Julia_N

Try checking with an administrator for your insurance. I don't know how Kaiser works, but many insurance plans have special provisions for weight loss surgery that an employer can choose to cover or not. WLS could be specifically not covered by your particular insurance plan. Good luck! I hope your doctor's misinformed about coverage.

I have read that most stomach bugs are caused by food poisoning. Make sure you eat well-cooked and safely stored food and you'll probably avoid most bugs, unless you get the flu, and this is the season for it.

Good luck to you, Laurie. I, too, had to do a 6-month preop diet. I started mine in September 08, and had all the holidays, plus an anniversary and three birthdays (wait, are we the same person? :mad2:). I didn't have a set amount I had to lose. Mine was sort of strict in that I had 2 protein shakes and one small meal a day. Maybe yours isn't as severe. Everything was going pretty good until the holidays. I stopped losing, but didn't gain. Then I got pneumonia and lost a couple of months of dieting. Got back on track, so it ended up the end of July 09 for me to get surgery. I hope yours goes much more smoothly! I did lose almost 45 pounds preop, so that was a nice start. Best of luck to you in your journey! :thumbup:

Yeah, I'm cheating ... cheating death!

My understanding is that the first bands in the U.S. several years ago were non-adjustable, and weren't very successful for most people. Everyone seems to get restriction at different sizes. The adjustable ones take that into account. Also, as we lose weight, we often lose fat where the band is placed, so it gets looser, and needs to be tightened again. I just got my first fill and felt a lot of restriction the first few days, but now it seems like there's less (but I just got back to solids). I have seen on other posts on this board that some people don't feel much more restriction when they get a fill, but it seems to kicked in a few weeks later. So as they say in the TV news biz, only time will tell. Good luck!

I liked the Nectar shakes. It's a powder you can get at the Vitamin Shoppe and probably GNC. Good flavors. I can recommend the chocolate truffle and the fuzzy navel. I liked Bariatric Advantage's chocolate shake because it was really thick and tasted like a real shake to me. They're avalable online. If you want a ready-to-drink shake, Vitamin Shoppe has the brand that they also have at Trader Joe's. I can recommend the cookies & cream flavor.

I only stayed one night. Had the surgery on a Friday afternoon and left Saturday around 5 p.m. I had several IV bags of antibiotic and had to wait for the last one at 4 p.m. Saturday. My doctor has the hospital do an mini upper GI the day after surgery to make sure everything's in the right place. I felt great on the day I left and I could have left sooner if I didn't have to do the IV. Good luck!

I didn't take any of my diabetes meds after surgery. I was on Lantus, metformin, and Avandia. When I went to mushies, my blood sugar started getting high, so I added back the Avandia, 1 of my 4 metformin horse pills, and I've worked my way up to all 4 of the metformin. Didn't have to resume Lantus. My blood sugar levels have been getting progressively lower as I lose weight, so I think I'll eventually be off all of them. Have you tried Avandia? That one seems to work real magic on me. Good luck!

I used to get Trader Joe's beef barley soup, which comes in a carton. I warmed it with all the veggies and meat in it, then strained out the solids. Much tastier than plain broth. When I got to mushy stage, I pureed it. As for the Soup at Hand, if it's the cream of tomato, that should be fine. Just as long as there aren't any chunks in it. Squash should be OK, too. (Now I'm hungry for tomato soup!)

I saw one at Target last night. It was silver, though, and maybe it was a different model. It did have the red-haired cook lady on the box. And it was $24.99. Didn't buy it. Don't have the counter space.

I'm with you, Shangfan. I got my first fill yesterday and I can't believe the difference. I'm going to have to start sneaking protein powder into my other food.

Journaling is good, especially in the beginning. I use thedailyplate.com and find it helpful to see exactly what I had eaten. I was happy to discover I was eating more Protein than I thought. I was in Weight Watchers for years and years and found my best success when I journaled. But I hated all that writing and calculating. I find doing it online much easier. I don't know how the other sites do it, but I have my favorite foods in a list and can just click to add it to the menu. I'm online all day, so it's no hassle. Good luck to you! :laugh:

Doctors are starting to find out about WLS, especially Lap Band, and how it can be a great benefit in reducing and eliminating a lot of the diseases that come with obesity. My PCP said he was against any kind of WLS until he went to a seminar a few months before I saw him. He was impressed at how well it knocked out diabetes for a lot of patients. He was gung-ho for me to get it. I think if enough doctors learn about it, they'll recommend it for their patients, and that will compel insurance companies to cover it.

Maybe it's an old requirement that never got updated. My surgeon's rules say drinking up until mealtime is OK. I usually drink while I cook a meal and stop when I sit down to eat, then hold off drinking for 45 minutes after. If you drink before you eat, and still lose weight, what's the harm?

How much protein do your shakes contain? I made mine so they had 35g of protein, so I was getting over 100g a day. Seemed to work for me, except I was hungry.

That's the one infomercial where I sometimes linger. If I had more room in my kitchen, I'd get one. Looks like a cool gadget. I hope someone gives us a review.

The Isopure Zero Carb drinks are pretty good. They have 40g of Protein in 20 ounces. They have fruity flavors, sort of like Sobee Lean and those types of drinks. Usually they're at places like Vitamin Shoppe and GNC. They go down easy. I like to use them when I have to go all-liquid because they're ready to drink with mixing. There's also nectar Protein powder. They have a thinner consistency than many of the Protein Drinks and taste pretty good. I used to mix some instant espresso in with the chocolate truffle flavor for a latte-like drink. I've also had the tropical flavor, which is sort of like a thin pina colada. The protein shots aren't too bad, except they're not a complete protein, I've been told, and sometimes they give me diarrhea. Actually, the brand I got at Vitamin Shoppe were fine, but the costco ones didn't agree with me. They're quite handy, if your body can tolerate them. I used to drink them straight. You can mix them with Crystal Lite or iced tea if you don't like the thick texture. Good luck!

Yeah, it takes seemingly forever. There are a lot of tests, but they just want to ensure you'll survive surgery. The preop diet it a good way to get started on your big losing spree. I lost 44 pounds preop and it was nice to be able to take that momentum into the post-surgery life. Use your time to find out as much as you can about the Lap Band and the lifestyle you'll need to follow. Good luck! PS: As for the diabetes thing, there's a good chance that it'll disappear as you lose weight. A lot of the type 2 diabetes is caused by excess weight. Every time I've lost weight below a certain number I've been able to ditch my diabetes medicine. I already was able to get rid of the insulin shots.

I saw my post earlier in this thread and realized that I wrote it before I decided to go with the band instead of bypass. My surgeon does both; he does more bypasses than bands, but he's highly regarded in the banding community. My starting BMI was 50ish. Good luck in your Quest for for the band!

I went back and forth before I decided on the Lap band. I have several co-morbidities and the doctor suggested bypass because you can lose weight faster in the beginning with the bypass because of the malabsorption component. With the band you're eating less because of the restriction. However, you have to get periodic fills (or unfills), so you have to "work it" more. I don't know a lot about the sleeve, except that those who have it seem very (sometimes overly) enthusiastic about it. It's not covered by my insurance, so I didn't even consider it, because I couldn't afford it. In the end, I went with the band for a couple of reasons. First, my volume of food has lessened as I've gotten older (I think it's a menopause thing), and when I'm full, I don't feel like eating any more. The other big reason was that I was hospitalized in February with pneumonia and spent over a week in a hospital bed. When I got out, I didn't want to go anywhere near a hospital for a long time. I wanted a less intrusive surgery. I know a lot of people who've gotten the bypass and have been very successful. A few of those, though, had complications that required more hospitalization, and I just didn't want to risk it. Good luck on making your decision!

Wasa Crispbread multigrain is good if you want a cracker-type dealie. I like to use them to dip my tuna salad. Here's the nutritional breakdown, per cracker: Cals 45 Fat 0g Carbs 10g Sugars 0g Fiber 2g Protein 2g For bread ideas, check out The World According to Eggface. She cooks some great stuff that I wouldn't have thought of. She had RNY, so some of stuff isn't for early Lapbanders.

Makes you wonder how they do gastric banding in England. :blushing: (Yes, I'm sure they do it properly there. I was just being a smart azz.)

In California, with Aetna, and approval took about 2 weeks. Well, actually, it took longer. After a few weeks, I checked, and the paperwork was screwed up. Surgeon's office got it straightened out and THEN it took 2 weeks.

Welcome to the club. :mad: My insurance required all those tests (except the sleep test) and a 6-month preop diet. I started in September 08 and finally had surgery in July 09. I was on the boards here and learned a lot before surgery, and I think that gave me an easier time. I also was able to drop a lot of weight before surgery and I think that was another big help. The tests were annoying, but I was able to get them all done in one month. Use this time to learn as much as you can and get ready. Good luck to you!

By the power vested in me, I declare you in ONEderland. Amen. (Now, if only I had some real power vested in me ... ) Congrats!