Wheetsin

I used to be a fat friend who said I'd never have any kind of weightloss surgery. Part of that was jealousy that someone else actually had the cajones to get it done, and part of it was being uneducated about the different options and what they entail. There were lots of things overall, but two superficially physical things that postponed my decision for way too long: 1) fear of needles, specifically an IV which I'd never had at the time of my band surgery and 2) detest vomitting. It didn't take much more than the initial lab work with my physical to get acclimated to the needle idea. I was extremely nervous about the IVs but the hospital I was at gives a tiny bit of lidocaine prior to the IV. Woo hoo! Needles are used for the fills, but I'd estimate that 90% of the people I've spoken with, who don't use lidocaine for fills, feel virtually nothing. Roux-en-Y (aka RNY or gastric bypass) is a common procedure. I know several people who have had it, and every single one of them has put weight back on. Then again, I know a lot of bandsters who have also put back on weight. The nice thing in our case is that we can go get a fill, instead of being "on our own." Welcome and hope you're able to find all the answers you're looking for. :sneaky:

Congratulations. We're about the same height, I may be a tad taller. I was banded at over 380 lbs and am now down into the 230s. Best of luck on your journey.

A bit more info inserted into your post below: I am just now thinking about getting a lap band. I know it is an outpatient surgery Often it can be done outpatient, but sometimes surgeons require overnight stays, and an overnight stay classifies you as inpatient. So this isn't always true. where a band is put around the stomach to create a smaller stomach. Technically incorrect. AN adjustable band is put around the esophagus, above the stomach, creating a "pouch" above the stomach that allows the sensation of being full to trigger faster, and that restrictis the movement of food into the stomach, allowing the sensation to last longer. What leads up to the surgery? Most programs include a psych eval, a meeting with a nutriotionist or dietician, an information seminar, a consultation with the surgeon, and any testing that might be deemed necessary. What happens immediately following surgery? You wake up from anesthesia. :sneaky:How often do I have to return to the doctor? This is different for each person. I had to go back a week later to have my staples removed. 5 weeks after that for my first fill. 3 weeks after that for my second. Several months later for my third, then an unfill, then another fill. I've been banded over two years. So for me, 6 visits total. I'm not sure how the whole thing works. The band? Visit our FAQ section, and become familiar with our search function. There are MANY explanations of how it works, what's involved, what surgery/recovery were like, etc.

My face wasn't great before surgery, so I never worried that skinnier it would be worse. Plus I wasn't fat my entire life so I knew what I would look like, as long as I could age myself about 8 years. "You can't break broken" kind of thing with my face. :sneaky: Personally I've never seen someone look worse for having lost weight, aside from older people whose skin is stretched out. And even then it's not worse as in "uglier," but the loose skin flatter anything, especially a face. My grandmother went from being about 100 lbs overweight for as long as I can remember, to now being a normal weight. I didn't see her during this. When I did finally see her again, she looked old overnight. Her loose skin looked like baggy/wrinkly skin, and the "youthful puffiness" her face usually had was gone.

...in the meantime, start visiting your doctor specifically for treatment of obesity. That way, you'll soon have more medical documentation and can resubmit. Call and ask what their documentation requirements are and why yours did not meet them.

Thanks Kat, it's very happy news, just unexpected. We'd been trying off and on. Trying, needed gallbladder out, stopped trying. Trying, had back-to-back auto accidents, stopped trying. Trying, vacation came up and didn't want the stress, stopped trying. By "not trying" I mean not actively trying, timing my ovulation, etc -- but still not using birth control (which we haven't used for 3+ years, so one wouldn't be inclined to think anything would be different.) It's a very happy surprise. I did get an OB referral from the doctor, finally. They work out of a hospital that's about 5 mins from home, which is nice. And about 3 mos ago they just completed construction on a brand new OB wing, which is really nice. The one thing I really don't care for is that unless you're an existing GYN patient, you don't get a primary doctor, you just kind of float through whomever's available whenever you happen to have your appointment. Hopefully they have their shite together and I won't have to tell the whole frickin' story to doctor of the week. Several of my friends have had babies in the last 2 years, but none of them in my area, so they went to hospitals & clinics closer to them. We did find that one of DH's friends has a good friend that works at the place I was referred to, so we've been able to get some insider info from her and so far all of it is very positive. I've yet to contact band surgeon. I know I need to, but I also know that his policy is that the band is fine as long as morning sickness isn't an issue (I'm going on 7 weeks in and no problems yet... knock on wood), and that you're able to meet some basic calorie requirement. Considering that I've basically maintained the last year (maybe 15 - 20 lbs down, mostly when I didn't take the time to eat), I think I'll be ok with calories... but I will def. call him to check in.

BTW, hairloss started for me about 3 months out with my band surgery, and about 2 months out with my gallbladder removal (about 6 months ago). With band surgery it lasted a good 2 months, and with gallbladder it lasted about 6 weeks. People like to tell you it's because Protein, this, that -- the chances of that being accurate are tiny. We're just not going to get there. Body trauma, anesthesia, etc. cause hairloss. Hence I experienced virtually the exact same thing with my gallbladder removal as I did with my band, and I was getting more than enough nutrients with both.

Thank god for doctors who give accurate information. I could kiss him/her. Biotin is a supplment that's probably not going to do much for you. People like to load up on supplements... probably a mental thing, largely, because adding additional nutrient to your body normally doesn't make any positive difference unless you have a defecit of said nutrient. If you don't know that you don't have enough of it, why would you just pile on more? (that kind of thing) Pasting some of my previous posts so I can be lazy and not have to re-type: I would suggest using our search functions. These threads and many, many more (a lot of them containing questionable information, so reader beware) can be found using search terms such as "hairloss" or "biotin," etc.

I had my surgery on a Wed. Got home from the hospital the same day around 3. Pretty much slept through that morning and a good part of Thursday. Friday I was restless and went to Target so that I could walk around a bit. Saturday we drove out of town to visit my parents and were gone most of the day. Sunday was pretty much business as usual in terms of trips, leaving the house, etc. except that I did not drive since I was still taking the Lortab (didn't really need it, but wanted it in my system in case I did).

My surgeon advises that pregnant women can keep their fill as long as they are able to meet caloric requirements and not having issues with sickness.

My main questions are: When, where, and how successful has the procedure been for you? Not sure I understand this. When has the procedure been for me? Where has it been? Do you mean where geographically did we have our surgeries? And when chronologically?? What do you wish you had known BEFORE the procedure? Some of the unspoken truths about what daily life with the band can really be like. Any regrets, anything you would change? Taking more advantage of the first 6 months.

The purpose of the pre-op diet is to decrease the size of the liver by reducing the sugar stores it's holding on to. This is done by forcing it to release the sugar stores into your body by cutting the sugar you're eating. Most liquid diets require sugar free liquids, hence they will deplete the stores. Low-carb diets drastically reduce or eliminate sugar stores, hence they will shrink the liver. Same gross result, but one gives you a lot more freedom in getting there.

I don't use myspace but I know people here do. There have also been some threads on the topic. Try searching for myspace and see what hits you get - you'll probably see a handful of threads and/or others' links.

You don't say anything about the types of food you're eating. You can be very tight, eat only heavy cream, and not lose weight. Please post a sample week's menu including your water intake and exercise routine.

Pasting so I can be lazy and not re-type.

One end comes up over the other, or side. I believe end-end is more common but that's really just a guess based on the anecdotal evidence here.

Sounds good but is that a tablespoon of the slimfast, or one of the slimfast scoops, or a teaspoon, or...? I can just see myself making it wrong and having it be gross.

Everyone needs a different amount to feel restriction. A friend of mine with a 10cc band insists on at least 9.5cc of fill, because anything less and she doesn't feel restriction. Others have restriction with a lot less. Am I understanding your question correctly?

Laurend have you looked into any grant programs for students writing/completing a thesis? I can't think of any off-hand, but that seems like a likely candidate for something out there.

I know we all like our instant gratification, but I'm really impressed that your program includes the possibility for behavioral mod classes. That's so impressive! Our behaviors are the single largest key to success with our bands, and too many programs disregard them. Be patient, and don't worry about re-evaluation. I know it's a speedbump you'd probably rather not have to slow down for, but long term I think you will be thrilled it happened, and will probably have better results for taking it in stride and learning from it.

(1) Will my Tufts PPO pay for this surgery or a portion of it Ask them? They can tell you better than we can. (2) What is the recovery period really like Most of the posted stories are accurate for the poster. Everyone's recovery is different. I took 2 days to leave the house, 3 days to go out of town, 5 days to return to work. (3) How much are you expected to lose per month Average loss 4 - 8 lbs/month. This is going to vary a LOT. (4) Anything else I should be asking or Any other questions you have.

GasX won't really do anything for the surgical gas, it's not in your digestive track it's external to it where the GasX can't do anything. If you have digestive gas it may help, but not the gas they'll blow you up with. Save your money on that one. :thumbup: There is a list around here somewhere. Caveat being - everyone's list is slightly different.

Once your past the initial fill amount (~1 for a 4, ~3 for a 10) it isn't unheard of for surgeons to want to progress slowly, in .5 or 1 increments. You really don't want to be too tight, and a tiny, tiny amount of fill can turn "ok" into "too tight." If you truly want to be more aggressive with your fills, then tell your surgeon that.

1. If your insurance requires a 6 month physician supervised diet and exercise program, what does that exactly mean? Does a program like weight watchers count? Is it a prescribed program with special food? Is it a monitored thing where you get weighed in every week at the office? Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. are not medically supervised. Medically supervised means you are seeing a qualified medical provider specifically for purposes of weightloss. Whether it's weekly, less or more will depend on the doctor. Your visits have to be specifically for this, and coded as such I believe. meal plans, support-based weightloss programs, etc. do not count. 2. Does hypothyroidism count as a comorbidity? Can that condition eliminate you from a Lap-band program? You should call your insurance provider and ask them if they consider it a comorbidity. 3. Do you have a choice where the port is placed? Most surgeons I've heard of will consider the patient's wishes in port placement. However, they may override if it's necessary for access.

Hunger will probably be what it was pre-band. The band cannot work until it is filled to a level that gives you restriction. In the meantime, it is important to follow the gradiated post-op diet. This gives the tissues, scarring, etc. around the band a chance to do what they need to do to heal and help ensure good, long-term band function.