brenpren07

So tuesday I had my surgery I got to the hospital a little earlier than they told me cause I had nothing to do that day so I figured I just go ahead and check in. Well I ended up having the surgery 30 min earlier than scheduled. My mom took a few pictures of me in my gown as before pictures. So Igot out of surgery and was feeling okay just a bit groggy and a little pain not too much. I did the swallow test which was disgusting....I laid back down and upstairs I went. They gave me some Iv Fluids a little medicine cup of ice water and some Jello and broth. I didn;t feel to hungry but I ate the popsicle they gave me. WEll at least half of it. So I was like when do I leave or am I staying overnight because my respirations were dropping to like 10 and 8, They said well once everything is stable and your blood pressure is okay and you go pee you can leave. So everything was stable and then they said well you haven't peed yet. We need you to before you can leave. Since I had a catheter placed in me at surgery time I guess they wanted to make sure I was flowing properly. So After about 7 hrs of waiting to pee I did it. So I got to go home yesterday morning at 3am. So I get home and I'm sore but not extremely hurting. I can't lay down though cause it hurts when I try to. SO I kind of sit laying on my bed all morning long. Well when I try to go to sleep again last night after being in agonizing pain during the late day I mean like every time I breathe it feels like someone is stabbing me. It hurts so bad. I tried to lay down but I couldn't breathe and I tried to sit/laying on the bed and couldn't breathe so I slept in a big chair all night long. I was still hurting but it was better than the bed. SO this morning I wake up and walk a little and got short of breath so I stopped. I tried to call my Doctor and left a message with his nurse but no return call yet.....SO now I am just waiting it is about 900am and there office is open but it keeps going to voice-mail. This sucks right now I need some stronger pain medicine or something. I have this numbing medicine that isn't numbing anything cause I feel it all. Other than that I have hydrocodone and Gas-X strips which neither is doing anything for me at this point.. It hurt mostly around my lung area and where the port is but now it hurts there and my shoulder area. I know a lot of people say that is gas pain but I think mine is more of swelling pain. So check out my before pictures along with my scar pictures I'll be posting them in about 10minutes. Ans thanks for reading.....:thumbup:

So she didn't call back (the dietitian) withing the 2hrs like she said so I called her around 12pm and asked when it was going to be and why it was canceled. She said it will be for sure the 26th at 2p which is great! I asked why it was canceled and it seems from what my mom says since she works there and what the lady told me, that he was in philly and didn't make it back in time, that he attend a game this weekend and missed a flight. All that matters is I have a new date and time and so far it isn't canceled. YEAH!!! :thumbup:So I have to be NPO again after 2am so 12 hrs with no food great!(sarcasim):sad:

So she didn't call back (the dietitian) withing the 2hrs like she said so I called her around 12pm and asked when it was going to be and why it was canceled. She said it will be for sure the 26th at 2p which is great! I asked why it was canceled and it seems from what my mom says since she works there and what the lady told me, that he was in philly and didn't make it back in time, that he attend a game this weekend and missed a flight. All that matters is I have a new date and time and so far it isn't canceled. YEAH!!! :thumbup:So I have to be NPO again after 2am so 12 hrs with no food great!(sarcasim):thumbup:

Well I woke up this morning ready to go in for surgery when @ 730am the hospital I was going to have my surgery at calls and says I won't be having surgery today and that I need to call the Doc's office and reschedule. :sad: I was upset. I had everything ready and was prepared now I have to do it all over again. I called and they didn't tell me why it was canceled or when exactly my surgery will be when I called but that it might be either th 26th @ 2p or the 27th at 3p. They have to get it in before insurance ends on the 30th otherwise I can't have the surgery done until I come up with funds.... She said she would call back with the specifics.

Well I woke up this morning ready to go in for surgery when @ 730am the hospital I was going to have my surgery at calls and says I won't be having surgery today and that I need to call the Doc's office and reschedule. :thumbup: I was upset. I had everything ready and was prepared now I have to do it all over again. I called and they didn't tell me why it was canceled or when exactly my surgery will be when I called but that it might be either th 26th @ 2p or the 27th at 3p. They have to get it in before insurance ends on the 30th otherwise I can't have the surgery done until I come up with funds.... She said she would call back with the specifics.

So I have my surgery today! It's at 1045 or at least that's when I have to be there. So I was wondering since this is a day surgery what should I bring with me? Also I read about a lot of you being on clear liquids as well as my doctor saying that's what I will be doing after surgery, now are you not able to drink the isopure clear protein drinks or no? I have been ancy all weekend trying to keep myself busy and not think about it but it seemed like it was forever away. I was looking at my page and realized how ironic it was that my join date to this website was exactly 1 yr from today and my surgery is this day. Now I knew it was meant to happen and feel a million times more like this is the best decision I have made in a long time. So to all of you who will be banded this month or have been banded this month Good Luck and Lose Big!!!

Well I was about to exit out of the website and I went to my page and looked at my join date and it was exactly one year from when my surgery is going to be. I thought that was pretty cool!!! That just kinda confirms for me that I am making the absolute right decision......Good Luck Everyone!!!!!:thumbup:

Well I was about to exit out of the website and I went to my page and looked at my join date and it was exactly one year from when my surgery is going to be. I thought that was pretty cool!!! That just kinda confirms for me that I am making the absolute right decision......Good Luck Everyone!!!!!:sad:

Hello everyone my name is Brenda P. I am 20 yrs old and live in Dallas, Texas. I am trying to have the lap-band®® done. I have been researching and looking to do this since 2006. My parents, when I first approached them with the idea back then was very objective to the idea of me having the surgery at 16yrs old. Really it was only my Dad coming up with excuses why I am not overweight and how everyone has self-confident issues. So I left that at that and was determined to self finance it myself and disregard what he said. I mean he doesn't know what I go through everyday and my life in my shoes so how can he say it's okay for em to be fat? I mean seriously!! So that brings me to why I am writing this blog in August 2009 after I turned 20 I decided I am no longer my parents concern and a teenager I can make decisions without asking them first now. So I read into my insurance and whether or not they did cover the procedure. As it turned out they didn't. At the time I was on my father's insurance being a student and all so I then started to look into my mom's insurance at her work and if they covered the procedure. Luckily she just changed jobs and now works at a Bariatric Hospital. Lucky Me right! So I convince her to let me be on her insurance because my dad's insurance doesn't cover certain things. I didn't automatically tell her what for. So she was like yes u can open enrollment is coming up. So there starts the "Insurance Journey". I'm sure if you have been through the process and had the band you know all about that. I checked with the insurance company to see what doctor's were available to me and what were my choices as far as what I can have done and the fees and all that great stuff. Turn out I could only have it done at that hospital Dallas Renaissance Hospital and Dr. Michael Green Jr. was the only surgeon choice I had. So now that my Doctor was narrowed down to one I scheduled an appointment to check him out more like a group session meeting first then an appointment. He talked very well and although young he has a wide base knowledge of what he is doing and is very confident in his work. He has done the surgery over 100 times and from what I hear from the patients of his at the hospital he does a wonderful job. So I was sold to him be my Surgeon. After the appointment with him I had to schedule my first appointment of what would be 6 dietitian appointments. I had labs and chest x-rays done the following week after the initial appoint. and then was the dietitian appoint. I was kind of knowing what to expect when I went there because I had researched this thing for 3yrs and knew all complications, risk, habits that need to be changed, etc. So I weighed in first it was 260lbs first weigh in. I went over my eating habits and what I need to do to fix them. I had to end up taking supplements because I was iron, vitamin D, and slightly calcium dificient. So after 5 months of that I find out my Insurance is going to be changing at the end of Janauary. Well my last Diet Appointment is the 12th of January so I have from then until the end of January to get approved becuase my insurance the company is switching to does cover Bariatric Surgery!!! Isn't that just perfect timing. Well afterwards they spoke to the HR department and had them call the insurance directly to see if there was anything they can do about getting the approval process going and expedited to have a verdict by the end of the week for me. Well they didn't have one by the end of the week so I had to wait until this week to see if something would happen. Well I had called them to see if they heard anything yesterday and they said no but they sent an e-mail about getting an update and if I can go ahead and come in Tuesday morning to get the surgery scheduled in case my insurance is approved that way it is done the same month before my insurance ends so it can cover the surgery . So I went in today and spoke to the doctor about what to expect after the surgery, my past 6 months of diet visits, and just talking about general surgery stuff and I signed a consent for the surgery. So he said they were going to go ahead and plan the surgery for Monday the 25th of January and if we hear from the Insurance Company we will call you and let you know if your approved or not. Well of course me being ancy and not being able to wait for them to do it I asked them for a name and number and I called them to see what my status was the first time they transferred me to the lady I got a voice-mail and the second time I called someone answered and they said they would see where she was and then they told me well they just finished the meeting about your case and it looks like everything is good. Meaning I'm APPROVED!!!! YAY!!! I called my doctor and told the lady what they told me and they should be receiving a paper saying Ye or Ne and to let me know. SO like 5 min. afterward they call me an say yes I am having the surgery and it is going to be MONDAY!!!. I don't know what time yet I have to go in tomorrow and do pre-registration and all that good paperwork and get a time but it is Monday the 25th.!!! I will update tomorrow........:confused::thumbup::thumbup::wink2::thumbup::thumbup:

Thanks, good luck to you too!!

So the 21st-23rd was hard just waiting for tomorrow. I went out and bout some protein stuff and chewables for after surgery just getting prepared so I don't have to worry about it later. I got the 12 pk. Alpine Punch Isopure 40g Protein, and the 42g Protein New Whey Shots. I also got the liquid daily vitamin, chewable calcium citrate, and chewable iron w/vitamin C. So I think I am ill prepared. Well, Friday I cleaned up my room to keep me occupied and donated a lot of clothing out of my closet(never worn) and my drawers to a New Beginnings Center in Garland. I figured now is better than never I mean after a while I won't need them anyway not like I need them now too. So later that night I went to the drive-in theater in Ennis, Tx. and had seen Legion/Daybreakers, both good movies we got home around 1230am so I went straight to sleep. On Saturday I went with my brothers girlfriend to look for Apartments cause i'm moving out at the end of this month. (I live with my parents now) So I kept busy with that and found a place which I need to go in Monday before surgery and place a deposit. I went to work later that night at 7p-7a and the day went by fast. So here I am today I went to sleep when I got home this a.m. @ 0830 and slept until 2p.m. I woke up at lunch and chatted with the fam and then was surfing the net for a while. I was supposed to go to work and after a while of contemplating whether or not to I decided to not. I called-in and said not coming in cause I have surgery tomorrow. So, that will make my night longer now until the morning. I have been nervously eating and going to be NPO at midnight until 1045 in the morning. I am going to do some homework and then go to sleep around 11p.m. I have all my stuff packed (like a day surgery bag) for tomorrow. 11 hrs and counting left 'til surgery. So I guess this is it for my post today. Gnite everybody!!!:thumbup::biggrin:

So the 21st-23rd was hard just waiting for tomorrow. I went out and bout some protein stuff and chewables for after surgery just getting prepared so I don't have to worry about it later. I got the 12 pk. Alpine Punch Isopure 40g Protein, and the 42g Protein New Whey Shots. I also got the liquid daily vitamin, chewable calcium citrate, and chewable iron w/vitamin C. So I think I am ill prepared.:drool: Well, Friday I cleaned up my room to keep me occupied and donated a lot of clothing out of my closet(never worn) and my drawers to a New Beginnings Center in Garland. I figured now is better than never I mean after a while I won't need them anyway not like I need them now too. So later that night I went to the drive-in theater in Ennis, Tx. and had seen Legion/Daybreakers, both good movies we got home around 1230am so I went straight to sleep. On Saturday I went with my brothers girlfriend to look for Apartments cause i'm moving out at the end of this month. (I live with my parents now):wink2: So I kept busy with that and found a place which I need to go in Monday before surgery and place a deposit. I went to work later that night at 7p-7a and the day went by fast. So here I am today I went to sleep when I got home this a.m. @ 0830 and slept until 2p.m. I woke up at lunch and chatted with the fam and then was surfing the net for a while. I was supposed to go to work and after a while of contemplating whether or not to I decided to not. I called-in and said not coming in cause I have surgery tomorrow. So, that will make my night longer now until the morning. I have been nervously eating and going to be NPO at midnight until 1045 in the morning. I am going to do some homework and then go to sleep around 11p.m. I have all my stuff packed (like a day surgery bag) for tomorrow. 11 hrs and counting left 'til surgery. So I guess this is it for my post today. Gnite everybody!!!:sad::biggrin:

So after about 1hr of being home the Doc's office calls and it's my dietitian Irene. She tells me my surgery was pushed back an hour. I thought for some reason it was going to be cancelled. I was relieved. So Monday @ 1045 I will be admitted for surgery.:thumbup:

So after about 1hr of being home the Doc's office calls and it's my dietitian Irene. She tells me my surgery was pushed back an hour. I thought for some reason it was going to be cancelled. I was relieved. So Monday @ 1045 I will be admitted for surgery.:sad:

So I went in today @ 1000 and went to the obesity center to ask what I needed to do as far as registering and getting my time and prescription elixir. She told me to go to preregistration which I did and they told me I needed to have some labs done so I went to the lab and she took my blood to test for clotting and stuff for anesthesia purposes. Well she busted my vein and now I have a huge bruise looks like I was man handled or something. So I went back to the doctor in the same building and they gave me my prescription and finally a time for surgery. It's @ 0945 and then she said I will have a 2 week post op visit and then six weeks after surgery my first fill. Yay!! Im so excited!!:thumbup::w00t:

So I went in today @ 1000 and went to the obesity center to ask what I needed to do as far as registering and getting my time and prescription elixir. She told me to go to preregistration which I did and they told me I needed to have some labs done so I went to the lab and she took my blood to test for clotting and stuff for anesthesia purposes. Well she busted my vein and now I have a huge bruise looks like I was man handled or something. So I went back to the doctor in the same building and they gave me my prescription and finally a time for surgery. It's @ 0945 and then she said I will have a 2 week post op visit and then six weeks after surgery my first fill. Yay!! Im so excited!!:sad::w00t:

I haven't had surgery yet I have it on Monday but I have already started to drink protein drinks. I like the Alpine Punch Isopure Drinks its 40g of protein in one bottle and 160 calories which isn't bad for the amount of protein u get. I want to try their other flavors they have like pineapple orange, blueberry, and grape. Good luck finding one that fits.

I haven't had my surgery yet but my Doc. said I might have shoulder pain for a few days after because for some reason the extra air that ends up in your stomach causes it.

1.What is your current and goal weight? 253/160 2.What is your surgery date? 01/25/10 3.What is your age? 20 4.Where do you live? Dallas 5.Where are you having surgery? Renaissance Hospital 6.Who is your Doctor?? Dr. Michael Green Jr. 7.Insurance or self-pay? Insurance, mostly 8.What was you "deciding factor" for having this surgery? I was sick of not looking good in my cloths and feeling tired all the time! Social Anxiety,finally deciding to change...!

Hello everyone my name is Brenda P. I am 20 yrs old and live in Dallas, Texas. I am trying to have the lap-band®® done. I have been researching and looking to do this since 2006. My parents, when I first approached them with the idea back then was very objective to the idea of me having the surgery at 16yrs old. Really it was only my Dad coming up with excuses why I am not overweight and how everyone has self-confident issues. So I left that at that and was determined to self finance it myself and disregard what he said. I mean he doesn't know what I go through everyday and my life in my shoes so how can he say it's okay for em to be fat? I mean seriously!! So that brings me to why I am writing this blog in August 2009 after I turned 20 I decided I am no longer my parents concern and a teenager I can make decisions without asking them first now. So I read into my insurance and whether or not they did cover the procedure. As it turned out they didn't. At the time I was on my father's insurance being a student and all so I then started to look into my mom's insurance at her work and if they covered the procedure. Luckily she just changed jobs and now works at a Bariatric Hospital. Lucky Me right! So I convince her to let me be on her insurance because my dad's insurance doesn't cover certain things. I didn't automatically tell her what for. So she was like yes u can open enrollment is coming up. So there starts the "Insurance Journey". I'm sure if you have been through the process and had the band you know all about that. I checked with the insurance company to see what doctor's were available to me and what were my choices as far as what I can have done and the fees and all that great stuff. Turn out I could only have it done at that hospital Dallas Renaissance Hospital and Dr. Michael Green Jr. was the only surgeon choice I had. So now that my Doctor was narrowed down to one I scheduled an appointment to check him out more like a group session meeting first then an appointment. He talked very well and although young he has a wide base knowledge of what he is doing and is very confident in his work. He has done the surgery over 100 times and from what I hear from the patients of his at the hospital he does a wonderful job. So I was sold to him be my Surgeon. After the appointment with him I had to schedule my first appointment of what would be 6 dietitian appointments. I had labs and chest x-rays done the following week after the initial appoint. and then was the dietitian appoint. I was kind of knowing what to expect when I went there because I had researched this thing for 3yrs and knew all complications, risk, habits that need to be changed, etc. So I weighed in first it was 260lbs first weigh in. I went over my eating habits and what I need to do to fix them. I had to end up taking supplements because I was iron, vitamin D, and slightly calcium dificient. So after 5 months of that I find out my Insurance is going to be changing at the end of Janauary. Well my last Diet Appointment is the 12th of January so I have from then until the end of January to get approved becuase my insurance the company is switching to does cover Bariatric Surgery!!! Isn't that just perfect timing. Well afterwards they spoke to the HR department and had them call the insurance directly to see if there was anything they can do about getting the approval process going and expedited to have a verdict by the end of the week for me. Well they didn't have one by the end of the week so I had to wait until this week to see if something would happen. Well I had called them to see if they heard anything yesterday and they said no but they sent an e-mail about getting an update and if I can go ahead and come in Tuesday morning to get the surgery scheduled in case my insurance is approved that way it is done the same month before my insurance ends so it can cover the surgery . So I went in today and spoke to the doctor about what to expect after the surgery, my past 6 months of diet visits, and just talking about general surgery stuff and I signed a consent for the surgery. So he said they were going to go ahead and plan the surgery for Monday the 25th of January and if we hear from the Insurance Company we will call you and let you know if your approved or not. Well of course me being ancy and not being able to wait for them to do it I asked them for a name and number and I called them to see what my status was the first time they transferred me to the lady I got a voice-mail and the second time I called someone answered and they said they would see where she was and then they told me well they just finished the meeting about your case and it looks like everything is good. Meaning I'm APPROVED!!!! YAY!!! I called my doctor and told the lady what they told me and they should be receiving a paper saying Ye or Ne and to let me know. SO like 5 min. afterward they call me an say yes I am having the surgery and it is going to be MONDAY!!!. I don't know what time yet I have to go in tomorrow and do pre-registration and all that good paperwork and get a time but it is Monday the 25th.!!! I will update tomorrow........:thumbup::thumbdown::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

It was hard for me to stop drinking soda I first started by not buying them when I bought fast food. Then once i quit buying fast food I limited what i was buying in the stores u know how u will go in and buy a 12 pk i would only buy a 6 pack becuase i knew i wouldnt feel ike going back to the store for more also i started drinking ginger ale . to me it taste like sprite but its more natural andless sugary then i ruled out sodas and began only drinking ginger ale and that sparkling flavored water from Walmart. its better than stopping cold turkey cause u still got the carbonation that makes u go aahh. so eventually i just stopped when I felt like i was seriously craving a cokeith would grab ginger ale from the store instead. it doesnt have high fructose corn syrup which is like 10 times worse than regular sugar andsurprisingly if u cut this out of ur diet which means alot of juices, sodas, and ketchup, some cereals i was ur pre-diet you can lose about 10 lbs or so depending on if u exercise.