ParrotheadCathy

Jordan: Still on mostly liquids and Im having a hard time distinguishing if my stomach is full or just uncomfortable from the surgery.....I can eat a yogurt then I feel pretty full....I think?? At first, it doesn't take much to feel full because you have swelling post-operatively. As the swelling decreases, your capacity may increase. How will I know if I need a fill???? When you are starving hungry regularly, pretty much. A good gauge is that if you don't stay full after eating a recommended meal for 4 hours, you need a feel. What happens if I eat a solid ( not that Im going to) just curious what happens..and why I cant at this point?? solid food requires your stomach to churn as part of the digestive process. If you eat solids prematurely, you could cause your band to slip. Slips don't happen easily but in the beginning, you really don't want to do anything that might make that happen. Will I ever be able to eat something I really like every once in a while...just not the whole thing? Let's see. You didn't sign anything that said you were signing up to be punished, did you? LOL. The truth is that as long as you eat your Protein, it's not a deal-breaker if you eat, say, 6 fried shrimp instead of steamed ones. I personally have a small slice of birthday cake every month at the office birthday party. Not a big honking piece but enough to enjoy it....a slice about a half-inch thick. Life goes on whether you have the surgery or not. You just have to learn to pick when to allow yourself that special treat. Every day? Not going to lose weight if you do that. Once every couple of weeks, and not a crazy amount? Yeah, you can do that.

I think it may concern over aggravating a chronic condition but that's only a guess. If your doctor, who treats your pancreatitis, this lap band would help, then ask him for a letter recommending the surgery and ask him to recommend a surgeon too. That would help to address the potential issue.

Really, almost any fish should be fine. I eat a fair amount of salmon and have from the day I was told I could have fish. Also, we like flounder and tilapia at my house.

Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and consider that it might be sensitivity .... he doesn't want to say too much or praise the "improvements" because he doesn't want you to think he loves you any differently then versus now.

Neesh, my first fill was at 4 weeks. I was on liquids for 2 days, full liquids for 8, then mushies for 7 and then started adding real foods. By the time I went for my first fill, I was having a Protein shake for Breakfast, Soup or salad with leftover meat on it for lunch and 3 oz of protein and a vegetable at dinner. Salads aren't really nutritious if you just have iceberg lettuce but if your salad has dark greens (like kale and spinachO, tomatoes and stuff like that, then it's pretty healthy. I've never heard anybody who wasn't allowed to eat salad, but just the caustion about what went into a salad. Now, several fills down the line, I still eat salad but I don't eat greens that get "floppy" or flimsy because they sometimes get stuck. But crisp vegetables still work fine. AND, you can make a salad with no lettuce at all. It's just a perception that salad = lettuce. Dice fresh tomatoes, slice seeded cucumbers, zuchini or yellow squash, thin slices of carrots and onion and dress with a fat free Italian. It's a salad but no lettuce at all.

Oh, they put it in all right. But you're in Bandster Hell and you don't get free pass on it. Your first fill is just a step in the right direction and each fill will make it easier to control your eating. The bad part? Right now, it's pretty much all willpower.

Oh, yeah....it's gas from the gas pumped in for surgery. It has to be reabsorbed to get rid of it. The things that help the most: 1. Move around as much as you can. Walk small distances several times a day. Sometimes, put your arms up over your head and wave them. A friend was told by her doctor not to sit in a regular chair for the first week, but to sit in a rocker and rock every so often. 2. A heating pad! You can put it behind your shoulder when you sit, or drape it over your shoulder. Just don't sleep on it because that's not a safe thing for anybody to do.

My internist took me off all my meds starting the day of surgery and happily I've never needed to go back to them. He discussed with me the post-op regular diet. Told me that I would need to include some carbs and to test my blood sugar until I got comfortable with a "happy medium" of how much works for me. My hba1c was 6.8 last time (a month ago). I'm still losing so it will continue to drop for a while. I eat no specific carbs in the morning. I have 15 grams of carbs (1 carb exhcange on the old diabetic exchange) with my lunch (usually some whole grain crackers) and maybe as much as 30 grams with my dinner. No low blood sugar events so far.

You know, Dear Abby once told a reader that "you can't be a doormat if you don't lie down". That applies....You can't be "abused" this way if you tell them outright. Tell your Mom you don't appreciate how she's acting. Tell her you can eat ANYTHING in the appropriate portions and you are sick and tired of her holding a magnifying glass over your plate and over-reacting to every bite. Tell her it's not necessary. As for your husband, point out that this is not a short journey, that you didn't gain the weight in 6 months and it's not going away in six months. Point out that as long as you are losing, you are one happy camper and that you expect him to be happy for you rather than constantly asking how much have I lost? As long as you grumble to us, we're gonna feel your pain but we can't fix it (if only!!!! Then we could all fix each other's problems) but you have the power to not lay down and take it. You don't have to hurt any feeling but they honestly may not realize how what they are saying affects you. And, remember, your husband may be so excited that you're taking charge of this that he can't help but ask!

Well, most employer provided health insurance doesn't have pre-existing condition clauses and a lap band would be a pre-existing condition, I guess.... And in policies that have pre-existing conditions clauses, it just means that the pre-existing condition isn't covered, not everything.

A friend told her 8 year old daughter that Mommy was having a band around her tummy so she wouldn't be fat anymore and so she could have a big lap for her daughter to sit in. Her daughter was like "well, okay!", so my friend thought she'd said just the right things. THEN, she heard her daughter LOUDLY tell the next door neighbor "My Mommy's got a rubber band around her tummy so she won't be fat!"

1. So happy that I'd do it again if I had to! I've lost 80 pounds since Febraury 09. It's slower now, but still going down and that's all I care about! 3. Insurance coverage varies dramatically. I believe the statistics say that approximately 68% of all lap band surgeries are covered by insurance. Understand that every policy is different...even if they are from the same insurer. Why? Because the employer neogiatiates what they can get for what they are willing to pay. CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY. There is a phone number on your insurance card. Ask if they cover lap band surgery. Ask what their requirements to approve are. Ask what they need to support your application for coverage (maybe a 5 year weight history? Maybe doctors progress notes that cover discussions about weight loss, documents of attempts, etc?? Ask anything you can think of. AND, get the name of the person you talk to so that if you need to talk to that person again, you know who to ask for. 2. I would not choose Mexico for myself. If you do go that route, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR AFTER CARE LINED UP LOCALLY. Many doctors don't want to take care of you if you had your surgery in Mexico. I had my surgery in Atlanta and paid $15,000 cash. Yeah, Mexico was cheaper, but my doc is less than an hour commute. Priceless.

Melinco, you should be able to eat what you run through a food mill....you might have to thin it out a bit with, say, chicken or vegetable broth, but it will be about as mushy as mashed potatoes.

I don't know if you have GNC stores in your area but I do and my store had samples I could taste to help me decide what I liked (and didn't). No surprises when you get home that way! I personally like the SlimFast LOW CARB DIET chocolate. Very creamy, good taste, 190 calories and 20 grams of Protein and only 2 net carb grams. I don't drink my protein much at all but keep some on hand for convenience purposes. And there's nothing more convenient than ready to drink. I will say that with the RTDs I prefer that they be referigerated as opposed to poured over ice.

IF you've already been to a seminar, and are sure this is your choice plan of action, they will weigh you, check your blood pressure, perhaps take some measurements, discuss the pre-op testing, when they may be able to do your surgery, and that sort of thing. I suggest that you call your insurance company now (there's a phone number for customer service on your insurance card). Give them your policy number and ask if lap band is covered. If affirmative, then ask 1. Is there a pre-op surpervised diet requirement? 2. What pre-op testing do you require (they may require a nutritionist consultant and a psych. evaluation)? 3. What do they require your surgeon to submit to them to get you approved? They may require a letter of medical necessity from your primary care physician and you could go ahead and get this ASAP and check it off your list. 4. Ask if they require that you have reached a certain BMI, does that number vary with co-morbidities, and do they require that you have been at that BMI for a specific period of time? 5. Do they need a weight history? I say this because some policies require a 5 year weight history as part of the submission. You can get this from your primary care physician and/or OBGYN but just find out if you need it. 6. GET THE NAME OF THE PERSON YOU TALKED TO. If you do this part, when you go to the surgeon's office, there won't be any surprises. You will know ABSOLUTELY that your procedure is covered and what is needed. I've read way too many posts on this site where peopl get down to the submission only to find out something wasn't done and it postpones their surgery. I've read where people have been told by their surgeon's staff their procedure isn't covered, etc. If this happens, you will have the name of the person you talked to and the number you called to get in touch with that person ... and you can fix the problem immediately. Good Luck

I had to jump through most of them and I was self-pay! I didn't have to visit with the nutritionist or do the psych. evaluation. But I had to have an upper GI, a sleep study, blood work, chest xray, and cardiologist clearance. My cardiology clearance ended up including a stress test rather than just an EKG. Sleep apnea is a comorbidity which strengthens your application for coverage. If you do have it, it means you'll get a CPAP and should actually sleep better when you do get to sleep. Not a bad thing, right?? All the testing is to determine that you are healthy enough to undergo surgery (remember, it is general anesthesia) AND that you have reasonable, achievable expectations as to the result of the surgery.

The Lap Band Goddess needs to forgive me too, LOL. My adult granddaughter lives with me. I'd bought Halloween candy for Saturday but I had NOT opened the bags as I planned to do that just before the kids starting showing up. Well, my granddaughter opened ALL THE BAGS and dumped all the candy in a huge basket and put it on the piano. I stood right there and ate 4 fun size Milky Ways. realized what I'd done and took that basket of candy into her room and DEMANDED to know why she opened all the candy. Her excuse...it "looks nicer in the basket". So I had to explain to her that once the bags were opened the candy was fair game, too easy to snag a piece. Then I told her she had to keep all that candy in her room where I couldn't see it. She weights like 120 pounds and I know she doesn't understand the concept of closed bags = unavailable. Geez, I was kind of mad at her at first but like I said she doesn't understand. Guess I'll just have to be mad at me, LOL

You wouldn't be the first person I've see on here (and another site I go to) to say that they were denied...only to discover their doctor's office didn't send all the pertinent paperwork. STAY ON THEM. It's just not that difficult to get it right. Demand that they do.

Okay, for your reference, here on the site under FAQ LAP-BAND Surgery and LAP-BAND Discussion Forum - FAQ: LapBandTalk Forum Frequently Asked Questions PB is a productive burp...you know, that bite of food that got stuck and came back up? DH....Dear or Darling Husband The link will help with other abbreviations and "lingo" Welcome!!

I'd suggest you ask your doctor's office about this. Never heard of an extended warranty on a band either. The one thing I do know specifically is that my doctor stitches (by means of a stomach fold over the band as I understood it) so that it can't slip. Does your doc do anything similar?

Creed, the hardest thing for me, hands down, was getting into an exercise mode. But it makes a big difference. You have a dog. Darn their hairy selves, they LOVE to walk along and walk and walk and walk. So don't do it for yourself, LOL. Do it for your hairy child. Instead of 15 minutes, try for 20 or 25. When the route gets a little boring, add another 10 minutes to it. Your pup, ehr child, will love it. The good news is you're losing. Okay, it's not as fast as you'd like, but YOU'RE LOSING. Otherwise, in these 11 months, you would have gained. You know it. I certainly would have myself. So take heart in your success rather than finding misery in it not being as great as you'd want. Change doesn't have to be some huge thing. For a lot of people it's Go Big Or Go Home. But just try adding a little to it. Go out in your car and figure out a couple of "markers" that are 1.5 miles from your house. Aim for getting to one of those markers and then back home. But you don't have to do it today. Just walk farther than you have been. Take pride in your successes (you are losing, you're adding a little bit to your exercise)...and pretty soon you'll find a few more pounds gone and that's certainly worth a bit of personal pride!! Keep on plugging and keep us posted. We care!

I drink some iced tea, artifically sweetened. You can add a sqeeze of lemon or lime (my favorite) or even just a tiny bit of fruit juice to jazz it up. Or brew it with some peach slices added even. I like Water, so I don't have a lot of suggestions....

EAT (don't drink) your Protein. liquids do not provide a feeling of satiety because they pass through the band so quickly. Eat your meals as the dietician recommends. If you get hungry in less than four hours snack on SOLID protein...low fat cottage cheese (12-14 grams in a serving), a boiled egg, an ounce of low fat cheese. Once you get a couple of fills, you will find that you can go longer before you get hungry and eventually you should be able to go 4 or even 5 hours before you get hungry.

Okay, it was a few months ago BUT I vividly remember gaining and losing the same 3 pounds several times in the first 4 weeks, which isn't all that uncommon. You're healing and shouldn't be expecting miracles on the scale. Remember, you're going from liquids to mushies to real food in this time and that changes the volume in your bowels from almost nothing to "normal"...and that weighs a bit. Once you get back to normal eating, you will start to see weight loss.

TJ, your SO's problem may boil down to this: the unknown. Yeah, she's losing weight but you're looking at something a bit more extreme than, say, Weight Watchers. That pretty much equals permanent changes. And so, she sees her relationship with you being at risk. Will social things that involve food and drink become a thing of past? Will you surpass her weight loss and find some other woman to replace her? Will you become a hard ass and be less tolerant of her size after you fix yours? Hopefully, she just needs some reassurance. Just make sure she understands that you are doing this for you...your health, your future. And (of course, as long as this is true) that such changes will in turn allow you to be there for her and with her in that future. My 20 year old granddaughter and her little girl live with me and she was afraid that we'd be eating "rabbit food" after my surgery, that I would change personality wise. But once she saw that we eat real food at real meals as a family AND she realized that nothing could change how I feel about her or her little girl, well, it was all okay.