Becks477

AST and ALT are liver enzymes that are commonly run blood tests to see how the liver, gallbladder and sometimes pancreas are functioning like if you have gallstones, liver disease, or a block in on of your ducts leading to the small intestine. If they are high then your doctor should question why seeing as ur billirubin is elevated too. If the AST and ALT are not elevated then I dont know if i would be too worried about it but that is just me Yup I am a nurse how could you tell lol? Becky

Usually elevated billirubin is due to the liver/gallbladder problems. I would have to know you other lab results like your AST or ALT to tell you more. I know that in my case if I were to have anything wrong with my liver/gallbladder that my surgery would be postponed for sure because my doctor personally does not like to take out gallbladders and put in lapbands at the same time because it increases the infection rate. I know if you do a search on this site you will be able to find out more information and ask others about this specific problem. Let me know if this helps! Becky

Lucy - Thanks for the inspiration. I want this more than anything I have never been skinny and that aspect does not matter to me at all but being healthy and feeling good about myself is what i am striving for! I guess the emotional part is harder than I expected, food is everywhere and honestly because i know i cannot have it, its on my mind alot, so me being me, I bought a journal today so I can write down my thoughts and feelings as I go through all this. It is so crazy that I am not hungry but i cannot stop thinking that i am. Oh my goodness thats y i need to journal or work alot during these 2 weeks to keep my mind off all this lol. I am sure you are much stronger than me and you will get those sweet liquids down Becky

<!-- this is not the last post shown on the page --><TABLE class=tborder id=post478474 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=thead style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e9e9e9 0px solid; BORDER-TOP: #e9e9e9 1px solid; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; BORDER-LEFT: #e9e9e9 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e9e9e9 1px solid"><!-- status icon and date --> Yesterday, 07:36 PM <!-- / status icon and date --></TD><TD class=thead style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e9e9e9 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #e9e9e9 1px solid; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; BORDER-LEFT: #e9e9e9 0px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e9e9e9 1px solid" align=right> #225 (permalink) </TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: #e9e9e9 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #e9e9e9 0px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #e9e9e9 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e9e9e9 0px solid" width=175><!-- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -->marlynncreel<!-- google_ad_section_end --><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_478474", true); </SCRIPT> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Marlynncreel - i know exactly what you mean. I am a nurse too and we are social people so breakfast lunch and dinners are gonna be hard for me too. Its already hard seeing other people eating and wishing i could eat that too lol I guess for me i just have to remember that even if I cant eat what everyone else is that i still need to take a break and get off the floor for a while to refresh myself! Good Luck on your surgery I am getting really excited too! Becky

Help guys! I feel like a complete loser but this liquid diet is so hard. I hate the taste of all the drinks. I am a salty person and I really dont enjoy sweet things. How am I going to get my protein in? Im not worried about being hungry at this point just getting enough of what my body needs. Any suggestions I am desperate and I dont want to call the MD's office because i dont want them to think I am not committed to this because i am its just I hate the taste it makes me want to throw up! :Banane40: PS Great calander I love it thanks for putting the time and effort into it it looks awsome! Becky

Lucy That is great that you are working so hard already! You definately will get great results from the band if you keep up the great work. Put me down for the motivation because I can sure use it and I will be more than happy to give some! How much do you want to lose with the band? Have you lost some pre op? Lets get the thread going!

Hi everyone! I thought the day would never come but here it is June 6th 2007! I am so excited I have been waiting forever for this. I bet you all are excited too to proceed with this life changing procedure How were some of your journeys getting to this point? Anyone want to share? As soon as I got my date today I wanted to get on this site and find the June 2007 thread and post! My brother who is doing this with me is having his surgery tomorrow. The time went by so fast for him and believe it or not he was not even hungry on the liquid diet losing 20 lbs! I hope I can do as well as him cause I get nausous when I am hungry. Does anyone else? what do you do for it? Well I look forward to getting to know you all, supporting each other and losing weight together! Becky

Awsome I am so excited for you. My brother has his surgery May 3rd and hes lost 10 lbs in 5 days on the liquid diet and he says hes not hungry at all lol i dont think its gonna be that way for me! I started this whole process in October so I am anxious and kind of impatient because its taking sooooo long. How long did it take for Medica to approve you?

Hello! I am from Duluth too. I work as an RN at SMDC and I am just waiting to get my date from Dr. Lenz. Its nice to hear from someone in Duluth. When did you start the whole process? I feel like mine has gone on forever! Who is your dietician? Mine is Roxanne Bijold. SMDC has a great bariatric center.

Hi jlynn! I am from Duluth, MN. I usually dont post unless I can help someone or i have a questions because i have noticed from the few posts I have done no one answers or cares lol I just keep to myself and read about everyone else! What about you? Where are you from? Who did your surgery? I am still waiting for insurance approval and im getting super anxious. My brother, who i did all the pre-lapband stuff with, is getting his surgery May 3rd by Dr Jay Lenz. Im jealous but i guess i need to be patient.

Hello Robyn, Yup Saint Mary's Duluth Clinic does have a bariatric center and does fills. The number up here is 218-786-1234 to make an appointment. If you need any recommendations on good doctors don't be shy! I work as an RN at SMDC Becky

Hoping to join the May 2007 bandsters! Just waiting for my insurance approval my brother just got his yesterday and his date is set for May 3rd! How is everyone doing? Is anyone worried about this liquid protein diet? I tried the shakes and they were gross! Any suggestions?

Hey all! This is my first post ever My name is Becky and im almost done with this whole process. I am just waiting to get approved by my insurance which hopefully will not take too long. My brother who is doing this with me already was approved by his insurance yesterday and already has his surgery date for May 3, 2007. I am jealous but my dietician appointments were spanned out farther than his were. I am definately not patient so I am hoping this will go fast for me too. Is there a May 2007 banster thread? I hope its ok if i post here Can't wait to hear from all of you! Becky