ParrotheadCathy

I was told not to plan any PS until I had been at goal weight for a year .... this gives your skin time to recover as much as it will ever recover. Panniculectomies may be covered if you have issues with skin breaking down, getting infected, etc. where skin touches skin. But I'm thinking you will have to document that (regularly) with your PCP to even have a chance of getting insurance to cover the surgery. That means, not just once saying "I have this problem" but repeatedly.....that's my plan, LOL.

Nobody can MAKE you do something you don't want to do but if you don't pursue your fills, your band cannot do its job -- helping you. Maybe the first fill was just a tough one? Can you ask to do #2 with fluoroscope? I don't really know what to say since my fills have all been quite uneventful.

1. I had vertually no pain at all. 2. See #1 ... I took absolutelyl no pain medication at all, not even liquid Tylenol. 3. My surgery was done outpatient. I was home by 2:30 in the afternoon. 4. I had surgery on Tuesday and went back to work on Friday. But give yourself a week if you have that option. better to err on the side of caution. I simply know me and knew from experience that I would be up, raring to go AND REALLY WANTING TO NOT BE IN THE HOUSE. I hate daytime TV and would rather be at work, LOL. 5. I was self-pay so have no comment.

You can, indeed, get stuck on liquid and it is painful. But if you can swallow at a reasonably normal rate (do watch out for taking a big gulp because that can get stuck), then go ahead. I certainly don't take an hour to drink anything, LOL

2Fly, if you keep losing, you might consider simply adding a few calories in a snack. Something healthy like fresh fruit or an ounce of low fat cheese and few low fat crackers. Have you tried the new Special K crackers? I love them. 90 calories for 17 crackers, and whole grain .... so they would make a light, healthy snack with a little cheese. Good things for your body! I wish I was worried about losing too much. But it's too soon for that for me!

I tend to belch when I go too long between meals .... but, gawd, I could compete with any CRD guy on the planet (CRD = crude, rude and disrespectful, LOL). Back much closer to my surgery, I did even more belching. I think it's kind of common and certainly not an indication of a problem. You said: "Anyways, I am on regular food diet but since yesterday, when I attempt to eat anything, it seems to hurt going down. Even soft foods." Even Water can get stuck if you take too big a swallow, so I'll ask if you're sure you are taking smaller bites (about the size of a nickel) and chewing well the stuff that should be chewed? This was really hard for me to get used to. I realized that I used to take really big bites and chew them about half-way at best. Big bites of everything including pudding, yogurt, poached eggs...EVERYTHING. And I had to really focus on that as my problem. Hope this helps.

I was told caffeine is fine if, like Restless Monkey, I don't find it to be an appetite stimulant. I drink a package of of Crystal Light Focus Natural Citrus Splash in the morning, which has caffeine but the package doesn't say how much. I also drink tea. I drink well over 64 oz of water a day, plus whatever else, too.

I can't eat bread unless it's toasted. Too soft, I guess, so it makes a sticky lump. I use tostada "shells", which are thin flat corn tortillas, unsalted sometimes. Like I can crush part of one to top a salad, garnish some tortilla Soup, or as the base for a tostada for dinner. My newest fave is the new Special K Crackers. They just hit the market in the last month or so. I've seen two flavors. 17 crackers = 90 calories; 24 = 120. These are whole grain, crispy crackers and I really like them.

The nutritionist at my surgeon's office specifically mentioned the small chili from Wendy's as a good choice! I've had it once, just because I could, LOL. But I was never a fast food person in the first place....Any mother will commiserate with the memory of a child DEMANDING to get a Happy Meal....that did it for me as far as fast food. I just don't like it much and so I didn't miss it in the first place. The closest I come is Moe's. I get a salad with grilled chicken, salsa, black beans and I have my own light chipotle ranch dressing.

A question....do you see your PCP regularly? I waas Type 2 Diabetic and saw my doctor a minimum of every 3 months. Every time I started a diet, I discussed it with him and he would follow up with me on it...until, of course, I fell off the wagon (time after time). If I'd had insurance coverage at all, I would have had some consistent medical records of "supervision".....could that work for you?

I'm thinking 3 days post-op is too soon BUT that is a question for your doctor to answer!

Suz, GO TO THE SURGEON'S OFFICE! They can do the supervision, recommend the diet to follow, etc. You can also be completing your pre-op testing during the supervised diet so that everything will be completed and ready to submit at the end of the supervised diet.

A couple of things .... those of us who are tighter in the morning, many of us start our day with a hot cup of tea or coffee, which seems to help relieve the tightness. And as a general note, chicken.....boneless, skinless chicken breasts are notoriously dry, not to mention pretty tasteless. Try using chicken breasts with skin and bones and discard the skin after cooking. Skin helps keep the moisture in the chicken when it cooks and skin and bones add to the flavor.

I've never heard of a five YEAR supervised diet. What a joke! I've heard many insurance companies require a five year WEIGHT HISTORY from your doctor and some require a 6 month supervised diet... It almost sounds like the person you spoke with was confused. It might be worth calling the insurance company again and act like you haven't talked to anybody (make sure you get a different person, LOL) and ask what the criteria are for approval for WLS. If the 5 year supervised diet thing comes up again, ask where that is in your policy because you did not see that when you read the policy to see if you even had coverage!

A LOT of the surgeons do the first fill at 4 weeks....and most of us were glad to get it then, LOL!

Frankly, I agree with elcee. We're always glad to answer questions and offer suggestions but I think you're at a point with your questions that you need to talk with your surgeon. Make a written list of every last little question you can think of so you don't forget anything. Get answers! As for the itching, etc., has anybody at your doctor's office LOOKED AT YOUR INCISIONS? I mean, there could be an allergy to adhesives, an infection .... And that goes back to TALKING TO THE DOCTOR. Let us know the outcome!

Walking is an excellent way to start incorporating exercise because you can keep increasing your distance, walk with hand weights, ankle weights, "wog" -- which is walk with intervals of jogging, even if the jogging is only a short distance at first. Using these techniques you can adjust your exercise to your increasing abilities and continue to benefit from a walking program. When you start feeling stronger, incorporate some weight training (which you can do without becomeing "muscle bound").

True! But I wasn't going to present it as a hangover cure, LOL.

Hannah, the first controlling factor is if you are covered by insurance or not. I was self-pay and didn't go to a seminar at all but went to my initial visit on 1/2/09 and had survery on 2/10/09. Some self-pays get in even quicker. If you're insured for this, it can take a while longer, even months longer, depending on the requirements of your insurance company.

Sorry you've had to go through that! I have the Lap Band AP and my doctor specifically told me that he stitches the bands in to anchor them to prevent slipping. Hopefully, I'll never experience any slippage! Could you have revised to a VSG? I don't know much about that, but I have read on here there people have done that and are happy with the choice.

Amazing, you've made only one post on LBT....you just HAD to break your silence to try to sell us girdles?

I am no longer Tyle 2 Diabetic! yipppeeeeee! BUT, when I went to diabetes school, they helped me develop a diet to control my diabetes. It said I could have a specific number of grams of carbs per day. I was told, like Jen says, to subtract the fiber grams from the casrb grams to be the carb grams I actually had to count. They never told me anything about sugar alcohol grams.....

I think most of us eat salads. I try not to eat much iceberg lettuce simply because it has pretty much zero nutrition. But darker lettuces, spinach, etc. are healthy/nutritious and tasty. Like everything, chew well and you should be fine!

Jen, be aware that your insurance company may require that your BMI has been at 40 for a specific period of time (my girlfriend's policy said hers had to be 37 for 3 years to be covered even WITH 3 comorbidities). The only way you'll know is to talk to your insurance company. Ask all the pertinent questions. Tell them your BMI and ask if you can get coverage. If not, if you continue to gain (as most of us eventually would), would they cover you at 40 or do you have to have that BMI or higher for a specific period of time? Go ahead and ask if you have to use a Center of Excellence, names of doctors on your plans, surgical centers on your plan and other requirements (like psych eval, pre-op diet, sleep study, etc.)

My doc told me that once I hit goal, I would need to come back about every six months to have the fluid "topped off" since the level can go down.