sistasassy

How soon after surgery can you have sex? I would think there would be no restriction on this but am asking just to make sure. :cursing:

See, I don't have GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). I really don't have much depression either. These were out of the blue AFTER a number of years of high stress. I was finally in a good place in my life and then BAM, I was at work one day and everything began to go black. My heart started to race, my blood pressure went through the roof, I was freezing cold but sweating like a maniac. I honestly thought I was dying. My employer called an ambulance and my hubby. I was wisked off to the hospital and it was there, after hours and hours of testing, that it was diagnosed as a panic attack. The drug parade began that night. Over the next five days I was in the ER by ambulance 6 times. No one ever took the time to talk to me about what was actually happening. Finally, on the last ride, a paramedic explained how a panic attack works. I began to get a grip on them then but the drugs I was on were not working in various forms and fashions. Some made me shaky all over. Some made me sick. Some made me hyper. Some totally zoned me out. My life is too busy to be a mess. I have five teenagers, a husband, a dog, a household to run, a business to run, and a ministry. Screwed up is not an option for me. My PCP finally switched me to Cymbalta. The shakes went away within days. My shrink switched me to Xanax (at my request) from Ativan and my mind cleared and I was no longer a grouch. I am a normal functioning person again. My family smiles at me again instead of hiding in their rooms. My "comforter" son is no longer spending his time sitting by my side trying to comfort me and dote on me. He is off being a kid again. My dog is not clinging to me anymore (she would not leave my side and would howl if I had to leave -- not normal behavior for her at all). I am not drugged or loopy or zoned out. I am me again. Could I type clearly on mega drugs? No. I can type and think this is pretty well done and pretty well explained. I felt more of a relaxed sensation after nursing my sons that I get from the Xanax. After nursing I was wiped out from the nursing hormone. On Xanax, I just keep on going with no pause in the day. I take .25 mg of Xanax every 4 hours and have a prescription for it. I am closely monitored by my docs and pharmacist. I do not feel guilty or embarrassed by taking this medication and often joke about it to those who know and love me. I will feel the same about my Lap Band. Like I said before. I just wanted to know if I would be able to take my medication after midnight on the night before surgery. If I were a drug addict, I don't think I would be being cleared for surgery. The Cymbalta is being used to settle my system down. The Xanax is to stop the panic attacks. You have to understand that they are not just once a month or so. They will come 5+ times per day if I am not taking the Xanax like I am supposed to be doing. I have also seen every ER doc at our hospital and am assured each time that my meds are right on target for my disorder. That many doctors cannot be wrong. :cursing:

Sue, I believe that if you gained the weight (or carried the weight or whatever) that you would have a good chance. The only kicker would be if you insurance company were to say that you had to be at that weight for a certain length of time before approval.

doglvr, I figure I will believe the same thing. My panic attacks (the big ones) usually result in all the heart attack testing cuz it is so hard to tell the difference -- other than the fact that I live through the panic attacks.

My doctor is in Illinois and has never said one word about Medicaid not covering fills and they told me right up front the things it would not cover. Not sure if you are in Illinois or not. Good luck in your search.

That would be awesome to be able to start losing weight before all the pre-op stuff and after the initial weigh. I have no trouble dropping 20 pounds or so. It is the keeping it off that I have had trouble with.

LOL @ Maryland being southern. Too funny. :biggrin2:

Thanks Brandi. That is exactly it.

My insurance will cover a BMI of 35 with comorbidities, which I have, but the doc and the hospital are firm at 40. For the first time ever I am afraid to burn a calorie. Still attempting to be healthy anyway though. Sigh....such a maze to get through. :crying:

Hang in there Froggi. Will be praying for a shorter wait time for you.

I had wondered about that as well. My BMI is just barely 40 and MUST be 40 or above for the doc and the hospital to accept me. Was afraid that a pre-diet would knock me out of the running but know that the weight will just come right back on. That is one of the questions I am going to ask my doc when I see him Wednesday just to get it clarified for sure.

Thanks Froggi. I kind of figure mine to be short and sweet (well was wondering about the sweet part) as the doc's nurse has already told me that I will be having my surgery in July most likely. I just wondered if it was a "pick at your brain" sort of session like the psych session. Glad to know that it is not. :rolleyes2:

I wondered if this would be the case when I get my band. I wondered if my mindset would begin to change. I love healthy foods. My problem has been too much unhealthy available. I have already begun to try to change my eating habits and avoid "eating temptations". I have been confronting "favorite" bad foods and really evaluating why I eat them. I have found that a lot of them are just because they are there. It is not because they are good or good for me. It has been helping me make some better food choices.

Thank you Lunabeane. I know I will probably not be on Xanax forever but for now it is the only thing that works. I would rather this than the shakey aweful feeling I had on some of the other meds. I have scaled back (on my own) on my Xanax a couple of times and have ended up in the ER both times. All of my docs say not to scale back and to give my body time to "reset itself" and that we will scale back later. I do not want to feel defensive about taking my meds the way I do. Everyone has assured me that any level of addiction that may become involved would be minimal and would not even require a rehab setting to weaning off of them. Doctors and nurses alike assure me that taking my meds faithfully the way I am is the best way to be FOR NOW. I only began having these attacks in February and they were virtually uncontrollable in the beginning. My system really got out of whack and the docs feel the meds will calm it down but that it will take time. As Lunabeane stated so well, I just wanted to know if I would be able to take my Xanax after midnight with a sip of Water. Does not take much for me to get them down. And, yes, I wondered how soon I would need to take it after surgery since I would have a fair amount of other drugs in my system from the surgery. I don't want to under medicate beforehand or over medicate after. I am very very cautious with how much I take or with any combination of meds I take. I am also in very close contact with my pharmacist about all my meds as well as a back-up pharmacist for confirmation (my uncle is the head pharmacist at a huge and widely respected hospital. Everyone has assured me I am safe taking my meds daily the way I do. I am in NO WAY a drug addict and if you were to meet me and speak to me in person, you would in no way know I was taking any medication at all. My job is highly technical and very professional and I do it well, even on this medication. Thank you for all your responses though. I know they came with good intentions and I do appreciate them and am greatful for the time you took to respond.

I don't even have a definite surgery date yet and I have heavy friends trying to persuade me not to have the surgery. I hear things like "Oh you look good just the way you are." and "I would NEVER voluntarily put myself under anesthesia just to lose a few pounds." and "I would be embarrassed to have anyone know I was having that surgery. You're not telling anyone, are you?" I just look back and tell them that this is my decision to make and that I am doing this for me and my family. I want to feel healthy. I want to sleep good at night. I want to get out and hike and rollerblade and swim and run. I want to do all those things without wondering if I will die on the spot of a heart attack. I wonder each night if I will wake up in the morning. I want to see my kids grow and their babies and maybe even their babies' babies. I want to live. I want to look sexy for my hubby. He loves me as I am but he will not complain if I am a hot little hunny by his side and in his bed (sorry for too much info there but is true). I am making this choose not for my friends but for me and those I love. Don't let ANYONE get you down for the choice you have made.

I am curious to know what happens at the meeting with the nutritionist. My insurance only requires that I have the psych evalution and the nutritionist. Can I get a few people who have met with the nutritionist and find out how she/he affects your ability to have the surgery?

Good luck to you. Get lots of rest but remember that moving helps too. I know that not from banding but from hysterectomy. Moving actually turns the pain to more of an ache and gets better. Congrats!

Good to hear that I will (most likely) be able to take my Xanax before surgery. I will mainly need it during the night. The anestesthetic (sp?) should be enough to suppress them until I am able to take it after surgery. Mine come on just out of the blue and mostly during relaxed or sleeping times. Truly thought I was dying the first few bigs ones that I had but now (as long as I am awake) I am able to breathe through them when they start. I also use a lot of relaxation techniques that I learned from a naturalist. I will go lie in a tub of very warm but not hot Water until all of my face is covered except for the breathing parts. That helps alot. I also use lavender oil behind my ears and a dab on my chest when they start. On the Xanax though I don't really have any. I have had chocolate this week so I have had the beginnings of a couple but that is my own fault. Helped out at a funeral dinner at my church and had two Peanut Butter fudge brownies. Way bad for me. Then had a regular Coke later (where was my brain?). Way worse for me. Anyway, cleaning my body of the bad stuff now and steering way clear of them. I do great on decaf stuff and no chocolate. My Xanax does is so low that I function normally. I have done all my spring cleaning this week. With five kids that is a lot of cleaning. I am not slowed down by it at all. I take a little nap late afternoon most days (20 minutes or so) but that is just part of my lifestyle. We keep a fast pace in this house and in order to keep up with my kids I need the little siesta everyday. Makes me a good mom all evening with them and our schedule. I think Lunabean (sp?) is right. It is different for everyone. I am just happy to not be living in a drug cloud anymore.

I have a general doc, a psychiatrist, and my Lap Band doc. I only take .25 mg every four hours which does not phase my day. I work and function normally. It is without them that I am in bad shape. All of the docs have said that the dose is safe and that even if I have to take them forever I will be fine. They say that if I am on them for a long time and have to go off for some reason that there would be some withdrawl to deal with but that I could be eased off of them and that I am perfectly fine on them. They had me on Klonapin in the beginning which just drugged me too much and then Ativan which did not drug me but did not agree with me. It made me very very cranky. So they moved me to Xanax and now all is well. I know another lady from my church who has been on Xanax for two years for anxiety and she is on the same dose as I am. I believe it to be the safest med of all they have tried for me so far. I know that a benzo is a benzo but this one stops my panic attacks and lets me keep a clear head. All three docs agree that I am ready for my Lap Band and we all agree that I am stable as long as I take the Xanax like I am supposed to. Without it they come back very quickly right now. My psychiatrist said it may take months to settle them down forever.

I have not been told that I cannot take them. I was just hoping that I will not be told not to take them in the future (prior to surgery). I agree that the excitement of the impending surgery may be enough to knock me over the edge into a panic attack the night before if I cannot maintain that level of medication in my system. I take Cymbalta as well. My general doc and my psych doc both feel that these are temporary for some reason but don't know what the reason is. Say they feel I will be able to be off both meds within a year but I am not so sure. Wondering if they are here to stay and I just need to learn to accept them as a part of my life. Desperately want them to go away forever. I have never had trouble like this before February of this year and then BOOM. In one day I had three. Ended up in the ER six times in five days before we finally got them under control. Now I only have one if I try to stretch out my Xanax. I have learned (the hard way) to stop doing that. :wink2:

Both docs are okay with it. My general doc is okay with me having surgery and my Lap Band doc is fine also. I was just curious to know if anyone else was dealing with the same thing and how they were dealing with it after the surgery. I do know that one thing I am wondering is about the day before surgery how you are not supposed to eat after midnight and all. I have to have my Xanax every four hours or things go bad pretty quick. I can maybe go six hours but it varies from day to day. Wouldn't that be lovely to be in the ER at one hospital hours before I have surgery at another. Somehow I think that would throw a monkey wrench in everything. :cursing: Perhaps they can give me a longer lasting benzo for that night.

I have Panic Disorder and have panic attacks out of the blue from time to time (mainly when I am most at peace or even asleep). I take Xanax every four hours to keep them at bay. The nurse at my doc's office said that it should not be a problem but I was wondering if anyone else has these.

Okay, way gross........:cursing: :cryin:

I know getting out of bed after surgery is important. I had a hysterectomy and was told to walk to the corner AT LEAST every day for the first few days and to add to it after that. It gets everything moving and I believe they said it helps to prevent adhesions. I felt a lot better with the moving each day than I did on the few days that I twisted my ankle (crazy luck) and was stuck down. I ached in my belly bad on those days but was good on the days I was walking. I would think that with a laproscope that walking would be fine anyway. A few sticky stitches and some aches inside. I am hoping to be able to get moving after my surgery. (Found out today that I am looking at July for surgery. :cursing: Yeah for me!!!! :cryin: )

I know that Dr. Gilman in Decatur accepts Medicaid for the LapBand surgery. You may try there if you have not found anyone yet.