new here and I have alot of questions

angela1der · June 7, 2008

Hello, my name is Angie and i am 26 years old. I have a bmi of 41.7 and i weigh 278 pounds. I go in this thursday to meet with my doctor at the bariatric clinic for a consultation. I have not exactly told him which procedure that I wanted -RNY or lapband but after reading what i have read so far, lap band sounds the best option for me. I am sure my story is very similar to everyone else's otherwise I wouldn't be here and you wouldn't be here. I am looking to know as much as I can about this procedure before I make my decision. I don't know what my insurance will cover but i hope they will cover some. I have a future ahead of me, I graduate from college this coming april 2009 and I want to be prepared for the kind of life that I have chosen, which is interpreting. It means being able to wake up in the middle of the night for an appointment and being able to look good when people are watching me. I can't be out of breath walking down the hall and trying to interpret as someone gives a tour. Plus I want my health back. I have PCOS, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, fibromyalgia and the doctors still can't figure out the last issue I have, they just say lose some weight and it will never manifest itself. I hope they're telling the truth, cuz i read that it could be ms. eeek. so, I want to know everything from people who have already had the surgery. What did yiou have to do before, during and after. I know my doctor will tell me everything but I want to come with as many questions as I can have. What do you remember that you wish your doctor had told you before or what you do think was the most important advice that someone gave you. This is a life changing procedure and I need to make sure that I am able to handle it all. This is why I want to know everything. Thanks!

Brandy~ · June 7, 2008

welcome! You're in the right place to get answers to all your questions

Queen of Hearts · June 7, 2008

Hello, my name is Angie and i am 26 years old. I have a bmi of 41.7 and i weigh 278 pounds. I go in this thursday to meet with my doctor at the bariatric clinic for a consultation. I have not exactly told him which procedure that I wanted -RNY or lapband but after reading what i have read so far, lap band sounds the best option for me. I am sure my story is very similar to everyone else's otherwise I wouldn't be here and you wouldn't be here. I am looking to know as much as I can about this procedure before I make my decision. I don't know what my insurance will cover but i hope they will cover some. I have a future ahead of me, I graduate from college this coming april 2009 and I want to be prepared for the kind of life that I have chosen, which is interpreting. It means being able to wake up in the middle of the night for an appointment and being able to look good when people are watching me. I can't be out of breath walking down the hall and trying to interpret as someone gives a tour. Plus I want my health back. I have PCOS, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, fibromyalgia and the doctors still can't figure out the last issue I have, they just say lose some weight and it will never manifest itself. I hope they're telling the truth, cuz i read that it could be ms. eeek. so, I want to know everything from people who have already had the surgery. What did yiou have to do before, during and after. I know my doctor will tell me everything but I want to come with as many questions as I can have. What do you remember that you wish your doctor had told you before or what you do think was the most important advice that someone gave you. This is a life changing procedure and I need to make sure that I am able to handle it all. This is why I want to know everything. Thanks!

Hi Angela1der!

I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, borderline diabetes, sleep apnea, metabolic syndrome, and a liver that was diagnosed as non alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, which means it's storing fatty deposits and was so huge that my liver doctor said the next step is getting on a donor list. :thumbup:

When my endocrinologist told me I MAY have 10 years left to live, my choice was made! :biggrin2: I chose the lap band mostly because my liver doctor wouldn't help me get the surgery for the gastric by pass or the RNY due to so many of his patients having complications..not saying everyone does because I have a friend that had gastric by pass and she's doing great, but it was his decision to help me and he chose the lap band over all the other diet surgeries and I would say it is because it is the least invasive and totally reversible.

I had a 10 day pre op diet that only had 3 days of liquids before surgery and an 8 week post op diet that to me really just gets you used to measuring your food and making sure you don't get into too much that may at first be hard to digest or even keep down..I still have to really be careful when I get an adjustment.:thumbup: If you have seen a nutritionist that's great..if not I would highly recommend one so you will see how much a change this MAY make. Some don't have too hard a time because they had already started eating healthier before surgery.:Dancing_wub:

Now I'm down 40 pounds less and my liver after only 2 months with the band has started regenerating and my blood pressure meds have been cut in half and my cholesterol meds have been weaned off as well. I just went to the family doctor to check the liver panels and cholesterol readings, so I'll find out in about a week how they are.

The hardest thing I have had was getting used to the portion sizes. I'm limited to 1/2 cup per meal with Protein shakes in between the meals. I am very satisfied with that and my doc said I was going twice as fast as I needed to so he's happy. :biggrin2:

I am the first patient my family doctor has that has a Lap Band and she asked me how everything was going..(she's was so curious that she had to find my port, check my scars, ask me tons of questions)..and I told her I was doing great and feeling the best I had in years. I also told her that if she has any patients that were wondering about the Lap Band that she was welcome to tell them my story. It has been an amazing journey for my health and well being. Nothing has ever made such a positive difference in my whole being as having this band put in! I would recommend it to anyone that has tried dieting the conventional way and exercising to get it if their doctor considers them a candidate. I'm a bit older than you and I just wish I could have had this band even 15 years ago!! I am sold on it and with anything else in life..you have to give to get..so yes, you won't eat like you used to but the end results will be a healthy long life. :thumbup:

The questions I had for my doc..this was after getting on this forum..was exactly what band did he use and what size it was. Did he put in a fill during (or in your case would he) surgery?? How much and how often does he plan on adjusting..every 4,6 or 8 weeks?? I'm a research participant so I have to go in every 4 weeks. Really my seminar covered almost every question I thought of and then this site is full of peoples experiences and questions they themselves have asked. I joined AFTER my surgery, so you are a step ahead of where I was!

I wish you well on your surgery and my number one opinion on what you should ask your doctor is only that he be available to answer any more questions you will have later..I sure did!:thumbup: Keep us posted on your progress and I think it's a great idea that you are checking out all avenues! :thumbup:

ReadySteadyGo · June 7, 2008

Hi! I was banded in Febuary so I can't answer too many of your long term questions, but anything you wanna know about the first few months of surgery I will be happy to help.

Any questions about prefixes or abbrev. I will be happy to answer there is also an abbreviations section that you might want to check out. I would give you the link but I don't know how to do that.

Anyway Welcome.