laurenica23

Hey! I just turned 24 and had my surgery exactly 1 week ago! My doctor and nurses said I was doing very well just a few hours out. Right now, I am moving around just fine. Just slight belly soreness in what I think is my port area. I think being young is an advantage because your recovery will probably be easier. I have hypothyriodism and have heard the surgery will only help me! I've only told a few people about the surgery -- only those closest to me. If it helps, I don't remember ANYTHING about the surgery. I remember going into the room, the mask, and then being moved from operating table to hospital bed. I'm happy I made this decision and can't wait to lose some more weight! By the way, I've lost 7 lbs since surgery!

I'm only 6 days out, but this is what I'm doing. I drink 2 Isopures a day, because the full liquids I'm on are just not providing enough Protein at this point. But, since Isopure is liquid, that's 40 ounces of my daily intake. That means after I'm only responsible to get 24 more ounces. I'm not so concerned yet with how long it takes me to eat. If I have a drinkable yogurt, I'll drink half then wait 10 minutes and work on the other half. I had some Soup last night (probably a cup?) and just took smaller spoonfuls. It probably took me 15 minutes to eat it. I'll work more on spacing out my eating when I start mushies tomorrow and as I continue to eat more solid foods.

I love Isopure! I was just banded 6 days ago and have been drinking 2 a day to get my Protein in. I just had a Grape Frost today. I need to stock up on some more and am going to order some, so it's nice to know they had good customer service! I love the pineapple Orange banana. I also like the Icy Orange, Mango Peach, and Passion Fruit. My least favorite is Alpine Punch. I couldn't even drink half of it yesterday because .... YUCK!

I did not follow my doctor's diet to the letter. They wanted us on the liver reduction diet for months! So, I still ate some whole grains. A couple weeks before I started cutting down the grains and tried to eat more Protein. Then I had to do a clear liquid diet 2 days before and I stuck to that religiously. I was banded. I think the liver reduction diet (basically high protein/low fat) was too hard for me to follow for so long (they told me to start it 5 months before my surgery) because I can see great benefits to having some whole grains in your diet. As the day came closer, though, I stuck to it more. If they had given it to me a month or 2 weeks before, I'm confident I would've stuck with it.

No, that's definitely not how it will be! You'll be able to eat with your family, just not as much. Now, I just had my surgery about a week ago. Last night I had Christmas Soup :tongue2: but next year, I'll be able to eat everything else that was there, but just not as much as I would've eaten before the surgery. You can usually eat 1 cup (max 1 1/2 cups) after surgery. This all depends on your level of band restriction. Some choose more restriction and can't eat more than 1/2 cup. I'm going to aim for 1 cup. I fully believe food is meant to be enjoyed, but before my surgery I didn't know how to enjoy it in moderation. I have a tool now to help me with the moderation part. If I make good food choices, I can allow a little indulgence on Christmas day - to a point.

I had one! In fact, I just removed it today. I called it my ball and chain because I had to carry it like a purse on my shoulder. :thumbup: My mom actually removed it. She's a nurse practitioner and well, why not use her? I watched her do the whole thing and it did feel weird coming out. She removed all the tape holding the tube down, which left just the tube in my skin. She just pulled up and out it came! I have a band-aid on it right now and my skin is itchy where the tape was (I'm slightly allergic to tape like that) but it was easy. I could've done it myself. There's nothing to worry about! I know it sounds like it'd be weird, but it's not. :thumbup:

I would definitely make sure you're getting enough fluids and call your surgeon tomorrow! I'm surprised you didn't have to urinate before leaving. Though, my doctor had me stay overnight in the hospital. My catheter was removed a couple hours after surgery and they monitored me until I left each time I went to the bathroom. I didn't have any problems with it, but you should definitely get that fixed! Especially before the holiday.

I lost about 12 lbs before surgery. My doctor's office had guidelines for a low carb diet. I'm not a big fan of low carb diets, as I think whole grains and fruits are great for you, but it's a good place to start for shrinking the liver. Try to do the South Beach Diet Phase 1 for a while. Focus on lean meats and veggies as much as you can and limit your intake of fruits and grains. Avoid high fat foods. So, instead of eating a scrambled egg and sausage, eat a scrambled egg and turkey sausage. Eat a hamburger without the bun. Snack on low-fat cheese. Liquid diets are fine if your doctor requires them, but they don't help you as you choose what to eat after surgery. If you develop good habits before the surgery, the chances are you'll have the same habits after surgery.

Isopure from GNC. It's kind of expensive, but it has 40g protein in 20 oz. of drink for 160 calories. They're flavored (I like the passion fruit) but you could always add some crystal light to make them taste better.

My surgery was yesterday! We got to the hospital around 6 am and walked to pre-op. I got labs drawn (my veins are impossible to find), got my IV in, met with my doctor and the anesthesiologist. Then they wheeled me to the room ... which was freezing! But they covered me with lovely warm towels. I remember the anesthesiologist telling me she was putting some relaxing meds in my IV and then I remember the oxygen mask. The next thing I knew, I was being woken up in post-op. I was sore and SO thirsty. I was kind of weepy from the anesthesia and finally got a little sponge to suck on. It made me nauseous, but I was so thirsty I didn't care. After a while, they wheeled me to my room. I got a little water and laid down for a couple hours. They got me up to walk and said I was doing really well. I sat and slept off and on, walked a little more, and laid down again. I stayed overnight, which was nice, despite nurses coming in every couple hours to check on me, draw labs, or give me a shot. I was discharged this morning and got home around 11. Luckily my drive home was only 5 minutes or so. I've been sitting in my recliner today, getting up every couple hours, and trying to drink a lot of liquids. I got through a protein drink, some water, and a few spoonfuls of soup (I'm allowed to be on full liquids). I took a shower earlier, and it's so nice to feel clean! I'm still pretty sore - like a super intense ab workout. My shoulder pain is very minimal. When I feel it, I just ask my mom to rub my shoulder and that helps a lot. Actually, my neck hurts from the hospital bed a lot more than any gas pains I have. I'm hoping I'll feel a bit better tomorrow and that I'll be able to move around some more. My mom has been a great help to me! She's taking care of my dogs here for me, as I can't bend down fully yet, and can only carry 1 of my dogs. He is only 7 lbs, but the other is 23 and I can't carry him yet. I'm going to try to sleep in my bed tonight and not the recliner, as it's freezing here and my downstairs is pretty cold even with the heat on. I'll pile up the pillows before bed! My pain overall has been pretty minimal and getting better as the day goes on. Hopefully within the next couple days I'll be doing much better!

Let's see what I can do to help. This is not comprehensive! OK. Well, the lap-band is just one of the weight loss surgery options out there. It is not a quick fix, but a tool that can help you lose weight. The lap-band is a band placed laproscopically around the top of your stomach (the stoma). Since the surgery is a laproscopic surgery, there are only a few small incisions made, instead of one large incision. The lap-band is placed around the stoma to make you feel full much more quickly. The band is designed to make the opening between the upper and lower stomach smaller, so it slows things down. Now, as you lose weight you may need adjustments made to your band. This happens by accessing the port attached to the band. The port is placed anywhere your doctor chooses to place it; I'm getting banded tomorrow and my doctor chooses to place it near the belly button. The port can be filled by injecting saline solution into it. It can also be unfilled for less restriction; it's really trial and error to get the kind of restriction you want. Because the opening in the stomach is smaller, there are a couple things to remember. 1) you must chew your food very well and there may be some foods you won't be able to tolerate anymore. 2) you must be willing to give up carbonation and/or beer. Your doctor may tell you you can try them in 6 months or a year, or maybe even never, but listen to your doctor and your body. 3) Because this is only a tool, you still have to make good food choices and be willing to exercise. Without exercise, it's rare to lose all of your excess weight. Get in touch with a local bariatric surgeon's office. They may have informational meetings to attend and then you can get the ball rolling with finding a surgeon. They will present more than the lap-band. They'll also present information on gastric bypass (RNY) and the gastric sleeve. Both of these are viable options, so you need to make the right decision for you. Then, it's pretty much up to your insurance from here. They may require supervised weight loss or other things from you in order to give approval. If you're self-pay, the process will be faster. This is a basic overview of the lap-band. Let me know if you have more questions!

I'm getting banded on the 20th, too! I've got a 2-day liquid diet. The broth I bought tasted gross, so all I've had today is a lot of Water and SF Jello. I'm going to go get some Soup tonight for dinner and just eat the broth ... I'm sure it will taste much better than what I had earlier.

I'm from Carmel, and I'm getting banded on Saturday! I'm getting banded at Clarian North by Dr. Samer Mattar. He is a GREAT doctor; unfortunately, I'm one of his last band patients! Most of his band patients are given to another doctor in his group and he primarily does gastric bypass now. Can't wait to be banded!

I love eating organic and/or locally grown food. Fewer pesticides for one. With locally grown food, you can always ask how things are grown because you get to buy from the actual farm! Whole Foods often orders local foods (at the most 1 state away), so check them out if you can't find any local farmers markets. Bison is a great option ... it's lean. 100% grass-fed (or grass finished) beef is so much leaner than regular beef. There are also more Vitamins and omega-3's in it. And if you can't find grass finished beef, get organic. Read any books by Michael Pollan, like Omnivore's Dilemma or Eater's Manifesto. They have great information how how food is grown and produced. There's a great website that you can find local farmer's markerts, CSAs, groceries, and restaurants - Sustainable Table I just think having as much real, unprocessed food as possible in your diet is best.

I got a call earlier today and my surgery has been pushed back one day. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I'm a little bummed out, as I've already prepared myself for this day for so long. So, now I am a Dec 20th bandster!

I found out I had hypothyroidism about a month after my first consult. It didn't seem to affect my approval. It was really nice when I started the thyroid meds and lost like 15 lbs and ate whatever I wanted. Then I gained some of it back. Anyway, it shouldn't affect your approval. May even help.

I go to Clarian Bariatrics on the west side of Indy. Not sure how much the fills are, as I'm being banded in 13 days, but you could check out clarian.org and see what you can find out.

Are the cattle raised on a 100% grass-fed diet? If not, the meat will be more fatty. If you're dying for a hamburger and the meat isn't grass-fed, I would try to find a Whole Foods or something that sells it. Otherwise, I would think roast or maybe even a filet/tenderloin (much less fat) might be better.

That's awesome!!

I totally understand about wanting it right now. :blushing: I think waiting was good for me, though. Nope, no kids. I'm in graduate school right now ... should be done in about a year! (Hopefully much skinnier then, too!)

Same with me ... I've been fat most of my life (since probably age 7?) and have dieted on and off since then. I'm from Indiana. Insurance companies are weird and will deny surgeries for the smallest things. I'm sure your doctor's office will have written out a carefully worded letter they know the insurance companies won't have a problem with. Well, if you don't have sleep apnea, I wouldn't say you do. They'll make you get a sleep study in your pre-op testing and will find out you don't have it. Just be honest in your packet cause they'll test you for everything you have. If you have an idea of what diets you've been on and how much weight you've lost/gained, that's helpful usually. Being honest is the best thing ... the doctor's office is going to work really hard to get you approved. I know mine did. That did include 6 months of supervised weight loss, but that's OK. Good luck!

I'm not banded yet, so I'm not sure if this will be of much help! I've heard Gas-X strips can work wonders. Also, even though it hurts, walk around as much as you can. If it is gas pain, moving will help get rid of it. You also may want to call you doctor and see if you can get some pain meds if you don't already have them. Just until you can get up and moving. Hope you feel better soon!

My surgery is scheduled for December 19. I've never had surgery either and am scared, too, but to remind myself of these things: 1. My doctor absolutely knows what he's doing and will be able to handle any complications that arise. 2. My doctor will choose an anesthesiologist who is just as good. 3. He will make a few incisions and place the band around my stomach and then place the port. There will be no "rearranging" of my insides ... there should be very little cutting! (Especially if I do my part to try to shrink my liver.) This is fairly minimally invasive procedure. I'm just really trying to focus on trusting my doctor ... that's why I chose him! Being nervous is normal, though. Just know I'm sure you'll be just fine. :grouphug:

I'm so sorry! I can only imagine how frustrating that is. First, I would try to talk to your doctor about your frustrations. See what he/she says and work out a plan. Then, if it's decided you need to lose a little weight, ask for some help with that. Whether it's meeting with a dietician for meal ideas or something else, losing a little weight will help you get into those good habits before surgery and jump start your weight loss. I wouldn't think 20% is the best idea, but 5% wouldn't be too bad, but I'm not a doctor. The higher your BMI (generally) the faster you lose. I watch the Biggest Loser and the bigger guys can lose 10 lbs a week and the smaller girls are struggling to lose 4. Also, if you're placed on a pre-op diet before the surgery, you will lose weight. Those are designed to make you lose before surgery so your liver will shrink. Good luck; I really hope this works out for you!

Not really. I have hypothyroidism and asthma, but those don't really count as co-morbidities. My health is actually really good according to my pre-op lab work -- good cholesterol, good BP, normal EKG, etc. It may be easier to get approval if you have diabetes or some other condition, I'm not sure. Your doctor's office also has to word everything just right (esp. for BC/BS) because insurance companies will deny for the smallest thing. In my experience with medical billing, I think Aetna is about the best for approvals and BC/BS (Anthem) is about the worst. You may need to do some supervised weight loss or something, but that's OK. It prepared me for the idea of surgery and I've been getting used to not drinking soda, etc before the surgery. I started all this in March/April and I'm having surgery in just a few weeks. Since I'm young and my health is good, the wait wasn't a problem really. I can do pretty much anything I want still ... it's just a fat girl doing it, you know? I'm thankful I had to wait.