haroldrussi

nothing bigger then an M&M, OK but do you have to take them one at a time spread over time or can I take all 8-10 at once like I do now???

coltonwade: seems a little rough but most likely needed. I hope to have the strenght to follow thru with all the instructions but I will have a support group with my wife a daughter which will keep me in line. I still have a week before I am banded and have been staying on my liquid diet just fine. In fact I started the liquid diet almost of a week early to get my liver smaller. I also stopped drinking Scotch about two weeks prior to that. So I think when I get thru the 4-6 weeks post op I will really enjoy my two bites of Steak.

I am scheduled for March 4th as well here in Omaha, NE. I only had to do 10 days of liquid diet but decided to start it on 17 Feb. I decided to eat a regular meal on 19 Feb and have been on nothing but liquid since. It is going OK, tastes OK but miss the chewing (SF gum has helped). I was never very big on drinking fluids so drinking a lot of water has been hard. I just forget. Good Luck with your surgery as well.....

I am scheduled for 4 March and have been on the liquid diet for almost a week and no ETOH for a month. Now I have lost 15 lbs and can relate to moments of panic before surgery with just 8 days left before surgery. None of the liquid diet foods seem all that bad but I miss chewing my food. I am running out of SF gum far to quick.....

If I remember correctly after the band you tend to be dehydrated any how so taking a water pill will add to the dehydration. I agree with Jachut, exercise and diet will give you better long term results.

I go on frequent flights that are in excess of 8 hours so I guess I should check with the DR when I see him next. I have not been banded yet so that would be a concern for me. I also have to get my annual flight phy. completed again here real soon. I would have completed it already (prior to the surgery) but my AIC (diabetes) was to high and I would have been denied for sure. I have been told that the LB does not prevent the FAA from approving the flight phy. either so I would think flying should be just fine.

I thought the gas or air was injected into the abdominal cavity to allow better viewing of the exterior of the stomach and liver and not into the stomach itself execpt for seeing the placement of the band. Am I incorrect?? That would explain the reason it takes so long to expel the air, the body has to absorb the air to expel it.

My wife and I were both approved the first time thru. I am scheduled for 4 March 09 and she talked it over with the Dr. and they changed her's to a bypass because of better b/p control and the higher weight losing possibility. She is now scheduled for 6 April 09 for the bypass and that was harder to get approved thru TRICARE for some reason. They balked at first but when I webmailed them about the change they finially got the information correct and she is now approved. Just poor information exchange is what I figure the problem was. She is now approved for any WLS shown by TRICARE.

My wife and I are both using Dr. Thomas White (402)572-3663....

Good luck, hope you get your date.

Getting banded on 4 March as well. Stopped drinking any alcohol about 2 weeks ago (used to have a double Scotch every night) and starting the liquid diet today to try to get the liver as small and healthy as possible so I don't run into any problems during the surgery. I have read on this site where people have had to go thru the surgery twice because the liver was to big.

Thank you Jaffa, that is really good information, it is really a little late to start thinking of this in that I am scheduled for surgery on 4 March and will have it either way but like flying and working the computer systems in flight. Aivey, basicly it is a private pilots medical cert. but it allows me to fly on some military planes working on the computers during flight.

Does anyone know if the WLS will prevent me from continuing to maintain my third class medical flight certificate. The FAA is so anal I am not sure if they would approve of WLS and still allow flights.

I have only told family, boss, and BF but will tell others after WLS is done and I have started losing weight

So far all I have tried have been the premade drinks and from what I see above mixing your own turns out better. I will have to stop by GNC today and get some to try. I don't guess the battery GNC mixer will work with the ICE that the first responder talks about but will need a blender.

My wife and I are both with prime. My wife's dietitian appointment was denied ATT but I have questioned Tricare as to why but they have not returned any comments yet and my claim just was submitted so we are waiting to see how they respond to my claim. My wife's psychiatric has been completed and mine is on 5 Jan and we are waiting to see how they respond to them as well. I have e-mailed tricare and informed them that these appt. are all related to an approved referral with the surgeon.

I have not had problem with any of the protein drink tastes with the exception that the taste lingers for a few hours. Are there drinks that don't have the lingering after tastes that I have not found yet?

If I knew someone struggling with their weight who asked me sincerely how I got it off I would say other wise I think I will keep it quite as well because I work in a shop with just guys and half of them are overweight and don't care about their weight. They would just think I had no will power which I guess is basicly true. :cursing:

My wife and I are both under TRICARE and hope that we don't end up with any problems getting approved. I have had outstanding support from TRICARE in the past and don't forsee any problems now. Please keep us apprised of your issues/problems with TRICARE so maybe I can get a preemptive strike on them and prevent the slow down of our planned LAPBANDs. We are both hoping to get approved and done ASAP. The only thing I will really miss after the procedure will being able to have a beer every so often. OH WELL, anything to lose the weight. :cursing:

I would tell them the truth, best plan....

Hi everyone, I am Harold and have started the process to get a LAPBAND mostly due to my weight and failed diets but also to support my wife who is also attempting to get one. We are on TRICARE and they started approving them last Dec. I go for my dietitian and Bariatric coordinator appt. next week. I also hope to get the Psychiatric eval completed next week as well. Then I guess I will be on the 8-12 week wait to see if TRICARE approves it. I see by the adds on this site that the prices are alot lower than our doctor has told us, oh well, if insurance covers it then just fine.