SybilRamkin

I'm almost 2 weeks post-op and I'm a happy camper. My LB surgeon and his staff were great. In fact, the only major problem I ran into was my regular doctor, someone I've been seeing for 20+ years. She was a complete pain-in-the-@$$ from the moment I told her what I was going to do. I was self pay and knew that some of the tests that my LB surgeon needed would not be covered under my insurance, but I wanted the orders to go through her (GP) so that they would become a part of my complete medical charts. She stalled and delayed nearly every single order and was extremely rude when the surgeons staff made inquiries on my behalf. When I called her about this (being rude to people who are trying to help ME) she said she didn't know how to code for 'elective surgery' ....and she was having a hard time justifying the request....and she knew people who had gone to Mexico....blah blah..... To shorten a long story, I got the tests and the surgery. Now I'm thinking that I really need to start fresh with a GP who can be more supportive of my efforts (and who isn't rude to people when no one is looking). Has anyone else been through this. Any recommendations for a GP in the Duke network?

No time like the present for young adults to learn to care for others. Let them look up a recipe, send them to the store, and then they can give it a go in the kitchen. Overstepping my bounds a bit here, but let them clean the house too... it builds character

BandingMi - You know, just having my picture taken will be a major milestone. I've got nearly 1300 photos on my laptops and I'm in 3 of them.

This is going to sound really weird, but I want to wear riding breeches again. I've ridden horses since I was a little girl, and have a barn full of them, but in the past 10 years I've spent most of my time on the ground as a horse show mom, groom, truck driver, etc.... All the horses think they are retired since my daughter left for college! I also want to wear a wetsuit so I can take scuba diving lessons. My daughter is a certified diver and I told her that I didn't want to get certified because I was afraid of sharks, But I was actually much more afraid of wearing a wetsuit. As for street clothes, I'm a Plain Jane --- L.L. Bean, Lands End, Talbots. I'd like to buy clothes without a 'W' in the size. Actually...I am afraid of sharks, I just can't stop the Jaws music in my head when I get in the water. But I'm going to do it anyways.

I was told Miralax was fine. It's a bit pricey, but some stores have generic versions. It's completely tasteless and easy to add to drinks and food.

I have only told a few people about my recent banding. My 2 sisters know, as does one coworker. I'm a widow, so telling my husband was not a issue (although I think he would have said 'go for it!'). I'm not in any way concerned about what people think about my choice, My big fear, and the reason I'm reluctant to share, it that I'm afraid I will fail-again. I've lost and regained 50 lbs more times than I can count, so I think I'm justified in being a bit reluctant, but I don't really want to cheat myself out of support. Is anyone else going through this? Maybe this is a personality issue more than anything else, as I'm an introvert with hermit tendencies. My real concern is my wonderful daughter, who is away at college. I have not told her about the surgery because I want her to focus on school and I don't want her to worry about me. Now that I'm post-op and everything is going well, I'm thinking about driving down to see her at school, and I might tell her then--or I could wait until Thanksgiving. Thoughts?

I got some great advice on sipping and chewing from my nutritionist about 1 month before my surgery. When we discussed how I was going to have to relearn my drinking and chewing habits she said "You're not going to wait until after the surgery to make this change, are you?" She was so smart about this. I had a few weeks of practice with "real" food before the surgery. It made me really conscious of how much I needed to change my habits. I was particularly bad about getting too thirsty and chugging water.

Me too. I was there at 6:30 a.m. and home by about 11:00. What happened in the middle is a bit fuzzy

I'm on day 6 and had shoulder pain for 2 days post-op. It's a side effect resulting from the gas used in the laparoscopic surgery. It was explained to me prior to surgery and I was told to get up and walk to prevent the pain and to help relieve it if necessary. A heating pad worked well, as did a hot shower and holding my arms over my head. I hope you feel better soon.

I'm a very big fan of mederma. I used it after 2 carpel tunnel releases, ankle reconstruction, and for my gall bladder incisions. I wasn't as concerned about the appearance of the scars as the texture. It softens the tissue and makes them more pliable. I've just been banded (10/10) and the new incisions are over some of the old gall bladder ones, so I will probably use it again.