lisah25

I'd be tempted to print up cards titled "FAQs on my band", make it somewhat funny, and just start handing 'em out! Otherwise, I agree with the smile and something along the lines of "Oh, aren't you sweet to be concerned for me" and leave it at that.

What my surgeon's clinic told me is that the gas in a carbonated beverage can fill the pouch and distend the stomach, increasing the risk of a slipped band. I never was big on pop and other carbonated stuff, but once I got my appt, and was told it wasn't recommended, I've been really wanting it!

Hubby can drink wine and mixed drinks. It's not recommended because of the calories. liquid calories in general aren't helpful in loosing weight because they just go right through the band. That said, I'll probably still have a glass of wine once in a while after being banded. I think it's about balance in many ways. I'm getting banded to improve my life, and I'm aware that that means big changes. But it also means having a treat once in a while.

My banded DH fills his plate, eats what he wants, then too often works on the food until it's gone, even if it takes a long time. He's learning, but from watching him, and knowing myself, I'm planning to just measure out what I think is a good bandster protion. Eat as much of it as is comfortable, but if I do get caught up in the "clean plate" mentality it will be OK. If that makes any sense.

I'm very proud of myself today. DH brought me in, since his jeep is in the shop, so I had no car and forgot to get something for lunch. Leaving me three choices. 1)forage amongst the chips, crackers, pop-tarts and candy in the vending machine. 2)Bum a ride from a co-worker. Better then 2, but we tend to bring lunch and eat here overall, 3)walk to the teriyaki place up the street. I choose three, and got about 20 minutes walking in the process.

I'm very proud of myself today. DH brought me in, since his jeep is in the shop, so I had no car and forgot to get something for lunch. Leaving me three choices. 1)forage amongst the chips, crackers, pop-tarts and candy in the vending machine. 2)Bum a ride from a co-worker. Better then 2, but we tend to bring lunch and eat here overall, 3)walk to the teriyaki place up the street. I choose three, and got about 20 minutes walking in the process.

There wasn't for me. The language in my policy was very clear, no treatment for weight loss, including WLS. No way around it no matter what my health was.

One of the staff at the clinic has a saying about this. Something along the lines of "If you were in a burning house, would you climb out a window instead of using the door?". Not that she means WLS is easy, she is banded herself. But that worrying about what is "right" or "moral" or whatever when you are in a bad situation is silly.

Hum, I feel a need to go shopping all of a sudden.

Well of course, because of that exercise component... :heh:

6/12/2006. Thinking about scheduling. I’m wondering if having the surgery on Thursday August 31 would work. I’d be off the 31st, and Sept 1. Then we have a 3 day weekend. So I’d have 2 days off and a total of 5 to recover. By Sept. 5th I’d be able to at least work from home. And it would only be two days off. 6/13/2006. Thinking about the cost. Read a post from a woman who pointed out she easily could have spent that much on a car, that she would spend a couple of hours a day at most in, for a few years, or spend it on the body she’s in 24/7 and get more years in that body. Makes a lot of sense to me. Clothes are hard for me. I want to go out and buy new stuff, even though I don’t expect it to fit for long. I have to work on that. I need to go through that mess in back bedroom and organize it by type and perhaps size. Emotional eating. Thinking about why. I’ve had two reasons come to me, they seem too easy is some whys. One is control, since mom and dad tried to control what I ate. The second is developing early. 6/14/2006. Meeting with Dr. Montgomery today. I’m hoping we can set a date. I realize from how I’m feeling that I am really looking forward to doing this. I’ve always thought that I wasn’t one of those who waited until I’d lost weight to start my life, and in many ways I was right. I have a good marriage, job I love and a life that is good. But there are a few things. One being BR surgery. Another being REALLY nice clothes, esp. a leather jacket. There are good reasons for waiting for those, but I’m looking forward to having those reasons gone. 6/16/2006. Got the date I wanted, Aug 31st. Still waiting for Joe to approve, but I think he will. So now, I have to get over this “Last supper” mentality and lose those 15 pounds to make this safer. One advantage to having the date so far in the future is I can lose the weight without having to do the liquid thing. So I want to take advantage of that. I’m wondering if when I am finally at a stable size, I’ll still want to buy as many clothes as I do now. I’m not yet in touch with why I do now, expect that I like clothes, the colors and the textures. They are fun. 6/19/2006. Talked to Joe, and Aug 31st should be fine. So now, I feel like I can get excited. I want to be sure I get some “Then” pics. I don’t like “Before” and “After” because the “after” makes it sound like at some point you are done and you just go on with your life as it was. 6/20/2006. OK, I don’t want to go on the liquid diet pre-surgery. So, what can I do to lose at least a pound a week until surgery? No snacking between meals. Limit carbs, no white ones. Eat lean protein and veggies. Watch liquid calories.

6/12/2006. Thinking about scheduling. I’m wondering if having the surgery on Thursday August 31 would work. I’d be off the 31st, and Sept 1. Then we have a 3 day weekend. So I’d have 2 days off and a total of 5 to recover. By Sept. 5th I’d be able to at least work from home. And it would only be two days off. 6/13/2006. Thinking about the cost. Read a post from a woman who pointed out she easily could have spent that much on a car, that she would spend a couple of hours a day at most in, for a few years, or spend it on the body she’s in 24/7 and get more years in that body. Makes a lot of sense to me. Clothes are hard for me. I want to go out and buy new stuff, even though I don’t expect it to fit for long. I have to work on that. I need to go through that mess in back bedroom and organize it by type and perhaps size. Emotional eating. Thinking about why. I’ve had two reasons come to me, they seem too easy is some whys. One is control, since mom and dad tried to control what I ate. The second is developing early. 6/14/2006. Meeting with Dr. Montgomery today. I’m hoping we can set a date. I realize from how I’m feeling that I am really looking forward to doing this. I’ve always thought that I wasn’t one of those who waited until I’d lost weight to start my life, and in many ways I was right. I have a good marriage, job I love and a life that is good. But there are a few things. One being BR surgery. Another being REALLY nice clothes, esp. a leather jacket. There are good reasons for waiting for those, but I’m looking forward to having those reasons gone. 6/16/2006. Got the date I wanted, Aug 31st. Still waiting for Joe to approve, but I think he will. So now, I have to get over this “Last supper” mentality and lose those 15 pounds to make this safer. One advantage to having the date so far in the future is I can lose the weight without having to do the liquid thing. So I want to take advantage of that. I’m wondering if when I am finally at a stable size, I’ll still want to buy as many clothes as I do now. I’m not yet in touch with why I do now, expect that I like clothes, the colors and the textures. They are fun. 6/19/2006. Talked to Joe, and Aug 31st should be fine. So now, I feel like I can get excited. I want to be sure I get some “Then” pics. I don’t like “Before” and “After” because the “after” makes it sound like at some point you are done and you just go on with your life as it was. 6/20/2006. OK, I don’t want to go on the liquid diet pre-surgery. So, what can I do to lose at least a pound a week until surgery? No snacking between meals. Limit carbs, no white ones. Eat lean protein and veggies. Watch liquid calories.

I do too, lived here my whole life and still love it! I was able to get appts the week after I called, and usually they will try to get them all on one day, esp. if you are from out of town. I needed to have mine in the afternoon so I took less time off of work, so they were spread out. I don't know about insurance, I'm self-pay.

Just found this part of the site, and what a good thing. I like to write things out as I think them through. Well, I have gone through all the appts I need to except for my sleep study, which won't keep me from having surgery, we just need to know if I have apnea as we suspect. I have my date, Aug 31, and my cool tickers. I'm set! I'm not at all nervous, not yet. But then I have a little over two months to wait. I'm hoping I can lose 10-15 pounds in that time so I don't have to do the pre-op liquid diet. But then, I have a serious case of "last supper fever" to conquer to do that.

Just found this part of the site, and what a good thing. I like to write things out as I think them through. Well, I have gone through all the appts I need to except for my sleep study, which won't keep me from having surgery, we just need to know if I have apnea as we suspect. I have my date, Aug 31, and my cool tickers. I'm set! :scared: I'm not at all nervous, not yet. But then I have a little over two months to wait. I'm hoping I can lose 10-15 pounds in that time so I don't have to do the pre-op liquid diet. But then, I have a serious case of "last supper fever" to conquer to do that.

Just a guess, but I wonder if he's worried about you doing something to improve yourself, that will make you feel better? Maybe he's gotten used to things the way they are, and feels threatened? Not that would excuse him. I'm sorry he had to be so mean, you are right when you say that what we say to each other, esp. as spouses, can really hurt.

I wondered about that, it seemed like something that a lot of surgeons would do.

August 31, 2006. 7:00 AM. I'm so excited, and not sure how to stand the wait.

My Dr. is Dr. Montgomery at the NWWLS in Everett Wa. He banded my husband almost 2 years ago, and I'm really impressed by him and the clinic. He and his partner have done something like 1400 bands between them, it's now all they do at their clinic. They have great support staff and I liked their approach. They do their best to make sure all your questions are answered, that they have explained the pros and cons of this surgery. They take their time and really listen to you. They offer good after-surgery support. Fills for the first year are included in the fee, they are always available by phone and in person to answer questions, and they have a monthly support group that meets at their clinic. They also now will cover their fees for any additional procedure that has to be done on a self-pay patient, which I am. That doesn't cover fees they have no control over, for example the anthesitologist(sp?) or other facility fees, but that made me feel better. They have confidence in their work to back it up. My best advice is to talk to a lot of people about their experiences, and go to seminars and talk to surgeons.

My niece is four. On a recent trip with her, she got a cold, so we got her some kids cold medicine. She saw it, and said "Oh goody. That will make me feel better". After she took it, she said "and it's delicious too". On the same trip, we went into a store and I told her I'd put her in the shopping cart, and her response was "Ah ah captain". No idea where that came from. And when we got to the hotel, she got on the bed, put her hands behind her head and said "I think I'll watch a little TV now".

The surgeon that will do my banding does indeed anchor the band when he puts it in. That does help. But also, when people talk about slipping, I think sometimes they are talking about the stomach coming up through the band. Which sometimes can be treated with an un-fill for a time.

Would your insurance pay for the sleep study? Mine will, outside of any consideration of a band.

I wonder what complications they include, some are serious and would cause a band removal, some are simple to fix and not that serious. For example, hubby got adjusted too tight and was vomiting almost every meal. He went in, they unfilled him to let his espogus heal, and then re-filled him and he's fine now. That might count towards that 20%.

I can relate to that. I look at pictures of myself and think they don't look at all like I look to myself in the mirror.

I had a couple of thoughts as I read the above. Now, granted I haven't had my surgery yet, and I think your frustration is real and justified. I think also that you've gotten some good advice about maybe looking at things differently. What struck me was that yes, you lost a very large amount after surgery. Which I did after having my gallbladder out 4 years ago. Just because I was sick and didn't eat much. I was thrilled, but the surgeon warned me that some of it would come back, much like any big loss quickly does. I'm wondering if that happened to you? Where you're body regained some of that initial loss, because it wasn't all fat? 9 pounds in 2 months is on target from what I've read. That's 8 weeks, and an average of just over 1 pound a week. Yeah, I think we get this surgery and want the fast results we read other people getting, but that's not always healthy.