PJ384

Hoping to keep my 12-20-11 surgery date but will know more on wednesday when I go to see the new surgeon I have had to go find because the surgeon I was scheduled with has decided to move to Phoenix and cancelled all his scheduled patients Iam glad I called them about my pre op appointment otherwise I have a feeling they would not have told me until it was to late that I had been cancelled I can not help thinking this has been for the best as I was always a bit uncomfortable with the surgeons office even after nearly a year of going there and calling them for one thing an another they have no clue who Iam and refer to me by my birthdate I have learned to just give them my birthdate the minute they answer the call because without they know nothing about me I also learned to never say sure you can call me back because they never did and I rarely get the same person twice when calling they seem to work weird hours during the week But anyway Wednesday is a new day and Iam hoping it will be a new experience for me and a much better one as well as I really want to do this but I also really want it to be with somebody who will be there tp help and answer my questions afterwards. So wish me luck here goes everything :-)

Its been a heck of a journey so far but Iam really staying positive about having my surgery on Dec 20th I was scheduled for Aug 29th but a family thing came up and I had to reschedule so the next time I had time off from work was winter break in Dec so I set it for then I called last week to see about setting up my pre op appointment and was told my surgeon had cancelled all his pending surgeries and I would be referred to another surgeon well after a week and 3 phone calls they have done nothing so this morning I called my insurance and told them what was going on and they said no problem get a new surgeon and just let us know who and where your having it done you will not need to re qualify so I called Dr Monash's office in Tucson and I have an appointment on Wed the 30th and the office manager said she will take care of having my file sent over and checking everything to be sure Iam good to go and she felt we had a good chance of keeping the same surgery date as well so Iam feeling pretty good about this right now and Iam excited to join the December Bandsters on this journey.

Hi Sherry Iam in the same boat as you I work for a public school so Iam off in the summer but also not paid for those 3 months I was not approved for surgery till 5th of july and picked Auig 31 for my surgery since I would be back at work and money coming in again but a unforeseen family situation came up the week before my surgery so I had to reschedule it and my next time off is Christmas so my new date is Dec 20th so you and I can be band buddies it good to know there are others out there who had to do the same thing I did and are still detremined to get it done and make it work.

I think everyone does to some extent or another your being normal in your cleaning a lot of people go through this before they have a major event in thier lives vacations or surgeries its not unlike the nesting most women do just before giving birth its natures way of making sure all is clean and tidy so we have time to recover and relax afterwards without worrying if the house looks good for company. A couple things you can do to help you relax 1) a nice walk in your neighborhood or a nearby park maybe 2) get out and do something go to a movie take a scenic drive get together with friends for a lunch 3) do something for others it will keep your mind off yourself and give you something better to think about volunteer for a project at your church or maybe your local school they always need teacher helpers for one thing or another 4) take up yoga or meditation both have been found to be effective in lowering BPs lots of towns have a class or two going on someplace if not start one and you can all learn together 5) When you feel a Panic coming on ake a moment sit down close your eyes and listen to your breathing and slowly make a mental effort to slow it down empty your mind of all thought and just concentrate on your breathing work towards slow deep breaths and skowly work on relaxing your muscles start with your feet and work your way up to your head. Hope this helps at least a little ~

I was scheduled to have surgery on Aug 30th but a family thing forced a reschedule to my next time off in December but I did do my 2 week pre-op diet as planned since the surgery was not rescheduled till the monday before it was to happen on wednesday I bought the Body Fortress whey protien powder from wal mart I think it was 16.97 a container I really like the chocolate and the vanilla is o.k. but it seems to sweet to my taste I also tried the chocolate peanut butter and found it disgusting and threw it away a few tries later when I found I just could not make myself like it..But now that I have read Javajodster's post I think I will give Pure Protien a try because vareity makes the dieting easier to do. Definately use a blender to mix it and use some ice in it as well because they are right the colder the better they are

I think you need to step back and put this all into perspective and realize what a brief moment this is in the whole of your life it is the exact opposite of all those days you stepped on the scale and wanted to cry because you had gained another 5 lbs please take a deep breath and look at the glass again and this time see it as half full instead of half empty and instead of thinking" OMG another week of these darn shakes" and start thinking "OMG just one more week and I will start soft foods and just look at how much I have lost already" Its all a matter of perspective and seriously you need to get a much more positive one,If I told you all you have to do is commit 1 month to eating the way I tell you to and you can a normal weight for the rest of your life does that sound like so much to ask?I can relate that the shakes get old they do but instead of focusing on whats right in front of you at this point lets try looking at whats coming down the road if it helps start planning what you will eat at the soft stage gather recipes and shop for the items and plan your meals for next week it will be here before you know and do not allow your negative thoughts to creep in when you find yourself feeling the poor poor pitiful me's coming on push them away firmly and say out loud I can and I will do this for myself I have earned it and I owe it to myself,I have spent years being heavy and uncomfortable I can surely do one month of shakes and soft food for the sake of feeling normal for the rest of my life ~~~rinse and repeat~~~

I plan to keep on doing a protein shake a day I use the body fortress whey protien from Wal Mart it is not exspensive and has 26 grams of protien per scoop so I just make 1 shake with 2 scoops in it and a cup of skim milk and that gives me 52 grams of protein for the day plus it gives you a several vitamins as well and I was worried about getting enough vitamins post op as I would probably not be able to swallow the large vitamin pills I have been taking. I wish you all the best on your journey to a healthier you :-)

If you have a health card for your insurance there should be a 1-800 number on it that you can call to find out if your insurance covers lapbanding and if so what is required to get coverage for it Iam not sure which insurance your meaning so I can not be sure what requirements you will have I work for the public school system and Iam on ASBAIT the state's Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance for state employees if your on that type insurance the blue cross blue shield one I can tell that in my case it did and I was required to submit a letter from my doctor saying the surgery was needed and I was required to attend 8 weeks of nutritional training and had to submit medical records showing that I had been overweight for more than 5 years and I also had to be evaluated by a pyschaitrist and she had to file a report stating that I was mentally fit for the surgery. If your not comfortable call your insurance to ask them you can call the office of the doctor in your area that does the lapabnd surgery and they will be able to tell you.

Hello I have tried several time to edit my patient profile to reflect my new surgery date but when I click on the edit profile icon nothing happens at all it goes no where and does nothing so I guessing there is a bug that needs to be fixed Thank You PJ384

Perhaps instead of sending out a press release why not use your contacts to get a expose published on the doctors who do this practise and include a list of doctors who do not do this so people in the area will be well armed with the information to avoid being ripped off but greedy doctors.

Totally up to you Iam not telling anyone outside of my family but that because when I mentioned it to two co -workers they jumped on it and tore it apart telling me not to do that I just needed to try harder and they were sure I could do it on my own well duh if I could I would have I most definately would not choose to carry around an extra 100lbs and at that moment I decided it was nobody's business but mine.I will say my family was the opposite they were really excited for me and offered a lot of support and understanding.But I think everyone is different and you have to choose for yourself so let your gut be your guide with htis I think,As for me I say congrats to you on making such a tough decision and I wish you all the best on your journey.

I was much worse this weekend so don't sweat it Iam not sure why some doctors require 2 weeks or 1 week of pre op diet some only ask for 24 hours others want 3 or 4 days they all have different ideas of what is needed Iam on a 2 week pre op and I stuck to it like glue all week but on sunday we had a going away party for my niece who is off to college and I went and I had 1 braut on a bun with mustard and some shrimp salsa and chips and yes I felt guilty and Iam back on it to the letter today but Iam not sharing that with anybody but the people here who have been there and done that and know where Iam coming from and I think your going to be fine also.

I did not have to do the 6 months supervised diet I had to do a once a week appointment with a registered dietiation that was a really a total waste of time and effort I had to drive 200 miles round trip and a tank of gas to sit in her office for about 15 minutes while we just chit chatted about what I had done the week before and she never once offered any guidance or help in dietary changes and she just made a little note on a sheet each week and then on the last appointment she said they would submet to my insurance and let me know when they had a decision and as it turned out I had to call my insurance myself to get the answer it was funny how within an hour of my call to them I got a call from the surgeons office saying "Hey you have been approved for the surgery" . Just put it down to the stupid hoops your insurance will make you jump through to get the band.

This is not normal and you should be on the phone with your surgeons office first thing monday morning

Absolutely I have had those thoughts I have lost 20 lbs on the supervised weight loss part and the pre op part but the moment I think why not just keep doing it this I remember why I went to the surgeon in the first place I can do anything for a while but not in the long run and if I do not have to physical restriant of the band to help me stay on track while I change my whole way of dealing with food and my bad eating habits I will eventually fall back into my old habits and regain all I have lost and probably even a couple pounds more I already did this weekend eating ice cream and peach cobbler and BBQ as well so I know left on my own I will not be able to keep up my high minded ideas of I can do this its easy because I can't not on my own and not without the support of the band and the people at the clinic

Because every organ in your body requires a steady supply of water to keep it in good working order not drinking enough water everyday is like driving your car with no oil in it you need to google the benefits of getting enough water everyday you will be amazed at what good it does your body to get the water it needs every day.

Maybe your doctor should have realized with all that exercise you were probably gaining muscle and that the weight loss was not showing so well because muscle weights more than fat I think he should have said well good for you on the exercise and we will just keep an eye on your weight loss as long as it keeps going down.I think your doing great and he needs to cut you some slack.

First I think you should deal with your depression I think you need to get yourself into therapy with sombody you can tell your darkest thoughts and feelings and find out why you are so self destructive because your not just hungry physically your hungry emotional and the food has just become a way of pushing down all those feelings and thoughts and emotions,You need to save yourself as it does not seem your spouse will be any help. It helps to talk to somebody who will just listen and not judge you and will help you understand why you feel the way you do and give you some tools to help you help yourself. Give yourself a break we all deserve to be happy its not that you love food because when you love something you take your time with it you spend time on it you totally enjoy it, you don't just scarf it down in the dark and you know you were not put on this earth to lose the same 20 pounds a thousand times over be better to yourself and love yourself more than you love the food and don't even think about anybody else right now this is all about you and you need to take care of yourself right now.

I have not heard of a doctor filing the band when they put it in because of the swelling you have from having it put on I will not get my first fill for about 2 months after Iam banded thats why they tell you to do just the liquids and cold thing that first week cold fliuds and popscicles to help reduce the swelling I think this guy should be picking up the tab for your ER stay as this was his fault.

YAY congrats and Kudos to you on doing so well with your pre op Iam just started (3 days in) but doing o.k. so far you are ahead of me by 6 days I get banded the 31st and Iam so looking forward to getting on with my life as a thinner and more healthy person I have already lost 20 pounds since my 8 week dietary instruction and starting my pre op so Iam excited I will be watching your progress and wishing you well all along the way !!!

I have been using Body Fortress that I buy at WalMart it cost 16.00 a container and is about a two week supply with the recipe I use and I get 52 grams of protein per Shake a day and drink two shakes a day and have one low fat 500 calorie meal as Iam on the pre op diet right now I use 2 scoops and 1 cup of skim milk once it is blended I add 4 ice cubes to give it a creamy milkshake consistancy I like the Chocolate one of course and the Vanilla one is good also but I find the Vanilla one a little to sweet it more like vanilla frosting flavored but when mix with fruit its much better and little to no after taste

Thanks that worked fine thanks for your help it was driving me nuts I could not figure this out :-)

LOL Iam even squeakier than you are my date is August 31st