sleepyjean

I knew about it. Actually, I'm a bit surprised that your surgeon never mentioned it to you. Or did you go in wanting the band and never really discussed bypass with him/her?

I took a week off. It was just the right amount of time for me. I'd say the first three days are the hardest.

That's awesome - congrats!

Same here. Outpatient surgery was not an option. EVERYONE has to stay overnight. Which is kinda good and kinda bad at the same time.

Maybe I'm a perfectionist or hyper-critical, but I know that I will never be "done" working on my body. Once I lose weight, then my focus will shift to other things like toning up and increasing my stamina and flexibility. Maybe I'll even try (gasp!) jogging. There will always be a new challenge on the horizon.

doesn't that make you gag? I don't know if I could choke it down.

zee band, she ees an unpredictable mistress!

Where are you in relation to your goal weight? Or the lightest you've been in the last 5-10 years? I know a lot of people w/BMI under 35 get banded in Mexico, is that the case with you? If you're already close to where your body wants to be, that might explain some of it.

I have a history of depression and I worried about it to before I was banded. Turns out it was a non-issue for me. My doc wrote a letter saying I was a good candidate and that was that. What I have seen here is the psych eval ranges from a perfunctory scantron type of test to a casual conversation where the person wants you make sure you understand the mental and emotional aspect of this whole thing. This person is not going to diagnose you with a mental illness and it's likely it will be a social worker or something - not a doctor. Having been here a little over a year now and seen lots of others go through this process, that unless you are are severely unbalanced, they will not have cause to deny you the band. Think of it less as evaluation and more as preparation.

I was fully prepared to wait a month or more for my authorization to come through. My surgeon's office really has it together though and they've got a great relationship with my HMO (Blue cross). My authorization came through in less than 48 hours. It was pretty unbelieveable. You'll get there. Hang on! Just think how much lighter you'll be this time next year.

Getting banded turned my bingeing off like a switch. I had always always binged when upset or angry, which was all the time. My obesity is 99% related to emotional eating and diagnosed depression. I feel blessed that I had good restriction from day one. After the surgery, during the month of liquids and semi-solids, I couldn't have stuffed my face even if I wanted too. I had to learn to live without my crutch and pretty soon didn't need it anymore. The other thing I thank God for is finding a really terrific therapist. I've been in and out of therapy for over ten years and I finally found a great doctor who is very focused and goal-oriented. I started seeing her about six weeks before my surgery and it helped tremendously during a time when I had to develop entirely new coping skills. I have noticed big changes in myself since last spring, but I still see my doctor on a weekly basis. Knowing I have that time every week to use as an emotional outlet makes surviving the rest of the week easier. Besides, in some ways, the worst is yet to come for me. I am someone who likes to fade into the background. I hate being the center of attention. The more weight I lose, the more people are going to notice and I am dreading that. In the past, whenever I got down near my goal weight, I always went back to bingeing because I just couldn't handle the entire world treating me differently and having different expectations of me. It was too scary and so I coped by eating myself into oblivion. But this time, with my two secret weapons - my band and my doc- not only am I able to avoid bingeing, I'm rarely even tempted to do it. I thank God for that every single day. ~sasha

I saw my GP for a referral on Jan 19 and was banded on May 1st. The main reason for the delay in my case was having to schedule my nutritionist, social worker, labs, and pre-op clearance visit with my GP weeks in advance. Once all of that was done, my doctor's office submitted the info to my insurance company the very next day. The insurance approval came through two days later. I could've had the surgery a month sooner if my GP's schedule hadn't been so booked up.

Is your company changing insurers? If they are, they should have some sort of directory for you to pick your new GP. The directory should also list their specialty doctors and affiliated hospitals. Look up all of the hospitals in your area and find one that has a bariatric weight loss program. Then work backwards from there and find a GP who is in that same group and can refer you the surgeon.

My fingers are crossed too! Who is your insurer?

I appreciate your honesty and willingness to admit to an attitude that many people share but never admit out loud. I read a lot of your internal conflict in your post. On one hand, you are one of us. You are obese and you struggled like hell to lose weight on your own before looking to surgery as a last resort. But on the other hand, you sound like you're still pretty disgusted by your aunt and uncle's behavior. You fear being judged, knowing all the time that you are judging others. I see that you joined in February and am curious to know if your opinion of fat people has changed at all during that time? Because you see, most of us here are what you would call "typical" fat people. In other words, there is no direct medical cause for our obesity. I am wondering if being here all these months has helped you to see what a struggle it is for us, how emotionally damaging obesity is (nevermind the physical risks to your health), and how many years - decades in some cases - of dieting have brought us to this point. I hope you no longer feel that our problem is that we are/were too lazy to try. Being banded yourself, I hope you no longer feel that this surgery is the easy way out. You seem like a good and kind person and I hope you will grow in compassion for your aunt and uncle. It is likely that they are just plain lazy. But it is equally likely that eating is a compulsion for them, that they can't control it, that they've given up, that they are aware that people look down on them, that they know the dieting odds are against them, that they've tried to lose weight many many times in the past, but have not advertised it and that is why you are not aware of it. But none of that matters because when it comes down to it, they are both severely morbidly obese, will live shorter lives because of it, and it makes them unhappy every single day of their lives. I sincerely hope that you do not view this as an attack, just as something for all of us - myself included - to think about. I certainly don't mean to start a fight, but to give you my honesty in return for yours. And in my opinion, it doesn't much matter how or why we got fat. Some have medical reasons, some have pregnancy weight, some are suffering from depression, and yes - some just plain like to eat. Regardless of how we got here, we are all in the same boat and have found the same path to success. I wish you the very best of luck in your bandster journey. ~Sasha

Way to go Woooo! I see you had a port replacement. What happened? And are you ok now?

That's where I feel it too. It's almost as if the band is between my stomach and my esophagus. As far as getting another fill, are you happy with your current rate of loss? Are you on a plateau?

They sound like a bunch of quacks! But congrats to you

Wow, scary. I bet you're extra glad you're getting banded!

Happy six-month bandiversary everyone! The last six months have flown by, haven't they? I hope you are all well and making progress and all that good stuff. :peace:

Do you have to go with that surgeon/program? Maybe you could shop around for a different one that's a little more accomodating.

She was gossiping TO you about gossip ABOUT you, gee, that's helpful. Try your best to put it out of your mind. You aren't Miss Cleo and can't know what's going on in other people's heads. If someone has a problem with it, they need to talk directly to you about it or else suck it up and deal. Even if the gossip is true, the fact that someone else has a problem with a decision you've made about your own personal life, it's still THEIR problem. Not yours.

Yay!!!!!! It's nice to finally feel like you're getting somewhere, isn't it?

I don't think you're in any danger. Somewhere around here, there's a poll about how much weight people lost before their first fill. If you find that post, I think you'll find that you're pretty normal.

Maybe if you spread your food out over the day, you'll be ok. They say take 3 small meals a day, but if you get sick after a couple of hours without food, I say go ahead and eat more frequently. Success has to do with how much you eat, not how often you eat.