JustAskinThx

This is a great thread! Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. I'm still new to being banded, had my surgery on April 22 and first fill at the end of May. The best success I had in dieting before the band was on Atkins, but I had difficulty with the "NEVER" part...I'm like Emjay, find that eating small amounts of the carby stuff is helpful, but I have to really watch it with the amounts. My pitfall was not liquids, but the dreaded Lean Cuisines! They are pre-measured, they are easy, they are quick. I am working on eating "real" foods now rather than such highly processed ones. Thanks everyone. Nancy

I, too, wondered about the "weak and fatigued" feeling before my surgery--how could I DO this??!. I had my surgery 4/22/10 and have had my first fill and I feel GREAT! My "targets" for each day are no more than 1200 calories with 60-80 grams of Protein. It is a stretch some days to get all the protein in, and I rarely eat the whole 1200 calories. However, I feel very good. I feel for the first time like I am in control, not the food. I do not snack (except for one mid-afternoon planned snack to boost the protein). I'm very contented with what I can eat and I feel very good. I think the protein helps in terms of not feeling weak and fatigued. Perhaps it's also that I'm watching to be sure I don't eat a lot of crap...there's just not room in my diet for it anymore. Good luck to you! I hope your experience of the band is as good as mine has been so far! Nancy

Catmom, my experience was similar to yours--although the hiatal hernia repair was not the intended surgery, I had immediate relief from it and was able to go off Prilosec from the day of surgery. In fact, the relief from the hiatal hernia kept me going during bandster hell--sort of thinking, "Well...the best is yet to come from the band but look! I'm already feeling better!" Good luck to you all--I had shoulder pain, too, but it was all worth it.

Hi there! I will try to help. I got my band on April 22 and had my first fill on Monday. Your first step is to go to at least two seminars. That's my personal advice, because I did see differences in the way the two doctors I met handled their patients. One of the two doctors had a $4000 "program fee" which was not covered by insurance, and, alas, although he did seem to have quite an IMPRESSIVE program with in-house dietician, exercise consultant, insurance specialist, and pharmacist, I settled on the doctor who outsources the dietician and exercise consultant and didn't charge a "program fee." I am glad I did. My surgery went VERY well, the insurance specialist got me approved without a lot of hassle, and I actually managed to join the gym on my own! (gasp!) As to the pharmacist, my local Publix pharmacist helped me with a pill splitter but I haven't had any trouble with my time-release meds so far. OK, so, go to the seminars and ask questions. Meet the doctors afterwards. Don't discount the way the doctor treats you and makes you feel. Meet the people who work with him or her--they should be very understanding and treat you with respect. Next step is to find out about the insurance issues. Usually at the seminar you will meet the person who handles the insurance for the dr. Some insurance companies have requirements before surgery, such as a 6-month doctor-supervised diet. However, from what I understand it is very standard to require a potential lapband patient to see a dietician for a consultation and to see a psychologist for a psych eval. Don't be scared, the dietician consult dealt with recommendations for pre and post-op diets, lots of info sharing, and advice about the surgery and reinforcing good habits. The psych eval sounds very intimidating but the main questions the psychologist had for me were about my family support, about my history of depression (I brought that up, not him...) about whether I have begun to really consider the changes I need to make, and a few questions to find out whether I have an eating disorder like anorexia or binge eating. The psychologist was very helpful and friendly and nonthreatening and the consult was even covered by my insurance with a $20 "specialist copay." The surgeon's office will tell you names of the dieticians and psychologists they work with frequently. I used one of their recommended psychologists, but I could've used anyone I chose. I went with that one because he was experienced in dealing with weight loss patients and his interview wasn't like inventing the wheel for him. OK, so, once that stuff is done, the insurance specialist will submit it. Sometimes the insurance company wants something else--in my case, they asked me to undergo a thyroid test just to be sure my overweight was not due to something that could be "fixed" less drastically than through surgery. I had a BMI of 35 with really nasty and persistent blood pressure, GERD (yay! off the medicine since the day of the surgery!) and asthma. These comorbidities made it a go with the insurance company. THEN you see the surgeon (at least, I did) and you start your preoperative diet. Different surgeons do different things, but your preop diet will include at least some time right before the surgery of Clear liquids ONLY. My surgeon required four solid days of clear liquids only. A friend who went to the Program Surgeon got to have two meals a day of clear liquids then one low-fat low-carb meal, with only one full day of clear liquids the day before the surgery. So, they vary. But this is very important, because the diet is designed to shrink your liver before the surgery--if the liver is not reduced before the surgery it can interfere with the surgery. For me, honestly, the clear liquid was by far the toughest part. Meanwhile, you can also start going to support group meetings. These are for people BEFORE or after surgery. You meet people who can help you a lot. I hope this helped. I tried to keep it fairly general but I'm sure different doctors do things differently. I did research my surgeon pretty carefully and he has a good history. Good luck!

You are having so much trouble because every biological fiber in your body is screaming FEEEED ME!!!!!! I feel your pain--and the clear liquids diet pre-op was most definitely the worst part of this entire procedure for me so far. It is very hard, but as everyone else posted, it is worth it! Plus, what kept me on the straight and narrow when I sooo wanted to cheat was the thought of getting all the way to surgery and then having my liver be too puffy for surgery. I was lucky, no fears of the surgery itself, just that my liver might derail the whole thing! It will be worth it. It is tough, but you are doing a smart, proactive thing for your health and yourself. You are a strong and powerful person and you're making a GREAT health choice! Best of luck and hang in there! Nancy

Hi! I have lost a total of 27 pounds since beginning the pre-op diet. My surgery was April 22. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who was losing very slowly once the solids were added back in--but I had my first fill on Monday and it has made a difference. I am finding that I don't have much appetite at all and portion control is much easier now for me. One of my close friends who had surgery with the same surgeon (but three weeks before I did) did NOT get a fill yet because she'd lost a good bit of weight even without it. Not so for me...but there are some things she just couldn't eat and I was finding that I really was able to eat pretty much whatever I wanted, including bread. I did my best, but that ability to eat did slow me down on the weight loss for sure. And--TA DA!!--I'm wearing a pair of capri's I couldn't zip the week before surgery...and they are BAGGY! Good luck to you all--don't get discouraged! I am feeling much more encouraged since my fill and I know I'm really lucky to be getting the benefit of it so quickly. Nancy

I was banded April 22. I'm doing well in terms of physically feeling very good--I've lost about 20 lbs total, but most of that was while I was on liquids. Since I started solids the weight loss is slow but I do notice that the inches are coming off. I am able to eat just about anything at all, which is a mixed blessing. I do get hungry but I also get completely satisfied with much less food than before, even though I don't have the first fill till next Monday. I've been spending my "bandster hell" time and focus on making my habits solid--exercise, not drinking while eating, really paying attention to my hunger and fullness signals. In addition to the surgery, I just started a new job and I'm pleased that my new food habits have not been derailed at all. Life's good, and going to be even better when I start losing again!

I was very, very relieved NOT to have any hunger after the surgery! The clear liquid diet had me sooo hungry before the surgery that I could barely think straight. The night before the surgery I was thinking about it and realized it's kind of like a toothache, by the time you're getting the root canal done you are so miserable you'd do ANYTHING to stop the pain. I was so hungry I didn't even have night-before nerves. My surgery was at 8 a.m, so I didn't have a long day of hunger on that date. I had NO hunger for more than a week after the surgery, had to remind myself to drink and have my clear liquids. I had the surgery two weeks ago, my appetite has returned but it's not nearly as awful as it was during that pre-op phase. Not long now! Hang in there!!! Nancy

I am in FL but our Anthem BCBS is, I think, BCBS of Virginia. At any rate, it was pretty smooth sailing. Last year they did NOT cover bariatric on our particular group policy, but as of Jan 1 they did. There was no six-month dr. supervised diet. They did require the psych eval and nutritionist appt. They did ask me to have a thyroid test to be sure my overweight was not easily remedied. They did try to tell the fearless Tammy at my dr office that they don't cover it, but she reminded them that according to the written policy, they do...and then it all went very smoothly. They approved it for one night's overnight at the hospital but I preferred one-day surgery, and it worked out fine. Best of luck, just jump through those hoops and don't give up! (I had the surgery on April 22, btw.) From start to finish, from the date of the seminar to the date of surgery, was two months less three days. Some of that was the whole getting-then-waiting-for-appointments with the other specialists. The actual approval took maybe a week or 10 days.

Hi Nancy, greetings from another Nancy! It is entirely normal to feel doubts, even when you have been so focused on jumping those hoops. I had my surgery on April 22 and I can tell you that I felt those doubts too. Throughout this process I pursued my goal of having the surgery in a very proactive way: researched it about a year ago, found my insurance had an iron-clad "NO bariatric" clause, waited patiently till last fall when the policy renewal came out, found it had changed, starting attending seminars and reading everything I could get my paws on, etc etc. You know the details: psych eval, nutritionist, more insurance hoops, etc. Then when I got the approval I had about a day of "YAY!!!" before the "...ulp..." set in. Although this sounds corny, it did help me. I made a list of the pros and cons. I found my pro's included some things that were obvious, like enjoying clothing shopping again and getting my pernicious blood pressure down, but there were other things, too. For me, it is getting OFF the diet merrygoround. I have been so very focused on my weight for 20 years, so very absorbed in dieting, so very frustrated at failing in my diets, so much guilt and even shame. I look forward to ending this cycle! I am starting my second career, in the health care field, and being obese is not a plus in my work. Interestingly, these are the things that help me when I am struggling. Hang in there, Nancy! although my surgery is still so recent, and I haven't yet gotten the full benefit of the fills and the major weight loss, I AM glad that I am being proactive and taking charge. Kudos to you for doing the same! Nancy

Hal, I hear ya. I got my band on April 22, and I think I had a lot of the same fears, which for me boiled down to: "What if I do this--which I consider to be a fairly dramatic and drastic choice, and which I know will change the way I eat--and it doesn't work for me?" I am now in the phase between surgery and my first fill and here's what I am finding. I did WeightWatchers before, and I find that during this "pre-fill" time I do have enough restriction to do the essential WW thing again, but it is actually a lot easier than when I did it pre-band. Not effortless--eating cake all day and still losing would be my definition of "effortless weightloss"! But it is a lot easier because although I do get hungry if I wait 5 or more hours between meals, I find that I fill up on much less food than before the surgery. My goal is NOT to gain weight before I get my first fill in 2 weeks, and to keep strengthening the good habits I'll need. The thing that helps me is thinking that "This is my LAST time to diet. The band (yep, tool) will help me to maintain, which is what I need." Hope this helps. Best of luck to you!

YES, it does get better! That said, you are doing a good job of listening to your body. Do walk, try those Ginger altoids (didn't know that, about ginger as homeopathic remedy!) and be patient with yourself. I was banded on April 22 and I was absolutely miserable for the first day or so--it was worse than a hernia op about three years ago by far!--but it is much better now. Meanwhile, think about this: the surgery gives you a new chance to learn to LISTEN to your body. I am finding that is one of the things I desperately need to do, and for me, recovery got easier when I started to listen to my body's calls for naps, walking gently, and taking it easy. You WILL feel better! Good luck to you, keep your chin up! Nancy