ReneBean

Hey SK If you TRULY feel like the band isn't doing much, then get another fill. Don't get all caught up in how many cc's you already have. There is no "right answer" when it comes to how many cc's you need for good restriction. I have a VG band with 8.5 cc's - other VG band patients get restriction at 6 cc's, or 9 cc's... it's all relative to the individual with the band. If you don't cease to be hungry after a cup of food, (notice I didn't say if you don't feel FULL, I said if you don't stop being hungry) if you get hungry soon after eating, like within an hour or two, then you probably need a fill. Don't hesitate to get one. And if you don't get good restriction after that one, get another. Sometimes it takes many attempts to get the restriction you need. I have what I think is pretty perfect restriction...I can eat anything I want, if I take small enough bites and chew it really well. I cease to be hungry after about a cup of food (sometimes less) and then I don't get hungry again for hours and hours. Of course, I have to keep myself from continuing to eat after I am sated... that whole Self Control issue - but it's a lot easier to do when you sincerly aren't hungry any more. You might be .2 cc away from perfection, or you might need a full cc plus. Just keep on getting fills until you get restriction. But beware of getting too tight... the complications start when the band is too tight for too long. Hugs and Good Luck!

Wow, Andy. Now, go to the store and look at a giant bag of dogfood... now think - you have lost 1.5 of those. Could you even carry 1.5 bags if you tried? 79 pounds is like losing a child from your body... or Nicole Richie LOL! You have done GREAT! Keep up the good work. Hugs!! I don't have to miss anything, yet... but I haven't lost 80 lbs... :]

I think the liquids accomplish two things. 1) Liquids pass right on through so there is no chance at all of your pouch getting overfilled or pulling out stiches or pulling the stomach up thru the band. 2) the digestion of normal foods makes your stomach move around and creates a lot of acid. Liquids move through to the intestings without any wrenching on your incisions and there is less acid generated that might cause pain or damage. The is the crucial time for healing - so no matter how much you might want to, resist that solid food... it can hurt you right now. Drink as much as you need to. Don't worry about calories. If you need 3000 calories a day in Protein Shakes to stay strong - then drink them. Weight loss comes later. Healing happens now. Hugs!

mmmmm - cheese. :]

Hi Soph I am not sure why you wouldn't want to keep the band in once you have it. I understand why you might not want to keep tight restriction forever, but seriously - you can just get an unfill when you get to goal... Then if, for any reason, you gained weight - like pregnancy, or accident that keeps you from exercising - you could just get a fill and lose the weight. Is there any particular reason you would go through a painful surgery to have your useful tool removed, when you could just get an unfill? The band is the coolest thing. I can eat any food that I want - just not as much as before. I ate pizza today. Now, the deep dish with the super thick bread-dough crust was just too much trouble to eat, but a normal crust or a thin crust works just fine. If you tell your doctor your concerns and ask him to put in a Vanguard band (the biggest one) then if you are unfilled, you won't even know it's there. I know that my case is not the same as everyone elses... some folks have restriction even unfilled, some folks can't eat certain foods - but the chances are good that you will be able to eat most everything, and you won't have complications. IF you are one of the unlucky 3-5% then you might HAVE to have your band removed.... in which case it would be medically necessary and your insurance should pay. I know that the longer you have your band, the higher the risk of complications becomes - but it is STILL pretty low. Try to keep in mind that the numbers seem magnified here because people who are living normal lives at goal just don't need the support they did during the dieting process... they don't come here much anymore - so you don't hear from them. People having complications do need information and support, so you see them here all the time. I recommend researching all the different options before making a final decision. There are some other options to investigate, although most of them are more invasive, lots of people have done well with them. Most of them don't leave any implants inside, so that might appeal to you, more. This particular surgery requires you to do all the work - it just helps you to eat more slowly, and to eat less. If you are not prepared to choose chicken over chocolate then the band won't work. Some of the other options force you to be compliant because you will be violently ill if you cheat... I feel that the band is the right choice for me, and probably for everybody - but until YOU feel that way, you should keep on researching. If you decide on the band, I hope you embrace it for life... I plan to keep mine until they pry it from my cold dead corpse. Hugs!!

Hey TX Congrats on your surgery!! I don't think its a problem to sleep on your side - but it might hurt like heck... I had problems with getting horizontal for the first 2-3 days. I slept sitting up on my couch. After that, I slept on my back for a bit, cause up and down without using those abdominal muscles is pretty impossible - and using the muscles really HURTs for the first few days. :] I think I was able to sleep on my side again after about a week. I could roll over and move a bit without intense pain. Hugs and good luck! I am thinking good thoughts for speedy healing.

OK If you have 17 days, you have plenty of time. My doc put me on a low carb/South Beach thing. I did liquids for 2-3 days before the surgery to empty my intestines. I ate LOTS of veggies at night. I made some low-carb dip and kept my calories low at night. I was very strict on the low carb thing. Only lean meats and cheese. I ate SF popcicles for treats. I got some Atkins shakes and drank those for breakfast, ate salad or lean meats for lunch and veggies and dip for dinner. I lost 16 pounds in ten days, and while my liver was still pretty fatty, the doc was able to get around it to do my surgery. Start now - go low carb. It will force your liver to burn fat. Good Luck!!

Hi Katie!!! Welcome to LBT. Take a deep calming breath... ok. Feel better Not everybody loses their hair. I know that I have't lost any appreciable amount at all. Some people have some temporarty hair loss about 6 mos out from surgery - but it is not ALL your hair - just more than normal. I haven't even experience that. I might have lost a little more than normal in months 6 & 7 - but honestly, it wasn't noticable to anybody but me, and I was looking for it. I think some folks here have it worse than others because they lose weight really fast - and that shocks the system, hence a little more hair loss than I experienced. If you take it very slowly, not only do you get to live a very normal life, but you get to keep your hair. Don't freak out, now. Honestly, even if you lose a TON of hair, they have made great strides in the wig-making industry... seriously - get yourself a little fall to add to the volume and go for the band. There are a ton of threads on hair loss. There are hundreds of suggestions to help slow or stop the process. Personally, I would rather be bald and wearing a wig than fat for the rest of my unnaturally short life. Hugs and good luck!

I am with Kat. I don't tell everybody I meet, but if people that I know ask me, and they are asking because they REALLY want to know as an example for what they can do to lose weight, then I always tell the truth. It would be adding to the public lie that everybody should be able to "do it on their own" and to the concept that it is the "easy way out" to tell the lie of omission. I always tell those folks the truth. I usually point them in the direction of this website for eduction. So far, not one single person has given me any indication that what I did was wrong. I am sure they are all watching to see how it goes - and who knows what they say when I am not around - but even if I did get comments - I would ignore them and move on. I feel that if only ONE person has the chance to break the fat cycle by getting this surgery, I have done a good thing. I feel that anybody who is 50 lbs or more overweight ought to be able to have it. I hope that very soon, the public opinion will shift. I mean, geez... heart patients get pace makers. Diabetics get insulin pumps. Why the heck shouldn't MO Patients get lap bands?? Why does the world say it's wrong??? I feel that the more of us that speak up and tell the people around us that we have the surgery, and that it makes all the difference in OUR EFFORTS at diet and exercise, the less crap we and all the other MO people out there will have to take. Education is the key. We are the teachers. Hugs and Love to all!

So now you know you are probably going to get insurance coverage, it's just a matter of meeting your surgeon's requirements. Go talk to the doc. Let him know that time is money or life is precious, or whatever you think he will understand. Let him know you understand the basics of the procedure and that you will be responsible for doing all the right stuff and making the right food choices. Impress upon him the need to get this done so that you can get on with it already - instead of waiting for 3 months - OR - ask him if you can attend seminars for other docs to fulfill his 3 seminar requirement. Since getting the pre-determination from the insurance company will probably take a while, I see no reason to wait for 3 months before you even START that process... Geez. If I had done that it would have taken almost a year. It took about 4 mos to battle my insurance company. Hopefully yours will be easier than mine was. Mine said I was too fat for lapband and only wanted to pay for Gastric Bypass. Uh Huh. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. The state insurance board seemed to agree with me... thank goodness! I would try talking to the doc. I can't believe that he really thinks everybody should wait for 3 months just to prove something. If he does - if he really does - then find a different surgeon. Best of luck in getting approval. I love my band and feel that it was worth every minute of agony fighting and waiting for my stinking insurance company. Hugs!!

Hi! This signal is weak - so it's not fabulous for surfing - but it gets me here enough to check in with y'all. Today we went to the gym and I did (drum roll please) 35 minutes on the Evil Elliptical. Of course, I didn't get overly enthusiastic about any particular songs this time... so I got to breathe the whole time without the raspy throat. :] I guess I shouldn't tell on myself :kiss ....after the gym we went to CiCi's and I ate far to much pizza. I guess it's not as bad as it could have been, since I did and extra few minutes of elliptical penance in advance. And of course my food intake at CiCi's was nothing like what it would have been pre-band. **shudder** at the thought! Sometimes I wish I couldn't eat bread like some other bandsters - and sometimes I am glad I can. :nervous That's human, I guess. As I ate the last slice of pizza, I wondered if maybe I didn't need another fill... but I will hold off for now. So, today, I have been very very good, and very very bad. No domestic goddess stuff, yet - but I have my veggies ready to chop for the evening snacking. I figure I will get around to the tree thing tomorrow. Mandy - Tell all. How was your meeting?? Eileenie - did you get your tree down? Did you earn your domestic goddess merit badge?? (oh - and maybe TMI on the underwear thing... lol!) Cindy - yep - I think the domestic goddess hat does strongly resemble unwashed hair... :] How did the 15 minute plan go? I might have to try that one if it worked for you! Patty - Love, don't change your insurance, change your surgeon. Call the insurance company that you currently have and ask them for the name or names of Bariatric surgeons or hospitals that are in their stinking network - and then go see one of them. Your current doc will understand, I assure you. All those tests you took and paid for? Those are YOURS. All you have to do is sign a letter asking the surgeon to transfer all paperwork to your new doc. If that is the only excuse they have, then pick a doctor they can approve. Heck, if you have to drive to the next county, it will be well worth it. Or, money could still fall out of the sky. Bad shit happens, and good stuff does, too. Keep the faith. Hugs!! Kat - Love you. You are always so comforting. Hugs!! Well - I am going to see how hard I can push my ride... The signal MIGHT let me go see what's up on the other boards... or it might not. I'm just glad it let me stop in here. Hugs!!

I would try going to the next town if there are no other docs there. That crap about waiting three months to show your dedication sounds pretty stupid. Since you really can't get an approval from the insurance company without the tests and stuff, you will have plenty of time to think about your decision. You do need the medical testing and the psych eval - but the ten pounds and the three seminars is all them. 1) Contact your employer - make sure that the employer's contract with the insurance company doesn't have an exclusion against bariatric surgery for treatment of Morbid Obesity. **be sure you phrase it that way - cause nobody covers standard weightloss treatment. It has to be medically necessary as a treatment for Morbid obesity. 2) Call your insurance company to be sure they cover. Ask the same question, bariatric surgery for the treatment of Morbid Obesity. Once you know that there is no employer exclusion and your insurer covers the procedure - THEN start the medical testing process. Get your tests together and sent to your doc - and they bundle it all up and send it in to the insurance company for an approval. What they have to get is the insurance company's agreement that the surgery is medically necessary... and no surgeon will operate without it. Other than that - you shouldn't have to do anything. Not lose ten pounds, not say pretty please, not beg at the feet of the almighty doctor for the permisson to be treated. If you are getting that kind of attitude or vibe - then run the other way, fast. Hugs and good luck!

Well, when I run accross one I can't eat, I will let you know... So far - I can still eat anything I have tried. Now, it was a little painful when I took that sip of Champagne on New Year's Eve... I really don't recommend carbonation - but I don't really miss soda all that much. I just drink iced tea. Hugs!

Oh Yeah - and was DH a little Jealous? Totally cool.

Oooooo - somebody has an unsecured wireless network up... It isn't very strong signal - but it is getting me to you from the comfort of my cushy chair. Woo Hoo!! I have CSI Miami on TV and I am snuggled under a little blanket to avoid the cold. I stopped at the store on my way home and picked up some lovely veggies to eat with the dip I made last night. Just in case I get the munchies! It wasn't just raining - the sky was hemmoraging! I was soaked thru from just walking from my car to the store and back. I could barely see the lines on the road on my drive home. It was a little more excitement than I generally enjoy on my commute... but I made it home with my veggies - and home I plan to stay. We are planning on going out to the gym tomorrow before the big freeze hits. It hardly counts as going out because the gym is so close to the house.... but that is our only plan except for the domestic goddess stuff. Sherry - get out your domestic goddess hat and take that tree down! And you and Chris have fun at your meeting. :] Cindy - you get to wear a domestic goddess hat with the extra special supermom bow. I know you will get that tree down... :] Jules - Hi! Did you go to the gym tonight? Or did you take the night off like we did? Kat - glad to hear you are home safe and sound at home. Well - I hope everybody is having a great weekend. If I can piggyback on this signal again, I may check in again tomorrow. Hugs and Love!!

I don't know for sure why - but change of altitude changes your whole body a little bit. Also - they pressurize the cabin of the plane - and that might have an effect, too. I only know that when I fly, I get tight and I stay tight until the next day after I land, usually. Good luck on your flight. Just remember to eat BEFORE you take off and don't eat in the air. :]

Hi Susannah. If you are doing Optifast as a pre-op diet - you might be able to get away with one-two cups a day. My doc said I didn't have to give it up if I kept it under two cups. This was great news for a caffeine junky... Of course, you should always follow YOUR doc's instructions if you can. :]

Hey Puddin' Thinking good thoughts for an easy & successful surgery... with good pain meds! Hugs & good luck!! I will be watching with interest, since I am sure that the LBL is in my future. My distant future - but still... Hugs!

Tick Tock... Watching the Clock Dianne - overmedication is a bad thing. Sorry you are having such turmoil - but I know you will get everything under control and back on track! Hugs. Darcy - :]

Hi. Just DH and me. I don't think he has gained or lost - but I know that he is more motivated toward better eating habits - especially after the new year. He is going with me to the gym - which is good - and trying to cook with more veggies and less carbs - so I think over the long run it will be beneficial. Someday I might even convince him to try banding for himself! :]

Ok - my 2 cents. I have lost 52 pounds. And that is eating practically anything I want for the last year. Seriously - it's a good thing. I can't comment about Mexico or Dr.Ortiz - but I can say that the band is pretty fabulous. I have never been able to lose weight with so little effort before. Good luck in your deliberations.

WaHoo!!! Onderland Rocks!!! Great job!!

I just got a new Protein drink - not really a shake. New-Whey Liquid Protein by IDS. It has 42 grams of protein in 3 oz of liquid - Orange is the flavor of choice. I have tried the fruit punch, too - but Orange is best. (The old version had 26 grams - be sure you get the one with 42) You can either drink it like a Jello shot - or do what I do and cut it with Water to cut-down on the unfortunate texture. It is a little slimy and gacky sweet - but it has no fat, 2 grams of carbohydrate and all that protein. I mixed it in a litre bottle with a propel and some tap water this morning and it was fine. I sipped on it all the way to work in the car and finished it. It wasn't bad. For the traditional protein shake, I use Six Star powder - ton's of Vitamins and 20 grams of protein with a nice flavor. You can get that at Walmart.

Hugs!! Pain is bad - but it will pass quickly. Give it a few more days. The largest incision is where your Port is - and that spot will hurt longer than the others. Just so you know what to expect. Other than the port, you should start to feel more like your old self in a few more days. "How often" depends on whether or not you have restriction to start with, whether you get it quickly, and whether your doc is aggressive or cautious with his fills. It's different for everybody. Some folks get good restriction after the first or second fill. Some don't get to the sweet spot until fill 5 or 6... Sorry I can't pin that down for you. Hopefully, you will be one of the lucky ones that has restriction right away. Good Luck! I am thinking good thoughts for speedy healing. Hugs!!

Who is waiting for the new language? The insurance company? or your Surgeon? If you have a pre-approval letter from your insurance company - then push on your surgeon's office until you get a date. If you don't - then call your insurance company and hammer on them. You can push harder on the insurance company than you can on your surgeon. :]