christymarie

I think for insurance reasons I have to spend at least one night at the hospital so no day surgery for me. I wondered about OA as an option for after surgery but I understand the problem with complete honesty. I'll have to do more checking and see if there are specific lap band support groups in this area. It would be great to talk to others who are going through the same things. Christy

I go in Monday Jan 26th at 8:30am. I start taking my impact advantage drinks tomorrow, whoo hooo!! Finally!! I am so excited to start this journey! Christy

Apples, my chocolate lab LOVES popcorn too. It cracks me up. I'm glad to know she's not the only one.

Hi Craig. I have to be honest I'm not sure exactly what type of lapband I'm doing but I trust my doctor to make the best choice for me. I hope that doesn't sound naive but I figure I'd rather have him doing the band he's most comfortable with. It's going to be an exciting journey. My husband is a little over 4 weeks out from his surgery and has already lost 25lbs from two days before surgery. I know guys lose faster than women but I'm still excited! Why are you going to another state for your surgery?

It's nice having people banded on the same day. I know everyone is different but I don't feel so alone. Congratulation on your weightloss already!! You're doing an amazing job, way to go. Christy

I figured this was a common thing. I will be keeping it in check, especially this week as I am in the ending days. Thanks for your encouragement.

I am having surgery on Monday the 26th at 8:30 am at Alexian Brothers Hospital. It's the same hospital my hubby had his lapband surgery at last month. I was kinda hoping for a sister hospital that has private rooms but I'm still excited. I don't have any pre-surgery diet I have to follow but I do have to take two juice box sized advantage recovery drinks everyday until Next Sunday when I go to all liquids and take the stuff to flush my system. I can still eat normally this week. Did anyone else find themselves going to more buffets and favorite restaurants the week before they had to stop eating normally? I do realize that I will most likely be able to go to these same places after surgery but I also realize that my relationship with food will change. I'm not going overboard but do find myself choosing more favorites that I may not be able to get after surgery. I'm excited about this!

Hello Valerie!! Where are you having surgery at? I'm going to be at Alexian Brothers, I was hoping for St Alexis since they have private rooms and a floor just for bariatric patients but since they are squeezing me in I took what I could get. My insurance is changing pre-cert companies the end of this month so if we didn't have the surgery this month I was going to have to get re-certified, what a mess. I don't have a support group but my Dr is a part of a group that does a lot of post surgery training. I had to attend at least one meeting before surgery and they want me to finish the rest of the 6 classes after surgery, plus there's a special dietary meeting after surgery to talk about diet after the first month. I'm really getting excited. There's a TOPS class that meets in the library down the street from me so I was thinking about them but do you have any other ideas? Christy

I just found out I'm scheduled for that date, 8:30 in the morning. I am so excited!! I don't have a special pre-op diet, I have to drink two impact advantage recovery drinks a day but can still eat normally. I'm having surgery done by Dr Rantis with the Kane Center in Illinois. I'm getting really excited. What type of post surgery plan does your doctor have you on? Dr Rantis has us do full liquids the first week, then puree for a week, then a week of soft foods (no fiber), and then regular foods. He tries to have you for your first fill within 4-6 weeks after surgery and wants us to have had at least a week of regular before our first fill. I'm excited! Christy

I have heard that a protein drink or S/F Carnation Instant Breakfast is better than slim fast. What type of Slim Fast are you using?

I am having surgery on Monday the 26th at 8:30 am at Alexian Brothers Hospital. It's the same hospital my hubby had his lapband surgery at last month. I was kinda hoping for a sister hospital that has private rooms but I'm still excited. I don't have any pre-surgery diet I have to follow but I do have to take two juice box sized advantage recovery drinks everyday until Next Sunday when I go to all liquids and take the stuff to flush my system. I can still eat normally this week. Did anyone else find themselves going to more buffets and favorite restaurants the week before they had to stop eating normally? I do realize that I will most likely be able to go to these same places after surgery but I also realize that my relationship with food will change. I'm not going overboard but do find myself choosing more favorites that I may not be able to get after surgery. I'm excited about this!

Well this is my first blog entry. I'm excited about this new journey but also realize that this is not going to be easy. I have been told enough and have seen that you still have to make good choices...the pounds will not just melt off and even if they do at first, it probably wont last. I have my sleep study tonight and am supposed to hear from the hospital today or tomorrow what day they are getting me into surgery. I know it's the last week of this month but I'm not sure the exact day.

Well this is my first blog entry. I'm excited about this new journey but also realize that this is not going to be easy. I have been told enough and have seen that you still have to make good choices...the pounds will not just melt off and even if they do at first, it probably wont last. I have my sleep study tonight and am supposed to hear from the hospital today or tomorrow what day they are getting me into surgery. I know it's the last week of this month but I'm not sure the exact day.

Hubby has been banded for a little over two weeks now and is doing pretty good. She kinda hurried though the appt and gave him the brush-off on a couple things that I wanted to ask you guys here. He asked about lifting restrictions and she told him no lifting over 10lbs for the next 4-6 weeks and then to add 5lbs a week after that. Does that sound right? He had laproscopic and I thought they would lift the weight restrictions after only 4 weeks. Kinda confused on that one. Also, she is going to be the one to do his fill in two weeks. Is that typical? That means that he has not seen the surgeon at all since surgery, have any of you had similar experiences? Thanks for all your help. Christy

My hubby is in the soft food stage of recovery from surgery and while we are able to get the full amount of Protein in we are having a hard time getting him to 1200-1400 calories. Yesterday he had: 2 scrambled eggs with cheese and a banana 6oz catfish with 1 1/2oz 3oz pork chop, 2oz mashed potatoes, 2oz apple sauce 8oz yogurt Protein for the day was 84oz (according to spark people) and calories was 1000. Can anyone offer suggestions for rounding this out better? He does not prefer the Protein drinks and I'm trying to get him away from them and into real protein which it seems we are doing just not sure how to add calories. Thanks guys, Christy

Thanks Monkey, that does help. I hate to be pushy but I'm having the surgery later this month and am trying to learn as I go what to expect. I will be giving them a call later.

Thanks, this does help. He went in for his post surgery check-up today and we were less then thrilled with it. Basically it was with the nurse and she just brushed off any questions he had and said he was doing great. Oh well. Christy

Thanks Jodi, it helps to know we are on the right track. He's been really good with getting Protein but I have been reading that having your calorie intake too low can cause problems. I feel sometimes like I need a degree in nutrition. I just don't know what are good high calories and what is something that can hurt him. Maybe I'm over thinking the whole thing. I'm off to the grocery store. Christy

Hi, I'm Christy and I've just found out that after a second level appeal I have been approved for lap band surgery. I have a call into my surgeons office to find out when we can schedule it. I'm sooooo excited!! My hubby was banded last month (he got approved right away because of co-morbidities but mine took longer) He's already lost 20lbs so I'm really excited to get started also. I look forward to getting to know you all better!! Christy :biggrin:

I had two of them. One was when I realized that my mom and sister had bypass and looked fantastic, why not me. My second on was much bigger. I had breast surgery (cancer scare) and then the flu in the span of a month when suddenly I was not able to walk. I'd lost feeling in my lower left leg and color vision in my left eye and slowly deteriorated over the next month to where I was having to use a walker to get from one room of my house to another. I've been tentatively diagnosed with MS and realized that there was a possibility that DH would someday have to help me physically more and more. I could not and would not subject him to physically trying to move a 300plus pound woman. Talk about motivation, LOL. BTW, I'm much better now and other than numbness in my toes and some balance issues I'm doing great. I'm even able to drive again. Everyone definitely has an ah ha moment, it's interesting to read what everyone has to say. Christy

Thanks Debbi, I have been going through the process for over a year. I had to do 6mo of doc supervised weight loss and then had a health crisis come up (they think I've developed MS) so that put the surgery on hold for several months until we got things under control. I was going to go with a bypass (my mom and sister both had them) but then because I am having ongoing vit D issues my pcp and I settled on lapband. I also have two children with autism so being out of commission for a long recovery was out of the question. I'm excited to get to know everyone. Christy

Is it common to have a pre-op diet? How long do they usually last? Our surgeon does not require a pre-op diet other than drinking a Protein drink that is supposed to aid recovery a week before surgery but that is in addition to what you normally eat. My hubby did have the usual no eating before surgery but that was only a couple of days. Are there advantages to dieting before surgery and if so what diet do they suggest? Thanks. Christy Insurance approval 1/02/09, awaiting surgery schedule date.