Karon

Hi: You will take Vitamins and Calcium chewables after lapband surgery. Call around and get samples of the shakes most companies offer samples packs, I just got a whole slew of them, some I paid for, some were free. My doc calls for a 3 week liquid diet with Protein for dinner of chicken or fish and oatmeal and yogurt along with Jello we can have. I am having my surgery on 7/12 so I don't have the answers to the rest of your questions yet. I'm sure some nice people will jump in and fill you in. Are you on the 6 month supervised diet right now? Just wondering. Stock up on jello and sugar free stuff, truvia for sweetners, applesauce, soft stuff like that that won't go bad because you will be eating a lot of it.

Thanks for the response. You have certainly come a long way. God is good all the time and He certainly is not through with you. If we keep the faith, I believe that, as the scripture says, "all things will work together for good..." Be blessed my friend.

Thanks Grider for taking the time to read my blog. You are fortunate to only have to do a 3 month supervised diet. That's real good. I ended up having to do mine twice cause the first time I didn't lose any weight. Bummer. I'm sure you will be banded way before December 31, 2011. There is no reason that it should take that long. YOu should be good for September no later than October. Be optimistic. What I did was bought lean cuisine dinners to help me and they worked. I'd catch them on sale and that is how I lost my weight. Best wishes for a speedy experience. Kay

Thank you Judy. I will use a different color for now on.

Hello: Here is a list that was given to me by my nutritionist: unjury (has website) Chike (has website) EAS - Walmart MetRX - Walmart Super Boost whey Protein - Walmart Syntrax Nectar- Amazon.com Designer Whey Bariatric Advantage (has website) Optimum Nutrition (has website) ISS Complete Whey powder Isopure Perfect Low Carb Maximum Protein Labrada Lean Body Revival soy Protein Powder these are just a few that are available. some of these will send free samples or sample packets for a small fee. Hope this gets you started. If you can search for the thread "Samples, samples, samples" someone listed about 20 different brands of shakes that we can email or call to get samples. I requested a bunch and have already began receiving them in the mail. This way you can try them before you buy or put out a considerable amount of money and you may not like all of them. Good luck.

Good for you Linda. Sounds like you had a nice day and didn't get yourself in any trouble. Proud of you. See it can be done. They didn't have any pulled pork at the BBQ or BBQ chicken? Just curious about the hamburger. k

Hi Lina: Welcome. We're here for you. Just post a question and we'll try our best to answer. You should probably start with your primary care physician who will be able to recommend a surgeon for you. Then make an appointment with the surgeon and he will tell you his process from there. It is all pretty straight forward. You usually have to attend an information session with other people interested in bariatric surgery as well. There is a lot of knowledge available on these boards. People are friendly and willing to help. So just jump in and begin talking and soon you'll know more than you ever dreamed ,

Walmart also sells the EAS brand.

Hi Johnnyboy: I just bought some Dannon Greek yogurt, but I haven't tasted it yet. Waiting until the 21st when I start my diet, which lasts 3 weeks. I hope they do taste good cause they were a dollar a piece and that's expensive. How much does the Chobani run? I have heard of that brand but not the Oikos one. Good luck with your appt. on the 20th. Keep us posted. You and I will be in this together, just 3 days apart.

Hi, hopefully soon. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I just wrote one that you might find interesting about the things we have to do to get ready. Where are you in the process. Bariatric Fusion is a name I don't recall hearing yet. Where do you buy it? I ordered some super whey protein from walmart and some Unjury and a bunch of samples from other companies. I hope I like the stuff from Walmart as I have a total of 6 pounds of it and I am only supposed to take 1 scoop as opposed to 2 scoops on the pre-op diet. So it should last a long time. I am going to try and make smoothies out of them in the blender and hope they will be palatable to me. I can't afford to waste money. However, I have done liquid diets in the past and I didn't mind too much. But this is going to be for 21 days and I'm not really looking forward to that. Thank God we can have some fish and chicken everyday along with yogurt and oatmeal and some veggies. Hopefully, it won't be too bad. Oh and jello and sugar free popsicles. Talk with you again soon. K

Hello again, Well let's see what has happened since I last wrote. Well I had my appointment with the Nutritionist to discuss life after being banded. She gave out some vitamin and calcium samples, a power point presentation discussed food and eating habits, diet and exercise. I was in the class with a 71 year old man who says that he wants the surgery so that he can walk in the room and the women will say 'who's that hottie." Oh how I laughed, But God bless his soul for being brave enough to embark on something like this in his truly senior years. He inspired me to say the least. The Nutritionist also gave us a packet of information from the company that makes the band and we can chart our progress at their website www.lapband.com. I came home and read through the materials and looked at the vitamins. What I have learned now is that this program is expensive in more ways than one. I hear the cost is close to that of a new small car and in addition, there are out-of-pocket expenses that we must shell out for these protein shakes which are not covered and are not considered food purchases. They can cost anywhere from $13 to 40+ for a container of whey protein. She gave us a list of the types that we have to have pre-op since we will be allowed to eat chicken and fish once a day along with the shakes and some veggies and fruit and oatmeal oh and non-fat yogurt. That's about it for the 3 weeks. Someone on here posted a list of places we could call or email for samples and I spent all day yesterday doing that. There must have been about 20 places on the list. The title of the message was "Samples, samples, samples" in case you can search for it. There were quite a few who are sending me free samples, some have sample packs where you only pay for the shipping and others have sample packs where you pay a small fee for the products and the shipping and handling. I ordered some Unjury and she is going to throw me in 2 samples of different flavors. I also ordered the sample packet of Chike products as I have heard they are good and Nectar products. The rest are freebies. However, today I found out that I could use the product sold at Walmart so I order 3 2lb tubs in different flavors for $40. That was a good deal along with some chewable Flintstones vitamins and chewable caltrate as we will need these things too. So my total at Walmart was $69.00 and that should tide me over at least for the3 weeks plus maybe a week or 2 after I come home. I am hopeful anyway as I am on a fixed budget and every penny does count. I have to pay for my one nights stay in the hospital, out of pocket for that is almost $300 and I hear they want that up front and cannot be billed. So again, I say this is not something for those who don't have the extra money to pay. Then there will be the doctor co-pays for the fills which happen every 4-6 weeks and in my case that will be $40. Yes, I think I am sort of venting about money right now, but someone told me I wasn't complaining when I used to go out and eat all the time and think nothing of spending $40 on my meal alone or when I want to buy a new computerized gadget. This is for my health, my life, so why complain. Just do what you have to do Karon and keep it moving, as the young folks say. I spend a lot of time at this site reading the posts and listening to people vent and rant and rave about they aren't losing fast enough, or this hurts and that hurts and when is the first fill and on and on and on. I would bed happy to have lost 78 pounds in 3 months as one lady did and she was still complaining about she needs to hit the gym more. Some of these folks seem obsessed. I don't want to become obsessed about this decision, this new life, etc. I have never been that type of person in the past and I don't want to start at this stage in my life. However, I understand to each his own and what's silly to one person makes sense to someone else. Those reading my blog may find me to be a ranter and raver. Who knows. OK, so I can step down off of my soapbox for now and go and enjoy and old movie. Something that gives me lots of pleasure and entertainment. I will have a cup of strawberries mixed with green grapes. Oh, and I joined Myfitnesspal.com . I really like that spot. A lot of support there and people who are dieting, doing weight watchers and various other things to lose weight. The nice thing is you can have a food diary and keep track of your workout times, etc. It is also compatible with cell phones and you can post in one and they will sync up. So that's a nice little feature. I have been staying under my allotted calories so far and am happy about that. The program says if I keep eating the way I am in 5 weeks, I will have lost 8 pounds. I put that I wanted to lose 1.5 pounds a week. I'm not greedy. I would be happy to have lost 8 pounds. Every pound means something to me, to lose them means something as well and I'm not looking for a magic bullet because I think if it's too magical I won't appreciate it. I want a nice steady pace. I don't want to ask for too much or expect to much. Let me be pleasantly surprised. Enough!

I hear you. I also have a date in July, 12th. I am having all sorts of feelings and emotions. But I think it is mostly happiness and excitement. Buying all these Protein powders, thinking, thinking and more thinking. Trying out different foods and yogurts which I don't really like. So this is going to be such a drastic change, but I believe it will be worth it in the end. So i wish you well. and you can do it. Just put your mind to it and stay focused. My hardest part, I think, is going to be to motivate myself to exercise and I know I definitely want to do that because it will help but also so that I don't become all flabby. But thats what's going to be very difficult for me. Is your doc putting you on a 3 week pre-op diet of Protein shakes, etc? Curious. K

Semper Fi!!!!! Great post. You set it straight. Now if only they will receive the message. I hope so. Because it is somewhat annoying to hear the whining all the time about the scale and how much weight they expect to lose. So many have very unrealistic expectations of the band. As someone said a while back, it's not a magic bullet. You have to work with it. It takes time. If they wanted dramatic weight loss, they should have chosen the gastric bypass or the sleeve, since they didn't then they must not have done their research into the band. Just my humble opinion. K

Thank you for all the information on the various free shakes. I called and/or emailed all of them this morning. Hopefully, they won't take long to come as I begin my pre-op diet on 6/21. Thanks so much again. K

I appreciate your honesty, but if you were not compliant with the lapband, how do you think you will be compliant with the gastric bypass. That is a very major, major surgery and they are removing part of your intestines. It requires discipline just like the lap band. If you don't do right, you will still be able to regain a lot of your weight. There are people on this board who have gone from the bypass to the lapband because they couldn't keep their weight off. I think you need to get to the root of the psychological issues first before you embark on another surgery which may just be a waste of time and money. I speak as a clinical psychologist and as one who also has had issues with depression and food. I am going to be banded on 7/12. Best wishes to you in your decision. K

Hell NO I won't be keeping those big clothes. I will donate them to the Goodwill or a local homeless shelter. What's the point in keeping them. I don't want any reminder of having been that big in my life again.

More than likely the first place to start is with your PCP because you may need a referral and also this doctor can recommend you to a good bariatric (weight loss surgeon) doctor. After that you will make an appointment with the surgeon and he will probably send you out an information packet. You will fill out the information and send it back. It will include a detailed history of you and what attempts you have made to lose weight in the past. Think of all the programs you have tried and failed at. After they receive this information, you will be invited to an information seminar where there will be other people there who are also wanting the surgery. They will discuss your options for the types of surgery available, lap band, RNY (gastric bypass), gastric sleeve, etc. Once you have completed this, you may then want to get any testing done that the doc requires. also, many require you to see a psychiatrist or psychologist for an evaluation to make sure you are mentally stable enough to withstand this life altering surgery. There may also be nutrition classes and a visit to a dietitian. Once all of this is done, they will submit your paperwork to the insurance company for approval. You will be given a date and 2-3 weeks before the date, you will probably go on a Protein (liquid) diet. This diet is given to shrink the liver as it can sometimes get in the way of the stomach. Oh, some insurance companies require 6 months of a medically supervised diet before you can have the surgery. If you have attended weight watchers under a doctors care, this might help or Nutrisystem/Jenny Craig, etc. Hope this helps. It is a fairly time consuming process, but depending upon how quickly you move and how busy the surgeon is, it doens't have to be too long from start to finish, except if you need that 6 month diet and don't have one you can use. Take care and good luck. K

Hello, I am being banded July 12. I live in NC and my surgeon is Dr. Fuzz Fernandez. I have waited for this for many a year too and am also nervous and excited at the same time. Like you, I'm hoping to reduce, come off of some medications, have better mobility and live a life with a lot more energy. Weill look to hearing more from you as you get closer to your date and after. take care and have a wonderful weekend. K

[Congrats on your date Stan. You can do it and you will be successful. I too am on Metformin for going on a year now. I have a date of July 12th. I am very excited as well. Yes, I have clothes in 3 different sizes. It can be discouraging but at that point that is where the group comes in and any other support you may have. Keep focused, there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. Keep us posted on your progress. K

Good luck and God bless. I know you can reach your goals, they are quite realistic. I will be following you in July. My goal is to get rid of my cane and walk on my own. K

Hi Amanda: I live in Winston-Salem. I'm pre-op., My surgeon is Dr. Fernandez and I'm scheduled for 7/12. If you're still looking for a friend, I'd love to make your acquaintance. K

Hi Dave: I see that you live in Winston Salem and so do I. I'm a transplant from NJ. Been here almost 4 years and love it. Are you a native of W-S? If you're still interested in friends, I could use all that I can find I am pre-op, supposed to have the surgery on 7/12. Talk to you later. K

Hi Marcy: May I ask why you were denied the first time and what you had to do to get approved? Thanks. Insurance is going to be submitted tomorrow and I have some concerns. K

I love what you wrote about all the benefits of having the surgery. While I have a BMI over 40, I have been able to camoflague my weight pretty good over the years. I wore skirts and dresses most of the time and that would hide the huge thighs, but not the "behind", my breasts aren't that big so I was always just considered more bottom heavy than top heavy. I had a very obese woman say the same thing to me. She had the gastric sleeve done and she had lost a lot of weight, but still looked to be about 350-400 lbs. So I guess to her she thought I could lose it on my own. I don't know everyone has an opinion. I wouldnt be offended, I would take it as a compliment that you hide the weight well. And like you, I so want to be around for my grandkids graduations, marriages and great grand children, and at this weight and these co-morbidities, i probably would not. K

Hi, I lived in New Jersey, South Jersey for 17 years, just relocated to NC 3 years ago, so I still consider myself a Jerseyite When I was there, I was going to use a Philadelphia doctor named Dr. Wernsing, out of Pennsylvania Hospital. A few years ago when I was there there was only one or 2 guys performing in South Jersey. Hopefully that has changed now. Would like to hear who you guys are using now in that area. Best of luck to all of us. I am scheduled for 7/12 down here. Looking forward to the new me ,,