Astrasmom

Congratulations. It all depends on the requirements of your insurance company. I had to do 6 months of supervised diet before I was approved. They should be able to tell you that at your consultation. It could be anywhere from 1 month upward. Good luck to you. Please keep us posted.

Takes maybe a week for the swelling to go down. Just keep an eye on it. Your ok if you are able to keep things down and it's not too painful. If you start bringing stuff back up, or it gets too painful, you might want to go back and have a tiny bit taken out. Many don't start noticing restriction for at least the 3-4 fills. Welcome to restriction. You should notice that you are able to stay full longer between meals now and you probably won't be able to eat as much as you were before the restriction. Maybe you have found the 'sweet spot'.

If you can swallow pills you are ok. They can't be any bigger than the size of an M&M. Most of us do the chewables or liquids though. I would in all honesty get the liquid or chewable form. I don't do very well with pills. I didn't get the liquid form of my pain pills either so I had to crush them. DISGUSTING!!!

Keep an eye on yourself. I had to have a small unfill 4 weeks ago. Its not good if you aren't getting your nutrients down. It's also not good bringing the food back up again. If you haven't had an unfill yet, don't worry it's not that bad. I thought that I was going to gain pounds back. I feared getting an unfill, but I couldn't deal with the discomfort anymore. I finally broke down and MAN did I feel much better. Suprisingly I didn't gain anything back and I'm still at perfect restriction. I think I will stay at this restriction for awhile now. So I hope you feel better soon. Go get that tiny unfill if you can't keep things done. It will do you wonders.

Ahh the last meal!!! Enjoy it.

I've hit the 106lbs mark. I never thought I would do it. And to top that off I made it to ONEDERLAND. The lapband is an amazing tool that works if you're willing to commit yourself to the lifestyle change. See everyone asks me what my secret is. I simply tell them that it's motivation. For me this was the last straw. I tried everything else. And I was tired of being a failure to food. I was tired of letting food run my life. I am a food addict. And before anything ever works, you have to admit that you have a problem first before you can start fixing it. I was also tired of being fat. And I didn't want to die at a young age. So I put my all into this and it worked. It all depends on how much you want to work for it. And you have to understand also that everyone makes mistakes. You just need to learn from those mistakes and pull yourself back onto the path. You can't just keep walking into the woods. You won't find your way back. Beleive in yourself and it will happen. I'm not an exercise fanatic. But I walk all of the time. I eat junk food once and awhile. But not like I used to. I reward myself once and awhile for my hard work. And I don't beat myself up if I don't lose any weight or if I gain a pound or two. I just try harder. New banders, especially, if you feel the need to cheat, be careful. If you want to be successful you need to follow your doctors instructions. Good luck to everyone. I wish you as much success as I have had. I can honestly say for the first time in 26 years I feel sexy.

See that's the word, "SEXY" which means if nothing else the weightloss from the band gave you self esteem to make yourself feel sexy. I too feel sexy and it's a wonderful feeling. Congrats on your weightloss. Keep up the awesome work.

My secret is Determination. This was the end of the road for me, and I knew that I had to make it work. I wasn't going to be fat anymore. And I wasn't going to die at an early age. So I made up my mind from the start that no matter how hard it was, I was going to do it. So if death isn't a motivation, then I don't know what is. Obesity causes all kinds of problems. food is an addiction and in order to succeed you have to fight that addiction. The lapband is a tool, and it takes hard work and dedication. How much you lose is entirely up to how you and how much effort you put into it. This isn't a diet. And understand that everyone makes mistakes once and awhile. Your old habits follow you. But you have to learn that when you do make that mistake, you have to pull yourself out of the deep Water and start over again. You can't let food keep you down. Also every so often you have to reward yourself for the hard work that you have done. And don't be down on yourself if you gain a pound or so, or if you don't lose any at all. It's ok. It will happen. Everyone loses weight at different speeds and different ways. Just because the scale doesn't give you the results that you want. Doesn't mean that you have lost anything. TAKE YOUR MEASUREMENTS OFTEN. You will lose inches faster than pounds. Especially when you start working out. Understand that muscle weighs more then fat. And also it does help to take pictures of yourself. Sometimes we can't see what we look like unless we see the pictures. I also eat alot of chicken and fish. I do not do red meat. And I don't do bread, Pasta or rice. I do have ice cream once and awhile (But not a gallon like I used to). I do measure my food. 1/2 to 1 cup of food at each serving. And most of all. I do drink fluids constantly. I also live on sugar free ice pops. Thanks for your kind words everyone.

Yes but the key word here is "Her surgeon Ok'd it." Every doctor is different. That is why you have to rely on what your doctor says.

Thank you so much. I wish everyone as much success as I've had. My goal is to be an inspiration that will help others to know that it can be done. But you need to work hard.

Thank you everyone. Your kind words are so nice. And I am going dancing on Saturday to do the Happy Dance..hehe. Need to go buy a sexy new sundress now.:biggrin:

Great question. I would have to say that it was no more than a 4. The most pain was in the biggest incision on the left hand side, where the port is. But that's what pain medication is for. I had my surgery on Friday and I was back to work on Tuesday. Of course I had to stop the pain medication in order to drive so I only need that for about 2 days after I came home. The pain was pretty much gone after about a week. It took me about 2 weeks to be totally back to normal. And I also had gallbladder surgery, which I have to say was alot more painful than the lapband surgery. I've also had open heart surgery which is probably one of the most painful surgeries that you can have. So lapband surgery was a peice of cake to me.

Even though your food goes down you really should follow the plan that your doctor gives to you. They make you go through stages for a reason. Mainly because of the swelling and to allow yourself time to heal. If you move ahead in the stages you take the chance of getting stuck, stretching your band, or having your band slip because your stitches are not healed yet. Yes the food goes through. Not as quickly as you think it does. But the heavier food on your pouch that has stitches, pulls down on it, and doesn't allow the pouch to heal. I know the liquid phase sucks big time. But, this is a lifestyle change. And in order for the band to work, you have to work too. So give yourself the time to heal. Things will get better for you. I promise.

Great name. That's my sons name. :biggrin: I only had fluro for my first fill. I've had 5 fills and a bit taken out so far. I've had no problems at all. As long as the doctor can find your port and is able to put Fluid in and take some out you should be fine.

Sometimes surgeons put a small amount of Fluid in when you are banded. Did your doctor put any fluid in? If you are not feeling pain and you are able to keep things down, then you are ok. Your more then likely still a little swollen. Just remember to eat small amounts and eat slow. You will find that as you move up in stages you will experience this also. sugar free ice pops are great. They help with swelling and satisfiy your sweet tooth. You don't have a slipped band. Don't worry. What you are feeling is normal. Be happy that you have the feeling of restriction because once that goes away you will start feeling hungry again.

Hi Lisa, I'm Dawn. Congratulations on your surgery and your success. I wish you continued success along your journey. I will check out your blog. And do keep us posted. Thanks so much for sharing.

Congratulations Dave. I wish you much luck on your journey. Do keep us posted on your progress. :biggrin:

Ok so I think that I have earned the right to brag. But before I do, let me wish everyone good luck and I hope that you meet your goals just like I am. So this morning I woke up and stepped on the scale. To my amazement after 23 years of being obese I............found ONEDERLAND!!!! Wooo hooo. The feeling is awesome. I never thought I would ever weigh under 200lbs again. Last year before my surgery I had pretty much given up because the diets weren't working. I started my weightloss at 304lbs. 9 Months later I have given birth to an entirely new me. I am now 198lbs. I have 12lbs left until my doctors goal. And my secret goal is another 10 - 15lbs. I just have to thank everyone here, my family and my local support group. Without the support of you guys I would have never made it. God bless you all. Thank you so much. And of course I can't go without thanking my doctor and everyone in his office. They have literally saved my life. :biggrin:

Well I finally hit ONEDERLAND today. After 23 years I am FINALLY out of the 200's. It's an amazing feeling. I have 12lbs to go before my doctors goal. I think I want to go another 10 to 15 for my secret goal. And only 9 months into the surgery. I am totally amazed at how great I feel.

600 calories sounds very low. I do 800-1100 calories a day. You might want to up your calorie intake just a bit. Do you have sleep apnea? Have you ever been tested for sleep apnea? Did you feel this way before surgery?

No way. You need to call your doctors office and tell them to submit the code because that's fraud. If they are going to pay for the surgery then your doctors office has to submit the papers. You tell them exactly what your insurance company said. If they still refuse then have your insurance company call them directly doing a 3 way call. You shouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket except your copay and any deductables that your insurance company doesn't cover. That's what insurance is for. Your doctor is totally wrong. And it doesn't matter that they have claims that the insurance company isn't paying. That's because someone at the doctors office isn't doing their job properly. Those aren't claims from you, those are claims from other patients. If the doctors office accepts your insurance and your insurance is going to pay for the hernia surgery, then the doctor HAS to submit it to them.

Restriction is when you can eat about 1/2 to 1 cup of food at every meal and are able to go 4-5 hours between meals without being hungry.

Do you have reflux or heart burn? My doctor also said that a big percentage of people also have a hernia. If you do have one and you don't get it repaired, it could cause major problems and I'm not even sure if they can do the surgery without fixing the hernia. What happens is that your stomach goes back up through the opening. That's what a hietal hernia is. So I don't think they can place the band if you have a hernia. Are you self pay for the lapband surgery? My insurance covered the herian surgery as well. I didn't have to pay in advance. And honestly I have never heard of paying in advance myself.

Not sure of the exact percentage but I can tell you that the rate of success with the lapband is greater than the complications of lapband.