*slim*

You should really try hard to stick to the pre-op diet. It is usually done to shrink the liver so that it is easier to move during surgery. I do know at least one person that didn't follow their prescribed pre-op diet and came out of surgery with no band. They were very disappointed. Needless to say, that diet was followed to the letter the next time and surgery went on as planned. It is really for your own good to follow whatever your doctor has said to do. I know it is hard (I did it for 10 days), but it is a short period of time when you think of the lifetime that you will have with your band. Keep trying.

The only naked parts of me during my consult were my feet. My surgeon never even saw my belly before surgery. He had his nurse practitioner (female) look at my previous laparoscopic surgery scars to be sure of where they were. I just lifted my shirt to my bra for her. You should be ok.

I keep hearing that everything is better in TX.:thumbup:

No problem at all.

It has to do with both make/model and the person's stomach size (I think). The doctor determines the size, and you get to choose which band brand you want (most doctors let you pick that anyway). My understanding is that there is no real difference in how each brand works (there are some that will argue about that one). Each one is still just a tool to help with weight loss. You can read up on both types on line at www.lapband.com and www.realizeband.com . I hope this helps.

Have fun Diva!

I can feel my port when I lay on my stomach too long. I may just be super sensitive to it. It gets uncomfortable after a while.

I noticed that there weren't many posts myself. Where is everyone this weekend?

My son doesn't have one. I have both myspace and facebook blocked from our computer. I know I can't watch him all of the time, but there are some things that I can control in my house. That is one of them. My step daughter has one, but I just don't agree with it.

I like the 2nd logo because it's tasteful but leaves no question what exactly what the site it about.

Sorry Tap. We just have the cold. No snow or ice.

The program fee for the group that I used was $1250. I didn't do enough homework on finding the groups offered through my insurance company so I was stuck. I had already paid the non-refundable fee when I realized that there was one more clinic I could have gone through. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret going through the doctor that I did, but it would have been nice not to pay that fee. My fee includes the support groups, free visits (not fills though) during a specified time, and costs of them being a bariatric group of distinction.

I had been pretty regular until a few weeks ago. I remembered seeing this thread and bought both apricots and prunes. I just want to say THANK YOU! OMG! Relief. I will be buying apricots with my regular grocery trip from now own.

It's no problem. Biotin is a supplement. I have seen it at Wal-Mart. It is in most multi-vitamins, but they don't have as much biotin in them. One of them that I saw at Wal-Mart actually said for hair and nails. It has a couple of other vitamins in it that are supposed to be good for the hair. With that and upping your protein, you should see improvement in your hair soon. I hope this helps.

It is normal to lose hair. There are different reasons for it. Some say it is low protein intake. Others say it is from the trauma of having surgery. There are some people on here that swear by biontin. I figure it is probably a combination of both. Everyone that I have talked to says that it does grow back so don't be alarmed. I hope this helps.

PJTP- Happy Saturday!

What a person puts in their ticker is a personal choice. We are each on our own personal journey. We are not in a race. We are each simply here for support. Quite frankly, unless each person chooses to put that info, it really isn't my or any other person's business what that weight loss includes. Just my own opinion. I earned every single pound included on my ticker and don't plan to remove a single one of them.

It sounds to me like you need to have some fill removed. That would allow you to eat regular foods and stop the sweets. Go see your doctor for a slight unfill. I hope this helps.

RestlessMonkey is right, it really does depend. My testing included EKG, upper GI, blood work, urine testing, and chest xray. All of those had to be done within 2 weeks of my surgery per my hospitals rules. Also, it was almost exactly a month from approval to surgery for me. It was supposed to be longer, but they had a cancellation and moved me up. Just talk to you surgeon's office. They will tell you what tests you need and when. Good luck on the appeal!

I cooked most days for my family while on the post op diet. I just didn't taste anything. I told them before hand that I couldn't eat, so I would NOT be tasting for too much or too little seasoning. It all went well. I am almost 2 months out now. I try to make sure that whatever I cook as something that I can eat. I try one bite to see if it is uncomfortable (I can't eat regular rice anymore) and go from there. It seems to work for now. We will see how it goes when I have more restriction and have fewer things that I can eat. All of that to say this, if you think that you can't follow your surgeon's post op rules to the letter if you cook for your family, then have them cook/order take out or whatever until you are on regular foods. You don't want to risk hurting your band. Good luck on your journey!

My understanding is the hernia repair will all that you mentioned, Froggi. More pain and longer recovery should be expected. I don't know how much more pain. In truth, I didn't feel any pain until day 5 after surgery and that was gas.

The insulin resistance associated with PCOS was used as a comorbitity with my insurance company.

Welcome to Band Land! I hope that every thing went well. Be blessed!

I did go through that. I think a lot of bandsters would say that they did. It is the "last supper". I kept thinking that I would never be able to eat these things again, so I ate and ate and ate (I am sure you get the picture). I didn't get to do it long. I only had a few weeks between insurance approval the start of my preop diet. As a matter of fact, I had a planned "last supper" that I didn't get to eat because they moved my surgery up. You just have to remember that you will be able to eat most of those things again. Just not as much.

BethFromVA-I didn't completely steal your idea. I did get a Chinese symbol on my wrist. Thank you for posting your idea. Now I will always have this reminder.