melzie_99

Finally broke down and told one of my sisters today; not only was she totally supportive but she also said she was happy I was finally doing something for ME and who cares what anyone else thinks? Since she's like my best friend, I can't tell you how happy I am to have her on board. Now to tell the rest of my family...don't care if they're not supportive but hopefully they'll accept it.

I'm HOPING to stay overnight; I like the idea of someone professional keeping an eye on me a little longer, plus I wouldn't have to come back the next day for the barium test. I don't have kids so I don't know what it's like to be away from them, but yeah, I say enjoy the extra time in the hospital. I too have had worse procedures and was sent home the same day and was wishing for a little more time to be 'taken care of', so to speak.

I'm a bit curious myself; my doctor's office said I needed to wait at least 18 months but the nurse told me about one patient who was pregnant 1 month after banding (WAY too soon IMO). I think they're biggest concern is making sure #1 you're healed and #2 that if not at goal then close to it so you're not backtracking. There's a forum specifically for pregnancy with the band if you want more info...

I think I saw that and want to say it was an episode of a show called 'What's Eating You' on E!. (I'm pretty sure the season's over for now; they talk about all sorts of eating disorders.) He had a lot of other emotional problems and his family was NOT supportive of his band whatsoever. There is another bander on this forum named Mona who was also on that show...she's doing a lot better now from what I hear!

I've seen on other threads that unfortunately this is normal; something about the drastic weight loss messing with you hormones. Biotin IS supposed to be good for hair, but I don't know what works until your hormones normalize themselves. I hope I don't have this problem, but if so I'll be sure to commiserate.

We're getting banded the same day! I was just approved recently as well. You should join the January 2011 bandsters thread...we should have LOTS of support. And congrats!

My husband is the only one who knows I'm scheduled for surgery, and he doesn't like to discuss it. I have yet to tell the few family members I mentioned it to that I'm actually going through with it. There's a part of me that's afraid of telling people and then failing and having it shoved in my face, you know? Since we just moved to a new place and the closest family is 1500 miles away, there's really no one I need to explain things to for the time being. Actually delaying looking for a job until things settle down after surgery, so that's one less thing to worry about.... I don't think there's any reason to feel bad for not telling people; if you're not comfortable that's perfectly fine. My feeling is it's none of their business for now; if something happens then I won't "hide" it. Just know you have plenty of support from all of us here when you need it!

I think it's highly possible to lose SOME muscle mass, but that's the main reason they push proteins on you before and after surgery so you DON'T lose muscle. I haven't been banded yet so just going by what I was informed by the nutitionist and physical therapist, but I'm sure there are others out there that can tell you from personal experience.

Since you're self pay it probably won't be as big of a deal as it would be if you were going through insurance. That being said, I guess my biggest concern would be how it would affect your psych eval (if one is required); they might think you have an addictive personality due to your drug use which might be a red flag.

I was informed that because you're eating more protein and smaller meals that lap banders have a tendency to have fewer bowel movements and be more prone to constipation. Our book recommended making sure you're getting in all your water, and as mentioned earlier, more fiber can't hurt, either.

Tricare came through for me; got my call today and was approved in less than 48 hours. I've never seen them this helpful before...

My dr has me on a 2 week mostly liquid diet; he seems to be a fan of unjury. However, I'm also allowed to have sugar free Jello and soft foods like low fat yogurt, oatmeal, and even low carb fresh veggies! So glad it's not as restrictive as most. The 2 week diet is more to help the surgeon than you; I was informed your liver sits on top of where they need to work so the smaller it is the easier it is for them to manuver. Figure it can't hurt; it will certainly help you get in the right frame of mind for the post surgery diet and people tend to get a jumpstart on the weightloss as well.

From my understanding most people are actually carriers of MRSA; it just becomes a problem when it enters an open wound or a mucus membrane. That does suck, but you DEFINATELY don't want to have surgery and end up infected from that.

Maybe I'm just not used to things going smoothly, but here goes: so I had my nutrition class, psych eval and surgical consult all this afternoon. The nutrition class a little haphazard and not too well put together for what I was expecting. The psych eval consisted of an addiction's therapist (they said it's cheaper that way) asking a couple of questions on a sheet and running off. I actually had to keep asking HIM questions because it all felt so rushed. The surgical consult was a LITTLE better, but the doctor still zoomed through his speech. (It WAS very informative, however). Long story short, everyone thinks I'm an excellent candidate and should have no problems getting insurance approval and wanted to schedule for surgery on 12/23. Meaning I'd have to start my 2 week diet TOMORROW, according to them. I told them it felt a little rushed and needed some more time to wrap my head around the fact this may be actually happening and went with 1/10. I start my diet 12/27. While this is going totally according to my idealized plan (I wanted to be banded no later than Valentine's Day), I guess I just didn't think it'd be THAT fast. Did anyone else feel rushed once the ball got rolling or am I being whiny? I apologize in advance to all of you guys who have to wait 2-6 months for everything...

Me going with a later date actually worked out for the best; my mother in law isn't doing so well so my husband's flying out to see her on Christmas Eve. I would have had to reschedule anyway, so it's all good now. Just got approved by insurance, so now getting ready to order my Unjury!

I guess all that finger and toe crossing worked because I just got off the phone with my insurance company and I was approved!!! I'm in shock; it took less than 48 hours!! Yay!!!!

Just got a call from Triwest; I was approved! Took less than 48 hours; I'm shocked and amazed after my last experience with them. So keep the faith; they do come through!

I'm waiting to hear back from Triwest as well; paperwork was just submitted today. I've heard anything from 12 hours to 2 weeks to hear back from them; let's hope they're feeling motivated to knock out a bunch of approvals before the holidays! I'm really hoping they'll be as quick as most people on here have said. Fingers crossed for both of us!

Looks like we're scheduled for surgery the same day! Lots of good thoughts for all of us!

My surgery is now pending approval with the insurance company; not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. Just glad the doctor's office submitted everything so quickly. Let the waiting game begin...

I have the option of staying overnight which I intended on doing if they let me; why not? If your insurance will cover it then consider it more time for guidance and 'pampering", if you will. I really want to stay just so I don't have to go back the next day for the barium test; from past experience I know riding in the car after surgery is awful.

I'm currently scheduled for 1/10; could've been banded on 12/23 but considering I just had my consult today I thought it was too much too soon. Now just waiting to see if I will be approved by insurance; more anxious than excited though. My husband is the only one who knows at this point, and he never really seems to want to talk about it. I don't think he likes this idea at all. Oh well; gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.

No, not negative at all; I'm a bit curious myself. Don't get me wrong; I have a book full of info provided to me at the nutrition consult. The dietician leading however was a bit scatterbrained so I'm going to read over everything again myself. According to one of the nurses they have a big lull in January which is why scheduling is so easy. The surgeon says he averages 175-200 bandings alone a year; not a lot I know but I also live in Montana so with such a low population that's a good a number in my opinion, not to mention there are 2 other doctors in the same hospital who also do the surgery so I'm sure they split cases. I personally think I'm a bit shell shocked because the last time I had to get a surgery the doctor was also quick about scheduling but I had to fight my insurance company for literally 2 years before approval. Thanks to you guys on here I've gotten a TON of info and know where to look to find more so while I'm confident about having the surgery, I'm not too keen on being thrown in there, so to speak.

Hope you guys are right about Tricare; I have my consult tomorrow and have had trouble with them in the past so fingers crossed!

Thanks everyone for the feedback; it was all very insightful.I still intend on having surgery (assuming my insurance company agrees). I have my nutrition class, surgical consult and psych eval tomorrow, and for some reason I'm no longer anxious. Been feeling very mellow about the whole thing the last few days; don't know if that's good or bad. I'm still sticking to my guns at the moment and not telling anyone other than my husband that I am seriously pursuing surgey, not even my fam (at least not at the moment). I really want this to be something that's for me and only me, without having guilt projected on me. Shucks, if I didn't need my husband to give me a ride if I have surgery I'm not even sure how much I would tell him! IDK; I know I have a long journey ahead of me no matter what; thanks again you guys.