Machele

Hi all, I just talked to Diane's DH on the phone and he says she is home and resting comfortably. :clap2: Her surgery took about 3.5 hours and during the surgery, she had a pain pump inserted. He also said that she is not in as much pain as they expected. I'm sure the pain pump helps! She has gotten up to walk around, I think just to keep from going "stir crazy"! She should be checking in the next couple of days. Good luck to all on your journeys!

Hi, I bought a pill crusher from GNC for half the cost. It is similar to the "Handy Little Pill crusher" on your link. It screws down and crushes the pill into powder with a few small chunks. I take some big pills for my knee and it works great for that!

That is very close to what I had to say to my parents to get them to stop their jabs about my weight. I had 2 comments rehearsed and waiting for them at Christmas time. 1) "I am attempting to alter my gentic outcome" and 2) "I am changing my heritage".... This is probably the primary reason I have NOT told my parents about me being banded.... The support is not there now and has never been there, why would this surgery change things???

Hi all, It sounds like my fellow Marchies are doing good!! :clap2: My surgery was March16th. I went through surgery just fine, and did not have any of the terrible gas pains after surgery that everyone else has talked about. BUT, I have had a throbbing pain from the swelling where my port was placed since surgery. :phanvan My doctor told me that I would be swollen for about 3 weeks, so I have another week of the pain. :faint: I was on liquids for 2 weeks and moved to soft/mushie foods on Saturday. I am soooo enjoying scrambled eggs and cottage cheese! :biggrin1: I still do not have much of an appetite, and almost no energy! I eat about a 1K calories a day, and since I am not hungry, I have not had many cravings either! The lack of appetite and cravings is a good thing, since my first fill is not scheduled until April 19th! So far I have lost 25 pounds and my clothes are fitting a lot looser! :clap2: No one that I work with knows that I had this done, so even though, I have baggy pants, I have not had any comments. I have not started exercising yet and I don't want to tell someone that "diet and exercise" is how I'm losing weight, when I still take a nap every afternoon after work!:notagree Gook luck to everyone and I hope all of our weight loss continues!

After my surgery I was given liquid Lortab. It killed the pain, but the taste was terrible. From what I know about Darvocet, you can still continue to take it, but you will have to get a pill crusher so not to get stuck. You can use applesauce or yogert to cut the taste of the crushed pill. Good luck!

There is usually a procedure code that the dr.'s office uses to get approval/denial from your insurance company. I called the dr.'s office and asked what the procedure code was for the band. Once I had the number, I called mine and my husband's insurance company to see if either of them covered the procedure. Once you have the procedural code, it is much easier to get information from the insurance company. Good luck!

There is usually a procedure code that the dr.'s office uses to get approval/denial from your insurance compamy. I called the dr.'s office and asked what the procedure code was for the band. Once I had the number, I called my insurance company and my husband's company to see if either of them covered the procedure. Once you have the procedural code, it is much easier to get information from the insurance company. Good luck!

Who said we can't win it? My brother is in Iraq, and as a soldier and an American, he believes that the US military CAN win in Iraq.

Everything Wheetsin posted is correct, but the biggest thing is you have to itemize in order to claim any medical expenses. If you do not file a Schedule-A with your taxes, there is no way I know of to take the medical deductions... And yes, the travel expenses to get to the doctors, and hotel bills if you had surgery away from home are also deductible as part of the medical expense.

There is a doctor in Denver that cost $9950.

Well darn. I guess my finger got trigger happy! :phanvan

From my understanding, there is fat around all of your organs, the stomach included. As you lose weight, the fat disappears as well. Therefore, the stomach becomes smaller. The fills are needed to keep the restriction around the stomach tight as the stomach gets smaller. However, I have only recently been banded myself so, I don't have any experience in this. It is just what I have read on here.

From my understanding, there is fat around all of your organs, the stomach included. As you lose weight, the fat disappears as well. Therefore, the stomach becomes smaller. The fills are needed to keep the restriction around the stomach tight as the stomach gets smaller. However, I have only recently been banded so, I don't have any experience in this. It is just what I have read on here.

Have you made any other changes, such as vitamins or supplements when you got your band? I had a rash on my foot that went up the back of my leg. I suffered with it for several months until I could find a dermatologist that could tell me possible causes. It ended up being too much dietary metals in my vitamins. So, I had to change vitamin brands. Just my 2 cents...

I'm a closet bandster also. I have not told anyone in my family, just because of the critizism I've had in the past from them. My husband knows and 1 friend. I took off 3 days from work and all I had to tell my principal was "female problems", and he did not want to know anymore! :biggrin1: My friend has yo-yo'ed with her weight for many years, and understands the issues with it. She has been very supportive and even called me on my way home from the hospital! That's a real friend, who took the time to remember the day and the time of my surgery! Good luck with your "closet"!

I wonder if this is part of the ketosis (sp) that happens to us when we start losing weight. It is the chemical reaction of the breaking down of the fat for energy and not using food for energy, because there is none available... Just my 2 cents.

Hi all I just wanted to check in! I got to the hospital at noon for my 1pm surgery. Things went well during surgery, no hernia or gallbladder problems. I was back at the hotel by 4. They put a dramamine patch on me to prevent nausea, but it makes my eyes dilated, so seeing fine print is difficult. I walked a lot that evening, but did not sleep well that first night. I took 2 doses of the pain medicine and gagged on the taste both times. :welldoneclap: So, I started using a chicken broth chaser!! Fortunately, I have not had to use very much of it! I think the worst part of this recovery period is the discomfort of getting in and out of bed and sitting up and down. I am also having trouble blowing my nose. It feels like I can't catch my breath. We flew home on Saturday, I was exhausted. Once we got home, I went right to bed, I slept all night through!:notagree Travelling was easy, just a little slow! I am having a hard time staying on clear liquids for the first 3 days. I feel like I am always :hungry: . I went out today and bought some soy protien powder from GNC. It makes my chicken broth taste really bad! :phanvan So, 2 days post-op, and I am feeling really good, and have had no gas pains as of yet! I'm walking a lot and doing 1 more day of clear liquids which I try to drink slow. However, I am not feeling any restriction at all! I can drink my cup of chicken broth in 1 sitting, usually takes me about 5-7 minutes. I have been heating it up in the microwave to almost boiling, so I take longer to drink it. But at the airport yesterday, I had 3 spoonfuls of my husband's frozen yougert. 1 of the spoonfuls was a bit bigger then it should have been, and I stuck in my mouth anyway. No problem, slid right on down... I was hoping to have some restriction.... Sorry about the long story, I just had to share! <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Pam, I am right there with you. My closet ranges in size from size 14 to 24. I have decided that once I "shrink" out of my big clothes, I am taking them immediatly to the consignment shop. That way I can be able to buy some new ones at the same consignment shop! I will have to be repeating the same thing to myself as well. My brain is having a difficult time wrapping itself around the thought of once I am banded, I will never be this heavy again!

Hi Donna, WOW, Why is your husband limiting you on the funds? Most band surgeries are in the 15K range.. does he expect you to come up with the rest? I am having my surgery done in Denver. I was toooo chicken to even consider Mexico. I wanted some one statside if I started having problems was the biggest reason I chose to have it done in Denver. I feeling has always been "you get what you pay for" so, if you pick a cheaper hospital in Mexico is is dirty or older?? I think I would reconsider that option. The other reason that the Dr. is much lower in Denver is he told me there is a lot of competion in his area. Price really matters there. Check out the Denver doctor thread in "Dctors and Hopitals". You get lots of good information! Good luck with your decision!

Thanks for everyone reporting in about their experiences the first few days of post-op. I have been rather concerned about this time period because I have not gotten a lot of information from my doctor. He had told me several times that everyone is different... DUH! I started my pre-op diet on Sunday and when I went to weigh at my PCP's office today, I was down 14 pounds from the last time I was in! (which was a bout 3 weeks ago) I know I have lost most of that weight this week!:whoo: I was so excited! I am down to seven days left, and I am ready to get this over with! My band doctor called this morning and I am scheduled for surgery at 1pm on the 16th. We are flying out on Tuesday so DH and I can have some R&R before my surgery! For everyone that has had surgery--Take care, if you have not had surgery, the time can't come fast enough!

Congratulations on your date!:clap2: I completely know how you feel about not wanting to tell everyone about this surgery, because deep down, I am having the same feeling about not being able to take the weight off by myself. I have decided that if someone asks me I'm just going to tell them the truth "diet and excercise". Because bottom line is, it will be ME who gets up off the couch to ride the bike or go for a walk. It will be ME who puts the fork down after enough food. No one else is going to do it for me!! :yell: I have suffered through the comments from family and co workers about "exercisign some will power" or "look how broad that beem is getting" to know that they will not be supportive of my decision! :phanvan Sad but true! I told my doctor about my concerns about telling people and he told me that "throat surgery" has the same kind of liquid diet requirements for recovery. So, I have "set the stage" at work for the wieght loss with a throat surgery story. :guess I can feel your pain!

I am in the same boat as you are. I have no family support, except criticism. Which is the main reason I have decided not to tell my parents or other memebers of my family. My PCP even told me that this surgery "was the easy way out!". :faint: BTW-- I have a new PCP which I interviewed before I signed on with his practice!! :biggrin1: The only person that knows about my surgery is my husband and 1 friend.

I bought the powder that is strawberry flavored. You can mix it in juices or water. Is that the same thing everyone else is talking about?

Yep, I'm a teacher! It seems like whenever I do something major, it revolves around a school break! :clap2: I 'm hoping that this surgery will give me back some energy, because now I'm :tired all the time!

I am being banded on March 16th. I have my phone consult with the doctor and the nutritionist on Feb. 19th. From the information I have from his office, he recommends the low carb/high protien for 2 weeks prior to the surgery to help shrink the liver, but there has been nothing mentioned about a liquid diet before surgery. His office has told lots about the liquid post-op surgery and the importance of it. I have called his office with several questions that I have had and they have been happy to answer all of them for me. I should know more on Monday after my phone consultations.