MustangKitten

I was banded Nov 29th and so far I am bown 45 lbs as of March 4th. My scale at home is bi-polar so I only go by the scale at the doctor's office. I will probably go tomorrow and see where I am at. I have not been exercising regularly and I beat myself up every day for it. I tell myself, "do you know where you might be today with weight-loss, had you got off your butt and exercised for the last 3 months?!" Instead of getting to down on myself I try to look at the positives like eating smaller portions, making better choices, not snacking as much as I used to. I hae nothing to complain about because first I am still losing even if it is a pound in a week. Second, I would have never lost this much weight without this band. Never lost this much on any diet I was on or even when I hired a personal trainer and was working out regularly. I am so happy that I have had this surgery and I am going to continue to try to find motivation to exercise. I am hoping that I as I get smaller, the exercise might be easier to do.

I live in Rockledge. I was banded on November 29th in Melbourne. Hi to all the CFL bandsters out there

I feel the same way. I was banded on Nov 29 and now I feel like I am hungry every 2 hours. I am allowed 4oz of food at a time and 2-3ozs needs to be a Protein. When I finish eating I am fine but it doesn't seem to last very long. I really wish I could get out of this feeling. Luckily I go in for my fill next Wed but I have to make it through this holiday weekend. At least my food choices every 2 hours or so is healthy so I don't feel too extremely guilty but it does get discouraging sometimes. Trying to quit my love affair of food is easier said than done. Melissa

Great question because I was thinking the same thing. I'm 3 weeks post-op and some days I don't eat much and other days I feel like I can eat anything but I try not to. I'm gonna wait for the responses as well. Melissa

I have to agree that the walking made my gas pains go away real quick. I am exactly one week post-op and I don;t even feel like I have a band sometimes. I still feel like my mind is playing tricks on me and trying to sabatoge me. I go for my post op appt on Thursday so I am hoping that I see the scale and that gives me more motivation to keep going.

I saw a lot of really good recipes on bariatriceating.com's website. Anyone have any experience with any of these? I am only 1 week post-op so I am going to consult with my nutritionist about whether or not their good for me. They have a real good looking recipe for turkey meatballs or for caesar deviled eggs. Both sound delicious so I am thinking that they aren't that good for me. I know healthy food can be good, just some of the ingredients sound not good for me. Just wondering.

I just got banded on 11/29, I am going through the stage right now where I wonder if this will work for me. I know it will work if I put the work into it like the exercise part but I am so afraid of falling into all my bad habits. I felt myself get that way this past weekend. The stress comes and all I want to do is grab a bowl of icecream or some chips. I have always been guilty of mindless eating and I caught myself doing it this weekend when I was fixing the kids plates. Luckily I caught myself before I ate more than a bite or two but I need to stop. I have never been one too keen on exercise which is one reason why I am in the position that I am but I keep wondering to myself, will I ever be gung-ho about exercise the way some of these veteran bandsters on here are? I don't have a scale at home yet so I don't know if I have lost any weight this week. I don't think I have since I don't feel like I have. I go for my post-op appointment next Thursday and my first fill is scheduled after Christmas. Sorry to be a downer today.

Hi there, I was banded on 11/29. I want to be able to follow my progress and my failures (if necessary) and not have to wait for every doctor's appointment to find out how I am doing. Being overweight all my life, I have tried to steer clear of scales except at the doctor's office. My husband had purchased a scale for the home a couple years ago but I didn't want to tell him that it was pretty pointless for me because it only went up to 300lbs. He still doesn't know what I weigh and I am still ashamed to tell him the truth. He knows that I am severely overweight but I really think the real number would really freak him out. But that's a conversation for my therapist. So I am reaching out to all the bandsters out there for recommendations on a quality scale (that doesn't cost a fortune). What experiences have you have with accuracy and durability? Thanks for your help! Melissa

Hate to be the bummer in this thread but I have Aetna. My packet was submitted for approval on October 7th. Within 2 weeks it was denied. I then appealed their decision and my appeal was denied. I went for their third submission and it was approved within 2 weeks but every time my surgeon's office called for a status they always said it was pending even though a letter had already been sent out (since I usually received the denial/approval within 2 days from phone call). Even though it is a waiting game I want to stress not to give up! I almost did especially after 2 denials. I thought I wasn't going to be able to get it done. I was banded on November 29th. Now the only other thing I have to possibly fight along with my surgeon's office is getting them to pay the actual claim. Sometimes they like to play games like that according to the ins specialist in my surgeon's office. Good Luck!

My diet is the same as above except I think on the next week instead of just full liquids I could have low fat cottage cheese but pureed more. For week 3 on mushies I am allowed vegetables that can be mushed up. I really cant even wait for next week. I have been on clear liquids since Friday after Thanksgiving and I was banded on Monday. I am already sick of clear liquids but I know this what I need to do to heal so I am grinning and bearing it. Hard to do when everyone else around me is eating delicious food.

I was having the pain in my shoulder too due to the gas/air they used. I was told that was normal. I still feel some of the pressure from the gas. I feel a lot better today except if I stay in one position too long I'm a little sore. I do feel better if I am up walking around as weird as that sounds. I was just banded yesterday, Nov 29th. I'm still getting used to only taking little sips of Water instead of the big gulps that I am used to. I stopped taking my liquid loratab last night. I took two doses and realized the pain was not really that bad. Plus I remember in July when I had my tonsillectomy and I was on the same medicine, I didn't like the taste and it made me feel nauseous. I was having to take pills for nausea in order to take the medicine to make the pain go away. I know this is only temporary and it will get better in the days to come. Good luck to everyone!

I thought that I would get an approval after the first submission since I had what was considered a solid submission. My BMI is 53 and has been for over 10 years, I am 33 years old, have had 3 children no plans for more. I did my psych eval, my nutritionist consult, got letters from my primary, had the diet history done, had a fitness consult, everything. I was ready to go. Well Aetna denied me on the first round because I did not have documented weight from 2008. I had it from 06, 07, 09, and 10 but not 08. They only needed at least 2 years so I was baffled by that. But I held my head up and said no worries, I will just appeal and things will be fine. Well they denied my appeal. At this point I was frustrated, I was feeling like I have always felt, sad, depressed, a sense of doom. I gave myself a week to "grieve" and be depressed and then I said NO! I am not going to take no for an answer. I know in my heart that I am a good candidate for this surgery and I am not going to let some pencil pusher at an insurance company tell me no. I worked with my surgeon's office doing the appeals because I am clueless to what I needed and didn't need. The insurance coordinator in his office is awesome. This is all she does. So we put our heads together and I said, look I don't have any documented weight from 2008 but I have a ton of pictures. I had professional photos taken at an annual charity event that I attend every year. It has the date real big on the front of the picture. That combined with all the documentation was submitted for my third and final try. Here is where the story gets funny. Well it wasn't funny then but I can laugh about it now. I go out out town on Sunday and come back late Monday night. I'm tired from the drive so I come home and go straight to bed. Don't even ask my husband about the mail, which wouldn't have mattered sicne he didn't bother to check it while I was gone. But for some reason he decides to check it on his way to work (4am). We talk about 8:30am when I am on my way to class and he tells me I got some bad news in the mail and I was denied again. He said "I'm sorry and we wil figure out a way to get it done." I was upset, I started crying. I felt hopeless. I was asking him a million questions about what it said and he was like, I didn't read it all carefully, I just glanced at before I got to work. He left the letter in his car (which was an hour away) so I had to wait til that evening when he got home. I immediately contacted my insurance coordinator and told her what happened. We were looking into outside reviews, possible hiring an obesity attorney, anything. So my husband gets home that night about 6pm and hands me the letter. Istart reading it and it says blah blah blah..in reference to your denial of bariatric coverage.....blah blah blah...our decision....blah blah blah....we are reversing our previous decision and allowing bariatric coverage...blah blah blah. I was shocked. I looked at him and started crying again. I was half laughing and half mad and I said, "Are you f*%#@^g kidding me?" He stared at me and said, "What?" I said, "This isn't a denial, they are reversing their decision, this is an approval! Do you realize what you put me through all day?" and we both started laughing. I told him that his mail checking privileges are revoked and from now on my mail stays in the mailbox til I get it and can read it. It was too late to call my insurance coordinator so I sent her a few e-mails and she called the next morning. We were laughing about it then and she asked me if I slapped him for the hell I went through the day before. I said no because I was too happy about the approval. Anyway, I know this is a long story but I wanted to let some people know, do not give up after the first denial or even the second. If you have a solid submission and you know you are a good candidate for the surgery, then you need to stand up and fight for it. My surgery is now scheduled for Nov 29th and I couldn't be more ready for it. I was ready for it when it was originally scheduled for Nov 1st so I am even more ready. Good luck to everyone!

I was orginally scheduled for the 15th, moved it up to the 1st and finally after 2 appeals I am finally scheduled for the 29th and have everything done and ready to go. It has been a tough battle but I am ready and if I can make it through that and survive I can do anything I put my mind to.

Sabrina, did you get an approval yet? I have Aetna as well. My insurance was submitted on Oct 7th after I have done all the stuff they required prior to authorization. I had such a no brainer case that my surgery was even scheduled because there was no reason for a denial. Until guess what...denied! :w00t: :thumbup: Now I am under an appeal and keeping my fingers crossed that Aetna comes through. Good Luck!

I have a 3 day pre-op diet that is Clear liquids all three days except I can have one solid meal the first 2 days. Just have to keep it low carb and low calorie...mainly Protein if I'm not mistaken.

That is a lot of great information. I had my 3rd appointment today with my surgeon. Just waiting on ins approval. I asked him today about if he fills the band at surgery and he said the same thing. With the little bit of fluid in there and the swelling, I will feel full and still have the time to heal. He does the first fill at 4 weeks though. Good luck, keep us posted!

I went in today for my final visit for my 3 month history. Now they have all the information and will be submitting it to my insurance company within a few days. They have changed my tenative date from Nov 15th to Nov 1st. I am hoping that everything still goes through smoothly. I am very excited and very anxious at the same time. I'm lucky I don't have a long pre-op diet but I do have the liquid diet for 3 days before surgery. That means Halloween weekend I will be on liquids only. I hope I have the willpower. I think I do. Melissa

I know this question may have been answered in another thread but I am new here and didn't fnd anything yet so I am asking the veterans. What is bandster hell? Thanks in advance for the help. Trying to prepare as much as possible for what to expect with my surgery possibly a month away. Melissa

I have tried the Myoplex just to get a taste of different things so I could prepare for my liquid diet stages and I like it a lot. It does make you not hungry but I noticed that only lasts for an hour or two. I go in on Oct 7th and will finalize my date then. I am hoping for Nov 1st but they may keep it at Nov 15th. We'll see.

I have almost 200 lbs to lose too. I will find out on Oct 7th what my ideal weight is as well as my goal weight (according to my dr) and I will also get my surgery date. I am looking at Nov 1st or 15th. I am anxiously awaiting the procedure. Nice to know these forums exist because now I know I am not the only one. Thanks for the support guys!

A friend of mine who I am very close to had a talk with me today. She has been extremely supportive of my decision to have the surgery. She isn't fully informed about the risks and the procedure as well as how it will change and help you. I have been trying to give her information as I get it to help her understand. Well today she admitted to me that she isn't comfortable with me having surgery. She isn't sure why. Almost like she has a bad feeling about it. Well of course I value her opinion but I am still having the surgery because I am becoming more and more informed and more and more motivated to make and kepp my lifestyle change. During this conversation she also was telling about how she was reading or saw on tv that there is a hypnosis session that tricks the mind into believing that you have had the surgery. I found one of the articles online and it was all spelled out just as she had said. What do you think about this theory? Gastric Mind Band: Weight Loss by Hypnosis It makes me wonder how much of this is all in my mind and will I be able to be satisfied with smaller portions after surgery. I am in the process now of changing my eating habits and trying to make better choices, although I admit I am not 100% with it. I got pizza tonight because I was in a hurry and I hated every bite that I put in my mouth no matter how good it tasted. It did help me not eat 5-6 pieces that I normally would have. Just throwing all my thoughts out here at once. Sorry for the rambling.

I am looking forward to hearing more responses on this thread in the long term. I am currently looking to get in to corrections and although I am not banded yet I am wondering if a job like that, one with the risk of maybe a blow to the stomach or something, might do something to complicate your health. Even though I know a blow to the stomach may be rare, it is still a possibility I would think.

Even though I haven't gotten my approval yet I have all my pre-op instructions. My pre-op diet is 3 days. Day 1 and 2, Clear liquids all day and 1 solid food meal per day. Day 3 (day before surgery) take only clear liquids until midnight, nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before surgery. My list of clear liquids are: Apple juice cranberry juice, all types grape juice fruit punch juice drinks (Juicy Juice, etc) coffee, tea, iced tea, decaf tea, decaf coffee Koolaid Crystal light drinks Gatorade Propel Lemonade (no pulp) Water Special K Protein water Clear Protein Drinks (Isopure, Protein shot, Protein 2 go) popsicles (no real fruit) not sugar free Jello (no fruit) not sugar free broth, beef, chicken, vegetable Italian ice That is pretty much word for word on my pre-op nutrition list.

CONGRATS! I hope my approval goes as fast as that. My final appointment is Oct 7th so we will see! Good Luck!

My surgeon's offices charges $3700 but once you add up the cost for all the fills and visits after the surgery, a 24 hour on call counselor, a gym membership, personal trainer, nutritionist, etc....I would rather pay for it all up front to get it done with and have the access of all those services. The personal trainer and gym alone would cost that after a year. Just my opinion.