Long2BFree

Fran, congrats on getting your surgery date.

I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this when you are wanting to do this for you. Don't let anyone stop you from doing something that you really want. Mostly like they have fears about the surgery because they don't understand it. Someone posted a very nice email letter that she wrote to her friends and family about why she was having the surgery... maybe you could something like that too. Hang in there and don't let anyone stop you from following your dream because you regret it later.

Hi Bob! Welcome to the boards and congrats on getting banded and your awesome weightloss! I haven't had surgery yet but from other messages I've read I've learned that sometimes it will take several fills until you get just the right restriction. I know others will post with more information.

Good luck to you. I hope you will let us know how you are doing after your surgery.

Wow, that was super fast. I wish mine went that fast. Congrats!

My nut said it would be perfect to eat a WW type diet once banded but there is no way I would be able to eat all of the points once I get a fill because the amount of food my pouch could hold would be so much less.

I went to the Tricare office on my base and they gave me a list of surgeons within a four hour driving radius that took Tricare.

Congrats on getting banded! If you are dehydrated that could be causing your headache. Make sure you are drinking enough water.

I have a Hamilton Beach Single Serve blender that I use for mixing my shakes with. It crushes ice better than any regular sized blender I own. I purchased it from Walmart for about $14. Yep, it's inexpensive but it works great!

Yea, for having restriction work. I can see where that could happen. I'm going to have to measure my food before eating because I'm going to have a hard time stopping at so little when I'm used to eating so much.

If it were me I would probably have it once a month because that's a lot of extra calories. It might slow down your weightloss.

If you've gone to the doctor they record your weight. I would think that would be proof enough.

Congrats on being banded but sorry to hear that you had such a rough start but are working through it. Did the doctor say that the gastric reflux will go away? It doesn't sound like fun at all. Because the stomach is swollen from surgery, many don't feel hungry. Does your doc already have you on food? I've always heard that the first week or two are normally Clear liquids to give the stomach time to heal. coffee might be kind of rough on the stomach because of it's acidity. My surgeon has said no to caffeine because of this and feels it cause ulceration with the band. Good luck in your band journey!

Alice, way to go! You will drop weight very quickly if you walk everyday and will feel so good. Keep pushing yourself and you will find that you might even like it. I used to exercise a lot but then had a leg injury 8 years ago and got heel spurs which makes it very painful to even walk. I actually liked to exercise because I felt good afterwards and found it to be a challenge to push myself more. I recently started riding an exercise recumbant bike and it feels so good.

It's hard to get used to the CPAP but makes such a difference in how you feel. Make sure you ask the doctor to write a prescription for the humidifier as it will help cut down on dry mouth and also helps blow warm air when it's cold in your bedroom.

It sounds a lot like Mitral Valve Prolaspe, which is what I have. I was diagnosed with it 21 years ago but I can't remember if I had to have an Echocardiogram. I have to take antibiotics before dental procedures too.

I did Phen-Fen and had great result with it. Because I always hated taking med I would do it for 2 or 3 weeks and then go off of it for about 6 weeks. I didn't participate in the class action suit because I thought it was a bogus thing that some lawyer was trying to do in order to get money. Not until later did I realize it was real.

You can ask the doctors office to give you an estimate of the expenses you will incur. It varies with each insurance and doctor. One doctor I received info from wanted $1000 on top of what the insurance covered to go towards supplements and other materials. The doctor I'm going to doesn't require that.

I saw those video clips too. My thought was that he trying to 'sell' a procedure that he does to others and makes other forms of WLS look inferior to what he's doing. If I remember correctly it was a procedure that he invented.

I feel your frustration. Just be aware that if you have sleep apnea then you will probably be put on a CPAP machine. My insurance covered the test but not the machine. My machine is a rent to own machine and after I've paid for 10 months of rental it will become mine. If it's not one thing, it's another.

Congrats!, and wow... that was really fast! Lucky you!

Congrats on getting approved. I hope my approval will come that fast. I was very happy when I found out that Tricare decided to cover the procedure and started the process once I found out they were.

Most people aren't educated about Lap Band surgery and think its like gastric bypass. You should give your mom all of the facts about it so she is totally aware of how it works. I know my mom is worried about me having it done, but she's always worried when I've had to have surgery. Explaining everything made it easier for her to accept.

You might want to call your doctor and ask if it's normal to feel restriction on some days and not others. It might be kind of hard for people to answer that question because they are normally still on liquids and mushies during day 10.

If you are mostly ingesting protein then you are probably in ketosis which causes the funky breath. The only way to get rid of if is to eat more carbs.