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First I was extremely HAPPY because they have my approval.... all set.. then guess what I found an ERROR.. a typo... look at the authorization period..... uhhhhhhh... duhhh..... 12/31/2007?? So I have emailed my bcbs sc, contact and asked them to FIX the typo ASAP! Last thing I need is a typo holding me up! (THIS IS WHY.. I'm a HUGE proponent of employees logging IN to their insurance websites) Better to be PRO-Active rather than RE-Active! Here is the information about the entry you chose: Authorization Number: 07xxxxxxxxxxx2 Authorization Status: APPROVED Authorization Period: 12/31/2007 to 01/01/2008 Rendering Provider: MENORAH MEDICAL CENTER Service Location: INPATIENT HOSPITAL Facility: MENORAH MEDICAL CENTER Days: 001 Authorization Status: APPROVED Authorization Period: 01/10/2007 to 01/10/2007 Rendering Provider: YOUR PROVIDER Service Location: INPATIENT HOSPITAL Service: 43770 LAPAROSCOPY, SURGICAL, GASTRIC RESTRICTI Units: 001

My first fill was 6 months postOp. My antique Band total capacity amounts to 4cc. Different era 10 years ago.

Wow Tracey...its so good that you caught that typo when you did!! You're always right on top of everything!! I noticed that your authorization date a little lower down is for 1/10/07 to 1/10/07....can I ask why that is?

Feel free to reach out if you want. I had my surgery 10/28/2017 with Dr Illan 5' 5" HW: 259 CW: 235 GOAL: Healthy and hard 140-ish?

Hi guys , I'm Adrias im 35, live in slidell, louisiana. I was banded on 10-10-07 by Dr Zapada in Monterrey mexico. I am done with just the liquid diet and starting soft foods now . everything has been great since i decided to have this done . Just looking forward to losing some weight. I have lost about 20 as of today 10-25-07.

Thank you for recommending this! I bought this DVD pack from Circuit City that has 10 different workout programs on it, but I can't keep up with them yet. I'm looking forward to trying something a little easier to start with.

Tricia you and I are in the same boat! I was banded July 13 and I am DYING for real food. I was on a liquid diet 10 days prior to surgery and now full liquid for 14 days after and I am so OVER broth and protein drinks. I see my doctor tomorrow and I am hoping I get a fill, my bf did and her follow-up. I'm not even wanting real real food I just can not wait for mushie so I can have eggs and ham salad. Keep us posted with what happens at the doc tomorrow and I'll do the same

30 minutes or 1 - 1 1/2 cups is what my doctor told me. Call your doctor and see why he set such a low time limit. I agree with Marimaru - if I imposed a 10 - 15 minute rule I would try to eat too fast and hurt myself. As it is I usually have to allow 5 - 10 minutes for the first few bites.

I went through that stage. Man, the week before I started my pre-op liquid diet i probably gained 10 pounds just on my "goodbye food" tour. I had no idea what i would or wouldn't be able to eat. I remember sitting in McDonalds a year ago, eating a bacon egg and cheese McGriddle with tears streaming down my face as I mentally said goodbye to bacon egg and cheese McGriddles FOREVER. well, almost a year has passed, about 11 months actually, since my surgery and I am down about 90 pounds with NO FILLS and I can eat any type of food that I want to eat. the thing that has changed is the head hunger. I just don't feel it the way I did before surgery. before, food consumed pretty much every waking moment of my day. what will i eat next? what will i eat after that? what is the next meal? when is the next meal? i can honestly say i do not think that way any more. it's like a switch was turned off in my head and it really quieted that voice. sometimes i don't even think about food until my stomach makes a noise and i realize that i haven't eaten and i need to eat! can you imagine??? i certainly couldn't have imagined that *gasp* i wouldn't want to eat unless i was actually feeling hunger. so, although i can eat any type of food i want to eat, including bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddles, i rarely eat things that aren't serving a purpose. that means, i eat proteins first, as they fill me up, then veggies, then if i have it whatever starches there are. i can eat bread, but i don't eat a lot of it. every once in a while i will have a mcdonald's (or wendy's or burger king) hamburger with the bun...the difference is, I don't have the whopper or the big mac, i just have the regular size and it really is enough. i get the taste of whatever i am craving and then i move on with my day. if i have fries, i order the small instead of the super size. i also wait the 20 minutes after eating a meal to take a drink (like my doctor suggested) i still eat chocolate and cookies and cakes and sweets and things that aren't super duper healthy, but i don't have them every day. i usually have a cheat day or a special event that i save those things for. really, i don't think about sweets and starch and stuff like that in the way that i used to anyway. Holidays are really the only time where i indulge in sweets. can you say Cadbury eggs??? I'm so glad Easter is over and they have stopped selling these little eggs of evil anywho, i said all of that to say that what you are feeling is perfectly normal, at least it was for me. do what you need to do to mourn, but also know that if you chew long enough you can eat pretty much anything. the good thing about chewing is that once something spends a lot of time in your mouth and you really taste it for the first time, you realize that it wasn't a fantastic taste in the first place and you don't really want to eat it again. really, things don't taste the same to me anymore and i've lost the desire to have a lot of things that i once thought i loved. do i miss taking huge bites of delicious huge burgers? yes i do. sometimes, usually when it's that time of the month, but for the most part, i have competely changed my eating habits. i don't count calories or weigh foods or do any of that stuff. i think that now i eat like a normal person would eat. I have been watching my co-workers (who are all thin) and their eating habits this past year and i have discovered that we tend to now get hungry at the same time of day and eat roughly the same amount of foods and be full with the same serving size. this has given me joy to know that for the first time in my life there is something normal about me. i am eating like a normal person. not vacuuming the food down, not eating until i feel pain, not stuffing myself silly with supersized portions, but really eating and enjoying the tastes of food, all kinds of food. this band has actually opened up a world of food choices for me. i have discovered new flavors that i never knew existed or never paid attention to because i used to just bypass the chew stage. in the mouth and down the throat it went. no longer. now i spend time with food and since i'm spending time with food in my mouth, i want only delicious tasting things to go into my mouth. anyway, i could go on and on and on and on, but i will stop there and just say good luck to you and maybe give you hope that this isn't the end. you will be able to eat foods you like and love and you will be able to enjoy eating. just take it one day at a time and don't be discouraged. you will be just fine.

I have just discovered BariatricPal, and today I discovered the blog section. I have been planning to do a blog to document my surgical journey, just for my own records, and maybe to have a place where I can refer close friends and family who ask about my journey. My journey began in January 2017. I had a partial nephrectomy on January 23rd - due to kidney cancer. My cancer was discovered completely by accident in December 2016. A diagnosis like cancer - even one as easily dealt with as mine - makes you think about your life, your future, your past, and what you want to accomplish. I have been fighting to lose weight and get healthy since about 2000. In my 20s, I got very healthy - working out 5 days a week doing cardio and strength training. In 1996, mid 20s, I gave birth to my lovely daughter, Amelia. I gained a LOT of weight. I think I topped out at about 265 on the day of delivery. I lost the weight rather quickly after birth, getting back down to about 165 over about 10 months with diet and exercise. I held that weight for about 3-4 years. Then, in my 30s, I started to gain. I gained about 15 lbs a year and before I knew it, by 2004, I was around 250. So from the age of 34 til now - age 47, I have yo-yo'd up and down from my highest weight of 287 down to 225 - but have hovered the last 6 or 7 years at around 265-275, going up and down the same frickin 10 pounds over and over again, no matter what eating plan and exercise plan I tried - and I tried EVERYTHING! Most things several times. Then I found out I had cancer, and I am immensely lucky to have had it found early and have it completely removed, not requiring any chemo or radiation. It certainly was a wakeup call. So over the next few months, I researched WLS, and my best friend had her WLS on 2/14/17. Her journey has been phenomenal - and she has been an incredible resource. So I went to my first informational meeting in May 2017, and my official journey started then. I have now completed all the flaming hoop jumps for the surgeon's office and also my insurance company, and my surgery has been approved and scheduled for 1/31/18. I start my two-week liquid diet this coming Wednesday. I am sooooooo ready.

I also have PCOS and have not ovulated in 10 years except for meds and by chance I ovulated 3 times in 2012 on my own. I am going to banded the last week of February. I have one child that I conceived with fertility treatments, but I have been unable to have more children. I have also lost 4 babies. I am hoping that the band will help me get healthy that when God does bless me with another baby, I will have a healthier pregnancy this time around. Wishing you the best!

I am 3 months post op gastric sleeve (10/6/2017). I have lost 55 lbs. I am losing clumps of hair and realized I am getting nowhere near enough protein. I live on a US military base outside the US and it is difficult to buy a lot of fresh protein here. I have been bringing protein bars in my suitcase and I cannot buy shakes here either. I thought I was eating okay until I started losing so much hair. I just had to order Muscle Milk on Walmart.com and Amazon.com. I just cannot eat enough protein otherwise.

I feel cheated by yesterday's appointments. The appointment with the nutritionist went just fine and even as I'd expected. I do wish that I'd remembered that appt was first because I would not have "hassled" her with my questions on insurance. But the appointment with the nurse practitioner...I'm not sure it was meaningful. I ended up missing work because everything involved with the insurance and then determining if I would even be qualified to do the sleep study kept me there far too late. I got there at 9:45 and didn't leave until well after 2 - and how is that anything I should have expected based on a weigh in? She listened to my heart and lungs and deemed me healthy. Yeah. Not concerned! I find it funny that - from the mouth of my mom, years ago, a Nurse Practitioner - doctors, PA's and nurse practitioners listen to your heart and lungs because "the patient expects them to". I hate it when they do that and there isn't any reason for me to be there other than - you called me in to give me bloodwork results. Bloodwork results say I'm fine. So why would you listen to my heart and lungs? They were fine three days ago... That RNP didn't really offer any suggestions. She didn't really converse with me about how this past month went. She didn't converse with me about what a goal might be for the next month. So what was the point? To keep me from work? To keep me from the place that is giving me the money to pay for this unnecessary visit? Do health practitioners even get that? And then. To talk to that "advocate", and I use the term very losely, and get so much misinformation. Why'd I go there? If it's on me to determine my eligibility - why don't I just do this myself? Yeah, stupid question. I know there is so much more that happens. If it's on me to examine my diet and determine what to focus on next, why don't I just do this myself? Wait. I am. And according to my obesity surgery rider - I am expected to fail this program. :cool: That is just hard hard hard to stomach. Ok. So I'm going to spend the next five months relearning how to eat. But if it really is about what I eat - no preservatives, no artificial crap, no no no...then won't that cause me to lose weight? As I have read through here I have now developed a fear of losing weight. Why? Because yes, I can lose it. But as has been my history for the last ten years, I won't keep it off. And I have too much risk for too many bad things and I don't want to gain it all back yet again. So I want to make this happen and I expect to be successful. Because I want to keep it off for good. This band isn't about losing the weight. This band is about keeping the weight off. And I will do that with lifestyle changes - doing what I inherently know and simultaneously turning over new leafs. But how do you take this seriously when the goal of this "supervised weightloss program" is to "fail"? How does that start my adaptation if I have to consistently go behind myself and un-do my weightloss? :huh2: On another note, I am seriously looking forward to Thanksgiving. I think my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving and it's because of the years that I had with the most wonderful Mom that ever lived - my very own. She was not a super cook through out the year. She cooked a great meal every night of the week - or we had leftovers - but she was time conscious and with both my step-dad and my dad (at different times) being unwilling to try some things, she was not necessarily adventurous with her cooking. But Thanksgiving. OH, Thanksgiving. :thumbup: We'd have my family to our house. I grew up in a very large house but was an only child. My grandmother, mother of seven, lived in a very small house. So they came to us. My mom would go all out. We lived in California and had a beautiful patio that would accomodate enough tables and chairs for 60 people to have a sitdown meal. We would have a smoked turkey and a roasted turkey. We would have all the fixings. But the best thing to me was the stuffing. I love the stuffing because I loved loved loved making it with my Mom. We'd set the bread out to stale the night before. And we'd get up at 6am to break it into pieces and saute it with butter, onions, celery and our secret seasonings. It was so amazingly simple - and to me, it can't be beat. Add whatever you want - the turkey is the best way to get flavor in the stuffing. We'd get the birds stuffed and into the ovens. And then we would prep as much of the rest as we could. My aunts would start arriving between 10-11 and they would join us. My mom never pushed or cajoled anyone to do anything. If YOU wanted to make the waldorf salad - fine, make it. If someone else wanted to make whatever, fine, make it. If you were tired of cooking/baking/clearning - then go watch or play football, depending on the time of the day. I loved every single Thanksgiving I had with my mom. They were and always will be priceless. And I hope to pass this on to my children. Whenever they join us. In the meantime, I've ended up with a very fantastic MIL. She and I are good friends and my one gripe about her is that she moved to Wisconsin. Nothing against WI at all - it's just too far away from Texas. She, unlike me, grew up with a mother who absolutely would NOT share the kitchen. The downfall of not sharing the kitchen is that my MIL did not get to learn a great many of wonderful things in the kitchen that her own mother knows. Prior to last year, my MIL would never have even tried a Thanksgiving feast. She felt inadequate, which is truly sad because she is a great cook. Last year, my husband and I hosted Thanksgiving. Her self-proclaimed goal was "to watch [me] and to do as [she] was told". And she did. And she did well with the dishes she did. And she was surprised that oven-roasted turkeys are better than bagged (i.e. steamed) turkeys. This year, we are hosting Thanksgiving again. And she has declared she will do more. She wants to help with the stuffing instead of observing. Back to the stuffing, my mom and I would get up and get everything chopped. And we'd both stand at the stove with two skillets running each. It is amazing how much stuffing fits in a bird. A Lap-Band® side note- maybe this is the wrong attitude but I don't and will never feel guilty about eating the stuffing. It is the first thing to go even though we always make two additional pans of the stuff. There are never leftovers of the stuffing. One serving a year is not my downfall! My MIL - wants to be the other person at the stove this year. I love that. I especially love that I have MIL that thinks she can learn from me. That is the greatest compliment I think you can give someone - learn their ways.:smile2::thanks: I can't wait until Thanksgiving. Not to mention, we have the whole week off and that will just be a very pleasant break! And furthermore it means we get to see the MIL and the S-DIL. They are in WI right now "winterizing" their house and they come HOME that week! Hubby and I are both looking forward to their arrival! I love this time of year!

There are all kinds of very brief "exercise at work" suggestions. Just a couple of minutes standing up, stretching, or chair exercises might relieve some of the stress you are feeling about missing exercise. I do 10 minute walks because I can't face the prospect of a longer one. Maybe you could try a 5 minute walk at lunch, IF there's any time left over. Anything you do consistently, no matter how small, will build your exercise habit and get you headed toward more exercise in the future.

yes, i have unbearable gas pain in my left shoulder and neck. sometimes it is so bad i feel it in my left ear. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does, it hurts. I've been taking gas x. I surely hope this goes away. I am 10 days post op.

Hi Ladies, I'm not banded yet, but this thread is very interesting...I know I'll face some of this, so first, let me thank you all for sharing. I'll be ready with my quips and comebacks when the questions come! Regarding wardrobe challenges - I completely understand. I am a clothes horse - if I had enough money and enough rooms in my house, I could fill them all up! I love clothes, shoes, accessories and all of it! :cool2: There's a concept called capsule wardrobing - you purchase 5 - 10 pieces of clothing and then mix and match the garments to create many more outfits. I have worked as an Image Consultant, and this is one of the concepts I used to teach my clients. If you use consignment shops and sales to build your capsules at significant points in your band journey, you will continue to look your best at each stage. Self-esteem is SO important - please, please don't wait until you have lost all the weight you want to lose to dress your new (and evolving) body. I've already started virtual shopping for the new wardrobe I KNOW I'm going to need once I'm banded - and I can't wait to make some of my virtual picks a reality. Realize that you will WANT to wear different colors, fabrics and styles than you did when you started your journey - bring attention to the beautiful parts of you while your work-in-progress continues! I'll always wear shorter skirts because I LOVE my legs. I'll always wear v-necks and wrap dresses because they highlight my beautifully bountiful bustline and I pray I don't lose that while I'm losing the excess weight! Love yourselves, my sisters-in-the-struggle, and dress like the gorgeous women you are!

I'M ON MY WAY TO A NEW LIFE. THIS IS MY THIRD DAY OF LIQUIDS AND DOING PRETTY GOOD, HAVE A LITTLE HEAD ACHE TODAY BUT OTHER WISE OK. I'M LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO TALK TO THAT IS HAVING SURGERY AROUND 10-29-2008 SO THAT WE CAN COMPARE WHAT IS HAPPENING TO US AND CHANGE RECIEPES.:smile:

Hey vicbrad hang in there we will get through this and be better for it. I'm really looking forward to 10-29 and starting a healther life style, please stay in touch about your progress.

Sandi, thanks for your inspiration! Lots of perspiration, too- what do they say, "10% inspiration, 90% perspiration"? I'm up to walking two miles a day, which is enough for now. Next will be joining a gym.

Sandy, you certainly are an inspiration! I just read your blog post, Use It Lose It, and I found it amazing. Right now, I am not doing any exercize, although I need to be. I have membership at the Y, but I have only gone once in the 2 years that I have had it. I too don't even do my own grocery shopping, I send my daughter to do it for me. I have a pool and don't use it because I panic when I get into water over my head (I am a real shorty), I just can't swim anymore with this weight. When I walk, I cramp up and lose my breath and need to sit down. I am really frustrated because I am not able to get up and make myself do anything! I have 10 months to go before I can get banded, and I just don't know to get started. Maybe if I follow the way you did it, I can do it. I am really frustrated with myself....

I have not posted in a while. I have been pretty depressed with my weight lose. I know part was my fault because I was not exercising, but I have been so tired with no energy! I finally forced myself this week to join the gym. I have my best friend and my sister join with me so if one is unable to go the other will be there sooooooooo that makes me have to go!!! I am only able to do 1.25 miles right now but that is better then nothing and OMG the elliptical is WAY!!!!!!! out of my league right now. I was only able to do 2 minutes on that. I went out and bought 5 new shirts (1x size) WOOHOOO.... because my best friend told me I was starting to look like dumpy because they were getting to big on me LOL...... so I found some good sales! and teased her when I lose some more weight she will have some new shirts! I just hate to buy items when I wont be wearing them very long ( I hope!!!!!) We have planned a trip in January for 10 days to Kauai!!! I am so excited to go to Kauai, but I sit here and worry about clothes and what I will have to order because there will not be any stores that will be carrying shorts and swim suits in Dec. I dont know what size I will be and if I order items off the web will they fit, will I have to return them or what??? I don't like to order off the web much because unless you try them on you dont know how they will look or feel. Crossing fingers my goal is to be under 200 by then! All I have to say, don't give up! All the other post and blogs from people about how much they lose and how fast! I think as long as I am losing even 5lbs a month is better then nothing!

Yep. Got the band on 3/1. Feel fabulous. 30 minutes of surgery, and three hours later was doing laps around the hospital itching to go home. The worst part was pre-surgery. All that gunk you drink to 'empty' yourself dehydrated the daylights out of me and I was nauseous, headache, and generally wanted off the world. Even the bruising on my stomach isn't bad. And I could lift my little toddler on Day 3. So...yipee. And it seems I've lost 10 lbs in the last week (is that possible?)

I have been creeping around LBT since November of 2011 and have never posted because I didn't think I had anything to add. A little back story on me... I never struggled with my weight until my mid 20's. Even when I gained 50 pounds in college I was able to lose it with no problem. After having 3 kids in 3 years in my late 20's I gained 150 pounds and had tried everything to lose the weight with no success. After several years of trying to lose the weight I gave up and told myself that my weight gain was genetic and there was nothing I could do about it. Then in November of last year I lost a very close uncle at the age of 53 due to complications related to Type II diabetes. I made up my mind then that I would not leave my husband and kids at such an early age because of weight related issues. In November I weighed 325 lbs and I am 5'7". I rejoined Weight Watchers and was able to loose only 8 pounds before I finally considered WLS. I went to a surgery seminar with a friend of mine in December and saw the surgeon for my consultation in January. I was banded on March 16th and have not looked back. Today I weigh 273 lbs. I have lost 52lbs since November and I feel great. I am able to eat healthy and I can honestly say that I don't miss the high fat, high-sugar food that I used to eat. I also used to be a caffeine junkie drinking a pot of coffee and 3-20oz Diet Cokes a day. Now I drink 8-10 glasses of Water a day and I may have 1 tea. For those of you considering surgery or those that are worried about how you will do I am here to say that if you believe in your heart that this is the only way you can lose the weight and you are ready to give up your old habits, then you can do it. It will save your life. I know it has mine.

Oh and Jim - GREAT job on the weight loss!! You're rocking at this! I bet 47 lbs in 10 weeks feels amazing!!

I can't believe tomorrow is Tuesday and on Friday I will be joining the banded club!!!! The days have gotten easier to cope with, but I am a little concerned. I keep seeing that people loose anywhere from 10-25 lbs during their pre op diet and I have lost 2 lbs according to my scale :/. I have nothing but liquids and exercise as often as I can. Anyone else discouraged in the same way?!!