NewStart95987

I have only been able to stomach Hydro-Whey which I get from GNC. I get the chocolate and add a little coffee and it tastes like a mocha. I strongly believe that you get what you pay for. If you don't mind cheap Protein with not-so-great flavor, they have hundreds of different kinds. At GNC, you can try whatever protein you buy and if you don't like it, can take it back for a full refund. This was a huge relief to me after buy HUNDREDS of dollars worth of protein and took a scoop out of each one. I just couldn't do it! It wasn't until I went to another GNC that they told me to bring back whatever I didn't like for a refund. You just can't go wrong! Good luck! P.S. Hydro Whey has 30 g of protein, 2 carbs and 0 g of sugar!

Good luck on your journey. Lap-Band, as you will find, is a tool. If you use it properly it can come with great success. Personally, I have found these forums so very educational and you will learn a lot more from personal experiences rather than what the Docs say on the medical part. I learned MUCH more than what the Drs. have discussed and NOT discussed for that matter.

I LOVE Hydro whey, I get mine through GNC. I get the chocolate and add a little instant coffee and it tastes just like a mocha. It dissolves VERY well in cold milk or Water and tastes FANTASTIC! I could NOT stomach Isopure and about a dozen others I tried. Even better, if you get it through GNC and don't' like it (I have yet to find anyone who didn't like it) you cant take it back for a full refund. You can't go wrong! It's 30 g Protein, 2 g Carbs and 0 sugar. I have yet to find a drink as good in nutrition and as tastey. Good luck!!! Let me know if you try it http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3839127

I'm being banded on June 9th too! Yes, I have thought about the possibilities of something happening but also thought about my new potential leaner/healthier happy life. I actually wrote a letter, NOT a will, a letter to loved ones with final messages expressing just how much I love them. I didn't want any of them regretting supporting me if something happened, I wanted to put their minds at ease. I will have it in my drafts in my phone and titled it something along the lines of "Read ONLY if something has happened to me". I did cry when it came to my Husbands and Mother's messages but am glad it's done. I didn't tell any of the about it and hope that no one besides myself will EVER read it. BUT it has helped me and been a therapy session I think I needed to help with my anxiety. I am nervous beyond words, excited, scared and so ready! See you in BandLand June 9th!

Thank you Fran! It's unbelievable to me! I asked so many questions because I like to be prepared as best I can. I have spoken to my surgeons office several times and they never mentioned certain things, as the surgical center sends me a surprise letter less than 2 weeks before surgery. They will be billing me for my anesthesia and anything over the norm which is the 20% I pay. I have Anthem BC and they have been as helpful as possible on their part. I just think that maybe my surgeons office could have given me a heads up, something along "Hey, be prepared or check into XYZ." But nothing was said. They have been through this hundreds of times and I just find it frustrating. People need to know to prepare financially. It's not good for their mental/emotional health to get so close and the keep having the rug pulled out from under them. I do hope future banders ask more questions and ask several times! Something I learned, get as much as you can in writing!!!!! Thanks again for the wishes Fran. Have a great day

After paying my surgeon her $3,000 non-professional fee, the surgical center $2,800 which is the 20% my insurance won't cover, I receive a letter in the mail the other day. I'm getting banded in 8 days mind you and have been trying for over a year to get my band. The letter is from the surgical center telling me that the anesthesia is NOT part of the $2,800 I already paid and would be billed separately. I finally worked up the courage to call the insurance to see what portion is covered, then called surgical center today who referred me to the anesthesiologists office, who had me call my surgeon for the code, to call the anesthesiologist again. My part, IF I am out for an hour, no longer will be $300 which is my 20% that I will owe since the bill comes out to $1,500. The kicker! I have two insurances and though my secondary is better on everything else, they will not come within a 100 mine radius of anything regarding WLS. So I am stuck with yet another bill that I cannot afford. I am already freaking out about how I'm going to pay bills in upcoming months. I have a commission job and if I don't hit within 75% of whatever my goal is set to, I make NO commission. Yet, here comes this extra little surprise. This isn't the first time I have been blind-sided. I just assumed it was part of what I paid. I don't have surgery every year and am no accustom the the standards on surgery. It's just really frustrating when no one has mentioned things to me or I ask questions and they tell me not to worry at the time. Are they afraid if they are up front with you that you'll back out? I have 2 insurances and am already paying out of pocket over $6,000 for this. $6,000 I had to use credit and a loan for. Anyone else feel like they have been jerked around?

Ow my gosh, I am soooo sorry. Why do they have to be so secretive? It's ridiculous! I think we should write a book about the ACTUAL procedures, our experiences and include helpful tips and questions to ask prior. lol

Thanks so much and the best to you as well Keep me informed on your progress and keep up the liquids. I had to lose the weight my surgeon wanted me to first but because of this will have no liquid diet. You can do it! Sending Lots of Love your way! Your Band Sista!

UPDATE! I tried looking at it one more time and did very well and was able to start writing. It seems my Mother's message and my husbands will be the downfall and the cause of my blubbering. I'll save these for another time.

WELCOME! I'm getting banded next Thursday :-) This forum has been a tremendous help and you will learn so much! You'll learn things your doctor and surgeon will not tell you. Ask as many questions as you need, you have a whole family here to help you!

Ok, I have been tossing this idea back and forth. I have a lot of confidence in my surgeon and don't plan on leaving this earth any time soon. BUT am I jinxing myself? I wanted to write a letter to some loved ones "just in case". Yeah, I'm scared, but this is my choice, no one has pushed me into it. I want Lap-Band VERY badly but like with all surgeries, there may be complications. I wanted to write it to ensure if something happened, certain things would not go unsaid. Am I crazy? Am I jinxing myself? I was admitted into the hospital years ago and while filling out paperwork was asked if I had a will. EXCUSE ME! I was 19 at the time! I freaked out!!!!!!!!! I'm looking at possibly writing a letter, telling certain people just exactly how much I love them. Is this a bad idea? Am I totally over thinking this? Some posters make this sound so easy and I know once your through-it, it's "all gravy" but the anxiety before-hand is really getting to me. Maybe I'm just having an off day.... HELP!

Something I learned a couple years ago for under your breasts and what I like to call my "belly flap", Deodorant. I kid you not! This has been the best, quickest and less mess way to clear up rashes

I am going in to be banded two weeks from today. These forums have given me so much incite to what life will be like after being banded. Thank you to EVERYONE! It's crazy the amount of information the surgeon doesn't tell you, even with my months of research I did on my own, I'm learning like crazy.... So my question........ What is sliming?

They want to shrink the liver to have more room to move around. I had a co-worker who did NOT follow her diet for her gastric and the liver was huge. The surgeon had to have a nurse hold back the liver while the procedure was done. It's for their safety and yours, they don't want to nic your liver. For me, my surgeon had me do a high protein diet and lose 20 lbs. Because of that, I am continuing this until surgery and will not have a liquid diet. Other surgeons require the liquid diet to shrink the liver that way, rapidly without the high protein diet which can take longer. Different surgeons mean different requirements.

Thanks for all the insight everyone

Congrats! That's so awesome! Keep it up

I'm not sure about your insurance but you may want to try looking up the coverage/requirements online so you have something in writing. OR call the insurance and ask what the requirements are then have them send you, IN WRITING, what the policy is. Different insurances and different surgeons ALL have different requirements. You may even be able to get some of this information from your surgeons office who, chances are, have dealt with your insurance before. I would start there. You may or may not have to show proof of dieting or 6 months work of some kind of program. If you have done WW or something of that sort, I would have that information ready to go just in case, start digging for that information now. Better safe than sorry! Believe me! My surgeon has a $3,000 non-professional fee which insurance will not cover. I would also ask if your surgeon has a "non-professional fee" so you may be able to look into how you may pay that. I don't know your financial situation but I had to figure out a way to pay since I didn't have it sitting in the bank. Good luck to you and again, from my experience, I would try and get everything in writing. I have seen some people take YEARS to get everything finalized and others just a month. Be patient, don't get discouraged! Your husband will help you with support and so will the thousands of people you will read and will read your posts right here on these forums! BEST of Luck!

Meg, I'm so sorry to hear about it. I too had many hoops. Long story short (or even longer), I had my husbands insurance and spoke to the benefits coordinator on SEVERAL occasions who assured me all was well and told me to keep proceeding. I did the phsyc consult, nutritional visit, pre-op lab work and scans, surgeon appointments and all. I later found out that WLS was NOT covered through my husbands insurance and that everything I had done, I would have to pay out of pocket. The coordinator called and apologized which I appreciated but that didn't help me and the bills I had not accrued. My husband pays hundreds each month for insurance that won't cover ANYTHING related to my WLS. SUCKS! I cried for a couple minutes and decided I would wait (this was in October) and sign up for benefits through my work starting January 1st when I could enroll. I did this and had to start some of the process over. It's so frustrating and I could never get a straight answer as to what EXACTLY to do and how the process worked, I was going in blind and couldn't take another denial. I finally had paperwork submitted back to my new insurance and called 2 weeks later since I hadn't heard anything. I found out I was approved. My insurance- Anthem Blue Cross- will cover 80%, I'm still paying $6000 out of pocket. Luckily I recently pulled out a loan to pay of Credit Cards and such and asked for an extra $3,000 to cover part of surgery. The other $3,000 I owed, I paid with Care Credit Accounts. Money doesn't flow in my house. My husband works full time and goes to an expensive tech school full time. I work full time, have pay cuts from my company filing bankruptcy, doing 2 jobs for not even minimum wage. BUT knew I had to spend the money. While I may be in debt the rest of my life, this is what I had to do. Where there's a will, there's a way. You'll make it work. Look over all your options and speak to every person at your insurance if you have to. GET ANYTHING YOU CAN IN WRITING! I had a problem because of this! Sadly, you have encountered hoops like I did but don't get discouraged! It just may take a little time. I know easier said then done, you make a life altering discision and want action fast, I had to wait over a year from the PCP referral to my surgery date. You can do it and you have tons of support right here at your finger tips on the forums. LOTS of love and the BEST to you!

Hello! I'm 23 and being banded on June 9th. I'm nervous because anything with surgery attached to it is scary. Watch: Puppies-Surgery! Rainbows-Surgery! Did you see how puppies and rainbows just became a little scary, lol. I did research for a long time. I have been heavy most of my life. When I hit puberty, I expanded not only in my chest but everywhere else too! I was always a little heavier then my classmates but in high school, I couldn't stop gaining and wasn't doing anything to cause me to gain weight. I was fortunate to find the love of my life and am married but I feel like I hold my husband back. When we go places, I want to take the short route so I don't have to keep walking. I can't always fit in a booth if we go out, so we get a table. I am very confident and feel like I'm successful at 23 years old but I want to be healthy. My husband would love nothing more than to start a family. I can't wait either but I'm not healthy enough to carry a child, it's not good for the baby or for me. I would like for us to focus on US, me getting healthy, him finishing school. Lap-Band I feel is the perfect choice for me. I have had a blood clot in the past which was due to me taking birth control. I am more susceptible to clots since I have had one before and gastric REALLY scares me and the fact that the chance would be even greater, I wouldn't consider it! I would like to be able to fit in a booth or fit into a plastic lawn chair without the sides stabbing my hips and me feeling like I'm going to break it. But really, I just want to be healthy. I lost my grandmother (who I am a clone of) almost 5 years ago because of her being overweight. She didn't get to come to my wedding, she didn't get to see my little brother graduate jr. high, she won't be here to see her first grandchild It saddens me that I'm losing years off my life just because I'm overweight. SO! I wanted to do something about it. Please keep in touch, I think the more support the better! I have learned so much from the forums and am truly thankful to have gained such a LARGE family (no pun intended) with so much love and support. The Lap-Band / WLS/ Bariatric family. It's a great and beautiful thing!

PBing???? What's that? It's the craziest thing, I did research for almost a year and have learned more on this forum then what the doc's say or the general information available on the band. If you don't ask the right questions or know what to ask it's hard to get everything out of the doctor. Nothing speaks louder then personal experience. I have asked several questions and have puzzled people in my doctors office, "Wow, great question, I have never been asked that before". I did NOT take my decision lightly and spent a lot of time trying to educate myself! Learning more so close to surgery after I thought I had it down is a little scary. Even scarier is the fact that some people, as we have seen, did NOT research on their own and the surgeon's aren't going into details of the lifestyle after the fact. Don't get me wrong, it's not their job to hold your hand and watch what you put in your mouth BUT shouldn't they be guiding us in the right direction or at least let people know just how much this can change the rest of their life. I don't know, just some thoughts. Less than 2 weeks until bandland and I'm scared as heck! Excited! Anxious! Happy! Ugh, the emotions! lol

Omg! I hate to use it to reference but a dog drooling comes to mind. Like that? I would assume it's getting your body ready to possibly help it back out? Ahhhhh, I'm scared! Thanks for the info. Anything we can do to stop it?

Lol, little devil, indeed! I did a little "cheating" but WILL NOT do so before surgery. My surgeon even said, mellow, easy, bland foods the day before. Broths, cottage cheese, veggies, etc. She said no salad or meat because it takes a while to digest. I wouldn't do it, not worth possibly messing something up for a couple of bites of something. Good Luck!

Good Morning, This is something only banded people could answer properly but thought it would be appropriate here because it's something that was left out from my surgeon and I'm finding many others as well. Headache? Pop a Tylenol, IB, or whatever you prefer. BUT after being banded? I finally asked and was told I should crush anything I take. I'm guessing we would absorb it better but what if I don't have a handy pill crusher with me and I'm desperate. Will I regret not crushing my pill? Thanks!

Sheran, You have some good options here! Let us know what you like. Once I found the drink I liked, I stopped looking for another. I would like to hear what you think, maybe I can switch it up a bit :-D

Hahahaha! I love this, so very true. I actually didn't tell ANYONE, including my Mom (who I am very close to) or my husband. I actually was so busy running around one day I left some information out of the table. My husband came home and asked "Are you looking into that", I was so scared and told him I was. He said "Whatever you do or don't want to have done, is just fine with me." I was so happy to hear this and gushed out all of my research and really surprised him. I had been doing research for almost a year and didn't want to tell anyone about it. I wanted to make my own, informed decision before getting anyone elses input. I'm so glad I did so and have been fortunate with lots of support. Very few people have said anything negative and again, I think if you are a strong enough person to get help with WHATEVER it is you think you need help with, you should never be ashamed and no one has the right to judge you. I can't wait to put everyone's doubts to rest once I am banded :-) I figure if I can help share my experience and help just one person make a yes or no choice to see if maybe this is an option for them, I feel I have done my job. I think of my grandmother who I am a total clone of. If she had information on WLS, would it have saved her life? Would she of not had that heart attack we think she had? Would she have been at my wedding if she had Lap-Band or gastric? Would she have been able to see my brother graduate high school in three years? I can't help but think these things and think maybe I could help someone prolong their life with the power of knowledge. Don't get me wrong, I don't walk around with a sign that says "Ask me about my LapBand" but am more than willing to share what I know and to show them the steps to get started to get their own information.