tanderson

Geenabeebs...do you have any fills? are you exercising?

I am from the states but just wanted to add that if you are feeling uncomfortable with your dietician, find another one. I had to chose another dietician here because my first one had some kind of hang up with fat people and basically told me that if I didn't do exactly what she wanted and lose at least 15 pounds, that she would not recommend me for the surgery! Come to find out she had denied SEVERAL patients for the band. So, some of these skinny minny dieticians DO have ulterior motives!

Dear thinsoon...I was banded on June 4th of this year and have only lost 9 pounds...I think you should be very proud of your loss!

FYI, Surgeons that order you be on a high Protein pre-op diet to shrink the liver mean what they say. There are a lot of surgeon's out there who do not order a pre-op diet. Why? It may be because the patient does not have an elarged fatty liver, but it can mean that the surgeon's has more experience in operating around fatty livers.

Oh Abby, how I feel your pain, I was banded 15 days ago. Six days after my surgery, I got on the scale to discover that I had gained 11 pounds since surgery! Don't you know I freaked out! But girl, I was sooooo swollen and bruised and I think that all of that damn broth I was drinking was causing me to retain Fluid from the sodium. So what did I do? I talked to my sweet friend I made here on Lap Band talk, and she calmed me down. You have to remember that now is NOT about losing weight, it is about healing. Your body has just been through the ringer, and you are asking it to do so much right now. Yes, I know that there are some that literally begin to melt after surgery, but then there are some like us, that need an adjustment period. If you are doing everything your surgeon has asked you to do, then you are on the right track. Remember, and I know it gets old when someone tells you this (but oh so true), that you DID NOT gain all of this weight over night! It took you a long time to gain it, right? So you have to allow yourself adequate time to lose it. This is NOT an instant fix...this is the rest of your new life with the lap band, a brand new learning and living experience! Your fullness will return when you begin fills and you are NOT a failure, you are doing good! Take it one day at a time and keep up the GREAT work!

Racel, do you still have your gallbladder? Some of the symptoms, pain after eating and vomiting bile, are associated with gall stones.

I was just as nervous as you are about being denied. The insurance lady at my surgeon's office told me that if you meet ALL of their requirements, i.e. 6 month diet, nutritionist appt., psychiatric eval, letter of medical necessity, that they will usually approve you on the first try. And that is exactly what happened to me. I got my approval in 2 1/2 weeks! Good luck!!

I am experiencing this off and on too. My doc says it is muscle spasms in the muscle where he sutured the port to. He says it can take weeks for that muscle to settle down.

Yes, Chantix is GREAT! My husband smoked 3 packs a day for 25 years and agreed to just "try" Chantix. He was not at all ready to quit smoking. Within 2 weeks he began to notice that the cigs were not tasting as good. Within 4 weeks he was down to 10 cigs a day. And within 6 weeks he stopped all together. That was 6 1/2 months ago and he has not relapsed. I have to tell you that I always thought in my heart that he would NEVER be able to quit...this is truly a miracle drug. I say find the way to afford a prescription...it is definitely cheaper than cigarettes. You will NOT have an withdrawal symptoms as this medicine works on your nicotine receptors in your brain. Really, it is awesome!

Hey guitarman...by the way, luv your name! How long ago did you see the ENT? My suggestion to you is to see your PCP so that you can be evaluated for esophageal abnormalities, goiters, etc... Sounds like you need an esophagram which is an xray procedure. But to answer your question, I am only 10 days out, but I have not experienced this. But you should really follow up on it and push for an esophagram. If that comes back negative, you should have either a thyroid ultrasound or a Cat Scan of you neck. (Just my opinion)

My surgeon did not require a pre-op diet as he is highly experienced with large livers during surgery. That being said, shrinking the liver some would not hurt a thing. As far as trying to shrink your stomach...trust me, that will come with the procedure itself. I am only 10 days post op and the band itself, even though there is no fill, coupled with the amount of abdominal swelling, will effectively restrict you. I would have never been able to tolerate a clear liquid diet for 10 days had it not been for the fact that I have had a constant feeling of being "satisfied". I have only felt hunger pangs twice since surgery, and that was easily relieved with a cup of chicken broth both times. As far as exercising, YES, start now. I did not, and I am paying for it dearly. I really wished I would have started some minimal regimen prior. I wish you the best of luck in your journey!

Please Help, I was banded on June 4th...I weighed 268 lbs. I now weigh 274 lbs. I have been drinking at least 80 ounces of Water, crystal lite, gatorade, propel, etc..and three coffee mugs of clear broth every day...THAT IS IT! I have also been walking 30 minutes daily (2 fifteen minute sessions). I am extremely depressed and beginning to wonder if I am not some kind of metabolic screw up! Side note...my abdomen is EXTREMELY swollen and bruised.

Maestra, I was banded on Monday as well and have been in a great deal of pain. I don't have any shoulder pain, but I am experiencing excrutiating pain around my left rib cage, about 3 inches below the port. It gets worse at night, better as I start walking and moving in the morning, so I am hoping that it is just gas...I never knew gas could hurt this bad. (It really feels like a broken rib) Hang in there, I understand that 72 hours out is the roughest as the body has reached its maximun in swelling, thus causing more pressure on nerves and such.

Well this time tomorrow night I will be approximately 13 hours into my new life as a bandster...I can hardly believe it! I am so scared, anxious, nervous, excited, and so much more...I just hope everything goes all right. I am about ready to try and get some sleep, but I know I won't hardly sleep a wink. I think I have everything ready to go...all house work caught up, stocked up on Water, Powerade, juice, broth, pain med prescription is filled, heating pad plugged in and ready to go... Please wish me good luck, and I will check in as soon as I can. And to all of you out there, not matter what part of the journey you find yourselves in, good luck and keep truckin'.

Hey all, Well I am officially a bandster as of 1:15pm on Monday June 4th. The surgery went fine and I was home by midnight that night. I have to say that I was not ready for the amount of pain that I am in, especially the pain right when I woke up. But it is getting better and better. I walked a total of 35 minutes today on my treadmill (7 times at 5 minutes each) and I have been doing my spirometer breathing exercises every hour on the hour. chicken broth has become my new best friend, however I feel I am retaining Fluid due to the sodium content, so I will be getting the low-sodium version as soon as I run out of the regular. My DH took off work yesterday and today and so my niece is here to "baby-sit" for the remainder of the week. I just have a hard time getting up and down from the couch and bed. Other than that, I think I am doing really well and look forward to my first pre-op appointment so that I can start full liquids. Thanks for checking on me everyone!

yea, don't...causes skin cancer...

Just a comment...if you are not able to get your liquids in, DO NOT increase your total protein with supplements as this is EXTREMELY hard on your kidneys. Remember that in the beginning, it is more important to HEAL...it's not a biggie if you don't get all of your protein in right at first.

I am so glad you asked this question because I was worried about this very same thing. My surgeon gives the choice of port placement...either between the breasts just above the bra line, or directly over the left rib cage just below the bra line. I don't mean to offer TMI, but my DH is a boob man and because of this I think I am going with the "directly over the left rib cage just below the bra line" area...what do ya'll think?

congratulations to you on your approval....I know you're excited, so am I ...yay...woo hoo....woot woot...

...will NEVER happen in this country...

Welcome to the lap band community....I too am very scared about being banded, mainly about the anesthesia part. I think that it is a very normal feeling and I believe you are well on your way to becoming a healthier you. Congrats on your decision.

owie....does anyone have a band-aid?

I feel your frustration. That happened to me as well. I had gone in to see my doctor for a weight check and another problem. I needed that visit as one of my monthly visits for insurance documentation purposes and because I had mentioned my other problem, my doctor totally focused on that. He did not document one thing about my weight check. When I got the chart notes, I called the office to tell them what happened and they REFUSED to have the doctor add on my weight info. So I had to make ANOTHER appointment to go in and have my weight info documented. Thank goodness that I still had a few days left in the month to do this...otherwise I would have had to start completely over on my documented weight loss.

You are very welcome. I know for me whenever I am getting afraid that I might fail at this too, I always return to that thread...it is soooo encouraging! Good luck!

Faith, I stand corrected, however, the fact that your physician is "adding" forgotten notes would not be accepted by most insurance companies as acceptable proof of a medically supervised diet.