Looking for September 2010 Bandsters

[chriper 0]

I am really sorry that you feel that way, especially at 20. No matter your size, you should know that you are a person of beauty and worth if for no other reason than God saw fit to make you. I pray that you use this waiting period to really get to know yourself, appreciate yourself, and love yourself. If you do that it will make the wait that much more easier as well as your recovery afterwards. I would suggest that you get back out and enjoy your life. hang out with friends, take the time to make new ones, get moving, and get ready for your improved life.

[sarwenc 0]

Hi all-

I got my insurance approval today! I will hear from the scheduler on Monday. One problem- now I'm not so sure any more! I've started worrying about the wisdom of having a lap-band®. Can I do this on my own? Will it hurt my body long-term? etc.etc. So, I'm looking for some thoughts from you others who are pre and post surgery! Any concerns, regrets? Thanks so much!!

[1reign 0]

Well guys I was banded Wednesday the 8th so I'm 2days post-op and doing ok. Still some discomfort but no pain meds today yet. Trying to drink my Protein and have had a little apple juice and couple sips of peppermint tea. Can't drink much have gas discomfort and the nerve pain in my left shoulder not excruciating but bothersome at times.

Good luck to all you that have dates coming up and to those who are playing the waiting game this was my 3rd surgery in 5 months but I'm glad I persevered down about 24 from weight pre-op diet.

[Mandyrae 0]

I'm Back! Went in for surgery at 7:30 and was home by 1:00 I am feeling pretty good. I am on my liquid meds, they also put a Go Pump in me (pain meds automatically are being pumped into my tummy area through a tiny tube) Doc said it will last until Sunday then I can pull the tubes out. Have to carry the pouch with me for the next 3 days but it's worth it.

I can't believe I am finally banded.. its been a long journey! Good luck to the others getting banded today and I hope your surgery went as smooth as mine!

[sourmissg 0]

Congratulations to the following people that had surgery today, hope you have a fast recover. When your feeling better please keep us posted with you progress.

Ally UK, Angelpix, Jmariedel, Jlr58, Mandyrae, Desiree1972, Drm1123, Shushuandanniesmom

Missjoany, Congratulation on your surgery on Saturday. Wishing you well.

Congratulations Sarwenc on receiving Approval from your Insurance.

Well guys I was banded Wednesday the 8th so I'm 2days post-op and doing ok. Still some discomfort but no pain meds today yet. Trying to drink my Protein and have had a little apple juice and couple sips of peppermint tea. Can't drink much have gas discomfort and the nerve pain in my left shoulder not excruciating but bothersome at times.

Good luck to all you that have dates coming up and to those who are playing the waiting game this was my 3rd surgery in 5 months but I'm glad I persevered down about 24 from weight pre-op diet.

1Reign, Thanks for posting glad to hear your doing well. I remember reading you had a couple of things going on, at last things worked out for you.

Sept 13th for surgery wooohoooo

I have a Sept 23rd surgery date. I didnt have to go throught the insurance approval process because my insurance doesnt cover the surgery - so I am self pay which make the process faster I guess.

Lovemysg & Mrsmontero12607: Congratulations on your surgery dates, hopefully this time will fly by for you.

My Update: NO i am not at 98% ! Actually today 2 days Post Op I am more like 90% back. Immediately Post Op and yesterday Morning I felt 98% - now I know why - DRUGS and PAIN KILLERS !!!! After they wore off I felt more like 80% to 85 % most of yesterday. I don't try to take drugs if I can / I try to tough it out. Immediate Post Op my brother gave me the full dose of the pain killer plus the anti-nausea pill. Yesterday after I woke up I and felt more like myself ( I guess that is a good thing - becoming more normal / regular ) I stopped taking both medications and toughed it out - so I felt more like 80% back. I did feel some pain / discomfort in my tummy area - probably at the port area but it is probably a 2 or 3 on the pain scale at most.

Today I still have some discomfort in the tummy / soreness so I put it at a low 2 becoming a 1 in a day or two if it continues.

All is well otherwise. Yesterday all I consumed was about 2 Protein Shakes, A Gatorade and a half plus 6 -7 sugar free popsickles !!! ( YEAH The sugar free popsickles do ROCK and I highly recommend them Post Op ). I feel pretty good with a little sensitivity in the stomach / belly button.

I hope all my fellow September Bandsters are doing well too.

-Brian :smile::smile::bored:

Brian, You may not still feel 98%, but you are still doing good. When my turn comes, hoping I do just as good.

Brian what brand sugar free Pop-sickles do you use.

[NoMoBand 278]

Approved!!!!! Will enter lapband land September 17. Can't wait!!!!!!!

[Butterfly2010 0]

bandednellie- Ohhh so glad to hear about your post op stuff. Im so glad you are doing well. I am only 3 days post op and every day seems to be a little better. I cant wait till all this gas pain is gone. And ohhh I cant wait to be able to sleep normally and back on my stomach!

Butterfly- congrats and welcome. I am so glad to hear that you are doing so well.

Good luck to those getting done today! Woo hoo!

Question for those now banded.. When did you finally go to the bathroom-bathroom?

And

Is it just me or is it impossible to drink the recommended amounts of post op stuff? Today is the first day that I had mor then a few sips of anything. I had about 4 oz of protien drink and 2 teaspoons of pudding. My diet recommends 8 oz of drink 5 times per day...

To answer you question about drinking: I can get down all my recommended Protein but I have not been hungry otherwise...reading Brian's post he ate several popsicles already..no way for me as of today...but I guess each day is different as is each person... I changed from my prescription pain meds to tylenol and seem to be doing okay, but even drinking that seems a lot in addition to the shake sips.

Bathroom-Bathroom....nothing...:bored:

Hope you are starting to get better! :smile:

[AnnaOz 0]

Approved!!!!! Will enter LAP-BAND® land September 17. Can't wait!!!!!!!

Congrats on the approval and Date. We share the same date :smile: Good luck with the next week!!!

[Brian-LA 0]

Hi sourmissg ! Yeah I think I am pretty lucky and got a great surgeon ( after 1000 plus Lap Bands ) so I do think I am on the minimal pain scale.

Right now in my freezer I have Dreyer's sugar free fruit Bars ( very yummy and basically almost like frozen juice bars ) and Crystal Light Sugar Free Pops. The Dreyers ( I am not sure if they are in your area, they are here in Southern California ) are 25 calories per bar and the Crystal Light is 15 calories per bar. The Dreyers Fruit Bars came in assorted flavors - I got two different types for variety.

-Brian :smile:

[missjoany 0]

Ok tomorrow is the D day, at 0515, O dark 15, before the kitties even get up. Wish me well, and give me good thoughts. Everyone's story has been inspirational. I am doing the Clear Liquids prior to surgery and it is difficult. The more I drink the more I pee!! Got my bag all packed. Not sure if I will get any sleep tonight though.

[missjoany 0]

Thank you for reminding me that I had some sugar free popsicles in the freezer. I am so hungry the day before surgery. Glad I took the day off from work.

[Brian-LA 0]

Hi all-

I got my insurance approval today! I will hear from the scheduler on Monday. One problem- now I'm not so sure any more! I've started worrying about the wisdom of having a lap-band®®. Can I do this on my own? Will it hurt my body long-term? etc.etc. So, I'm looking for some thoughts from you others who are pre and post surgery! Any concerns, regrets? Thanks so much!!

Hi Sarah !!! I hear where you are coming from. I was there just a few days ago and I am two days post op. If you don't know my story my ENTIRE Lap Band / Realize Band Journey has all happened in about three weeks time ! I went to my seminar on August 11 and I got Realize Banded on Sept 8th ! So I was on the extreme super high speed fast track and in addition I was self pay of $ 16,000 - so in addition to having second thoughts on the Band I also had second thoughts on spending $ 16,000 !!!! So I had second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth thoughts on both banding and spending.

But 2 days Post Op, I am very sure I did the right thing. The decision to band or not band is all yours and unique strictly to you. In my case I am in a pretty good spot in my life and I seem to have a lot of things going for me and going well but my social life / social skills suck / I lack confidence there. I have been overweight almost my entire life and it is one of the few remaining areas of my life I have to fix ( #1 Overweight then #2 Social Life ). In my case, the Realize Band is just another tool for me to get where I want to go. At the very least, I know I will be A LOT healthier without the excess weight. I KNOW I will be that much more confident in life also. I don't think I am a bad looking guy and good looking normal weighted women talk to me as I am now... BUT I want to be better. I know I can be better and do better.

The choice I had facing me is continue going on the path I was going - basically nowhere or make dramatic and drastic decisions that will change my life. I chose to change my life. Surgery isn't for the feint of heart. It is a big deal even if you don't have to pay for it. You can ( although it very rare ) die. I have tried dieting, I did Jenny Craig, I even did a very expensive $700 a month special weight loss program at UCLA called Risk Factor Obesity which is monitored by doctors and nurses, go thru classes, etc... and they didn't work for me ( UCLA RFO did work but I didn't stick with it - you can probably say the say the same thing for all weight loss programs they work if you stick with it ). In the end I knew I also had to have another CONTROL MECHANISM to help me lose weight like a gastric band which would make me throw up if I overate. I knew I needed extra help to help me from all the emotional eating.

That was my decision and my decision making process / my story. Yours will be different and you will have to make the pros and cons of your story and make your decision OR JUST WAIT until you do make a decision. There is no rush right ? In my case I just couldn't / DID NOT want to wait a second longer to begin my new life.

I hope that helped.

-Brian :smile::smile::bored:

[Brian-LA 0]

MissJoany Good luck to you and I hope you have a speedy recovery. I am not going to say there won't be any pain but anything worse a damn has some pain to it. And the pain of being severely overweight is nothing to a gastric band procedure. Anything of value and purpose is worth a little gas pain, muscle pain or tissue pain that GOES AWAY IN A FEW DAYS.

The health issues associated with obesity are much more severe than a few cramps for a few days. The benefits of shedding those pounds and other problems is so much more enticing. You just got to do it. And you will. It all begins in a few hours. You will be fine. And in a few months YOU WILL BE GREAT ! :smile:

-Brian

[CSinTX 0]

I am not going to say there won't be any pain but anything worse a damn has some pain to it. And the pain of being severely overweight is nothing to a gastric band procedure. Anything of value and purpose is worth a little gas pain, muscle pain or tissue pain that GOES AWAY IN A FEW DAYS.

The health issues associated with obesity are much more severe than a few cramps for a few days. The benefits of shedding those pounds and other problems is so much more enticing. You just got to do it. And you will. It all begins in a few hours. You will be fine. And in a few months YOU WILL BE GREAT !

-Brian[/Quote] Well said !!!!!

Hi sourmissg !

Right now in my freezer I have Dreyer's sugar free fruit Bars ( very yummy and basically almost like frozen juice bars ) and Crystal Light Sugar Free Pops. The Dreyers ( I am not sure if they are in your area, they are here in Southern California ) are 25 calories per bar and the Crystal Light is 15 calories per bar. The Dreyers Fruit Bars came in assorted flavors - I got two different types for variety.

-Brian :smile:

Hi Brian, these are the exact ones that I bought here in Texas. The berry box I thought was excellent.

Approved!!!!! Will enter LAP-BAND®®®® land September 17. Can't wait!!!!!!!

Congratulations :bored:

Gas pain finally gone.. sleeping on my tummy again.. all is good.. except the Steri Strips on my incisions are driving me nuts!!! My incisions ITCH ITCH ITCH!!! Thank goodness my finger nails are not that long becuase I would be all scratched up!!

Completely understand your feeling. My belly was so itchy, it was driving me crazy. I finally found that if I rubbed lotion on my belly it helped. The rubbing satisfied the itchies and the lotion protected my skin from my finger. When I went to the doctor this past Wednesday, they said I was having a reaction to the steri tapes and the quickly took them all off. I have to admit the itchies are gone but my skin under the strips are still bright red.

I get banded on the 29th. Im so excited to begin my band journey. I've been waiting 6 months since my first appt. I got everything prepared other then finding a decent Protein drink

Lean Body is great. 40 gms of protein, 17oz drink and around 200 calories. Plus it taste great.

will someone please help me add the Sept Sweeties pic to my sig

thanks

If you look on page 36, it will give you step by step instructions.

I am scheduled for 9/29 so the countdown has begun!

Congratulations

HAD_ENOUGH -- It's all down hill from here. Congratulations on getting your approval and quick surgery date.

donnalys - Doing better today?

highlojack -- getting around any easier?

sourmissg -- Hi Gale, was your info submitted this week? I sure hope you get great news real soon.

1reign, Mandyrae - Glad to hear you are doing so well.

sarwenc -- Hi Sarah --- So happy for you. :w00t:

mrsmontero12607 -- You have made a great decision.

ebonykisses -- Glad to hear that Cigna came through for you. They were great with me.

danide - How are you doing today? To answer your question about the bathroom, it was day 4 after surgery for me, than about every 3 days.

lovemysgt, - Congratulations on your surgery date

missjoany - hope you are doing well today on your surgery date.

[sourmissg 0]

Hi sourmissg ! Yeah I think I am pretty lucky and got a great surgeon ( after 1000 plus Lap Bands ) so I do think I am on the minimal pain scale.

Right now in my freezer I have Dreyer's sugar free fruit Bars ( very yummy and basically almost like frozen juice bars ) and Crystal Light Sugar Free Pops. The Dreyers ( I am not sure if they are in your area, they are here in Southern California ) are 25 calories per bar and the Crystal Light is 15 calories per bar. The Dreyers Fruit Bars came in assorted flavors - I got two different types for variety.

-Brian :smile:

Thanks Brian, I have not seen any of the Dreyer's Sugar Free Fruit Bars around here, but I have not look for them. I going to check around to see if I can find the Dreyer's bars.

sourmissg -- Hi Gale, was your info submitted this week? I sure hope you get great news real soon.

Cathy Yes at last. Tuesday at my Dr appointment I was told that my paper work was submitted that day.

Thursday I had my last visit with the Nutrition Consult before surgery and so many words she said I was approved.