karmaandkismet

I'm still in the paperwork phase of things, but from the seminar I went to, I was also under the impression that the liquid diet was designed to shrink fat cells around the liver to gain easier access to the stomach for the banding. Think back to the things you know from past dieting experience...sometimes when you make a drastic change in your intake your body goes into "panic mode" and thinks you are trying to starve it so it holds on to every precious calorie you put in it, thus no weight loss. That might be what your experiencing. Once your body gets over the shock, you will probably start to lose some weight.

Nean4488, I see you started your diet on 1/26 and had your approval 4/16 which is actually 10 days shy of the 3 month mark, so that's why I wondered if they actually turn your paperwork in while you're on the diet since yours was approved so quickly. I don't mind the 3 month wait. It will actually give me time to earn more paid time off for the surgery so if I need longer (I've talked to a couple of nurses who work 12 hour shifts and they had to wait at least 2 weeks before going back to work) then I'll have it. We have our vacation planned for next month and have a wedding this summer as well, so having the surgery after that time period would actually be preferable.

One of the things that was mentioned in the seminar that I attended was that you're not supposed to drink any liquid for an hour after you eat so that the liquid doesn't push the food on through and thus defeat the purpose of the slow digestion of the food. I was wondering how people are doing with this? I don't drink a lot when I'm eating, but I do have a few sips with a meal. Its hard for me to imagine not drinking at all for a full hour. My other questions is how long people were out of work afterwards. I'm an RN who works 12 hour shifts. I've heard it takes about a week of recovery but when it comes time for my surgery, I want to make sure that I give myself enough time to heal before I go back to running up and down the hallways for 12 hours at a time.:redface:

My husband is sloooooooowly warming up to the idea. Actually, we don't talk about it very much which is an improvement from having screaming matches about it. I had to make the decision to move forward with this for ME. He could either support me or not. That is HIS choice and I can't make it for him just like the decision to have the band is MY choice and he can't make it for me. I think part of his issue is a projection type thing. He feels like he wouldn't want to do a liquid diet or he wouldn't want to give up certain foods and because he wouldn't want to do it, he doesn't want me to do it. I think he thinks he's going to lose an "eating buddy". He can be quite the enabler, bless his heart. I've noticed that since I've made the decision to do this, when we go out to eat he'll actually order appetizers now (he never did before) and he's more open to entertaining the idea of dessert (which he didn't do before). Almost like he's subconsciously saying "Look what you're going to be missing if you do this." He's got to deal with his own issues and he'll have to do that in his own way in his own time. I have to take care of Me before I can take care of anybody else.

So, how often do you have fills done? I know at my seminar they said you could only do liquids the rest of the day after a fill. Also, are the nerves that signal fullness in the upper part of the stomach? I know that you get the little pouch and it slowly empties into the rest of the stomach, but if the rest of the stomach has nothing in it, then what signals the satiated response?

I had an endoscopy and a colonoscopy last year when Flo was visiting. They didn't care. I kept a maxi pad between my legs (with no underwear) and went on with the procedure. It feels a little awkward on the side of being a patient, but it doesn't even phase them. :thumbup:

How many fills did it take some of you to get adequate restriction. I've just started doing my "paper chase" to get the procedure done. I know that the lap band is not a cure-all and that it is a tool, but after a 2 week liquid pre op diet and a 2 week liquid post op diet, I'm wondering how much longer you have to suffer to get to where you can really work with the band as it is intended to work.

My biggest support person is my 14 year old son. He actually went with me to the lap band seminar and was very interested in the process and very supportive of my decision.:eek:

I don't think any of us that choose bariatric surgery are "taking the easy way out.". We're choosing to undergo surgery with general anesthesia (just a risk unto itself. Forget that its for weight loss). We have all battled with obesity for years (we all know that we have to have documentation akin to that of trying to get a mortgage before we can even have the surgery). And even after we have the surgery, there is still plenty of work to be done by us. We have to change our eating habits and our lifestyles. None of these things is by far easy. I thought the comment of people being jealous and not liking losing their fat friends was interesting. I've been making a few changes in anticipation of the changes I will have to adhere to later. I had one friend tell me that I wasn't fun anymore because I didn't drink cokes with her and I didn't want to order pizza with her. I guess I had never realized what an enabler some of my friends are.

I've just started my journey and still have to get consults and psych eval and all that stuff. I told a few of my friends what I was up to, but other than that I have kept the information to myself. I've thought about this over the last few days and it seems a shame that after being ostracized for years about our weight, that when we make a decision of this magnitude to take back our lives and our health that we feel we have to keep it a secret. Overweight people have been judged for years and years. Perhaps if we start sharing our experiences, "coming out of the fat closet" will become more mainstream and more people will look to beat obesity. My nutrition appointment is May 4th and after I get through my first round of consults, I do plan to let people know. I feel like taking back my life is not something I should be ashamed of, but rather celebrated.

Thanks for the words of wisdom. I guess just like its hard for them to understand why we want to do this, its hard for me to understand why he wouldn't want me to. I've given up discussing it with him. I do email him updates as to what paperwork I have, what appointments I have. Of course, he never comments. Its kind of like the pink elephant in the room. But I do have the encouragement and support of my friends and I will look to them if he never decides to get on board with this.:eek:

I just went to a seminar last night. I took my 14 year old son along as my support person. He is indeed very supportive. My husband had gone out of town and he's been against this procedure since I mentioned it to him. I've sent him links to information, studies, statistics. I've had friends who have had the procedure write him to tell them what a difference it has made in their lives. I know this is something I need to do for me, but it sure would be helpful to have his support in this. I'm also nervous about getting all this documentation. I've been at my current PCP for almost 3 years but didn't have a real PCP for many years before then. I did go to one of those clinics that does the diet pills off and on for a couple of years before going to this PCP so I am hoping that I can get some weight documentation from them to cover the years of documented obesity and weight loss attempts and that will be sufficient to get approval. I have a BMI of 41 with hypertension, sleep apnea, depression, and joint issues. I am thinking that should get me approval as long as I can get the rest of the documentation.