kdlee

That's great! Keep up the good work! Neither my husband nor I were given a set amount to lose in that 2 week period. The only thing he told my husband was that he wanted him to have a "steak liver" not a "cake liver"! :rolleyes2: He told my husband that if he did not follow the 2 week diet that he would know when he got in there for surgery and saw his liver. He said if the liver was too soft, he would stop the surgery and make him reschedule. Neither one of us had any problems with our livers, so I'm sure you will be fine. Just make sure your dinner choices are low fat, low carb and high protein.

I honestly don't understand how you could gain on the 2 week pre-op diet! If you drink the 2 shakes, eat the lean protein and veggies, you will lose. Jeannie made the comment to me at my last fill that she can tell who is cheating and who is following the plan based on weight loss. I know you will succeed! Just follow it and DON'T CHEAT. It's only 2 weeks. My husband followed it and did not cheat. He lost 20 lbs in those 2 weeks. His start in those 2 weeks was 320 and he was 300 day of surgery.

I lost 15 lbs on my 2 week pre-op diet. I did not cheat. If you follow it exactly you should lose more than that, because you're starting higher than me. Good luck! I'm getting excited for you!!!:rolleyes2:

I had my first fill with no problem. 2nd fill the doctor could not access the port for some reason and I had to go to the radiology department at the hospital to have the fill under fluoro. I had my 3rd fill last week in the office and the nurse practitioner got it the first try with no problems. The fluoro was no biggie. Actually it was a lot easier. More expensive, but easier.

I am having problems with what I think is my gallbladder. I was in the ER 2 weeks ago with an "attack" and then had another one last week which I painfully waited out at home. I, too, show no stones on UltraSound. I am going to my family practice Dr. tomorrow to see what can be done. I will ask for the scan. Thanks for the advice! I think it would be a good idea to take out the gallbladder while doing the lapband surgery to avoid these complications. I'm not sure why it is not done? A co-worker had the Duodinal switch done and her surgeron took both her gallbladder and appendix out at the time of surgery so that any abdominal pain could be ruled out as not being related to either the gallbladder or appendix. Sounds like a good idea. I suppose the reason they don't with the lapband is because of risk that it could turn into an open surgery instead of laproscopic, but I'm not sure?

That sounds exactly like what I experience. I was on my period last week, so that makes sense! I'll have to try some warm tea. Thanks for the suggestion! :biggrin:

Thanks, Terry. I think you're right about eating too fast. It's hard for me to remember to slow down. I take small bites and chew well but I continue to eat too fast, especially when I'm around other people. I just finally got some restricition last week, so this is new territory!

She may have changed what it's about. That was what she said at the last meeting she was going to try to do. I really was looking forward to it!

Hi Elizabeth. I get the same thing. Not to be gross, but it feels like your throat is full of snot, right? :thumbup: I have really noticed it since my fill last week, too. I get mine when I first start eating, so I know that it's not because I'm full. Not sure what it is???

Just a reminder for those who have already been banded. Support Group meeting tonight at 6pm at Jeannie's office. It's supposed to be about plastic surgery and Jeannie was trying to get Dr. Tarrant there. I'm going to go and then leave a little early for Zumba. So, see those who have already been banded there and see those who haven't yet at Zumba! :thumbup:

Guess what! I walked in my first 5K this morning in Marietta. Granted, I didn't have a stellar finish, but I did it and survived! I want to walk in the Turkey Trot next. Hopefully they're still having it. I'd like to lose about another 20 lbs and then I'm going to try to start jogging. Maybe next year I can run the 5k! :eek: See you guys Monday night at Zumba!

You know, I thought the same thing! Perhaps if I hadn't been friendly and outgoing I would have been considered "normal"! :eek:

I know how discouraged you feel. I was there! You need a fill. I was banded one month after you . I had hit a plateau for a few weeks also. I was hungry all the time and just felt as if it wasn't working. I went in for a fill on 10/20 and now have 6.5cc in a 10cc band. I finally have good restriction! The hunger has stopped and I am down 4 1/2 lbs this week already. It's amazing the difference in my hunger just from adding 1.5cc! Call you doctor and get in there. You'll be happy with the results!

Honestly, I think it will be an issue the rest of my life. Once I hit goal, I know and anticipate that I will be focussed on never letting myself get back to where I was before losing weight. I will always have to focus on making smart food choices and keeping the weight off. I was not blessed with a raging metabolism. I know that once the weight is off, I can not go back to eating whatever I want. I wish it would become second nature, but I know all too well what a slippery slope it is for me when it comes to food. I think it's best for me to just keep it a daily priority to make smarter food choices. Am I going to slip up along the way? Yes, that's life. But I must keep myself focussed to recover from the slip-ups, which to me means a lifelong commitment. Honestly, once you have your surgery and get into this, it's not as hard as I anticipated. Yes, I still enjoy high calorie foods but the key is, once in a while, not daily!!! You can still enjoy the food side of life with the band, you just become so much more accountable to not only your body but to your brain too for making the right choices.

Jennifer- Congrats on the loss! You will like the Zumba class. I felt absolutely no intimidation there. The women were great and it was super fun. Hope to see you there! I can't make line dancing. 6:30 is really pushing it for me since I don't get home from work until 6 or after. Tonight I need to go to a visitation at the funeral home and tomorrow night I have cub scout meeting at 7 to go to. But, if everything works out, I'll see you guys on Monday! Just an update...I went for a fill yesterday. There's supposed to be 5cc in there, they only got 3.5 when Jeannie checked it. Dr. Kaplan said I could have a leak around the port...? Told me to call in 2 weeks if no restriction. But, I think that it was all in there and just not coming out? Jeannie put in 1.5cc and I have so much more restriction! I'm still getting hungry in between breakfast and lunch, but I have definite restriction when I eat with that 'lump in your throat' feeling. I even had a hard time getting eggs down last night. This is a good thing, though. I'm not feeling hungry, other than between breakfast and lunch, and my portion sizes are reduced. I'm getting in 3 meals with soft protein right now since I'm just 2 days out from the fill. So, we'll see how this goes with harder food later in the week. I had gone back up to 221 and I am 215 now since last week. So, it's working!

Hey everyone. I'm back from Arizona. The weather there was beautiful, but it's nice to be home! Froggi-Congrats on the approval!!! WVUFAN-Sorry I missed Zumba. I didn't get back until midnight Sunday night and I was still on West Coast time yesterday. I was exhausted last night! I ended up doing an aerobic tape and went to bed. I will be there next week! It was so much fun!!

I saw Dr. Dunn at Health South. That's who Jeannie sent me to. CCMH does nothing with the billing. Dr. Dunn's office did their own billing. My insurance covered about 500 and I had to pay the rest to him. I had approximately 400 multiple choice questions but they were the same questions repeated a hundred different ways. He lays back in his recliner while you sit in a folding chair for 4 hours and fill in bubble question answers. Make sure you stay in the lines!!!

I go on the 20th at 12:45. Maybe I'll see you there! I was supposed to have one this past Monday, but I'm flying tomorrow to Arizona and was afraid to get a fill before that. I don't think I've lost anything since my last fill. I am hungry all the time and don't feel much restriction most of the time. So...we'll see.

Elizabeth-Congrats on the nonscale victory! I have been ravenous all week. I don't know what's up. I go for a fill next Monday, so maybe that will help? WVU-Fan- The psych eval was a huge waste of time and dollars. Mine was 4 hours. $800 later I learned that I was an OCD borderline narcissist. Yeah, whatever...:regular_smile:

I have Anthem BC/BS PPO in Ohio. It is not Federal. I did not have to do the 6 month diet. I went to the seminar March 15th and was banded June 30th. Your doctor's office is wrong. Obviously not all BC/BS subscribers have to do the 6 months. I would have them submit and see what happens. Here is the specific policy from Anthem's website: SURG.00024 Surgery for Clinically Severe Obesity There is a checklist at the bottom of that link. Those are the only things required. Good luck! :biggrin:

Hi Judy. Nice to meet you. I had my surgery in April. Most of us with Kaplan talk over in this thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f18/hello-wv-74493/ Stop on over and say Hi!

WHOO HOO!!!

I don't believe that the doctor can bill you the difference in the agreed upon contract amount from the insurance company. He can, however, refuse to accept your insurance and not participate with your insurer, in which case that would make you a self-pay. :smile2:

I have no problem with salad and I don't find that I have to chew it much more than anything else. I eat salad about once a week with grilled chicken on it and do fine. I have a hard time eating cold cheese (metled is ok, go figure!) and crust from bread. I do ok with toast without the crust. The other night I had a piece of cold pepperjack cheese and even with taking small bites and chewing till I was blue in the face I felt some discomfort with it. It's strange because otherwise I don't feel like I have alot of restriction. Guess I'll put that on my list of things to avoid. My husband has about 6cc in his 14cc band and can eat salad without any problem, too. He usually does ok with toast, too. It just depends on the time of day he eats it. Not sure about the cheese with him....