Alexandra

Hi Marsha, I think Brandi's right, and if you don't already know about a given problem you might have that makes you an unfit candidate for the band, I don't think it's likely a psych evaluation will uncover one. I'd never had counseling at all before my psych eval (that I can remember), and it was a 90-minute chat about my life. We talked about my weight and I was just completely honest. I'd definitely advise to not lie or keep any information back--that may be exactly what they're looking for. But if you have explored the banding experience and thought about how you'll live with it (which you obviously are in the process of doing, right now) just share that knowledge with the psychologist. You'll do fine!!

Add me to the list of banded burpsters. It does hurt, indeed. I'm feeling it less today, though, and it's nice to know it will be gone entirely in a few days. A word of caution, though. I'm not one of those people who can do this, but if you are someone who can burp at will I'd say DON'T TRY IT after banding. You'll be inhaling air that can't get out in the way you were used to letting it. I think that would make the pain worse, not better.

Hold on there. Do you actually think that if you continue to eat way less than you did pre-band you will fail to lose weight? That doesn't make any sense, now, does it? You are human, are you not? My theory is that everyone's body reacts to the banding process differently, and yours is just holding on to itself a little longer than you like. You've lost 10 pounds in about 8 weeks, which (as I'm sure you've heard) is right on target for a good, healthy weight loss. I'm positive that one day you'll get on that scale and be shocked that another 10 pounds have vanished seemingly overnight. You are in this for the long haul. There is no question that if your caloric intake over the course of a week, month, year is substantially lower than it was before banding, YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT. That's just physics. You may need to be brutally honest with yourself about the crumbs that pass your lips--have you tried tracking your food on Fitday.com? But you can't reinvent nature. Just be patient. It will come, and go, and go, and go some more.

Hi, Brandi! Welcome to the August Bandsters. How are you feeling? Today I felt 100% better than yesterday, and tomorrow I know I'll feel even better. My tummy is sore, of course, but I have way more energy than earlier. I can see the sun shining!!

Some people are more responsive to e-mail and others to PMs. I, for one, don't usually get to spend any time on e-mail and am much more likely to respond to a PM here on the board. And of course, everyone has life to attend to. Participation here is completely voluntary and we can't expect instant responses every time. PLEASE don't go away, though, and consider posting your questions on the boards so more people can see them. That way you're not waiting for a response from just one person.

Lori, I think your doctor is giving you some great advice. And it's exactly how I plan to approach my life with the band. It seems to me that if we already know we eat healthful proportions of nutrients--that is, if I don't make up 90% of my daily calories in fat or simple carbs--then all I have to do is reduce the QUANTITY of what I eat. And that's what the band will help me do. I'm every bit as likely to have a craving for lentil soup as for a doughnut, or for broiled fish as for a bowl of spaghetti. I'll probably monitor my intake as I've done from time to time on Fitday in the past as I get used to working with my band, but micro-monitoring doesn't work for me at all. That's one of the coolest things about the band. It will let us work it the way that is most comfortable for us. As long as we meet our goals of losing weight and gaining health, there's no "right" way to do it.

I'm going to be another one who takes her time about exercising. I have every excuse in the book, but with two small children the opportunities are everywhere. What's been keeping me from moving around is my weight, and as that starts to resolve there will be more physical activity in my life. I'm definitely not going to be worrying about exercise anytime soon.

So far I haven't told too many people about my lapband plans, because each time I have it's a huge ordeal. As soon as I mention "surgery" and "weight loss" in the same sentence the reaction is immediately negative. I have to explain 1) why I've concluded I need surgical assistance, 2) what a bypass actually is, and 3) what the Band is and--more importantly--what it is NOT. By the time I'm done my listener has come around, but it's hardly worth the effort required so I stopped bringing it up at all. But when I start losing weight, people are going to notice. When they ask how I'm doing it I don't want to say "surgery" because that will just start the whole q & a up again. What do you say? Do you just shrug and say "diet and exercise" or go into the whole detail? Is there any quick way to describe the procedure?

Hi everyone, First, thanks to everyone for the support and kind thoughts! I'm sure y'all will understand if I don't respond immediately to PMs or e-mail--this is not going to be a big day for computer work. So everything went smoothly! I'm a bad patient, though, and can't stand the aftereffects of anaesthesia. That was the worst part, the fuzzy-headedness of yesterday. I was home by 2:00 p.m., and spent the rest of the day nodding off like a heroin addict. Yuck! I'm skipping the pain meds today, phooey. Surgery was the easy part, really. The crap they gave me to drink for the x-ray test afterward was pure poison--not barium but something safer. I almost barfed all over the radiologist. Today I'm clearer of head but feeling bloated and achy. I have only four incisions and the bandages come off tomorrow. I'm feeling hungry, which to me is a good sign that all systems are up and running. Bring on the broth! Thanks again to everyone, and I'll see y'all later. Time to hit the easy chair.

Hi August Band Buddies! I've been posting elsewhere so don't worry about me. My experience was way less elaborate than what some others have to go through: -No pre-op diet of any kind; fasting from midnight the night before. -Arrival at hospital, checked my vitals, started IV, heparin shot in belly. -Surgery started at 8:45 a.m., was out and awake by 10:00 a.m. -X-ray test for leaks with some horrifying concoction that almost made me barf, but I passed with flying colors -We left hospital at 1:00 p.m. It sounds like a breeze, but the anesthesia itself was what knocked me out for two days. I'm still getting over it! Now I'm starting full fluids but very cautiously; I can feel a lump-in-my-throat sort of feeling which I'm told is completely normal. Aside from that I'm just achy and sleepy and need to get moving a little more.

Hey Shelly, congratulations! Your experience sounds even more elaborate than mine--I have to stop complaining. I'm two days out and starting full liquids, with the blessing of my doctor. I felt that same gagging/burping thing you did on my first day, but haven't since. Gas has been passing itself, thankfully, and I can tell each time more comes out that I feel just a little bit better. I'm there with ya, girl! We can do this!!!

Wow, you are all so wonderful! Thanks a million for the support and good wishes!! Today I went back to my normal activities, somewhat against my will. You know, one daughter has a dentist's appointment and the other one comes down with pinkeye and has to be picked up three hours early from daycare; DH can't do any of this because he's off picking up stepson for weekend visit. And other things I'd put off this week had to be done, so I did them. Now DH has the whole crew out to dinner and I'm about to sit down for cream of chicken Soup followed by a good night's sleep. Thank heavens! I took off my bandages today and was half-creeped-out by the sight of staples in my belly and half-amazed at how tiny the incisions were. There's only one that will leave any type of scar. Next week the staples themselves come out and after that I think I'll be able to feel normal. There's something so Frankenstein about staples in my stomach!!

Wow, thanks you guys! I'm sitting here waiting for the taxi to pick me up, trying not to tear my hair out. I didn't get any sleep last night to speak of--a combination of nerves and a 2 year-old climbing into bed at about 2:30 a.m.--but I'm not sleepy this morning. Just jumpy. One of the weirdest things is that I was told to leave all my valuables at home, so I'm going out without my necklace, earrings, rings (including wedding band, for the first time ever), and no cell phone or wallet! It occurred to me that if the taxi got into an accident I'd be unidentifiable. Just one more thing to worry about. If all goes well I could be home this afternoon by 2:00 or so. Gotta love outpatient procedures! Taxi's here--I'm off. Yeeps!!!

Har har!! I guess it'll be my last one for a couple of weeks.

You are, Barb! What have you learned in your long experience, o wise one? Tomorrow I join you in the band. Think of me at 8:30 a.m. as my doctor is polishing his scalpel. Getting nervous....

Hi Erika, If you are interested in having insurance cover your treatment, a good place to start is with your policy. Whatever kind of plan you have the first step will be getting a diagnosis of morbid obesity, since the band is only recommended for people suffering from that malady--that means a BMI over 40, or a BMI over 35 with two co-morbidities. The person to make that diagnosis is your primary care physician. He or she can also establish your attempts to control your weight through diet and exercise and take a detailed history. Then he or she will make a recommendation for surgery, if it's indicated. Then comes the surgeon. Their requirements can vary, but in my case there was a list of blood tests, a nutrionist evaluation, and a psychological evaluation. The surgeon needed to see the results of these tests before he decided whether I was a good candidate for surgery. Once that decision is made, it's your surgeon who puts the request in to your carrier for precertification. Everyone has a different experience with that, but you can probably find out whether your insurance carrier is band-friendly before that point. If they are, it's just a matter of making sure you meet their medical criteria for being a qualified candidate. BTW, my primary care physician had also never heard of the band. She had several patients who'd had RNY and who were mostly suffering the side effects, so she was initially very reluctant to recommend any WLS surgery. But I showed her the handbook from Inamed (available at their website) and after she did a little research on her own she was totally on board. Jerry, your doctor sounds great! I love what he said about expecting to hear intelligent questions. Cool! My surgeon said that he felt I'd be a good candidate for any of the WLS procedures he does, but I'd had my mind made up beforehand that I wouldn't consider RNY at all. That, coupled with the fact that he was absolutely positive Aetna would never pay for it made our first and only meeting quite short. But it's all worked out, and now I'm going under the knife tomorrow. Yikes!

Thanks for the encouragement! I really need it--my nerves are almost getting the better of me today. I try not to think about it but this morning on the drive to work it struck me that the next time I make that drive will be post-surgery! I'm not an experienced patient--the last time I had surgery was over 20 years ago and that was just a tiny thing on my neck. It's just the idea of surgery more than anything else that has my stomach tied up in knots. I'm feeling a little punky this morning and praying I don't come down with anything serious. I still don't know precisely what I have to do tomorrow. Evidently someone is going to call me after 1:00 p.m. today with the details of time and so forth. So right now it's all vague in my head, which isn't making the situation any easier. I think my fingernails will be bearing the brunt of this stress today. :nervous

Tomorrow is my big day, and I am definitely feeling the strain. I keep thinking I'm coming down with something--a slight sore throat, a sneeze--and am terrified they'll decide to postpone if I show up tomorrow with a full-blown cold. I also have had mild diarrhea in the last 24 hours, so I may indeed have picked up a virus from one of my children. But I feel OK, well enough to work and so forth. Does anyone have any idea how sick you have to be before surgery might be postponed? I mean, doctors operate on sick people all the time, right? :sick

Hi Teri, welcome! How interesting that you had yours done during the FDA trials. Who was your doctor? Are you still being monitored for long-term results?

Hi Vera--congratulations on a smooth surgery! Thanks for the encouraging words. Nice to meet you!!

The answer to your last question depends on the type of plan you have. If it's a traditional HMO or POS plan, you will need to start by seeing your PCP and getting a referral to a surgeon. If you have a PPO-type plan where no referrals are necessary, you may not need to start with your PCP at all. But my suggestion is to do it anyway. With any carrier you'll need to supply evidence of meeting their medical critera, and a PCP evaluation is typically part of that. So if you haven't done it recently, getting a physical--and being officially diagnosed as suffering from severe obesity--is a good place to start.

I'm an August bandster baby, with surgery scheduled for DAY AFTER TOMORROW!! A whole year of thinking it would never happen and now it's right around the corner. But I'm ready!

My surgery date is just under 4 weeks away, and this is finally starting to seem real. For the last year I've never had a single doubt that this is the right step to take, and I still feel that way--in daylight hours. And yet... Sometimes when I can't sleep unwelcome thoughts occur. For example, I haven't had any surgery in the last 19 years and the very idea of general anesthesia scares me. The picture of my abdomen being inflated by gas I will later have to expel is unappealing, to say the least. My DH has now come around, but when I started researching WLS he thought I was nuts for considering going under the knife for anything less than a life-or-death scenario. And then there's the idea of the foreign object being implanted--permanently--inside me to regulate my intake. The whole concept is weird and even a little creepy if I let it get to me. I wonder whether I'll ever be able to forget it's there and just go about my business. The whole point of this exercise is to be normal, but will that ever be possible with a band inside me? As eager as I am to start the journey, as the date gets closer I'm afraid these nighttime worries will get worse. I keep trying to reassure myself that compared to giving birth, laparascopic surgery is a walk in the park. (Am I right about that? Please tell me I am!) And I've been so far away from "normal" for the last 41 years that I wouldn't know it if it kicked me in the shins. So what was your inner pep talk? Share!

Thanks for thinking of me! It's actually not until Wednesday, but you can bet my nerves are starting to flutter. This afternoon I go to the hospital for blood tests, and I'm sure at that point I'll get super nervous. My DH is being a dream, already planning to cook up great Soups for my liquid phase (he's a professional cook--yes, I know I'm one of the lucky ones ). I'll check in again before the big day. Thanks again for the good vibes--they're very welcome!!

Jenevieve, how do you feel about it? Are you concerned that your weight loss will be derailed--perhaps permanently--if you get pregnant? Because if that's a concern of yours, remember that the band will still be there when you're done delivering and nursing your child. It can be filled again and away you go, ready to work once again on your weight loss. I bore two children when my weight was over 300 lbs. Both pregnancies were joyfully uneventful and my deliveries were normal. Don't be afraid to let your body do what it was designed to do, even if you are carrying some extra weight. I say, look into your heart. And talk with your husband honestly. This is a huge thing in both of your lives, and the great thing about the band is that it will be fine--and you will be fine--whatever you decide to do. A pregnancy is a precious gift, and you've already discovered that it may not be there when you finally decide it's the right time. The band will.