Cindy2013

Today is a big day in the beginning of my lapband journey. I'm so excited, yet also anxious about the whole thing. Because I live 1.5 hours from the surgeon, they scheduled 3 appointments for me on the same day. So today is the psychological evaluation, meeting with the nutritionist, and meeting with the physical therapist. I think my brain will be on overload by the end of the day. I still have just over a month before my surgery, and I'm not a patient woman! It took me 2 years to make the decision to move forward with this, and now I just want it done already! Do any of ya'll have advice on questions I should ask? I have a list already of things I've come across from reading the boards here. This is a WONDERFUL place to gather information. I look forward to making friends here. I will need the support, and hopefully after a while, I'll be able to help other newcomers. Oh, on the psych eval, how many times did you have to meet with the psychologist? I'm told it will be 3 times. The first is tomorrow, then I'll have to come back for some testing, and then meet with him for a final appointment before he will issue his report. Is this the normal protocol? Or possibly that is what my insurance requires? Cynthia

I just drank my first Premier Protein one. the nutritionist gave me one to try before I purchase them. I'm very pleased that it actually tastes good! So I think I'll be purchasing a case of them before I head home later today. She stressed to me that I will need a protien shake daily for the rest of my life. The ready made ones are sort of pricey, so I think I'll try the powder too. Does anyone have suggestions on how to make the powder mix well? The nutritionist said that it can be gritty sometimes.

So all went well with my appointments yesterday. The nutritionist visit was an eye opener. My pre-op diet will be 700 calories per day, and I'm expected to lose a minimum of 12 pounds during that 2 weeks. So what if I don't? Apparently my surgeon has actually taken patients to surgery, looked at their liver, and closed them back up with the instructions to do the 700 cal diet for another week or two. So I think I'll definitely be sticking to the 700 cal per day diet! I can't imagine the disappointment those patients had. The nutritionist explained the first 6 weeks post op to me. It won't be easy, that is for certain. But so many of you have done it--I can too. I go back today for the written testing with the psychologist stuff. I also have an appointment with the pain doctor regarding a pain pump, so it was really nice that they fit me in for the testing while I'm in town. Things are moving along! All sorts of emotions going on in my head. Am I sure I want to change my lifestyle so drastically? Do I have a choice if I want to get back to living a productive life?

Hello everyone! I'm so happy to have found a place to learn more about gastric banding from patients who can give me real life experiences. This looks like a wonderful site. I'm a 47 year old mom to 5 children, 4 of whom are adults now with one 15 year old still at home. My husband and I have been married for 27 years and I am fortunate to have such a good man who loves me no matter my size. I've been considering weight loss surgery for a couple of years, but fear has kept me from jumping in. I have some other health problems that interfere with exercise, so no matter what I do, it seems that I just can't lose weight. My doctors have been talking to me about banding for a couple of years. In fact, about 20 months ago I first saw a surgeon about the LapBand procedure, but I chickened out. So here I am, 15 pounds heavier than when I first saw Dr. Davis, and I'm finally ready to do it. I have had serious complications to surgeries in the past, and so I am nervous about that. I had a cervical spine fusion surgery and ended up with damage to my spinal cord from the surgery. Way too complicated to go into the details right now, but the effects of that surgery have left me with leg issues and chronic pain everywhere. I can't do anything to change that, and it will be a problem for the rest of my life. I'm tired of being miserable and laying in bed all the time. I can't fix the spinal cord, but I can lose weight, which will help with some of my pain issues. So 2013 is the year I take charge of my future. I'm going to do everything I can to get healthier, and if LapBand is the way to help me get there, then I have to forge forward through my fears of surgery. I am also taking the steps to get a pain pump so that I can function better. Hopefully that will be in place some time in January. I now weigh 270 pounds, which is my heaviest. I used to be a vibrant energetic woman who never stopped. Now I seldom do anything because of pain and being tired. My doctors tell me that losing weight will help me overall, which in turn will help with the pain. I am looking forward to living again! I do have concerns about the adjustment to eating such a small amount. As a family we enjoy gatherings where it seems that food is always an important part. This will be a big lifestyle change. I need this support group to hear how others had adapted to these changes. I look forward to getting to know everyone here.