faithmd

Hottytoddy, I was going to ask how it was you were eating sushi so soon after banding? I wanted the name of your surgeon so I could go to him for a post-op diet. But I just read your follow-up post. I hope all goes well for those of you just banded or being banded today. I'm on deck for the morning, today I get to drink five of these clear liquid protein/fiber drinks today...hurrah. I wouldn't mind if it was just clears that I could choose, but these things are pretty bad. And I HATE artificial sweeteners. I can tell right now I'll be a tough patient for my nut to follow. Take care all, I'll check in again later.

So what did the insurance company say? Who is changing the rules? Try to sort out the BS from the necessary information. I know it's tough sometimes and really freaking confusing. But if you are going to have the insurance pay, then that is who you need to believe. They are the ones who will or will not cut the check. The MD's office can tell you what the USUALLY see, but the final say so comes from the insurance company. And please remember to get it in writing, and write down the names of everyone you talk to, the dates and the times. If there is a six month diet requirement, make your appointments now for once a month to see your PCP or whoever you need to see to supervise this diet. Don't miss a single one! You'll have to start at square one.

July 4th Challenge Week 8 Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go losingjusme..(Christine)......317...........291 .............295...........-4 tann.............(Tammy)........257.......... 231..............232......... ..0 juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232..............220...........12 Josette..............................340.......... 329..............315...........14 Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..306...........295 .............280...........15 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .281....... ...270 .............260...........9 Waterlily1072...(Nicole)...... 278..... .....272 .............252...........20 Libra..(Angela)................... 230...........219........... ..205...........14 Lapbandit……...............… .208………..206……..…..185…….....21 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..281...........269 .............256...........13 FaithMD............................ 341.5........327..............310.. ........17 Son of a BIT*H! I gained 5 pounds! Oh well, I'm sure a large part of it is T.O.M as well as "last supper" syndrome. I didn't go nutso, but I *did* eat things I haven't had in six or seven months (Oreo's are soooo yummy!) like fresh bread with olive oil, milk, Garden Salsa flavored Sun Chips, etc. Band Day tomorrow!

Welcome to LBT, Lisa! I just wanted to tell you that (depending on your surgeon) it may not only be two weeks without solids. I want you to be prepared of the possibilities. A lot of people have a one or two week liquid diet pre-operatively, then almost everyone has some combination of a liquid/mushy/soft diet for anywhere from three to six weeks after surgery. The average seems to be two weeks of liquids (either clears only or clears and full liquids-anything you could get through a straw-though many docs and nutritionists you shouldn't use straws for six weeks or so); then two weeks of pureed/mushy foods; then two weeks of soft foods, then on to solids. For some folks soft and mushy are combined and it's only four weeks to solids, you'll have to find out what your surgeon wants. Regardless of what you may read here or somewhere else, you do need to follow your surgeon's guidelines. Also around fills most docs have you do liquids for a day or three before and/or after fills. it all depends on your doc. And YES, you CAN do this. You can do ANYTHING if you put your mind to it!!! REMEMBER: you didn't get fat overnight, it will take time to take it back off, and it takes committment and WORK. But it will feel GREAT!

Yep, I was denied the first time I applied because I hadn't lost the 5% required by the insurance company during the one year diet. I did have extenuating circumstances (heart issues) and was put on meds that made me gain a lot of weight. They didn't care, I had to lose back to my starting weight (that I started my one year supervised diet with), PLUS the 5%. Damned insurance companies. I'm fine with requirements, but if I have documentation of why something wasn't followed, then why not accept it? Oh well, it's done now. Banding on Thursday!

I'm doing the rebanding dance over here for you!

Oooo, Lauren you hit the nail on the head with that tube comment. I've floated down our river in a tube once, and I was freaked out the whole time because what if I fell out of the tube in a deep spot and couldn't get back in? I didn't enjoy it at all. I also want to be able to go swimming and just hoist myself up on the side of the pool and get out like I used to when I was a kid,

:cheer2::cheer2::cheer2::thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up::woot::woot::woot::xena_banana: Christine!!!!!! Woohoo!!!!!!!!! Hooray!!!!!!!

I am sorry you are so upset. I would advise you to call your insurance company TODAY, right NOW. Ask them what your specific requirements are and then ask them to email AND snail mail them to you. You need a copy in hand. Also ask your INSURANCE company if they are strict about waiting the full six months. If they are, then use that six months to get your head straight, practice eating in a bandster way, practice chewing, chewing, chewing. Start not drinking with your meals. You can use the next couple of months to make sure you are completely successful after banding. Take heart, I had to wait 15 MONTHS.

I sooooo agree about the canoe and kayak thing. We have a house on a river that we've owned for about 5 years. I have yet to canoe it. I also would LOVE to buy a kayak, but it's hard to find kayaks that are reasonably priced that have a weight limit higher than 250 or 300 lbs. I would love to have a keyhole, but my butt is sooo big, I'd worry if I rolled, I couldn't get out fast. So I started looking at the sit on tops and my weight is still just too much.

Hello Aubrie, there's a few threads around here like this one, I always love these threads because it is so inspiring and offers so much insight into what makes each of us tick. In case you wanted to check some others' responses as well, I've listed a few of them. The first one is one that is fairly recent. Thanks for your list, I love it! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/has-anybody-made-list-things-you-want-do-after-weight-loss-29177/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f7/looking-forward-9038/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/what-do-you-did-you-look-forward-too-21239/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f15/nsv-i-look-forward-anyone-else-me-23899/ http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/what-things-can-you-do-now-your-banned-you-could-not-before-13671/

It's deja vu?

Didn't I just answer this question?

Actually, Splenda does have calories, but since it's less than 1 gram of carb per serving, it can be reported as a no-calorie food in the US. From netrition.com: How low are the calories in SPLENDA? SPLENDA®, the brand name for the sweetening ingredient Sucralose, has no calories. A two-teasoon serving of SPLENDA® Granular or a single Low-Calorie Sweetener packet also has very few calories -- so few, that these are considered equivalent to zero under the FDA's nutrition labeling regulations. The small amount of calories in the SPLENDA® Granular and Packet products come from the presence of some common, natural food ingredients in these products. These ingredients, maltodextrin, for example, give SPLENDA® the necessary bulk so it can be used like sugar, but with only 1/8 sugar's calories. Both the Packet and Granular forms of SPLENDA® have only 2 calories per teaspoon, while sugar has 16, and a cup of SPLENDA® granular has only 96 calories, while sugar has 770. Using SPLENDA® instead of sugar can therefore significantly reduce the amount of calories, sugar and carbohydrates in many of your favorite recipes. Something to be aware of if you are choosing to use Splenda in large quantities (as in baking, or using granular Splenda to sweeten Kool-Aid).

Mine does that sometimes, too. You're successful.

I've read it's different for everyone. Some people are still finding the gas issues a couple of weeks post-op, some folks never have issues. Just keep walking/moving (that's what the experienced folks say) and you may keep it at bay, or if you have issues, that will help it get out.

You have just confirmed my decision NOT to tell my in-laws (or anyone else, for that matter). My MIL needs about four pairs of dirty, smelly socks stuffed in her mouth, and duct tape applied. Everything you have happen to you, she's had happen and it was sooooo much worse. Example: My husband has some significant back issues and has had injections and is seeing specialists. We mention to her that he had another injection and her back is KILLING her, it comes from an accident she had when she was 15, you know. (Yes, EVERYONE knows, we've all heard it 5,000 times.) She borke her pelvis and oooooo, the sciatica. It runs down her legs and wraps around her knees. And the back, well, you know her borther and her mother and four of the kids have back problems, it runs in the family, Amy had surgery for it, maybe you should.... AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHIIIIEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

lizrbit, I love your responses. I wish that would help for me, but you see my hubby lives nude (at home, that is) and I've slept naked for years. Any other thoughts? I'll happily entertain them! You all are the greatest!

I am so sorry for what you are going through. I second the assertion that another poster made, 42 is NOT old. You are vibrant, getting healthy, and you have your kids and your grandbaby. It DOES sound like he's acting out from possibly getting married and having kids so young, men can't seem to handle that all that well (and your kids sound like they are getting married and having kids young, too-how we change as we age is something for them to think about as well), we women are much more resilient. You WILL be okay, you really will. If you've been married for 25 years and have accumulated a lot in that time (no matter who has paid for it), I want you to remember this very important word, repeat it over and over and over and over again: HALF That's right, you take HALF. You raised your children, are helping with the grandbaby, and ran a househld, all while working as well. Just vecause you're not working right now, doesn't mean you aren't entitled to what's yours. How dare he treat you like that. And you were good enough to forgive him once, yet he does it again? It's a pattern, sometimes I believe we can stop poor behaviors with therapy, but pattern behaviors are much different. I do wish you all the luck in the world, take care of YOU. Remember: HALF

Christine, I hope you feel better soon! Libra, I agree we need something to help with motivation (or at least I do ) Though the scale does keep moving, slowly. Next week I'll be banded, so that should help! July 4th Challenge Week 8 Name.............................Starting….Current…...Goal….....To Go losingjusme..(Christine)......317...........305 .............295...........10 tann.............(Tammy)........257.......... 231..............232......... ..0 juliegeraci..........................232.......... 232..............220...........12 Josette..............................340.......... 329..............315...........14 Inner_me.....(Chris).......... ..306...........296 .............280...........16 Elisabethsew..(Elisabeth).. .281....... ...271 .............260...........10 Waterlily1072...(Nicole)...... 278..... .....272 .............252...........20 Libra..(Angela)................... 230...........219........... ..205...........14 Lapbandit……...............… .208………..206……..…..185…….....21 RidinMyHDDream.(Carol).. ..281...........269 .............256...........13 FaithMD............................ 341.5........322..............310.. ........12

Thank you for including your comorbidities, but you also need to tell us WHY they denied you. they must give you a specific reason. If it is because there is an exclusion to weight loss surgery in your policy, then there isn't anything anyone can do.

Duckieduck, there is a whole food/recipe forum here, too.

Is albation an option for your rhythm? I was ablated for ventricular tachycardia in December. Mine wasn't controlled by 150mg Lopressor twice a day. I have not had one problem (where's the damned wood to knock on when you need it?) since then. I've had treadmill tests and a 48hr Holter as follow-up with nothing on those. I go to Cardiac Rehab three days a week and haven't had any ectopy while there. To answer your question about if there are doctors more specialized than a cardiologist, yes. But you would only need to see one if your rhythm can be controlled with ablation. Those doctors are called Electrophysiologists. They are cardiologists who specialize in aberrant heart rhythms and how to treat them. I would suggest you find one and see them. They may offer you something more for control. I don't know about you, but I couldn't function on Lopressor (beta blocker). I gained 17lbs and was a sloth.

Of course muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, pound for pound that is (since a lb or a kg or water weighs the same a a lb or kg of air-or see the good example Julie NYC provided). But a cubic inch of fat does weigh less than a cubic inch of muscle. Here's a visual, I think it helps.

Okay, I apologize in advance for this bit of tough love, but here it comes: You're kidding, right? You are upset because you have lost 25lbs (try not to dwell on the only 5lb weight loss in two months, your body has to adjust after eating nearly nothing for five weeks during the post-op phase, of course your rate of loss will slow down) in about three months' time? That's about 2.2lbs (or a kilogram) per week which is not only FANTASTIC, but expected for the rate of loss for a Bandster. Did you think you'd lose 10 lbs a week? That's why you didn't get bypass, or at least that's why I didn't chose bypass. Though in my heart I want to lose 10lbs a week, I know in my mind that is really really bad for my body. I chose to go the slow and healthy route (band) so that my skin will have time to adjust, and I wouldn't be malnourishing myself. Studies are saying that three to five years out (depending on which one you read) the bandsters and the RNYers are about even. So the only supposed benefit in the short term is more rapid loss (from what I can see), and that's not necessarily a good thing. Your body can adapt after the bypass and weight regain is fairly common. Then you have to go get a band over the bypass, or have a sleeve done. With a band I could be unfilled, then recommit myself to the band and try again. I didn't gain this weight in a year, why do I think I should lose it in that time? Yes, the band is WORK. But we need to move and exercise to be healthy. Not only to lose weight but to prolong our lives and improve how we feel. As Bandsters we need to make healthier choices in foods, the bypass sort of keeps you honest because if you eat something bad (sugar, alcochol) for you, you'll likely dump, cramp, etc. Did you research banding a lot before having it done? Did your surgeon and the nutritionist go over things like hunger and fills before you were banded? I've not been banded yet (8 days) but I've been researching the heck out of it. I figure I'm having surgery, I'm gonna learn all I can. One of those things I learned is that for most people it takes at LEAST two, sometimes three, sometimes four, sometimes more fills to get to that "sweet spot." It also is not necessarily immediate that a fill "kicks in," sometimes it can be two weeks later and the restriction comes. I will have to be patient. Banding is not an instant gratification process, it requires a lot of work from me and time, but eventually it will pay off. It is merely a tool. Remember, you've LOST 25lbs. Had you not been banded, would you have still lost 25lbs? Or would you have GAINED something by now? That having been said, I do believe that for some folks RNY is the best choice, others it's banding, others it's the DS, etc. I would just advise you to give it some time. If you're doing cardio and training 5 days a week you are building muscle, and that weighs a LOT more per square inch than fat. So while the scale may not have moved, you ARE burning fat and building muscle. Are you tracking everything you eat? That also helps me. fitday.com mydailyplate.com sparkpeople.com calorieking.com are all good free sites for nutrition info and tracking. Good luck, and I'm sorry if I was harsh, but I just wanted to give you a little shake and say, "Come on, did you think this was going to be completely effortless and immediate?"