healthychange

Hi, i'm getting surgery next week in Washington state, but I live in Alaska. Does anyone know of a doctor here who does fills? Thanks very much!

I read that the Ticker issue is resolved but need more info. I can't update mine anymore. Help please? Thank you!

As long as you are willing to make the necessary lifestyle changes, I say go for it. My only regret is that I did not do it sooner. The lapband doesn’t make you lose weight, but for many, many people, it does make it possible to lose it AND keep it off. The whole experience has also helped me finally deal with some of the emotional reasons behind my overeating. The surgery was very easy, recovery was no problem, and the weight loss is slow and steady. As long as you don’t expect miracles and you are committed to doing your part, ignore the advice of people who don’t have all the facts and make the decision that is right for you.

I just had a fill two days ago, and the nurse at my surgeon's office shared the same thing - that it is bad for your esophagus to allow the pouch to get full. She didn't give me specific bite per minute rules, but did really emphasize the small, slow bites theory. I'm gonna try it - I figure it sure can't hurt and I appreciate that the surgeon's office is staying on top of the latest research. BTW TKW - congrats on your amazing weight loss so far!!!

I have been using Mederma scar gel ever since my wounds healed. My surgery was on July 28 so it hasn't been that long, but all but the large one are barely visible.

Don't worry! I did not lose much weight until my first fill, one month after surgery. My surgeon sad anything lost in that first month was just a bonus, and he did not expect any loss during that time. You are healing; the loss will come, just stick with your doctor's eating plan and hang in there!

I sooo know what you mean! Thank you for sharing! I also do not regret the surgery, and I am thrilled to be losing weight. However, there was a certain comfort that came from food, and I believe it will take a while to learn new ways to comfort myself. The whole process has been so educational. I did not understand before how much of my eating was driven by emotions, but I know now because I have new awareness that the minute things get stressful and overwhelming I think of food. The difference is that now I don't eat it, I just cope. I'm thankful to now have the help the band gives so I can resist giving in to emotional eating, Once in a while a friend who is considering the surgery asks if I'd do anything different and only half joking I tell them I'd have eaten more before, while I had the chance! Please don't flame me. Just being honest with my feelings.

I think you should just start the process - find a surgeon, go to an info session, and move forward. Even if your insurance makes you wait 6 months, those 6 months are gonna pass anyway, right? And you never know - my insurance told me on the phone I had to do the 6 month supervised diet thing, but then after my surgeon submitted all my paperwork I was approved almost immediately, with no additional requirements. So - just do it, as they say! And good luck! Remember, very few of us would be here if we also hadn't already tried everything else. But the work to get approved and go through the surgery is SO WORTH IT! P.S. I have Blue Cross Anthem insurance

Hi, I live in Anchorage, Ak. and was banded at Northwest Weight Loss Surgery in Everett, Wa.

I had mine at a surgery center and had no problems at all. Surgey was at 7:15 am and I was back at the hotel at 9 am. I was very, very glad to not have to stay in a hospital. FYI - Mine was a Center of Excellence - they award this designation to surgery centers too, not just hospitals.

Why do some of you on this forum insist on being critical of or making fun of other members? If you can't say something nice or helpful, just don't respond, okay? You are creating a negative environment. In answer to the original quesitons posted: the band has not had a negative effect on my sex life. In fact, I would say it has a positive effect, because the more weight I lose, the more confident and sexy I feel.

I had my first fill at 4 weeks. I started walking for exercise the same day as surgery (doc's orders). The surgeon had me wait 4 weeks to get back to crunches and jogging though.

I'm sorry you have to wait that must be so frustrating. I am also on thyroid medication, and I was wondering if maybe there was a change in the medicine in terms of going from brand name to generic? I only ask because my regular doctor said that she absolutely refuses to approve generic thyroid meds for her patients. She will okay generics for any other kind of drug, but she feels that with thyroid the dosage has to be exactly perfect and that with generics she has seen patients have trouble. Just a thought. I hope everything gets straightened out for you soon and you can move on to surgery! Good luck!

I don't blame you for being excited! My insurance is Blue Cross Anthem. I had my surgery consult on June 6 and was approved on June 19. I had surgery July 28. I am so glad I finally took this big step forward!

Hang in there - I felt the same way for the first 4 weeks after surgery. Then I had my first fill. Everything changed! Tomorrow it will be 4 weeks since the fill and I'm down 10 pounds since then. So don't stress - just keep healing and know that after you get filled, you'll start losing if you follow all the guidelines. It'll happen!

I live in Alaska and had my surgery in the Seattle area on July 26. My fist fill was on August 29 and I flew the next day to meet my husband in Los Angeles and start a vacation. I was gone all week - flew from LA to Vegas and then back home to Alaska and never had a problem or moment of discomfort. I must admit though - Vegas buffets are no longer appealing. But that actually makes me happy. I'm glad that food is no longer a big focus for me.

These are basic tips, but think they will help: Are you tracking your calories? Your doc probably gave you a daily range to shoot for - usually about 1,200. Although the band is a great tool, we only lose weight if we eat fewer calories than we burn. Are you exercising? This goes back to my first tip - we have to burn more calories than we consume. I know you're probably frustrated, but visit your surgeon and get his/her help figuring out what's going on. Good luck!

I think that for a lot of us, 1,200 calories max is all we'll be able to do most f the time. Maybe a day or two a week we can do more, after we get to goal. It is kind of sad, huh? Years of dieting have messed with our metabolisms. I am very active, and even when I trained for and completed a full marathon, I didn't lose s single pound pre-lapband. At least having the band makes eating only 1,200 calories so much less miserable than it was before the band.

Congratulations on taking this exciting step! I had my surgery on a Thursday morning and was back at work on Monday with no problems at all. I did it out of town and flew home on Saturday, and even trekking through the airport, etc. was fine. For me the pain was never very bad. I took pain meds the first two days and then was fine. My doc had me taking 4 daily 10 minute walks starting the same day as surgery, and I think that helped a lot. The only real pain I ever had was in my left shoulder - very common, but thankfully it went away completely after about 10 days. Good luck!!!

My doc said the first month is for healing, and that I should consider any loss at all a lucky blessing. It turned out I lost 5 pounds in the first 4 weeks post-surgery and he was very happy with that. I got my first fill at that appointment, and now the weight is coming off more steadily. My advice would be to not put pressure on yourself those first four weeks after surgery. In fact, I now kind of wish I didn't tell so many people I was having it, because they constantly asked how much I'd lost and the answer was not good that first four weeks. I'd explain about the healing period, and I knew in my heart the doctor said not to expect much, but everyone's quesitons still made me feel pressured and a little like a failure. But now,after my first fill, I'm way past that feeling.

Hang in there! I lost very little in the first 4 weeks after surgery, but then I got my first fill and everything changed. It's slow now, but it's steady. Keep an eye on carbs; eat as little of them as possible. Measure and eat portions of protein and really well cooked vegetables and don't give up. A fill makes all the difference! But while you wait you can practice small bites, chewing really really well, and small portions of the right foods.

Let's all show a little empathy and kindness, okay? If we were all as perfect as some posters seem to think they are, we would never have needed the surgery. I say, try to follow your surgeon's directions. But if occasionally you can't, and if you chew slowly and carefully, you will be fine.

Don't give up! Go back to basics. Eat tiny amounts of simple foods. For example, if your doc allows these foods, try this: a quarter or half of a hamburger patty, no bun, but into very tiny bites. Chew it really really well. After that is gone, eat a very small amount of broccoli that has been steamed so it is soft. No liquids before, during or after the meal. Then just wait and see what happens for a half hour or so.

You can do this! But - you have to follow the rules. Stop drinking with meals. Limit yourself to 1,200 calories a day and make sure you get 60 grams of Protein in those 1,200 calories. If you plan your meals and then eat them slowly and carefully, you will get full on less food. You don't have to be perfect all the time, but if most of the time you do well, overall you will do well. Good luck - and stick with it! It will be worth it!

I also had surgery Thursday and went back to work on Monday with no problems. I did not take the liquid pain killer after the first 2 days and didn't need to. By the end of Monday, my first day back, I was a little more tired than usual but felt fine otherwise.