It's fairly certain that I'll be having the surgery in the beginning of February, any one else out there making the biggest change in the shortest month?

hi all February bander's i'm getting banded on 10th feb and as its getting closer it seems to be the only thing i'm thinking of i'm even dreaming about it, i dont know if its nerves or excitement, well a bit of both i think :wink5: i haven't stocked up on anything really apart from multi vitamins and i will get a couple of good reads to take with me, i was told i only need to bring my dressing gown, slippers and a book on the day of my surgery, at the moment ive started today my 3 week pre op diet im on a fat free diet (no meat,pasta,rice,bread,nuts,pulses) any fruit,vegtables rice noodles with 0.5gm of fat per 100gm, i think i;ll cope ok with it only time will tell :ihih:

I don't know what to do at this point. I am scheduled for 2/23 banding. When I went for my initial appt with surgeon I was 250 - I am now 260 the girl at the office told me I need to weight 230 by surgery date for them to go through it - how can I lose 30 pounds in a month?I am so scared and nervous - I just keep eating - they want me to start my liquid diet 2/1 but that is not enough time.I told her the girl at the scheduling desk that I gained a little weight since my initital visit and she told me it goes by the weight of my first appointment? I want my liver to be fine and am going to try like hell to lose weight on the liquid diet, I just don't think it is realistic to lose 30 pounds by the time my surgery date is here?Please any advise on what I should do would be greatly appreciated. I guess I am stress eating which I have to learn to stop!!! Please help!!!!

so i've been on this pre-op for about 2 weeks now and i've lost over 5lbs (which is nothing to sneeze at, i know), but i'm getting worried that i won't lose the required weight in time for the surgery next month. 12 more pounds to go...

i don't have a gym membership (can't afford it), but i think i'll start wearing my pedometer everyday and try to increase my walking. maybe that will help?

Babes, sounds to me like you are doing great..5 pounds is fantastic you will get there. Keep walking and doing what you are doing.

Ok so on friday I got a call that they had completed my packet for insurance. They are submitting it for authorization. They said it will be about two weeks to get the auth. I hope it goes through!

Tomorrow night is my sleep study. I have to be there at 9pm and lights are out at 10pm. I am way nervous for that.

They said after my auth goes through they will give me a surgery date. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it gets approved!!!

Ok so on friday I got a call that they had completed my packet for insurance. They are submitting it for authorization. They said it will be about two weeks to get the auth. I hope it goes through!

Tomorrow night is my sleep study. I have to be there at 9pm and lights are out at 10pm. I am way nervous for that.

They said after my auth goes through they will give me a surgery date. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it gets approved!!!

What Insurance do you have? I have Aetna and my information was sent in on 12/30 and I received my approval by 1/3 - so it only took a few days, but I guess it depends on the insurance.Good luck. It is becoming very common for most insurnace carriers to approve this procedure as it can only help us and keep our medical costs low becuase we will be so much healthier.Lots of luck let us know when you get your response.

Ok so on friday I got a call that they had completed my packet for insurance. They are submitting it for authorization. They said it will be about two weeks to get the auth. I hope it goes through!

Tomorrow night is my sleep study. I have to be there at 9pm and lights are out at 10pm. I am way nervous for that.

They said after my auth goes through they will give me a surgery date. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it gets approved!!!

Also, the sleep study is such a weird experience. It took them about an hour just to hook me up to all the wires. But I fell sleep farily quickly as the cable in the room I was in was broken and they gave me the movie Sea Buscuit to watch which bored me to tears so I feel right asleep.Good luck to you.

Also, the sleep study is such a weird experience. It took them about an hour just to hook me up to all the wires. But I fell sleep farily quickly as the cable in the room I was in was broken and they gave me the movie Sea Buscuit to watch which bored me to tears so I feel right asleep.Good luck to you.

you got a movie??? I got to sit in a quiet room in complete darkness and lay there! It got to the point where I was passing the time by remembering the different plots of t.v. shows I like!

you got a movie??? I got to sit in a quiet room in complete darkness and lay there! It got to the point where I was passing the time by remembering the different plots of t.v. shows I like!

You are funny Jay. Yes I had a really beautiful bedroom with kind size bed, big flat screen tv and put juice on the night stand for me. They were great, except the cable was out which meant the TV did not work.. but a good boring movie did the trick...

so i've been on this pre-op for about 2 weeks now and i've lost over 5lbs (which is nothing to sneeze at, i know), but i'm getting worried that i won't lose the required weight in time for the surgery next month. 12 more pounds to go...

i don't have a gym membership (can't afford it), but i think i'll start wearing my pedometer everyday and try to increase my walking. maybe that will help?

Did your surgeon give you amount you need to lose before surgery?

it was my understanding that the pre-op diet was to shrink the liver, and that can happen if you drop weight or not. Also, have you measured yourself? Sometimes inches are a better barometer of what's going on in your body than the number on the scale.

Either way, I know five pounds doesn't sound like too much, but, I always like to think of other things that weigh five pounds, like a half gallon bucket of paint. Those suckers are heavy, and I always feel better when I put one of those down, and that's kind of what you did, you had 5 lbs of weight on you that you just put down and started walking around with out. Not sure if you're a visual person like I am, but when I get discouraged, I always think of something like that to help me realize that 5 lbs is a big amount, so CONGRATS!

Did your surgeon give you amount you need to lose before surgery?

it was my understanding that the pre-op diet was to shrink the liver, and that can happen if you drop weight or not. Also, have you measured yourself? Sometimes inches are a better barometer of what's going on in your body than the number on the scale.

Either way, I know five pounds doesn't sound like too much, but, I always like to think of other things that weigh five pounds, like a half gallon bucket of paint. Those suckers are heavy, and I always feel better when I put one of those down, and that's kind of what you did, you had 5 lbs of weight on you that you just put down and started walking around with out. Not sure if you're a visual person like I am, but when I get discouraged, I always think of something like that to help me realize that 5 lbs is a big amount, so CONGRATS!

i was told to lose 15-18lbs in order to shrink the liver and some of the fat around my stomach (my ticker shows my progress). i've been measuring myself, and that is definitely encouraging (i've lost an inch on my waist already!!). i'm just afraid that they'll make me reschedule if i don't drop this weight. i want this surgery so bad i can taste it.

i really do appreciate all the encouragement. this journey is such a rollercoaster of emotions, its hard not to let it get the better of you. it's such a comfort to have this forum!

Hey All,

I just got approved today-BCBS. It took a year and I am really excited to finally be moving in the right direction. They told me they would call me back in the next few days to start scheduling the pre-op and the surgery. I may be a bit optomistic, but I am hoping they will get me scheduled in Feb. I am READY! A bit scared, but after working so hard for a year to get it through insurance nothing will stop me now. Congrats to all that are getting banded in Feb! :scared2:

so how did you receive your approval? how cool is that!

about the sleep study i was told that i would be in a very comfortable room with a tv that i can watch until ten pm... they said to bring a pillow or stuffed animal that makes me comfortable lol...

Scheduled my surgery today. . . 2/6/09. It feels like it went very quickly. Possibly something to do w/the fact that I've seeing a RD for 2 1/2 years. I am so excited and so NERVOUS.. . .

Did your surgeon give you amount you need to lose before surgery?

it was my understanding that the pre-op diet was to shrink the liver, and that can happen if you drop weight or not. Also, have you measured yourself? Sometimes inches are a better barometer of what's going on in your body than the number on the scale.

Either way, I know five pounds doesn't sound like too much, but, I always like to think of other things that weigh five pounds, like a half gallon bucket of paint. Those suckers are heavy, and I always feel better when I put one of those down, and that's kind of what you did, you had 5 lbs of weight on you that you just put down and started walking around with out. Not sure if you're a visual person like I am, but when I get discouraged, I always think of something like that to help me realize that 5 lbs is a big amount, so CONGRATS!

I don't have a set amount to lose prior to surgery- the instructions I have indicate the need to shrink the liver, in order to improve access to all the critical bits. The food plan I'm on includes one meal per day (carefully measured, of course) and three Protein shakes. Five shakes on the day before surgery. Fun!

This past weekend was my 'last supper' weekend, and the only crazy I managed to work in was ice cream. That is something I (finally, after a struggle) cut out of my diet last fall, and it had been several months since I'd eaten my fill direct out of the container. That was fun, but not as satisfying as I expected it to be. Big snow storm kept us home and off the roads instead of driving around looking for fast-food, and now the weekend is gone and I have to start the pre-op diet tomorrow. I've stocked up on beading supplies to keep my mind and hands too busy to think about snacking, and will just do the best I can with this next step.

At the moment I am still amazed at the fact that I am finally at this point, after at least a year of going through all the steps and soul-searching. My original date with the surgeon was at the end of this March, so I was in the mind-set of an April band date. A few weeks ago I was offered a January appointment (last week) and now I am two weeks out, instead of three months! I'm still in the process of wrapping my mind around that concept, but feeling excited about the big change I'm going through.

Fortunately, this website is a terrific help! Lots of useful information and great stories to read. Thanks! :scared2: