sara7venus

I think I would file a claim, since the band is obviously faulty if there is a leak in it. It is not supposed to leak, and thereby is not functioning properly.

Hello all! I am from Grayslake. Looks like there aren't many Chicago-ans on this board ... Take care everyone! -Sarah H.

My husband is *skinny*. I mean, his BMI is in a healthy range and he can jog 5 miles in 20 minutes without having jogged or worked out at all in like, 10 years (except now his knees are beginning to wear out on him...). *Anyway*, he has been completely supportive of me having the lap-band surgery. He is still supportive, even after the surgery. I think even if I quit cooking for him he would be supportive! He does not rely on me to take care of him, and he isn't afraid of losing me. Those are the things that attracted me to him in the first place! The main thing is whether men are secure enough to let their woman lose weight. Sometimes, in less-than-perfect relationships (we are all in one or more of these relationships ... it's the human condition), the people who "love" us are the most resistant to us changing. Humans are fearful of change, in general. If those people turn out to be against us healing ourselves or doing what is best for US, then maybe those people are just not headed in the same direction as we are headed. Sometimes when people make life-changing decisions and follow-through on what they say they really want for themselves, the people who are the most upset are the people who it will affect the most. In the end, if someone wants the best for us, they will be supportive. Everyone knows, including our spouses, that being morbidly obese is unhealthy. If our spouses don't want us to be healthy, then what is it that they want for us? They may love us at any size, but that is beside the point - they should want us to live a long and healthy life! It isn't an easy thing to confront, but hopefully with time, everyone who loves us will be supportive. If that doesn't happen, then maybe those people don't deserve us to be in their lives. Just a thought, with a few humble opinions thrown in :biggrin2: Take care, all -Sarah H.

I was just banded on April 19, 2008 (four days post-op), and I have to admit that the gas makes recovery the worst!!! Gas-X has helped me a lot, and I only have occasional shoulder pain (mostly at night while sitting in bed with my husband) anymore ... but I have been WALKING , and very active ... I have a 19-month old at home, so I don't have a lot of chance to sit, if you know what I mean :biggrin2:. I bought the Gas-X "Ultimate Strength Gel Tabs", which seem to work the best. I am off my pain meds, for the most part, except at night, when I still wake up having to walk around a little bit just to get the gas out. I am also having tremendous difficulty burping - it even kind of hurts. I don't know if this is normal or not, but I plan on calling my surgeon today to find out. If anyone has any info. or hints, please PM me, if possible. Take care, everyone! Congrats on making this decision to change your lives! -Sarah H. :grouphug:

Congrats on setting a date for surgery! I know that many people have said that they go back to work the same day as their surgery ... Honestly, I don't know how these people do it haha. I was banded on Thursday, June 19, and I'm still not ready to go back to work. Luckily, I have a long weekend to heal, and I'm also taking off Monday and Tuesday. I think I'll be better by Wednesday, but I'm just not sure I could go back to work the same day as my surgery, or even the next day :smile:. I'm taking naps in the afternoons, on top of sleeping 8 or 9 hours at night. I think my body is telling me that I need to take it easy :biggrin2: I'm taking full advantage of the fact that my parents are staying with my husband and I until Sunday, to help take care of our 19-month old daughter!:smile: :redface: Anyway, take your time to heal - don't rush getting back to work; you need to focus on yourself. Best of luck with everything! -Sarah H.

gdkcwhite, I totally understand your frustration. I knew a couple of years ago that the surgery was expensive, and that it would likely not be covered by insurance. One would *think* that insurance companies would want to cover the procedure to simply lessen the amount of Rx costs and future problems related to morbid obesity, but I'm at the point to where I really believe that insurance does NOT want to cover it. Period. There's no obvious reason, other than they don't want to fork over the large amount of money initially, but I'm sure they could work something out with the lap band centers who do the surgery routinely. It's getting to a point where I feel like I am viewed as a second-class citizen because of my weight. I even had one Dr. I was seeing for an *ear infection* tell me that he would put me on Phentermine, and that "the insurance companies won't pay for the prescription or the appointment, so the appointment will be $60 instead of $30". I have Blue Cross Blue Shield, and they'll pay for any Dr. in-network for a $30 co-pay. This scheister was going to charge me more money for being fat! Needless to say, I did not return to see him after that. I'm beginning to think that there is an entire industry around keeping people fat and unhealthy. The Lap-Band is a person's way to lose weight and become healthier, and if that happens, the drug companies and insurance companies won't get as much money in the long-term. I don't think that all drug companies are evil or anything, but I definitely believe that the weight loss industry stands to lose a great deal (no pun intended) if a large number of overweight people lose weight and keep it off... Sorry if that adds to the discouragement; I just know what I've seen, and how I feel. My husband and I are paying for my surgery ourselves, and borrowing money from our various investments, etc. Luckily, we don't have to put ourselves into a huge amount of debt to get it done ... Is there any way you could plan financially to have the surgery in a year or two and pay for it yourself? I know it's a lot of money, but it's attainable ... I started putting money into an interest-bearing checking account, and in a few months I earned about $100 toward the surgery ... I hope this helps ...

smarquezrn, I am married with one 19-month old daughter, and my husband has been absolutely the best support I could have ever asked for. He has come to all my Dr. appointments, put up with sitting in waiting rooms like you wouldn't believe ... He has always loved me no matter what (I was quite obese when we got married), but I know he also wants me to be happy, and especially healthy. I want to have more children, and see them grow up. I want to be there for everything. That's the bottom line... All I can say is that you can only do what you can do. You can't make your man support you, and you can't make him feel more secure. Only he can decide if he is secure enough to want you to be happy. If this is something that you feel strongly about because of your desire to be healthy and happy, then it's obviously something that you should do. However, if your guy is not supportive, what is really behind that? Why doesn't he want you to be happy and healthy? Is it really just his insecurity about you finding another man? I'm not judging or anything - those are just questions that I would ask myself if I were in your position. I hope you get it sorted out. Take care, Sarah H.

My surgeon had me go on 14 days of liquids - 3 servings of protein shake (I'm doing Myoplex Lite) or cream soup (strained out solids), and then unlimited amounts of sugar free liquids, frozen popsicles, sugar-free cocoa, etc. The only limit that I don't like is the limit they put on sugar-free fudgecicles - I can only have 1-2 per day! Haha ... I've lost about 10 pounds in 8 days of the diet, but I'm hanging in there . I'm positive that my liver must be about half the size it was! My clinic also has the "0" pound rule - if you weigh even ONE POUND more on the day of your surgery, than your initial consult weight, "the surgery WILL BE CANCELLED". I actually have an diabetic friend who was going through the pre-op "stuff", and she actually gained weight from having to inject insulin ... needless to say, her surgery was cancelled. She tried again, though, and was finally successful in November of last year.

Wow! You look awesome! Congratulations on your success!

:biggrin2:I am all set for surgery on June 19th! Yay! My surgeon is Dr. Jonathan Myers from RUSH University Medical Center, Chicago. My surgery will take place at the 900 North Michigan Surgical Center in Chicago. I feel so lucky to have found this excellent program. I am also very blessed to have the resources to be able to pay for the surgery without insurance :tongue2: (my company's insurance policy has a specific *exclusion* to any weight loss surgery, including gastric banding - nice how they worked that out, huh?). I will be posting a blog about my Lap-Band journey at http://www.sara7venus.squarespace.com. If anyone's interested, send me a private message with your e-mail address, and I'll set up an account for you. I intend on sharing all of my experiences, good, bad and ugly - but only for people who are really interested, and whom I consider supportive influences. I have only told my husband, my parents and brother, and my two upline managers at work - so far, they have all been very supportive. I know that change is something that humans are adverse to in every way (myself included), so some of the people I have always considered myself close to might really not like it when I'm thin. I might be too "different" for them. The bottom line is that this is for me - it has nothing to do with anything else. I am finally at a point in my life where I feel emotionally and physically strong enough to undergo a procedure that will likely help me to deal successfully with my weight problems. My issues with food are also important here, and I'm dealing with that part of it through counseling and lots of focus in that area. Has anyone gone through the Emotional Eating Toolbox by Dr. Melissa McCreery? Wish me luck! -Sarah H. :biggrin2:

I'm so sorry to hear about your disappointing experience with your loved ones. I guess you could say that I don't really care *what* people think, because it really is JUST for me. It has nothing to do with anyone else. Besides, people who do not struggle with weight in the same way as you or I will never understand what it's like to feel trapped like this. Also, sometimes the people who love us the most have the hardest time wanting us to change. Change is something that humans are extremely adverse to. When you lose a lot of weight, some people who have always gravitated toward you when you were overweight may find it very difficult to be supportive. It's pretty much human nature. I have only told my husband, my parents, and my brother, so far. Oh - and my two upline managers at work, just so they know (even though they're both women who struggle with weight). Everyone so far has been very supportive. I have not told my two best friends yet. I think I might tell people after the surgery (and especially after I lose a lot of weight). At this point, I don't think it's important to tell anyone but the most important people - the people who may be affected the most. I am currently in my 7th day of the pre-op liquid diet, and whenever I feel hungry, I just tell myself that it's totally worth it. The long-term positive effects of this surgery FAR outweigh (no pun intended) the risks or negative effects. Good luck with everything. People who really love you (and I mean *really* love you) will support you. You might be surprised at who comes around to support you, too.

Congratulations, Bea! I'm glad you're adjusting to your fills okay ... I understand your frustration - I have heard that (especially at first) the weight comes off really slowly - but it will probably pick up. Yesterday I set my surgery date for June 19, and I'm really looking forward to it. I am on the pre-op liquid diet starting today, so I'm getting really excited!

My goal weight was determined by taking my current weight (280 pounds) and subtracting my "ideal weight", which by some standards is 120 pounds. That equals 160 pounds to lose. Most people receiving Lap-Band surgery end up losing about 50% of their excess weight, which for me would be 80 pounds. Works for me! I actually intend on losing more than 80 pounds - hopefully closer to 110 or 120. I'm beginning my liquid diet today - my surgery is June 19. Wish me luck! If anyone has any helpful hints, let me know. Visit my blog at Sarah's Squarespace Blog. I will be posting a blog there to chronicle my life as a Lap-Band surgery patient. I'm really excited, and I hope that I can help future patients with my experiences. Yipee! (We'll see how chipper I am after I've been on this liquid diet for longer than 20 minutes :thumbup:).

Hello everyone. My name is Sarah, and I'm a wife and mother of one, living in the greater Chicago area. I'm currently in the process of receiving the Lap-Band Procedure with Day One Health in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Jonathan Myers is my surgeon, and I'm really anxious to have the surgery. I am feeling very positive about how this procedure will change my life, and I look forward to losing 80-120 pounds! I think it's definitely going to be easier using the Lap-Band as a tool for weight loss. Does anyone have any advice regarding the pre-op liquid diet or anything else I may not have considered? I really look forward to hearing your thoughts! -Sarah H.

Hi there! I have found Myoplex and EAS Carb Control shakes that I like. I am definitely worried about protein, because not so long ago (when I became pregnant for the first time), I had a protein deficiency and lost a good amount of hair (I even had a bald spot!!!). I am also stocking up on diet Wyler's single packs of drink mix, so that I can drink something all day. Luckily, at my work, there is an endless supply of fresh ice and cold cold water! I'm going to check out Dr. Melissa MdCreery's program for Emotional Eaters, as well ... I think this may help me after I have my surgery. I think everything happens for a reason, and I've decided to have this surgery for a reason ... It is a good thing!