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Hi everyone. The minutes are ticking down - I'm so excited about getting banded on Friday. I've been on Optifast for 2 weeks with a few slips like a salad here and there. Clear liquids are going to be a little hard to manage at work on Wed/Thurs - any ideas? Thanks

That pure will power is a tough thing. Hope this fill works out for you. I get my first fill one week from today, excited and scared. PS. I only see one post.

I just wanted to thank each and every one of you for your incredible inspirational stories! You help me when I feel down. I had my sleeve done June 2012. After a year I am down from 308 to 168. I will never miss those 140 lbs. I lost another person!!! I am proud of myself but I am also so proud of each and every one of you! You're all an inspiration to me! Never lose hope because you're incredible!!! Love yourselves and enjoy your new lives Here is a before surgery picture and one from last week!!

I have good days and bad days still swallowing 5 weeks later after band removal. My doctor thinks that he may need to go back in-another surgery-and take out the stitches attached to my stomach. I dread another surgery and I wonder if I will ever be normal again. Thank you for thinking of me. Private Dancer7

Hi I thought i would post my concerns and ask the experts... I am just worried how i would know if my band had slipped, i am 5 weeks post op, and there has been times when i have eaten the wrong food and i have had that stuck sensation, although i have not need to be sick or anything, it has just mde its own way down. Now i have no restriction as can eat more or less the same amount befire the band was fitted, am constantly hungry and worried i have made my band slip. I am so worried.... Pls give me your views...X

I'm getting banded on the 31st October in Traralgon and just wanted to wish you luck...when are you starting the Optifast?? I was told 6 weeks on it is best...doing 5 and a half really! Excited??? Nervous??? Pigging out and eating all the things you're gonna miss? :hungry:

Its been 7 1/2 weeks. I'm feeling more normal, except there is nothing I feel like eating. Nothing is appealing to me. I love seafood...sick of it...veggies...eh, carbs I have been dying for...eh too, don't even feel like it. Nothing seems to have flavor that is "IT" lately. I am eating because I have to...biting things and tossing them cause I don't want to eat something that doesn't seem good??? I can only eat a little...don't want to waste it on what I don't really want. I have literally not eaten hardly at all 2 days this week cause NOTHING appeals to me. I am hungry...but ehhhh. Whats with this ehhh feeling. I would eat anything if it seemed good...no mind to calories or carbs or whats bad for me if I thought it would bust through this ehhhh feeling. But I got nothing!!! Any ideas ohhh wise ones? I'm at a loss! HELP!!!

9 days post po, no pre op liquid diet but a solid diet for a week and i am 15.5 pouns lighter today! I feel like fllyiing!!! This is the best secision ive ever made!

My dr told me that 98% of leaks happen the first week. After that, ur pretty clear to relax. The first week, I was terrified of having a leak. In fact, at day 5, my back started hurting really badly. My fingers started contracting and my face contorted. I called my nurse. She told me to take my temp. If it wasn't hi, it wasn't a leak. It was like 99. But I kept getting worse so hubby took me to the ER. On the way there, I was convinced I was having a stroke As soon as I was wheeled into the ER and told the dr I was 5 days post op, he asked me if I was taking Reglan. Is aid yes. It was an allergic reaction, called a Dystonic Reaction. As soon as I got a shot of benadryl in my IV, I was normal again. PTL! I guess Reglan is notorious for causing this reaction. It was scary. Anyway, I was so convinced I had a leak. Every little pain (and I had a rough recovery), every little rise in my bp, every little everything I thought I had a leak. They're so rare. U have a better chance of getting in a car accident on ur way to the hospital for ur surgery. Good luck and relax. It'll just make ur recovery harder to worry about every little ache and pain...

I got my approval today!! I haven't been this excited about something in a while!! :whoo: I go in for one last mtg. w/ my surgeon on friday at 12:30. And this week the scheduling girl is going to call me to set up my pre-admission testing and surgery dates!! I cannot wait!! Just thought I'd share!! i just wanna hug everybody I see!!!

Hang in there!! The exact same thing happened to me. Stay off the scale, get your protein in first and you will see a difference. I am 4 weeks out and just saw a 6 pound drop in one week so it will work. Good luck

My experience..... My consult appointment was yesterday. The whole staff was very friendly. I really like my Doc. My appointment didn't really go like I thought it would. I did the whole check in height weight. Found out I am 5.1/2 ft. but I actually think I'm 5ft. my hair kind of got in the way, (updo, I know stupid). I met with the nurse, we went over a couple things, the doctor came in, he asked me a lot of questions that are normally on your new patient questionnaire which I thought was weird.. Like my nationality, am I mixed, married... and so on. We didn't talk about my past weight loss attempts. What I've been doing to lose weight. Or why I gained weight over the last month. He had to of known I've been seeing my PCP since October for weight-ins. Anyone else have to fill out a questionnaire that asked you how much money you make a year? There were a few other questions I thought were strange, but I cant remember them. I also received a check list, which most of it is already done. I'm not 100% sure what supporting documentation for weight management is... another question for insurance, I guess? Anyways, the Doc then brought me and another patient in for a little slide show of bariatric surgery procedures and risks. Which went into a little more detail than what I've found online and I found it interesting. After the slide show, I went back into my exam room and had physicals. Found out my ideal weight is 109lbs, that seems impossible to me. He said "120-125lbs is good." My goal is 115lbs. He brought up my heart murmur. So, now I have to get cardiac clearance before he'll do the surgery. I forgot all about it, I was told when I was 16. But no other doctor brought it up again. Surprising, because I've has a few surgeries. And because of my heartburn I have to do an EGD, which he will perform in a couple weeks. He mentioned that my BMI is 43. I'm assuming he meant I needed to lose some weight before surgery.. but he could of also meant I needed to do the weigh management for the 3-6 months, being that my bmi isn't above 50. So I will need to clarify that with him. There was so much information thrown at me, it took me till after dinner to process it all. When I was finished up with the Doc. I met with a lady that scheduled my EGD and handed me lab papers and I have to get a chest xray. Then off to another room and met with the NUT, which ended up being a group meeting, the other patient was there again and then we met individually with the NUT. I thought the NUT would go over eating a healthy well balanced diet.. lol.. duh, no it was about getting enough Protein in. and I found that I am not . so my goal is to get my 80g of PRO and working out a little bit more. She gave me a sample of vanilla unjury, which I will be trying today. The whole process took 3hrs. And I only had to paid the NUT, which was 130$. I have dual coverage and it paid for my appointment with the doctor. Oh, I cant forget the pre op diet. Boy am I ever lucky... I get 3 meals a day 3 scoops of Unjury between meals. This plan seems easy enough and fulfilling. The plan consist of Protein, Free food & Extra Food Choices. It reminds me of the 1st stage of Atkins, with some exceptions. Unlimited FF, which is zero cal beverage, coffee, tea, raw veg, herbs and spices, vinegar, mustard, lime, lemon juice. I will be using the FF to make my own salad dressing. I need more that one serving of dressing on my salad. I can have 4 EFC (guys get 6): 1 small fresh fruit or 1/2 cup fruit, cooked Cereal, potato or rice, low carb tortilla, 1 slice whole grain bread, English muffin, sandwich/bagel thins, low cal bread, bran buds or Fiber one cereal, 1 cup v-8, tomato juice, Soup or any food or beverage that is 60-80 cal per serving. For Breakfast select 1 protein, and 2 protein for lunch. Dinner 4-6 oz very lean meat, 1-2 cups low carb veg and 1 large salad with 1 serving of salad dressing. approximate nutrition 120-150g of protein, 100g of carbs estimated 1,200-1,500 cals and 15-30g of fat. I think that is the best Pre-Op diet I've seen so far, well other than the eat what ever you want ones. I feel like the insurance coordination was not on the ball. I asked her some questions and she seemed confused and didn't know exactly what my insurance was requiring of me. Hopefully I can get a clear answer from my insurance company. I really want to know if my weight-in from Oct count or do I start from yesterday. Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

I had mine shut with glue and I was told to just leave 'em alone until the glue fell off on its own. I think it took a couple weeks to come off entirely.

Itching is healing ... so I'd say not far off!! For me it was just under 2:weeks.

I think that's a totally normal reaction. You didn't want to sit there and watch everyone eat while you couldn't. I'm sorry that you ended up in that situation. I luckily only had to follow the liquid diet the day before surgery. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since my operation. I went out for the first time yesterday. I am at the soft stage diet now. I ate a meatball. Other than the waiter looking at my strangely, it was a good experience. I didn't feel deprived at all either. I don't know how to describe it, but I just don't want food like I did before surgery. You'll do great. Hang in there!!

I've noticed this too. I just as calm and at peace with the whole thing. I'm glad to, because I wasn't two weeks ago. Meeting with the hospital staff and doctor has really made me feel better. This blog as me ready for anything that might come up so I am ready to go!!

Congrats on getting your date! I too depend heavily on food but for the last four weeks I have been trying to adjust with my new tummy. I think it is completely normal to be a bundle of emotions up until surgery. Afterwards when you start healing up and are on your way down, all the nerves and stress are completely worth it

Hi Jana... I feel your fear my surgery is next Monday April 11... And nerves are definitely flying!. I'm not afraid of the pain..it's the whole surgery process..I'm a needle phob!...and the fear of what's to come. This Optifast 2 week diet is so hard but I'm getting through it. I totally get the nerves!, Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

During the pre op, actually towards the end of it, did any of you find yourself to be on edge? Today my wife, friends, and I went to the mall and decided to grab a bite. Well, we all wound up at Macaroni Grille. I was in there maybe three minutes and just got up and left. I dunno if it was my nerves but I couldn't sit there and bear to watch them eat. Has anyone ever felt this? I never thought I would feel this way about anything bit geez.....

Hi All, I am a new bandster banded the day after turkey day in Tijuana..I wish I could say my recovery has been easy but sometimes it's been HELL!! ..but I made it through week one WHOO HOOO I have a seroma at my port site :cry but thanks to this site I've read that it's not the end of the world, I've been putting a hot compress and a heat pad on it 2/3 times per day and it looks to be getting better I do have a question for anyone reading? :help:I have a scar that looks like it's not closing, my scars are closed with wire stitches and the one under my breast that is not getting air seems to be open still. Has anyone had this issue? I would post a pic but it seems pretty difficult to do. On another note this site has been tremendously helpful, my husband says I'm addicted LOL I look at this site everyday Thanks all Happy

Hello everyone: I am in the process of getting my requirements together so Dr. Woodman's office can send it all into the insurance company. I have seen the Nutritionist, the Pschye doc, seen Cindi, advised pcp to transfer copies of my records, asked pcp to send in comorbidities and referral. Now I am waiting. I guess I will wait a week and call Dr. Woodman's office and see where I am. So I guess I am on my way?? :clap2: Hope to get the surgery and loss 75 to a 100 lbs. Anyone else out there trying to do the same thing? Buffy

I can see my weight loss now. 1st pic-1week after surgery 2nd pic-6 week checkup 3rd & 4th pic-this Sat

I went for my 12 week follow up appointment on Friday. My surgeon was called out for surgery, so I met with one of the other surgeons in the office, whom I have met before, so I did not mind. My last follow up appointment was on October 30th (a month and 3 days after surgery) at which point I received a 1.5 cc fill, adding to the 2.5 cc's put in at time of surgery, for a total of 4 cc's in my 10 cc band. My surgeon was certain that I would need another fill by this next appointment (on Friday), however the other surgeon that I met with went on and on about how well I was doing. I have lost 30 pounds since surgery on 9/27/12. He said I have lost 23% of my excess weight in less than 3 months and said in his opinion I do not need a fill. When averaged out over the weeks since surgery I am losing about 2.33 pounds per week, which he said was amazing. I guess my question is, how many of you have gone in for a scheduled fill and not received one? He told me to call anytime before my next scheduled appointment to come in for a fill if I feel that I need one. What signs will I have if I need one? I am still very new to being banded and am looking for some Band Vets advice here. I do limit myself to a cup of food per meal, stay below 1100 calories a day, most days am successful of getting in all my Protein. I do snack between meals, still staying in my caloric range for the day. Like I said, I feel like I am missing something, or uneducated as to how I will know if I need a fill?? Thanks for any advice in advance and Merry Christmas to everyone!! Sent from my iPhone using LapBandTalk

Thanks Banded, I will check out the challenge. I started walking again about 2 weeks ago. Now I just need to start drinking more Water and pay attention to what goes in the mouth...LOL. Thanks again, Dawne 303/228/150 start weight/current weight/goal weight

Ok latest update I called Aetna customer service instead of pre-cert. They looked for the letter but said they don't have one imaged yet. The women said I could get it faxed when an image pops up. She said the letter should come this week though. I told her my story that I am on this two week diet and don't want to be doing it for nothing. So she said check back in a week if I don't receive the letter and it should be imaged and they can fax it to me! YEAH!!! She said the hospital already approved the surgery. I told her well the nurse will cancel without a letter. So please eveyone pray and cross your fingers that I am not doing this liquid torture in vein. I don't mind doing the diet as long as I know the surgery is going to happen on time!:thumbup: