gentylwind

Hi all. I am still researching doctors, self pay, wanting to have this done just before Thanksgiving weekend. I heard on the news about Dr. Daniel Scott, who is now doing single incision lap bands (rather than the five with traditional laparoscopy). So far his office seems wonderful on the phone. Has anyone had experience with him or with the single incision technique? Supposedly there is less pain, faster recovery, less scarring. They don't have a single price for self pay...its all broken down by doc, anesthesiologist, hospital. Trying to compare it to all the doctors who offer a flat fee for everything is getting complicated. Anyone else steer these waters? So far he actually seems on the surface to be a very comparable price and his fills are cheaper by far than anyone else ($84-143 versus the normal $250). Would love information if anyone has it. The idea of a single incision and faster recovery is exciting.

Small portions. Protein first. Avoiding slider foods. Weigh often. Shop often (watch the sizes slip downward). GET YOUR FILLS. Enjoy life, keep the faith but recognize this is largely up to YOU.

One year as of this past Saturday. Down 62 pounds, wearing a size 14 petite in pants, a size 10 or 12 in dresses, look and feel fantastic and no regrets. It wasn't easy and still isn't. Girl loves to eat. :biggrin: But the band helps me keep it in perspective. Its been a slow loss, my skin is recovering nicely and I feel great. Getting married next month in a street size 12 wedding dress. My all time highest I was a size 28, so it feels pretty svelt to me. I am thankful I had my surgery. If I ever have complications from the band I will revise to a sleeve or RYGB, no question about it.

I had my surgery just over six weeks ago and this past week I have noticed that if I drink skim milk straight or have certain kinds of gluten (namely thin pizza crust or whole wheat crackers), I get severe severe stomach pains. The milk also causes me instantaneous nausea. I have managed not to vomit from it, but until it passes, its unpleasant to say the least. The gas pains are horrendous and severe from gluten stuff. I was neither lactose nor terribly gluten intolerant prior to surgery. Anyone else notice this? Can I expect it to be this way from here forward or is it something that could improve with time? The lactose intolerance seems to only be milk, not cheese, pudding, yogurt or cottage cheese.

I have had a beer or two. Didn't hurt, didn't have any bad effects, but yes, I did have to drink it s-l-o-w.

Took me 7 fills to get good restriction. Its a whole different ballgame now both in terms of my satisfaction with my food and in terms of the change in my body. Its too too early for you to be ready to throw in the towel. The most important thing you can do now is continue your follow ups!

I do these approvals for a living for a local bariatric surgeon. From the time of submission of all of your data the insurance company is allowed 30 days to respond. The type of insurance you have may or may not have anything to do with how long it takes to get the approval back. Whether or not they are short handed, whether or not they got enough info, the qualify of the info they got and many other factors play in to how long it takes. If you are submitting in May you will likely have surgery in June. You will still need pre-op work up and your two week pre-surgery diet and of course the doctor's own surgery schedule will play a part as well in how soon you can get it done. Congratulations on coming so far!

Average rate of loss is 10% of your total body weight at the six month mark. Most of you are on target. I have had moments of struggling too since being banded. It was in my case completely due to my own poor choices. Are you drinking alcohol? Tracking what you eat? Cutting out refined foods? Exercising? If you can't honestly answer the above questions as they ought to be answered, then you have some work to do still. There ARE, however, people for whom the band is not effective. Everyone who feels discouraged by lack of loss needs to be talking to their surgeon.

I am doing well...I have reached my sweet spot and eating the way we are meant to is MUCH easier now. I was up and down for about seven weeks while losing my job, but found a new one and am now the insurance coordinator for a very reputable bariatric surgeon, in a great, supportive environment and tracking every bite on MyDailyPlate.com. The scale is moving and I am trying to get out and exercise more than I had been...hard with FT work, school and two kiddos to keep up with. I am happy with my progress so far. I attended a wedding this past weekend and wore my first BCBG dress and felt amazing and beautiful.

I tell them I bought a tape worm on the Internet. That tends to shut them up.

Once you reach good restriction it all gets very different. I have trouble with stress eating too. My most recent fill last week (my sixth) finally put me to that point they talk about when I can only eat 4-6 oz of food at a sitting and that it keeps me satisfied for four or more hours if I don't drink for an hour afterward. I had started to doubt that would ever really happen for me, bouncing up and down the same five pounds. Keep going on your follow ups and pursuing support through group meetings, here if it helps and make sure to get in some exercise. Even a 20 minute walk per day will elevate your ability to deal with the stress and sorrow of your spouse being gone. You can do this. Follow ups and support are vital for you right now.

Hi all. Got laid off from my job last week. That lead to some pretty bad food choices. I am still pretty tight but have gained a few pounds. Good thing is if I straighten up what I am doing those pounds will come off in a day or two. Other good news is that I already have a new job, this time working for a bariatric surgeon, if you can believe that. I would think that will help me to stay on target since I will be at the seminars and helping people get insurance approval for their surgery. I'll give the MMD Challenge some thought and get back with you with my goals. I seem to have one good week surrounded by two not as good weeks....I lose a big chunk, then maintain for a while, then lose another big chunk. I am ready to be under 200 lbs and to get into nice airy pretty sundresses for spring.

You so very rock! You should feel very proud of yourself. You have done so much in such a short amount of time. Good for you!

Are you drinking any alcohol at all around the times you get this pain, within a half hour to an hour before?

It would depend on the surgeon's reputation with the surgeries he did in the 10+ years prior to being trained on the Lap Band and on who did his training and what his record has been thus far. I would not rule him out, as he is not new to surgery, but I would look at him with a great deal of scrutiny prior to making my choice.

If it is pure liquid and your doctor said it is okay, then it is. Drinking from a straw, however, is not. I was on full liquids at your point postop and was not permitted to blend fruits or anything else. Those counted as mushies due to the fibrous nature of them. Even blended they make your belly work harder, which is what you want to avoid right now. You need your stomach to stay quiet so the sutures can heal and the band settle into place anchored by scar tissue.

I get full sooner. MUCH sooner. To the point that my perception of a serving size is beginning to change. What used to be a normal portion for me now looks like an unbelievably huge amount of food....three meals worth at least. It also feels tight...I have to take tiny bites if I want to enjoy my meal and not feel things going down "hard".

Just stay away from carbonated beverages and recognize that any alcohol you drink is going to slow down your loss for that period of time.

I waited three to four weeks before my first little glass of red wine I think.

Most people stall in weeks 3-10 postop to some degree. The loss only looks slow because you lost so much in such a fast chunk of time. Keep doing what you are doing. Your body is adjusting to a massive change and a massive shock. You'll get there! The scale WILL start to move again if you don't give up.

I am sorry you are frightened and frustrated. Remind yourself this is a marathon, not a sprint. This is the rest of your life. If you work the band correctly you will not fail. Hundreds of people before you have had to muscle through that postop time lasting several months where you relearn how to eat and you deal with hunger. You knew it before going in, yes? Keep your chin up. You can do it. So many others have, who have the exact same hopes and food issues as you do. You can do it. eta: I am three months postop and just now getting good restriction. That might sound like a long time, but look how much I have lost anyway as I get there....and its half the amount of time you named in your original post.

Hang in there. YOu'll feel this way on and off throughout the whole journey including once you reach goal. I lost 80 lbs not so long ago on Atkins and remember having the same feelings you are. Mine was triggered because as the weight came off, it revealed the incredible damage I have done to my once lovely, smooth, svelt physique. Stretch marks, stretched skin, saggy lower belly, saggy inner thighs, saggy breasts. This was not the body I remembered having nor the one I was striving to find! Its a lot of head work, getting good with ourselves, the way we are right now, in this moment. You are lovely. You were lovely before, you are lovely now. Hang in there and be tender with yourself. Think about how you'd react to your best friend having the same issue and do that for you.

Well, he believes the first year is the magic window with the band. That after the first year, weight loss doesn't stop, but it does slow dramatically. He wants to take advantage of the first year by getting to the sweet spot as soon as is safely possible. When my surgeon's office does the fills, they draw out of course to see how much is in there. Then as they push the fluid back in and add some, they let loose on the plunger here and there to see when the stomach muscle "pushes back" on the syringe. When it pushes fluid back out, the point that it stops is where the fill stops. On my first fill it was 2 cc. Second fill was 1.5 cc. Third fill was 0.6 cc but he didn't like how slow the water went through, so he took 0.2 cc back out. My weight loss is not any more dramatic than anyone else's, but its on par. And yes, watching calories is a good idea. I love using www.mydailyplate.com to track what I am eating. It helps me notice when I am slipping into a habit of eating slider foods or making poor choices based on stress. I do not lose at all if I don't track what I eat.

I get full sooner and stay full longer.

Do I personally think it would be dishonest? No. We are all working hard to learn how to control our food intake. That being said, you better believe anyone else finding out about it would feel it was dishonest if you didn't disclose your surgery. Most people think WLS is an advantage. And honestly, it is. Just not as much of one as many seem to think.