stravi

Hi Sherilynn, The best advice I can give you or anyone else considering LBS is to talk with your surgeon and his/her staff about your concerns. They are the only ones with the expertise to advise you. If you aren't comfortable with your doctor, then you might want to think about finding a different one. For me, the numbers did drop within a short period of time. My primary care physician tells me that even a 10 lb weight loss can have a significant effect on a person's stats. I can only tell you what happened to me as I'm not qualified to give medical advice or make other general statements. As for friends who say they don't want you to have the surgery: My best friend didn't want me to do it but not because she was afraid I'd lose weight (for crying out loud!) or because she was "jealous". She was afraid something would happen to me like I might die. She was worried BECAUSE we are best friends. Also, one of her sisters went to Mexico and had it done and it was a disaster and that's the only person she had known so far that had had the surgery. Her only frame of reference was not a positive one. People who are skeptical of LBS usually don't have all the facts. It's a very personal decision that you must make with your doctor. As for me, I wish I had done this a long time ago and given the choices, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. It was a good decision for me and I have absolutely no regrets and I feel great! And by the way, my best friend is amazed with my results so far and she is now considering having it done too (in the United States, of course!). She is a diabetic, so I hope she does because I don't want anything to happen to her either! I hope you have a similar experience to mine. Good luck and keep in touch! Sharon

I can absolutely sympathize with you. Once you make the decision to have this done, it's like it cannot happen soon enough! That's one reason I decided to borrow the money and self-pay. I look at the loan like another car. My car has been paid for for several years...so it was like buying another car ..about the same amt of money, I mean. It makes things happen much quicker usually....it certainly did for me. I'm not a very patient person when it comes to this sort of thing. Where do you work? I'm the Family Court Administrator for Judge Nance in Glasgow. We cover two counties: Barren & Metcalfe. I love my job and I couldn't ask for a better person to work for. He's got more integrity in his little finger than most people do in their entire body. My best friend is the Administrator of the Ky Chiropractic Board but she is retiring Aug 1st after 34 years. She's really having some separation anxiety! I would too if I'd worked somewhere that many years. She's still quite young too. She's considering having this surgery done too. Her health issues are much more serious than mine. She also works part time for the Ky Podiatry Board. Plus she visits her mom regularly in the nursing home AND has a wonderful husband and beautiful yellow lab, Shelby. She, my best friend Beverley, has MUCH MORE energy than I've ever had. I couldn't do without her though. She's the closest thing to a sister that I've ever had. Sharon

oops...missed a question! Yes, it's outpatient unless you have any complications and then they would want to keep you overnight. I was all prepared to have major pain when I woke up from surgery. But I had none. I was dizzy from the anesthesia, but no pain. And I have a very low pain tolerance, so if there WAS any pain, I would have had it! I was able to get up and down out of bed, slowly. I was uncomfortable, but not in any pain that needed anything more than tylenol. I was as amazed as anyone. The 3rd night after surgery was the most discomfort I experienced. A body pillow helps keep you comfy trying to sleep. Now, I'm not implying that you can jump up and down and dance around the room or anything. I was slow and regular slacks and bras were out of the question for about a week. I couldn't take the pressure on the little incisions. Other than that, occasionally (and Debbie from the Dr.'s office warned us about this) it felt like a little electric shock in my side. Enough to startle me and take my breath for a few seconds but it would quickly subside. That's it. Piece of cake...so to speak! Sharon

Hi Wanda, Let's see.. I self-paid and didn't use my insurance, but a friend of mine did use our insurance (Humana). It took a year for her to get approved and I really don't know why it took that long. My BMI was slightly over 35 (close to 36) but I have high bp, and dorked up blood sugar, arthritis in my neck, hips and back....all considered "co-morbidities". I actually qualified at 206 lbs (208 lbs minus clothes) with my other health issues. Thru the Humana ins I have or if you're self pay like I was, yes, you absolutely get to choose your doctor. I can't speak to the choices other insurance companies may or may not give you. Do keep in touch. Did I answer all of your questions? I hope you or anyone else who has this surgery feels as good as I do! Where do you live? In Ky? Close to Glasgow? Sharon

You'll do just fine. And I'm confident you'll be able to have Los Mariachi's again too. Have you ever tried their grilled grouper? It's the best I've ever had (at least here in Glasgow). I had it last Thursday night but I could only eat about a third of the fillet. It was still really good! I ordered it with a side of pico di gallo. Nothing else. Also, I can tell you I've discovered that I don't have that "defeatest" attitude toward eating anymore. Before my surgery, I felt like it just didn't matter anymore and I might as well eat whatever I wanted b/c I couldn't lose weight anyway. But now, I know I've got what I need to make sure I lose the weight and it's much easier to be disciplined about what I eat. I won't touch sugar. It's not that I don't like it, but I don't want to retard my weight loss results! It feels so good to be able to do that and not feel deprived. It's very empowering! I'll hang in here with you! If you need me, just give me a shout. Btw: my email at work is sharontravis@kycourts.net and you've got mine here at home: sharontravis@glasgow-ky.com Have you tried Dannon's Carb & Sugar control yogurt (not just carb control)? It only comes in a 4-pack that I've found. It is really good. Comes in strawberry and vanilla. Has like 5 grams of Protein, & only 3 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fat, and only 60 calories. Much much better than even regular lite yogurt. Not as "tart" as regular yogurt either. Even if you don't care for yogurt, you might like it. sugar free Jello is a good thing to have lots of on hand too! Better go get ready for work!! Talk to you later. Sharon

Of course I know where Scottsville is! Do you know Brenda and Bobby Pearson? He's retired now, but used to work for the Post Office there. My surgery was a piece of cake! I'm doing so good, I didn't realize until yesterday that it's only been 2 1/2 weeks! I started exercising last week on my NordicTrack. Began with 5 mins, waited a day, then 15 mins, waited a few more days, and did 20 mins yesterday! I'm also trying to do some yoga for the stretching (it's harder than it looks!). I feel GREAT! Very little food fills me up. I can't believe I can exist on so few calories a day and not be hungry. The only reason I'm not kicking myself for not having done this much sooner is that I believe the longer a procedure has been around, the safer it is. I couldn't be happier. I hope you do as well as me! Sharon

Hey Snoopy.. You and I had our surgery on the same day at Sts Mary & Eliz.! What time was yours and how'd you do? Sharon Travis

Are you having your surgery at Vandy? My best friend is considering the surgery and she wants to have hers at Vandy. Are you pleased with your surgeon and his team? Sharon

Hi Becky42, I'm close to Bwg! I live in Glasgow. Does that count? Sharon

My bp went back to near normal five days after my surgery. If it hadn't happened to me personally, I would not have believed it. I had surgery on Wed and almost passed out in the shower the following Sunday morning. I took no pain meds after surgery except some celebrex, which I take anyway for arthritis. My primary care physician immediately reduced my bp meds to only 1/2 of one of the 4 bps pills I was on prior to surgery. I'm charting my pressure twice a day, and I'm doing great. I cannot explain it but I did find a website of a surgeon in Texas who has had some patients have the same experience. If any one is interested, I'll try to find a link to his site. I'm going with the flow and "if it ain't broke, I'm not going to try to fix it"!

Becca, I self-paid, but I have Humana insurance. A coworker had to go thru a year of diet and counseling (2 6 month stints) with Humana before they finally approved her. She had her surgery in April and Dr. Vaughn?Allen did hers in Louisville. Dr. Allen was the first surgeon in Lvl to do banding, I'm told. Who is your insurance carrier? Sharon

Hi Becca, I was banded on June 27, 2007 by Dr. John Olsofka (ole soff ' ka) in Louisville at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital (a satellite hospital of Jewish). He's done over 850 of these procedures and did a great job for me and for a friend of mine. Here's the scoop on their practice: 3 surgeons, all they do is lapband procedures; always one of them in town (all 3 never go out of town at the same time), if your insurance covers the procedure, it's a one time fee and the surgery is guaranteed so that if you have complications (heaven forbid) and have to go back to surgery, they don't charge you again. The anesthesiolgist does, but not the hospital and not the surgeons; you see your surgeon at every follow up visit and he is the only one who will do your fills -- fills are never done by a nurse or assistant; there is always someone available by phone at the hospital or during hours at the dr's office if you have problems or questions. Dr. Olsfoka is very pleasant but not much for small talk. My friend had her surgery in November and I had mine June 27. She's lost 65 lbs so far and looks great! The hospital is very old and not all modern like some but it was fine. The bariatric staff was WONDERFUL. I had NO PAIN right after surgery. Only soreness. And I'm not at all pain tolerant so there really was NO pain. I was amazed because I was prepared for pain. Hope this helps you! Sharon

Sandra, try 2 tablets with a little water a few minutes before you eat. If you still have a bit of gas from your food, next time try 3 tablets. It's an individual thing and since Beano is just an enzyme, it won't hurt you. Sometimes it takes 3 tabs for me...especially for the butter beans! I also keep some gas meds on hand like generic GasX or Phazyme (simethicone) and I'll take a couple of those after I eat if the gas is still a problem. The nurses at the hospital told us to keep the gas pills on hand and use them after surgery too for pressure, bloating and gas discomfort. It also comes in flavored "thin strip" form that you lay on your tongue and it melts pretty fast in your mouth. Not bad. Have a great day! Sharon

Have you tried to take Beano before eating your favorite ("gassie") soups? I too love butter bean soup and the Beano takes care of the gas problem for me. Also works great for eating veggies like broccoli and cauliflower etc. Hope this helps!