dogluvr

I was banded 4/2 and last night had halibut and medium cooked asparagas with a little bit of hollaindaise (sp?) for dinner. My doc requires post-op 1 week liquids/soups and then 1 weeks "anything you can smash with a fork"- though a few items are still a no no. Ive read that post-op diets vary from doc to doc and some are extremely stringent- and some lax. As long as youre not getting things lodged in there I think youre far enough past surgery to start easing into normal foods. I had soft chicken in my chili yesterday- I just chewed it thoroughly.

I'm in bandster hell now too. Up until a week post-op I had amazing restriction, eating a few bites at a time and I was so full it was great. As of yesterday now my appetite is back and Im eating more at a sitting. At this point Im just trying not to go backwards in my weight loss and make it until my first fill April 30th. From what Ive gathered this is normal during the healing process. Im on "mushies" ie soups for lunch and soft white fish and vegetables for dinner. But I did eat a half cup of ice cream tonight!!!:biggrin:

Temperance, I'm sure you'll have many posts to come! This site is a wonderful source of information, inspiration and support. I am doing well, thanks for asking! My port incision is the only one that still hurts. I havent had much of an appetite at all, which is cool, and I scheduled my first fill today for April 30th. Im getting an hour swedish massage on saturday Im just hoping I can lay on my stomach for it! If I were you Id be really excited being banded was one of the best decisions Ive made in my life. Id do it all over again, and again... and again. :redface:

I gained 4 lbs during my 90 day regimen lol and lost 1 of those lbs the last apt. Dont worry!

Sounds like its not Aetna being a pain but your surgeon's office! I would be ticked if I were you and they bumped me. I would call and voice a complaint and get scheduled in somewhere earlier. Do they or do they not want your 18,000$? lol

Any of you go to it? When are they? What happens there? Im interested in going and would like to know exactly what you do there.

You made a great choice! You're in great hands.

I got a letter of reccommendation from my PCP, which was included in the mass of paperwork sent to Aetna by the surgeons office. I think the surgeon might have included a "letter of medical nessecity" or something like that. Once your 3 months is done your surgeons office should be sending Aetna all your paperwork, like, the day after! When you say your apt with the surgeon got pushed back, do you mean this is your first apt with him? They way it went with me was day 91 my surgery center faxed a pre-cert to Aetna, and Aetna then gave it to one of their review nurse, and then review nurse called my surgery center, and gave the insurance coordinator her fax number. Then the coordinator faxed everything to the review nurse.

Yup only 2 years weight history required now... they changed that like 2-3 weeks before my paperwork was submitted to them! I was very lucky because I only had BMI over 40 2005, 06, 07, and 08. It would have been slim chances for my approval. If you meet the qualifications on their website, which the link has been posted a few times on this thread, and jump through their hoops, then it is only a matter of time before your approval letter comes! I found my experience with Aetna RE: WLS to be pleasant actually and I have my approval letter hanging on my fridge lol makes me happy every time I see it. My BFF's BMI was only 35 but she did have mild diagnosed sleep apnea, and she was approved in 1 day. 1 day! I hope everyone who has Aetna and is awaiting surgery stays positive- I practically lived and breathed this thread when I was going through my 90 day regime and awaiting approval. Thanks esp. to NeNe and lonestar for the support they gave to my nerves!!! Oh, and to whomever has the BMI of 42 and no co-morbs, you still meet the qualifications!

That's awesome!

Since start of pre-op diet: I'll go first. 18.1 lbs.

Hope all the 4-8 bandsters are doing well! Remember to check in let us know how things went!

Hang in there. I cheated here and there during my pre-op diet and did end up losing 13 lbs before surgery. What I did was sub 1 of the 4 medifast shakes ( personally I liked the medifast) for a 12 oz nonfat sugar free latte, and I actually froze the shakes- (some of them say DONT FREEZE!) but I did anyways and when they came out it was like icecream and more satisfying. Sometimes Id have a lipton 90 cal tomato instant soup- and drank LOTS of crystal light. You just gotta tell yourself you are worth it and sooner than you think itll be over. Youre doing it to help minimize surgery risks, and getting a jump start. I felt lost, angry, cranky, and soooo hungry the first couple days. Then I got into the swing of things and kept my cal intake around 800-1000 a day and the lbs started to come off. I did bitch a lot to my fam and coworkers lol and they did a good job of placating me. Even the good people of LBT were so supportive. You can do it! And PS- I did have to pee a lot more lol but told my boss to back off nicely when she hinted that my butt needed to be in my cubby hole a little more.

<3 bump <3 lol

^^ me too! I actually have major restriction! I have to force, well not force, but remind myself to eat. My dad was grilling steaks tonight and Im not even on mushies yet, so I did chew on a few pieces of steak and spit them out, for the flavor, and then had a protein shake.

I <3 Dr Montgomery! LiseSeattle was banded by him too. He is so great I would get banded by him all over again. His "bedside manner" is so nice and he's got great experience. He is the one who opened NWWLS back with Dr. Watkins. He is the best!!!!

slim wow! Youre exercising already?? I am halfway through my first day back at work and I think I will be leaving early :ohmy:. A little run down, ( I am coming down with a cold) and having still some irritating port pain. I did call my surgical center said it is okay to take airborne as long as I let it go flat, so hopefully I can fight this cold fast.

Congrats! How do you feel today?

If WLS is covered under your plan, and your BMI is 40 with sleep apnea, you should def be covered! Ill keep my fingers crossed dont worry they had my file for 17 days before I was approved.

3 days post op and Im burping everytime I swallow! And well, as you can imagine its quite identical out the other end. Is this normal? I did take a stool softener 15 hrs ago... Am i supposed to be this gassy??

Okay so I am feeling a bit better now, 3 days post-op. Lots of gas all around, for sure! Anyways, my check in time was 12:15, I filled out the last minute paperwork, and my dad and friend were escorted back into the pre-op area. You can see pictures of their beautiful facilities at thelapband.com The nurse weighed me, I lost 13 lbs pre-op, yay! And then I got into the gown, robe, and knee high socks lol, and kicked back in the recliner chair. My friend had been banded there almost a month ago so we were just talking and joking around while my dad feigned a nap. Then they gave me the shot of blood thinner, heparin and Im not going to lie that ish hurt!!!!!!! Then the anesthesiologist came and talked to me, decided since I couldnt get my nose piercing out that theyd just tape it up, and then Dr. Montgomery checked in, nurse put my IV in, and it was only a matter of time. I did okay up until I had to say goodbye to my dad and friend, as I was walking back to the OR I got weepy and kind of panicky. But that stopped when I got back into the room the staff was soooo nice and calmed me down. They put the things on my legs to circulate blood and gave me a heated blanket because it was chilly in there. Then amidst small talk my aneths. gave me some juice and the nurse put the mask over my face. It smelled funny and all a sudden my face got tingly all over and..... out like a light. It only took me 12 minutes to wake up, and I was groggy but determined not to fall back asleep. I fought drifting off and my pain was at like an 8. She gave me some dilaudid I think and it didnt make any difference. Gave me another .5 and still no change. They gave me some cold Water to drink, and I got that down okay. I was wincing and not floaty-happy at all like my friend was after surgery lol!!! For some reason at this point I just wanted to go home so I fought to stay awake. My oxygen kept dropping so on and off went the O2 mask. Finally I got up and did manage to get dressed by myself. The sugar free hard candy really was comforting though!! I do recommend that. I felt every bump on the ride home. Was moving around a bit- got home around 5. Was up until 5 am. Around noon my dad came to rescue me, I was stuck with my sleep apnea mask on and for those of you who use CPAP you cant talk let alone yell with a mask on! (or a nasal one like mine) I couldnt lift my arm up to get it off. So he gets it off me, and tries to help me up. Pain so bad I blacked out for a half minute. He went and got me my lortab and we tried again lol and I was up. Dr. wants his bandsters to walk around, so I hobbled. No appetite. (awesome!) Not going to lie to you pre- bandsters the day after surgery was the worse. Cold compress on my stomach was WONDERFUL and heating pad on my neck and shoulder helped with the gas pains. Take your meds if youre in pain! Nobodys gotta lie to kick it! Day 2 was still very painful, but I gained more mobility. Think I gave myself a hemmerhoid though lolol:scared2: Im drinking plenty of fluids though, and am very happy that I had the surgery. I'm one of those people that dont want things sugarcoated- just tell me how it is- and I will say that I was little prepared for the actual pain involved, maybe its just me Ive read posts where you crazy bandsters dont even use your pain meds!, but it gets better every day. Have someone stay with you for a day or two to help out, make sure you have a cold compress, I got one from Walgreens that strappe dloosely to my stomach. My experience was good thanks to the wonderful staff at Northwest Weight Loss Surgery and thanks to my dad and friends and family who supported me. And my chihuahuas who kept my feet warm! To all the April Avengers scheduled soon good luck and ease up youll do great! If you need to talk or anything just pm me or email me.

I was not prepared for this kind of pain! Surgery went well only took me 12 minutes to wake up afterwards. But I did not wake up floaty and happy!! Major pain and cranky. Didn't get to bed until 5 am and couldn't get out of bed when I woke. I couldn't e en lift my arm to get my cpap mask off so I could yell for help! To my other 4-2 bandsters I hope you feel better than I do right now. :bolt:

I just woke up. Ow. Is all I gotta say

Im starting to get freaked out :crying: Thanks for your prayers and support. I am dreading having to walk into the operating room and laying down on the table... and waiting to be put under!!! Im starting to have anxiety attacks at work now. I will DEF be praying for you its been a long time coming! PM me Ill give you my email we're close enough in surgery dates to keep in touch for support lol.

Haha Im not wearing underwear to my surgery:eek: