39andholding

Laurita, I was banded 11/20 but first fill is not till 1/6/10. :

Swangal, I for one am very sensitive to sodium intake. For instance, last Wed I was 165 when I weighed in the am (I am very short, so still 65 lbs overweight) Then the next day I had gained 2 lbs, and there is no way I ate 7000 calories LOL... It was because I had about 4000mg of sodium (2 big cans of soup throughout the day) My caloric intake was still at 1000 or less. So I suggest to try some low sodium soups or more no-cal drinks & Jello & popsicles. Good luck and yes, please concentrate on healing first!

I am just post-op (Nov 20) but IMO if you are consistently losing 2-3 lbs a week, you are on target. Maybe you could lose 5 lbs a week with NO carbs but is that healthy or satisfying? Will that mean when you lose the weight, you will revert to bad habits and go nuts eating the bad stuff? I have seen so many people lose weight on Atkins just to gain it back because they can't go low-carb forever. Good luck and keep up the good work!

I too like the protein shakes for breakfast sometimes. There are some mornings I am just too on the go to sit and chew... but I certainly understand the worry about drinking our calories.

Hi there... I haven't looked around to find this answer so I hope you can answer for me, if you don't mind :rolleyes2: What's the problem with rice? Does it get stuck or is it a slider? I had some last night and chewed it really well and had no problems. So that's when I started thinking, :w00t: that maybe it's a slider, not a sticker. :w00t:

:w00t: Um, now I'm telling on myself. I was banded Nov 20 and still supposed to be on full liquid. No fills yet. :rolleyes2: I am losing good (2 lbs / week) I guess because I'm still under 1000 cals per day.

I'm addicted to FB games. I agree with the PP who said that you feel much better getting away from them. I still play but I tell you sometimes I am playing and thinking "gotta get this monkey off my back!" :thumbdown: I lose much better when I am just moving around the house, and I mean basic things like laundry and dishes, then sitting there playing video games. Good luck, I'm rooting for you! :eek:

Hi all, Going to post my question here first to see if I get any feedback. Background - Surgery was Nov 20. Had 2 weeks high protein/low carb liquid diet before the surgery. Supposed to be on 1 week Clear liquids and 3 weeks full liquids post op, and then move to soft foods. I have had a few days of food here and there (I miss chewing :scared2:) I am down 16-17 lbs since Nov 5, the day I began liquids, probably down 6 since the surgery. So not too bad. My question is, I have noticed at times a pinched-nerve sensation in my back. It's that feeling you get when you feel like you need to crack your back (twist left and right, bend over or stretch to hear it "pop") What I have noticed is that I get this sensation coincidentally when a lot of time has passed since I have eaten. I am wondering if this is a "new" type of hunger pain I will feel when it's time to eat? It is different than the old hunger pains that were in my tummy... like I said, these are square in my back. I am feeling it right now, and it's been since 10am that I ate; and it's 3:15 now... so I am going to go eat and see if it goes away. This has happened about 3-4 times since surgery and each time the pain has subsided after I ate. Just wondering if anyone else has felt the same thing? I am not supposed to officially go to soft food till Dec 18th, but I feel great and I know some are not on liquids for an entire month... so I have been eating real food (following normal LAP-BAND®® guidelines for portion size and chewing), especially when I'm out of popsicles and Jello.

This past saturday I made what I called "cream of thanksgiving soup" :tongue2: where I boiled the veggies to over-cooked and then threw them in the blender with turkey (also some leftover chicken) and a cup of Water, a bouillon packet and mashed potatoes... blended it up... it was yummy.

Completely normal and OH SO DISGUSTING My surgery was Nov 20 and I am still supposed to be on full liquid... however I have had a couple days where I had a mushy (like mashed sweet potatoes or applesauce) The potty issues get better once you have not-so-liquidy food. Ever since I "cheated" by having a day with mushies, I have not had the crazy diarrhea. And the gas went away... the stupid broth is just really bad for the gas & runs I guess? :tongue2: I know it is not good to go against doctor's orders, but I have no regrets because I feel 100% better now that I am not blowing up the bathroom every 20 minutes. :nono:

I've been fairly open about it (I didn't post it on Facebook :tongue2: LOL!!!) but to anyone that got smart with me about it being cheating... I would probably just be honest and say "Yeah, I thought that at one point until I learned about what it is and what it does... I know I could have lost the weight by myself without it, as I have done MANY times, but I always gain it back because I go back to eating the way I always did... and now, I won't!" And while I totally admire the Biggest Losers, I sometimes wonder if they won't resort to their bad habits too. They are hard to change, often just ingrained in our being... I am a member of the clean-plate club and no amount of re-training will change that, I will never be able to throw half a plate of food out (i've probably done this like 3 times in my life!) so I have to serve myself a smaller portion, period. And it is ingrained in me also to want second helpings... now I simply will not be able to do it.

Sorry to bump this old post :tongue2: Dr. G banded me on Nov 20. Back in May, he also did my gall bladder surgery. (I had GB problems already when I started seeing him for WLS, so it was just a decision to get the GB out first.) His demeanor - uh yeah "cocky" maybe, but personally I LIKE this in the guy cutting me open. He is extremely busy; on the Friday of my surgery, he was there from 6a to 10p.... and I think it is like that A LOT with him. Anyway, I would call his attitude like a PP mentioned "doesn't beat around the bush." He simply does not have time to mince words. My mom used Dr. Krish (as he is called, his partner) and he is a very sweet man. The staff is awesome, no complaints there either... I have had to wait at the office though, significantly past my appt. time. I just bring something to read. My surgery was done at Pasco Regional, and while my mom had a great experience there, I did not. Regardless I am 10 days post op and happy. Oh, I saw the claim from my insurance company, and they were billed about 25k. I do believe that a self-pay person would pay less than that but not completely sure. Also, when asking about price, don't forget to ask about the cost of the anesthesia, since that can sometimes be billed separately... so the hospital might say the surgery is 17k, but the anesthesia could be quite a bit more. As far as insurance is concerned, the company you work for tells your insurance company what to offer the group. My husband has a great policy under United Health Care, and I was approved for surgery on three separate occasions, each within a week (1st approval, I canceled surgery to get gall bladder surgery, 2nd approval, I postponed the surgery; 3rd approval was the final one.) I know other people who carry UHC and have no WLS coverage... again, it is just what the employer dictates (as to what they will pay... my husband's employer gets employee contributions for the health insurance, and we pay about 400/month for the family for our coverage... another employer might aim at keeping costs low and employee contributions to a minimum; and therefore might not offer coverage for WLS!)

I would contact the doctor! That sounds serious. :::hugs:::

Hi Chasidy ! Glad you got it straightened out :thumbup: My surgery is also Nov 20th. :cursing:

Hi. Not too much help here. I am on 2 weeks liquid diet till my surgery - same day as yours Nov 20th. :tt2: I just wanted to say hi since we could be surgery buds :thumbup: My liquids are Protein shakes, and I'm allowed sugar free Jello, sugar free popsicles and broth. Woo hoo :cursing:

My doc is in Zephyrhills and the cash price is 15,000. So yeah you would save 7k, but Zephyrhills is only what, 65 miles or so from you? PS I think you were saying that you were having a hard time getting scheduled?? My office has 3 or 4 surgeons, and seems to have prompt scheduling.

My mom is scheduled Oct 30th, and I'm trying to get scheduled for Nov 20th. I had taken a break from the process, but now all-in!

Ok, I was thinking of you all when I was in for my psych eval. I was left alone to take my tests. I jotted down on my palm the name of the tests. :thumbup: So here is the first one: EAT-26 scale (Holmes & Rahe) http://www.ta-tutor.com/webpdf/ram015.pdf Dicandrien MBMD - cannot locate a test online... there's like 16+ returned pages in google and I didn't look thru all of them. This last one was the trickier one. It asks stuff like "I can't do the things I used to enjoy doing." Uh, yeah, I can't do cartwheels, but I can walk and drive so how do I answer this, true or false? Other questions were like "I am not being honest on this test." :thumbsup: And "I am making myself sound worse than I am." And another was "I am answering these questions negatively because today I'm in a bad mood." (I actually could have used the opposite, because I felt I was answering the questions extra nicely because I was in a good mood. :idea:) None of them were very long. The last one was the longest, probably 60 questions? Maybe 100, scan-tron bubbles. Apparently that last test is popular for bariatric surgery... when I googled it, I get a lot of hits with discussion on the merits of this test for bariatric surgery. Not sure how often the other tests are used. :grouphug: Unfortunately I think I score pretty high on the stress scale! Doh.

Your employer controls the rules of the insurance. For instance, some people using UHC have to do 6 months of dieting/nutritionist etc but my husband's employer paid for some nice coverage, and basically the rule for me is "medically necessary." So, you really need to talk to someone at the insurance company. They also might have provisions for an appeal process.

I was late for the monthly seminar, but I don't think anyone was weighed. We were just advised to go the website, email the intake person and get a password to login to the database where we'd submit our medical history, etc. Basically the doc gave us info showing us that even if we were self-pay, we'd still be saving money if we were thin and not on a dozen obesity-related medications vs. fat and sick.

There were a couple faith questions... like "I can get through anything with prayer" and "I am never alone because I always have God." Then there were "I want my doctor to give me detailed information about my health" and "I don't want my doctor to give me detailed information about my health." I couldn't quite figure out which of those made you crazy.

I'd try the warm/hot tea.

I'm no expert and not even banded yet LOL but I agree with Cathy. I have heard though that lots of people have real tight bands in the am, and therefore those people recommend liquid breakfasts (Atkins shake, or homemade juiced meal) Good luck!

Ok, that is AWESOME! Congrats !!!

Ok, I guess after being banded, I won't snack or want to snack?? :laugh: I know I won't be able to have popcorn. :thumbup: (This is my sweet, salty, crunchy satisfier) Any former popcorn junkies out there? What did/do you do?