mdicurn

Thank you for your suggestion. I am actually an ICU nurse, so I was more than a little surprised by the choice of Vicodin myself - and did crush it the first day. As I am not having a lot of pain, unless I try to sleep on my side, I think I am just going to try some liquid tylenol and get my MD to call in an RX for Prevacid Solutabs.

Hi! I was banded on 9/11 as well. I have 4 incisions. The back pain has been my biggest issue so far -between the gas pains and not being able to sleep on my side. But I have found that getting up and moving around as much as I can is the best thing for it.

I am very grateful that the only "pre-op" diet that I have is to try and not gain any more weight before surgery! I had my pre-op visit and nutrition consult on Monday and I should be hearing from the office to find out my actual surgery date by the end of the week! YAY! They did tell me that I could expect it to be 2-3 weeks out from the pre-op visit, so that would put me anytime between 9/3 and 9/14. I can't believe that it is finally happening!! However, for everyone out that that does have to have a liquid pre-op diet, I think you will most likely be better prepared for the post-op diet.

Welcome Everyone! Our list is getting bigger and bigger!

I have told my boss and a few people that I work with. There are quite a few nurses that in Critical Care where I work, who have had the gastric bypass but I will be the first with the lap band. I tried to keep it quiet at first, but once a couple of people knew, everyone seemed to know.

May I ask what kind of doubts you are having? I was getting a little jittery too, but I remembered the reasons why I chose to go with the lap band in the first place: no cutting of the bowel, no problems with Vitamin and mineral deficiencies, no "dumping", and reversible if need be and that made me feel better.

Hi Rhonda! I think the time really varies from person to person. Some folks are able to get all their testing done and breeze through the insurance process, then have it all done in a month or so. Others, like me, have been working for nearly a year.

Welcome to all the newest band-to-be's!

My Dr does not really require a pre-op diet, and yes, I am counting my blessings! However, I am trying to limit my carbs and I have stopped drinking soda. I think the worst thing for me will be the separation of drinks and meals. I am DREADING that.

Hiya Amanda, Michelle and Margaret! Welcome to the list!

WOW.. you have lost 40 pounds in 2 months?!?

YAY!! :clap2: Welcome aboard the 907!

Just wanted to post an update: I had my pre-op physical on Monday and talked to the office today. They have scheduled me for a nutrition consult on August 20th. I asked the coordinator how long after that they are usually able to schedule the surgery and she told me two weeks!! :whoo: So, it looks like I will have my band by the middle of September! On the down side of things, when I went to my GP for my physical I was up to 202 pounds?!? AKKKKK.. :faint:So, I am back on my low carb, high Protein diet to try and at least loose the 25 pounds I have gained back since my first lap band doctor abandoned me in March. The group that I am seeing does not require a pre-op diet (Thank GOD) but I am determined to try and get my liver, which I already know is too big, out of the way.

Hey Rachelle! I will keep my fingers crossed for ya! :welcome:

Your lips to G-d's ears!

Hello! I am most likely jinxing myself by even posting this - but what the heck. I have received my approval, but now I have to have a pre-op physical from my Primary Care Doc. Of course, I couldn't get in to see her until the end of the this month. So, after I see her, I am supposed to meet with the nutritionist and *THEN* God willing and the creek don't rise, they will schedule my surgery date. I was hoping for August, but even September might not be the month. Either way, I am praying before Christmas! :pray: I have been going through the motions now since December of last year and have already gained back the 20 pounds I lost in the process. *sigh* Hopefully, I will join you as a September Bandster! :whoo:

I had a very bad experience with GBMC and I am now going to The Weight Loss Clinic in Harrisburg, PA, as I live in PA about halfway between Baltimore and Harrisburg. I am an ICU RN and I found the surgeon and dietitian to be fantastic, but their nurse practitioner did not impress me. My BMI was borderline to start with at 39.4 and the NP put me on a diet that my insurance company did not require, and *me* trying to prove to myself and everyone else that I was serious about this decision made the mistake of actually loosing 20 pounds leaving me with a BMI of 37. Mea Culpa. Of course, I was told that they should have submitted my beginning weight/BMI by people on these boards. Anyway, the NP called me said said they were submitting me for approval. Then she called back and said she had made a mistake - and that I still needed a sleep study. So, 3 months into this, after having all my testing done and paying nearly $1,000 out of my pocket, including the $300 that they charge for the NP and Dietitian, I get a call from the office insurance handler. She told me that the NP had talked with the surgeon and they wanted me to pay them $14,000 up front for the surgery. They refused to even try to submit it to my insurance. I told them, as it was the NP's fault for choosing to put me on a diet which my insurance didn't require rather than just getting my testing done and leave it at that, I was done. I wanted a copy of my chart. If I have to pay $14,000 to someone it is going to be someone with some common sense! So, I did some investigation. I called my insurance company and they told me that even though it was an outpatient procedure and did not require prior approval, it *could* be submitted anyway just to make sure it would be covered. GBMC would not do that. To make a long story short, in May I made an appointment with Dr. Currie in Harrisburg and the first thing his staff did when I told them my story was cock her head sideways and ask me why did they put you on a diet? That was when I knew I was in the right place! They took all the testing I had just had done and basically fast-tracked me through their program (of course I have gained back the 20 pounds I lost out of frustration alone!). They are going to submit me for my insurance approval and I should know something within a month. Bottom line, I can't recommend GBMC, but I hope your luck with them was better than mine.

I saw the Nutritionist and the NP friday, for my 3rd visit, and I am so disheatened that I am about to give up. My highest weight was 205 pounds which might not sound like a lot, but when you are 4'11" it is a living hell. I have been on every diet known to mankind and "yoyo" myself in and out of hundreds of pounds. Deciding to get the band was a big deal for me - as it is all of us. When I went to the Dr in December I weighed 195 pounds with a BMI of 39.4. I do not have any of the big co-morbidities (hypertension, high cholestrol, diabetes, sleep apnea) -- YET! But I do have PCOS, a fatty liver, arthritic knees, chronic back pain, a hiatal hernia and reflux. My insurance will pay for the surgery without any "supervised weight loss" attempts for a BMI >35 and 2 comorbidities. However, the NP insisted that they put me on a pre-op diet for a couple of months before they submitted me. I was determined to do every single thing that they told me so that I could prove to them that I was willing to follow the directions they gave me. I met with the nutritionist, and made goals for myself that she suggested, eating Breakfast, cutting down on my carbohydrate intake, no carbonated beverages, learning to eat without drinking at meals, exercising at least 3 times a week (they insisted that you join a gym as part of the program). I did all of these things thinking that I was finally going to be able to find a permanent solution to my weight problem. So now, I have lost 13 pounds in 2 months and you would think I would be happy. But now with a BMI of 36.6 and no "major co-morbidities" the NP doesn't think that my insurance is going to approve me. I lost it. They could have turned me in for approval at my very first appointment. I brought copies of my labs, my xrays and all my history. I sat in the office crying. I can lose weight. I have gained and lost weight MY WHOLE LIFE!! I told her it sounded almost like she wanted me to stop what I was doing and get back up to 205 so that I could get approved. She looked at me and I swear had the nerve to tell me "WE are not the enemy." I was balling my eyes out thinking I had been working SO hard and for what... She didn't even have the decency to offer me a tissue. I have already spent nearly a thousand dollars out of my pocket for testing. Now, she wants me to have a sleep study which I highly doubt my insurance company is going to approve as I have no signs or symptoms of sleep apnea. I am considering not only if I want to go through with this, but also if I am sure that I have the right physician group if I even choose do to so. I am a nurse. I deal with people every day, and I would treat a patient of mine that way. I know that I could finance the surgery if the insurance is not apporved, but I am concerned that if something goes wrong and I have something else done, my insurance wont cover it because the original surgery was not covered. *sigh* I have been working my ASS off literally to try and do exactly what they asked of me and now am just angry and depressed and ready to rip the head off a NP with the bedside manner of Cruella Deville... Thanks for letting me vent. :pout:

Thank you all so much for your replies!! I can't tell you how much it means to me to have your support. I made the appointment for the sleep study and asked to see the surgeon for my next vist to the office. I fullly intend to tell him everything that happened to me with his NP and if he can not reassure me that things will change I will ask for a copy of my chart and walk out. I am very happy to know that the original weight is the one that "counts" as I am down to 179.2 now. I might even call the surgeon Friday, as I am out of town right now. The biggest reason that I have to get this surgery done is because my daughter is ill. She has a very progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis and most likely will not be able to care for herself in a couple of years. When I noticed that *I* was gaining so much weight that I was having a hard time getting up and down my steps I realized that if I could not take care of myself, how am I going to be able to take care of HER? I refuse to let that happen.

Thanks! I really like the surgeon, it is the NP that is proving to be much less than desirable. I am going to see the surgeon for my next visit, but if I am less than 173 pounds I will be less than the 35 BMI. I refuse to try to GAIN weight! I was lucky in that I had my children when I was very young. My oldest was born when I was 18 and my youngest was 21. I was told that my age was probably the key to having them at all. Although my periods were never regular, I got pregnant with my youngest right after coming off brith control pills and I think that helped some. I wasn't diagnosed with PCOS until about 6 years ago, even though I have had the symptoms since puberty.

I have PCOS as well and took Metformin (Glucophage) for it. I tried the regular and the extended release forms, but it gave me diarrhea so badly that I was literally unable to go out for a meal. My husband called it my "clockwork input/output mechanism." I was on it for about 6 months and I did loose weight in combination with a low carb diet, but the GI issues never went away. I guess depends on your stomach if you can take it or not.

That truly sucks!! :confused: Maybe if you are flexible in your schedule you could call the office and let them know you would like to be on her cancelation list. That way if someone doesn't show you could go in their place. There other thing I would recommend is getting a copy of ALL your tests, etc. to take with you rather than waiting to one office to send it to the other. You are always more of a priority to YOU than to the girl running the fax machine. Saying a little prayer for both of us! Jen

Congratulations to everyone who has gotten their date! :clap2: I have to have an EGD on Monday, with the scope down the throat (at least it is not the other end.. ) and then the sleep study on the 15th. I hope that March will be a great month for us all! Jen

Neal, Thank you for being a voice of reason in a cacophony of insanity. There are a number of Christians here who are offended not just by the animosity toward our religious beliefs, but also the way our beliefs are being portrayed. I tried to voice that sentiment 20 pages ago. This is not about the Word of G-d, but personal battle of wills on both sides. This saddens me a great deal. My belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of G-d and that he died for my sins and was resurrected on the 3rd day does not mean that I am weak willed or in need of "myths" to guide me through a life that is too scary without them; nor do I feel the need to force my beliefs on anyone else. I personally do not believe that the Koran is the word of G-d or that the "god" of the Koran is the same as the G-d of the bible, even though the players are the same the message is substantially different. However, I do realize that there are a great many good people wo do not share this belief. The best thing that I can do, as a Christian, is not to profess my beliefs so vehemently that I drown out the voice of reason, but to make every attempt to LIVE that life as an example to those who might learn from it. Just as I feel that Ron may have lost his way in all of this, I also believe that there are those on the opposite side of the debate who are relishing in the error of his ways in order to give voice to their own agenda.

Hello, I have a fatty liver along with transient bumps in my liver enzymes. It is called Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease or NAFLD and it is usually asymptomatic. However, it can progress to NASH or Nonalcoholic Steaotic Hepatitis. It is thought to be related to obiesty, diabetes and insulin resistance. I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, so insulin resistance is most likely the cause of a lot of my issues. NAFLD can progess to NASH which in approximately 50% of patients progresses to liver fibrosis. Approximately 3% of patients with NASH will develop liver failure. The good news about this is that although liver cells to not regenerate, having a substatial weight loss can decrease the amount of fat stored in the liver. Which, in turn, would decrease the likelihood of progression to more serious liver issues.