Hi, I wouldn't mind being a lapband buddy. I would have liked someone like that when I was going through all my thousand pre-op, post-op and bandster hell questions!

I got banded November, 2007, was self-pay, have lost 55 pounds, have PB'd, slimed, and had one unfill due to being too inflamed, so I am thoroughly initiated in bandster life!

I'm a SAHM, mid 30's, married.

I would like to follow Indiogirl's lead and say I'm here to help, I'm here to "pay it forward" to all the experienced bandsters who helped me through my fears and struggles, and most importantly to be non-judgemental. I'm faaaaar from being a perfect bandster myself!

Hello!

I am a newbie and would appreciate ANY help/tips/advice/words of support etc!!!

Please respond, I would love to here from you.

Hi Bimbabe. What would you like to know?

:redface:Well,

Not everything, at least not yet.

I will tell you where I am. I have a PPO BCBS of RI and they do cover bands. I have everything done and am awaiting the office to submit to the ins. company.

Which ins did you have, did you have any issues/problems with ins?

I went to a dietician as part of the whole pre-approval. I really am confused about what I can eat. She really had the plan directed for the Roux-en-Y folks. So after banding, I will really need your help.

I am just so nervous and would appreciate any and all advise.

I didn't have insurance - self pay the whole way, but I have absolutely no regrets. I'd pay for it again if I had to.

About the eating Gosh, I can't even remember what I ate before surgery - I think it was a liquid diet?? Let me know what she told you.

After surgery it's pretty simple. Most doctors follow the plan below, but yours may have a different plan. Follow whatever YOUR doctor tells you - don't compare with other people, it's really important to listen to your doctor. Everyone's doctor has varying times to be on the different food stages.

The first few weeks after surgery are liquids, and don't worry you will not die on liquids! I know it's hard to believe that you can survive on so little, but really you can! Liquids are things like Protein shakes, chicken broth, juice - anything that has no "particles" in it. Then for a few weeks you can add mushy things. Basically anything you can process in a food processor (well, maybe not hard things like meat though). Then after that you can eat soft food for a few weeks. Then it's back to eating regular food, except you have to really chew it to a pulp. One great tip I got off of here was when you reach this stage, think pencil-eraser amounts, and chew until it's liquid.

It's very, very, very important not to skip stages because you are healing. You'll think you can skip stages, you'll read of other people skipping stages (heck, I think I even went to solids before I should have), but DON'T skip stages. The longer you let your tummy heal, the better shape it will be in in the long term. I've heard people say that the reason you need to do this is so that the band "settles" in place and you're less likely to slip later down the road.

Some people have restriction right away and some people need months' worth of fills before they feel the tightness when they swallow their food - but that's getting ahead of ourselves!

Let me know if you have other concerns. This is kinda fun!

Yes, I agree that it is important to follow the food plan.

She gave us a formula to follow which tells us how much protien we need to have daily. It sounds like the Protein intake is crucial. I just am concerned about the hunger pangs? Any of that for you?

If so, how did you handle that?

My concern is that if I feel hungry, I may overeat just to get rid of that feeling. And I know that could be dangerous! My understanding is that when the band is placed, the MD does not fill at that time, you have to go in later for that.

I have a long way to go, I need to loose 115lbs!!

Thanks for responding, this is very helpful.

Usually your band is unfilled or slightly filled at the time of surgery. After surgery you probably won't be hungry for a week or so while you get over surgery. Then comes a bit of a tough part.

Then you enter what's known as bandster hell. You probably will be hungry. Some people are lucky and never need a feel, they feel full from the beginning, but most people are hungry. This is when you just have to knuckle down and admit you're hungry and you can't do anything about it, period. What you can do is come here and complain about bandster hell. There are many posts about that topic!!

What helped me the most during this time was Protein shakes. They tended to fill me up the best and fulfilled the protein and Calcium requirements (since I used milk instead of Water with them). chicken broth also tended to fill me up quite well. And sip your water in between. Water fills you up too.

You are going to be a bit hungry, but it's only a short time in the scheme of things. It's going to take willpower but the results will be worth it. If you eat something you shouldn't, say you skip a step and eat solids when you should be on liquids, you may end up hurting your healing stomach.

I found this time wasn't as hard as later on, since I had a lot of willpower going into this. I mean, I just shelled out $18,000, had major surgery, of course I was going to do it the right way. Just look at it that way and that first month will fly by, really. Keep yourself busy and keep your mind off food and that's the best thing you can do for yourself. For example, that first month I was on this site probably every other hour!! I also read a lot and started taking walks later on.

You MUST follow your doc's rules about eating in this healing stage no matter how hungry you get - but it's really not THAT bad! You're not going to want to gnaw off your arm or anything like that! The worst part is just not knowing how you're going to feel. I mean, it's not like you've done this before! Once you've had surgery you won't want to screw up your band by eating wrong, trust me! You said you know how dangerous it is to eat wrong in this initial stage - that's a good thing! Some people are not scared to screw up their band, so they eat the wrong things, and then they do screw it up or have complications later on. It's good that you're worried. That means that you won't do the wrong thing! Don't worry, you'll be just fine.

Another thing that you'll hear on this site a lot is head hunger. That's probably a LOT of what you will feel after surgery, and that's probably what you're most scared of really. That means the hunger you think you feel, like hmm, I could eat a big mac or a chocolate or some cihps right about now (even though your stomach is not growling). It's when you feel that snacking feel come on. Try to discern between head hunger (snacky, peckish feeling) and real hunger (stomach growling, lightheadedness You'll be surprised how often your hunger is only head hunger. If you can do this before surgery you'll be that much more ahead of the game.

When are you getting your surgery btw?

Hi there-

I would like to know if you experienced gas in your stomach? I had my band on 2 days ago and my only pain really is the gas I feel after I try and drink/eat yogurt. If and when i can burp it out, I feel totally fine. Is this normal?

Yup, gas pain is normal. It should go away in a month or so.

What I meant to say was after surgery gas pains are normal. I didn't mean gas pain from one meal should go away in a month! It took me around 2 months before gas pains finally eased up to where there were no more.

Ah, got it. So for now I stay bloated, which isn't fun.

Thanks for the info. Congradulations on your weight loss!

Sherri

lindata-

My psych clearence just went thru yesterday, so they will most likely submit the paperwork next week...

I heard BCBS of RI gives an answer in 24 hours, so I am keeping my fingers crossed for the end of Sept.

I remember waiting after the psyc clearance and waiting....it seemed as if I'd never get this surgery done. I don't know what BCBS is, your insurance? I am sure everything will run smoothly, hang in there.

I've had my band on a whole 3 days and I was hungry yesterday. I had about a 1/4 cup of yougurt and I was actually full. And let me also just say that slim fast never tasted so good LOL

I've lost 8 lbs since last Friday. Whoo hoo I'm on my way!

Sherri-

BCBS is Blue cross Blue shield, my insurance. I just got a call from my md office and everything is in, she is going to get things together and send it all in, wish me luck!!:smile2:

OK good luck! Let me know what happens!

THANKS AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU!!!:biggrin2: