bbala

I was banded Thursday, May 29 at around 9am. I was in recovery at 10, and was out of the hospital by 12:30. I didn't have to do a swallow - they brought an x-ray to my bed and the doc came and talked to me and looked at the x-rays and I was ready to go. I had some gas pain that lasted until yesterday, and the Gas-x strips didn't seem to help. Everything seemed stuck for the first 24 hours, but felt better yesterday and today I feel really good. Today i went to a hair salon to get my hair washed and flatironed since i can't take a shower. Nice treat for myself. Then I went to the grocery store and restocked my liquid diet stuff. I've been sleeping a lot and taking it easy. No need for pain meds today. I've been walking a lot. I have some stomach gurgling, which i'm guessing is related to the gas, which I continue to have. Today it's much easier to find a comfortable laying down/sitting position. I wore a bra today with no problem. All in all, I'd say the first two days were a little rough but not too bad, and today i'm feeling pretty good! Just a note of gratitude for everyone's posts here - reading the previous May Banders check-in posts help calm me before my surgery!

I feel your pain. Today I wrote down all of the appointments I have been to in preparation for surgery: Seminar Initial appointment with Dr. at surgery center 3 appointments with Dr. at surgery center for supervised diet 1 appointment with dietician 1 appointment for EKG/labs 1 appointment with psych 1 appointment with primary care physician 1 appointment with surgeon once supervised diet was finished to go: 1 appointment for EGD 1 day of testing/dietician 1 final appointment with surgeon my insurance was approved weeks ago and they won't schedule these final appointments until after insurance is approved, and first appointments are weeks away. I feel frustrated, because i'm finally approved and want to get on with it, and feel like i'm lost in hospital bureaucracy. I'm motivated to get the surgery, but COME ON, 13 appointments scheduled at the hospital's convenience ("we only do that test on mondays, and the first monday available is a month from now."). Arrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

I quit smoking in preparation for surgery, and have been quit for two months now. My surgery will be sometime around the end of May or in June, so I will have 3 months cigarette-free by that point. I did it cold turkey. I've tried a number of other times, but every time I thought I could have "just one" I fell off the wagon. Now I realize the secret to staying quit (for me) is to avoid thinking I can have "just one." I still think about smoking from time to time, but it's not automatic like it used to be. I plan to remain smoke free, God willing.

Morning, I have been pondering the same question. I'm scheduled for surgery next month, and I haven't decided if I will talk about it at a meeting or individually with OA friends. I'm inclined not to. The subject has come up before, and my opinion in the past (before I was considering it for myself) was that it was an outside issue, as you mentioned. I agree that it seems similar to discussing Weight Watchers or other specific diet plans. Other people in my fellowship have come in and shared that they were going to have the surgery, and while i appreciated their honesty, i didn't feel that it had a place in the meeting. i really don't know what i'm going to do, so i, too, appreciate any experience strength and hope anyone could provide.

I'm brand new here (longtime lurker), but wanted to post my insurance experience because I know I was very nervous about that process and read this entire thread many times to make sure I was following everyone's advice. Thank you to everyone who has posted on here! I have Aetna PPO and completed the 3-month supervised diet. My BMI is 41 with no co-morbidities. My paperwork was submitted by my provider on a Tuesday. I called Aetna on Tuesday, but they said it would probably not show up in their records until the following day. I called on Wednesday and they confirmed they had the paperwork and that it had been sent to a nurse reviewer. I let one day pass (Thursday) and called on Friday, and they said it had been approved! I'm glad it went so fast! Anyway, wanted to post in case my info can be helpful in any way.