PATCHELTON

The only problem with calcium chews, according to my dietician, is that they contain Calcium Carbonate, which is not absobed as well as calcium citrate. I use Twin Labs Calcium Citrate with D. I chew 2 in the mornng and 2 at night. 60 wafers cost $7.67 at vitacost.com, with $4.99 shipping for any size order, so I order several to save on shipping. I paid $17.99 for it at a Healthy Options store. The Vitamin Shoppe may have it too, but the cheapest place is online. I had bought Viactiv, but switched when the dietician told me citrate was better. I figure if I have to take it I wanted the best absorption.

I am 5'7", began my journey at 252 lbs. BMI 38, and every co-morbidity except diabetes (high blood pressure, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, joint arthritis, GERD). I lost 10 pounds on the 6 month diet for insurance, was on liquid diet 3 weeks pre-op(supposed to be 2 but I caught a slight cold and they bumped my surgery a week, not enough time to stop and start again, so I stayed on it an extra week). Lost 25 more on the liquid pre-op, and the rest of the weight has come off since surgery. I mainly walk for exercise, plus Curves. I walk in a park that has a 2 mile nature trail, and I try to do twice around, sometimes 3. When I lose daylight during the week I will be doing Curves and Water Aerobics, with the park on weekends. I can't address the diabetes issue, but after my followup blood work, I was able to stop 2 cholesterol meds (recheck in 6 mons), one blood pressure med (may lose the other one later on) and my GERD med. Will be having a sleep study to assess my apnea later this year. My cholesterol numbers were so good I don't think I was born with them that good! (Total 142,Triglycerides 53--used to be 300 or more even on meds--LDL 66, and HDL 65). I have gone from 22W size to currently 12-14. My knees still have arthritis, but they feel infinitely better than they did before. It is definitely worth it. I have never managed to lose more than 20 on any other weight loss attempt.

Congratulations to both of you. We look forward to talking you you as post ops. Hang in there with the liquid diet. It really helps jump start your post op life. I know not everyone is put on it (I think if they think you may have a fatty liver, it helps to shrink it for the surgery). I ended up on it 3 weeks because I caught a slight cold 5 days before surgery and they moved the surgery back, but only a week, not enough time to stop and restart. They let me have a small amount of lean Protein up to 4 days before surgery. I either had 2 hard cooked eggs, or 2 unbreaded chicken tenders, both with salt and pepper. Aside from that the closest I came to cheating was eating a few unsalted peanuts from the bag I carry to feed the squirrels as I walk in the park. I dropped 25 lbs before surgery (besided the 10 on my 6 month diet for insurance). The rest is since surgery. Good luck to both of you. Take advantage of all the services--group support, dietician and the like. This is the beginning of your new life.

If you want ready to drink, Worldwide Protein Shakes are great. They are sold at Trader Joe's (35g or 21g Protein, vanilla and chocolate only, $2.29 for the 35's and $1.69 for the 21's), GNC (35's only, vanilla and chocolate only $2.99--other flavlors available online), and the Vitamin Shoppe (35's only, all flavors sold in stores and online--$2.79 each or $27.99 in a 12 pack--comes in Vanilla Cream, Chocolate Cream, strawberry, banana Cream, and Cookies n' Cream {tastes like Oreos}--available online, free shipping $99 or more--recently were on sale online for $22.99 for 12 pack). Good way to maximize your protein intake. Low carb (3-4) low sugar (about 1g) and low fat (about 1g). Calories vary from 100 (21's) to 160-170 (35's). If you like powders to mix up, unjury is good. Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, chicken Soup, and Plain. Go to unjury.com for info.

Congratulations and good luck with your surgery.

Welcome. Don't think of yourself so badly. I am sure we all have at our highest weight, but you are taking action to end it. Think of this as the beginning of your journey to a new life and self. Good luck with your surgery.

I am not Snowbird, but I will try to answer about "frothing." When something gets stuck (mostly food but I had a pill get stuck that I took in a hurry instead of cutting in half) you get discomfort in your chest (you will definitely know exactly where your band is sitting). Productive burping is more prounouced than regular burping, sometimes bringing up some of the food you consumed because there is too much in your pouch. If you are truly stuck the saliva will start and it has no place to go but up and out. You don't get nauseated (at least I didn't) but you need to spit up. It is an impressive amount of saliva. Here we don't call it "frothing." We call it "sliming." I think we all experience it sooner or later. My stuck food experience was at work and I spent about 2 hours in and out of the bathroom. I work for cardiologists so if it had gotten too bad I would have called for help, but I didn't feel sick, just really uncomfortable. It finally resolved and I was fine. Good luck to you and your family.:girl_hug:

My goal is 100 pounds and I have lost 90 of it. When heavy I had a slightly different problem. I didn't leak with sneezing or coughing, I had what I can best describe as a slow leak. It was there all the time, to the point where I had to wear protection. That has TOTALLY resolved with my weight loss.:girl_hug:

I don't have BC PPO(stands for Preferred Provider Organization) but I do have Blue Choice (in Maryland it is Carefirst Blue Choice). Once my 6 month supervised diet was done and all appts and tests, it was submitted to insurance. They took 4 weeks to approve. I called them once and the service rep told me I would probably be denied because I had used an out of network psych evaluator and dietician (I used everyone at my surgeon's office). They accept WW, Nutrisystem and such, why would a dietician I pay out of pocket be rejected? He was sure I would be denied and have to do the 6 month diet again. I called the surgeon's office, while having a meltdown over this, and they had been trying to reach me to tell me I had been approved! Out of network just means out of pocket, insurance doesn't cover it. So if you are anxious, I would recommend calling the surgeon's office. The insurance reps don't always know what they are talking about.

If you find you can break pills (once you check with pharmacist) get a pill cutter. Even if they are scored, it will help you cut them. If you have anything that is a gelcap, that can't be cut. I take fish oil and the gelcaps are huge, so I went looking for an alternative, and found Twin Labs Emulsified fish oil. It is liquid with a mint flavoring, and not bad. One tablespoon gives you 1600 Omega 3's. And I found my Glucosamine/Chondroitin in a packet that is added to Water, like the Crystal Light flavorings. It is pricey retail, but I have a friend that works at Nutramax Labs and she gets it for me at employee price. The regular Cosamin DS capsule can be opened and mixed in cold (not hot) food. Granted the above are supplements and not meds, but check with the pharmacy. There may be alternative forms of the meds you are taking.

Why is it our butts and boobs are the first to deflate, lol! I went from a 22W to a Misses 12-14, leaning toward 12 mostly. I can't remember the last time I was a size 12! Woohoo for all of us! Other than being broke from buying clothes, I am thrilled!:cry_smile:

Have you thought about the reaction being from your bandage strips? They told me to let them fall off, and the longer they were on, the itchier I became. I didn't get hives, but a welt-like rash. I helped the last few steri-strips who just refused to come off, and put anti-itch cream on the rash (not directly on the incision). That eventually worked for me. If I have a bandage, electrode, or anything like that, the adhesive irritates my skin something fierce.

I haven't heard of the tea, but I had problems before surgery and was on a stool softener twice a day. I continued that after surgery (the pills are fairly small) and when sometimes that is not enough I take a senna laxative (such as Senokot, or the generic version). That keeps me pretty straight.:cry_smile:

Congratulations on your decision and welcome. You can get lots of info here. If you have chosen a doctor and hospital, I would suggest starting to go to their group support now. I began my journey last summer at 252 lbs. I had to do a 6 month supervised diet for insurance, so during that time I came here, went to group support, had some of my doctor visits, and read everything I could. My diet finished in January. I decided to bump up my exercise (from just Curves) and added walking. My insurance took 4 weeks to approve me and I had surgery 3/25/08. My original BMI was about 38 with everything on the co-morbidity list except diabetes (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, GERD, knee arthritis). I got my head around no longer eating the way I used to (work out at Curves and pick up a pizza on the way home for dinner) and the results are in my signature line. Good luck on your journey.:cry_smile:

Congratulations to all of you about to be banded and good luck on your journey. As for shrinking the liver, some surgeons will put you on a pre-op liquid diet--protein shakes, broth, cream Soups, sugar/fat free popsicles, sugar/fat free Jello and the like was what I did for 3 weeks (supposed to be 2 but I caught a cold and my surgery was bumped back a week). I could have a small amount of lean Protein until 4 days before surgery, and I had either 2 hard boiled eggs or 2 unbreaded chicken tenders (frozen from Costco), both with just salt and pepper. I lost 25 lbs on it.

Hopefully you didn't have your PBJ and milk together. That sounds like drinking with a meal. I am sure it tastes great, but unless it is on cereal or in cream of wheat, shouldn't you be waiting 45 minutes to drink it?

I had oodles of vacation time, plus short term disability, and when the surgeon said take 4 weeks, I took 4 weeks. Probably only needed 2, but I was pretty much off pain med by Sunday (surgery was previous Tues) and wanted to drive so I could go to my favorite park to walk. It is nice to take the time to get used to eating differently and you would likely just be ending the mushy stage, so if you have the time, take it. The last 2 weeks I ran errands, did stuff I would normally have to take off work to do anyway. My neighbor put the trash out for me (I have cats so I had to dump the litter once a week and put in new, so she did that for me so I wouldn't have to lift anything heavy). I went to the park to walk every day, and had my post op visit before I had to return to work.

My surgeon's office sent me paperwork with a check list of everything I had to do. Don't deal with the insurance unless you have to. Bariatric offices have oodles of experience and they will tell you what you need to do. As an example, I called my insurance (Blue Choice) while waiting for approval to see if they could tell me anything. The service rep told me I would probably be denied because I had used an out of network dietician and psych evaluator (I just did everything at my surgeons office-even had their dietician monitor my 6 month weight loss attempt that insurance required). He had me all upset. I called they surgeon's office, and they had been trying to get me to tell me I had been approved! Out of network means out of pocket (you pay the bill) and beyond that it shouldn't and didn't matter. I had no trouble getting approved (though it took them 4 weeks to do it). If you haven't already, besides coming here, I would go to the group support offered at the hospital where you are going to be done. You can learn a lot. People in all stages of the process, before and after surgery, come, and you could have some of the issues being discussed. I was banded 3/25/08, and I have been going to the group support since last summer. Read all you can. The Lapband Solution and The Lapband Companion are two good books, though there are lots out there. These are available on Amazon.com. Good luck to you on your journey.

I am not sure if you are pre or post op, but if post op I would suggest a fill. I am happy your house survived Ike. I live in Maryland, and we have been extremely fortunate so far this hurricane season. In a previous season we got a downgraded hurricane (tropical storm), and one of my co-workers lost the contents of the first floor of her house, plus clothes and stuff. My electric was out for two days making life interesting in an all electric home, but I was lucky compared to my co-worker. I hope you get your house back in order and you get back on track for your weight loss journey. Good luck.

To those with constipation problems, I had them before surgery, so I was taking softeners twice a day anyway. I continued that after surgery, and when that doesn't feel like enough, I take a senna laxative, like Senokote, as it is gentle, but does the trick. Gas X may help the gass pains. As for the itching, that is from the steri-strips. That bothered me more than anything. I got some anti-itch cream and rubbed it on (not directly on the incision, but all around it and as close as I dared). I actually get itchy welts from the bandages. They said to let them fall off, and when they had mostly done that I helped them the rest of the way. I started walking immediately after surgery. Stayed over my sisters for one day and walked around her yard. When I went home to my condo, I walked around the parking lot. They don't want you to drive while taking the pain med, but by 5 days out I didn't really need it so much, so I took an experimental drive, figuring if anything hurt I would turn around. Nothing did, so I drove to my favorite walking spot, a park with a 2 mile nature trail and walked there, stopping if I felt like it as there are benches all through the park just for that. Every now and then I get a pain that feels like gas, but on the whole I am doing really well. And, as stated already, if this doesn't resolve, call your doctor. No reason to feel miserable.

Sliming occurs usually when something is stuck in the opening between your band and the rest of your stomach, and for reasons I can't explain, you start to salivate excessively and it has no place to go but up and out. I have had sliming twice. Once I got a pill struck that I should have cut in half but didn't, and I slimed for a few minutes until the pill dissolved enough to go through. Also once I got some hamsteak stuck that I apparently didn't chew thoroughly. That took a couple hours to resolve. No nausea, but I knew stuff needed to come up, so I was in and out of the bathroom at work for about 2 hours. That and the nasty discomfort you feel in your chest from whatever is stuck. If you are gagging and spitting up a little bit, I am not sure that is really sliming. The excess saliva is quite a lot. If you gag and clear your throat, you may just need to clear your throat.

I do not have your condition, but my insurance said with a BMI 35-40 you had to have one or more co-morbidity (condition that is affected by weight--diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, GERD, joint arthritis--I had all but diabetes). My BMI was 37-38 and I was approved. Your condition might be out of the ordinary, and you may need some support letters from your eye doctor/primary care doctor explaining how this is related to your weight. I certainly think that should work. You never know with insurance companies, but the more documentation you can get, the better. Good luck. BTW I have Blue Choice Insurance.

Congratulations on being approved. Good luck on your journey.

Congratulations on your decision. I am 63 and had surgery 3/25/08. I jumped in feet first to the process, and am exercising (mostly walking) and eating better. I never would have been able to do this just dieting. I just had follow up bloodwork and am now off 2 cholesterol drugs, one of my blood pressure drugs (the other may follow later) and my reflux medicine. My doctor will send me in a bit for a sleep study to see how the apnea is doing (gone I hope). I have gone from size 22W to Misses 12-14. I walk in a park near home and feed peanuts to the squirrels. I refer to them as my personal trainers. I also belong to Curves and do my resistance training there. I wish you all the success you have coming. Remember, the band is a tool, not a magic bullet. It helps with portion control. You still have to choose to eat healthy. If you do, and exercise, you will have an amazing journey.