dawn of dibley

yes, contact your insurance first and see if they cover it. many will only cover "centers of excellence" so you would have to make sure the lap band doctor you choose works in one of those if they require it. after checking with the insurance and finding a doctor, schedule to attend a seminar with that doctor. they should give you all the info you need on what they require that may or may not be different from your insurance. i know my insurance didn't require as much as my doctor did, so i had to jump through a lot of hoops. good luck!

Hi all, i was banded on May 4th (tomorrow is my 1 month bandiversary, yay!! ) and i've lost just over 30 pounds (including the pre-op diet) and i feel pretty great. i have a lot more energy than I had 30 days ago, that is for sure. i went in yesterday for a follow up visit. i was supposed to get my first fill and i told the doctor that i don't think i need one, so he didn't give me one. it's not that i have restriction, but i am definitely not really getting hungry. i eat my 3 Protein heavy meals per day, though sometimes i substitute a Protein shake for Breakfast, and i'm going more than 5 hours without getting hungry. at this point, i don't think i absolutely have to have a lot of restriction, plus, i'm going on vacation in july and i want to be able to eat some things, so i will re-evaluate and maybe get a fill in august. the doc said as long as the scale is moving down he would prefer to not give me a fill if i don't think i need one. so, that is where i am. i can eat pretty much anything i want, but i'm sticking pretty close to measured stuff and it is keeping me satisfied. this will be the first week i have been cleared to do exercise, so hopefully my weight loss will go somewhere this month. congrats to everyone for doing so well on your journeys thus far.

I have only told 2 people, my husband and a close friend. my family doesn't know, my co-workers do not know, nobody knows. i was banded may 4th and i've dropped about 30 pounds and nobody has even seemed to notice to be fair, i have a lot to lose, so it's not really easily noticable, soooo i'll cross that bridge when i get there. for now, i just want to concentrate on me and doing what i'm supposed to be doing and not have everyone around me analyze what i put into my mouth. it's not an easy decision to "go it alone" but it's (at this moment) the right decision for me. good luck in whatever you decide.

best of luck to you. you will be just fine.

yeah..so glad your hubby was there for you and so supportive of you. you will definitely need him during the first few days. so glad you came through ok.

I'm just spewing thoughts that come into my head since i'm still sitting at home recovering from my surgery on Wednesday May 4th.... I was thinking to myself after reading some of the posts in Introductions and Pre-Op questions...... ok, don't be hatin' when i say this, I just think it's interesting, but..... My GOAL weight is the same as most people's START weight. There, i said it. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's kinda funny to me. The thought that one day I *might* be able to weigh 250 pounds seems just some unattainable dream. I would LOVE to weigh 250 pounds. anyone else here feeling that 'twoderville' is reeeeaaaaalllly far away?

ok, i know this is off topic, but it's my topic and i just need to kvetch. i know, in my head, that the first 4-6 weeks after surgery is all about healing and blah de blah, blah...but since my surgery date, my scale hasn't budged. not up, but not down either. it just sits there, staring me in the face, taunting me, laughing at me. grumble. i do know it's because i'm healing/ i am on real food and not liquids or mushies, but dang it..........it's making me nutso. like i said, my head knows that this is normal, but my heart longs to be down even 1 pound. i just wanted to vent.......sooooo there, i vented.

Hi heather, there are a lot of us bigger folks around, though i guess we can hide pretty well. i have way over 200 pounds to lose, so you are not alone......good luck with your journey and keep us posted on your progress.

my doctor said walking only for the first month. after that i can go back to the gym, bike riding, and swimming. i am itching for June to get here so i can get moving. walking doesn't do a lot for me..i walk all the time anyway. i need the cardio and the weight. my scale hasn't moved since surgery day

I used Muscle Milk Light, Slim Fast, and Glucerna. the Glucerna tasted the best, the MM Light kept me from being hungry, and I hated the Slim Fast.

It's completely normal. i am in the same boat as you, banded May 4th and about 3 pounds heavier than surgery day. there are a couple of things happening. 1. you left liquids and are now eating mushy foods. your body is adjusting to that change. 2. consuming so few calories (under 1,200 or under 1,000) puts the body into starvation mode. it absolutely will not let go of weight because it needs the fat stores for energy to keep bodily functions working. just use this first 5-6 weeks to heal and don't worry about the scale. once your body kind of adjusts, things will start happening. try to make sure you are getting enough calories. it's been difficult for me to get much more than 800 calories per day and i really am trying. i know that with few calories, i'm not going to lose weight...i might lose muscle or something, but i'm not going to lose any fat. i have a lot of weight to lose also, and i am anxious to really get started and see those results, but i know i just need to be patient. it's going to happen. just focus on healing inside. you may feel better on the outside, but really your stomach is still healing from a trauma and your body is figuring out how to cope with that. i'll bet that by june, your scale will start moving again.

I was, but you can always tell them that you don't want to be. i would have never known if the nurse hadn't told me afterward. they did it during surgery, so i didn't feel anything and i didn't feel anything afterward either. the thing that freaked me out more was being intubated.

yes, that is correct. it's one of my favorite shows of all time. I just love Dawn French.

Maybe I'll see twoderville at some point next year. I'm sure going to work towards that goal.

I am kinda the same way. if it weren't for mirrors, pictures, and other people telling me how fat I am, I would feel pretty normal. I don't really feel as fat as I am and i'm pretty active, so i get around very well. It's only when i catch a glimpse of my reflection that I realize how bad it is and how far i have let myself go. it's like skinny people who feel fat I guess...they just feel the opposite of what they are. I feel pretty normal but I look like an elephant

congrats jonathan! so glad to hear the everything went smoothly.

it's totally normal. the week before my pre-op diet i had several "last suppers" where i ate and ate and ate and ate and kinda said 'goodbye' to things i thought i might never eat again. i still managed to lose weight on my pre-op diet and shrink my liver though, and so far i am following all instructions from my surgeon. it has been the most difficult thing i have ever done, but i am doing it. you will be fine.

i went with hernia repair....that's my story, and i'm sticking to it.

muscle milk light is pretty good and doesn't contain any milk.

i didn't really have to be on clear liquids, just any liquid that could go through a straw (without actually using a straw) and was told that i needed at least 2 Protein shakes per day. if i was still hungry, i was told that i could add Protein Shakes. those 9 days were very difficult for me. i'm on day 3 of my mushy stage and sooooo glad to finally have something that isn't broth or juice in my mouth.

just stopping by to say good luck tomorrow. i know everything will turn out just fine!

i had the exact same thing. my doctor's office prescribed anti-nausea meds and they did the trick. that nausea just came out of nowhere and scared the heck out of me. see if they will prescribe something for you. if not, you might be able to find an over the counter anti-nausea med, or perhaps ginger. also, chewing on gas x, or using the strips until the meds kicked in was helpful. my esophagram showed that all the gas was in my stomach and that is why i was nauseated and having chest pains. i didn't have the regular gas pains that everyone else talked about here, like in my shoulders etc...it just went straight inside my belly.