Kristy29

Betsy, my insurance requires a letter of medical necessity from a doctor other than my surgeon. My pcp did it, but I don't think it has to be a pcp. Sette, is there another doctor you could go to? Maybe get a new pcp, or if you have any co-morbidities, maybe a doctor for that, like an endocrinologist for diabetes.

It's for pre and post op. They want us off carbs to help with the 5% weight loss before surgery, and also to get prepared for after surgery since we will be low carb then too.

Hello everyone. I am here, but not by choice, lol. My surgeon requires everyone to do low carb. The dietitian said I could start with eliminating carbs for one meal, but eventually I need to eliminate them completely. It's going to be hard!

When I went for my seminar, I was told I would be eating 9 oz at each meal, so I don't think you are doing anything wrong. Are you losing? As long as you are losing I think you are ok. And as long as the 9 oz you are eating are the right foods, and you are eating your Protein first, I think you should be ok. But I don't have my band yet so take all the with a grain of salt.

So I have a full size blender/food processor combo that I got for my wedding. I am wondering though if I should get something more along the lines of a magic bullet. If I am only going to be eating very small portions, I am afraid the blender won't even be able to get it because it's too big. The Magic Bullet reviews are so mixed though, and it's $50. I saw a personal sized blender that had good reviews, but it says not to blend any meats so it wouldn't work in the mushy stage, although it would work for any smoothies. It was only $17. So what do you use to blend any protein drink smoothies and also foods for the mushie stage?

Haha, yeah that's the thread that I was reading when I decided to post this. Lots of soups, hummus, beans, and mashed potatoes on that thread. None of which I am allowed according to my doctor. Also a lot of the recipes have flour or milk, also which I am not allowed. I am so screwed.

So my doctor is very very strict. According to the booklet I got at the seminar, I will not be allowed to eat any Soups, Beans, or carbs until I get to my goal weight. I am not sure how I feel about that, and will be discussing it with the nutritionist on monday. If I do follow those guidelines, what can I eat in the mushy stage? Whenever I read a thread on here, mashed potatoes, mashed beans and soups seem to be pretty much the only suggestions.

My dietitian asked me what I wanted my goal weight to be, and I had no idea. I thought they would help me set that, tell me what was healthy, etc. They said nothing to me and expected me to come up with a number all on my own. So I just said I'd like to be below 200. I haven't ever been that low, not for a long long time, like maybe middle school, so that would be an amazing accomplishment. I figure once I get there, I will see how I feel and how far I want to keep going after that.

Well I have some friends here, but they aren't what I would consider close friends. People at work, etc. They aren't the kind of people I would turn to for support with my surgery. Yes, they might see me and say some encouraging things if I've lost weight, but they aren't the kind of people I will unload on if things are going wrong or if I'm struggling. My husband would be who I would choose to turn to in those instances, but I am afraid that the whole time I am going through the weight loss, if I mention to him that something hurts or I am hungry or something, he will say see you are failing, why don't you just quit. We had another argument today about it. He kept pointing out that I haven't started a real diet yet, and he doesn't see how I am going to lose 15 lbs in 3 months. Which yes, I am still not eating great, but I am trying a little. I am trying to do this slow, because every time I get gung ho into a diet from the start and then get hungry and fail, so I am trying something different this time, and it is also how my doctor suggests we do it. They said cut out Snacks first. I have tried, but sometimes I am hungry. I work from 4-10, and usually eat lunch around 2 and then dinner around 10:15. So sometimes while I am working I get very hungry. Well the last few times that happened I ate a small bag of plain almonds. Also, a few times when I was hungry at home, I had a pickle or a yogurt. Well, he pointed these things out to me as failures. But I don't think they were failures, because they were better choices than some other foods. I work at a pharmacy, and could easily eat a bag of chips, Cookies or candy, it's everywhere. But instead I chose to eat one of the very few healthy snacks we carry. And really, does he think that me eating a pickle is what's going to prevent from losing weight??

Hubby is a little overweight but not obese at all. When we met, I was living with my parents and he lived an hour and a half away. I moved in with him, and then we moved to the Poconos, which was about 2 hours from my parents. We made the choice together because it was a place where we could afford a house. Then my parents decided to move to Florida. So actually we are living away from them not by either of our choice.

Not in that he doesn't want me to have the surgery, but in that he thinks I will fail or quit. He keeps saying, oh you won't do it, you won't go through with it, you can't lose the 5%. :mad2: It's weird because he has been begging me to do surgery to lose weight for years, and now that I want to do it and am excited about it, he all of a sudden is being unsupportive. I have said straight to his face that I want him to encourage me but he won't do it. All he does is point out that I haven't started losing weight yet and I had pizza for dinner, and blah blah blah. Funny thing is that he decided we would have pizza for dinner tonight, but then made sure to bring it up while we were fighting. It almost seems like he did it on purpose. ' I just wish he could say things like I am proud of you for making this decision, for going to your appointments, for trying to change your life, for trying to get healthy so we can have a baby. It hurts inside every time I think about his comments. Also, my surgeon is very very big on making sure we have a support system. I don't have any friends where I live, my parents are 1000 miles away in Florida and my sister is in Japan. Here where I live, he is all I have. So now I have to go into my psych eval and my support group and lie, or else I'm afraid they won't do the surgery. :cursing:

Gosh, I feel like I need an assistant just to keep up with all my appointments, lol. Went to the seminar/first appointment on 5/5. Yesterday, I went to a cardiologist. They did an in office EKG. THey saw some thickening of the heart muscles. Now need to get an echocardiogram and a stress test next week. Doc is confident I will pass those tests and will be approved for surgery. He said the thickening is most likely due to my obesity and will clear up after I lose the weight. Because I have Mitral Valve prolapse though he wants to see me again in a month, and continue with regular appointments throughout my weight loss journey. This morning I went for pre-op blood work. They took 9 vials! 9!!! I was quite scared when she started pulling them off the shelf, lol. Then I went for my opper GI xray. The fizz and the barium were nasty, but it wasn't too bad overall. Thursday I meet with my pcp, and Monday I have my first meeting with the surgeon, plus I will meet with the nurse practitioner and dietitian again, and I have my first support group. Wednesday I have my echo-cardiogram, and Thursday I have my stress test. Even though they are being done at the same place, I am not allowed to do them on the same day or insurance won't pay for it. Makes no sense, and is very inconvenient because it's over 20 minutes away. Stupid insurance. Anyway, just wanted to write down all the I have going in. It's a lot to take in, a lot to keep track of.

Nobody said anything to me about what my number needs to be. I hope to god it doesn't have to be good, because mine hasn't been. Just got my blood drawn this morning and will find out soon what it was. Almost afraid to go into my doctor cause he's going to yell at me for sure. Hopefully my surgery news will distract him, hehe.

It wasn't bad at all. The fizzy stuff was nasty, and the barium wasn't the best tasting thing but it went down without problems at least. I also had my blood drawn this morning, they took 9 vials!! I get blood drawn regularly for my diabetes but haven't ever given that much.

I am going for my pre-op upper GI xray tomorrow. What's it like? I have to swallow barium right? Does it taste nasty? I have a real hard time swallowing something if it doesn't taste good.

I thought meal sized salads were not good for bandsters? Since you are supposed to eat your protein first, a salad as a meal wouldn't work with that rule.

Ok, I ordered a cheapo one on ebay for now. It is an Italian charm bracelet, and I got one charm that says type 2 diabetes and one that says lap band. That way I can wear the diabetes one now and add the other one later. But I definitely am going to upgrade later on.

I am looking forward to getting pregnant, not using seat belt extenders on planes, shopping in the store at Old Navy and shopping anywhere I want, fitting on roller coasters, not having my dh worry every time I sit in a chair that it will collapse.

I just went to the seminar last week, and it also included meeting with the nurse practitioner and dietitian, so it counted as my first appointment. The weight they took when I walked in that day is what is considered my weight for approval. My surgeon requires a 5% weight loss of all patients, or he will not do the surgery. You will find out at the seminar what is required of you from your surgeon and your insurance company. Good luck!

Well, I haven't even started losing weight yet, but I know when I do that I am going to need to do something. I weigh almost 300 lbs and I have size C boobs. They are comparatively small to the rest of my body. It makes it hard to find bras because I need a 48c, which is very rare. Most 48's are d or dd. Also, every top and dress I ever wear is too big in the chest because again they are small compared to my stomach. So I am assuming that once I lose weight, they will be like an A. But then I want to get pregnant and breastfeed, so it will be a long time until I can have the surgery.

I really like those Lauren's Hope ones. I am going to order one when I get close to surgery. I have diabetes and should have been wearing one all along. Now I figure it's dumb to get one now and get a new one in a few months. Thanks for the encouragement!

Ok, I added myself to the spreadsheet.

Can I join? I don't have my band yet but I need to lose my 5%, which is 15 lbs.

In the surgeon section of the forum, he is listed in Connecticut but he is really in NY. When you go to the top of the page and click Surgeons he is there in the right spot, but not on the forum. His forum is blank and I think it's because he is in the wrong spot. How can this be fixed? And sorry if this is the wrong place to put this but I couldn't find anywhere to report problems.

Well, I don't know because I've never had surgery, but my hospital is over an hour away so I will be traveling half that distance the day of my surgery. I don't think 2 hours is bad, and I think it will be good for you to have people taking care of you for a few days post op.