adagray

I am so sorry about your MIL's reaction. That is over-the-top and really doesn't make any sense for her to be angry. Just realize it is HER issue, not yours. Her reaction is not reasonable or normal. I wouldn't try to confront her on it now because you need to focus on yourself right now. But, once she's cooled down, maybe your husband can discuss it with her and educate her a bit. Maybe she is threatened by it for some reason? I just don't understand the reaction otherwise.

Yes, it is crazy how different the pre-op and post-op diets are. A part of me wishes I did have a pre-op diet because then that might have given me a better head-start on the weightloss. But, it is nice to be able to eat. I find it almost humorous that my only guideline for day 3 and day 2 before surgery is to 'eat light'. That is sooooooo subject to interpretation. LOL But, I am being good. It ended up being McDonald's night for my son's school tonight so I sent them off to go eat that w/Daddy and I just had leftover chicken and brussel sprouts.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!! I'm freaking out, but not freaking out at the same time. I just can't believe the day is almost here. Nevermind about all that good stuff I said I was gonna do this last week in my 'T-7 Days' post. Not saying I've been 'bad', but I haven't been THAT good about meeting ALL of those daily goals. I just feel like I'm going crazy trying to get everything done that I need to before surgery. Its like Christmas is on the 17th because I figure I'll be out of commision until Christmas so everything I need ready for Christmas, has to be ready by the 17th. Oh well, excuses, excuses, but I am doing the best I can and still following all of my surgeon's rules. I tried to get out of some of my Christmas commitments, but my DH is a stickler for tradition and doesn't want to cut anything out this year. So, we baked cookies all last weekend even though I can hardly eat any. And, I have to get our Christmas Letter done today even though all of our friends are on Facebook and know what we are doing anyway. I know my DH is a little crazy when it comes to this Christmas stuff, but he is also helping me out w/a lot of other stuff so I will humor him on it. If there is one thing I've learned on this journey is just how lucky I am to have such a supportive husband. He has juggled his schedule around many many times for my doctor appointments and he changed his time off so he will be off for a week and a half after my surgery. Last night, he could tell I was stressing out, so he did the kids' baths, homework, whole goodnight routine, and cleaned the entire kitchen like I've never seen him do before. And, I'm just so grateful because I really do need to rest up as much as I can so I'm going into this surgery as healthy as possible (not burnt out and overtired). OK, so today is my last day of eating light (but normal). I had a chicken breast for b-fast. I know that is weird, but it is high protein and I felt like I needed something more substantial than a shake. I am gonna have more chicken and vegies for lunch and quinoa pasta w/ground turkey and spaghetti sauce for dinner w/more vegies. Tomorrow morning I can have a light b-fast (not sure what that will be yet), then doctor's orders are to have only soup for lunch, followed by bowel prep at 1pm (magnesium citrate laxative drink). This thing looks disgusting, cherry flavor, but you know it is going to be YUK!!! After that, I can only have clear liquids until midnight and then NOTHING after midnight and my surgery is not until 2:30pm the next day. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!! I'm freaking out, but not freaking out at the same time. I just can't believe the day is almost here. Nevermind about all that good stuff I said I was gonna do this last week in my 'T-7 Days' post. Not saying I've been 'bad', but I haven't been THAT good about meeting ALL of those daily goals. I just feel like I'm going crazy trying to get everything done that I need to before surgery. Its like Christmas is on the 17th because I figure I'll be out of commision until Christmas so everything I need ready for Christmas, has to be ready by the 17th. Oh well, excuses, excuses, but I am doing the best I can and still following all of my surgeon's rules. I tried to get out of some of my Christmas commitments, but my DH is a stickler for tradition and doesn't want to cut anything out this year. So, we baked cookies all last weekend even though I can hardly eat any. And, I have to get our Christmas Letter done today even though all of our friends are on Facebook and know what we are doing anyway. I know my DH is a little crazy when it comes to this Christmas stuff, but he is also helping me out w/a lot of other stuff so I will humor him on it. If there is one thing I've learned on this journey is just how lucky I am to have such a supportive husband. He has juggled his schedule around many many times for my doctor appointments and he changed his time off so he will be off for a week and a half after my surgery. Last night, he could tell I was stressing out, so he did the kids' baths, homework, whole goodnight routine, and cleaned the entire kitchen like I've never seen him do before. And, I'm just so grateful because I really do need to rest up as much as I can so I'm going into this surgery as healthy as possible (not burnt out and overtired). OK, so today is my last day of eating light (but normal). I had a chicken breast for b-fast. I know that is weird, but it is high protein and I felt like I needed something more substantial than a shake. I am gonna have more chicken and vegies for lunch and quinoa pasta w/ground turkey and spaghetti sauce for dinner w/more vegies. Tomorrow morning I can have a light b-fast (not sure what that will be yet), then doctor's orders are to have only soup for lunch, followed by bowel prep at 1pm (magnesium citrate laxative drink). This thing looks disgusting, cherry flavor, but you know it is going to be YUK!!! After that, I can only have clear liquids until midnight and then NOTHING after midnight and my surgery is not until 2:30pm the next day. Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Just to let you know how different docs can be, mine has us start on normal food the 4th day after surgery. I will have my surgery on Thursday and can eat solid food on Monday. They did warn us to take only dime size bites and chew really really well, but there is no mushy stage at all for me. And, my surgeon's no quack either... she's highly regarded, center of excellence, does a huge volume of surgeries here and difficult cases too (70+ BMI). So, I think there is a lot of wiggle room on what you can do post-op. I think the most important thing to do is to listen to your own body. And, rather than feel bad or guilty about breaking the 'rules', I would just call your own surgeon's dietician/nutritionist and let them know if you are too hungry. It probably just means you are healing faster and ready to move to the next stage faster, but they can help you to make the best choices for first foods. Seems like you made some pretty good choices on your own, though. I agree w/many of the other posters here that you should NOT beat yourself up over this or worry that it is some sign of failure. One of the things the psychologist at my surgeon's office emphasizes is that we MUST get over this 'all or nothing' mentality. Nobody is going to get through this journey without making mistakes or breaking some rules. If you are able to attend support groups, that helps a lot because you will see real people who have succeeded and know that even the best of the best success stories have hit a few bumps in the road. I wouldn't even call this a bump, though... more like a tiny tiny pebble. :thumbup:

Awwww, don't feel bad. You don't have proper restriction right now. And, you really didn't even eat that much. Its just not worth beating yourself up over. You've done great to lose as much as you have this first month. Try to focus on that instead of this one little tiny splurge.

I don't have any personal experience w/True Results, but I am getting banded next Thursday by Dr. Robin Blackstone of Scottsdale Bariatric Center. My surgery will be done at the same hospital where I had my babies, Scottsdale Healthcare Shea. I really like my surgeon and the office, facility, staff, and support groups are all great. They have a bariatric wing in the hospital just for the WLS patients and they have extra big chairs, beds, recliners, etc. Very nice. Dr. Blackstone has extensive experience in lapband, realize band, the sleeve, etc. and she operates on high risk cases (BMI as high as 70+).

I sympathize w/the poster. I didn't have to gain weight to qualify. I happened to be just fat enough to have a BMI of 35 w/comorbidities. And, I mean by half a pound when I started this process. I did end up gaining weight during the process. The process took a whole year for me between the 6 month nutritional visits and two denials, and two appeals. I ended up gaining because I am ALWAYS gaining unless I am actively restricting calories and hungry... hence the need for the band. Anyway, the reason I was denied was not my current BMI, but because my BMI had dipped below the required threshold two years back. OK, I am rambling, but you can't tell me that at 207, I was healthy, but when I reach 210 I am suddenly not healthy. I had high BP for 10 years, sleep apnea, ended up developing high cholesterol and prediabetes over the course of this past year. I wouldn't recommend eating cookie dough to increase your BMI, though. I would just enjoy the holidays and let nature take its course. If I don't watch my weight over the holidays, I can easily gain 10-20 pounds. You could also start exercising (if you aren't already), but don't change your eating habits. You should end up gaining some muscle weight that way.

Jazzercise is the best! I really dislike almost all forms of exercise, but Jazzercise is the one exercise I genuinely enjoy. I love the music and the dancing. When I went for my pre-op appointment, I was feeling bad that I had gained weight, but my surgeon actually congratulated me cause she could see that I had gained 8 pounds of lean body mass and had lost body fat (they use one of those Tanita scales that breaks it all out). Well, I have to credit all that to Jazzercise because I never kept up w/the diet changes after my insurance denials.

Its hard to believe my banding is only one week away now. I've been working on this ALL YEAR, literally. I decided in early December last year that I was going to pursue getting WLS and after 6 months nutrition visits, two denials, two appeals, and finally one APPROVAL, I am scheduled for Lapband surgery in exactly one week, 12/17!!! Ever since my approval, I have been feeling more optimistic about my whole life and have been making healthy changes to my lifestyle. My surgeon does not require a pre-op diet, though, so I haven't really buckled down or made any real rules for myself. The only exception being that I cut out alcohol last week. I love my wine and gin and it just doesn't seem healthy to keep that up going straight into surgery. And, this week, I want to really buckle down and be as healthy as I can without actually restricting calories or being hungry. So, I've decided on a few rules for this week. Here goes... Diet: drink at least 8 big glasses of water per day cut out rice, pasta, bread, and potatoes (focus on protein and non-starchy vegies instead) replace b-fast w/a protein shake minimize sweets (eat yogurt or jello if I want a dessert) continue w/no alcohol Exercise: 45 minutes/day either walking outside or on the treadmill (normally I prefer to do Jazzercise, but I'm not supposed to for at least one month after surgery so I gotta get used to walking instead) Other: use my CPAP machine every night (I haven't been and my surgeon wants me to) practice using the spirometer gadget they gave us in pre-op class I think if I do all this I will be in good shape for sugery in a week. Wish me luck! :tongue2:

Its hard to believe my banding is only one week away now. I've been working on this ALL YEAR, literally. I decided in early December last year that I was going to pursue getting WLS and after 6 months nutrition visits, two denials, two appeals, and finally one APPROVAL, I am scheduled for Lapband surgery in exactly one week, 12/17!!! Ever since my approval, I have been feeling more optimistic about my whole life and have been making healthy changes to my lifestyle. My surgeon does not require a pre-op diet, though, so I haven't really buckled down or made any real rules for myself. The only exception being that I cut out alcohol last week. I love my wine and gin and it just doesn't seem healthy to keep that up going straight into surgery. And, this week, I want to really buckle down and be as healthy as I can without actually restricting calories or being hungry. So, I've decided on a few rules for this week. Here goes... Diet: drink at least 8 big glasses of water per day cut out rice, pasta, bread, and potatoes (focus on protein and non-starchy vegies instead) replace b-fast w/a protein shake minimize sweets (eat yogurt or jello if I want a dessert) continue w/no alcohol Exercise: 45 minutes/day either walking outside or on the treadmill (normally I prefer to do Jazzercise, but I'm not supposed to for at least one month after surgery so I gotta get used to walking instead) Other: use my CPAP machine every night (I haven't been and my surgeon wants me to) practice using the spirometer gadget they gave us in pre-op class I think if I do all this I will be in good shape for sugery in a week. Wish me luck! :sneaky:

I might just have to try this myself. I don't have a pre-op diet rqmt from my surgeon, but I've made it a personal goal to just stay away from starches this last week and drink at least 8 big glasses of water per day. Oh, and replace my b-fast w/a protein shake since I don't really care about b-fast anyway.

Since you are just a few days out, I wouldn't want to go out at all regardless of the food choices. It seems unreasonable that he is giving you a hard time about this. I would encourage them to go out without me. Eventually you will feel comfortable going out and making healthy choices even if everyone else is eating horrible. I have been on soooooo many diets and ate out a lot and one thing I've learned is that people rarely would even notice what or how much I was eating. And, you can get something healthy almost anywhere if you speak up for yourself. Don't be afraid to say you do not want something that comes with the meal (like the starch) or ask if you can substitute and have more steamed vegies instead of the starch. Or, give some away to your tablemates. You will do great when you are ready, but being just a few days out, I don't blame you for just saying no. Regardless of the food issue, you just had surgery!

I can't remember if I made a separate appointment to talk to my PCP about this or brought it up in another appointment. I know I was a little nervous to bring it up, though. I just forced myself to say those words. You can even plan ahead the exact one or two sentences you will say to start the conversation such as 'I've been looking into getting lapband surgery and am wondering if you can recommend a surgeon.' Honestly, I think my PCP was happy/relieved that I brought this up w/her. I think doctors are in a difficult position when it comes to broaching the subject of weight w/their patients. They know it is a problem, but they risk offending their patients if they are too pushy about it. My conversation went very well w/my doctor. She calculated my BMI and told me she thought it was a good option for me. I don't think she has any other patients who have had WLS, but she seems genuinely excited to see how it works out for me. Of course, if your PCP is not supportive, you can always find one who is. In my opinion, a doctor who would not be in favor of it for someone who is morbidly obese, is behind-the-times and not well educated about it. Most doctors should know by now that it is extremely unlikely (like 3% chance) that you can take the weight off and keep it off w/diet and exercise alone once you've already become morbidly obese. Those are really crappy odds.

At my pre-op class, we were told not to drink coffee for one month post-op. The reason is because the acidity may cause you to get an ulcer where the band is stitched to your stomach. Those stitches are still healing so more prone to getting an ulcer from anything acidic. We are to stay away from other acidic foods like lemons, limes, etc. as well during the one month post-op. Anyway, this is what I was told during my pre-op class. I think its weird how every doctor has different advice. I kicked the caffeine habit a couple months ago (for a different reason - I was doing an exclusion diet) and just decided not to go back to drinking coffee (at least for now) since I knew I wouldn't be able to have it immediately after surgery.

There is a sub-forum on here for complications and there are some people on there who have already had the band removed or are in the process of deciding whether or not to get it removed. This might be helpful for you: Lap-Band I hope you can get things worked out and if your complications aren't too serious, keep your band. Even if it hasn't been helpful up until now, maybe it would be helpful further down in your weightloss journey. I wish you all the best!

Yeah, I know, that's just what my nutritionist said. And, she's basing it on my exercise level right now which totally does NOT include any bootcamp! LOL I tend to eat low-moderate carb anyway. I have an intolerance to wheat so that rules out a lot of the carbs that I would LIKE to eat (like bread, Pasta, muffins, cake, etc.). Well, I can eat them, but I get horrible fatigue unless they are a gluten-free variety. I can eat non-wheat carbs like rice, corn, potato w/no problem, but I try to limit it. But, I do think sometimes you just need some. For example, yesterday, I just kept getting hungry every couple hours even though I was eating lots of Protein. I finally just ate a baked potato and I was fine. So, I am totally in agreement that there is something to all this nutrition stuff that I think NOBODY totally understands. I think the average WLS patient just starting out probably does need to make sure they are at least getting in the 60-80 grams of protein that their surgeon/nutritionist probably recommends, though. I am not banded yet (9 more days!) so its hard for me to even imagine that this would be a problem. I could eat 60 grams of protein in one meal right now. On the whole 'dieting' thing, I am averse to diets now as many of us are. I am willing to keep track of the protein for awhile until I get a good grasp that it will not be a problem for me to get in the minimum amount. I do much better w/minimums than maximums. :thumbup:

My nutritionist says you want to eat protein first because its the only thing that she cannot replace w/a supplement. Starches are completely unnecessary unless you are doing heavy heavy exercise. And, everything else can be covered by supplements if needed. Realistically, though, she says it is not that hard to get in the amount of protein you need, though. So, as long as you make sure to get it in as part of your meal, you don't necessarily need to eat it first. The problem is if you eat everything else first and then you have no room left for the protein. If your body doesn't get protein, it will burn/eat up you own muscle for protein. And, this is something we don't want because muscle helps us burn more calories so you want to lose as much fat as possible without losing muscle at the same time.

I don't think you can help getting your hopes up. Well, at least for me, as soon as I started seriously considering this and realizing that I might actually be able to get to a healthy weight permanently this way, I couldn't help getting my hopes up. But, yes, you do need to be realistic that it may be a battle w/your insurance company. It will take some time... maybe a few months, maybe a year or longer. One of the first things I recommend that you do is find out the specifics of what your insurance company requires for you to qualify for the surgery. If you need to stay a 40 BMI, don't lose any weight! You may also need some weight history (mine required weights from the past 2 years w/a BMI high enough). Actually, this is where, technically, I did not qualify w/my insurance company (Aetna). My weight from 2 years ago was too low because I was having some success on WW at the time. So, I actually knew going in that I would be denied the first time. But, I appealed twice and finally gained approval. So, I say get your hopes up, but also get ready to fight your insurance company (if they give you trouble). If they do ask for weight history, only provide your highest weight from each of the years back that they ask for. If you provide anything that does not meet their criteria, they will automatically deny you. BUT, just realize that every time you appeal, somebody else looks through all your stuff so it is not a lost cause to keep trying.

I believe 1-2 pounds per week is a realistic expectation. My nutritionist has warned me, though, that some people lose nothing the first month because the band is not filled yet. Also, there is just a lot going on that first month between the pre-op diet (if you have one), pre-op bowel prep, IV liquids, swelling, healing, etc. that I would try not to obsess too much about the scale during this time. My personal advice (based on a lot of dieting I've done before) is really to not obsess about the scale at any time if you can. I've done best on diets before when I focus on working the program. If you work the program... in this case, follow the band rules, then the weightloss will follow. And, be patient cause does it REALLY matter how long it takes? If you are going in the right direction and the weight stays off, then you are doing well. One thing I learned at our pre-op class which I thought was very useful info is that the nutritionist says that most people in my surgeon's program lose 60-70% of their excess weight. Those that keep going and lose ALL of their excess weight are the ones who exercise daily (or almost daily - like 6 out of 7 days). The exercise does not have to be really strenuous, but its these people who work it into their daily life and make it a habit that keep going and get all the way to goal. I was excited to hear that because I have really been getting more into exercise lately and I can see myself keeping that up for the rest of my life. In fact, when I got denied TWICE for this surgery, the one thing I kept doing is exercising cause it was the only thing that was making me feel better (even though it wasn't really helping me lose weight - once I have the band, I now know it is gonna make a big difference and I'm excited!).

Most surgeons say no beer because of the carbonation. They want you to stay away from carbonation because it MAY stretch your pouch. I guess they don't know for sure, but I've decided not to test that for myself. I was never much of a beer drinker anyway. I did love my diet coke and gin & tonic is my favorite mixed drink. But, I've given them up now in anticipation of my surgery (less than two weeks now). Personally, I love wine and one of the reasons why I chose the band over bypass is because it is safe to drink w/the band (in moderation). It goes into your stomach normally just as it did before the band. With bypass, you really should not drink at all FOREVER. Any liquor is ok too as long as you don't mix it w/a carbonated mixer. All that said, if you are someone who likes to drink daily, you might want to consider giving it up entirely for a certain period of time. When I went for my psychologist visit and told him I drink wine almost every day, he highly suggested I give it up totally for six months or longer because of the empty calories. He said its better to be more strict in the beginning and really focused on getting your weight down first. Then, once you're at goal or lost a significant amount, then start playing around w/what you can add back in and still lose/maintain. I think that makes sense so that's what I'm doing. I figure I had to give up my wine/gin for my babies when I was pregnant before so I can certainly do it for my own health this time. I can't lie, though, I miss it already! But, it helps to know that its not forever. :->

Just wanted to say congratulations on this first step and wish you the best of luck. As for the sleep study, they just want to know if you have sleep apnea for two reasons... one is that if you do have it, it can help w/insurance approval (sounds like that may not be a hurdle for you w/your insurance), but second, they need to know if you have sleep apnea because if you do, you need to use a CPAP machine prior to and right after surgery. And, if you have sleep apnea, most surgeons/insurance require you have your surgery in the hospital and spend the night (rather than doing it outpatient and going right home). Don't worry about that for now, but in any case, it won't preclude you from having the surgery. I was diagnosed w/sleep apnea, got the CPAP machine, really don't use it because I don't seem to get the sleep apnea unless I sleep on my back (which I don't normally - I just did in the sleep study because its the only way I could fall asleep with everything hooked up to me). Anyway, my surgeon said to use it now (just prior to surgery) because it will open up my airways really well and they will want me to wear it right after as well.

Congratulations!!! I know what you mean. Combined, my 4 yr old girl 6 yr old son weigh almost 100 pounds which is about what I want to lose. They are both heavy to hold. I hardly ever lift my son anymore. The thought that I will be losing his weight and more (hopefully) is amazing to me.

Ditto all of this! It is certainly part of the journey to be unsure at some point as to which surgery is right for you. And, I ultimately came to the same conclusion as the above poster. One thing that made a difference in my decision, too, was that I learned that dumping (sugar aversion) only stays with you for the first year or two w/bypass. So, eventually, even w/bypass, you will have to deal w/your sugar issues. The reason why some bypass patients gain back is because they are counting on the bypass to prevent them from eating sugar. And, it really does for awhile, and very well. But, eventually, you will have that looming that you will need to control it on your own after you no longer have the dumping. Also, w/the bypass, my surgeon says you should really NEVER drink ANY alcohol again. I know there are many bypass patients who still drink, but they are taking some significant chances w/their liver. The stomach is the first line of defense against toxins in the body. And, the body does recognize alcohol as a toxin and the stomach does significant work to metabolize that before it actually ever goes to your liver. When you drink alcohol after bypass, it is like injecting alcohol straight into your system. The stomach has no chance to detoxify it at all. For me, this is scary cause I really do like my wine. I am cutting it out for the first 6 months or longer just because it is empty calories, but when I imagine a 'normal' life after reaching goal, part of that means that I can have a glass or two of wine occasionally as long as I am exercising enough and eating healthy enough to maintain a healthy weight. But, bypass is a lot better if you have Type 2 diabetes. The bypass will cure that immediately. Personally, I think the sleeve may be the very best choice of all, but my insurance doesn't cover it right now.

I had to have two sleep studies and they were about $3000 each. My insurance covered most of it. I had to pay 10% so a total of $600 for the two studies. If you have your sleep studies in the same year as your surgery, it may not really matter what they cost because you will probably reach your 'max coinsurance' or 'max out of pocket' for that year. For example, my max out of pocket is $2000 for the year. If you take 10% of 25,000 which is roughly what my surgeon charges, then that comes to $2500 that I would need to pay for my surgery, but since my max out of pocket is $2000, my insurance picks up 100% of all remaining bills after I've paid $2000. So, since I paid $600 for those sleep studies earlier this year, I only have to pay $1400 for the surgery (less any other payments I've made this year). So, the sleep studies didn't really 'cost' me anything additional. I hope this makes sense. Insurance is so confusing, but check what your max out of pocket is because its likely that this is the total amount you will end up paying for everything in the end (as long as you do it all in the same year).