horns10

I had gotten the VG 11 band, is VG 10 the most common size? Do patients get larger (or smaller) bands depending on the current size of the stomach or it is preference of the surgeon? :noidea:

I was banded on 4/12 myself and the hunger pains seem to be getting worse as each day passes from my op date. The Protein shakes and liquids help only for what seems like a few minutes. My doc said we can start the mushies stage no sooner than 10 days post op but i'm really starting to doubt if I can keep from eating just some blenderized Soup or something :faint:

Your VERY lucky, I wish this had been available back when i was your age. Take advantage of it to the fullest!!

I was supposed to be on a low fat/low carb diet for two weeks before the surgery and I can honestly say I cheated (stressing the 'ed' part), when I got weighed right before the surgery I weighed the exact same I did when I first got all this started..lol I do think I lost some because the same I was initially weighed up to surgery date I know I had gained some b/c my eating habits hadn't changed. I did ask my doc how my liver looked and everything after the surgery and it said it looked good that the diet helped so as long as he was happy i'm ok with it :guess

Sorry this post is so delayed but it's the first time since my surgery i've really had a chance to be on a computer. My surgery went really well, got there around 7am and was wheeled in around 8am at the surgery center of Richardson for my op (which I have to say EVERYONE there was so nice and caring). When I woke up I had a breathing tube immediately taken out and sat up trying to realize where i was..lol. One of the things I noticed after my surgery is not how many stomach hurt (so much) but how my calves were sore? I guess it had something to do with the way my legs were positioned during surgery. Another thing I ran into is after I took my barium swallow and started walking around I got the hiccups!! OMG talk about pain. The night I went home I got a little nauseous (sp) and so scared I was gonna throw up, but thankfully some pillow rest and a suppository helped calm me down. I have to admit right before I went into surgery and that night after I had it done, I was really starting to regret what I had gotten myself into but since then things have been so much better and now it's just a process of learning how to eat and getting used to the band. Sometimes I get this feeling like it's a cross between a burp and a hiccup?? Do any of you guys experience this? It feels really painful sometimes and I'm just curious as to what this is Thanks to everyone for your kind words and helpful advice to this point Randy

I also forgot to mention my doc put my port in the front (just underneath the sternum) instead on the side. He said they are starting to do that for ppl complaining about not sleeping comfortably on their side. Anybody get there's done this way?

I got hiccups right after I started walking right after my surgery, it was painful as hell. :faint:

My band date is set for 04/12 and I have to admit i'm getting a little worried about it. The surgery itself isn't what's bothering me but the two week full liquid diet following the surgery is what has me scared. To be honest i'm doubting myself I can do a liquid diet for TWO weeks considering how hard it's been just on the pre-op diet itself. :phanvan I was reading my doc's website and it said blenderized Soups wouldn't be allowed until liquid/mushy stage so I guess that rules out that possibility. I've read on here from some of you guys that you haven't really wanted to eat to Protein shakes help with the hunger to down right starvation. Don't get me wrong, I want to do this and i'm commited but at the same time I can't help but worry. Anybody have any words of encouragement or suggestions that might help? Thanks

Thanks to everyone who posted, your suggestions and kind words really helped me out. I'll let everyone know how things go after this Thursday

Thank you all for the welcomes, sorry it's taken me this long to write back but i've been real busy as of late.

I have UHC Select plus POS - I just found out today mine is being covered 100% minus the normal co-pays ($15) for pre-op visit and myocel shakes.

I don't have any other advice other than to say I would get a second opinion myself, vomiting blood regardless of what causes it should be cause for concern; And nothing against your doctor but I wouldn't buy the 'nothing to worry about' diagnosis from your doc.

Ok well looks like i'll be an April bander as well.. My pre-op diet is supposed to start on Mar 29th My pre-op exam on Apr 10th and my surgery on the 12th. Looks like my insurance approved to cover 100%!! :clap2:

Called lapbandsolutions (the surgeon's group handling everything with my insurance) and it looks like my insurance is going to cover the surgery 100%!! Now I just gotta get my pre-op appointment scheduled and get the ball a rollin on that. So what all do they do on the pre-op appointment?? Go over your pre-op diet and set a surgery date?

You know it's funny how just simple words..."comments" if you will; Can literally cut like a knife and scar you for life. I can remember back in high school, being 6ft tall and around 260ish and hearing the comments, esp when it came time to play shirts vs skins in football (and of course as luck would have it, me having to be a 'skin') being teased in the meanest ways imaginable over my weight and stretch marks I have as a result... Even now, being almost 12 years out of high school and still hearing the comments. Not so much in as mean a spirit but in a joking manner, even still though it hurts to be reminded in any form or fashion that you still have a weight problem. I've been wondering ever since my journey started to get a 'band, is if those old verbal scars will disappear from my 'rearviewmirror' as I would like to call it

I had my psych eval done last week, basically it's just their shrink talking about your reasons for wanting it, how you think you'll handle change, your past....etc and then having to take a 300+question test with answers such as "most likely, somewhat likely, notsure, most likely..etc" He told me he would let me know if I didn't pass or wouldn't say anything if I did since I was there to do my stress test afterwards, well I never heard anything from him so i'm assuming I did.

When you purchase an Ipod you'll have to download ITunes in order to import any kind of songs onto your Ipod. If your songs are WMA (windows media) based then when you drag and drop your songs into Itunes it will alert you and convert the music files over for your ipod. It's not difficult at all to do, ITunes will do all the work for you.

I was just curious if anyone on here has never needed a fill and was able to lose their weight.

Thanks for all your responses, I was just curious if just the band itself (w/o being filled) gave enough restriction for some of you guys and for how long. I'm not planning on avoiding fills or anything, it was just curiosity on my part

Clothed (w/o shoes on) of course, no sense in giving the scale a thrill... /ba dum crash

So i had an appointment today for my intial consultation at AIGB in Richardson. After finally finding the place and making my way in, the girl asks for my DL, insurance and info packet from the seminar. :faint: :faint: :faint: I had completely forgotten about that stupid info packet I was supposed to bring. She 'claims' it takes 30 min to fill all of it out and because of the current time (appt was for 3:30pm and it takes hr and a half for the consultation), they made me reschedule...despite having drove 30+miles to get there :) :mad: . I'm a little angry that they wouldn't just see me then and let me fax the paper work over the next day but I knew from past experience arguing about it wouldn't have done any good. So barring anymore hiccups on my part, i'll get it this Monday. So my question is what exactly is done at these initial consultations?? I thought it was just blood work done and maybe talk to you a little about the surgery...??

I'm sure you'll do great, just remember it's a short procedure (time wise) and you'll be in and out before you know it. Keep up posted on how everything went. Randy

Well I had my initial consultant today at AIGB (remembered to bring the packet this time :heh: ) took my weight, BP, measured around muh gut and took me to talk to Dr. Cindi Marsden about the procedure and went over my packet I filled out. It was good to talk to someone who tells you what's going to happen, what's needs to happen on your part and be positive and encouraging at the same time. She really gave me the impression that they do care about helping you reach your weight loss goals. So now here comes the fun part , gotta get a sleep study done, psych clearance and stress test done there in the next couple of weeks; Along with getting a chest xray and blood work done at two other spots that I can hopefully knock out this week. I was hoping I could've skipped some of this but whatever it takes ... :biggrin1: So now the ball is officially rolling and will hopefully snowball on it's own as it rolls down the pre-op hill :clap2:

I have UHC as well and I think they base it on your BMI and if you have any existing conditions that could be caused by the extra weight (sleep apnea, HBP..etc) I 'think' for patients with a BMI < 40 and no conditions they cover 80%, >40 and pre existing conditions 100% covered. I've had quite a few people here at my office get it, some have paid the 20% and some others got 100% coverage. Hopefully I'll find out in the next couple of weeks if I get 100% covered or not.

I'll be having my initial consultation that day over at AIGB (at least if I remember right that's where it's at, don't have my card with me) I'd love to go but I have a prior commitment that evening. Hopefully I get to meet some more of your bandsters in person soon!