kathystrick

I wouldn't think asking that question was rude. It is one recommended we ask when choosing a surgeon here in the US. His unwillingness to respond is what would concern me. Have you tried calling the office and asking? I looked at the website you provided and they really don't provide much information on their weight loss surgery program. Saying you can do the surgery is one thing. Doing it and providing proper support and follow-up care is something else entirely and a very important thing to consider before making a decision about a surgeon. I know I haven't been much help, but I do wish you luck and a bright, happy SLIM future. :biggrin: Kathy

Hi! I am doing MUCH better now that I finally finished the meds! I ahve not had surgery yet, but am meeting the surgeon next week, so a date can't be too far behind that! Are you going to Lexington Medical? I considered there, but was already familiar/comfortable with Dr. Tribble at the Weight Management Center, so opted for there. Both he and Dr. Prickett (the other bariatric surgeon in the practice) are wonderful. Actually, I haven't met anyone in their whole office I didn't like and enjoy talking to. Their office is on Laurel St. in the same building as Surgical Associates of SC. Surgery is done at Baptist. I will message you with their other info. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

I started my Prevpac Thursday, so I just took my AM dose for day 3 this morning and I am sick as a dog! So far, I have thrown up twice and even the thought of food makes me nauseous. I have to do this for 11.5 more days??? I don't knwo if I can make it!! :thumbup:

Oh that is neat!! I don't have a surgery date yet. I just finished my pre-op stuff last week and am meeting Dr. Tribble for the first time next week. I chose him over Dr. Prickett because of prior experience (through my mom) with him. Did you know they are starting a support group here on the 4th Wednesday of the month at Tuomey? April will be the first meeting and I think that is the 28th, so you may not be up to it yet. Please feel free to send a private message if you would like to chat.

Congratulations!! I am awaiting my approval from Anthem right now. Hopefully, mine will move through as swiftly as yours. My BMI is 47. Good luck!

I have a kinda different situationf or the same question. I am not yet banded, but will be over the summer. Is it too soon for me to get rid of my super-sized winter clothes?

I think I will switch over to the Core program. Not knowing anything about either, I just picked one and ahve been going with it. Thanks for all the input and good luck to all of you!!

Is anyone else here doing WW? I am pre-op, so just trying to adjust to the post-op dietary changes and lose a few pounds before surgery. It seems just about anything I enter on WW that is high protein is high points. So what do you do?:confused2:

Thanks for the warning Sapphire. I joined the online program specifically because of this and they even bash banders on the message boards there. It really is a shame that so many people who are in the same boat we are (needing to lose weight) have to justify their choice by looking down on those of us who have had surgery. It would be interesting to check back in 5 years and see how many of them have either put the weight back on or are considering/have had surgery.:tongue_smilie:

As others have said, I have had many over the years. The first was 2 years ago when DH and I took our son and a friend to Six Flags and I went to sit down on a roller coaster and realized there was no way I was going to fit. As I tried to discretely get off, I noticed the 2 men sitting in the seats behind ours laughing and pointing, announcing to everyone within listening distance that I was too fat to fit. Then, last summer, my family moved to Atlanta for DH's job. As I began looking for employment, I faced something I never had to before: weight discrimination. Every interview I had began on the phone, where I was a great candidate, good personality, impecable references, etc. Then, when they would call me in, I would be faced with an office full of slim, petite, beautiful ladies, looking for another one of them to join their ranks and not a "fat chick". I couldn't understand how I could be so great on the phone and unqualified in person, simply because of my weight. On a lark, I checked our new health plan to see if it covered LB. Thankfully, it does and here I am!

I enjoyed reading "Fighting Weight" by Kahlia Ali. She is a true inspiration for LB patients IMHO. My surgeons office recommended "Before and After" by Susan Maria Leach, which I also enjoyed, but she had RNY and not band. It includes recipes though. I would recommend either of those.

I had been using Spark People and liked it, but recently joined Weight Watchers online so have been keeping track there instead. Not too happy with that for various reasons (a whole other thread!), so I think I am going to check out Daily Plate.

Same for my doctor at the moment, but they are in the process of re-thinking that from what the nutritionist said. Hope they don't change it before I have to start mine! On my own as well, I have started cutting carbs and focusing on getting more protein and veggies. I ordered protein samples from Vitalady.com that just came today and they have an awesome selection of flavors. I can't wait to try them. Good luck to you!! It seems you are starting in the right frame of mind!!

My doctor actually requires his patients to do something like this prior to surgery. I want to go back to Six Flags and ride that roller coaster I couldn't fit on all afternoon. I want to have my VERY form-fitting wedding dress from 9 years ago cut down and have my wedding pics taken over when I feel like I actually look good in my dress. I want to go hiking with my husband to the bottom of our favorite waterfall in the mountains of NC and have a picnic. I want to go listen to hubby's band and be able to get up and dance without having to be plastered or worrying about everyone laughing at me. I want to feel like my husband can truly be proud to be seen in public with me. I want to put on sexy lingerie and have hubby take my picture.

I am scrapbooking and journaling. To me, the journaling is part of the scrapbooking because it will reflect my feelings about life changes I may not want out there for just anyone who looks at my scrapbook to see.

I am pre-op as well and have looked around online to find companies that offer sample packs or sell individual packages of their protein powders. That stuff is expensive and I would hate to spend $30+ on something I end up not liking and feeling liek I have to drink it anyway because I paid so much for it. I have also seen some protein "swaps" on here from time to time, so that wouls be another way to try things out without spending a bunch of money.

I started taking the medication (Prevpac) for the bacterial infection H. Pylori almost a week ago, so at this point I am just about halfway through it. It has been so hard sometimes! The taste it puts in my mouth makes me nauseous most of the time and it gives me terrible gas. Of course, the taste in my mouth makes everything I eat have a funny taste, so that is definitely a deterrent to eating. I just hate feeling sick all the time! Only 7 more days though...

I started taking the medication (Prevpac) for the bacterial infection H. Pylori almost a week ago, so at this point I am just about halfway through it. It has been so hard sometimes! The taste it puts in my mouth makes me nauseous most of the time and it gives me terrible gas. Of course, the taste in my mouth makes everything I eat have a funny taste, so that is definitely a deterrent to eating. I just hate feeling sick all the time! Only 7 more days though...

I haven't heard of anyone's surgery being held up because of the infection. Since most of the testing is usually done a good bit before actual surgery (and in my case, even before insurance approval), there shouldn't be any reason it would hold you up because you should have been through with treatment for a while. Good luck to you getting through treatment and with surgery! Hang in there!:shades_smile:

I have taken antibiotics before that leave an aftertaste, so I kinda expected that could happen, but nothing like this! I am carrying a small bottle of Listerine with me and rinsing my mouth often. When I can't do that, I suck on a peppermint or cinnamon candy and it helps. Any normally bland food tastes funny (milk, eggs, etc.), but at least that makes me not want to eat it. LOL Only 8 more days to go!! Glad to see I am not the only one who has suffered through treatment. Just one more thing to make the surgery worth it in the end.

WOO HOO!!! Way to go Tom!!!! I hope you are proud of yourself because you should be! :grouphug:

I took phentermine for about 3 months December 2006 - February 2007. The first 6 weeks or so was awesome! I lost about 25 pounds, even during the holidays. Then during the first week of February, I was hospitalized with "stroke-like symptoms" - slurred speech, confusion, lack of concentration - all listed side effects of phentermine. I spent 5 days in the hospital before they figured out the phentermine is what was causing it and ruled out anything else. Scared my husband and son to death. So if you can take it to help with weight loss prior to surgery, lucky you! You will definitely have a good jump start once your band is in place. Just be careful and if you start having any symptoms, go to your dr. immediately!!! Good luck!

As I go through my mind and try to get some head work done in preparation for surgery, I am becoming increasingly more aware of all of this repressed anger I have built up inside myself from years of medicating myself with food. So now, I have to figure out a way to deal with all of these issues, all these years after the fact. What fun!! I don't know what to do. It is really causing me a lot of stress because I have things I want to say to people, but know if I bring it up, it will only cause more problems because it has been so long. So, what do I do? I know if I don't get it out and deal with it, I will have to continue feeding it (literally) to keep it at bay. I feel so overwhelmed...:confused_smile:

I have started journaling about it all and I am feeling a lot better. My hubby has also been very sweet and attentive lately, which has helped a lot. I can finally really believe that he is actually here because he wants to be.