MerryHearted

Well, I survived it. I'm in a bit of pain -- the port incision hurts and I have that gas pressure thing going on enough that it's painful. But otherwise things are going well -- sipping my broth, eating jello, sipping water... I hope this gas thing goes away soon! Thank goodness for Vicodin. BTW, does Phazyme or Gas-X help at all with this type of gas? Or just the walking around?

Well guys, here I go!! Keep me in your thoughts and send good wishes my way tomorrow morning at 8:15 am PDT.

Thinking of you, HotLikeHer! Hope your surgery goes well this afternoon!

I'm going in on Wed and I'm jittery too, although I've done lots of research, got all my questions answered and know this is what I need. What kinds of questions do you have? I'm sure you'll get lots of answers and support here!

Well, we're headed into "caboose" week! Only a few more days left in August. I am nervous :nervous: and not sleeping well. I switched from Optifast to Glucerna because the Optifast was giving me eczema... boy I just want this over with and the weight to start dropping off. Hope everyone who's had it already is recovering well!

Congrats Lynn!! Yippee!!

I don't mind the Optifast at all, but it was making me break out in eczema as it's milk-based. I just switched to Glucerna today to see if it makes a difference. They taste pretty close to the same.

Adding a message, did you get mail Kathy?

I had mine removed back in '97. It was outpatient -- came in in the morning and went home a few hours later. Quick recovery too, as all the incisions are small. It was nice to not have those attacks anymore. Good luck!

Ooh, good question! One of the things I'm hoping for is once I reach goal weight being able to buy a life insurance policy without paying ridiculous amounts of money because I'm overweight. Hopefully having the band won't even be an issue.

What kinds of things about the doctors are worrying you?

They asked me to start on a Multivitamin at my first pre-op visit, and suggested Flintstones chewables. I take the Schiff chewable multi -- similar to Flintstones I imagine. Those Vivactin orange creamsicle Calcium chews sound yummy -- I think I'll go hunt some down. I also take chewable Vitamin C's -- I keep them at work and nibble on a couple as an afternoon snack. Gotta love the Optifast diet, when you turn to chewable Vitamins for snacking purposes.

So Dee Dee did you have your pre op visit? Mine was this morning too. It was very short, they did my "before" pics and went over the eating guidelines for the first few weeks after surgery, told me not to take certain types of meds prior to surgery, don't eat/drink anything after midnight the day before - even chewing gum or Water, not allowed to have anything at all!, what time to show up at the hospital, what I'd be prescribed for pain. That was about it! And she weighed me again. I can't believe surgery is only a week away... I need to call and ask if I'm allowed to take sleep aid pills because I'm starting to get the jitters about all this -- sleep just goes right out the window!

I've decided to take the plunge. I've got a BMI of 45 and the usual laundry list of co-morbidities. I need that negative reinforcement to keep me eating the way I know I should be! So I start step 1 this weekend, which is the required seminar for the clinic I chose. I've been through the seminar at another clinic before, so I wish I didn't have to attend this, but I'll jump through the hoops they want. So for those of you who have had the surgery or have a date assigned: how long between the time you went in for initial consult & your surgery date? I won't be held up by insurance since I'm paying out of pocket (my insurance flat out refuses to cover this). I'm not in a huge rush, but I did hope to have it by the end of Sept. Is that wildly unrealistic? Are there usually long waiting lists for Lap Band surgery? Or is the wait more about having all the tests run?

Hey -- just wanted to add that YES, it looks like I will get insurance coverage after all for my surgery!! When I went in for the appts, the ladies at the clinic told me that they had gotten my insurance to cover others so they were sure they could get them to cover me. Woot!

Yep, I'm on my Optifast now... I am doing 4 shakes plus some fruit/veggies for around 1000 cals per day. Dropped 5 lbs on it already. Good luck!! The first couple days are the hardest, after that it is much easier.

Isn't it funny how everyone is built differently? I see people post that they are wearing size 12's at 180 and find it amazing (I wear a 16 at that weight). At 130 I wore a 6/8 top but a 10 bottom due to having a straight figure with no waist -- pants just won't button otherwise. And elastic waistbands were not a big part of my wardrobe when I was thin, nor will they be when I am thin again.

Don't forget to join us on the August Bandsters thread Jodie! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8189

Are you meeting with Dr. Evans for your psych eval? I met with her today, she is so nice! Wait til you see her "before" pics -- she looks nothing like them now. Which surgeon are you going with, Dr. Watkins or Dr. Montgomery?

Well, as the Dr. in the psych eval put it: think of your goal weight as you buying a house in Spokane. (we're on the west side of the state). First of all, let's just get to Spokane, then we'll work on finding the house. In my case, we looked at what the weight range is for a "Normal" BMI and chose something in there. So we've set my goal at 150 for now, to be re-examined when I get there or close to there - above 157 I'd be "overweight" BMI again. I know before I gained all this weight, 130 was perfect for me at 5'5.5". (On my ticker I have 140 as my goal because my scale at home weighs me lower than the scale at the Dr. office.)

Margo & Shelley (weightshaker) -- thinking positive thoughts for ya!! (they are both being banded today) Post when ya get back!

Good luck Shelley!! Post when you get back so we know how it went.

Hey Renee in Houston -- I'm Renee in Seattle and have the same band date as you! Only 2.5 weeks... yippee! Oh yeah -- be sure to go post on the August Bandster thread: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8189

For questions that you can't have answered here but you should ask your surgeon if you haven't already gotten the info: * How many bands has he done? * And for how long has he been doing them? * What percentage of the bands he has done have had -- erosion -- slipping -- other problems * How many free fills do you get? * What is their procedure if something goes wrong with the band during the first few months or first year? * What is the success rate of weight loss of this surgeon's patients? (I know at the center I'm going to, they've got a 70% EWL average, which is higher than the national average -- this may be because of support services offered post op and/or careful screening of surgery candidates) * What kind of followup care will you receive? * What will the surgeon require of you post-op? (weekly or monthly support group meetings? weigh-ins? meetings with a dietician?) * What is their policy on doing fills? Do they limit it to only so often? How do they decide when it's time for you to have another fill? (or is it your decision?) * Does he require you to lose a certain amount of weight prior to surgery?

Congrats Corinne! That must feel so great.