Fenton

Hey, Neal - thanks for all your inspiration! I hope it went smoothly today. And whosyadaddy - nice work on the weight loss, and on the 10K! It's great to see someone making it happen. And it's also particularly good to see someone with a high start weight - any particular tips for dealing with a higher BMI during this process? If I can get even a half of your weight loss in that time, I'll be pretty stoked. CTMan - I'm following two days after you. God and the insurance company willing...

Congrats, Q!

You and me both, Miss Snowflake! I feel like we've kind of climbed into the rollercoaster car, and the bar has been lowered across our laps, and soon the chains will start clanking as we shudder forward towards the big climb to the peak...

We'll see you in the afternoon - congrats!

So, I'm heading for the chop in March, and want to make the most of the next month to lose weight. My doc insists on a two week pre-op liquid diet to shrink the liver; I start that on 2/23. Reading through the Just Us Guys thread, one commenter mentioned that at his nutrition session, the nutritionist told them that they should Protein load before they went into the liquids phase (I can't find the commenter since the system doesn't seem to be able to find the post). In truth, I'm kind of surprised you can "protein load", but it seems that you likely go into a lower protein intake in the liquids/mushies phase. So, has anyone heard of this? If so, how is it done? Is it, like, Atkins? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks, Fenton

Good to hear things are going well, Aggie and Loprofyl. And way to go, Steve! Did they keep you in the hospital overnight? I just got my authorization from the insurance company, and I thought I was going to be staying overnight, but it looks like they're just giving me that day. I'd feel safer staying overnight, I think.

Competition is a great performance-enhancer! Do you think the Giants would have played as hard against a high school football team...? Mediummike - I hope you'll post as soon as possible after your surgery to say how you're doing and what it was like. The more I hear about how people experienced their surgery, the more I can relax about my own - which I too am anxious about!

Good on yer, dannyt! And I promise not to go to any auctions two days after banding, Steve... Nice to hear you're doing well!

Hey, Quinn! Welcome aboard. There's something symbolic in your op time - High Noon, baby! I envy you getting it done really soon. I'm itching for this waiting to be over. And Loprofyl, glad to hear things are going smoothly for you on the other side...

Loprofyl - getting stopped up is one of my main worries about this damn procedure. Uh, good luck with that! Jeff - way to go on the weight loss! When I first went for a consultation, I was 450, then insurance rejected me and said I had to lose 50 pounds before I would be considered. A year later, I'm up to 475, almost - but they've changed their criteria, and have given me the go-ahead. If only they'd done it a year ago! SO I'm dieting seriously now, and working on trying to drop a good amount before my surgery March 6.

Congrats, Mickers! Good to know the surgical site isn't that painful. I got good news yesterday: the insurance people said they'd cover my procedure, so I'm on for March 6... I hope you get your approval soon, Mikey.

Well, reggie, bear in mind that if you don't make your goal weight for banding, there's a chance that your surgeon might refuse to do the operation until you have. If that happens, all of your hard work - all the visits to the nutritionist, the psychotherapist, nurses, etc., all the dieting and excercising, all the weighing - all of it will have been wasted, and you'll be right back just about to the beginning of the process. You've worked so hard to get down to that weight, and just because you've reached one particular goal doesn't mean you should stop all the great work you've done! Keep it up! THe less you weigh at surgery, the easier the procedure is for the surgeon, and the smoother things will run during surgery and during your recovery. You're almost there! Don't give up now!

Congratulations! Can you lie on your sides, or is that too uncomfortable?

I'm in the same boat - actually, I have about 3 weeks before I start on Optifast - so I'm interested in any answers you get...

Break a leg, buddy!

Gosh, that sounds like an unusual problem - most people seem to report increase gas at both ends! But if the food is going in and staying down, you're clearly not obstructed... Congrats on the continued weight loss. F.

Thanks, Jack. I didn't think that "Protein loading" would make sense in the way that carb loading does - excess carbs get stored in starch or fat, whereas excess protein is just broken down and peed out, as I understand it. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on a cutting edge new theory that would make my life more easy.

Is there some kind of medal you get for reading this entire thread, all 82 screens of it? Because, if so, I earned it! I wanted to introduce myself, and say thanks for all the information, and to just say how great it is that there's this real community of brothers going through the same journey, helping each other along the way. The way is long and hard and scary sometimes, it seems, but knowing that others have walked that path and made it to the end is incredibly inspiring. I'm extremely grateful to you all, and I hope that I can make a real contribution here too, so that a year or two from now some guy starting out on the whole LB trip will feel that I've helped him. I first joined LBT a bit more than a year ago when I was researching the options. I got very excited, teed everything up, and then, at the end, my insurance was rejected because my BMI exceeded the insurance company's upper limit. I went away, determined to lose the 50 or so pounds I needed to lose to get me into their acceptable BMI range, and over the last year put on another 23 pounds. Desperate again, I came back to the forum, and reading through it discovered that the insurers have changed their policy and removed the upper limit. Long story short, I went back to the doc, and they're resubmitting my paperwork; I have a tentative band date of 3/10/08 at NYU by Dr. George Fielding. So I'm here, and reading. I have a coupla questions to ask, and I hope to be participating more - I firmly believe that actively participating in the forum is another element that helps you to goal weight - I mean, look at Neal! Thanks again, Fenton

Hi. I was here about a year ago, but was rejected by Empire because my BMI was too high. In May they rescinded their upper limit cut-off, so now I'm heading back into the procedure. I'm waiting for my approval now, but there shouldn't be a problem, so I'm Full Steam Ahead for getting banded in early March by Dr. Fielding in NYC. I have two main concerns: 1. sleep in the early post-op period. I'm a hefty fella, and sleep on my side and propped up because I think I have reflux problems. When can you sleep on your side after surgery? I know you end up with hulking great holes in your sides; when is it practical/convenient to lie on your side during the healing period? 2. Constipation. Every time I go on a diet and reduce my intake, my gut immediately grinds to a halt. Even Benefiber doesn't seem to help much. Does anyone have any advice? I'm worried that, particularly in the early post-op period, decreased intake will have disastrous effects on my picky constitution. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated. Thanks, Fenton

Wow, Christine! That's an amazingly helpful list! I've not seen someone's liquid intake laid out like that before, with details on content and volumes. And it's particularly helpful because it's the clear liquids phase that worries me the most. Your post gives me a sense of the provisions I'm going to have to lay in before I head off for the chop. I have a great Soup cookbook which I've never really worked with - sounds like a great time to start... I should do some clear Soups or consommes or what have you, and freeze them ahead of time. Really, THANKS!!!

Thanks, guys! Encouraging news on the sleep issue - sounds like it'll be pretty manageable. But the other, man, I don't know! I mentioned my concern to the nutritionist, and she recommended Benefiber, but I think I need something else. I'm particularly worried about not being able to keep up my Fluid intake in the first days, and starting a cycle from which I shall never recover!

Thanks! Now I'm going to have to figure out what blends well... I see that on my list of "difficult foods", spinach was included, although, oddly, the list mentions that raw spinach is OK. I'm wondering if pureed spinach dishes like creamed spinach and various Indian pureed spinaches are swallowable (don't worry, I have no intention of eating creamed spinach regularly!).

Are spicy soups OK in the liquid phase, or are they hard to tolerate? I love Thai and Indian and Mexican foods, and I figure they'd make life easier during the liquid phase...

So, I was turned down by my insurance company - Empire BC/BS, in NYC. Apparently, my BMI is too high for their criteria for LB; they claim it's not clinically proven to be valuable at my size (BMI 58, I think). It's slightly disastrous, because my surgery was scheduled for 3/15, and I've arranged my work schedule around that date (very difficult to do, high stress profession blah blah blah). And the surgical coordinator is away until 2/28 - I should be starting the preop liquid diet the next day. So now what do I do? I am going with Dr. Fielding at NYU in NYC. Empire BC/BS said they'd send me a rejection letter with details for appealing. Any advice?

(Sorry - this is probably the wrong forum. But, like, wah!) (I'll go poke around in the insurance threads.)