gwyllgi

Two pounds a week is certainly a realistic expectation. Don't expect to lose two pounds every week, though, as that's not going to happen; you're going to plateau, more than once. Over time, though, the loss can certainly average out to two pounds a week. My surgery was a year ago today and, since then I've lost just over 104 pounds. I plateaued a lot and some weeks even gained a pound or two, but there were also weeks where I lost four or five pounds, or more. So the two pounds per week guideline applies in my case, but only as an average. This isn't to say that you should expect it, though; people lose differently. Aspire to it, but don't get upset if it's not happening for you. Losing is losing, no matter how long it takes.

In my experience, the surgeon usually handles that. My 6-month supervised diet was with the surgery program's nutritionist. It may be different, of course; they'd tell you how their program works at the seminar.

My surgeon cleared me for the occasional drink, which I've enjoyed, for all that I rarely manage to finish a cocktail. Do be aware of the empty calories in alcohol, though. The other thing I was warned about was transfer addition; most of us were addicted to food to cope with things in the past and, being more or less denied that now, it's easy to switch to something else, whether it's alcohol or exercise or shopping or some other such thing. Just discuss it with your surgeon and keep your eye on your intake and you should be fine.

I'm not a doctor so take this with a grain of salt: what I was told at one point (after freaking out about throwing up solids after drinking liquids) is that the chunks you throw up are basically just the result of the milk being curdled by your stomach acid. Are you throwing up sometimes when you're drinking things without milk or is it only milk that makes you throw up? If the latter, you may want to check with your doctor and find out if something else is up.

I can totally relate. It's gotten better now, but last August at dinner with friends I had to bolt for the bathroom literally half a dozen times. It was ridiculous and embarrassing. Fortunately, one of them was also a lap-band patient and the others knew about mine, but it was still awkward. (Especially as it was a NICE restaurant. I felt guilty wasting the veal for the price my friend was paying for it.) Is it when you're eating particular things or just random? I find that I have a hard time with beef in any form in restaurants, so I avoid that like the plague. I also try not to order Soups before meals because I'm just tight enough that even thin broth doesn't go straight through while I'm eating it, so trying to put food on top of it makes me gag. (Actually, I avoid liquids entirely in restaurants, after much trial and error. Drinking any time after I set foot in the restaurant increased my chances of choking exponentially.) Do you have that much difficulty when you're not out with your friends, too? Could you be filled too tight? It sounds like you don't want to, but it might almost just be best to tell your friends about your band, too. It beats being pulled aside for an "Are you okay?" chat and would probably do wonders for your performance anxiety, as it were.

It doesn't bother me at all when people ask about things like that. There's a lot of misconceptions about WLS out there and people who ask those questions are often just trying to understand, not necessarily to judge. People who haven't been there don't know what it's like, so I regard their questions as an opportunity for education. Just remember what it was like for you before surgery, and the questions you might have wanted to ask someone. The only ones who seem to actively question for other reasons are friends and family, and they do so because they're concerned for me and want to make sure that I do succeed. I appreciate every time I plan to go out with my parents and my mother asks me if I can eat anything at a particular restaurant; she wants me to enjoy myself, too, and not be sitting there with an empty plate or choking on something I felt obligated to order. YMMV, of course, but it helps sometimes to look at things from the other side.

FWIW, my surgeon didn't put me on a pre-surgery diet either, aside from the usual restriction prior to general anaesthesia. He said that it was the surgeon's preference and that, in his experience, two weeks of liquids didn't really make that much of a difference, especially not to an experienced surgeon. (He also told me about one of his first lap-band patients, when he was still being observed. The observing surgeon congratulated him on the nice, small size of the patient's liver. The patient hadn't been on any sort of pre-surgery diet.) In the end, I've heard of surgeons doing it just about everyway to Sunday. It really depends on your surgeon. S/he will know his/her skills, as well as his/her preferences. You're trusting them to stick sharp things in your body, after all, you should trust them with their guidelines for what else goes in your body, too.

FWIW, I drink lightly-sparkling flavored water frequently with no problems or discomfort. My nutritionist is aware of this and hasn't cautioned me away from it, though she did chide me to let my occasional Coke Zero (usually when trying to stave off a migraine) go mostly flat before drinking it.

I live not too far from Wausau, WI and am scheduled to be banded by Dr. Calvin Selwyn out of Stevens Point on 26 March 2008 - this Wednesday, which can't get here fast enough! I've been trolling this board shamelessly for a while and thought that it was finally time to put my foot out. I look forward to continuing to share everyone's experiences!

I love Marshfield Clinic - my GP's through them and, whenever possible, I head there rather than going through Aspirus or heading down to Point to go through Ministry. Best of luck with your journey! I actually live in Kronenwetter - it's good to see other people in the area! Dr. Selwyn definitely rocks. He's down-to-earth and makes sure that everyone has realistic expectations, and explains everything really well. His team is awesome, too; everyone I've talked to has been super nice and helpful. Best of luck with it all!

Don't worry too much - there's always a way. The first thing to do definitely is to find out whether or not Blue Shield of CA covers the surgery at all, as jena said. If not, look into the COBRA option! (COBRA is really expensive in most cases, though, so be prepared for a bite out of your wallet. Mine ran almost $600 a month for myself.) Otherwise, changing insurances doesn't generally throw too much of a wrench into the works. Most have fairly similar requirements for the surgery and what you'd done in the past won't be negated just because you're switching to another insurance; your surgeon's office will just resubmit the documentation of those past appointments, etc. to the new insurance. Double-check that your surgeon and the facility at which you'd have the surgery are part of your new network, though. I was on COBRA when I started working toward my lap-band. I was still fighting with them about the surgery when my COBRA ran out on February 24th. February 25th, I updated my insurance with my surgeon's office, and February 26th the surgery was approved. So keep your hopes up! Although switching insurances is a hassle, it's not necessarily as bad as it sounds.

Just to buck the system, I have to confess that I do crush a time-release pill - at the urging of my pharmacist and doctor. (And even then, only after multiple calls to both to be sure that it wouldn't result in problems.) Instead of taking two of the pills in the morning as I did pre-band, I now crush one in the morning and crush the other around lunch time if I feel that I need it. In most cases, though, there are other alternatives if you are unable to swallow pills. Many medications come in liquid forms. Others have regular-release versions that you can take instead. Others come as chewables. In the course of getting my Lap-Band, I've switched to all three of those without much problem. Talk to your doctors, talk to your pharmacists if you're concerned about ANYthing. They're there to help you. If you do wind up crushing, though, be prepared for them to taste FOUL.

Welcome to a fellow Wisconsinite! Where in WI are you? I'm surprised to say that I'm surprised your HMO explicitly prohibits Lap-Band. Is any sort of WLS surgery covered? You'd think they'd prefer to cover a one-time surgery and its follow-ups over years of escalating health problems that will ultimately cost more. Hm. I'm 8 days out now and thus far the cravings haven't been awful. I'm sure more browsing of the board will give you lots of different answers on that, though! I never had much of a craving for sweets, but carbs... man. I could bring home a loaf of salami & provolone chopblock bread and eat that for Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was actually rather easy to walk past it without too much longing the last time I was in the grocery store. It gives me hope for later on in the process.

It probably really depends on you. I'm around a week on the post-op liquid diet and thus far it hasn't really bothered me (aside from an incident yesterday with German potato salad) to have people eat in front of me. Walking through the grocery store or going to a restaurant are a bit harder, but still doable, especially if I've got something in-hand that I can sip at (even if it is just water) to combat the munchies. If you've got people waving things under your nose, though, you might want to give it a pass until the urge to shove the thing up THEIR nose passes.

I'm 8 days post-op now and in the same boat; the only thing that touches the pain (which has lodged in my left shoulder) is the oxycodone that was prescribed to me after surgery, which has the unfortunate side effect of making me quite loopy. While walking doesn't help mine, I find that changing position does. If I'm lying down and it hurts, it'll stop (or at least decrease) if I stand up and vice versa. My surgeon's nurse also recommended walking with your arms over your head, but your mileage on that may vary.

I grew up around Milwaukee - in Sussex. I miss the area usually, but this winter I think I'm glad I'm up here as we actually got less snow! Good luck with your fill! It's great to see other Wisconsinites here; we seem to be under-represented! Good luck with your band, wherever you are in the process!

It depends on the surgeon. Some want 2 weeks of liquids, whether clear or full, some want low-carb, some (like mine) want just one day of Clear Liquids before surgery. If you end up on clear liquids, they should give you a list of acceptable items. It'd probably include things like Protein drinks, sugar-free Jell-O, sugar-free popsicles, and broths. Full liquids would include additional things like thin Cream of Wheat or pureed oatmeal, smoothies, and sugar-free pudding. The range of things you can have actually isn't too bad. It's the texture that's lacking variety more than anything.

The TriWest website actually seems to be a bit out of date - everything I could find on it indicated that Lap-Band wasn't covered. When in doubt, check the policy manuals themselves: TRICARE Management Activity Manuals (You'd want to look for Chapter 4 of the Policy manual, section 13.2 in this case.) If you're really not sure, definitely call the benefits line of the region in which you're stationed. They'll probably parrot everything right off of the policy manual, but sometimes it helps to hear it.