Alexandra

No question that chocolate and junk food can sap your energy. Last year I went high-Protein for a while and was shocked at how my energy level increased. For me, there is no such thing as a "sugar high"--just a long, ugly sugar low. I don't avoid sugar entirely, but if I would ever eat a whole candy bar I know that 20 minutes later my eyes will be closing. Presurgery diets seem to be all over the board. My personal opinion is that some doctors might stress them in the hopes of getting even partial compliance and staving off "last supper" syndrome. Which is a good thing, I'm sure! If your doctor doesn't give you any firm pre-op instructions, you should at least make sure you don't *gain* weight before surgery. SlimFast is a commercial version of a protein shake, but there are better ones on the market. For my money, a powdered version added to ice, milk, and vanilla yogurt in a blender is a much better bet. Congratulations on your quick progress!! Are you paying cash for the surgery? What does it cost in Ireland? (Or do you have some form of social insurance? Please forgive my ignorance. )

And that's a significant worry, I'll bet! What an unpleasant experience that must have been. But I'll bet you were saved from RNY for a reason. Now they know all about your alien insides, and I'm sure it would affect the band a lot less anyway! Thanks so much for the nice words, too. I gotta say I've been lurking and posting occasionally at lots of other boards and on lists, but it's this format that's brought out my inner chattermouth. Love it!!

Hey, Bright, it's not everyone who talks about exercise! I'm like you: two kids and a full-time job are PLENTY to keep me busy and ready for bed by 9:00 p.m. That's not to say if I didn't have an hour free in the middle of the day I wouldn't want to go for a 3-mile walk, but it's just not in the cards at this point. That said, I definitely have *more* energy already less than a week after banding. It's probably not more energy than I've had at high-rev times in the past, but it's way more than I had last week.

Good luck to all of this week's bandsters!!!

Mary, what an inspiring story! You really must have been frustrated during the long plateaus, but you proved in the end that it works. Being banded is a lifelong commitment and the loss of a major amount of weight isn't something that needs to be rushed. Expecting too much of ourselves and the world could be one reason we've failed in the past. This is a long-distance race, not a sprint. Congratulations, and thank you for sharing your story!!

Ginger, I hear you. It's really frustrating to know that something so important can hinge on someone else's opinion of your mental health. But know this: They are not looking for reasons to deny you the surgery that will improve your life. The doctor wants to be as sure as possible that you are prepared to embrace life with a band, for your sake and for his. It's not an obstacle to be overcome, it's an important step in the process of entering your new life! Be honest, but be confident that you've made the right decision and know all the facts about banded life before you meet the psychologist. If there is anything you're worried or scared about, tell us here so you can air it out before it surfaces during the evaluation, surprising you both. I think it's kind of good that your evaluation will be two appointments; it's a great opportunity to take advantage of some counseling for you, which is never a bad thing. During my evaluation, the therapist observed that perhaps I was still a little too sensitive about my father's death (9 years ago) and that might be something I want to work on. This had *nothing* to do with my weight, and was a valuable observation! Walk in with head held high, and you'll do FINE!!! :D

Hi Eddi, To take your last question first, the answer is YES! Everyone goes through a scared phase, particularly those of us who are strangers to surgery. It is scary! The good news is that this is really minor abdominal surgery (if there is such a thing). I keep comparing it to my friend's c-section, and realizing that she went through something WAY worse than I did. And people bounce back from that really quickly. I'd also say that the flexibility and adjustability of the band should set your mind at ease about the possibility of not losing weight with it. If you're not losing, you can try an adjustment! You can take a break and let your body rest, and then get a fill and start working on your program again when you're re-energized. It will still be there! It won't lose its efficacy altogether just because you're scarfing down doughnuts for a while. Think about something else for the next month, and then surgery wil be around the corner. Good luck!!

Hi Sheila, Everyone's experience is different. I didn't have to do a personality test, but the therapist was charging for a double session and while it probably wasn't "necessary" for her to reach her conclusion we spent the whole 2 hours talking. Don't worry--it's painless if you're honest. And it can be kind of enlightening!

Hi Amy, I've seen her described several times elsewhere as having had the band, so my guess is that it's the People Magazine writer's ignorance that put "gastric bypass" in there. I was just reading that Star Jones is considering bypass surgery. I swear, I want to write to her directly and tell her about the band. It's a complete mystery to me why someone with all the resources in the world would choose the most drastic surgery first.

Who is your carrier? I can probably tell you if they're band-friendly or not (but you probably already know)...

Yikes, Brandi, how scary! Can you tell us how much you *were* drinking? I've been trying to drain two 32-oz bottles of Water each day, aside from whatever liquids I may be consuming for nutrition, but it's very hard when I can't chug it. So I'd been kind of reassuring myself that the coffee, Soup, and juice I'm taking in makes up for the fact that I've only drunk about half of the water I'm supposed to. You can bet I'll try harder today. I'm so glad it was easily fixed! Take care of yourself, girlie--I'm sure proper hydration also is very important for quick healing.

The use of staples, stitches, or steri-strips seems to be surgeon's preference. I must say, the staples don't look anywhere near as awful as I'd imagined them; they're really tiny. How do you suppose they take them out? With an itty-bitty staple-remover? Ouch!

Cool, Alex! It's nice to know it can go smoothly, though you did have your fill from the best of the best. What prompted the fill? 20 lbs in 6 weeks seems like a great loss. Does Dr. Ren schedule one automatically at 6 weeks, or did your weight loss stop progressing? And do you feel any different now?

Oh, Lisa, I know EXACTLY how you feel. I felt that way only one week ago today!! Let's see, what words of wisdom can I impart? Just this: in the very short term the thing to think about is that you're having surgery, and you have to recover from that. That's plenty to keep you busy all by itself. Don't worry about the band, or your reaction to it, or if you're going to lose weight with it (for heaven's sake!). Good luck, girlie. You'll sail through!!!

I guess it's time to invest in some new Tupperware, huh? Good thing--my favorite food in the world is LEFTOVERS!!

Hey Bob, nice to meet you! I've heard great things about the Hackensack practice. Are you being covered by insurance? I've heard there's some coming and going with regard to the medical networks. I hope you don't run into a problem!

Oh my god!!! Congratulations, Ginger! I am so happy for you, and really thrilled to that someone at Aetna actually seemed to have a brain in this case. YAAAAHOOOOO!!! All right, girlfriend! (I'm high-fiving you from NJ, just in case you can't tell.) :banana :banana

I'm exactly where you are, itching and all. I can't wait to get the staples out because after that I'll almost be able to forget I'm recovering from surgery!

Hi Bandster-Sister!! We're twins to the day. How are you doing??

That post is a KEEPER!! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts. I really like your point of view.

Ladydigs, the first step is to see if you can decipher what the criteria is your carrier uses to consider people qualified for weight-loss surgery. If it's not clear in your policy documents you might ask your surgeon for that info, or call the carrier directly. It will probably be similar to the list we've all seen: basically you need to have a BMI of at least 40 or a BMI of 35 with two comorbidities. If you have a PCP, go see that person and have them make a diagnosis of morbid obesity. Then talk to your surgeon and see what the next step is. With a PPO it might be just having the surgeon examine you and then making a precertification request for surgery. If the precertification request is declined, you'll have more information about what to do next. Good luck!!

Thanks for saying this, Babs. I will be thrilled with a 5 lb/ month loss, as long as it's 5 lbs. EVERY month. 120 lbs in two years sounds just about perfect. I can lose 5 lbs by going to the bathroom now (har har), the hard part is not losing the same 5 lbs over and over and over and over...

I'm not sure what you mean by that. Do you mean that lots of people are replying to you saying they have the same situation? I wish they'd share on the boards because it may be that talking about it can help other people. Obviously every person's metabolism is different, but there's no getting around the equation that if you take in less than you expend for a long period of time you will lose weight. It is, of course, possible to eat too little, sending your body into starvation mode so it will hold on greedily to every ounce, but even that can't last forever. I'm just saying that you're only at the start of this process, and it's way too early to think of it as a failure. I'll wait to hear from you in a month when you've lost another 5-10 lbs.

Hey Fabulous Lady! Just checking in to see how you are. Post op pain sucks, doesn't it? But I hope by now you're all over it and can come back to tell us newbies how bright the sun is shining over where you are.

My doctor's instructions are really fairly loose. They state clear liquids for only 1-2 days, followed by 3-5 days of full liquids. There's a stern warning to drop back a step if anything feels uncomfortable or if I get nauseated. Assuming all goes well, by my one-week appointment they expect me to be on mushy foods. That stage they'd like me to stick to for another two weeks or so. No question: a Protein shake or some cream of chicken Soup will really put some bounce back into your step. I even had a half a cup of coffee this morning! Yee--haa!! I found that once I got moving again (yesterday) I was finally able to sleep well at night. Sitting around all day moaning does NOT make for a good night's sleep. I did really well last night with just Tylenol, and I've started back on my Vitamin E (which I strongly believe has healing powers). I'll be full force tomorrow!!