Dana36

I was in a lot of pain also, and I consider myself to have a high pain tolerance. I'm a week and a half out from surgery and my stomach is still swollen, especially around my port.

I don't know when mine is yet. I have to go to a nutrition class first. My dr said that my stomach was very fatty, so it might be a while before I feel like I need a fill. I feel very restricted right now.

I was banded on 9/14 and have had the same thing. It would hurt when I would pee or when I would wipe. I have been using monistat (I just assumed I had a yeast infection). It is finally beginning to feel better.

My dr said 64 ounces of any fluids as long as it doesn't have caffeine. So, I'm drinking decaf tea. I love tea, and it seems to go down easier than water.. I just don't like water.

I was banded on the 14th and had horrible diarrhea for a few days, that will pass. I also had the urge to burp. My dr had me using the gas x strips. Those helped a lot.

I'm taking 2 weeks. I had planned on taking one week, but that week is almost up and I just don't feel ready to go back yet. I have a physically easy, but mentally demanding job. So, I'm going to give it one more week before I go back.

kristik99, I know exactly what you are going through! I was banded on the 14th, and didn't even feel human again until yesterday. The first day after surgery, I threw up all day. The dr called me in some phenegren, and that helped a lot, but I still get nauseous if I move around too quick. I'm still weak, I've decided to take another week off of work just to be on the safe side. You will start feeling better, but it will take a few days!!

Okay, I was banded yesterday and today has been horrible. Starting about 8am this morning, I started having strong dry heaves. These are body racking dry heaves, not just a little gag. The dr is calling me in some phenegran supositorises, and said no liquids tonight. He said that if it doesn't ease off, then I will need to be admitted back into the hospital tomorrow for iv fluids and meds. WHen I heave nothing but foamy stuff comes up. I have a sharp pain all over my belly when it happens, but that goes away as soon as I stop heaving. Has anyone else dealt with this experience??

I posted this in it's own thread and then this thread was pointed out and wanted to know if anyone had any of the same experiences that I have had: Okay, I was banded yesterday and today has been horrible. Starting about 8am this morning, I started having strong dry heaves. These are body racking dry heaves, not just a little gag. The dr is calling me in some phenegran supositorises, and said no liquids tonight. He said that if it doesn't ease off, then I will need to be admitted back into the hospital tomorrow for iv fluids and meds. WHen I heave nothing but foamy stuff comes up. I have a sharp pain all over my belly when it happens, but that goes away as soon as I stop heaving. Has anyone else dealt with this experience??

Has anyone had a hospital NOT allow the surgery to take place because the your waist to hip ratio exceeds .85????? I'm possibly facing this and wanting to know if anyone else has had to deal with this??

okay, i've had the surgery. The dr was running behind yesterday and instead of my surgery happening at 10:15, it was closer to 3:30. I feel awful. I'm not new to surgeries, and I have to say that this one hurts like hell.

Okay, today is the day! I have to be at the hospital (about 2 hours away) in 3 hours, so have to start getting ready. I won't lie, I'm a bundle of nerves. I'm scared they won't do the surgery, and I'm scared they will! LOL Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!

As for being too young for gall bladder surgery.. I had mine out at 21. So, you could use that excuse. But once your naked, you could probably tell a man that you had your a cat implanted in your body and he wouldn't know any different LOL :wink:

I've not gotten the band yet, but my dr has told me that bread products will become a 'doughy ball' in my stomach and will not pass through the band good. He said that it is best to just avoid them. He also told me that i couldn't have carbonated beverages because it causes the pouch to expand and will cause pain and stretch the pouch. So, I've broken my bread and soda habits. They aren't good for us anyway. I have found that since I stopped drinking sodas and stopped eating simple carbs like bread, my burping has probably dropped 90%. I used to burp multiple times a day, now maybe once every two or three days.

Here is how it played out.. I went to the surgeon in august for my final appointment. His assistant did my measurements on that date. I thought it was just for a reference point.. didn't think anything of it. He told me at that point to start the preop diet, liquids during the day, and one lean and green meal at night. The insurance approved me on Thursday. It is a 30 day approval. His office called and said that they have one opening, and that is this monday. So, they scheduled me for surgery on monday. His office called me that evening and asked if I could come in that there was some issues with my 'ratio'. I left work early and went to the office. That is when the dr explained to me that the hospital has this stupid rule that they have started enforcing about the hip/waist ratio being less than .85. He said that when he saw me in August mine was .89. He said that after they sent the information down to the hospital, the hospital called back and told him to cancel my surgery because of the high ratio. He told them that he had not seen me in about a month and he demanded that they keep my surgery spot open until he could measure me again. He weighed me and I had lost 16 pounds on the pre op diet. My measurements fell at .849... so I am BARELY under the mark. He told the hospital to leave my surgery scheduled. He warned me that they may measure me again on monday morning.. and with a percentage that close to the cut off point, he is worried that they will cancel me if they measure me again on monday.. I mean, a fraction of an inch can throw me off. He put on me on all liquid and told me to NOT gain one ounce over the weekend. When I weighed this morning, I was down 4 more pounds from when I had seen him on Thursday afternoon.. and my measurements are coming down a little bit.. but I'm still worried! I've researched this hip/ratio crap and it is a 'better' way to tell if someone is morbidly obese or at risk of heart disease.. etc.. Here is a calculator: UMMS: Waist to Hip Ratio When I put in my mother's measurements, here is what it says: Your Waist to Hip Ratio is 0.88 and appears to indicate an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes. Now.. my mother weighs 103 pounds. Her waist measurement is 31 inches, her hips 35 inches. If I put in the measurements for someone who's waist is 60 inches and hips are 75 inches, this is what is says: Your Waist to Hip Ratio is 0.8 and appears to be within a healthy range. This is a big old crock of crap that is going to mess a lot of us up if this catches on at a lot of hospitals!!!!

It seems to be a rule of the hospital that I am supposed to have the surgery at. They say that there is a bigger risk of complications of surgery if the waist/hip ratio is larger than .85. When I started researching this hospital, I like them because of the lower complication rate.. hell, I didn't know that meant that they turn people away left and right because they don't fit the standards of what they consider 'perfect candidate'. I'm on all liquids at this point and think that I have all of my measurements where they need to be... but it is still disheartening to know that I've worked so hard to get the insurance company to approve the surgery, and now the hospital may send me home on monday!

I'm now at 19 days... they are saying that they just got the information in the computer on the 4th, and it might be twenty more business days. :thumbup:

I live in Tennessee and have Cigna. My dr and hospital is in Chattanooga, I'm sure Atlanta will have several drs/hospitals that participate. I have had to do a 6 month physician supervised diet, get a letter of medical necessity from my pcp, take a nutrition class, and be cleared for surgery by a mental health provider. When my dr first submitted my info to the insurance for precertification, Cigna was giving us the run around. They continually said that they didn't get it. It took about a week before they said that they had it (my dr kept resubmitting it to them). Right now, they are 'reviewing it' to see if I qualify. If I was just starting out.. the one thing I would do is keep a diary of everyone at Cigna that I have spoken with and what they have said.. everyone has told me something different from the beginning. First think you need to do is call Cigna and ask them if your policy covers lap band surgery.. then find a seminar in your area. That is a good way to find a dr is through the informational seminars.

I have tried them. They are super sweet.. actually taste like melted ice cream. They DO NOT keep me full though. About 20 minutes after drinking one, I will be starving. It is like they trigger hunger for me.

Tennessee Cigna POS I'm still waiting, it has been 13 days

I don't have bcbs, but I would think that the insurance company would accept the 6 month diet as a 'non surgical' method of weight loss. Non surgical would be diet pills, weight watchers, dr monitored diet plans, etc..

Too much splenda gives me headaches, equal gives me joint pain. But, I don't have any issues with Sweet N Low.

I know it is hard!!! Can you have sugar free jello? That will fill your tummy up a little bit, enough to get over the strong hunger pains.

What kind of insurance do you have? It looks to me (by reading the boards) that a lot of people are denied and then later approved after their surgeon resubmits the information.

No. I called the next day and they said that they still hadn't received it. So, I called my dr's office. They resubmitted it and now they are still saying that they haven't received it! So, my dr's office is getting the insurance specialist to check for me and see what the hell is going on. Congrats on your surgery date!!! I hope mine is soon too!!