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This blog is being created to keep me stay focused on my goal and have accountability as well as hopefully be a resource for others who are considering starting their own journey. My journey started a few years ago when I started researching Weight Loss Surgery (WLS). I went to my very 1st seminar and found it quite informative. Until my husband went to the seminar he was not very thrilled about what I was considering and after that I have really have had his support. At that time most insurance companies were still not covering the Sleeve (VSG) and I myself had never heard of it but found myself quite intrigued with the information. At that time I was considering the lap band procedure. After the meeting I was ready to make my change but got really discouraged when the group that the Dr uses to handle all the insurance and scheduling, etc seemed to be more about themselves and the money they could make than what was good for the patient. Since I got the huge vibe that they were all about the money I decided to call my insurance company to see if there were other options and explained how this group wanted to charge for everything and it was all out of pocket and they sd it wasnt covered by insurance. My insurance encouraged me to find another doctor. I decided to do more research and decided surely I can do this on my own, yea right! So here I am 3 years later. I made my decision to go ahead and have WLS in October 2011 when my lab test came back to the dr showing that I was no longer a borderline diabetic that I now have type II diabetes and knowing my family history I knew this wasn't something to play around with. My doctor asked if I had ever considered WLS as if it was his idea, lol, and I told him I had and he wrote up a referral for me and it was ready for pick up in just a couple of days. So here's my calendar of events so far: October 25 - had annual physical and blood test done Nov 1- Drs appt - got results from test and Dr sd wd give referrel for WLS Nov 10- Bariatric Seminar Nov 11- Drs appt regarding blood sugar levels Dec 12- Drs appt Jan 12- Drs Appt ( gotta make sure I see doctor for 6 consecutive visits to keep insurance from denying surgery) Jan 12- 1st visit with surgeon Jan 17- Psych eval- was told eval wd be sent over by next day to surgeon with approval Jan 25- Upper GI and lab work done Feb 3- 5 mth visit with Primary doctor Once my 1st visit with the surgeon was done, I have felt as if I had been on a rollercoaster of dr's appts but I totally don't mind at all! My Dr appt with my surgeon went very well. One of the requirements they have is you must bring a support person with you to your 1st appt. They don't care whom you choose as long as the person is 18 or over. My surgeon told me the sleeve was a excellent choice and provided my husband and I with very informative information of what to expect in the coming weeks as well as when I have the surgery and my hospital stay. He also encouraged for me to go ahead and get plugged into their support group that they have which I find is a very good idea. I could use all the support I can get. One of the things that made me feel so much better about this is the whole process is totally different then the process I started going on 3 years ago. This is being handled as any medical need where everything can be filtered thru my insurance instead of made to feel as if this is elective surgery therefore if you want a support group you have to pay for it out of pocket, if you want insurance filed you have to pay for it out of pocket. I am so glad my Dr referred me to such a fantastic group. I have done my research and the Dr's are excellent and have had no deaths from the result of their surgery. In fact I didn't find not one negative thing about the entire group. One thing I do want to say is that the surgeons office gave me a list of Psychologist that I could use if I chose too to schedule my Psych eval. I actually called and spoke to one of the staff at one of the offices and I could not believe the fees, besides the 20% copay they sd they charged $185 to actually send the eval to the surgeons office and insurance did not cover that she did a quick calculation and sd it looked as if I wd be paying somewhere around $400 for my 1st appt with filing fees included. I decided before scheduling I should call my insurance company (Cigna open access) and I'm so glad I did. I called my insurance and they sd my employer actually has a EPT plan with the insurance and they gave me a list of names and numbers along with getting a EPT # for me and told me I could have up to 3 visits free and there wd be no cost for the evaluation that insurance wd take care of any cost. They also informed me if I needed any additonal visits after my surgery or even before that the visits are only $10 a visit. WOW! If I had not called my insurance I wd have paid out quite a bit of unnecessary money and I don't know about everyone else but I work hard for my money and have no desire to throw it away unnecessarily. I decided to go ahead and start working on trying to lose weight before my surgery and start walking to work on my endurance so once I have the surgery it won't be as difficult. I already know that alot of people are going to ask why have the surgery if you can lose weight on your own, the problem is i have never in 20 years been able to get below 201 lbs and the last few years with the pre diabetic sugar highs and now full blown diabetes it is even harder to lose weight. WLS is not a quick fix but it is a tool to help people get the help they need. I'm looking forward to my journey towards good health and am very open to words of wisdom and encouragement. Tammy

Okay, so I know that technically this belongs in the post-surgery section, but I wanted to share a little about what it was like with the pre-lapband readers because I found this forum so helpful when I was pre. Guess what - I'm feeling great! My surgery was at 7 am yesterday morning and my husband and I were back at the hotel by 9:30 am (we live in another state form the surgeon I chose.) Everything went extremely smoothly. I felt good when wegot back to the hotel, but very groggy, and in a little bit of pain. I took the pain meds and slept till about 1:30. Then we went out for a walk. The doc wanted me to walk 10 minutes, 4 times a day, starting right away. I went with my husband to get lunch and had about half a cup of turkey broth. I ordered turkey Soup and asked the waitress to just give me the broth from the top and leave out all the noodles and chunks and she happily did so. My husband had a steak sandwich and it didn't bother me at all to see him eat it. The rest of the day we watched Tv, read, and went on the little walks. Today was a tiny bit rougher - more pain, especially in my left shoulder and the port site. But nothing unbearable and I actually enjoyed some outlet shopping and got a cute new bag! This evening I am pretty sore again and the doc told me to expect that the second day would be worse than the first day after surgery. My husband and I fly home late tomorrow evening and I couldn't be happier. To anyone in the Seattle area still looking for a surgeon: I totally recommend Pacific Weight Loss Surgery. Good luck all you pre-bandsters!

I had sleeve surgery in July and I still do not like to eat much at all in the mornings. Even water, to me, is uncomfortable until about 10-11 am. Doc says it's normal, and for some it goes away and for others that's just an adjustment you have to deal with. I don't like eggs so I can't help you there, sorry! My mom who had lap band a few years back has the same issue about eating in the mornings as well. Good Luck!

I’m about 9 almost 10 weeks ago. I have been struggling with vitamins. They had me start with the celebrate tropical twist bariatric vitamins, made me sick no matter when or how I took em. Tried one of the bariatric advantage capsules, makes me sick. Barimelts made me nauseous, what do y’all do for your vitamins???

I've always taken Centrum (or the generic equivalent from CVS or Walgreens). I started with the chewables and after a few months moved to the regular tablets. I guess you could check with your clinic to see if it's OK for you to move to tablets. I think I was about six months out before I did, but then again, at 10 weeks out I was taking other supplements in tablet form, so maybe ...??

Those are great points Heather. With how different the post op instructions from surgeons on vitamins, for instance I was told I didn't need calcium after three months and no b12! Thank god, I did tons of research. I wouldn't be surprised if forums 10 or 15 years have posts from lots of people complaining of complications due vitamins deficiency.

so you have to have vegetarian drinks? never heard of that being a requirement pre-surgery. Is that a sleeve thing? My dr. put me on a liver shrinking diet pre-surgery. Protein drinks /bars and one lean cuisine at dinner. lost 10 lbs pre-surgery.

Yeah...before this process my day consisted of waking up anywhere from 8-10 am and drink coffee and smoke my cigs till around 6-8 pm then have dinner. I had to get use to eating lunch and dinner. I still don't do breakfast instead I have a protein drink

i wish i had that problem for a while.i gained 18 lbs of my 62 lb wtloss over 2 months.these past 2 weeks i have been doing liquids during the day a meal in the evening.junk snacking.very angry at myself.im in a size 10 need serious help.had a fill yesterday.im ok w/liquids in the day.i get really hungry in the evening

Leena, I too went through this about 9mths ago. I am just over 2 yrs out and I had a horrible time getting in enough calories. I would consume about 600-700 calories a day and I was so weak but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't force myself to eat. My situation lasted for about 4.5 months and I was withering down to nothing. I went and talked to my surgeon and he referred me to the nutritionist and removed about half of the fill I had. At the time I had 6cc's in a 10 cc band, I never threw up and nothing really got stuck I just couldn't eat, no appetite. I too felt like an anorexic, and that was NOT the reason I got the band. So my suggestion to you is to see your doctor and have some Fluid removed. Maybe go see a nutritionist to make up a daily eating plan for you if the fear of gaining weight back is a serious concern, it was for me. Since I started seeing the nutritionist I have since regained control over food and feel great. I have even had fluid added back to my band and have since maintained a healthy weight for myself. I hope this helps and good luck!

Way more valid than a lot of the points being made in this thread. I have a good friend who lives there and loves it. On some island I believe. Veering even further off topic, my first venture into retail back in the 60's, we used the word Charleston as our cost code for all products since it's 10 letters long and there are no repeat letters. So, if a car stereo sold for $200, and cost us $120, the code would have been HCN . Sorry, stupid comment but stupid is as stupid does

I would say that was true for my feet too - I would have had a wide fitting had they been available but they're just not common here in Australia. Now I can fit my feet into more dressy shoes than I could but they're still wide. And 5 year old Eliza's teeny little feet look like little squares too, they're just as wide and shapeless as mine. But I was a size 10 and am STILL a size 10, just can fit into more size 10's kind of thing.

My daughter is six feet and wears a 12, be glad you aren't a 12 as that's a whole new ballgame. Special order, plus she's a partial vegetarian and will not wear leather, it's not a fun day in shoe shop world! All I know is that I was a size 8 1/2 before children and supposedly you can go up a size with each child, I'm a 10 now and it's definitely the length of the foot as my width has not changed but I'm a barefoot person so they do tend to spread from what I hear. Nancy:smile:

I had a meltdown at the gym early this morning (Saturday). I'm on the treadmill listening to music and all of a sudden I started thinking about the surgery on Tuesday and I got so emotional and started crying on the treadmill. I immediately left the gym, drove across the street to this restaurant, ordered a coffee with sweet n low, a cup of grits, 1 bacon and english muffins and I ate it all. Then I went to the grocery store to finish buying all the foods I need for after I come home from the hospital and the liquids I need for the day before surgery. My 10 day pre-op diet consists of 2 Protein shakes, 2 fruits, tons of Water and 2 healthy choice/smart ones/weight watcher meals per day. I hope I didnt mess myself up by eating that piece of bacon and the english muffins. I stopped crying once I ate that food. I wonder why did that happen to me like that. It happened so suddenly.

Just needed to quote this. In the IP you tell us you can't afford to go. Yet later you tell is you can afford to go, in fact you tell us you save 10% of whatever it is you earn but you chose not to use it for your health care. Hmm. Interesting. So which is it? Can you, or can you not afford healthcare? Did you lie to us in the OP? or did you lie to us in you later post? Very interesting response. By the way, your weird and wonderful perspective on my country is very entertaining, albeit completely wrong. How many times have you visited? I have visited the US on numerous occasions along with many countries on most continents. Your observations seem to based on hastily researched google study as opposed to anything of merit of value. I say this because they are again wrong. So very, very wrong. There is actually a lot about the US to love. A lot I love on my biannual visits there. But your blinkered vision on healthcare and sociology are not one of those things.

I felt amazing 10 weeks after surgery! You should he just fine. Just continue to follow your doctors orders and by week 10 you should be ready for your trip.

I felt great 10 weeks post-surgery. I'm sure you'll be fine. Happy travels.

I've started my pre-surgery diet a wee bit early. I'm supposed to start it 3 weeks prior, but I've started it about 6 weeks early. I've lost 12 pounds so far and I feel great! I'm a bit hungry, but that's okay. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels, right?! My pre-surgery diet, from my nutritionist, is a Slim Fast shake for breakfast, a Lean Cuisine for lunch and a Lean Cuisine for dinner (or variations on that theme). I can have Jell-O pudding (low/no sugar) and low-fat yogurt as a snack. Plus I have a no sugar fruit popsicle for dessert. I'm drinking a TON of water and Crystal Light Iced Tea every day. I'm constantly in the bathroom, but that's okay. I get a lot of exercise getting up from my desk and walking down the hall. I'm eating apples and bananas too and every now and then I eat a salad (with regular dressing - gasp/horror!). I can't go completely off the deep end! LOL Basically, I've stopped drinking diet soda and eating out. I'm limiting my carbs (no bread, rice, potatoes, tortilla's) and cheese intake (sigh - I miss cheese). My goal is to lose 10-15 pounds before my May 13th surgery (found out today at my pre-anestesia appointment that my surgery was bumped up by two days! I'm at 300 now (ugh), but the realization that soon I'll have a "2" as my starting number of my weight has me giddy. The other realization is that I'll never, ever be over 300 lbs again. Oh my god...I could cry. I am so happy.

Can you switch from Effexor to a different anti-depressant? I was on Effexor for awhile and hated it! I gained weight and suffered from such serious constipation that I usually felt like I was giving birth whenever I was finally able to deliver. And oh, the pain! Now, I am one of those people who never, ever gets constipated, not even when I am on major pain meds. And my normally good blood pressure shot up. I had to take meds for that. I suffer from major depression. I am now on a cocktail of meds and am doing well without the horrid side effects of Effexor. These are as follows: Wellbutrin, Selexa, Topomax. My blood pressure is now fine again, I am no longer taking meds for this, and I can poop regularly and without pain. And even though my band has been defilled since last August I am still wearing size 10 jeans. Sorry about all the poop info but it came to be a real obsession of mine while I was on Effexor.

After struggling and yoyo dieting for years, I finally decided to get the sleeve. I thoroughly researched the surgery and my surgeon before doing it and I am SO glad I did! I can't believe the energy I have now! I think getting your mind prepared is most important! I think that if I wouldn't have made sure that I really committed to changing my lifestyle, I wouldn't have been so successful so far! For those of you that decide on this surgery, you must be compliant or you just won't see the results! Rule of thumb...don't try to eat bad foods. Just assume you can't and DON'T!

Thanks Zeus. I have actually tried to cut back on the almonds lately but I have been eating the wasabi & soy flavor by Blue Diamond. They have 170 cal per 28 nuts. Not sure of the fat but I will def switch to raw from now on. Being stuck at 163 for 2 months is disheartening because I have been doing all the right things and im less than 10 lbs from goal. Im just getting scared that I'm going to gain all my weight back. This journey us just an emotional roller coaster! Lol!

Wow 20 lbs! My doctor gave me a limit of 10 lbs for the first 6 weeks. I would call your doctor since you are having new pain. They may be able to just ease your mind

I view my lap band as a little cop in my tummy. She stops me when I eat too fast, forces me to slow down, and firmly tells me "That's enough" when I'm full. If I don't listen to her, there are unpleasant consequences. Whereas before, I was a fast eater and it takes a good 20 minutes for the brain to register satiety. So I would eat a lot, very fast, and overfill my stomach. I've always been fine with eating the "right" foods - my problem was volume. The band prevents ~90% of my overeating. The other 10% consists of pure sweets and high-calorie liquids which I find easy enough to avoid so it's been working well for me.

Like Anwyn said, the trapped burp sensation is way different than the restriction. When I need to burp, I get a lot of annoying gurgles (gross) and bubbles. Sometimes if I stop eating for about 5-10 minutes, I'll suddenly hear/feel a bubble going down from my pouch (the gas moving through) and then I'll feel relief. And like I said, if I burp myself (by gagging), I feel relief. There are times where I don't get this, and once my restriction hits, I notice a very different feeling in my stomach, and I feel full and don't want to eat any more, and remain full for hours. I've tried a lot of different things, and the only thing that works is gagging myself. I've tried taking really tiny bites, twisting, turning walking around, chewing everything super super thouroughly... Oh well.

With my recent loss of 98 pounds, nothing fits me anymore - hooray, this is a good thing! So I went out and bought all new clothes, 10 sizes smaller in pants and dresses. I am down to a medium-large top. So my husband and I went out shopping, and the first place I went to was the plus-size department -that is where I went for so many years, so naturally I went there. So I began to take clothes off the rack and hold them up to me - and I had this weird expression on my face. My husband asked what's wrong? With a tear running down my cheek, I said everything is too big here! When I held the clothes up to me, I was lost behind them - you could not see me! My husband said you are in the plus sizes - this is not your department any more. So I went over to the regular size department and I pulled out a size 14 pants and a medium top and went to the dressing room to try them on. My husband and everyone around the dressing room heard this loud thump - that was me falling against the wall with sheer amazement about what I saw in the mirror. "Is that really me?" I walked out of the dressing room parading my new look to my husband, who was smiling and laughing and said "way to go!" I left the store with my new clothes, and for several hours I was smiling in disbelief that I was in a size 14. Yesterday, I decided it was time for a new look - a makeover to go with my new body, so I went to the hairdresser. I had my hair lightened - I am now a light auburn - and I had a major cut and style. I wanted my hair cut to frame my face instead of hiding it. I had my eyebrows shaped and lightened. I wore no makeup to the hairdresser so it would not run from the heat and the hair dye. So when I first sat down in the chair, my face looked a little drawn and tired looking. When I was finished with my makeover, It had taken at least 10 years off of my face - my face had a more perky look -I could not stop looking at myself - LOL! My husband told me I look like a million dollars! For those of you don't think the LAP-BAND works - think again! For those of you who had LAP-BAND surgery and are at a plateau and are not seeing the scale move much lately - hang in there! Yes there where times when I felt that I could not do this, or looking at all the total weight I needed to lose. And even seeing the scale stop moving for a while. I just hung in there and never gave up hope. So this is why I say- please hang in there.. So this makeover for me has done wonders - I'm feeling better and looking better. Even other people can see the difference in the way I walk and in the way I interact with others - its a brand new me! I'm getting a lot more stares now - but in a good way. No longer do they say, "look at the fat girl" or "she has a pretty face"- and we all know what that means LOL. I still have 30 pounds to go to reach my goal weight, and I'm sure I'll do that by October 26 - which is one year in.:smile2: CHECK OUT MY BLOG FOR MORE ABOUT MY JOURNEY. http://life-after-lap-band.blogspot.com/