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I got there at 6 am and went back pretty quickly. The nurse was doing routine stuff like asking my medical history, when was my last period, when did I eat/drink last, etc. Took my bp and temp. I had a temp of 100.4 and an elevated heart rate. She asked was I in any pain and I told her that my throat was very, very sore. I also have pink eye. I disclosed this last night when someone from the hospital called and went over some questions. She didn't say anything so I thought it must not be a big deal, even though pink eye is highly contagious. The surgeon was called and he said that he couldn't operate with all of that going on, I'm supposed to see him April 1 and he will reschedule my surgery then. That means I have to start this f***ing liquid diet and bowel prep all over again. I am so weak from the liquids and bowel prep and now I feel like my sore throat may mean I'm getting sinusistis, for about the 6th time since Thanksgiving. Right now, I feel so bad that I'm tempted to just say screw it, I have zero desire to live 2 weeks again in misery. I'd rather be fat at this point. I wish he would just tell me that as long as I don't gain back the 16 lbs I lost on the pre-op diet, then I won't have to go through that again. But I know that won't happen. Hopefully, this soured feeling I have will subside when I start feeling better. Not a good day at all. I'm very depressed.

Cheryl, I wish you all the best. I am just beginning the journey so I don't really "get" it yet. I have been reading how hard it is to prepare for surgery but the common thread I am seeing is how helpful it is to you during surgery. (if that's any consulation!). Keep your chin up and in three days the new you will begin again. God Bless! Lori

Bran muffin, I am sure this will tame down in a few more weeks. I remember feeling that way at first with my band, and thinking oh, no, I hope I'm not forming an alternate obsession! In the beginning, there is much more to be aware of as you are making changes, so you may constantly be thinking in one way or another, about food. After awhile it will begin to become habit and lifestyle, and the constant planning will ease up and you will just "be." Hang in there, it gets WAY better!

When I went for my appt with the nutritionist, I was told based on my weight, etc. I needed to take in 77 grams of Protein a day while healing. No one has told me to have less and my surgery was 8 weeks ago. I know that SOMEWHERE I saw a formula for figuring out how much protein I should have now that I'm over 40 pounds thinner. Just can't find it of course. Does anyone know the formula to which I'm referring? It wasn't the .4% g/lb....it was a more complicated formula. If anyone knows it, or if anyone weighs about 270 and was given an amount, that's what I'd go by. Thanks very much.

My turn to "weigh in"! I'm 5'4" and had my surgery 12/29/08. I've had one complication (my surgeon had to move my port 4 weeks ago), but that has almost healed and despite that, I've lost 30 pounds! I'm thrilled with my success, but it hasn't been easy ... I follow the Protein and eating guidelines to a t and exercise 5-6 times a week. I say go with what your psychologist says! You might also ask why your surgeon thinks gastric bypass is better for you. Also, follow your "gut" ~ your 6th sense will usually guide you to the right decision. Hope this helps!

I know how you feel. I was just approved last week. Phone would ring and caller id would be disappointing. It wasn't til I made myself unavailable, the call came in. Hope it's soon!

Jamie! We are on the same schedule. July 21st at 7:30 for me. Lucky me, I get a high protein/low carb diet. Started 7/1. So far, lost 7 pounds. Sounds weird, I have been eating meat and cheese and spinach all week. I feel like a salt lick. Best wishes to you!

Ive been through the first week of my low carb high protein diet. Im drinking the isopure and i can only eat yogurt, sf pudding and jello and unsweetened applesauce. My surgery date is July 16. its tough this first week has been very challenging for me, but i just keep thinking of how this will benefit me in the end and it keeps me motivated. good luck with everything!

All I remember is that between the six day pre op c lear liquids diet and the six week post op full liquids diet, I lost fifty pounds before my first fill. It certainly jump started my success. Which is what my surgeon told me he wanted.

So, for the past few weeks I started feeling off, but I kinda just ignored it. Which was, admittedly, stupid. But now I'm so exhausted it's hard for me to get out of bed and even now I'm typing this from my bed. I'm fatigued, achy, have had on and off headaches, am paler than normal, and have had a few dizzy spells. So, yesterday I called my doctor and she ordered me a bunch of labs that I have to do because she's positive my vitamin levels are off and she wants to find out which ones since many of them cause similar symptoms. She told me she'll call me on Monday with the results, but if things get worse go to the ER. I feel really stupid. I've had vitamin deficiencies before (specifically Vitamin D, B12, potassium, and Calcium) and should have realized that was what was wrong, but I thought it may have just been going back to work and getting back into the swing of things that was causing all the issues. Except my ignoring it just made it worse. I realize that malnutrition is a serious issue, especially with my surgery so I'm not really understanding why I was ignoring the signs. Anyway, I just want to know if anyone else had gone through the same thing? Is it hard to get back to the right balance? How long until I feel back to my normal self?

actually might be really helpful. a break every once in a while is a good thing for your routine. don't feel guilty at all. 5 days a week is awesome.

Just switched to UHC in early July. The insurance folks at Barix in Groveport submitted my information to UHC for approval. She said it usually takes 1-2 weeks before I hear something. I am keeping my fingers crossed!!! They didn't really tell her what the requirements were, which is kind of the way they were with me on the phone. They just said medically necessary..which I think is BMI > 35. Praying it all comes back for approval with no strings!!!!

Wow great job, I started at 264. Can you tell me a little about your eating and exercise routine? I'm 6 weeks out

I’m so sick of all the sweet things. Protein shakes, jello, sf pudding...I still have my organic low sodium broths that I add MRS Dash to but I need more flavors, lol. I’ll be on this stage for 5 weeks. Which cream souos are are you drinking? I’m confused because all of the labels seem to be high in sugar and carbs and low in protein. I do have protein packs I can add to them, however the carbs and some sugar content worries me

You were banded less than a week ago, you're probably swelling. I wouldn't expect any loss this soon. Your body needs to heal.

I'd say so. Soft stuff, well chewed seems to slide through a sleeve..guess it does a pouch as well. I was about 5 weeks out and shocked when I ate 8 oz of potato soup. Taught me to measure first

As long as there's now swinging from the chandeliers, I think 2 weeks should be a long enough wait. Take it easy and no hand stands for at least a month.

Before I go in, has anyone ever gotten results for something over the phone? I am usually told to come in for results because its against HIPPA* policy, okay I get that, but yet in the past I have either gotten a letter and at least one time been told over the phone. Anywho.. My surgeons assistant was suppose to call me today to let me know if my H Pylori was cleared or not. She reassured me that she would, but I decided to call and see since I hadnt heard. Well, she left for the day the time I called (earlier than her normal leave time.) My surgery is scheduled for the 30th. My PCP new of my H pylori since June, but didnt give me anything to treat it. She made it seem like it wasn't a big deal. She only decided to treat it after I questioned her to make sure everything was right on my 6th and final visit with her earlier this month. Honestly, I think she went to ask someone if it should be treated (she's a resident.) So I give the paper work to my surgeons administrative assistant on the 5th. She calls me days later to tell me that with the positive H pylori she cant put in my paperwork and I have to wait until I took the meds, retest and come back with a negative H.Pylori result. I sent in the sample earlier this week. I called the lab today, the results are there but they wont disclose to me, so I have to wait until Monday or have to go in. So I'm steamed because if I have to push my surgery back, not only will I have to wait until winter session to return to school, but the plans I had for the upcoming week are in limbo which includes my liquid diet (to lose 5 lbs my surgeon NOW tells me I should lose,) and travel plans. Nothing I can do really, but it does suck when you're patient with staff at the hospital and you wait, but realize in cases like this you have to take life by the balls. If it wasn't for the surgeon I would be having surgery at a different hospital.

I know I know that I have self-pity for not losing more weight. I can't stand the fact that I am tied to the scale. I weigh when I wake up and when I get home and before bed. If I am at the same weight when I get home from work as I was when I woke up I'll eat some protein but if I have gained any weight I'll just have a shake and then I get depressed. All I wanted was this last 2 lbs to come off before Tuesday because that is when I go for my fill. I don't want to have gained weight. What kind of message does that send to my doctor and I know I went overboard for the 4 days I had off. But is my body really punishing me for that. How can someone gain 10 lbs in 4 days? It doesn't make sense. I am losing sleep over this. Today I actually slept in and woke up at 5:30 so that was good for a change. I have this weekend off and hope to sleep in until at least 7:00. I have to take a xanax to help me sleep along with the other 3 prescription nighttime pills I already take. It is a cocktail that keeps me sane. I want to get off some of the pills I am on because most of them are for mood stabalizing and anti-depressants but how many does one person have to take before they feel like they can make it through the day without cutting themselves or the thought of suicide enters their head. That is what I have when I am not on my pills, I have cutter personality, I think about suicide all the time, I am a mean and hateful person and can't take a day with any stress in it. That is why I am on what I am on and now with the surgery and hopefully losing the weight will help my self-esteem enough that I can face people without the help of medication but I doubt it. I will probably be on something for the rest of my life. My grandmother gave me all her traits and she ended up having shock treatments done on her. Before the shock treatment she was delusional, hated the world, you just couldn't stand to be around her for very long because she was so negative and then after her treatment she was the best I had ever seen her. She and I were so close and I miss her so much. She is always on my mind and the good times we had when I was growing up and how we are so much alike. I just wish my husband could have met her because then he would understand where I get my personality and the things that I do came from her. When we first got together there was some stress because I was insecure and had been hurt so many times in the past. Robert was still close friends with his ex-wife and I couldn't see how 2 people that were involved could divorce and remain friends so everytime she would call I would get upset and cut myself. It made the world stand still and the pain go away. He didn't know how to handle it but since he saw how it hurt me he stopped talking to her. I didn't want her to know what was going on in our lives, it was none of her business and she always bragged about how good her life was and what she bought and how she did this and did that so well that he would tell me and I would feel like I was dirt compared to what she was, how could he go from that---a 5'2" 100 lbs beautiful woman to me...5'6" 200 lb not so pretty and then I gained another 70 lbs on top of it. What could he possibly see in me? All I have going for me is I have a great personality most of the time. I am caring, honest, protective, loving, I would give the shirt off my back if you needed one. I have a big heart to match my big body is what Robert says. He is silly. For our one year anniversary we decided it was time for me to get an engagement ring, well I told him I was a big girl and I needed a big ring, So he went out and bought me a 2.75 carat diamond ring, it is beautiful but sometimes I ask myself am I even worth it? He is a CPA so he has his tax and bookkeeping clients and works out of the house. He does all the housework and takes care of the 2 dogs. All I have to worry about is doing my laundry (which I am doing right now as we speak). He takes care of getting the groceries, making the dinners which has become even easier since I don't eat alot. We usually eat the chili he makes or hot wings from pizza hut. Right now I am on a hot dog kick where everynight I have one hot dog. It fills me up and it is protein so I don't mind eating it all the time. I go on kicks, I am sure you do too. Where all you want to eat is one thing and you can never get tired of it but after eating it for 2 weeks you are sick of it but it tasted so good while you were on the binge. That is what I do, my husband says I take everything to the extreme instead of eating a hot dog one night I eat them for 2 weeks, instead of making chili and eating it a couple of times, we make enough so I can take it for the week and I don't get tired of it. We had nothing yesterday for me to take for lunch so I took a can of artichoke hearts and ate them. They were low calorie and not too many carbs so it wasn't a waste and it filled me up enough to last until dinner. After reading on here I see where some doctors say no caffeine and others say it is fine, well coffee is my best friend in the morning, I usually have about 6-8 cups and then go to work and have another 20 oz's. It fills me up so I have a protein shake and then coffee in the morning and that is my breakfast. I figure as long as I have my protein I am doing good. By lunch I am hungry so the cup of food that I take I really enjoy. Sometimes depending on my mood I eat it real slow and take 20 min to eat it and then other times, I am so hungry I just want to get it down so it will fill my belly and I won't feel the hunger pains....is anyone else like that? I get so tired of people on here bitching because they have only lost 30 lbs in 2 months please people I would kill to lose that. It has taken me 9 months to lose this 15 lbs and I'm still fighting to lose. It is like a constant battle to try and keep the weight I have lost off and then to try and lose more, it just isn't happening. At work yesterday my team found out that we get to take the day off from working the front counter and go to Denver because we won "The Midas Award" which is a big deal for the company I work for. We usually see about 9,000 customers in a month and that is working with 9 employees on the team (most days there are 7-8 because of people taking vacation and days off) so last month with this transition we did with cable we saw 30,000 so we got this award and so we get to travel to Denver to meet with the head of the company and have lunch and get our picture taken. It should be fun, a day off from dealing with angry customers to having a leisure day to go meet new people and be recognized for what we achieved, what we did. It was 3 times the volume of people and our little lobby isn't met for that many people so most days they were out the door down the sidewalk waiting 30 minutes just to make a payment... I've been to the post office and had days like that. At our post office there is one lady who looks like she hasn't had a bath in a week, her hair is so oily it just hangs and she pulls it back with clips, but she takes forever with a customer and the sad thing is people in line have been there before and know she is the slowest person. She wants to sell you a PO Box, Stamps, Tape, Shipping Boxes...anything she can sell she tries. I know she is just doing her job but please lady there is a line out the door and sometimes you just have to go with it and get them through. I know we are supposed to sell at my job and I do get my sales every month and a nice commission but I get through the people. The average receipts for last month was 1,700 and I did 1.995 so I know I do my share of work. It is very nerve racking to have a line out the door and when people leave to take lunch or break you can just hear the customer's getting upset. It is so nice to take that 15 min and just relax and read. I have read just about every lap-band book out there and wish I would have read them before I had surgery but what I am learning now makes sense with how I feel and what I should be eating and how I should be losing weight...well we know the story behind losing the weight. I read the "Before and After" book but she had the gastric bypass but there are somethings she says that make sense even for lap band patients. The one thing she says that has stuck in my mind is nothing tastes as good as thin feels. I say that everytime I want to eat that big burger from Red Robins. Now I just eat it wrapped in lettuce but before I had restriction I would eat the whole thing. How could someone with the band eat the whole burgery and not get sick? That is how I was. I just ate whatever I wanted, now I look back on it and say how stupid I was for doing that. Well I am now off my soap box so hope you have enjoyed reading about a day in the life of Kelly. Have a good day and good luck with losing.

So, not only am I sane, but BUT BUT BUT I have my one on one with the surgeon in 14 days!!!!!! I get my surgery date then!!! I am sooo not a patient person .. I really hope these two weeks fly by

How long did it take your doctors office to send over the pre-auth to your insurance company? My file was completed as of last Thursday with all requirements and my surgeon said give the insurance company 2 weeks. Here I am a week later and just talked to the insurance gal at my surgeons office and she still hasn’t sent anything to my insurance company. I feel like a week was just wasted. Is this normal or am I just being inpatient?

Probably your stomach letting you know it's too soon for you to try whatever it was you had. There were quite a few things that I couldn't eat 3 weeks out, even though it was on the "approved" list. I had to stick with what didn't make me sick (which wasn't very much), and try things again a few weeks later.

This is my first blog here but i needed to start because my surgery is tuesday at 7:45am!!! I have been on the water and protein shakes for 2 weeks now. The scale has gone down 30lbs but the thing that i am so proud of with myself, is that i did not cheat. That is a huge accomplishment since i have a husband and 2 little boys!!! trust me i wanted to have some of that pizza, cheeseburger, and cake!!! sometimes i thought maybe if i just could have a lick:rolleyes2:!!! but anyways i started this journey at 266lbs at 5'5". that is the hightest i have ever been. the reason i chose the lap-band is first of all i am an ICU nurse and i know the effects of being fat and unhealthy:sad:!!! then i have two little boys 7 and 3 that i love more than life itself!!! since i have started i am down about 30lbs and people already see the difference, which is nice to hear. another reason i got on this site is i need more support because there is a lot of people who are just against having surgery!!! i understand their worries and concerns but very soon i am going to have some health issues that will be way worse than having a surgery that is a tool to help me. If food just wouldn't taste so dang good!!! i would probably be okay. but anyways if anyone has some good ideas on different things you can eat and drink post-op i am all ears!!! I will probably have pics soon i am going to have my husband take the dreaded before pic, than i will try to post new ones as much as i can.

I'm a week in. It gets easier after 3 or 4 days... I am really NOT hungry now. BUT if you don't follow the program, you have to start the 3/4 days over again... and again, and again!