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Ai everyone. I am just stating my "journey ". I went to a seminar at Lenox Hill hospital in NYC. I had my first appointments with the nutritionist , the psychologist, Dr. Yatco and Carla, the insurance wiz Ii am in the process of getting the support letters with weight histories from 3 doctors , filling out the diary sheet, setting up appointments for a ugi and blod work. I am a NYC teacher and tea h summer school. We have 3 weeks off mid august to September. That is when I am hoping to do the surgery. We are only allowed 2 days off in the summer. What else will I need to get insurance approval and the date I want?

I know we all have them, but plateaus are hard to get through without advice and encouragement. So far I haven't had much problem with it - until NOW! Almost 3 weeks of no loss. I've been faithful and have been exercising. What are your thoughts on plateau. Need ENCOURAGEMENT!:thumbup:

Right after a fill I will drop 6-8 lbs the first week. Then for the next 3 weeks the scale tortures me by going up and down. Even with all this last month I managed to drop 11 lbs.

When I was on my six month diet I lost a grand total of 12 pounds. The first month, my NUT seemed a little annoyed that I had only lost three pounds in a month's time. But at the end of the six months she admitted to me that she was thrilled that I took it more seriously than most...LOL! I don't know about you, but I was really upset that I had to go through that in the first place. I had lost and then regained on more diets than I can even count. That was the whole reason I was going for the surgery in the first place. Obviously eat less and exercise more were not working for me. I know that insurance companies need to make sure you are truely committed to a change in lifestyle, but I seriously doubt that there are too many people that just wake up and suddenly notice they are fat and immediately run to surgery. Okay, my rant is over. I enjoyed a little good bye tour wtih food during the two months between my last NUT visit and my pre-op diet while waiting for insurance approval. I gained two pounds and then got really serious for my two week pre-op. I lost 15 and was fully ready for surgery. As predicted, I find it much easier and am much more motivated to stick with the plan now that I am sleeved!

Okay, hoping one of you guys can help me by sharing your expeirecnces with restriction and fills. I had my first fill three months ago and have lost about 5 pounds since (all in the first month after the fill). I do feel some restriction. Sometimes I PB, sometimes I'm very tight, and sometimes I'm very loose (like today when I ate a large order of chicken with cashew nuts and 10 fried wontons in a single sitting). But I rarely if ever have that "full" feeling 10 minutes past my meal. I'm thinking that I need a slight fill to keep the food in my pouch longer but I'm nervous because I know how tight I can get at times. What do you guys think?

Ahh - what a cutie! And a proud Mamma, too. My son is the same age as your daughter. He has homecoming next week. What a great time to be a mom - don't you think??

10/2/05 Ok, dont know if im pmsing or what but today and yesterday has not been a good day for this bandster. So much seems to be going on that im not focusing on what i should be doing. Am 8 weeks post op, had first fill 9/8 but dont feel too much restriction. Know I have lost, im down 3 sizes, my rings are really, really loose, others notice but I feel like im sliding down to bad habit land. Shoot today I had 3 med size slices of pizza and yesterday I had some cake and ice cream (father in laws birthday). Thought I have been eating the right things but some of it didnt feel right so when I went to a number of band sights for food Ive found I havent. I think my calories and volume is too much. Dont know what is the right fomula anymore. Have been recovering from a crudy cold for over a week which zaps my energy so havent exercized either. When I do eat I dont feel much of a restriction. Confused on whether I should get another fill. Theres a part of me that really thinks the 1.5 ccs wasnt enough. Sort of felt that way since I had it done. And my schedule on when to eat is off too. Ive been so on the positive and now I feel somewhat down. Hormones maybe? I just dont know. Boy what can I do to resolve some of these issues?? Where should I start? Is this normal when the newness of the band wears off? Ive had what i consider great NSV's but I so afraid Im gonna blow it!!!!!! Micki

Don,t feel to bad as Im reading this I am eating alarge bowl of "kashi "Cereal that is high in Protein Fiber with a hand full fruit & nut trail mix.....SO IF YOUR GOING TO CHEAT EAT(HEALTHY) I just started to lose weight again ,and I did this Thats life! I just read in the mens journal that you should cheat one time a week? Idid. well good luck you can win this battle. Its all a mind game! well have to go burn off some of these calories..JohnQ (SOME PEOPLES ADDICTION IS FOOD!) THERE ONLY WAY OF DEALING WITH STRESS IS food.

If I could, I would be dancing in the streets of my neighborhood! (it's pouring rain with thunder and lightning) screaming "yea for me yea for me"!! I just learned that my insurance co. UHC, approved me after less than a week of having my paperwork. My surgeon's office did everything! I have a date of November 10th...exactly one month after my 42 birthday. What more could I ever ask for??? I am so excited, thrilled, scared and blessed....all at the same time. Here I am, on the road back to the me I use to be...just older and wiser! Anne

1. What was your pre-op diet? my doctor did not require a pre-op diet. 2. What was your post op diet? Liquids for how long? Post-op full liquids for 3 weeks, soft/mushies for 4 weeks then on to regular food. 3. When do you get a fill? I am scheduled for my first fill at 7 weeks 4. How much does it hold? That depends on which band you are fitted with. Mine will hold a total of 4cc of saline. 5. What happens if it slips? I believe the current treatment for slips is to unfill the band and see if it resolves on its own. If not it would require an additional surgery to reposition the band. 6. How commons are slips? I believe that current statistics show the chance of slippage at under 5%. 7. How do you determine if you need a fill? My doctor has a preset schedule but normally if you are not losing 1-2 lbs per week and are hungry in less than 3-4 hours when eating as recomended then you need a fill. 8. How do you determine if you need to unfill? If you are unable to keep down solid protiens and in the severe case liquids then you might be to tight and need to have some fill removed 9. What happens if your port flips? From what I have heard on the board port flips are corrected easily under local anesthesia. Hope this helps,

I called DR Bauman's and informed them I'd like to pursue the band instead of the RNY. They told me I had to come again. I just was there last week. THey told me to finish up preop and they would submit the paper work to UHC. IT was my understanding they do a preapproval process. Before the big approval. I'm anxious and don't think I can wait 30-45 days. Jennifer

I don't know if you guys remember me or not, but I posted about my port problems about a week ago.Thank you for all of your wonderful responses. Just an update (and short re cap) and throwing myself a little pitty party. I'm VERY sad and feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I'll be 4 weeks post op tomorrow (Wed) and from day 7 on I've had problems with my port incision. I woke up day 7 with blood soaked through my pj's. Basically,my incision had gotten infected and the fluid was finding the easiest way out. The Dr. opened it up on day 8 so that fluid could have a place to drain (can you say ouch!!) I've been packing my 'wound' now (it started out about 3-4 inches long and maybe a couple inches deep when he first cut it open) for almost 3 weeks 2 times/day. I've been in pain pretty much the whole time (not the wound itself, but an area about 2-3 inches wide all around my incision), although the last 3 days I've felt relatively great, and was very hopeful that maybe I had turned the corner. I went in today and the Dr. pushed around on my stomach and pus started coming out. He said that I should be well past the infected stage now and just healing, but I'm obviously not. A little bit of good news though, I guess he can give me a fill during surgery Friday and then cap the end of the tube. I'm a little nervous about this b/c if it's too tight I can't have an unfill without surgery as I won't have a port for a while. I trust him, and hope that he can find the right fill level for me. He's going to have me use a wound vac which he said will help me heal faster than just packing my new wound. I've never used one before, and don't know what I'm in for, if anyone has any experience with this I would REALLY appreciate you sharing it with me. After this wound is healed, I'll have surgery to implant a new port. He said he hopes to have everything healed and me with a new port by Christmas. Seems SO far away, but I will do what I have to do. I don't mean to discourage any of you pre ops. There's just a limited audience that has any idea what I'm talking about IRL, so you guys get to hear it. Any advice or similar experiences would very much be appreciated. Thanks again. Erin

Ok, I saw the doc and he said he had to poke a hole w/ his finger to get the port in place and the hole is now filling up with fluid and it will just be swollen and sore for a few weeks but not to worry. It sucks though b/c it hurts like a B*TCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

i feel like crap right now. i feel i dont even have the surgery done, i feel like a failure and dont know why. im up and down with emotions about this dang surgery. i feel like im going to fail at this like every other diet attempt. i am at work and i feel like screaming. i just dont feel like im losing. i expected not to have a loss this week because last week i lost 4lbs and my dr said it will be up and down it frustrates me that i dont see a loss of weight this week. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Hi I am almost 3 weeks post surgery and I lost about 20 lbs in the first 2 weeks but now that I am eating I have gained about 4 lbs back. Is this normal or should I not have gained at all? Thanks Rosie

Well, I don't know how much I weigh--have been camping for three days (as opposed to weighing myself at least 5 times a day when I am home)--so I know what the number is in a general way (I know, I know, I shouldn't weigh myself like that but I can't stop it)...... So we go camping--it's me, hubby and DS age 6. We have a pop up camper, a big honking canoe and all the stuff you have to lug along with you to "camp". We had never been to this park--but it looked pretty so we went. All weekend we were on the go--Lugged that canoe down to the lake, hopped in, paddled all over the place--all stuff I would NEVER have tried when I was pre-band--and it was soo fun! I can barely lift my arms over my head today, but what the heck, my shirt buttons up the front! ha ha After we were done canoeing--we lugged that sucker back to the campsite, had lunch and then went on a two mile hike that meandered in and amongst some pretty spectacular waterfalls and scenery. It was up and down a million steps and hills--I would have been sweating and breathing like a maniac before, but it was a breeze for me! (well not a breeze, but very DO-able!). today I am sore, but so happy and proud of myself! My biggest NSV this week has been only ONE tiny PB--no more of the daily stuff! (that was another thread you might have seen last week). I couldn't wait to get home and tell you all about this--

Well, I've Finally Finished With All My Pre-ops And I Finally Got A Date For My Surgery (9-19-05). Now The Wait Is On My Insurance Approval, Hopefully I Won't Be Denied. I'd Hate To Have To Wait Any Longer For This Surgery Cause I Am So Anxious To Have It Done And Be Part Of Lapband Gang. Does Anyone Have Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield? If So, Please Let Me Know If They Are Easy To Approve For Lap Band Surgery. My Surgeon, Dr. Chaudry, Says He Believes It Won't Be A Problem With Insurance And That I Should Have A Reply Within A Week From Them, But Just The Waiting Is So Stressful. Anyway, If Anyone Has Any Feedback On Empire B/c B/s, Please Advise Me. Thanks

I was throwing up coffee ground material several weeks ago. But since my deflation last week I have not thrown up anything. Yes, I told my doctor that plus the fact I could not keep anything down is why he deflated me. I am feeling much better, I guess I will just have to wait and see. I am going back to him in 2 weeks. Thanks

My family doctor scares me lol (she's a great doctor, but very opinionated), so I waited til she was away on holidays to ask for a referral to a surgeon and her associate gave it to me gladly. After the surgery, when I went for a check up with my family doc, she had seen the note in my chart and commented on my weightloss. Much to my surprise, she was really excited for me and was glad to have a good surgeon to refer future patients to for lap banding. I've got to ask her next week for a referral to a plastic surgeon (for tummy tuck/boob lift), so I'm interested to see her reaction to that. But I'm not scared this time heh.

I missed the second half :/ myband, I only barely got a look at the theatre at the Avenue. They wheeled me in and I remember thinking, "OMG what am I doing?!?" and wanting to run out of there lol. All I remember was that it looked too white. In less than two minutes, I was out cold. The one thing I would be uncomfortable with, in regards to going overseas for surgery, is not meeting the surgeon beforehand. Before banding, I went to three different ones for consult, til I found the one I felt most comfortable with. If I went overseas, I wouldn't have that option.

I haven't been here long enough to know what your full story is, but I do recall you were having so really bad breathing problems at one point, quite serious as I remember. So the mere fact that you can walk and take a dance class and got to school full time and work and still not be below the 20 mark is pretty amazing to me.Those tests don't take into account any kind of illness or disability you may have been suffering from or are recovering from. Those are really important variables that need to be taken into account in order to be accurate. I'm not say you're ready to run a marathon yet, but you sure as heck don't sound as if you should be that low on the scale. BTW, I was reading one of your old posts from a while back and happened across the information on your hubby's movie. I went right into Amazon and ordered it, should be here early next week. I can't wait to get it, it really sounds interesting. I'll let you know what I think after I have watched it. Thanks for letting us know about it. Cindy

I read posts here quite often and almost always, without fail, I see the words "I feel like a failure" in a thread. Let's stop this self-destructive behavior RIGHT NOW! Let's band together (no pun intended) and tell whatever friggin demon lives in our heads to go to hell! Despite whatever binging or poor eating habits we may have (and we ALL have them or we wouldn't be here) this thought process just CAN'T be good. I can only imagine that thinking you're a failure causes you to ACT like a failure. If we think it, we make it happen. So, let's choose to change our bad habits, not look back on the bad things we think we've done, and look to to the future! I've made horribly bad choices this past week but I'm CHOOSING not to feel bad about it. I can only re-commit myself and move onward. So how about it?

I had the band on 3 weeks ago and all of a sudden the weight seems to have stopped coming off . did I just hit a phase will it last long . I am going good with eating and exercise . is this normal ?? any advice ? thanks ...

I just sent this to a friend and I thought you guys might be able to give me some independent analysis. I’m so busy worrying about all this, I don’t know if I’m seeing this clearly. I know this is long, but any thoughts/ideas/feedback would be welcome. Thanks all, SJ I’m still pondering the whole lap-band surgery thing. I’ve decided I’m definitely going to do it. The problem is, I have a few options and I don’t know what to do. I’m pretty miserable in my current state so I want to do it now now now, but if I could be patient, it really would be better for me. Option 1: HMO Pros: everything (except $500) would be covered – pre-appointments, surgery, anesthesia, hospital, and after care and I’d have it done at UCLA which is one of the best places in the country to do this and is 15 minutes from home. Well…20 minutes in LA traffic. They also have all kinds of support groups and great after care. Cons: I have to be on a medically supervised diet for SIX months. That seems like forever. And I would spend the whole time being mental because I actually need to GAIN about ten pounds to qualify. I can’t imagine anything as crazy-making as trying to diet and gain weight at the same time. Anyway, after all that, only then can I apply and be evaluated. It could take up to three weeks for them to process my paperwork, plus there are classes to attend and appointments with the program manager, the surgeon, the nutritionist, and the shrink. Basically, this whole process could be 8 months. That’s JUNE for pity’s sake. I could wait 3 months. I could probably even wait 6 months. But eight? That’s practically a whole year! And in the meantime, I’d have to focus on not losing weight, so I’d be exactly as I am for almost a year. Option 2: PPO Pros: I set up a consultation for next week and maybe have the surgery before the end of the year. They could very well deny me if they use the same standards as the HMO, but they could approve too. I’d have it done Cedars-Sinai, which is also a great place – it’s one of the first places in the US where the lap-band surgery was done. It’s where Sharon osbourne had her’s done (although they really shouldn’t have done it because she’s bulimic) Cons: It’ll be about $5000 out of pocket, which sucks, but it’s a for good cause. I might have to pay for after care as well and that could add up. I don’t have all the details. I’m expecting a decent-sized tax return next year, so that would help a little. Option 3: Pick my own doctor Pros: : no waiting time. I could probably call today and have it done within a month. Cons: $$$$$$! Somewhere in the neighborhood of $18K, plus an extra $150 for follow up office visits and fills Option 4: Mexico! Pros: : There are a couple of reputable places down there where I could have it done. I’ve been visiting an online forum so I have an idea of what these places are like. I’d do a consult over the phone and I could be in surgery next week if I wanted to. The other advantage is they’ve been doing lap-band in Mexico for 10 years, whereas it was only approved a few years ago in the U.S. Cons: It’s Mexico. I’m being prejudiced, I know, but there is something that sounds really sketchy about going to Tijuana for surgery. They don’t have the same medical standards or legal recourse. If something goes wrong, I’m screwed. Like, if I get an infection, I have to keep going back down there for aftercare, etc. And if something major goes wrong, I don’t think my insurance would cover it beyond the usual emergency room stuff. Plus, I’d have to find a doctor in the US to do my fills and that’s another expense. $10,000 out of pocket – it’s way cheaper than in the US, but I’ve only just recovered financially from the whole BBM fiasco (those bastards) and spending that kind of money on the surgery would mean a major delay in my home-buying plans. [bBM was a personal training program that ripped me off for $5,000. I hate them with the white-hot passion of a thousand suns.] What to do, what to do. I wish somebody would just give me $20,000. Maybe I can raise some money online…

It would be in the Stonecrest Ballentyne area, which is the Rea Rd exit off of 485. Most likely it would be every 2-3 weeks. I have to check with Debbie on that it maybe only once a month. She told me she would keep the cost down around 15-20 a session. I can let you know next week sometime the exact details.