momhappe1

I knew I posted on this one already. There are two of them..

I could swear I posted to this earlier today, not sure what happened. My BMI was under 40 and I was declined by my insurance company. They will not approve you unless you have a comorbid disease if you are under 40. I did not have all of the usually one's so I had a sleep study done. I have sleep apnea ( there is a very good chance you will have it being over weight) and after I sent in those results they approved me within 2 days. As for the diet, have you even been in weight watchers? If so does your doctor know it? You will have to do the phyc eval we all had to, however if you really want this you are going to have to work for it. It took me a year to get this done. I am a single mother and there is no way that I could have afforded this on my own. If this is something you really want you are going to have to work for it. I went through appeal and all of the above, but it paid off and this surgery only cost me 250.00 plus co pays to the doctors. Now if I add in the co pays for everything else including the sleep stuff and my CPAP I will be in about 1000 over the last year. The way I see it I will save that in food the first few months. Good luck with your soul searching to see if this is what you want.

I know your feeling, I was banded on the 21st of October. I want to eat. However I am doing my VERY best to follow my docs instructions. The feeling on the left side is that you are full. Do not take too much food at one time as you will eat it. we have programed ourselves to finish our plate. You should not be able to eat more then 2 oz at this point. I am still on full liquids - yogurt, broth, jellom pudding, Carnation Instant Breakfast, Protein shakes. I cannot go to mushies until 2 weeks out. Also be careful that you are not eating too much as you will stretch out your pouch. Take your time and let your self heal. Leatha reminded me of this,,,,, you need to heal. Also drink a lot of Water, that has helped with my lose. It is starting to slow down as I am eating a little bit more creamy Soup. It is so hard to not eat when you are around others that are eating. My mother made popcorn about 4 nights after I was home, she was taking care of me, I thought that I was going to jump her for it. It was not fair, I wanted it!! But then again my mother walks 4 miles a day and looks great. I choose this and damn if I am not going to make it work. Just know you are not a lone as I think we all have felt what you are feeling. Good Luck

My insurance asked for past history, more then likely you already have it.. Even been on weight watchers? Does your doc know that? Also my BMI was under 40 and I got the same thing. I have been working on this for 1 year. I finaly got it. If you are under a BMI of 40 and do not have a morbid disease. I did not have one, they turned me down. So I thought that I might have sleep apnea, and guess what after going through all of the testing I did. You more then likely do if you are over weight. As soon as I got my results I sent them to the insurance co and they approved my surgery with in two days. It all depends on how bad you want it. I am a single mother and there is NO way I could have paid for this on my own. Good luck !! If you want it, just keep on trying, you never will know if you do not try.

I was not released from the hospital until I had a barium swallow. Infact they watched it for 10 minutes as it would not go into my small intestin. They did this a few hours after surgery to make sure everything was ok. I would insist on this ASAP so they can see what is going on. Good luck!!!

I have read a few people could eat Chili post op. I am still in my full liquid stage. How do people tolorate it and do you blend it in the blender? My doc said that spicy food might not do well.. any one have a problem with it?

Thanks leatha_G, I know all of the above, I guess sometimes you just need to be reminded. I have been great today, Water and chicken noodle Soup (broth only). I am going to make a Protein Drink soon as I had to have a talk with myself this morning about not getting in enough water or Protein in the last few days. Thanks again. I know the weight lose is going to really really really slow down, so I am taking advantage of it right now. :-)

Thanks, I was so bad today. I went to my mother's house late this afternoon and guess what she had made for lunch,..... Chili.. I took two spoonfulls added Water and blended it smooth and ate it. I was full for hours, which was nice as I have not felt full very often. Although, I was a bad girl as I should not of have eaten it. Tomorrow is a new day and I just HAVE to do the Protein Shakes and see if those will fill me up. The scary thing was that this did not bother my tummy. I have tried a few different things ( not as bad as this) and no difference in feeling. I hope it is normal. May God be with me over the next few weeks. I just want to make sure that I stick with the program and can have self control on what I CANNOT eat right now. Just a few more days until I get to soft foods.

Thanks ladies..

Congrats, seems like a lot of us were banded last week and this. It is so exciting and I felt better after one week post op. Take your time and be good to yourself. Drink a ton of Water and the heavier liquids will be easier as you heal. Good luck to you.

Thanks Michelle, I was going to wait until I was on mushy foods and about my 2nd or 3rd week. Just wanting something with substance. I know it has a ton of protien in it.

So glad that you are feeling better!! Good luck!

Kimber Lilly - To me it helped to stay on Disney property, Not a disney hotel, but one close. There is a Hilton, Wyndham palce that is nice. I stayed there for a week with my daughter. Great pool and walk right across the street. We drove from IL. I drove straight through each way. My daugter slept while I drove at night and I took my laptop so she could watch movies in the back. I took lots of food and drinkings with us. I even have a cooler back pack we used for the day at Disney with ice packs. This really did save a lot of money( even just on bottles of Water and snacks). If you are going to go to disney for more then two days I would go on line a pre buy your multi day passes you will save a little bit of money doing that. Also if you go to sea World when you go in go right to the left. You can have your photo taken and added to your ticket and you will get a second day for free. You will also be able to avoid parking by taking the disney shuttle. There are tons of places to eat right around the hotels the should not be more then a 10 cab ride - lots of places for kids. Hope this helps, also if you travel at all and have any "Hotel Points" you can use for at least one night that helps as well. also check the hotel rates everywhere. like - travelnow.com, expedia.com, and the hotel's website. Also make sure you call as you never know where you will find the best rate. Also of course try to avoid the "Hot Dates" when the rates are really high. One other tip if you ave a daughter and plan to eat in Cinderella's Castle for lunch call now and make your reservations. When we got there they could give me one in two weeks. I laughed walked away and waited for another lady and thank god someone did not show up and she got us in. It was great cause Cinderella was there and my daughter got her picture taken and all that fun stuff. Good luck and have a great time.

Well, I am now on the other side of the world. I was banded on 10/21 and am back. Evertyhing went well, except one "lap" incision where my port is is about 4 inches long. Thought that I would be going back to work on Monday, but that is not going to happen. why is it that male docs put incisions where you were oh lets say your waist line and where your bra would lay. I do not think that they think about these things at all when they slice you open. I go to see the doc today and have stickes out, not looking to forward to that as I am very sore. I took all of your advice and I did not have any gas pains, I walked as much as I could and started with the baby gas drops as soon as I got home. Once again thank you all for what you do on here. It helped me decide to do this and I am so glad that I did. One more week of full liquids and then to soft foods. I cannot wait I am so sick of chicken broth. I was so glad to have read on here that some people are tight in the morning as I am. I cannot do anything more then broth in the morning, then I do a carnation instant Breakfast, Soup for lunch and I try to eat some dinner (more soup) I have not been very hungy and it took me several days to be able to get down 8 oz of CIB, but I can do it now. I am having a hard time getting in all of my liquids. I do drink a lot of Water, but still feel like I just cannot be getting in enough. We shall see. I meet with the nutritionist next week. I weighed in at 234.5 this morning, so I am down 15.5 pounds from me 250 a few weeks ago. GOD am I so glad that I did this, Even all of the pain this week has been worth it. Thanks everyone.. :-)

I did not but it was one of the things listed as Call your doctor right away on my post op information. Glad you called and I hope everything is ok. I was banded on the 21 and started snezzing today and can I say ouch!! I cannot imagine how it would feel if I were to throw up. Did your doc give you anything for nausea? Good Luck

do you have any problems drinking with a straw? On my post op it says not to use a straw anymore as it allows too much air into your tummy. Thanks everyone for the well wishes as well.

My surgery is tomorrow, thank God, and I have a few questions. I ordered some Isopure Zero Carb protien drink in the 20 oz bottles. YUK.. Does anyone know of a way to make them taste better? All I taste is protien. I have only tried them cold and that could be one of the problems as they seem really thick. I also ordered some unjury powder and I cannot wait to try it. So any receipts would be great. I know that I do not post very much on this site as I work way too much. But reading this site and all of your thoughts and history on the lapband is what made me decide to do it. So thank you all and I will see you on the other side in a few days.

Thank you all. I did not order enough of the unflavored. I will have to order some more. I ordered mostly vanilla and chocolate. I am sure that the unjury will be great it was the Isopure that was so bad. But it has 40 grams of Protein in it so that is what I will need for almost the whole day. I have been on Clear liquids for 5 days pre op. I am to the point now that I am not even hungery. I have two weeks of full liquids then 4 weeks of mushy. But as long as I can eat Soup, perfect time of the year for this, I will be ok. I have everything for my Protein drinks, sugar free Jello and pudding, yogurt and my list of Vitamins and drugs advised on here for gas pains. OH I CANNOT wait!!!

Well I have a surgery date. I will be banded on October 21, 04. I am so excited and I cannot tell you all how great it is to come here and have so many of my questions answered just by reading around. Thanks and I am sooooooo excited!!!

Thank you all for the wonderful words and the great advise. My biggest thing is I have to quit smoking. I am not a big smoker, really only smoke in the car to and from work. So my date to stop smoking is October 1. My family is a little worried about taking food and smoking away from me all at one time, I think that they think I might be a little bitchy . However, with only smoking around 5-7 a day I know I can do it. That is just one of the many changes I am getting ready to make. With the after surgery diet. Do any of you follow the South Beach guide lines? I have read the book and some the recipies are wonderful. I know that this is not a "diet" and this is a life change. I just wondered what was working the best for people. What foods are easy for you to eat and what is NOT working. I decided if I am going to do this I am going to give it my all. I am very afraid of losing hair so I want to make sure that I get in my protien. Anyway, thank you all for the nice words and I am here getting my closet in size order already. I think that I have every size know to man in there.

I know, in trying to not do that I am going to actually try to lose 20 pounds before surgery. I thought this would give me practice on protein eating and finding new things that I like. Now I am just trying to find a great protein drink. I have to do 5 days pre op of clear liquids. I think that this will be the hardest part. I have done it for 3 days before so I know I can do it. Thanks for the advice though. I can use all I can get.

Thank you Penni, I cannot wait. I am sooo ready for this.

I just got approved. I did not get approved and then went through an appeal and was still not approved. Then I went through sleep apnea testing and found out that I have sleep apnea. I just found out this week that I got approved. I have my appointment with Dr Rossi on Tuesday and am really hoping to have surgery at the end of June. I have everything done except my pre op testing and phyc eval. If I cannot get everything done by the end of June, I will have to wait until November with my work scheduel. I could not make it to the lunch as I had to work. But if there is anyone who has some really good advice please pass it along. I need to re read the information that I got from the class on the diet. Is Dr Rossi 4 weeks without solid food after surgery? I know he has the one week clear liquids before and after. But do not remember from the class what it is after that. Thanks and good luck writermom.. How did it go?? I see you live in Morton, so do I.

I finally got approved for my surgery. I meet with the surgeon on Tuesday. Hoping to have my surgery at the end of June. Wish me luck..

I just started with the CPAP Machine at home. I have been on it for one week. I can already see a difference in how tired I am during the day. During my first test I snored very load, kicked my legs a 126 times and hour and had 72 apneas through out the night. I went back and had a nother sleep study with the CPAP and did not have any of the above. Codamom - have you had the band or did you lose your weight on your own? As far a sleep goes, the mask does bother me at time, but it is new. I am hoping that after I have surgery and lose weight that I will not have to use it anymore. I was denied for my surgery as I was not big enough and did not have a comorbid disease. Now I do so I am hoping to get approved. Good luck and all I can say is if you do have apneas you might want to try it and see if it works for you and makes you feel better during the day.