mommykristie

TWI is exactly right. My insurance is one which will deny you if you lose too much during the 6 month diet. My primary care doctor was wonderful in understanding this and helped me manage those few pounds that I would lose and gain back during my six month ( or what turned into 12) diet. He said that with me losing some and then gaining, it showed to my insurance that I was making an attempt;however that I was not being successful. My bariatric office was also good from the beginning about knowing what exactly my insurance would need and amounts. In fact, during my first attempt, they let me know that I would probably get a denial because of having the one year that was one BMI point too low. Everything that they advised me was dead accurate. If your center is a Center of Excellence, then they can probably tell you down to the penny what your out of pocket costs will be along with all requirements since they perform so many procedures. I left the seminar, knowing exactly what portion my insurance would cover, what extra requirements ( physical therapy, nutrition , 6 month diet, and 3 years of records), and even down to my copay for the nutritionist .

Judych- I know exactly how you feel!! I convinced my family to go on a cavern tour today that they had been wanting to do ( I had been giving multiple reasons why not to go before, mostly due to how winded that I knew I would be). It was FABULOUS! It was so nice to have a family outing without getting out of breath. By the end of the day, it was great to see the kids dragging instead of me!!!

Great to hear!!! As much as possible, walk around to alleviate your gas pains. The first two days, if my neighbors had seen me walking around in my nightgown in circles in my living room, I am sure they would have thought I was nuts!!! I had my hubby take me to Walmart to walk around on the third day. I could go slow and hold on to the buggy if needed!!!

ChristineS- I totally understand about watching your family have health issues. My mother had a massive stroke at 52, which has left her paralyzed on one side and confined to a wheelchair. My father has high blood pressure. Both have weight issues. I lost both of my grandfathers and one grandmother to heart conditions. Not to mention the countless weight related health conditions of aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. It seemed that I was destined to go down the same path. I knew I had to do something when I started having issues with GERD and back issues. I knew it was just the beginning. My doctor was very frank with me and said that although I might not have any issues now, it was just a matter of time if I did not do something about my weight. The moment that I was put on medications, I knew it was beyond time. I am already off all of my medications so first goal accomplished!! On a side note, when my surgeon came out to talk with me after my husband's surgery, he told me that based on the amount of fat build up around the organs, he was a walking time bomb for a heart attack. Not something a 41 year old man (or his wife) wants to hear. So basically , we look at it as this is the tool to save our life...quite literally.

Your story is similiar to mine. I am 5'1" and at the beginning of preop I weighed 235lbs. I have three children 12-20 years. I researched lapband, gastric, sleeve for several years before biting the bullet. I took my husband along to the seminar and he ended up actually getting banded before I did. Originally, he was just going along as a support for me. I know for him, it was the best thing that he ever did for himself. He is @ 8 months out and is two sizes away from high school pants! He dropped an amazing 85 pounds so far. For me, I was banded on March 15,2012 and so far I do not have any regrets. As far as a preop diet, my surgeon put us on an Atkins liver shrink diet. He wanted us to lose 5-10 before surgery to shrink liver. My insurance required the 6 month supervised diet. However, when dealing with insurance, be careful if you are on the borderline of BMI numbers. My surgeon and doctor's office told me the danger number of falling below. Since I had no comorbidities, my insurance will not pay if your BMI drops below their recommendation. Basically, they will say that you are doing so well on the physician diet, just stick to it. HA! Like I haven't tried that one before! So basically, I played around with 5-6 pounds for the 6 month diet. Just another hoop to go through. I was denied after the first six months, went through everything again and BINGO!! Kept the weight at that "magical insurance number", and was approved within 3 days. Good luck with your journey and ask lots of questions at the seminar!

I just got back from my two week followup and had a great discussion with my dr about hunger or the lack of it. For my 10 day preop diet, I had to do a low carb liver shrink diet. It wasn't terrible and I was still getting to eat. The first couple of days, I had a little bit of the sugar/ carb withdrawal but nothing major. Since the surgery, I stuck strictly to the liquid diet. In fact, I didn't even add in cream Soups until yesterday. I have read so much and heard from so many who kept telling me that I would be ready to gnaw my own arm off by the end of the liquids. For me, this just wasn't true. Yes, my stomach will rumble and grumble, but I have to ask myself , is it that I am hungry or just that I have been programmed in my mind to associate stomach noise with hunger. I have spent this time really evaluating myself in regards to this. Most often, it is all in my mind. I am really not hungry. Thinking back over the years, if I had heard or felt my tummy rumble, that would mean an automatic reaching for a snack or meal. I have realized now that sometimes I simply need a sip or two of Water and the noise will stop. Somewhere along the way, I screwed my mind up, along with "finish all of your plate", " I paid for it, so by golly, I will eat every bite", and "supersized portions because you get more for your money". Yes, I still love to watch food Network and I may see something in a commercial ( I am of the opinion there are WAY too many food commercials!) that looks great, but I have to be brutally honest with myself and decide, is it because I am hungry or have the advertisers done such a good job that I can be convinced that I am hungry? Sorry for such a long post, but reading so many other newbie postings about the amount of hunger they are experiencing, I wanted to throw it out there that everyone is different and there are some of us that are not having the hunger pains.For someone thinking of having lapband, I know that reading some posts would make it seem as if everyone must go through a terrible , unbearable time which isn't always the case. My husband didn't have any issues with this either. Our Dr. really believes in adhering to the preop diet to get your mind ready. I really believe that it makes a difference in handling the two weeks of liquids. As I told my Dr., I keep waiting for the bad time to hit, and I may be singing a different tune next week, but so far...it is a matter of my mind versus my body. I hope to continue to win this battle! :ph34r:

I had hot and sour soup strained, wonton soup without the wonton and strained french onion. Worked great! Much more filling than the plain broth plus the taste was 110% better!!!

I had the same issue the day of surgery and the next. For me it was my pain medications making me nauseous. I found ( via the wonderful nurses!!) that if I took my anti naseua meds about 15 minutes before my pain meds, then I did not have any issue. Also, make sure you are staying hydrated and walk quite a bit.

If you had asked me a month or two ago, if I had a sweet tooth, I would have said yes!! However, I have noticed that since the preop diet, I haven't had any "cravings" for sweets like before. Before, I could think about a sweet and just have to go get it. I even noticed that when I went out to eat with the family this week, one child ate ice cream and the other ate a piece of cheesecake, I didn't even desire them. Talk about a shock because these are two of my FAVORITE desserts! Having said that, for my Protein shakes on the liquid diet, I did choose the chocolate flavor and now that I am on mushies, my yogurt is key lime pie flavor. So I guess I am getting my sweet fix flavor without the calories of the real thing.

Congrats!! I had the hernia repair too. I ended up staying overnight in the hospital too. I think that helped me not only with the pain medications, but I felt more comfortable using the hospital bed to get up the first few times. Walk, walk, and walk some more to help with the gas pains and soreness. Good luck and congrats on your new journey!

Congrats!! That is one of the biggest things that I can't wait for! Dropping pants sizes!! And NOT having to pay the extra "plus size"charge!!

judych- I totally agree! I am a grazer... For example, I teach and often there are dinners and celebrations which means everyone in the building brings one or two of their best dishes.That is tough enough, but since my room is larger and I don't always have kids in it, guess where all 50+ plus dishes go?.....My room. LOL!! So I would graze and taste everything throughout the day. I guess I was the official "taste tester'. I had this same habit at home. Once I was home, I snacked all of the way to bedtime. I am having to reprogram my mind!

Hang in there!!! Make sure you are staying hydrated. Congrats on your loss so far!!

I started soft foods yesterday and have been good with hummus, tuna salad and baked potato ( mashed up). Breakfast, lunch and dinner Today and yesterday both, I would say that my portion size has been closer to the 1/4 cup right now.

Name, real or screen~ Kristie Goal weight for April 29th~ 199 Weight on April 1st~ (March 28-214) Age~39 Dietary goal for April~ Since I am only two weeks out, it would be to follow the dietary guidelines. Exercise goal for April~begin exercise plan with personal trainer Personal goal for April~ drop one dress size Date banded~ March 15,2012 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~21 lbs What is your favorite part about spring~ The feeling of renewal in the air! Love the mild temps and sunny days!

I was banded on a Thursday morning and went back to work on Monday. I moved slowly but it wasn't bad at all. I have had 3 previous Csections, so I know from experience about the gas issues which will be the main "pain". Walk, walk , walk!!! Within a few hours after my surgery ( I stayed overnight at hospital, my choice), I asked the nurses to go ahead and let me start walking to dissipate the gas build up in the muscles. I know many have sworn by gas strips, but during all of my surgeries, I found that the more you walk, the quicker it will dissipate because it is a different type of gas than "eating gas". By that Wednesday, I took a group of 40 elementary kids on a field trip and was fine. I had some soreness at my port area, but that really showed up more at night. I used a pillow against my stomach to help move in and out of the bed for the first few days ( just like pregnancy all over ) I think everyone has their own pain tolerance but I have been very fortunate to not have had terrible pain. The greatest thing for me was being able to sleep back on my side and stomach at around 5 days post op!!!!!

I had the same problem. It was a reaction to the morphine. My doctor prescribed me phenagran. I took it about 15 minutes before I would take my pain pill (Loratab- which makes me sick too). This helped tremendously until I no longer needed the pain pills. That being said, I am 8 days out and I when I wake up in the mornings I am slightly nauseous until I get a little liquid in my system. A couple of sips of a protein shake or juice usually takes care of it. Not quite sure why.

I was concerned about the same thing. I lost 17 from the day after surgery the first week. My doctor said as long as I am staying hydrated, then it is fine. I was told that it will slow down once we start mushies. Of that loss, 7 of it was liquids from the IV, so if you look at it that way it is a less drastic looking number. However it is a lower number on my scale so that's great to me!! Congrats on your success so far!

I was banded on 3/15. I have one more week of liquids to go too. My stomach is all kinds of gurgling and rumbling. At first I thought I was hungry, but then I realized it was more of a mind thing for me. I am having more time fighting my mind than my stomach. LOL! I drink 4 oz of V8 peach mango in the morning and then sip on the rest till lunch. Around lunch time, I have a small Boost protein shake (usually can't drink it all, but I get my chocolate fix). I will sip on water till after work. I have about a half a cup or more of SF jello for a snack. At dinner, I have been having some type of soup. Our local Chinese resturant will fix strained hot and sour soup or else wonton soup without the wontons. My big thing is wanting different tastes. One night my family was having shrimp dinners from Capt D's after their late night sports events. So, I order gumbo which I knew I couldn't have. So I dipped my spoon in the gumbo and would lick the back of the spoon for the liquid!! Desperate times call for desperate measures!!! For me so far, as long as I continue to take in small amounts of liquid throughout the day, it helps tremendously. Keep the faith! Mushies soon!!!! :lol:

I have been reading through several posts about different vitamins and supplements that people are taking. My doctor and nutritionist only recommend a chewable multivitamin a day. They also said to make sure that I take in enough liquids during the day to stay hydrated and protein shakes until I can start soft foods, etc. The nutritionist had said that making sure about the protein and liquids would help maintain muscle tone, skin and hair. After reading some posts, now I am worried that I might need something in regards to hair loss. I don't want to lose any hair! Any opinions?

For me, it was having an option that could be reversable if something went wrong. In addition, I had checked into other forms of WLS and have followed friends paths that choose other routes. I know each person handles it differently, but there seemed to be more people that I personally knew that gained lots of their weight back in the long term. Not to mention the shots. There was also for lack of a better descriptive word , the "sagging" from the rapid weight loss. I preferred to choose the method that would be slower and help me to adjust my eating habits. I have many friends and colleagues that have had LBS and none have been disappointed unlike those I know that chose other methods.

The 6 month diet goes by really quickly! ( I had to do it twice ) During my 6 months, I had to really watch my weight fluctuations. Due to insurance stiplulations, I had to show weight loss but I couldn't lose below a certain amount or would be denied. So I spent this time trying to get my head right and read as much as I could about LBS. I know several people who have had the surgery in my area ( including my spouse), so I was able to witness their successes, stumbles, etc. I am hoping that this will continue to help me as I am just starting this journey to the healthier me. Good luck to you and those remaining months will FLY by!!

Reading your story seemed like a repeat of my own. I jumped through all of the hoops that my insurance company wanted. For 2011 and 2010, my BMI was 40. However in 2009, I had a 39 BMI. My insurance (BCBS) only accepts high blood pressure, sleep apenea or diabetes as comorbidities. So adfter the 6 months supervised diet, etc. I was denied. Then denied again. They even denied obesitylaw. However during this time, we calculated that if I finished my last 6 month diet at the end of January 2012, then it would be a new year and the 2009 weight would not be counted. So the whole time through appeals, I worked with my surgeon and my family physicians office to start a new 6 month diet. The only catch being, I couldn't lose "too much" weight or else i would drop to 39BMI and be denied again. After my last January weigh in, insurance approval in 3 days!! I had my lapband surgery last Thursday. Keep hanging in there!

No additional supplements. They both recommend a daily serving of dairy. Right now since I am on liquids, then it is skim milk. Thanks! That makes me feel better about the hair loss!

Love this post! I want to be able to fly without stuggling with the seatbelt, I want to be able to ride amusement park rides without having to try out the "test" seat to see if I will fit. I want to no longer pay $2 extra for the same top because it is "plus size" I want to wear a bathing suit again without a skirt attached. I want to rid my closet of all of the black clothes that I wear to hide my body I want to be able to choose any seat in the theater and not worry about getting my rear end stuck in it. I want to comfortably ride a bike again.