January 2011 Bandsters !!!

[nallygirl 4]

After 6 months I finally had my last nutrition class today so it looks like now the waiting game begins and I'm just hoping and praying for an insurance approval!! They said it could take as long as 4 weeks which kinda bums me out but I know a lot of people who have been approved much quicker. Hopefully I'll get an approval soon and can be well on my way to becoming a January bandster with you all!!

Welcome to all the new people and good luck with your surgery!!

[Bebrie 4]

HI everyone! Well, I did it! Had my surgery yesterday! I was starting to get really nervous the day before the surgery. I kept asking myself, "is this really what I want to do"? I happened to stumble on some YouTube videos of people who have documented their lap band journey and I became so encouraged and excited! Check out BandedWendy on Youtube - she documented from her pre-op diet to reaching and maintaining her weight. There were lots of others on there who also shared their stories and gave excellent tips and advice. I think I will make this a habit to review these videos throughout my journey. I finally feel like I can do this and finally lose and keep the weight off.

So, you probably want to know how the surgery went. I had to go into the centre 1 hour prior to my surgery where they weighed me, took my vitals, had me change into a gown, and started an IV. Everybody was so excellent and everything happened so fast that I didn't have a lot of time to be scared or anxious. They had me walk to the surgery room and as soon as I walked in there I started to panic. They had me lay on the bed and within seconds they told me that they were going to give me some oxygen and I remember trying to stay awake as long as possible so that there was no mistake that I was really out. lol...I remember thinking that I am not going to fall asleep and the next thing I remember I was in the recovery room. The surgery couldn't have went better in my opinion. There was very little time to start talking myself out of it or build up any further fear - it was quick and best of all no pain what so ever. But as eoon as I woke up, I felt burning on my stomach and was in pain. All I can tell you is the the pain was bearable and it got better as time passed and even today I went out shopping a bit. I can't believe how quickly I am healing! I have been through the hardest part and am excited to start working on my health. Something BandedWendy shared on one of her videos was that the band only looks after 40% of the weight loss and you must look after the other 60% through good choices and exercise. I am ready to do this and want to encourage other to continue on their journey - we can do this and finally end our obesity!

[amybethy 0]

End of day 3 pre-op and feeling ok not really hungry as in starving ever no headachs but want to chew and will admit have had a few finger tips of ranch dressing and I just ate a small peice of cheese.< /p>

[amybethy 0]

End of day 3 pre-op and feeling ok not really hungry as in starving ever no headachs but want to chew and will admit have had a few finger tips of ranch dressing and I just ate a small peice of cheese.< /p>

[BlakeneyGirl 0]

I am getting banded on 1-14-11 !!

[thu1976355 0]

My preop clearance took 9 mos then my insurance didnt approve it. Fortunately they overturned it and I had surgery Monday. Good luck.

I can imagine how disappointing a 6 month wait would be but fortunately for you it's flown by!! I'm pretty much half way thru my testing and i still have 3 months left - i just jumped on that testing to just get it done - i hate things like that looming over me!!!! I'm so excited too!!!! I know it's drastic but it's what I need!!! Have you been approved yet? My insurance doesn't approve till the final nutrition class and psych appt

[nallygirl 4]

Ugh! So annoyed right now!! My surgeon's office just called me to say they need me to come in for a one on one with their nutritionist before they can submit my paperwork for insurance approval. They don't have any appointments until Jan 17th!!! Seeing as how I've been coming in every month for 6 months to do these nutrition classes I'm just so frustrated they waited until NOW to tell me this. They also need a medical clearance from my PCP however my PCP wants me to get all my pre-op testing done first before they will write my clearance. So it looks like with all this crap I won't be a January bandster after all. There is no way I can get all this done, get the insurance approval and do a 2 week pre-op diet before the end of the month. I know this isn't a big deal, I'm just so frustrated by this whole process with insurance and I guess I just needed to vent.

So good luck to all of you January bandsters!! See you in February...hopefully!!

[MaybeBanding26 5]

I'm on day 7 of the pre op diet (7 more days to go); first few days were awful for me...lots of cravings and head hunger. As of today I'm finding I don't want to eat and definately have not met my Proteins or calories for the day. I'm not hungry and the thing I'm craving (a burger) I can't have, so my brain is saying "what's the point"? On a happy note, I've lost about 5lbs already and it's my TOM to boot so who knows how much weight I'll lose when all is said and done. If you slip up don't beat yourself up, but don't throw in the towel, either. It's a big transition but I feel confident in saying it will all be worth it in the end.

congrats on your loss!! im on day three and i woke up with a horrendous headache! im feeling better now and also feeling lighter too....i dont weigh, so i dont know if ive lost pounds. and it will most certainly be worth it!

my first couple of days on the liquid diet were away from home at a conference and my my, was that difficult! on the last day, we had a meeting...with pizza!

oy!

Txsnow, I had the shakes and headaches too for the first couple days. When it would get bad I would drink a cup of coffee with a little bit of real sugar, truvia, and Protein Powder. I think my shakes were carb and sugar withdraw so this made it a bit easier.

i definitely have to admit that ive been using coffee as an appetite suppresant. its been working really well too! i put in skim milk and some artificial sweetener and drink 'er down! today was my first headache.

Ugh! So annoyed right now!! My surgeon's office just called me to say they need me to come in for a one on one with their nutritionist before they can submit my paperwork for insurance approval. They don't have any appointments until Jan 17th!!! Seeing as how I've been coming in every month for 6 months to do these nutrition classes I'm just so frustrated they waited until NOW to tell me this. They also need a medical clearance from my PCP however my PCP wants me to get all my pre-op testing done first before they will write my clearance. So it looks like with all this crap I won't be a January bandster after all. There is no way I can get all this done, get the insurance approval and do a 2 week pre-op diet before the end of the month. I know this isn't a big deal, I'm just so frustrated by this whole process with insurance and I guess I just needed to vent.

So good luck to all of you January bandsters!! See you in February...hopefully!!

oh man! that super sucks!!! im sorry youre having to deal with all the drama and hoop jumping i'll keep my fingers crossed that you get what you need in february!

[melzie_99 22]

Surgery's Monday; got all my pre surgery lap work done and filled my pain/nausea meds yesterday. Fingers crossed all my labs come back normal! Apparently my stomach has shrunken during this diet as I'm finding it harder and harder to eat; as I write I'm sitting here staring at this 6oz cup of yogurt I mixed with 1 scoop Protein powder and I can't finish it. My dogs have been more than happy to finish food for me (lol). I'm just ready to get started on this journey and be a happier, healthier me.

[acs0618 0]

Ugh! So annoyed right now!! My surgeon's office just called me to say they need me to come in for a one on one with their nutritionist before they can submit my paperwork for insurance approval. They don't have any appointments until Jan 17th!!! Seeing as how I've been coming in every month for 6 months to do these nutrition classes I'm just so frustrated they waited until NOW to tell me this. They also need a medical clearance from my PCP however my PCP wants me to get all my pre-op testing done first before they will write my clearance. So it looks like with all this crap I won't be a January bandster after all. There is no way I can get all this done, get the insurance approval and do a 2 week pre-op diet before the end of the month. I know this isn't a big deal, I'm just so frustrated by this whole process with insurance and I guess I just needed to vent.

So good luck to all of you January bandsters!! See you in February...hopefully!!

Hi There! I am sorry you are having to go through all this. I know how anxious I was - you have to rely on a lot of people to do their job and do it well...which always isn't the case. My advice to you would be to maybe contact you surgeon's office and express how eager you are to get this thing done and see if there is anything they can do to push it along - they might be able to call the nutritionist and get you an earlier appointment.

Good luck and if you have to wait until Feb - that is still less than a month away!

Amanda

Follow my journey:

http://thebandontherun.blogspot.com/

[Shells20 1]

Congrats on getting through everything! How was it coming home? Any problems with the pain? How are you doing now? Are you able to eat a little more or are you on a liquid diet still?

I am still on the shakes. The more I have the less I like them. I only have about 5 days left of them.

Congrats again!

HI everyone! Well, I did it! Had my surgery yesterday! I was starting to get really nervous the day before the surgery. I kept asking myself, "is this really what I want to do"? I happened to stumble on some YouTube videos of people who have documented their lap band journey and I became so encouraged and excited! Check out BandedWendy on Youtube - she documented from her pre-op diet to reaching and maintaining her weight. There were lots of others on there who also shared their stories and gave excellent tips and advice. I think I will make this a habit to review these videos throughout my journey. I finally feel like I can do this and finally lose and keep the weight off.

So, you probably want to know how the surgery went. I had to go into the centre 1 hour prior to my surgery where they weighed me, took my vitals, had me change into a gown, and started an IV. Everybody was so excellent and everything happened so fast that I didn't have a lot of time to be scared or anxious. They had me walk to the surgery room and as soon as I walked in there I started to panic. They had me lay on the bed and within seconds they told me that they were going to give me some oxygen and I remember trying to stay awake as long as possible so that there was no mistake that I was really out. lol...I remember thinking that I am not going to fall asleep and the next thing I remember I was in the recovery room. The surgery couldn't have went better in my opinion. There was very little time to start talking myself out of it or build up any further fear - it was quick and best of all no pain what so ever. But as eoon as I woke up, I felt burning on my stomach and was in pain. All I can tell you is the the pain was bearable and it got better as time passed and even today I went out shopping a bit. I can't believe how quickly I am healing! I have been through the hardest part and am excited to start working on my health. Something BandedWendy shared on one of her videos was that the band only looks after 40% of the weight loss and you must look after the other 60% through good choices and exercise. I am ready to do this and want to encourage other to continue on their journey - we can do this and finally end our obesity!

[arks 0]

I was approved today, getting banded on Jan 12th!

[BlairE 1]

CONGRATULATIONS ARKS...... I know you must be excited. I am scheduled to be banded on the 28th but I don't think its really hit me yet that its really going to happen. One thing that kept going through my mind over the holidays was this is the last year I will be fat in our family pics.... next Christmas is going to be the best one ever as far as i am concerned. Let us know how it goes for you....

[Metime 2]

Hmm, so I found out yesterday that while they scheduled my appointment I wasn't actually approved by the insurance yet. They were waiting on my psych appt which was yesterday. Now they can submit this to the insurance. The psych appt was ....interesting. Went through my whole childhood history, which makes me nervous, then he makes comments like "Hmm, you haven't really had much stability in your life" Oh dear, is that going to be my downfall? Other comments like "Hmm, looks like you feel that learning is not an important thing for you" Really?! I loved school growing up, I loved learning new things. I still do. Oh dear again. So I'm starting to think of all my arguments on why I need this surgery. All the reasons he wants to hear so that he will give me the green light. I mean this is the last appt I had before they submit paperwork for approval!! then he says "Hmm, you are a VERY good candidate for surgery. You learned very early that if you want something done, you must do it yourself. You know how to work hard" I'm thinking Ok, how am I going to counter that....wait...what?!? Oh he said I'm GOOD!! Yay! So excited, had to sit on my hands so I woudn't force a handshake and run for the door before he changed his mind.

Now is the waiting game. Luckily I have BCBS and they are easy so my fingers are crossed!

[Renee1003 2]

I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT!!! i was approved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just found out today and I'm just shocked!!!!!!

i was so surprised cause although i Have comorbidities and I just don't usually have anything come easily, everything is always a fight and a battle so I was preparing for yet another fight.

I start my pre-op diet Tuesday and I'm just beside myself - so happy!!

2011 will be my year - I'm bound and determined!