melinda_205

So when do we weigh in and will there be a spread sheet? Thanks

put me down for 16lbs. That will at least get me to 165! Just maybe I can exercise enough to pull it off! Good luck everyone!

My surgery was outpatient and everything went fine, including the hernia repair that I had while getting the lapband. Any procedure is a risk but that is why you need to find a surgeon that you trust and that has a good reputation. So far, I havent had any problems with my band and it was the best thing I could have done for myself! I am glad that I didnt have to stay over night in the hospital...I am much more comfortable in my own home. It took less than 5 hours and that included travel time and stopping for my prescriptions! The worst part of all of it for me was not being able to sleep on my stomach. Good luck to everyone on your journey!!!

Wow...you sound so much like me, except that I was a little older when I got the process started. I was also in nursing school and working full time and had a 16 yo nephew living with me. Do you work at Trinity, just asking bc of the insurance info that you gave and I had the same 80% coverage and that is where I work. I'm not even gonna try to sugar coat it, I started trying to get the insurance to cover but bc I had lost 120lbs (and gained it back) they refused, after paying the $200.00 out of pocket then waiting the 6 months for insurance to tell me I was denied and I had to start thinking of a new way. In the end I had to self pay, or actually bc of being in school and all that my mother got a medical credit card and we put it on there and I am paying for it monthly. Dr. T was wonderful and he did not charge the full 200.00 once I had to start the process over, think it was only $50.00. He is very good....loved the fact that he prayed with me before surgery. He also told me everything to expect good and bad....upto the hernia that he had to repaired and the left shoulder pain. He isn't very strict with the fills, after the month if you think that you need a fill every other week, then he will let you get them that often. He lets you have control over your treatment, which I really like but he is a wonderful doctor and wants to see you every 3 months the first year....pretty strict about that too! I wont tell you that having the lap band is easy bc that is not true. The weight will not just fall off you...wish it did work that easy. I think going to the support groups should be mandatory..only bc I have only made it to one and I really need some support. It is still easy to get off track, but a little easier to get back on track with the band. I was off track for a while, just got back on and trying to get some more weight off. I quit working with my band, it didnt quit working for me. So as you get started just remember that it wont be easy but it will be alot easier. I wish you the best of luck....if you go with Dr. T you will be in great hands! If there is anything that I can help you with, please let me know. You can also pm me.

Hey Southern Missy. I just stumbled onto this thread as I was reading and looking for info about low carb. I saw that you posted a couple of times and then quit. I have just started back on the low carb// high protein way of eating and was wondering how you were doing. Hope all is well.

My surgeon tells me to go the rest of the day on liquids but just for the day of the fill, other surgeons tell their patients up to 3 days. Your surgeon will tell you what he wants from his patients, if he doesnt just ask him...he does the fills so often that they are second nature to him and his nurses as well....they forget that we are new to this. Just follow what your doctor tells you to do and you will be fine. Best of Luck! BTW... just in case you are wondering, the fills dont hurt, at least they have never hurt me. I dont know if that is just great luck or a great surgeon and nurse!

Congrats to you..for doing so well and for being "skinny"! I hope that I can say the same by my one year!

I am sure that you are glad it is over! I know that we have all had to go for more than 3 days after our surgery but for some reason that sounds like forever now! Hope you have great success on with your journey.. Melinda

Hey Healthy, WTG on the weight loss! I was also banded in July of 09 ( havent lost as much weight as you), my doctor usually tells me to just sstay on liquids for the following 24 hours. I'm not telling you to go against your doctors orders but if you are really hungry maybe a small amount of eggs or something really soft would be ok...you could always call the on call doctor to make sure if you would feel safer doing that. Good luck with your journey!

Hey DLS, just from my past experience (I was banded in July of 09) and I have had a few fills. Most of them have went great but the worst ever was when I had it done over a holiday weekend so there was 3 or 4 days that I had to wait to go back to the doc. The first day it was fine but the day after it felt like it suddenly got tighter on its own so it was hard to get and keep the fluids down and food was impossible to get down. The best advice I can give you is to at least for the first couple of fills until you know how your body should adjust after a fill is to go on a monday. It really is miserable to go all weekend feeling that bad. Some of the other long time bandsters may be able to offer you better advice but I can only speak from personal experience. Good luck on your journey...its the best thing I have ever done for myself!:cursing:

your lunch buddies let you order first so they know what side items they want to eat with your "left overs"! My sister does it everytime we go eat! Her favorite thing to tell me is how much less her lunch cost now that I have had Lap band surgery!:rolleyes2:

That is wonderful! Doesnt it feel great to be at a weight that you wasnt sure that you would ever see again!

I would like to join the challenge also. I added myself to the spreadsheet. I have tried to do a couple of the challenges before but I wasnt very successful with checking in bc I was in nursing school at the time...now I have completed the program and have no excuses so I hope to lose 20lbs by Valentines Day! Thanks for the challenge everyone!

Hi Lolly, I am in Odenville, not too far from you and was banded in July. Good luck!

oh how well I can relate! these are great!

I just recently figured out that when I get the hiccups that means it is time to quit eating....no matter how little I have ate. It never fails if I try to keep eating past that I feel awful! I think it is bc I was so used to packing myself that I didnt know what being satisfied felt like, so now I let my body (or band) tell me when it is time to stop! Best of luck!

hey for those of you that ask how to sign up, read some of the post, there is one that says "LINKY-DOO" in big red letters (dont remember who posted it), but click on that. It is the link that takes you to the spreadsheet to fill in your information. Hope that helps and good luck!

I'm not sure about what your doctor wants so I will tell you what my surgeon had me to do.....but remember just about all surgeons are different and you need to follow the restrictions that your doctor gives you. When you wake up from surgery you will be hurting but the pain meds work really good. You will be sore for a couple of days...some more than others but I took liquid lortab for 2 days then liquid tylenol, for a couple of days and then nothing. I am a wimp when it comes to pain, so if you have ever had surgery before you will be fine. I dont think It was any worse than having my tubes tied. I was only on liquids for 9 days then mushies, for others it is much longer than that. I had sugar free, non carbonated drinks, sf popsicles, sf jello, and whatever broth that you prefer. By the time that you get off clear liquids you will actually like the broth.....it is a break between the sweet tasting stuff. I was eating solid foods in 3-4 wks. The worst part is getting over the head hunger and if you sleep on your stomach (like I do), it will be a few weeks before you can do that again. I was banded on 7-1-09 so I am still new to this but the only regret that I have is that I didnt do it sooner. Good luck on your journey.

I do love my band but still adjusting to it. I am still trying to learn how to eat with it...as crazy as it sounds, but there are times that I forget about it then take too big of a bite or not chew enough. Besides those things, I am loving it!

If you like slim fast, there is a slim fast low carb that has 20grams of protein. That is what I have started drinking just to get the protein in. I dont think it taste any different than the other slim fast.

I started checking into everything around July or August 2007, not sure but I think that was it. The doctor submitted everything, then they said I had to do a 6 month supervised diet, so I did that, which was over in December. Then they said that my bmi wasnt high enough, so he sent in everything on my bp and shoulder pain, then they checked the weight history again....saw where I had lost weight on the atkins diet 2 yrs ago, and made a final denial then. I called back to ask when that time period would be up and they said July of 2010, if I still had medical problems if not it would be 2 yrs past that! Getting all that information and getting the final denial took until about Feb, the surgeon wanted to do the surgery on Jan 4th, and I even had a heart cath during the waiting time bc I had some false readings on a test. After getting denied I gave up and figured it would never happen but after I decided to self pay, it took about 3 wks and that was only bc I had to do a 7 day pre op diet and had to cancel it and move it back a week so I could work around class and clinicals. All those hoops to jump through and it didnt help me at all but I had bcbs of Al. I know there are a bunch of people that dont even like the idea of going to Mexico for surgery but others have said nothing but good things about it. There are also many, including myself that just cant afford to self pay. Thankfully my mother has wonderful credit and got a medical credit card for me to have the surgery. So to answer your question it was probably close to a year. :smile2:

I know my surgeon would also have used stuff from a psychiatrist if I would have had it. If you dont think your pcp will support you on this, just have the office to fax it to your surgeons office, let the coordinator look through it and see what she thinks. (most doctors offices will charge you for your own records but not another doctors office) then you can get a copy from them. Also, call your insurance company tomorrow, ask them what the guidelines are for bariatric surgery. Get all the information that you can get before you start diving in...know what all the rules are and start digging up everything you will need. What state do you live in?

I had my first fill at 4 wks, my surgeon said he would have done it about a week earlier but since I had a hernia repair also, that he didnt want to push it. I now go every 2 wks until I get to my "sweet spot"....which I hope to find with the fill I am getting tomorrow. Good luck on your journey!

Dont give up before you get started! They are being honest with you and that is a good thing. Now you need to go to the doctor and get your weight history. Have you ever had high blood pressure, back pain, depression, or anything that was treated by a doctor related to your weight? I ended up being a self pay but those are some of the things that my doctor ask about when they were trying to get me approved. Diabetes is usually a for sure bet but I dont have diabetes and even though I DID have high blood pressure, my weight has been up and down so much over the years that bcbs refused to pay. Good luck and talk to your primary doctor before throwing in the towel.

Hey, I added my information to the sheet also. I hope that I'm not too late to join. I dont know if I will ever make the goal that I put on there, but I have a really good reason to try. What day do we weigh in?