walk it off. Didn't work, so I went into the library and was able to rid myself of the offending piece. YUCK!! So maybe I don't need to be tighter. :cool: But I do n…

I was banded a week ago today. Everything has been going well. I have had no hunger except what's in my head. I just started full liquids today. Yesterday I started spotting. I take BCP's and am only on week 2. I was wondering if this happened to anyone else. I know stress can make you spot and I have also heard that estrogen is stored in fat and if you have rapid weight loss it can upset your estrogen levels for a bit. I have lost 10 pounds in this first week. Any thoughts??

My wife prepare her best chicken Soup and as I was eating it may me want to ask the following question: Once banded, I know that one of the rules are not drinking liquids while you eat, and not drinking anything for about 2 hours after. Does this mean that soup is out of the question or do you only drink the soup and not the vegetables and chicken? California Dan Not banded yet, but is comming soon!

Who was the doctor that banded Dr. Rumbaut? I have read that he is the only Mexican doctor who was banded and I would like to know. Thanks, California Dan

Hi everyone, just got back home from hospital after surgery. The doctor wanted to keep me for an extra day/night, but my husband couldnt take another day off work. I am still in shock, so please someone remind me why this is worth it. I am having the same feeling as the first time, when I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life and so on.....I think I am depressed. The gas pain was much worse than last time. My liver had attached itself to the scar tissue so it got cut ugh! and i am just wondering if I can ever again go through this kind of pain again! I wish I had someone to look after my baby for a couple of days while this gets better! I hate being…

I found this from a Yahoo message board I am a member of and thought I would share it here. Very interesting. THIS IS NOT MY EXPERIENCE. It is someone else's. **************************************************** Message: 9 Date: Fri, 01 Oct 2004 01:57:35 -0000 From: "deceivedbandster" Subject: DECEIVED BY DR ponce de leon and Andres I want to tell people to beware! I was banded by them 2 1/2 weeks ago and have just found out that they DID NOT put in the inamed LAPBAND I requested and agreed to!!!. I had to see a local doc about a port infection, and he did a swallow and found out i have the Sweedish band!!!!!! Andres will not return my calls or…

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to say hello. I am afraid I have been a "lurker" for awhile now and haven't been posting, but I have been thinking positive thoughts for everybody onboard. I have quick question. I have 4cc band (since Dec 03). I lost 35# and then had my band filled to 2.5cc. (In mid May '04) For awhile it was ok, but then I got really obsessive and ate very little. It made me a little spacy and nutty to say the least so my friends convinced me to eat a little. well that is an understatement, I can eat alot now - up to 2 cups of food probably and still not feel "full" or could at least eat more. I know a lot of it is emotional eating. Needless to say I …

Yipee I finally have a appt. for my first fill. Dr. Eubanks in Portland, OR. The next day they had available is my birthday, I said oh what the heck sounds good to me. I am very excited yet a little nervous. I don't know if I should take someone with me or go it alone. I still have no records from Dr. Lopez, I have gave up on that. I hope they don't need them. Very reasonable prices first visit is 256.00 and any other fills after is 150.00. I am very glad to finally be seeing a Doctor haven't seen one since my surgery. Just hope everything is where it is suppose to be. Thanks again Teresa for all your help. Kathy Dr. Lopez May 21st 2004 -41

I don't know about many of you out there but I have not considered myself "beautiful" in a long time. But today I was at work riding in the back of a Constable's car (police car). I was not in trouble or anything like that , but for anyone who knows better, the back door only opens from the outside. Well the constable forgot to let me out at my office and I made a joke saying I would ride with him all day if he wanted me to. He apologized as he got out then opened my door for me and he resonded saying " I'm sorry, it's not every day I have a beautiful lady in the car" If I never thought I have lost much weight or walked more proudly or had a little more self co…

I work in an office in a shopping mall.There is a deli next door. At this time of the morning they start baking homemade bread!! It is the most yummy smell and makes me want to go out and buy a warm roll with a pound of butter. My mouth is soooooooo watering and it makes my brain hurt!! At least later i can look forward to feeling nauseous with the overpowering smell of garlic later on beofre noon... Off to eat my yucky egg and sugar free whole wheat toast with margarine!! Chantal

So, how excited is everyone to go to Vegas? I'm so excited I can't stand it!! I just can't decide what to wear. I'm pretty sure that I will have to get new clothes because everyone in Vegas would be able to tell that I had worn what I have before. And shoes, new shoes, too! Megan

Hi guys! I remember about a month ago I found a post w/ a list of things that we should be doing to maximize weight loss as well as signs that let us know we do need a fill. Can anyone help me find it? Thanks!

Hi guys! I remember about a month ago I found a post w/ a list of things that we should be doing to maximize weight loss as well as signs that let us know we do need a fill. Can anyone help me find it? Thanks!

I am using Naproxen 500MG for pain and to reduce the inflamation in my back. I have started and stopped taking the Naproxen twice because I have a hard time keeping solid food down. I have never had this problem in the past, has anyone taken Naproxen and had a similar experience? I normally take it with about 8OZ of milk and yogurt.

I just got a date for October 27th. I am so excited and nervous all at the same time. I just hope that my insurance co. will approve me. Keep your fingers crossed for. Amy

I'm thinking I'll go back to the gym tomorrow. I'm 2 weeks post-op and feeling good. I've never had a problem exercising - just a problem with using exercise as an excuse to overeat! Before my surgery, I went to the gym 5 days a week for at least an hour and a half. Usually 45 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of weight/strength training. Besides the usual stuff - take it easy, go slow - does anyone have any other advice or wisdom to offer?

I'm really glad I found this site! I could sit and read for hours and hours and catch up on all the posts I havent read, but i'd never get to sleep. I really am trying not to overdue, but i'm 7 days out and honestly i'm hungry. Only certain times, like if I havent had anything to drink for awhile, so I try to have some Soup or Water (getting burnt out already ) to keep something 'in there'. This weekend i get to move to mushy foods so I'm very excited about some mashed potatoes!!! Did any of you guys experience this or anything similar? Do you think it's because I havent had a fill? It's very weird to feel this way and any advice would be appreciated!!! Katie:D

To date it has been four months and three fills since my surgery total weight loss is 33 lbs from May 25- to today. Shouldn't I be losing more????

Okay let me explain. I was banded a year and 9 months ago and have only lost 50 pounds now. I had lost 90 but have recently gained back 40 because I had to have a 2nd surgery to fix my band when it slipped. Now i didn't have a fill for a couple months and went right back to my old eating habits and gained that back I am trying to get back on track. I only have 1cc in my band but I do notice restriction and definately don't want to be how i was before the 2nd surgery throwing up everything when I was way too tight at 1.8 Im just not feeling in a good place. I feel like I have failed my band and failed myself. I was even thinking of switching surgeries to the gastric bypas…

I just love saying "Slidell, Louisiana." I was born in California and STILL can't say it without a drawl.

Hi all!! I just wanted some ideas on what Vitamins to take. My first month after banding , I was on Flinstone chewables 2 aday. Then I thought that I would move on to some "grown up" vitamins and tried liquid Centrum. It is horrible to me. I then tried Chewable Centrum, but it is chalky and I gag on it at times. I would love to be able to go back to the Flinstones, but am not sure if it is providing me with all that an adult needs. I'd like to get a survey of what vitamins work for you all. Your input is greatly appreciated,

I know this is a minor thing, and that there are other, much larger more important issues that are discussed here on this board. I also know that this is only temporary and that 'before I know it', I will be able to eat real food again, but in the mean time, by gosh, I am sick and tired of Soup and skim milk banana Protein smoothies! I get to advance to 'soft foods' on Wednesday. Never in my life have I looked so forward to cottage cheese and apple sauce! Somebody slap me and tell me to quit whining! Particularly since I can't even have any cheese with my whine

Hi Everyone, On Friday, I made a last minute decision to go to New York for my sisters 40th birthday. My family consists of thin folks who eat carbs, Teddy Grahams, cheesecake , biscotti and lots of Pasta. So naturally from the time I arrived until the time I left, I ate what others ate. First there was the party which consisted of penne ala vodka, a five foot italian sub sandwich, eggplant parmagiana, lemon chicken, potato and macaroni salad and for the rest you get the picture! Dessert consisted of three different choices like cheesecake, cannolis and birthday cake. THere was also champagne, MUDSLIDES to follow and homemade wine. Well needless to say, I had to …

I feel I have to be really honest and hopefully some of you will have some words of wisdom for me. I can't remember when I last lost a pound. In fact, I've gained three. Although I had read before hand that the band is not magic, at first it seemed like it was. Fifty pounds melted off of me despite the fact that I basically wasn't following any of the band rules very often and was eating whatever I wanted. Well, the honeymoon's been over for months now and I've realized that those rules are there for a reason and that I can't continue to eat junk and continue to eat around the band if I want to lose more weight. But I've had a really rough time getting control of…

Has anyone noticed a change in thier drinking water before and after fills? I can now drink water a half hour before or after a meal is this okay to continue to do???

Hello everyone, I would just like to ask if anyone knows how common if at all, is it to develop GERD after the lap band. And if it's related to theband moving or can just be a coincidence? Haven't been able to lie down for 3 weeks now, and both my GP and band doctor keep telling me its not band related, just something that can happen at any time, and as long as I can eat/drink, just have to put up with it. But last night i couldnt even sit at night, I inhaled acid 7 times before I decided to spend the rest of the night walking around the house in the dark feeling sorry for myself :mad: I am still feeling sorry for myself, sorry. Thank you all Tellie

This site is so good, it gives all kinds of info. Lapbandtransformation.com Betty

Hi everyone, I am trying to choose a Lap Band Dr. in either Monterey or Tijuana Mexico. I am fluent in Spanish, there for I do not need to pay extra for a patient facilitator. Can anyone refer me to a doctor that you know who gives a discount for not using this service? If you prefer to e-mail me and let me know how much you save, I will appreciate it. Thank you, Dan

OK put your name, first name only, date of banding, and how much weight you have lost to date. Copy and paste the list and add your info. Penni: 4/6/04 -- 47 lbs