Papillon Princess

MarcyLoo, Have you found your kitty?? I sure hope so! If not...just think that a nice family took him in and is spoiling him rotten instead of worrying about other things. Cats are wonderful! I have 6 indoor kitties and just adore them so I understand the stress. I hope he comes back!

Love the answers from the previous posters - but the diet is to show that you can stick to a program. They expect the patients to start learning new things about the process and it does weed out people that aren't totally serious about it (or haven't done enough research). I thought my 6 month diet was terrible but it FLEW by and I don't regret having that time to work on myself.

Getting the motivation initially is probably the hardest part! But once you get going, I think your willpower gets stronger. Try talking to family or a close friend to help you through this. Having my parents help me (since I live with them) made things go a lot better. If you need to drop a few pounds, try the liquid Protein diet for a few days! It's almost guaranteed you'll lose a few. You can do this! Good luck!

Haha like the above person said - no big deal, I understand those aren't spelling errors! It's just the flat out errors. I also like how I got a negative rating....must be from one of the people that can't spell! I thought this was the rant and rave section and I didn't point out the names of those people.

There are quite a few others with you on this....go to http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/130705-surgery-week-of-may-23rd-27th-2011/ that is the current talk of all of us that had surgery the same week you did. You might find a few people going through similar things. (That thread is under the post op section)

Rather than lots of us trying to sum up the band, I think you should try wandering around the lapband site to learn more about the band, risks, etc. Then read postings here about the experiences. There is SO much information that can't just be answered by such a broad post. Try exploring this site under pre-op or other specifics and you should find a lot of info. Nobody can make this choice but you and it's not right for everyone. Maybe consider going to a seminar where a dr explains the procedure, etc. That's where I think most, if not all of us, started.

This is going to be based on you individually. I personally am taking off a full 2 weeks (initially took off 1 and needed another week - I'm 1 week and 1 day post op now and still having a fair amount of pain). Others have been able to return to work in days. My surgeon allows 3 weeks off for banding. So it's up to your surgeon, your job may also have guidelines to what is protected as well. So look into those things when you consider the amount of time. If you go back early, great! If you don't go back until scheduled, that's alright too.

I see Dr Joyce at Silvercross and he did my band last week! He is amazing and his whole office deserves a lot of credit as well. They are always there for you and will answer any questions. They're a little further than some other surgeons, but well worth my drive!

Not sure if you're talking real meat or frozen...I really like Boca burgers, if you heat them in the microwave with a wet paper towel, they go down really well! When I puree it, I heat in the microwave in Water so it's extra juicy. I like the original Vegan burgers they're 70 calories with 5 from fat.

I know this is from about a month ago - and you said you don't like sun crystals because of the stevia, however, I have been using Truvia for months and I LOVE it! I also don't like those chemical tastes which is why I don't like Sweet n Low or Equal, etc. I love truvia!

Check your contract...and consider speaking with a legal professional about this. We can all assume what the contract says, but someone who handles those daily would be better suited to help you figure this out.

My dr requires inpatient for all bands and as the above post said - outpatient isn't recommended. I think I could've stayed there another day or 2 to be more comfortable. My first few days home were horrible and the pain meds at home are nothing compared to what you get at the hospital. I slept better at the hospital for sure! The ride home really aggravated things too. So personally - I would try to get the inpatient approval because it is worth it! (Everyone's pain is different...I've heard some people say they never needed pain meds or only needed them for a few days. I feel I have had it a little rough than most so please don't think that yours will be terrible. Just be prepared for a possible stay.)

It's not that easy to say yes or no. Some insurance providers have a clause in the contract on how much they will cover and some will flat out deny any type of WLS. You'll need to check with your individual insurance.

TYPICALLY BMI of 35+ with documented comordities or 40+ without. Make sure your insurance doesn't have a clause excluding WLS (some of them do) If your PCP did this, it may not have been approved due to the way she wrote it up. YOu may want to consider finding out why you were denied and visiting a bariatric surgeon for the letter of medical necessity. It sounds like you have not gone through the 3 or 6 month pre op diet (which is required by many ins companies)

Not sure how Cigna works - but according to my surgeon, the records have to be consecutive. So hopefully you have 6 months consecutive in there, if not, start working towards it! They said if I miss one during my 6 that it would start all over.

Thanks, I got my staples out today. The incisions are healing up very well. The dr is keeping me off of work another week because I'm still having quite a bit of pain. Still not regretting it, but hoping the pain subsides soon

I have that bruise also! They were giving me shots of Lovenox (I think was what it was called...) in the tummy I believe for blood clots. One of them pinched to get it in the right spot and it bruised, so that may be what it is. At least that bruise doesn't hurt! I have a huge bruise on my forearm where the nurse attempted an IV (and missed...then dug around in my arm!).

Thank you for the clarification on that. I hope people are coming on here looking for the truth and I'd hope a bad experience wouldn't sway them one way or the other. I hope you're successful with any route that you take in the future.

I don't mean to be rude, but you've been pushing the no bands to a lot of people (whether you say you're anti-band or not). By coming out and telling us about the failure rate of 50% makes me question how good the surgeon is that you chose. My surgeon is from a center of excellence and puts people through lots of "hoops" (as many call it) to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. My dr has had an extremely low number of complications, no deaths and very, very few removals. So rather than blaming the band...You may want to tell people to look into a better surgeon. This really is about how good the dr is. Do they truly understand what they're doing? Do they have a passion for this? Are their staff truly there to help you? Do they get to know you? I can answer yes to all of those and many more questions. The tool is only as good as the operator (whether that be the surgeon that places it or the person that continues to use it in the future....you). So yes, there can be problems but consider where you're putting the blame before going on so many posts telling people not to get the band. (I'm not 100% pro band - follow my posts - I've told people straight forward they are not right for the band! Because if you want a quick fix, if you think the band is going to do it for you, if you think the pounds are just going to drop, if you don't want to exercise...you need to look for something else!) I don't mean any disrespect but I hope people are on here for the truth and to research for themselves.

I was told WW does not count for the 6 month diet. You CAN include it as an attempt without the documentation They will typically want a medical documentation of previous weights from one of your regular dr's. If you're talking about the actual 6 month diet - WW will not count. I was even told my regular Dr wasn't able to document these. My insurance wanted a bariatric specialist commenting on the diet, weight, etc. This is what I personally incurred though....

The BMI they are going off of is the STARTING BMI - so the first consultation that they start tracking your weight. If you lose after that and go under that BMI, you're showing that you are a good candidate as you can work to lose with this tool. I asked this question specifically to my Dr and some nurses and they were very encouraging to lose as much as possible before. This will help the surgery and you'll be better off later. Some people will tell you to eat whatever you want and enjoy yourself now, but I'm not even a week post op and I have no regrets of not eating whatever I wanted earlier. I didn't lose a significant amount of weight, but I lost what I could and didn't focus on the numbers. I focused on getting healthier, exercising and learning more about the band.

Hi Misti, I was banded on 5/24 also at 10am! I don't think I'm doing as well as most and still not sure whether to give that credit to the band or possibly the hernia repair they did while in there. I've had a lot of nausea today and yesterday. Day 1 was great (I owe a lot of it to the pain meds at the hospital, I was inpatient as all my dr's patients are) and day 2 was horrible! The ride home really made me feel lousy and sore. I don't really feel any hunger but that's probably due to the nausea. Day 1 & 2 I was able to eat Jello and drink plenty but never did even finish a whole bowl of jello (about 1/2 cup). I'm not feeling too itchy so far, but definetly sore! Hope you continue getting better and enjoy your band!

I don't think anyone is trying to stop her to stop her from losing weight. We're all saying she is not prepared or ready for this! I'm surprised she has a surgeon that has even discussed the surgery with her (unless she lied about exercising). I can't tell you how many times I was told this is a tool and is not an easy fix and you will have to exercise for results. The things she said that make me think she is not ready for this... " i want to quick fix" ".i can't do exercise i never done in my whole life and still don't want to do so if i go for this sergery than i still need to do exercise" "my personality is like that i cant take pain and if it happens to me that i want to remove the band and u know its gona be waste of money." To me, those are triggers that show she is NOT ready or responsible enough to use this tool properly. She wants a quick fix, a tool doesn't do the work on it's own! She says she never exercises and still won't, she's not ready to make the commitment to change her lifestyle. She's looking at it as though the pain is not worth the outcome. Well, if you really want a new life and want to become healthy, the pain is worth it. I'm not feeling great on day 4 but I don't regret this one bit! I don't feel like I wasted my money and I know I need to exercise! I can't wait to get back to the gym and start feeling better! I wasn't encouraging someone not to do the band because I do think it is a life saving tool but I don't feel she is ready for this. I'm not going to encourage someone that is most likely going to fail because they're not ready to take the responsibility of having the band work with them. However, if she researches this and truly understands it and does it for the right reasons and will do what she needs to do, then I would definitely encourage her.

Maria, It seems as though you're not ready for a tool to help with the weight loss. Not wanting to exercise is just not going to work. This is a tool that needs to be used properly and is no quick fix. It is going to involve some pain, restriction, tightening etc. I think you're assuming this is just going to stop the calories from going down and never having to exercise. I know this might seem rude, but I think you're better off looking into liposuction with that attitude. No exercise and quick results! If you're not ready to take responsibility for this, you really should not consider a lapband.

Hi Tracie, I was also banded on the 24th and am having trouble getting everything down. I had to call my Dr today because I'm unable to take in anything other than my sf popsicles and Water. (Crystal light, decaf tea, and Jello are not going down). They just said to focus on getting your 64oz of fluids and prescribed something for nausea. The bloating can be from the gas, and they just recommended walking around for that. Then again, I don't think I'm feeling as well as most banders were by this time and think I'm having it a little more rough than most. Just focus on your liquids right now if you can't get your shakes down.