Scorpyian1

Odd as it sounds, you are NOT eating enough. You are slowing your metabolism down to a crawl! You have to eat, and you have to exercise -- that is the long and short of it. The lap band is only a tool, and you have to work with it. I"m sure you know that already, I'm just stating that so you get back to square one. Have an appt. with your dietician immediately. Explain to him/her what you have here and listen to their suggestions. You body needs some fuel to live on -- if you won't feed it, it will get its fuel from your muscles, which also are integral in keeping your metabolism stoked. I hope this helps.

I know I'm supposed to be drinking 40z in an hour, but it rarely takes me more than 10 minutes. Am I damaging my pouch or setting my self up for future weight gain? I try to slow it down, but now that I'm actually doing this liquid thing, it seems ridiculous to be sipping or sucking on a icepop every moment I'm awake! I'm not experience any pain in my pouch other than my burps trying to escape at times other than when I'm drinking. And...is anyone feeling "hunger" I'm not sure that's what I'm feeling...

Thank you so much for your responses -- I'm slowing it down a bit. I'm just going to take the cues from my body and try not to aniticpate issues :op One day at a time is my new mantra.

I have Aetna PPO and can go in or out of Network. I find that the best thing that you can do for yourself is to find out early on EXACTLY what your insurer has to say about weight loss surgery. Is it covered? Under what circumstances is it covered, and once you meet those circumstances, what is needed in order to be approved. Before I seriously considered having the surgery, I found Aetna's policy on WLS. I knew I met the BMI + comobidities, so I knew I needed to fulfil their 6month verification requirement. My dr. submitted my paperwork less than one week before surgery and Aetna requested only 2 additional things: notes from my dr. indicating my weight on a date she mentioned in her supporting documentation, and another from 2007 indicating my weight. once they received that, the approval was given the same day. So all in all, it took only 2 days -- one spent waiting for my dr. to pull out my chart and fax the extra documentaion over. If your doctor has a sample insusrance letter for you to use, I suggest that you take it and go over it with your doctor. Don't give the insurance companies more information than it asks for-- you could leave yourself open for more questions and end up having to dig up more information. which, is neve-wracking when all you want is your approval.

I'm feeling better each day. As I mentioned in other posts, I didn't feel much surgical pain b/c I only have one incision site. My doctor uses a one port technique whereby he places the band though my belly button and the scar is hidden within. the gas pains were the bane of my existence. But I feel great as trhe days wear on. My throat is a little sore from the tube, but that's about it.

I know -- that's what my doctor told me, and what makes sense, but on a practical level, I was feeling awful until I took it, and felt instantly better -- my friend had the same experience after I told her. Who knew--it's worth a shot.

Phazyme! If you are having gas pains, it's the best! :tt1: I had a caesarian with my son 12 years ago, and was told by the nurse to get them. Well, after my band, I was in so much pain -- my doctor said that only walking would move the gas along. So I walked, but it was slow going with the pains! Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and sent my hubby out to get the phazyme. Can I tell you I had almost instant relief! I would put that on the pre-ops list of things to have when you get home.:tongue_smilie:

Thanks for posting! I'm not feeling so odd now. I had awful gas pains! No shoulder pain, but it was all sitting right on my chest. I think I'd trade for that! I had my surgery on the 16th and spent one day in the hospital and couldn't wait to get home! Usually when I'm uncomfortable, I like that hospital bed, but my roommate was such a NIGHTMARE that I was pleased when my discharge papers came. This first night was very difficult. I wasn't nauseated, but my uvula was swollen from the tube and I kept having to swallow it. I thought I was choking! Fun!:tongue_smilie: I't subsiding a bit, so it's not as bad. I still feel as if I'm on hospital-time, so I'm waking up every 3 hours or so, but all in all I can't complain. I'm glad I'm banded.

I'm being banded on the 16th. I can't wait!

My date is October 16th. :laugh:) I can't wait!

I'm being banded on Oct. 16th as well! I can't wait! A whole winter to get ready for the beach -- but this time, it will work!

I"m also new. I've jumped through all the hoops and I have my surgery date: October 16! :thumbup: I'm feeling exhilarated, nervous, anxious and hopeful all at once! It took me a long time to come to this decision, but after about 8 years of "not wanting gastric bypass" I finally read a great book by Khalia Ali about the banding procedure and learned that the weight comes off slower, but after 2 or 3 years, has the same weight loss as the gb. So...I went for it. I'm wondering what it will be like to be without joint pain, to have more energy, to do 100's of things I didn't allow myself to do or was to heavy to do. I'm wondering what it will be like to say goodbye to my 100lb overweight self! Is anyone else feeling this way?