bigbonedgal

I am scheduled to have surgery on 4/21/08 and VCU Medical Center by Dr. John Kellam. I am excited and scared and anxious all at the same time. I have been overweight all my life but not extremely obese. I have now come to the stage in my life where I realize that all the dieting and exercising that I am doing are giving me some muscles but not helping me to lose weight. I think that as you get older, it becomes harder to lose weight. So I'm looking at this surgery as the way to reorder my way of thinking about food. My greatest fear now is that I'm not up to the challenge and my most immediate concern is the 2 week preop liquid diet. I have visions of starving and falling into a hypoglycemia coma. Then I laugh at myself for worrying so much because no fat person ever died from a low calorie diet - too many fat reserves in the body. I am 5'3" and currently weigh 220. Luckily for me, my insurance will pay everything but $35 copays for physicians and $100 copay for hospital admission. I'm looking forward to the changes this year will bring.

It's been almost 4 months since my banding. I've had 2 fills - the most recent one last Thursday. I didn't really notice any difference after my first fill but I am definitely feeling more constricted after the second fill. My nurse practitioner told me that it takes an average of 5 fills to notice a good rate of weight loss so I'm keeping a positive attitude about all this. I get pain about 6 inches below my port for about 2 hours after each fill - I think it is a nerve irritation. Here are the positives since my surgery: I have more energy and can increase the amount of time that I exercise, I just bought clothing in misses sizes, I no longer get heartburn; and my cholesterol has dropped 10 points. I'm feeling great about myself and have developed a much more realistic idea of what hunger is and how much food it takes to not feel hungry.

It's been almost 4 months since my banding. I've had 2 fills - the most recent one last Thursday. I didn't really notice any difference after my first fill but I am definitely feeling more constricted after the second fill. My nurse practitioner told me that it takes an average of 5 fills to notice a good rate of weight loss so I'm keeping a positive attitude about all this. I get pain about 6 inches below my port for about 2 hours after each fill - I think it is a nerve irritation. Here are the positives since my surgery: I have more energy and can increase the amount of time that I exercise, I just bought clothing in misses sizes, I no longer get heartburn; and my cholesterol has dropped 10 points. I'm feeling great about myself and have developed a much more realistic idea of what hunger is and how much food it takes to not feel hungry.

I had diarrhea too so one week after surgery I started on soft foods because I'm sure it was the protein drinks that caused it. I started having diarrhea before surgery about a week after I started the liquid diet. I ate yogurt, cream of chicken soup, pureed bean soup - high protein foods that didn't require a lot of chewing.

That sounds like food sticking - pork chops may be a bit dry. I had the same problelm with chicken. Try roasted pork loin - it tends to stay moist. If you eat chops you may have to take extremely small bites and chew forever. When I've had food stick, it hurt vey much and then it just came right back up, but it was a scary senation. Hope this helps ease your mind a little bit.

I went for my follow up on 5/8/08. I did not get weighed right before surgery so I don't know how much I've lost since surgery. I do know that I've lost 19.5 lbs since starting the liquid diet. It's so nice to have clothes that were gradually getting tighter actually feel loose. The only discomfort I have is when I try to stretch too much. I went back to work 15 days after surgery and, while I was a little tired, work was not that big a deal (I have a moderately physical job). The biggest problem I've had so far is that I tried to eat some chicken and it was a little too dry - it came right back up after some pain. I won't do that again - it was too uncomfortable. My surgeon will be on vacation so my first fill will be 7/3/08.

I went for my follow up on 5/8/08. I did not get weighed right before surgery so I don't know how much I've lost since surgery. I do know that I've lost 19.5 lbs since starting the liquid diet. It's so nice to have clothes that were gradually getting tighter actually feel loose. The only discomfort I have is when I try to stretch too much. I went back to work 15 days after surgery and, while I was a little tired, work was not that big a deal (I have a moderately physical job). The biggest problem I've had so far is that I tried to eat some chicken and it was a little too dry - it came right back up after some pain. I won't do that again - it was too uncomfortable. My surgeon will be on vacation so my first fill will be 7/3/08.

It's probably from where nerves were cut and/or things were pushed around to place the band, port and laparoscopy tools. Surgeons are not the most gentle of creatures - there's a lot of pulling and pushing and tugging that goes on during surgery. I have a pain that runs about 6 inches below where the port is placed and I can also feel pain in my mid back, probably opposite the band, especially when I hiccup. I'm only 8 days post op so I expect these will go away slowly. Call you doctor if the pain gets worse or you feel anything bulging.

Well, I'm one week after surgery and doing just fine. The worst part of the surgery was staying in the recovery room for over 7 hours because there was no inpatient bed for me. Luckily, I work in a hospital and was not shocked by everything going on around me. The pain wasn't as bad as I expected it to be and I wasn't even as bruised as I thought I would be. I am supposed to be on lliquids only for the next week and then progress to pureed foods, but the protein drinks gave me horrible diarrhea so I am now doing pureed foods. It's interesting how I sense being full now and stop eating. This is not something I would ever do before surgery. The other thing that amazes me is how tired I am - but then I realize that this was major surgery and my body needs time to heal. My first follow up appointment is next week.

Well, I'm one week after surgery and doing just fine. The worst part of the surgery was staying in the recovery room for over 7 hours because there was no inpatient bed for me. Luckily, I work in a hospital and was not shocked by everything going on around me. The pain wasn't as bad as I expected it to be and I wasn't even as bruised as I thought I would be. I am supposed to be on lliquids only for the next week and then progress to pureed foods, but the protein drinks gave me horrible diarrhea so I am now doing pureed foods. It's interesting how I sense being full now and stop eating. This is not something I would ever do before surgery. The other thing that amazes me is how tired I am - but then I realize that this was major surgery and my body needs time to heal. My first follow up appointment is next week.

I've never blogged before so bear with me. I am scheduled to be banded tomorrow. I am nervous but ready. The liquid diet was hard for me because I don't eat a lot of sweets and this was nonstop milkshake type liquids. I ended up making some savory liquids with protein powder and organic soups and plenty of herbs. That helped get me through but I can't wait to have some chicken or tuna.

I've never blogged before so bear with me. I am scheduled to be banded tomorrow. I am nervous but ready. The liquid diet was hard for me because I don't eat a lot of sweets and this was nonstop milkshake type liquids. I ended up making some savory liquids with protein powder and organic soups and plenty of herbs. That helped get me through but I can't wait to have some chicken or tuna.

Dear Time, Congratulations on going to the gym. I've been going for over 3 years and the first couple months were the hardest. What kept me going at first was the fact that the membership was coming out of my paycheck. Now I go because I like it. I try to use all the machines in the gym just so I don't get bored. Usually I use 2 different ones each time I go. An hour total on the machines is good - if the workout is not making you sweat, bump up the resistance on the machines - you may work slower but you'll work harder. Do this gradually so that you don't hurt your knees. Weights are great, just make sure you let your body rest a day in between the weights - for example, alternate upper and lower body days. If you feel like your body can tolerated the workout every day, then by all means, go every day. If you gym has a pool, you could also try water walking, water aerobics or something like that. It gives a good workout without stressing the joints too much. Keep up the good work.

Hi Clover, I'm being banded tomorrow, so I'm a bit nervous. I think the two week liquid diet is just the worst. I definitely miss chicken and fish. I think the liquids after surgery won't be quite as bad because I will be recovering from surgery and probably won't feel like eating as much. I've been heavy all my life and it's nice to know that I'll be getting a much needed help in this surgery. Good luck on your surgery and remember we're all thinking about you.:thumbup:

I chose lapband because I am not extremely overweight (BMI 38) and I didn't want my insides rearranged. I also wanted gradual weight loss to minimize the risk of gallstones. Additionally, bypass causes you to absorb fewer nutrients and you can suffer from malabsorption syndrome and malnutriition more easily. Finally, I chose lapband because I know that if there is a problem the procedure is reversible. But the decision is between you and your doctor. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of bypass perhaps you can consult with another bariatric surgery group in your area. Good luck and God bless.

Sometimes your friends are afraid that when you lose weight that you will become a totally different person, physically and mentally. I think it makes some friends insecure. Please don't listen to the horror stories - it's like when you're pregnant and everyone knows someone who had a miscarriage or a horrible birth experience. I told only my husband and children about my upcoming surgery because I felt that my friends and family really wouldn't understand. Good luck on your surgery - mine is scheduled for 4/21/08- I'll be thinking about you.

I went for my consultation on 2/14/08 and Anthem granted approval by 2/!8/08. I got official notice in the mail of the approval on 2?26/08. Maybe Anthem is getting better with their review. Or maybe the people at VCU Medical Center just know how to submit - in any case, I'm thrilled that everything is happening so quickly. My banding is scheduled for 4/21/08 - it was originally scheduled for 4/3/08 but I wanted a surgery date earlier in the week.