HappyMom

I have also chosen not to tell anyone. My husband is the only one who knows that I have the band. My two boys (1 & 4) know that mommy had an operation and now has boo-boos on her tummy. I am not sure why I decided not to tell anyone else. I guess that I am self-conscience about my weight and I didn't want people to watch/judge me and my weight loss. I didn't want that added perceived pressure. I also wasn't sure how my family and friends would react to me getting the band. I was worried about negative response and having to defend my decision to get the band. I am making assumptions that there would be negativity....maybe I don't give my family and friends enough credit! Maybe your mom is more worried now that the surgery date is getting closer. It is SURGERY and that could make your mom a little scared for your well being. Maybe just assure her that you are sure of your decision and you know that everything will be o.k. You take care and please message me if you are feeling too lonely. Good luck and I hope that everything goes well for you on May 17th!

I try to get 80+ grams of Protein a day. I can usually get that eating: Low-Fat Cottage cheese chicken Fish Hard Boiled eggs....(usually take the yokes out) Fat-Free Refried Beans Cheese SoyBeans Lentils These are some foods that I can typically tolerate and give me the protein that I need. I also still use the Bariatric Advantage Protein Mix and some of the fruit flavored protein mixes as supplements when I can't get all the protein from my foods.

I lost 19-lbs during my 2-week liquid diet. I did not cheat even once! Good luck to you!

Your husband sounds wonderful! I too have probably one of the most understanding and loving husbands there is. He is always saying how beautiful and wonderful I am. I can't tell you how good it feels to have a husband that is so totally in love with you....even after 15 years!

I was basically asked about my health, family and relationship with food. Some of the questions were like: *What health problems have you been experiencing? *Is anyone else in your family overweight? *Does anyone in your family have HBP or diabetes? *Have you ever been abused (physically/mentally)? *Do you have a support system for after the banding? *Is your main support people overweight? *Do you have a lot of stress in your life? *Have you ever been anorexic? *Have you ever made yourself throw-up after eating? *Do you binge eat? *How does eating make you feel? *How important is food in your life? *Do most of your activities with friends/family revolve around food? If your activities do revolve around food how are you going to cope with that after banding? *After banding, what are you going to replace the comfort you get from eating with? Those are some of the questions that were asked of me. The interview was pretty straight forward. I am not sure if there really is a right or wrong answer to the questions. Just answer honestly and you will do fine. Good luck to you!

Hi there - Congrats on getting the band! I was banded three weeks ago and will have my first fill on April 20th. I am excited to get some restriction. I too feel like I could eat anything, but luckily for me I still don't have my appetite back yet. I think that is the only thing keeping me from wanting to chow down! I also haven't told anyone about my surgery. My husband is the only person (other than the doctors) who knows that I have the band. I haven't even told my mom whom I speak with almost every day. I guess that I felt like I would be watched and judged by others if they knew that I had the band. I didn't want that perceived pressure to stress me out. I am not sure when, or if, I will tell anyone else. This board is a great place to chat and vent to others. I was lucky to find it a couple of months before I was banded. I love reading peoples answers to questions and hearing their takes on different topics. Welcome and I hope that we are both very successful with the band!

My post-op diet was a bit different: 3 days clear liquids (water, tea & broth) 4 days full liquids (protein shakes, juice, etc) 3 days REALLY mushy puree's (yogurt, pudding, watered mashed potatoes) 4 days normal mushies 7 days softer food (lasagna, tuna salad, etc) After 3 weeks post-op I can now have pretty much anything that I want except bread products, rice, dry meats, and some other harder to digest things. I agree with Jen, each doctor is very different in their post-op requirements. I have heard of some people having a full month of liquids. You will want to stick with whatever your doctor orders. Don't try to advance too soon! Good luck with your surgery!

I haven't tried the Wii Fit, but I do have the EA Sports Active for the Wii. That is also a great workout!

Hello - I had a breast reduction back in 2003....it was the best thing that I have ever done for myself....well now I just got the band, so maybe that will take its place! I went from a 36E/F to a full C cup. I was just a touch overweight at that point, probably BMI around 26. I really can't tell you how good it felt to have the procedure done! The back, shoulder and neck pain associated with lugging the big girls around really went away after the surgery. If you have shoulder dents from your bra they will not go away after surgery. I was lucky not to have noticeable dents to begin with. You can reduce them a bit by doing some weight lifting shoulder exercises and just losing weight. They are basically impressions in muscle and fat. I was told that if they are significant you will never be able to get rid of them. I do have to warn you a bit....the pain associated with the breast reduction surgery was greater than with the band. The good thing is no gas pains! Whoo - those gas pains really aren't much fun. I am 7 years out now and you can barely see the scars. It really didn't matter what the scars looked like, I REALLY needed the surgery. I would do it again in a second. The only regret that I have is that I waited until I was 31 to do it! I wish that I could have had the reduction when I was a teenager or in my 20's. Oooh, another note. I waited to have kids until I was 33 and 36. I was not able to breast feed them. They said that there was a chance that I wouldn't be able to since they are removing breast tissue along with excess fat. My mom and sister were never able to breast feed so I am not sure if it was the surgery or just genetics. I wish you and the girls the best of luck with your surgery. You are going to LOVE the results. Like I said, it was the best thing that I ever did for myself!!!

Congratulations! I wish you the best with your surgery. I was lucky...my surgery was at 9 am. I probably would have gone crazy waiting if it was any later. Good wishes!

I have always heard that you need to take 10,000 steps a day for your overall health. I try to get around 15,000......but I walk around a lot during the day and am able to get in a 1-hour walk in the evening....once the kids go to bed! I am sure that it varies from person to person about how many steps will help with weight-loss, but I am assuming that maybe the 10,000 would get you close to that. I am only 3-weeks out from banding and am trying to lose weight, so the 15,000 is working for me. Some days I just can't get that high, but I try to always exceed the 10,000. Good luck to you!

Woowza! I was also banded three weeks ago today. My incisions (5 of them) were sutured inside and glued on the skin level. They have all healed very nicely and are just thin light redish lines on my belly. I am so very sorry that this is happening to you! I agree with the second doctor that this cannot be good! Why were they not able to re-suture you when you first noticed the incision opening? Was it stitched during surgery and just opened up in the days after surgery? I am sorry that you have to have another surgery. I definitely know what you mean about the back pain just now subsiding. I had horrible gas pains and still have pain in my left shoulder. PLEASE let us know how you continue to do. Again, good luck and I hope that everything goes well!

I have BCBS of California and it took about 6 working days to get my approval. I didn't try calling the insurance company, but heard the final results from my Dr.'s office. Good luck to you...I hope that you hear soon!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am so very happy for you! Good luck on the 7th and let us know how you are doing!

Amy - I was banded the day after you and I weigh exactly the same as I did surgery morning. My calories average around 750 a day and I walk for about an hour a day. I can't seem to get the scale to budge either. I posted yesterday about the same thing and the advice was to try to increase my calories to 1000-1200 a day. I am having a hard time doing this since I can only eat mushy foods and am limited to 1/2-cup per meal 3x a day. I am so glad that someone else is having this same problem. It looks like we both did great on the pre-op diet! I hope that for both of us the scale moves soon! Good luck!

Hi there - I was banded on 3-25 and I currently weigh exactly the same as I did the morning of surgery. I did great on the pre-op diet...losing 19-lbs in 2-weeks. The diet consisted of two Protein shakes plus a bowl of vegetable Soup a day. The calories for that were around 450 a day. Since the surgery I haven't lost anything.... nada.... zippo.... zilch. I am strictly following the post-op diet outlined by my surgeon. I am now at the mushy stage and able to eat things like cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, yogurt and puddings. It was recommended that I eat 3 times a day, not more than 1/2-cup of food at a time. My typical diet is: Breakfast: 1/2-cup low-fat Cottage Cheese 1 canned Peach Half Lunch: 2 eggs (scrambled) with 1/4-cup low-fat shredded cheese Dinner: 1/4-cup low-fat Cottage Cheese or Yogurt 1/4-cup non-fat Refried Beans (thinned w/ water) Night Snack: Protein shake It averages about 700-cal a day with 80-grams of protein. I am walking about 45-min to 1-hour a day. I am wondering if after losing well during my pre-op diet my body is just rebelling and has gone into starvation mode and not releasing the pounds. I know from vast experience (Weight Watchers etc. for MANY years) that I tend to lose weight well eating around 1200 calories a day. Now that I have bored you all to death with this long post my two questions are: Do you think that since I have been on a reduced caloric intake for so long my body is holding onto the pounds? How in the world do you pack more HEALTHY calories into 3 servings of 1/2-cup of food? Thanks for reading and your comments. I am lost here and can't seem to figure out what to do to kick my metabolism back into gear! Thanks!

I just checked Anthem and I think that we have the Lumenos HSA (HDHP) PPO plan. On this plan we pay the first $2400 out-of-pocket and then the 'traditional' health plan kicks in (90% them -10% us split) up to $4200 out-of-pocket....then 100% is covered. The out-of-pocket amounts are based on our family of 4. ALL of the money that our employer takes out of our check for health insurance goes directly into a HSA (Health Savings Account) that we use to pay the out-of-pocket expenses for the year. We control the savings account and use the account VISA or checks to cover all medical expenses. We don't have to pay a cent for premiums or anything else like that....I think that our employer pays that. It is a good plan if you are very detail oriented. You have to keep meticulous records for all expenditures from that account because it is pre-tax monies that can be audited by the IRS. In the past two years it has saved us thousands of dollars having this type of plan. It is hard when you are first starting off with this plan because you haven't built-up the HSA account. If you get really sick during the first couple of months you may find yourself running out of money in the HSA account and having to cover the expenses yourself...and reimbursing yourself later in the year when the account balance is higher. I hope that this helps! Good luck on choosing a new health plan....I know that it can be very confusing!

Thank you all so much for your responses. I am following everything that my surgeon has recommended for me, so I am doing well in that area. I was just so happy to see the weight coming off during the pre-op diet phase. I feel as if I am doing something wrong to not be losing weight with the band. I know that I need to take a deep breath and let my body get used to the new lifestyle. My husband, and biggest supporter, just smiles when I get worried about not losing since the surgery. He just reminds me that the 19-lbs that I lost pre-op are never going to be regained......unlike the hundreds that I have lost and regained doing WW or other diets in the past. He is a lovely man! Again, thanks for the support. This board has been invaluable to me over the last few months!

Hello - I have Anthem BCBS PPO of California and I was banded with no insurance issues on 3-25. The only requirements for final approval was a dietitian visit, psych consult, and to show that I have made attempts in the past to lose weight. For that last part I photocopied my previous WW weight trackers and my credit card statements for the last year of on-line service. You will have to read your policy very carefully regarding weight loss surgery. As a company Anthem BCBS will cover LapBand, but some companies put special exclusions in their contract with BCBS that will limit the coverage for weight loss surgery. As was explained to me by BCBS... this is not their policy restrictions, but your companies imposed restrictions....I guess that it makes the premiums that they have to pay to BCBS smaller if they exclude various procedures. I really wish you good luck in your journey. If weight loss surgery is not excluded by your company your experience with Anthem will be very easy and quick!

You did the right thing! I absolutely did not cheat on my 2 week pre-op diet. I am very glad for that....because it gave me strength to get though the even harder post-op diet! I am 8 days out and on a VERY strict post-op diet that has slowly incorporated Clear liquids, regular liquids, and now runny mushies. If she cannot make it on her pre-op diet then you may have cause to worry about her post-op restrictions. It was explained to me that you have to stick to the food incorporation schedule or you may have issues with your brand new band. Good luck to both you and your wife!

My pre-op diet was 2 weeks long and consisted of two Protein shakes and one cup of vegetable Soup a day. It was really hard the first 3 days and then my hunger vanished. I did get really sick on the pre-op diet because I was still taking my blood pressure and diabetes medication. I thought that I was tired and dizzy due to not eating, but it was because my blood pressure was REALLY low! I stopped taking all my medication after consulting my PCP and haven't had to take them since! Yea me! Good luck. You will make it through the pre-op diet. Just call it a warm-up for what you have to go through AFTER you are banded! I still haven't chewed anything yet!

Hi- I am 8 days out and I am not really sure if I have 'natural' restriction due to just the placement of the empty band......lucky for me that I don't have any appetite either! I asked the Dr. during my one week visit yesterday and he confirmed that he did not fill my band during the surgery. I was able to eat about 1.5 cups of blended Soup yesterday, but I can't seem to get down more than .5 cup of cottage cheese today. I am not really trying to push it since the dietitian was really strict about not eating more than 0.5 cup of mushy food during a mealtime. (I just started on mushies yesterday). The only hold up I feel is if I swallow too big of a bite of food or gulp of Water. I get a real tight feeling in my upper chest for about 5-10 seconds until I can feel the liquid or mushy sliding down. I used to be able to drink a 20-oz bottle of water in 5 gulps now takes me more than an hour to get it down with little sips. I am almost hoping that I can remain this way and not have to get my first fill that is scheduled for the 20th. I am sure that I am still just swollen from the surgery, but this is kind of nice right now. I just don't want to PB, slime or throw-up!

The first three days are the hardest. I wanted to bang my head against the wall to stop the horrible hunger pains and headaches. I wasn't sure that I was going to make it! Once I hit day 4 or 5 I didn't really have any hunger at all. I actually had to remember to drink the shakes everyday. My energy came back and the headaches finally stopped. You can do it! Just stick to it and you will feel better in just a couple of days! Good luck!

Hi there Michelle - I am doing great since my banding. I just got home from my one week post-op appointment. All seems to be going well with the healing. I am able to eat mushies today! YES! It is going to be wonderful to having something other than Protein shakes and blended cottage cheese. I never thought that I would covet the idea of eating mashed potatoes and gravy....but I sure need a new flavor! I really need to work on drinking and eating slower. I don't really have any restriction right now, but I sure feel it if I gulp too much Water or try to swallow too big a bite of blended cottage cheese. I thought that I was taking smaller drinks and bites, but apparently not. It really feels tight and hurts for about 5 seconds after each drink or bite. I need to try to slow down and do better before I get my first fill in 3 weeks. I really hope that your appointments next week go well....then all that is left is the wait for final insurance approval! My time frame was really short too between my appointments and surgery. My appointments with the dietitian and psych was on the 10th, insurance was filed on the 11th, and I didn't hear back from them until the 22nd....surgery was on the 25th. I think that I held my breath from the 11th to the 22nd! I was sure that we wouldn't hear anything and my surgery would have to be put off until April. I hope that yours goes quicker so you don't stress as much as I did! Henry and Heather really helped keeping me calm during that time....they are great people and will do everything to make sure that you get approved in time! Good luck and let me know how it goes! Melissa