blushn

I am 36 yr old mom of two (15 and 13), been overweight since my oldest was born. My husband and I have been together 8 years but were just married a year and half ago, we have no children together and do not plan to have any more (mine are more than enough, hehe) I haven't been to this site in a long time, I was approved for surgery in September and chickened out at the last minute. I hadn't lost anything on the pre-op diet and the Dr. was not happy with me at all, I got really scared that I might cause myself more problems by having the surgery with complications. I could never forgive myself if I had gone ahead with it and in so doing brought on other medical issues that I didn't previous have. So here I am in Limbo and not really sure what to do.

not sure if you have a full face mask or just the one that covers your nose, but it sounds to me like if you just have the nasal part covered and your mouth is drying out that you are possibly mouth breathing in the night which would cause the drying. I haven't had a dry mouth problem with mine, I have however gulped air and sometimes wake up in the morning with air in my stomach, which usually comes out as soon as I sit up.

I sure hope it is an amazing journey, I just got back from my pre-op appointment and I am not felling real good at the moment. Doctor was concerned because I gained some pounds back from my initial appointment which was way back in May. He has decided to scrap the low fat, low cal diet and wants me on Optifast for the next 2 weeks. I always felt bad for those who were stuck with that diet and now I am one of them. He also gave me a prescrition for Lovenex for after surgery I am going to have to give myself injections once a day for 2 weeks to help prevent any clots, he is worried I may be vulnerable to that. They didn't have any Optifast in the office and so I had to order it from his website, it should be delivered by Monday. I bought the ready to drink chocolate. I wasn't sure about the flavor but everything I read says the vanilla was really bad. The also had strawberry, perhaps he will let me exchange it(they are supposed to be getting a shipment in) if the cholocate turns out to be real bad. I am just bummed from this visit. He needs to see me again 5 days before the surgery and he may cancel me if I haven't lost enough by then.

from my surgery coordinator at the doctor's office delivering the news that I am approved. Surgery date is scheduled for October 9th at 1:30pm. I have to go to my pre-op appointment this coming Thursday. I have to say part of me is excited and part is scared to death. I really really want to lose this weight yet a part of me keeps thinking that this is so drastic and I should as a person be able to control myself and do it on my own. I know others have had the same feeling and we all go through a bit of anxiety. Having a date makes it much more "real" if you will. So much to do so little time. I am going to need to start my pre-op diet right away my packet says three weeks before surgery. I am such a mix of emotions, I don't know what to think.

That is great news, best of luck.

When I first got mine I only wore it for a couple hour at a time, always pulling it off in the night. If I stop wearing it completely then it takes awhile to get used wearing it again. I really hate it too and hopefully I won't have to use it anymore once I lose some of this weight. The last two nights I haven't pulled it off at all, my only suggestion is to keep trying. Does your machine have that "ramp up" feature? My pressure is set to 11 and if I put my mask on when its full pressure I feel like I can't breathe, there is a button on my machine (looks like a ramp going up) that I push that gradually increases to your prescribed pressure so it doesn't overwhelm you all at once.

I am on Day 2 of my 3 week pre-op. It's low fat, low calorie (1000 cal) and I feel like crap. I have been sticking to it but crashing my calories like that feels real bad. It is not easy. I do plan to have a dinner out with my husband for our 1st anniversary but other than that, I hope to stick to it. I can feel myself already wanting stuff though, I need to completely avoid the grocery store.

Mine is a three week pre-op but it is low fat, low cal, 1000 cal/day. I have had an incredible headache all afternoon, today was my first day, hopefully I can get through this and tomorrow will be better. I am feeling a bit hungry too.

Thanks everyone. I started my pre-op diet today. My doctors office requires three weeks of low fat, low calorie about 1000 calories a day, then 2 days of clear lquids prior to the day of surgery. I need to study the packet the doctor's office gives out because apparently they are going to test me when I go on Thursday for my pre-op visit. hehe.

My paperwork was submitted to the insurance on August 28th and as of yesterday there is still no decision on it. I am getting quite anxious, I know I need to be patient, I am just eager for some progress. I have UHC and I do have the benefit so that isn't an issue.

Congratulations, good for you!!

Good Morning, I just wanted to pop in and say Hello. I am currently waiting for my insurance approval and then I can hopefully schedule my surgery soon after that. I have never asked for a seatbelt extender and when I was going to Mexico last year I sure thought I would need it but I was able to get the seat buckled after a short struggle with it. I would get completely stressed if I ever had to sit next to a stranger on a plane, luckily my only recent flights have been with my husband and we have arranged to be next to each other albeit uncomfortable cause he is a bit overweight too, not like me though.

I was on Depo for three years and gained 80 pounds. Nothing I did was able to stop it. And I didn't attribute the weight gain to it at the time otherwise I would have stopped sooner. Had I known then what I do now I never would have gotten that shot, I am not completely blaming it for my 318lb self but it certainly did not help. My nurse ended up telling me that people who have a tendency to gain weight, will gain weight with Depo. It just seems so counter productive if you are having this procedure.

I have sleep apnea, was diagnosed a couple months ago, but didn't realize I would have to wear the mask during surgery. Guess I should ask my doc about it.

I had a chemical stress test and I was in and out in like an hour from the Cardiologists office. They give you the radiochemical, then wait a couple minutes, then give you the chemical stress inducing thing whatever that is and when they are done with their scans, they give you an antedote to reverse the effects that chemical put in you. They gave me some apple juice when I was done, asked me if I felt ok and off I went.

I told my kids that I am planning to have this done. They are 13 and 14. My daughter(13) is overweight herself and has heard of a number of people having this done before, along with some of her extended family members. She is also a big fan of the show Big Medicine. I have taken every precaution to make her understand this isn't an easy fix for weight problems. I suppose I haven't been a very good role model previously but going forward that will change that so that she won't end up in this same situation one day. I guess depending on the kids age I would limit the amount of information you want them to have, however if they are old enough, I find no value in sugarcoating the explanation, they should know what is happening.

Congrats Chica that is great news. I spoke with my Surgery Coordinator today and he told me that he will be submitting all of my paperwork to UHC no later than Thursday this week. I hopefully will know soon after that.

I am a little freaked by all the posts I see people making in here too. I think we see so many of these type questions it appears to outweigh all the benefits the surgery had for people. I don't know if you have seen this thread yet but it certainly helped put my head back in the right place. I am still afraid of those things happening to me, but I am longing for the time when I can do this stuff mentioned below. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f17/share-us-what-has-improved-you-37441/

I have UHC choice plus and when I called them last week the woman told me on my plan that the only thing I would have to pay is the $150 hospital co-pay. I have no deductible and as long as the facility is in network then they cover 100%. I sure hope that is true and nothing changes. I'll probably call them again and see if I get the same answer. My surgeons office is submitting all of my paperwork next week (just waiting on one report) and hopefully I will get a date after that. Anyone else have their UHC Coverage through Cablevision here in the Northeast ever have an experience with them?

<p>Sorry to hear about the trouble you are having. Have you tried googling "gastritis diet" because I seemed to find a bunch of results searching like that. I didn't see anything referencing dogs there. Hope that helps.</p>

This is a great thread, I had tears in my eyes reading it thinking about how I cannot wait to do all of those things too. I don't have a surgery date yet but have just this week finished all of my pre-op appointments. A few of the things I look forward to doing again: Dancing (used to be a dance instructor) Horseback Riding Roller Coasters Fitting into all seats in general (restaurant, plane, car) crossing my legs getting off the floor without feeling like a beached whale doing a cartwheel weighing less than hubby Being a better role model for my kids Thank you for all of the comments, it is a great motivator, can't wait to get my date.

I started experimenting with a couple different kinds, tryign to buy different flavors to see what I liked or didn't. I know everyone has different taste but can you all recommend something that tastes good? I have tried the atkins advatage caramel latte drink and that was horrible. I tried the slimfast vanilla creme, and while I did drink the whole thing, I felt like I was drinking baby formula the whole time with a hint of vanilla in it. Before I go spend a ton of cash, I would like some experienced opinions about these things. Has anyonehad the Isopure drinks? I thought of getting an assorted case of all the flavors but didn't want to waste 40 bucks if they are bad.

<p>Just for reference as a rule I don't drink a real big variety of beverages as it is. I drink Hot coffee/tea regularly, propel Water and 4C 0 cal iced tea and on occasion orange juice. Other than that I may have 1 diet soda in a weeks time. With the exception of coffee, I really hate drinking my calories. I know that once I am banded that will be a regular thing but I have never been a sugary drink person and gave up reg soda years ago.</p>

I have severe obstructive sleep apnea. I haven't been banded yet and just started using my CPAP machine about a month ago and it was terrible to get used to over the first two weeks, but sleeping with it now is much better. I stopped breathing about 21 times an hour and with the mask they only recorded once an hour. I was told that once I lose weight I too probably will not have to wear the mask anymore. I dreaded getting this machine, I was very resistant at first but I am now glad I did.

So I was diagnosed with sleep Apnea several weeks ago and have since started using a CPAP machine, I have the mask that just covers my nose and I find that I get a lot of air swallowed each night, so in turn I burp a lot in the morning. I have not been banded yet, so I am wondering does anyone else out there who is banded and has sleep apnea have this problem or think this is going to be a problem for me? Any info is appreciated.