lovex5

WOW thank you all for responding! My oldest is 9 and *very* helpful, plus a 4 1/2 year old and my youngest is nearly 2 and potty training right now. The biggest problem with her is diaper changes (she's tiny so I still use a changing table) and getting her in and out of her crib. She is training well though and we are actually switching her to her toddler bed soon. I shouldnt have to drive anywhere for a while. Oldest child is riding the bus next year and preschooler's school is less than a mile away--walking distance. If I have to I'll wait until my husband is back. I hate to wait that long but if it will help me heal better I will. I have heard the hospital I will use if I have surgery does use drains and you go home at 36-48 hours.

I understand everyone is different but I'd like to ask about recovery. If/when I have surgery my husband will be deployed. My family is unwilling to help apart from watching my kids while I'm in surgery and until I get discharged. I have one person that told me they would drive me to the hospital and back home but no one is able to stay at my house with me. Is the recovery bad enough that I will need someone here with me for a few days?

I attended my first seminar in April. I am switching programs so I have to wait to attend another one this summer. The one I attended was pretty straight forward. It was lead by one of the surgeons at the hospital's bariatric program. He had slides to show, went over stats of problems due to obesity/success vs fail rates of dieting with and without wls, explained in detail each surgical option and touched on who might be a good candidate for which surgery along with pros and cons of each. They passed around a book of before/after photos. They also had everyone fill out a little insurance info sheet along with a packet basically outlining everything the surgeon went over. Afterward he hung around for a while and answered questions for those who had them. The entire thing took about an hour. Good luck!

I have not had surgery yet but I completely agree with you. I read something somewhere about whey protein coming from cheese. I have only tried Pure Protein thus far and I dry heaved when I took a drink. All I could think was fake chocolate flavored liquid cheese. Even thinking about it now sent a chill down my back! I dont know how I'm going to do this, knowing both pre and post ops require the drinks. I purchased 2 isopure (the clear ones) today and am crossing my fingers they will taste good.

I took my mental health eval last week. I don't know why I stressed over it so badly, it was simple! Talked to the psych dr for maybe 15 minutes then did the q&a on paper. She just asked a little about my past health, my family life growing up and my life in general. She also made sure I had done my research on wls. A couple times during my interview she commented this will go quick or oh you're going to do great. I thought it was a little odd and unprofessional but whatever. The personality test thing I did was the MMPI. I found a link here that has the first 75 questions, it's the exact one I did. Good luck! https://antipolygraph.org/cgi-bin/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1109032158

i've completed my labwork and now my mental health eval. they've told me i should be getting my band in early july. i'm really excited but having doubts creep up now. i am on military insurance and know that i can get sleeve IF i have it done on post (which i'm not wild about) and it wouldnt be until probably oct/nov. with the band i get to use my hospital of choice and get it in a matter of about 7 weeks. i truly can not decide what to do. i have wanted lapband for the last 3 years or so. it was honestly my first choice until i started hearing all the results of people getting the sleeve and dropping all their weight in 6-9mo. i dont know if i should really step back and figure out what i want to do or if this is just a normal case of cold feet or what. how much doubt is "normal"? did anyone here not having any second thoughts at all? my husband is encouraging me to go forward with the band but i know this is a decision only i can make. i hope this doesnt offend anyone...i think lapband is a great choice i'm just really confused and not sure what to do. advice please...?

i read a post-op page about vsg and it said they need to take pinky fingernail sized bites. do lapband patients take teensy bites like that as well? if so that's one more thing i'd like to start practicing now.

hey judy you just set off a lightbulb for me. i only have one kidney and get dehydrated really easily. lately i havent been drinking enough water and my red flags are showing up...lightheaded, extreme thirst in the morning AND, leg cramps! curious now if it could be connected.

Yvonne, she told you that you are too fat?! Ooooh i dont think so, i'd have told her off then complained to someone in office management.

Yvonne have you tried scott&white bariatric support group? I plan to go this week.

i have heard all the stories from people about how friends (especially women) act afterwards. some of it isnt pretty. i think some people have pointed it out best to me that when someone you're close to loses weight it can evoke different reactions. maybe to them you were the trusty "big girl" friend that they always felt superior to. or maybe you are now smaller than them and it's forcing them to see their own weight problem etc. i think you look great and hope this wont hold you back. you are doing this for you and no one else. if that snotty chick cant handle it then too bad for her. i would have had to bite my tongue to keep from saying something totally childish like "takes a b*tch to know one huh?" hahaa!

is the port placed really close to the surface of the skin, where you can feel it?

ok ladies thanks for the advice. i called my bariatric office friday afternoon and asked if i need anything else besides mental health, and also to get an idea of when i would have surgery. the lady who runs the office is who i spoke to (i had been speaking to someone else every time i called in) and she helped me out. i asked her for those lab results. she got to looking and guess what? all they ran on me was vitamins! she was not happy. she told me she was going to have to see why the np only ran vitamins on me and left everything else off. low and behold she called me yesterday to let me know she had talked to the np and they were going to get the rest of the labs from me. so i did them today and it was like 6 different things including the hpylori that i've been so curious about. i also found out from her that i should be having surgery the first part of july which is certainly exciting. just wanted to update =)

honestly? my insurance will only cover me having a sleeve at a military treatment facility, which makes me uncomfortable. everyone is different though. i'd rather use my own hospital since i have other health issues that they are well aware of, and they are one of the top hospitals in the nation. supposedly my insurance will be covering the sleeve for civilian poviders within a couple years and if that's the case maybe i'll have a revision if i need it...way down the road. i plan to succeed with the band though. good luck in your decision!!

Wow i love all the replies!!! Yall are great =)

i have really bad acid reflux. i will get a pain in the center of my chest and like clockwork within 10minutes i burp up acid. gross i know. i believe it's called esophogeal spasm. it also hurts and is really scary. so i told the np at my first visit and she asked if i take anything for it. i take prevacid but it doesnt really help. anyway she told me all else i needed was the bloodwork, lifestyle class, mental health and meet with the surgeon before i get a date for surgery. i kind of figured i would need an endoscopy, because i've heard they are usually done in people with bad reflux amongst other issues. i had my blood work over two weeks ago and still no one ever would return my calls/emails about the results. i assume i was negative for h pylori. i'm still curious if i may have an ulcer. sorry, rambling. anyway i guess this is something i can just bring up to the surgeon? or is the surgeon like a last minute right before surgery type thing? i dont understand the lack of communication...this is supposed to be one of the best bariatric centers in the state.

is ground beef typically a problem? i went to a support group yesterday and a lady there mentioned not being able to eat hamburger. just wondered if that was common or not?

I wondered the same, how did you keep it from your husband??

i used to work for bcbs and processed illinois claims how long will really depend on how quickly your pre op appts can be handled, if you need a medically supervised diet, what tests are needed on you as well as how quickly your insurance moves with authorizations. my first appt was april 18 and so far i've had initial lab work and that's it. my lifestyle change class is tomorrow night and friday is my psych eval. they told me that for this particular psych office it takes 2 weeks for results, then i'll have to meet with a surgeon for any further questions/issues/etc. assuming he doesnt need further testing on me they'll call me the next day with a date for surgery. they told me their fastest is about a 5 week turnaround but for some people whose ins requires a 12 month diet it can take them 12+months to get everything done. good luck and best wishes to you!!

thank you all for the replies. what about if they ask about your eating habits? i have gotten portions under control but yes, in my life i have binged a lot. i want the band there to know in my head if i overeat i'm going to have physical issues. should i be honest about that? i'm scared i'll say the wrong thing and they'll keep me from getting it done. one girl who is local said they are making her attend therapy before she can have surgery due to her psych eval results.

i asked the bariatric nurse (who has also had wls) and she said it will be easy and not to stress. when i made my appt i asked the person scheduling me. she said the dr will talk to me for an hour and then have me answer 350 questions on the computer. everyone tells me not to stress over it but no one will answer the question--what do they ask? i mean, do they ask why you're fat or why you want the surgery? are they trying to find out if you're crazy or something? and 350 questions...about what?

don't be embarrassed. i've been told numerous times dr's have seen and heard it all. they are there to help you with your health, not to outwardly judge you.

Yes i'm pre op and no i've never had it before. I also want to get my cholesterol levels. Last time they were barely within normal range and i want to see if they've improved any with a little weight loss.

I had my initial labs drawn thursday morning. Different vitamin levels, cholesterol and h pylori. I really believe i have an ulcer so i'm anxious to get the results. I called yesterday to check. So the girl i spoke with was really huffy and told me they didnt have everything in yet. Does anyone know roughly how long it took to get your lab results back?

i'm not sure how to make the group to be sure it's private. does anyone want to make it then we can all request invites? i belong to a fb support group that have all had wls and it's completely private..i believe several of them have not told friends/family etc and no one can see our posts. i love the support but most of them have had sleeve or rny from what i can tell. would be awesome to get support from other lapbanders!