nallygirl

Hi all

I am due to have my surgery on April 20th. I have been working out for some time now and am really worried about how long I have to wait before I can get back to the gym. I run, swim, work with a trainer for building muscle, and another trainer for boxing...though just started the boxing. Pre-weight gain I was very athletic an my body seems to be "remembering." I'm building muscle fast and slowly watching my running endurance improve. I work out 5-6 days a week and am really REALLY scared about losing everything I've worked to build up to now. I have a LONG way to go and I'd rather not backslide. NOT having the surgery is not an option for me either. I'm DONE fighting this weight all on my own. I've been trying for years.

I have a few questions....

During the liquids only phase... do you even HAVE enough energy to work out if you're allowed?

I average 1.5 to 2 hours working out and really push it on the weight training. I'm wondering how long I'll have to wait. Is anyone else out there into weight training? Boxing?

I've been looking over some posts and I'm really getting frightened by some of the "bad experiences" I've been reading about!

Any advice, suggestions, etc... would greatly be appreciated.

thank you

Renee

Hi Renee! I had my surgery on March 16th and I didn't have any issues at all with my surgery or recovery. On day three I was sweeping my floors and day four I was out walking at the outlet mall with my friend. As for the gym, I was back in the gym walking on the treadmill within a week. After two weeks I was cleared to run but still no weight training. The surgeon said I cannot do weight training or core work until week 6 just to give myself extra time to heal. It seems like every surgeon is different though so you might be able to weight train sooner. For the pre-op diet, I did still workout but I noticed a huge drop in energy. I was only able to do an hour max and that was just walking, zumba or kick boxing class. Now that I am able to eat actual food again my energy has returned and I haven't had any issues in the gym with long workouts. Hope that helps! Good luck with your surgery!!

I've been on mushies now for four day and some of the things on my list from my nutritionist are banana w/ Peanut Butter, fat free refried Beans, chili (blended a bit to take out the chunks), hummus, tuna fish, canned chicken (like for chicken salad), mashed sweet potatoes, oatmeal, yogurt, sugar free pudding and any fish w/ cooked veggies. So far it hasn't been too bad and I'm so thankful for anything other than soup!! Good luck!

I have used Nuvaring for over a year now and I've never had any problems with breakthrough bleeding. About a week or so after the surgery I started bleeding like a regular period with small clots which I NEVER have. It's been over a week and I am really freaking out. Is this normal? I'm going to the GYN tomorrow just to make sure everything is ok.

Hi there...my surgeon warned me that having any type of surgery can alter your normal menstral cycle. He didn't explain why only said that I could start early or it may be delayed. I started a week early but other than that its been normal. Probably a good idea to check with your GYN just to be safe.

Congratulations on your band!! My port is also near my belly button. I didn't realize it though until today when I went for a post op appt. Its just under my belly button to the right. Almost two weeks out and I haven't had an issue...didn't even know it was there lol Good luck! Wishing you a speedy recovery!!

I had my surgery on Friday so I am three days post op. My question is does anyone else feel hungry? I am drinking Water, juice (one serving a day), low sugar gatorade, popicles, Jello, and broth. I read in the lap band book that I was given that you're not suppose to feel hungry after surgery. What did other people experience after surgery?

Hi Karen...I am 12 days post op and even though it did take a few days I was definitely hungry after my surgery. Once the swelling goes down from surgery I was told to expect to be hungry. I didn't feel like I was starving but I could tell I would have a little rumble here and there. I just progressed to mushies today and it did help with the hunger. Good luck and Congrats on your surgery!

Just called my insurance company, and after what seemed like forever (2 weeks) I got the stamp of approval to schedule surgery. I couldn't be happier right now!!!

Yay! Congratulations on your approval!!

Since the sleeve actually cuts out part of the stomach that produces the hunger chemicals do you think the sleeve is a better treatment for head hunger?

From what I've learned at my support groups, with sleeve and bypass it is only temporary that the hunger hormone is reduced. The hormone itself is called ghrelin. Eventually your body will begin to produce it again and with that the hunger will come back as well. Just passing along what I've been told by the hospital's nurses/nutritionists.

I was wondering the same thing when I had to start my liquid diet! I read a lot of information online but found it to be very complicated and overly medical. I did find this article though and thought it had some great information. Hope you find it interesting:

http://www.nutraingr...-suggests-study

Hey teachkins! It's most likely due to your increased Protein intake. If you Google ketosis you'll see one of the symptoms is bad breath. I had the issue before when I was doing Atkins and now that I've started drinking the Protein Shakes again I've noticed the issue a few times myself. Hope that helps

Hi, I am scheduled to start the pre op diet around the last two weeks of April. I am trying to figure out how this works. As I understand it, for two weeks I am only having shakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a cup of either vegetables or fresh fruit. No carbs or starchy veggies. The written instructions say "if you need it" I can have a snack of a piece of fruit. Now, after surgery, there will be no fills for at least 6 weeks. During that time I am mostly going to be on liquids and towards the end soft 'mushies". So that is two months of starvation with no assistance or restriction. If I can not lose weight on my own, how am I supposed to get through this? I was recently following a normal carb counting diet for diabetics and every night I went to bed with sharp hunger pains in my chest area. I kept thinking that the pre op diet is going to hurt worse. Herbal tea helps but really, I just dont understand how this works. Does the smaller pouch cause less hunger pangs??? I really need an answer because I am wavering and do not want to change my mind about surgery.

Hi There, I completely understand what you're feeling right now! I am one week post-op and had to do a two week liquid diet and had the same fears you do. It wasn't easy but it wasn't torture either. For me the key was constantly drinking. I never went anywhere without my Water bottle and I also drank a lot of decaff tea/coffee to help me through. The first few days were hard to get used to but eventually the hunger pains weren't too bad. You're going to be hungry but trust me, after that first week when you step on the scale and see you've lost weight you'll be motivated to continue...at least I was! Also if you can, try to get all your tempting food out of the house before you start the pre-op diet!! I didn't have anything in the house so it made it easier for me not to cheat.

Post op hasn't been to bad either. Because of the swelling I've just started to get my hunger back. I'll move to mushies next week and I'm looking forward to it but honestly being on liquids this week hasn't been bad at all.

You can do this! Don't give up before you get started! There are a ton of people on here to support you! Good Luck!!

Hi Kelli! I'm 5 days post-op also and still have some pain in my biggest incision which I'm assuming is where my port is. It is really uncomfortable to sit in certain positions for too long but it seems to get better every day. Hang in there!!

Stephanie, I know that it is still just Protein shakes, but I have been adding some of the SF Jello powder to my shakes for some different flavors. There is also this great website that I found called "theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com" Shelly that runs the blog was a size 28 now a size 4 and she loves to cook. There are so many ideas there for every phase of our journey. Best of luck-I have my ice cream maker in the freezer now to make some Protein ice cream. YUM!!!

I love that blog!! Shelly really does have some great recipes I can't wait to try out! Let us know how that protein ice cream turns out! I might have to invest in an ice cream maker!!

Hi everyone!! I hope all the post-op bandsters are doing great and the pre-ops are moving along in their process! I was banded on March 16th and so far I am very happy I did it! Surgery was very uneventful and my recovery has been the same. I was lucky enough to not have to stay the night in the hospital and was home and asleep my 5pm on the day of surgery. It was a little difficult getting used to sleeping on my back but I am able to sleep on my left side now so I'm sleeping better. I also really haven't had any gas pains. Just a few little ones here or there but nothing horrible. For me I think the worst pain is just my incision in my belly button. Even that is more of a soreness than pain. I was up and walking around the day after surgery and went to out outdoor mall 3 days later to walk around. At night I am still taking the narcotic pain medicine but mostly that's to help me sleep. Other than that I'm not taking anything during the day for pain. I'm very happy with the actual surgery. Now the hard part starts...learning how to use the band!! I have my post-op appt this week and I'll find out then how much I've lost during my 2 week pre-op diet and since surgery. Fingers crossed that it's a good number!

Good luck to everyone!! Hope you're all doing great!!

Good luck!! Will keep my fingers crossed for a speedy approval!!

As far as the dieting goes... I guess what I was trying to ask was if they have you go onto a diet and you lose a certain amount of weight during that time... Would they say, "Hey, you've lost a good amount of weight during this time and you need to just continue dieting. I don't think weightloss surgery is for you." Is this something that they would do? I assumed that the insurance companies were having people do this so that they could get out of paying for the surgery. In a sense, I supposed it worried me to think that they would turn me down because I lose 10 or 15 lbs in 3 months or something like that. Is this done or am I completely wrong and they are only having you do this to decide how dedicated you are to getting surgery and losing weight but also KEEPING that weight off?

As far as the methadone is concerned... I don't know that I will be coming down by then. I have goals set for the methadone as well but the first thing that I have to do is keep myself stabilized on an amount that will keep my desires to use drugs in the back of my mind and far away from surfacing into stupid ideas. Until I can live my life without the thought and desire to use drugs, I will continue to have the methadone. I'm not using it as a crutch or an excuse because I've had plenty of crutched and excuses in my life, but getting checked into a clinic was by far a better decision then staying on the other stuff. So far, I've been clean (from doing the drugs) about 2 years and that for me has been a great accomplishment.

Hi Justin,

I'm so proud of your accomplishment!! It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to stay clean for 2 years. You are on the right track and making good decisions. Take your time withdrawling from the methadone...No one else will know what's right for you other than you!

As for the 3 month diet, in my personal opinion its just a hoop the insurance company makes you jump through. They are hoping you won't go through with it or you will look at self pay options. Like Shirley said though, I would find out what their minimum BMI is for approval and stay above that. For example, my insurance (Cigna) requires a minimum BMI of 40. Since my BMI when I started my 6 month diet was very close to that I only lost about 8 pounds in those 6 months so I could stay above the minimum. Losing weight did not affect my approval.

Good luck with everything!

Natalie

So I had my initial consultation this morning, and it confirmed the beliefs that I already had about Lap Band. I have gone back and forth for 7 years about having this procedure done, and now I just know that it will help me lose the weight that I need to feel good and healthy. I wish I didnt have to wait the 6 months to schedule the surgery, but my insurance (blue cross) requires a 6 month history and my BMI is 39!

I hope I can remain as positive an hopeful in the next 6 months, because I'll be honest, it make me a bit jealous to see all these other members having their initial consultation and surgery scheduled in the same month! Lucky ducks! Anyone else in a waiting period?

I know how you feel. I had to do a 6 month medically supervised diet and exercise program per my insurance also. At the time I was so upset about it. I had done all my research, decided this was the right choice for me then finding out I had to wait was so upsetting! Now that I've gone through the process, taken all the classes, researched and researched some more, I feel like I am somewhat grateful for the time I've had to fully prepare myself for this change. Don't get me wrong, I would have been all too happy to have my surgery the month I had my consult. Time flew by though and I'm ready for surgery! Stay strong, you'll make it through! Good luck!

I am on week 2 of my liquid pre-op diet. My surgeon makes us use the Optifast products. So I have Optifast shakes 4 times a day, one Optifast bar and one Optifast Soup (powder soup mix - chicken and tomato). The shakes are tiny, only 8 oz and the soup isn't much either. The one thing that has kept me somewhat full though is constantly drinking Water and if I'm super hungry I'll have some coffee with splenda.

Hi Jennielee! My surgery date is March 16th and I'm on week two of my pre-op liquid diet. My bmi is only 40 but my surgeon said everyone has to do it to shrink your liver prior to surgery. I was required to use Optifast shakes 4 times a day, one Optifast bar and one Optifast Soup. The first few days of the diet were a struggle but after that I guess your body gets used to it and I didn't feel as hungry. I was more a mental battle of wanting to eat than it was being hungry. I've noticed that drinking a lot of Water has helped a lot also. Good luck! You can do it! Hang in there!!

My insurance company does cover gastric banding but I have Aetna and I was told today that Aetna has specific requirements that include a psych evaluation (which I expected) but they also have a requirement of a 3 month attempted diet. The thing is that I have tried the dieting which is why I am considering the surgery. And because of the fact that its required that you try 3 months of I guess "supervised" dieting, it isn't enough that I have tried dieting in the past. I was very discouraged to hear that it could be 6-7 months before I could have the surgery. **When they refer to the requirement for dieting, do they mean you have to have attempted a diet in the past for at least 3 months or do they mean that you have to go through another 3 months of dieting that has to be supervised by a doctor? I didn't fully understand that part. If they would realize that I have attempted dieting many times, it would speed the process up for me. I know that they don't care how quickly I get in there but it matters to me and I am just really excited at the thought of a healthier and skinnier life.

Does anyone have details as to what transpires during the pysch evaluation? For what reason is it required and what questions are asked during it? I'm sorry for such a long post and all the questions but I am really excited to find out the answers to my questions. Any info is appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Justin,

For me personally I had to do a 6 month medically supervised diet and exercise program per my insurance (Cigna). I did mine through my surgeon's office but others have done their's through a Primary Care Physician. For mine I went to a group meeting once a month at my surgeon's office. They would record my weight then we would have a class on a nutrition topic (reading food lables, importance of exercise, healthy options for eating out). Some in the class also had a weight loss goal set for them by their surgeon that they had to meet before the end of the 6 months, my surgeon did not have this requirement. At the end of the 6 months I had to get all my pre-op testing done so my PCP would write me a medical clearance for surgery. Not everyone's PCP made them do this. Some didn't do their testing until they received insurance approval. The testing included blood work, chest xrays, Upper GI and gallbladder ultrasound. Once that was done, my clearance letter written, the surgeon's office submitted all my paperwork to the insurance company for approval. I received an approval in a few days and my surgery was scheduled for the next month. From start to finish this process took me 8 months and I have my surgery on March 16th. Since you only have to do a 3 month supervised diet yours may take a much shorter amount of time. But I would plan on it being at least 5 months before your actual surgery date.

As for the psych eval, mine was very quick. It was a 30 minute session with a psychologist. She asked me questions about myself, what I do for a living, how long I have considered weight loss surgery, what else I have tried, why did I decided to do it now, have a researched the surgery. She also asked me questions about my history with weight, was I over weight as a child, what are/were my exercise habits. Then she asked if I had told anyone about wanting surgery and if they were supportive. Basically to me it seemed like they were trying to make sure I was aware this is a life changing decision, that I wasn't making an impulse decision to have it done and that I have a good support system in place after surgery. It's really not that bad at all.

Like you I was really upset when I found out I had to wait so long for the surgery. Once I decided this was right for me I wanted to have it done tomorrow! Looking back though and seeing how much I have learned over the past 8 months I am grateful to have had the time to prepare myself for this new lifestyle. I hope that helped to answer some of your questions. Good luck!

hi, can anyone help me fiigure out how to get over a 1000 calories? i am still on liquids and with Protein drinks , yogurt diet pudding, and Soups . i add up my intake and only come up with 650 calories a day. I think i need more than that. I have not lost any weight in a week in a half. I read on here that you should have between 1200 and 1400 calories a day. thanks for your help.

Hi gregt...While I haven't had my surgery yet that is actually something I asked my nutritionist about. She suggested I just add an additional scoop of Protein powder to my shakes. So if my brand says a serving size is 1 scoop, I will just add 2 scoops for the extra calories. I'm not sure if you are using RTD or are making your Protein Shakes yourself, but if you are making them yourself you might want to try this out and see if it works for you. I'm sure some people in the post-op section would have some great ideas as well. Good luck to you!

I got the best news yesterday, finally have my date!!! And I AM a March Bandster. After 2 years of waiting I have less than 2 weeks to go for my surgery. Thank you all for your words on encouragement, they really meant a lot!

Congratulations on your surgery date!!! You're being banded the day before I am

Hi Justin,

If you are planning on using insurance to pay for surgery you may want to start there just to see if they cover the gastric banding. If they do, then you can ask about your specific situation as well. Have you gone to a seminar yet or met with a surgeon? This would be a great question to bring up with the surgeon during your one on one consultation. It would also be a good idea to discuss alternatives to narcotic pain relievers after surgery. My sister was on methadone when she had a major surgery and they were able to give her non-narcotic meds that still helped with her pain. Congratulations on seeking recovery! Stay strong and good luck with your journey!

I'm just venting here because I have to do something else besides walking into the kitchen one more time.

I'm two weeks post -op and back at work for the third day, and now I totally resent that my office has Snacks in the kitchen. I work for a small software company where there's always chips, snacks, fruit, candy, etc in the kitchen. I'm one week into the puree stage, so I can't go and eat the fruit, which would be my choice. I absolutely hate that this food is available. I did so much better post-op when I was home for 10 days.

This just sucks. I'm not even hungry, seriously. Not at all. However, those damn reeces mini eggs look so good. It's a head problem on my side, which I'm aware of. I chewed a stick of gum and that helped. I also know salty foods are my trigger. This has to get easier as the days go on, and in a few days I can move to soft solids like tuna and chicken salad which will help. The sad thing is that I have greek yogurt and some mashed bananas ready to eat, as well as a Protein Shake. But, I'm sitting on here obsessing about the damn reeces.

So now I have to say: F U office snacks; we have to break up. I'll come up with an elaborate story on how you cheated on me to tell my friends about it.

FYI: You all reading this who think I'm a little nutty; you'll soon get my humor. It's dry and sarcastic and a tad over the top

Cheers,

Carrie

LoL I am right there with you!!! I'm on day one of my pre-op diet and what does my department decide to order for lunch...PIZZA!!! I just made up an excuse as to why I couldn't join them in the conference room for lunch and sat at my desk drinking my tiny little Optifast shake. Good for you though for resisting all that delicious temptation!

Hi Sombra! I have an issue with only one of my knees also which has made it hard to walk on the treadmill at times. I took my first Water aerobics class ever and I loved it!! You still get a great workout but without all the pounding on your joints. Swimming laps is also a great cardio exercise. You may want to think about asking one of the trainers at your gym if they could recommend some strengthening exercises for you as well. Good luck with everything!

Congratulations on your approval!!!