TheGh0st

UPDATE: Got tired of my DH calling every hour yesterday asking if I the refferal clerk had called with an appointment time yet so I bounced from person to person until I finally found someone who would even try to help. Then all she could tell me is that she saw I already had an appointment set up in the system with a neurosurgeon. Only no one had called to tell me this. And get this the "STAT" appointment my doc requested is set for JULY!!! Can anyone tell me on what planet 9 weeks is Stat? The gal I was talking to couldn't explain why it was so long, couldn't/wouldn't give me a direct number to the neurosurgeon's office and said I'd have to wait until the referral clerk called me to officially tell me when the appointment was to find out why it was going to take so long. I AM STILL WAITING FOR THAT CALL!!!!! THEN, I went online to do a little background check on the doctor they had scheduled me with. After all maybe he was so good it took that long to see him. Who knows that may still be true but according to the internet he only graduated just under 2 years ago and he doesn't even specialize in Brain tumors or Pituitary disorders. Needless to say this didn't sit to well with me or my DH. So when he got off work he started making phone calls to the insurance company as well as neurosurgeons off our in-network list. And within a couple hours he had 2 different appointments with neurosurgeons who both specialize in pituitary disorders one of them in the same group as the appointment my doc's office has yet to tell me they set. And get this both appointments are for next week! Kind of interesting how my husband was able to get an appointment 8 weeks sooner than the doctor's referral clerk who was told to get a STAT appointment, and they work at the same university hospital.

Quick update. I have no update. The doctor told me yesterday morning she would be having a neurosurgeon contact me "as quickly as possible" her words. Then her nurse called back at 4:30pm (nearly 6 hours later) to tell me that a "Stat" referral had been requested. I remember thinking WTF?! Wasn't that already done 6 hours ago! Sure doesn't sound Stat to me. Now here I am well over 24 hours since I spoke to the doctor yesterday morning and still no call from a neurosurgeon's office and I can't reach anyone of any use at the doctors office to even ask who it was they were trying to get to call me so I can call them myself. Come on people, you don't just drop a bombshell like this on someone and just leave them hanging. Who knows what I would have done if it hadn't been for the age of the internet. At least I've been able to get some answers from Google and it doesn't sound all that bad. I keep telling everyone I'm not freaked out about this whole thing but I'd really like to get a move on and figure out where I go from here.

I did some digging the other day and found the actress that plays Ashlee has her own MySpace page but I've never got into myspace so I don't know how or if I can send her a message. I'd love to ask her if she has heard of LBT or if she even has an alter ego over here. If any of you are ambitious enough to send her a message let us know if you hear back from her.

I agree, I think the problem is $$. First off, one of their major rivals, Johnson & Johnson are the backers of the Realize band and I'm sure they don't want to do anything that might help them even if they don't have a competing product. I suppose if Allergan paid them enough they might consider it. They don't even use accurate credit card logos next to the register at "Company" or in the storefront windows. They read "Vista" and "Master Care" presumably because they weren't paid for product placement. I'm wondering where Ashlee is right now. Haven't seen her for several days.

"Surgery through the nose" Good grief, I should be happy that there won't be any scars but all I can think of are all the nose picking jokes the guys down in service are going to come up with. Question though for any of you that have had this or know someone who has. Do you know if they have had to go on anytype of hormone replacement therapy? I know the pituitary gland is like some sort of master gland that regulates other hormones and their glands such as the thyroid, growth hormone and prolactin. My particular tumor is affecting my prolactin growth, so I don't know if they remove the tumor is it only going to effect the prolactin hormone growth or all the hormones that the pituitary controls. It may sound petty but my biggest fear is that the surgery will screw up my thyroid levels which are perfectly fine right now and that I thought I had heard that thyroid problems can cause weight gain. Just what I don't want after all the time, money and effort I've put into this band.

There is a wide spectrum of different pre-op diets around varying from doctor to doctor as well as depending on the individual patient. Technically the Lap Band patient booklet from Allergan that goes into some detail listing general guidelines for post-op eating mentions nothing about a pre-op diet. However, the doctor I go to for my fills is a proctor for Allergan. Originally he did not require any pre-op diet but after having to abort surgeries on two patients whose livers were too enlarged to operate around he started requiring pre-op diets of all his patients, ranging anywhere from a couple days to a whole month depending on their BMI and other health factors. Now those 2 patients only represented less than 1% of all those he had banded with no pre-op diet. But he never wanted to have to explain to another patient why they didn't have a band yet when they woke up from the anethesia. So if your doctor is not requiring a pre-op diet I would suggest you voluntarily go on a two day non-sugar liquid diet strictly for the purpose of reducing the size of your liver. Ofcourse I am NO Doctor or medical professional. So take my advice for what you paid for it. :biggrin2:

tztmama - Long time no see. Great job on your weightloss. I'm glad you popped in to check on us. I wish us old-timers would be a bit more active. I know many of us are at or near our goals but the scale isn't the only challenge we face living with our bands as you can see from some of my posts above.

Miram- Congratulations! I can't believe I missed you getting engaged. I loved your engagement story. It will definitely be something to tell the grandchildren someday.

I bled from my belly button for what seemed the longest time though it was probably only 4-6 weeks. My doc had me dab just a little polysporin on it and place a cottonball over it. I didn't even bother with a bandage as the compression garment held it in place just fine.

I remember asking her mother if she wanted to feel her port but didn't catch her calling it a portal. Too funny. No big surprise the mother recoiled at the thought, thats how most people I have asked react as well. I'm no doc either but I tried searching google a bit and found one website describing a different laparascopic surgery and it did mention the removal of the gas before sewing the incisions shut so she was probably right about that part. But I've never heard of seeing the gas bubble under the skin only the pain people have described from having one. Thankfully I never had one. I also had mixed feelings about the scene where she was upset about being at the photo shoot and not being able to eat the food laid out there. Overall I think it was a good point to bring up but then so would a discussion about exactly what the lapband is and yet not once has the details of the band been discussed. Everyone over on the Guiding Light board keep referring to it as bypass and worrying about all the assumed health risks they believe go along with that surgery.

Its near impossible to hazard a guess. It depends a lot on whether you are self pay or are dealing with insurance approvals as well as the particular surgeon you select. Mine was about 6-8 weeks from when I turned in my application paperwork a few weeks after the seminar. But I was self pay, I've known some insurance patients to be as quick if their approval came through quickly and others that fought for over a year to get it approved before having surgery.

Good Luck! Don't forget to take notes and maybe even come prepared with a list of questions you might want to ask. I remember wishing I could just meet with the doc one on one and not wanting to go to a group seminar. But after attending it I realized the benefit of hearing the answer to everyone elses questions I hadn't even thought of asking. As well as seeing just how many people were out there just like me. That was sad but it helped me let go of some of the guilt and loneliness I was feeling going into this. If you like what you hear at the seminar I can not emphasize enough the importance of attending at least one local support group meeting before your surgery. If possible before you even pick a specific surgeon.

Great story albeit sad. I have several bandster friends who also had the RNY and regained the weight before switching to the band. Maybe this will be an option for her as well.

I HATE needles and I ended up being one of those dreaded bandsters than needed 14 fills the first year. In all of those fills I only had one that hurt, but ofcourse it had to be my first fill which traumatized me for the next several. Now though I still hate needles and I still literally bite my knuckle while they do it in an effort to redirect my focus but honestly, since that first fill it has NEVER hurt. Infact many of them I didn't even realize they had stuck me until they said they were done. I just thought they were "marking" the spot with a pen before giving me the real shot. All I can suggest is to remember to breath and try not to worry too much about it. Oh, and biting my knuckle really does work. PS - Thin2beme if you bite your knuckle in front of Dr H. Tell him I suggested it he just might remember me as he use to always tease me about it before I switched docs to save money on fills.

Sadly it is very normal. Infact many of us refer to this time as "Bandster Hell". I know it is hard but you need to try your best to follow as many of the rules as much as you can through sheer will power until you start to get better restriction with your fills. OK I can hear some of you now, I've said it thousand times myself. "If I had the will power to follow the rules without restriction then why would I need the band?" For me the reason why I needed the band was because, yes I can lose weight on nothing but will power for short periods of time but I've never been able to maintain that weight loss. But now with the band I have a tool that when tight enough makes it easier to lose without will power but more importantly makes it possible for me to maitain my current weight without the herculian efforts needed pre-band. Try to hang in there it will get better.

OK in general smoothies will probably have more calories than a Protein drink so in that regard I'd fall on the drink side. Smoothies are also thicker so if you are unable to eat solids they may be difficult to keep down as well. My doc was dead set against protein drinks/smoothies as well for the first several years of his doing this procedure. He considered it nothing more than liquid calories. However, after watching his patients, several of which were also employees of his, he slowly changed his mind and now believes it better to drink some form of protein in the morning if you are too tight to eat than to go with no food until lunch. Again in an ideal world we would all get our protein from solid sources and I applaud those who do. But I'm also one of those that in order not to be able to eat a horse at night I need a fill tight enough that I can usually only manage a drink in the morning. For the first year plus I usually made my own drink in the blender with skim milk, chocolate whey protein and a spoonfull of Peanut Butter to cut the edge off that fake chocolate taste. But my current personal favorite at the moment is Low-Carb Slimfast for a couple reasons, it tastes good to me, it requires no mixing, and not only does it have 190 calories, 20 grams of protein to 2 grams of net carbs (6 total minus 4 fiber) it also has about 30% or more of many Vitamins and minerals unlike many of the other protein supplement drinks.

Scottay - I want to apologize I had written my post at work over a period of time and had not refreshed my screen to see your additional posts. I had only seen the first couple posts and hadn't realized your wife was the one initially looking into the band. But even if she hadn't and it had been you that had discovered the idea. It still shows a great love for her that you care enough to be doing all this research. Any woman should be proud to have a husband so concerned to take the effort you are to reseach this out. I also was only trying to tell you a little about my own experience with weight loss. I wasn't trying to imply that you thought she had a will power problem or that you had ever driven her to tears. It was only my opinions on what has happened to me and how society in general views obesity. My own husband has done both but your post seemed so clear that you were not responsible for her unhappiness that it never crossed my mind. Again I apologize if I made it sound so. I also remember reading that the two of you are riding bikes to/from work and she has lost some weight doing this. If she does get banded this commitment to activity will be a great help in her success. I was not so good at committing to formal exercise and have lost slower than some of my bandmates that made such a commitment. Shortgal - Yeah, don't get me started on the one size fits all shirts. With my F-cup Girls even at a size 10 pants I can't fit most one size all shirts. And though I didn't do WW I did do Jenny Craig several years before the band and was initially successfull before I gained it all back plus. So yes I can see your point that a structured program can give us tools we can use even after the band. I guess I was just assuming that if she had been dealing with this for over 10 years it would shock me if she hadn't already tried several programs in the past.

I have to second this opinion. Very few spouses would make the effort you are and that is wonderfull. But in the end this does need to be a choice she wants to make for herself. Is she willing to attend a seminar or maybe a local support group of people that are already banded? I know I was very against surgery myself until after I attended a seminar and saw just how many other people were in the same situation as me and heard more about the medical side of my not losing weight than I had known before. It made me feel so much less guilty for considering surgery and made me feel more hopefull at the possibility of it working for me.

Despite my great respect for Shortgal (and kinship with all short people in general) I think I have to disagree with the suggestion to try Weight Watchers. On the whole it is not a bad concept but from what I saw in your original post it sounds like she has been dealing with weight issues for at least a decade. Combine that with your comments that she was both athletic and maintaining a healthy weight up until her difficult pregnancy and I would say she probably knows how & what to eat possibly better than most normal weight people. In my own humble experience most obese people know what they shold be doing in regards to food & exercise, the problem lies in actually doing it. I know this sounds like a will power issue and I don't want to minimize the fact that in the end it is our hands putting the foods in our mouths and its our rear ends sitting on the couch not exercising. Still there are so many other issues working against us that are beyond normal control. There can be many reasons some medical some psychological that have led her to becoming obese. But no matter how she gained the weight science shows that over 90% of people who surpass a BMI of 40 (or maybe its 30 I can't remember right now) will regain their weight loss within 18 months even when on a medically supervised diet and exercise regime. Obese and Morbidly Obese individuals body chemistry is different than that of those that are closer to a healthy weight. Whenever we lose weight our body starts sending out strong chemical signals to coerce us into eating, to change our metabolism to be more efficient and to even redirect a larger percentage of a normal caloric intake into replenishing our depleted fat cells rather than the rest of our body. There is a very interesting online radio show that you can stream that talks about this in more depth and even explains how the band can help change the pattern in more ways than just limiting our ability to eat too much in one sitting. I can find a link for it if you like. But try to imagine telling someone who just took an overdose of sleeping pills that if they fall asleep it is only because they lack the will power to stay awake. Again I'm not trying to give excuses for my own previous behaviour or hers but I do believe it is not as simple as a will power issue or a lack of knowing what the right foods/exercise levels are for many.

Got to say the vaca comparison was a spur of the moment inspiration. And I'm lovin' it right now if I do say so myself. It makes me feel a little less like a horrible b!tc# for complaining, at least for right now. but I'm sure by tomorrow I'll be right back to feeling guilty for all my whinging.

For all of you pre-plastic surgery posters and lurkers. Don't get us wrong I wouldn't take back my PS if you paid me a million dollars. Just because some of us are still obsessing about our looks post PS doesn't mean we aren't thrilled with the results so far. It just hard to explain if you haven't been there. The best comparison I can come up with is to think of it like going on the best vacation you ever had then complaining it wasn't longer or that you didn't get to do enough. It doesn't mean you wish you hadn't gone just because you wish you could have stayed longer or done more.

I'm with you on this one as well Karey. The gut is gone and my tummy is looking great. But I keep obsessing about the scale, my thighs, my arms and am starting to notice those lines on my face as well. I know I can't afford all the surgeries necessary to fix all my issues and like you one minute I'm bereting myself for being so self centered and vain about it the next I'm trying to figure out how to rob the nearest bank to pay for it. I've thought about counseling but I just don't see how they can help when they really don't know what we are going through. I feel like we just sound like a bunch of whiners to pretty much everyone else. I sure know that just a couple years ago if I heard someone complaining like we are I would have wanted to hit them up the side of the head with a baseball bat. I can remember being so jealous of people in our current position. I was convinced then that if I could only reach a size 14 I would be content and here I am at a size 10 winging on about lumpy thighs and batwings. I use to use my monthly support group as my counseling but that doesn't even work too well anymore. Don't get me wrong I still love the support group and it is the highlight of my monthly schedule but most of them just can't help me with these issues as they are not here yet and it doesn't seem fair to go on about it in front of the newer members. There are 3 or 4 in the group that have lost more weight than I but I'm the only one that has gone forward with PS so far so they are still functioning under the assumption that it will solve all their head issues. I wish a few of us were closer so we could form our own little counseling support group.

Question though. I see my "Rep Power" and when I clicked on the scales below my last post it stated that comment had not received any "reputation" as well as how many reputations points I currently have. OK why is my Rep Power different between my Reputation Points AND how do I find which posts received reputation comments without backtracking and hunting down all of my old posts? Is there one place I can go to look for all my reputation responses?

GREAT Idea! I was wondering why I only had the option for positive feedback. Didn't have anything negative to say but didn't know why the option wasn't there. But now that you explain it I think that has got to be probably one of the best ideas I've ever heard of.

"Our next KCBandster meeting is on Monday, April 21st from 6:45-8:45 pm. We meet at the Antioch Library in Merriam, Kansas off I-35 and Shawnee Mission Parkway. Hope to see you there! Jen" Just got this e-mail from Jen. Looks like she hasn't picked a topic yet, though often the best meetings are those with no set topic.