Lisani

I have Anthem BC/BS Ohio also. I am scheduled to have a port revision on Nov. 23rd. That is if Anthem approves it. The doc's office called me this week and told me Anthem wants a letter from the doc to prove the surgery is necessary medically and not for cosmetic reasons. Still waiting to hear back from them...hopefully by 11/20 or my surgery will be postponed until after Thanksgiving. My port flipped onto its side from day 2 post-op and causes me great pain, waking me up if I roll onto my side/stomach in the middle of the night. Also, last fill the doc had a very hard time accessing the port and said next one would have to be under fluro again to avoid port damage. I think the port leaked though- I never felt this before but I felt a flush of cool liquid under my skin when he was supposed to be filling it. I am going to ask him to check for leaks. I hope to get everything straightened out soon. :thumbup: How did your revision go?

Oh friends, got the news today that I have gall bladder disease. I meet w/my lapband surgeon next week. They said it NEEDS to come out soon. Turns out I have had 3 gall bladder attacks in the past couple of weeks. The first 2 I chalked up to port area pain or gas...guess not. I had no idea being that I was banded less than 2 months ago. I am looking forward to getting rid of this pain. Just needed to unwind.

I was released from the surgery center the same day, surgery center at 11am and home -in bed- by 3pm. I felt great until about 7pm that day then the anesthesia wore off and the incision area hurt so bad. I took the pain meds the next morning and felt worse. After that I started taking Aleve. My doc permitted me to go on pureed foods the day after surgery. I was on Aleve for a few days. Each day I started to feel better. I had worried that I was stretching my pouch (eating pureed foods) because it seems as if everyone else was on a liquid diet. After a reaffirming call to the nurse I am fine :biggrin: Your doc is giving you the best info to follow. I'm sure that if you are following his directions your pouch is safe. The area around my port incision is still swollen but other than that I'm great!

I do not have BCBS of NC. I had to gain 5 pounds to bring up my BMI...can you believe it? My insurance was going to deny me for being 5 pounds under because my co-morbidities were not severe enough. I know it stinks and I wouldn't suggest that any one else do that, but do you know how much weight you would have to gain to hit the BMI the insurance company wants? For me it didn't take much...I love cheesecake. :biggrin: I did what I had to do and was approved. One thing I didn't know is that my osteoarthritis is probably caused by my obesity. I wasn't aware of any arthritis until I had an MRI of my back. It is not life threatening but certainly aided the cause. Hopefully someone who has experience with the same ins. co. will reply, but my experience has been that insurance companies are sticklers for the qualifications, very black and white to them.

The best advice I got was to find one you like so you stick with it. People have been posting about 2oz. protein bullets sold at Costco, I'm going to check my local Costco out to see if they have them. I am tired of drinking a full cup of protein shake too.

My doc was rare that he didn't require a pre-op liquid diet. I had 4 weeks of a high Protein, low fat, low carb, low sugar diet. I lost weight and didn't really feel deprived in the process. They did have me find a protein supplement I liked. I used the Protein shake and bars to help me feel full through out the day. If you are looking to increase your protein I have found the South Beach Living High Protein Cereal Bars (found in the cereal isle of the grocery) are great. They cure my sweet craving too (Peanut Butter is my fav then the cinnamon roll tasting one). Each one has 10 grams of protein and about 140cals. Here (Ohio) they run about $3 for 5 bars, well worth it in my opinion. The sample plan was (the best I can remember): 7am: nurtitional beverage(protein drink) + 1 small piece of fruit 10am: yogurt or Protein Bar 1pm: frozen meal under 250 cal with 12+ grams of protein also 2 cups of salad with 2 tsp of light salad dressing 4pm: nutritional beverage 7pm: sugar free pudding or 1 cup veggies (no corn or peas) Congrats to you on such a great step forward- all ready working towards your goal! :biggrin:

:ohmy: eeeek! I am so sorry you went through that! I know that would be my worst nightmare! I am so glad that I did not have to take "before" photos, my son took a digital one of me that I hope to look at one day and ask "who is that woman?" :biggrin:

Mine was positive. I stressed a bit about it, feeling like this person thinks she can reject or approve me for this after all I've been through? lol I was silly. She too, has the lap band and admitted she wasn't the best candidate for the surgery. What she did do was to question me if I was prepared for the change other people were going to make. Sure there is positive change (which I expected) but also, when one spouse (in my case) or friend even, becomes thinner and starts to get noticed more by the opposite sex- jealousy can be a factor. I was totally not thinking that way at all. I believe I now have a better understanding of how my relationships may change and how to better approach it if it does. We covered mental health. I have been on an antidepressant that I see my primary doc for on a regular basis- so no problem there. The one thing that caught me off guard was that she asked me what was my ideal weight, what did I want to get down to? I hadn't thought of how much weight I wanted to loose, I just wanted to fit into a size 10-14 and be happy. That's what I told her and that was fine. I guess by sharing all of this with you I'm telling you that it was not a test for me, just sitting down talking about where I am at, fed up of failed diet attempts, and where I want to go. I was scared but it wasn't bad at all.

Hi there. I have posted a link for you. The whole liver shrinking thing had me worried too. I followed my doc's plan and everything went well. The nurse told me he had plenty of room to work "in there." The liver has to be moved slightly to the side so there is enough room to work on the stoma. Hope this link helps. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/using-alli-shrink-liver-78886/

I was hoping my dr performed the SILS procedure, he didn't. I was "prepped" for my laproscopic operation by a weight mgmt center. I was told I would have 4-5 holes. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I have one incision slightly left of my sternum area and one "hole" to the right of it, about 3 inches away and a second "hole" above my belly button. 1 incision and 2 holes....not a SILS but better than what I thought. So, how many "holes" &/or incisions do you have?

Wow! This is great to know, thanks everyone for your responses. I am so excited to have begun this journey it wouldn't have mattered if I had 10 holes!

Fantastic! Keep up the good work.

I had a hard time deciding between the Lap Band or Realize Band. The port size is a bit smaller on the Realize band...but now the Lap Band comes with 2 port sizes. I ended up going with the Lap Band because I prefer the shape of the balloon, wedges instead of a smooth balloon. I saw a demo of the two, link posted below, they look kindof the same, but in my mind the channels make more sense. I have the Lap Band APS. Trace W. Curry, M.D. :: View topic - Pic of new Realize-C

Hi! My name is Lisa and I was banded Aug. 10, 2009. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have 3 beautiful children, a dear husband, a dog and cat. I am looking forward to reaching my goals. Am having trouble journaling food right now being only a few days post op. Surgery went well, I was in the center only 3 hours. Dr. put me on pureed foods almost immediately. So far so good. Post-op appointment coming up on the 26th! Can't wait. :biggrin:

I am doing great with the pain. I had been taking 2-3 Aleve, the prescription pain meds made me feel horrible. Today I feel great- don't think I'll have to take any pain meds at all. My doc was unusual from what I have read on the boards, as he wanted me on liquids day of surgery then pureed foods the next day. I was only able to eat or drink a little at first, but today is day 6 post op and I'm eating 6oz of pureed food at a time. At first my stomach felt swollen, and pain at the port site. I think the pain was from the skin being cut, but now it's healing and itches a little. The area around the port site is no longer swollen. You are courageous to go through this. It will definitely be worth it.

I was banded at JourneyLite Cincinnati by Dr. Fegelman.

I was banded on Aug 10. I found out that the pain medicine was making me feel worse. Once I quit that and started taking Aleve (Dr. advised) I felt much better. My doc wanted me on pureed foods, no thicker than applesauce, right away. I didn't have a pre-op liquid diet, just a low fat high protein one. I am using Unjury protein powder (chocolate flavor) and find that really helps to make me full. I hope you feel better soon.

I had same day on Aug 10. In at 11am out and home before 3pm. I did not have a barium swallow.