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I wonder if this place only ever gives 1.2 ccs or less bc I once again got 1.2 cc. Oh well. I guess I will just stick it out. I got a different lady this time and she let me schedule for 2 wks out this time. So, if I have no restriction it is not too long before I go back. Hopefully I will feel something...

Hi there, I had my band done in May 2007. I weighed 205 and am 5'2. I was turned down from BC/BS but had it done anyway. I don't regret it at all. I had some other physical problems but for me I came to the decision because of all the emotional ups and downs. Good Luck to you! Michelle

Ewwwww - a tub of butter!!! Gross! Wasa - I'm fed-exing you a birthday cake or two. Fav flavor(s)? Please don't forget the 1M calorie Burger King bkfst monstrosity with 3 large orange juices! That would be tasty in a blender! (I'm pre-surgery so unfortunately I can still eat a lot. Moo)

For some reason (I've got to think on it), I've been "hungry" all day; in quotes bc it's not really hunger, but "wanting to eat". Being able to put a label on and identify each was a big, fat epiphany for me. Clearly I'm not in need of food bc I've eaten at the same times and in the same amounts that I have been for the past 2 months. I'm dancing with my demons today. But you know what? I'M LEADING! I haven't given in. And for that tiny miracle, I am grateful and proud.

Ask. I had read all these warnings on here so I asked and they said sure no problem. The pulse ox worked and they didn't need to check my toenails bc I had the pulse ox

I almost reached that weight and I realize how fortunate I was to have a second chance. BMi is based on height and weight and at 5'6 488lbs my BMI was 78.8 the day I walked in and met my Surgeon. He told me if I could lose 5% of my weight and put the work in and if insurance approves it he would give me a tool to use to help turn my life around. It is unfortunate help is not easily as accessible for others as it was for me. I think all insurance companies should cover bariatrics but I agree with educational side of it. Blindly approving people for it without proper education would be a huge mistake. Fear of death is a huge motivator it is just unfortunate it came to that but it also taught me a life long lesson that there is no "fix" for obesity and it will forever be work in progress until the final day of my life. Edit: Not a complaint but rather an observation....I have lost 325+ pounds and I am still in the overweight category. I am sure if I had all the loose skin removed I would be in the norm but let's face it those BMI charts are a joke. My Surgeon even told me they're BS.

I promise never to **** on you. LOL That said....I don't blow a lot of sunshine up anyone's skirt....who asks for my honest opinion. It's nothing against you that I can't stand the guy. Opinions will vary. It's totally ok if they do. One of my bigger pet peeves in life.....are health professionals who don't get the required education for accreditation, who don't do peer reviewed continuing education....who declare themselves "experts". Charisma and confidence are NOT intelligence or competence. I think these kinds of doctors are dangerous and reckless. Better suited for reality TV than medicine. I'm not saying "Dr. V" is wrong about everything...and it's totally ok if you like him and his stuff makes sense to you. I know people who worship him. I just think people need to be aware that he doesn't go the extra mile professionally....and that no matter how charismatic and certain you are of your own BS....if you can't prove it at the end of the day in a peer reviewed setting, if you are not interested in listening to other experts in your field, and if you're not open to learning from others, or if you're not interested in being present as new information emerges, or discussing new developments with others in your field.......how smart can you be?

Veronica - My doc said this isn't normal and I don't hear alot of others (I'm in a few groups) going through this. They all say they have great energy. But you would think it would make more sense given what we can eat now. But it is just so odd to me to feel so good but be this tired. Ginger - my doc tested my B12 and D and both were good - I was actually getting too much B12 bc I read my sub lingual bottle incorrectly.

"A few days later, there was a lady who came that brought 3 family members with her, and Omar was run into the ground" (followed by a list of everything Omar was doing, which looked as of it was all BC of the lady with the extra ppl) Like I said, it was the WAY she worded this. It hurt that woman's feelings. And instead of anyone being nice to her she got run off. Which is what too many ppl on this forum do. By the woman's post u could tell she was upset and offended and then instead of a real apology ppl kept dumping on her about how she was taking it wrong. Right then someone could have explained that sunny was not just referring to her, but to everyone etc. but like always it didn't happen.

I'm with the Bureau of Prisons I am getting banded tomarrow very excited. I had my Dept. head make the comment about being fit for duty, I have 11 years with the BOP and 20 with the Feds so I got nervous kind. I have several other non related health issues Psoriatic Arthritis and Periferal Neuropathy which I hope will feel better.

I would be considered a newbie here, but I'd like to give some hope to others that have BCBS of California.... Im 26, 5'4, 232lbs...went to my first seminar on Dec. 3, 2005 after my job notified us that our insurance would be changing as of JAN 1...much to my surprise to a United HC plan that WOULD NOT cover the lap band surgery. So here it was i week into dec. and i had to get things rolling if i wanted any chance at being slim in the new year! At the seminar I was told that BC of Cali was mandated and that they HAD to cover the surgery; all i needed was a psch consult, and 1 visit with the dietician. So I had my psych eval on 12/8 and met with the dietician on 12/12. When I called the surgeon's office, they told me they mailed my letter of medical necessity on 12/7. I was thinking, WHAT??!! I couldnt believe they snail-mailed something so important. But there was still hope.... After hanging up with them, I got on the phone to BC of California pre-cert dept and asked them what their approval process was and if it was possible for the doctor's office to just fax everything over. Answer: YES. The rep gave me the fax # and i called back to the doctor's office and gave them the fax so that they could fax ALL of my papers to BC of California. I also had the doctor's office fax ME the confirmation that they faxed it to the insurance, so I would have something to go on when checking back with the insurance company everyday. So, all of my data was in the BC system on 12/19 and every rep that I spoke to told me that they have 30 days to make a decision. Well here's the key....I told them that I didnt have 30 days, because I was already given a surgery date of 12/29 and that I needed it approved by then. And wouldn't you know, my surgery was approved on 12/21!!!! and yes I just had my surgery on 12/29 and am in the recovery/liquid diet phase, all in the course of 1 month. Hope this is helpful to someone else...

Howdy Folks, The saga continues... In case you're just tuning in, I have been denied and my appeal to Blue Cross has also been denied. Well, today I sent my packet off to the state of California Insurance Board for an independent medical review. Maybe I am just pissing in the wind, here, because my policy with Blue Cross changes as of January 1 - and I really don't know if there is a company exclusion being added or anything. Hopefully, the change in policy will only mean that I have to pay more than I would have before... But, if Miracles happen, maybe somebody at the State Insurance Board will have a heart, give a damn, and get right on it. If they review QUICKLY, I could still get in under the wire on the current policy, and only have to pay 20% - vs 30% next year. Everybody keep your fingers crossed. The package will be delivered on the wings of Fed-Ex tomorrow morning. Please note, I would have filed my request much sooner, but our friends at Blue Cross did not bother to mail the denial letter until 3-4 days after the verbal denial - and it did not arrive until after I left on my vacation. Have I mentioned how much I love BC/BS of California, lately? After Jan 1, I feel like I will have to start ALL over. :[ Everybody think good thoughts.

Diet coke may well have caused those ulcers, but carbonation itself cannot and will not do so. Ulcers in stomach lining from soda are largely from the corosive effects of the mass amounts of phosphoric acid in coke. Phosphoric acid is a triprotic strong acid, battery acid is sulfuric, a diprotic. That said, phosphoric acid is one of the few common acids even stronger than battery acid, and we all know how evil that stuff is. There's a reason that both Coca-cola and PepsiCo have special licenses from the feds to transport their syrups on public roads - they're so hazardous when undiluted that they require hazmat if any of the tanker trucks carrying them spill. The carbonation, however, is not itself the cause of the ulceration. Don't make the mistake of drinking flat soda to avoid the 'evils' of carbonation or so religiously avoiding carbonation that you go thirsty on a hot summer day when sparkling Water is your only option.

Hello fellow Calgary poster. What you described is exactly the diet I was given, except replace Ensure with Glucerna. This is the standard AHCIP recommendations. No dietitian in the WM program will deviate. They face serious consequences advising anything else like losing their license and effectively making RD education (4-6 year degrees) worthless. A lot of people here don't understand why such a long diet and to be honest it confuses me as well. I'm sure it will confuse them even moreso when I explain my situation too. I dunno if Glucerna is even available in the US.. I lived there for 27'ish years before moving to Canada and never even bothered with diet shakes/meal replacements. Nonetheless, it's been the most disgusting thing ever. I am supposed to be on 5-6 Glucerna a day. I had a really hard time even swallowing any kind of it, I'd just regurgitate it while trying to drink. I can manage the chocolate but it has to touch the back of my tongue first and go down -- cannot touch the front of my tongue or else I'll throw the stuff back up. My wife even jokingly suggested a feeding tube. I had a hard adjustment, having only 1-2 Glucerna a day, my dietitian freaked out after Day 2 when we talked and verbally threatened to derail the surgery if I didn't comply with her diet. I told her I'd just wind up lying to her then if I can't be honest without her going crazy. Being fed up with this I did a ton of research on the diet, shrinking liver, and others who had it done with staged fibrosis of the liver plus type 2 diabetes. I noted wildly differing opinions, but there were consistencies with meat. So, within a week, I was eating 2 string cheeses a day (0 carbs), 1-2 Glucerna (as I could keep down), broth drained from regular chicken noodle soup, and now my wife has made me home made lean ground beef meatballs, substituting bread crumbs with almond meal.. no carbs. I only eat a couple maybe once or twice a day, but it's more than enough. Then I mix Beneprotein into the broth to make sure I'm exceeding my protein goals. A month into this diet I've had my hBA1c done, vast improvements to my blood sugar (maxed at 7.9 a year ago, 5.7 now and will likely be well under that with my next done in June), just had a fibroscan and liver function tests last week during hepatologist appointment all showing great improvements to liver function, down to normal, inflammation gone.. liver softened 50% since the diet started. I've lost over 60 pounds since starting the pre-op (most of that in the first 3 weeks), shrunk my liver, improved diabetes, etc.. all while ignoring the dietitian. Saw my surgeon who said I was doing fantastic, seeing him again in 2 weeks..just a few weeks before surgery, have no doubts he will be thrilled with my progress again not knowing I've done my own thing. It's not something I recommend, but if you truly understand the premise of this diet, I think it's not absurd to. 3 months liquid diet is what's absurd. Here's the kicker too.. yes, it uses that shoddy sugar substitute, yet 26 grams of carbs in every bottle of Glucerna. This is supposed to be for people who are diabetic? 6 a day? That's over 150g of carbs a day. Why??? 3 months of misery for something that doesn't even make sense. I think in essence it's punishing people who don't lose enough weight in the program before meeting the surgeon. I will make sure post-op they know how stupid that is. The fact that you can't even talk sense to them is ridiculous. Still, this is, much like the real world, a race to see how much you can bend the system to give you what you want, with the irrational goals of others having competing interest with whats best for you. Forcing me into Glucerna 6 times a day wouldn't have worked, and would have just caused me to be malnourished going into surgery because I'd still not be able to drink more than 1 or 2 in a day. All this lady would do is try and derail/postpone my surgery until I complied with the nonsensical diet. Yet I'm dumping weight and shrinking my liver while having far less carbs than they wanted, plus less calories. Because I have so much more energy I'm also on a proactive vitamin schedule, meaning going into surgery in fantastic shape.. meaning easier recovery post-op and easier job ahead of helping myself be malnourished. Now, post-op I will again listen to what my dietitian wants and will adjust things accordingly again. At least they aren't so anal at that stage. Being forced into this diet inadvertently helped me understand more about portion control too. I'd much rather have portion control and be shrinking my liver and dumping weight this way than be forced on that god awful Glucerna crap a half dozen times a day. Not to mention it's near $10 per case of 6 bottles, so $10 a day for 78 days.

More close minded BS

yea he said he didnt see the point of putting someone on a diet before weight loss surgery however I think its mostly bc I'm 18 and my insurance

I thinned my refried beans out with bone broth. As I progressed, I topped them with melted Trader Joe's lite cheese and a dollop of reduced fat Greek yogurt. Delicious [emoji39]. My (almost adult) niece agreed when I fed them to her after she had her tonsils out. Ah - and don't forget that hummus is also puréed beans, though I usually cut that with yogurt.

So glad to see you guys using this forum! The other night I posted on Atlanta Craigslist on the M4M section looking for other guys that have had WLS and some FU*#ER flagged It so it was deleted! All i was trying to do was find others that were gay and had WLS so I could find locals to talk to!! Pissed me off but anyway, I hate to hear your friends are not wanting you to lose a certain amount of weight bc u identify with the bear community, other communities, etc. . Honestly I've always been into the muscle bears anyway, just not other overweight guys, I've always liked thinner guys. As you all probably know I had my surgery 28 days ago today(4 weeks ago July 26th) and ive lost 26lbs as of Monday this week. Feeling better about myself already and I think it shows in my personality bc I seem to be getting more attention already, I'm actually on my way to Mississippi now to meet someone I've been talking to for almost 3 years who is the most amazingly sweet and Absolutely GORGEOUS guy!!! I myself have no problem not identifying as a bear anymore, I want to be thin! I want to feel comfortable walking around without a shirt, or getting completely naked and just strutting my stuff in front of other good looking men LOL...Bottom line no matter what, I'm me first, not a bear or anything else first, just me and that's most important, you all remember that! I hope this works out with this guy, we've both wanted each other for a while, We both thought the other wasn't interested after he stopped talking to me when my brother was really sick and before he passed. He stopped talking to me bc he knew I was stressed but I sure wish he had told me how he felt lol. Anyway, wish me luck! I'll post later to update y'all on how it's going.

You said at first that you were leaning towards the Sleeve, but your Dr recommended the DS. Then you said if it didn't work out you could go back for another WLS. I would strongly think hard on that. It isn't easy to get revisions approved and sometimes they can even do the surgery. Now I will try to explain why I feel this way. It might be a long but here goes....My hubby had the Lap Band for 13 years, they punctured the port and he had to go back to surgery. Then like I said 13 years out it malfunctioned. BTW he did lose 100#'s but he is a heavy big guy. Sept of 2013 he went in for a revision from the band to a RNY. When they got in there the band had eroded into his liver. There was too much bleeding and scar tissue so they backed out. No WLS for him. They removed the band and his gallbladder then told us in 3 months they would redo his WLS. NOT!! He developed abscesses and was deathly sick for 9 months 3 of them he doesn't remember. After he healed up we went back to the Surgeon but was turned away and called a problem child!! But he did get a reference to OREGON HEALTH AND UNIVERSITY in Portland, Oregon. Again, he was told to lose 25#'s and get his A1C down to a 7 or 8. (3 month blood sugars) he couldn't do both because if his A1C was down his weight was up, the other way around weight down BS up. So we went into debt and went to Juarez, Mexico. When they got in there his whole right side was solid scar tissue then again no RNY, they did the Sleeve. Now he has lost 60#'s but you know how we all say this Surgery saved our lives? Well, he has Cancer on his Kidney and was told that he couldn't have anything done until he loses 150#'s. He now still has 90#'s to go. The Sleeve just doesn't seem to have enough restriction. I know others have great results but it isn't happening for him. All of this and he might still lose his life!!! This is why I say it doesn't always happen to have more WLS. I would really think hard on what surgery I had and go for the one that will give you all of the results that you want and need!! Just my thoughts. Good Luck

Maggie....TLBC required me to have blood tests, ECG (or is it EKG? LOL) and a chest X-ray. All of this takes no time at all. There are a lot of threads (here on the Canuck section and also in the "general" & "support" sections) dealing with the "to tell or not to tell issue".....I recommend searching them out and you will get a wealth of responses/posts on it. I, too, chose VERY selectively who to tell. I told Mr Yoda (obviously) and my folks (who live in a land far far away....also known at BC). A friend of mine who also had it done (a month prior to me) also knows as well as two or three other friends who knew because they knew about hers and it just sort of "came up". I would probably still like it better if even all these people didn't know but the choice was basically taken out of my hands. Otherwise, I still keep it very private.....everyone has there own reasons for not saying much (if that is what they decide to do). I know others who don't care and tell anyone and everyone and they are ok with it.....to each his/her own (only you can know about your life and about your "circle" and the support (overt or covert) that you will get so only you can make the decision that is right for you). Just know that this is a common issue and there are many sides to it!

I believe most of us had a love/hate relationship with food prior to being banded. While we loved the food, we hated the fact that we obviously did not have a control over it that "others" did. And it led us to feelings of inadequacy. Banding, does allow you to focus on the other aspects of life, that before seemed to center around the food. At family get togethers, you get to spend more time with family as opposed to food! I say that as a joke, when I am eating with others, I seldom seriously notice a difference. I EAT the food I have differently, not to mention the TYPE of food I have. I will order the best steak on the menu, in the smallest size. There is no question---it WILL be enough. I enjoy the tastes and textures more---and pay more attention to what the actual food itself tastes like, not just the preparation method. Because when you have to fully CHEW something, you get to taste the food, not the breading, or the sauces it was cooked in, but the food itself. So you want it to be good! I take a bite, a small bite, and begin eating, I chew longer than I ever used to, I sit my fork down between bites. I do not even put the next bite on my fork until the first bite is swallowed. When you start doing that you notice how others shovel it in----just like we used to! I pay very close attention to my speed. And in the end, we are all finishing up at about the same time. The difference is, they are finishing because their plates are empty, and I am finishing, because I am full. I will take probably 3/4 of my meal home if not more. I thought like you did that would bother me, but instead, it has changed the love/hate relationship---to one I just love! I love my food still! I do, like I say really enjoy the different textures. Who knew a good steak could have almost a creamy texture as you eat it!!! Or a nice juicy shrimp---it may take 4-5 bites to finish that shrimp instead of just popping it in whole---but it tastes fantastic! You learn to appreciate the food itself. And when you are full, you know you have ate a good healthy meal, you have not overate, you have fed your body----not your emotions. There is never the disgust with yourself after a HUGE meal. There were times in the beginning, I missed the eating without thinking. Not worrying if it was good for me, or good with the band---but it becomes second nature, just as gorging ourselves did. Only now it is good habits I am developing---not the ones that were killing me. It is a different life---but a much better one in my opinion---I don't miss my old habits. Kat

Pink! You and i have the same day! Aug 21! I'm 5'5'. 51 yrs old. Doc wants me around 120 bcs i have two knee replacements. The lighter I am the longer they'll last. But I'll be passed out from shock like an earlier poster said. :-)

Hi there, This is my first time posting and I too have PCOS with the same BMI, 35.5 - 29 yrs old. Type 2 Diabetes also runs in my family . I contact my insurance company (empire blue cross bs) and they said the surgery would be covered if the doctor deemed it medically necessary, up to 85%. I was worried if I lost 5% of my weight for pre-op that I would no longer qualify, but I contacted the bariatric coordinator and she said that if my BMI goes below 35 before the surgery, I would still be covered by my insurance, since it's based off of your inital weight when you first see the bariatric specialist. I would definately call your insurance company . I am on yaz and 200mg spironolactone and have been gaining weight steadily. I haven't had a real period in 6 months since the weight has been creeping back on. I excersize regularly but I struggle with keeping weight off. I worry that if I want to have kids - what will happen to my body if stop taking the spironolactone. Plus, I'm sure that I am doing damage to my kidneys taking such a high dose day after day. Anyways, I have an evaluation appointment with a bariatric specialist and I know that PCOS is a definate comorbidity. I pray that getting off this excess weight will help keep the pcos in check. I think lapband will help. Also I like the idea of lapband bc it's not as permanent as actually changing the shape of your stomach by cutting it and sewing it back into a different shape.

I had my period day of surgery and it was over that day. Since then, I've just had spotty periods, but I'm on BC, so I assume that has a lot to do with their regularity.

Yes I feel the same my surgery is a week away and I'm nervous and excited! My family and a few close friends know. I'm fed scared of the changes after surgery but also excited bc it's a different lifestyle for our own good health. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App