All new to me

[healthyme2 0]

Hi Everyone,

This is actually the first phase in my journey to gettting the lap band surgery. I looked into the surgery about a year ago, last April in 2007. My health insurance did not cover the lap band and along with my primary care doctor felt like the bypass was too drastic in my approach for help. I prayed about it and asked God for guidance and that if it was in his will for me that TriCare would cover it within the next year. Well the surgery was on my heart and mind again and found out that it was covered!

You see, for a long time I was in denial that I had allowed my weight to get out of control. I had always battled with my weight but had been able to lose it to a comfortable size I had accepted. The smallest I have ever been is a size 11/12 in high school and about a couple of years after that. After having my 2nd child, I was up to a size 18, lost a few and went down to a 16. Over the years, I went back and forth between 16 and 18 even after my 3rd child. I always thought a size 18 was my absoulute maximum size and that I could settle for that and go no higher. Usually, I would always bounce back, motivate myself and get back on the yo-yo nightmare. Well in attempts to do better, I tried so many fad diets, research diets, hynosis, adipex medication, b-12 shots, you name it. Only to gain more and more weight , and the short reach of rock bottom I am in today.

I have gotten so tired of dieting, so tired of exercise, fasting, with little results that I have no energy to continue on the roller coaster ride. Here I am today as of my first consultation 2 weeks ago, 288 pounds at 37 years old, and 5'7 inches.

My husband and kids are on board and feel alot more comfortable with the lap band surgery.

I have to admit. I am a bit anxious, I want it now, but my mind and heart is scared to death wondering if I really will be able to enjoy life as I knew it with my family. I am a good cook, enjoy good food. My culture of course contributes to alot of this. I am natively from Louisiana. I have never learned how to cook my favorite dishes the healthy way, as if there is no other way. I also have found MYSELF FEELING LIKE I NEED TO EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT THAT FANCIES ME, LIKE A SINGLE PERSON SEWING WILD OATS BEFORE GETTING MARRIED. I KNOW THIS IS A LIFE CHANING EVENT. IT IS SOMETHING TO COMIT TO THE REST OF MY LIFE, IT IS THE BEST THING THAT I COULD DO FOR MYSELF AND MY FAMILY, BUT AFRAID TO LEAVE THIS LIFE BEHIND. HAS ANYONE FELT LIKE THIS BEFORE THIER SURGERY OR AM I ALONE? THANKS FOR ALL THOSE OUT THERE, WHO WENT TOOK THE TIME TO READ MY POST. I KNOW IT WAS A LONG ONE.

SINCERELY,

HEALTHTY ME 2!

[RestlessMonkey 7]

A lot of people get the "last meal" syndrome and if I can tell you any one thing, it is this: that nervous wild overeating is unnecessary. Most bandsters can eat anything they want post op. Period. Some can't eat certain foods. My doctor said his patients seem to have their biggest problem with stringy red meat. For some it's dry chicken, or white bread. Some can't swallow their own saliva but honestly they are TOO tight..their band needs to be loosened. Some can eat ANYTHING in any proportion and they need restriction. The "green zone" or "sweet spot" is when you can eat anything you want, but in a much smaller portion (think child sized) and be satisfied with that for up to 5-6 hours.

For example you'll have a junior burger and a few fries instead of a double with cheese, large fries and a shake. You get my drift.

Will you miss food? Most likely not, because you won't be denied food. This isn't a diet...it isn't a "force you" diet. I never ate my huge portion of dinner and wished I could eat twice as much, but I DID wish that I could be satisfied with the smaller amount my BFF ate, for example. Well Sha-ZAM! With the band, I am increasingly satisfied with less food. It's wonderful!

You will have to deal with "head" or emotional hunger. Some say that goes away too....for others it remains an issue to be grappled with. But you won't sit crying eating a pea while your family chows down on gumbo. :tongue_smilie:

You will work the band your way (some diet, many don't) but realize you WILL choose what to eat. Odds are, except carbonation (no beer...although some DO drink it anyway! for me, its not worth it) you'll be able to eat almost anything.

[healthyme2 0]

Thanks so much for the insight! I really though that my changes would be drastic and that I could never have real sweets again. I do understand that I will need to listen to my body and really determine the difference of real hunger verses head hunger. I tried weigh down diet years ago. It sounds like the concept is the same, with an additional tool to actually have less of an appetite.

Thanks again!

Kim:cool2:

[healthyme2 0]

Hi again!

I also noticed that you had the upper GI because of a fatty liver. Does that mean that your surgeon did not approve you to have the lap band because of your liver? Is upper Gi the bypass. Have you or anyone heard anything about the sleve as well as the VBG and if there has been major problems for people who have had them?

[RestlessMonkey 7]

An upper GI is just a test where you swallow barium and they x-ray it as it goes down. I had it because I have a large hernia. Doc wanted to make sure I wasn't aspirating or anything. It's not uncommon for docs to require one preop. I also had an abdominal ultrasound, chest x-ray, blood drawn, and an ecg before the surgery. I got the lap band. My first surgery, when my surgeon tried to place the band (I was out, on the table, in the OR) my liver was too large for him to move it out of the way! (I had a 3 week preop diet to shrink it but, honestly, read on here other people who cheated and got the band so I figured I'd be ok too. I was WRONG! I lost 15 pounds during that 3 week diet but I didn't do it right) SO after 2.5 MORE weeks and doing exactly what my surgeon said, i got the lap band on 8/29. I would honestly NEVER have vertically banded gastroplasty (VBG) Way way way way too many issues with that. I don't want the sleeve, either. I just don't want my insides cut up. To me that seems like I'm willing to punish myself or something. I like my band (which I consider a pacemaker for my appetite) just fine thank you!

Oh and my liver wasn't/isn't diseased...no impaired funcion etc. Just was too thick the first time for him to shove it out of the way without either opening me up (thank God he didn't) or risking lacerating it. It's not too common an occurence, but it does happen. Unfortunately!

[HALEY 0]

Hi Everyone,

This is actually the first phase in my journey to gettting the lap band surgery. I looked into the surgery about a year ago, last April in 2007. My health insurance did not cover the lap band and along with my primary care doctor felt like the bypass was too drastic in my approach for help. I prayed about it and asked God for guidance and that if it was in his will for me that TriCare would cover it within the next year. Well the surgery was on my heart and mind again and found out that it was covered!

You see, for a long time I was in denial that I had allowed my weight to get out of control. I had always battled with my weight but had been able to lose it to a comfortable size I had accepted. The smallest I have ever been is a size 11/12 in high school and about a couple of years after that. After having my 2nd child, I was up to a size 18, lost a few and went down to a 16. Over the years, I went back and forth between 16 and 18 even after my 3rd child. I always thought a size 18 was my absoulute maximum size and that I could settle for that and go no higher. Usually, I would always bounce back, motivate myself and get back on the yo-yo nightmare. Well in attempts to do better, I tried so many fad diets, research diets, hynosis, adipex medication, b-12 shots, you name it. Only to gain more and more weight , and the short reach of rock bottom I am in today.

I have gotten so tired of dieting, so tired of exercise, fasting, with little results that I have no energy to continue on the roller coaster ride. Here I am today as of my first consultation 2 weeks ago, 288 pounds at 37 years old, and 5'7 inches.

My husband and kids are on board and feel alot more comfortable with the lap band surgery.

I have to admit. I am a bit anxious, I want it now, but my mind and heart is scared to death wondering if I really will be able to enjoy life as I knew it with my family. I am a good cook, enjoy good food. My culture of course contributes to alot of this. I am natively from Louisiana. I have never learned how to cook my favorite dishes the healthy way, as if there is no other way. I also have found MYSELF FEELING LIKE I NEED TO EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT THAT FANCIES ME, LIKE A SINGLE PERSON SEWING WILD OATS BEFORE GETTING MARRIED. I KNOW THIS IS A LIFE CHANING EVENT. IT IS SOMETHING TO COMIT TO THE REST OF MY LIFE, IT IS THE BEST THING THAT I COULD DO FOR MYSELF AND MY FAMILY, BUT AFRAID TO LEAVE THIS LIFE BEHIND. HAS ANYONE FELT LIKE THIS BEFORE THIER SURGERY OR AM I ALONE? THANKS FOR ALL THOSE OUT THERE, WHO WENT TOOK THE TIME TO READ MY POST. I KNOW IT WAS A LONG ONE.

SINCERELY,

HEALTHTY ME 2!

I have 4 kids and had gotten to 272. I am also 5'7". I had my surgery last week. I did the same exact thing before. I felt like my last meal was approaching, and I better get it now or never. It feels a little weird... like nothing has been done. I am not hungry, but that does not mean I am not tempted. It is very hard to prepare my family's meals without sticking my finger in it. I never realized how much I did it until now. The head nurse at my surgery center told me that it is not a brain band. The brain will be the hardest part to fix.Good luck we can do it!

[healthyme2 0]

thanks so much for your encouragement. It is good to know that i am not alone. it is also encouraging to hear that it feels like you didnt even have the surgery! i am becoming more and more excited about the surgery!

[healthyme2 0]

thanks again, i have also noticed that you have done quite well! i am looking forward to the surgery. did your diet help to shrink your liver or did the doctor put you on special medication. Where can i get information to start the diet? so far, i have had my psy evaulation test, seen the psychologists, spoken with my pcp doctor for approval. i had phenumonia over the holidays, or either a side effect to Lyrica medication , so i am concerned if my health will prolong the process. i had heart palpitations and are still having them. this is unual for me, so i went to ER by my pcp's request, that is where they thought i had phenumonia. A CT Scan was done, and confirmed pheumonia. Since i am off of Lyrica, i hope that the symptoms go away and all will be normal for my surgery.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

I want to second the "can't tell you had surgery" too...if not for my small scars (and the fact that I saw it on x-ray LOL) I wouldn't think I really had it either. I do burp a little more, but that is getting better as I adapt to the band.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

The weight I lost so far I lost preop and the first weeks post op. (Don't want to set you up for disappointment) I just now at fill #3 am feeling restriction and eating less. I COULD diet (some do) but for me, I've done that for years. It doesn't work. I didn't get the band to count calories and measure each bite. I've dieted successfully many times and gained back every ounce I fought off, and then some. SO I plan for the band to gradually reduce how much I can eat and it's working. This way (again, this is just for me! others have their best ways to work it! :confused: ) food is no longer an obsession for me. I am not thinking "what can I eat? when can I eat it? how MUCH can I eat? If we go out to eat, CAN i eat? will I gain if I have something too salty? If I have Soup will I gain? Will this blow my diet?" I am FREE forever of that! LOL I still have liquids and then mushies after fills (one day of each per my doc) but that's EASY compared to a bleak life of dieting, which is what I faced before the band.

Anyway sorry I digress! But yes I have done well, even at that. The band is wonderful. And I lost a little over christmas which is miraculous.

As for the liver shrink diet, do what your doc tells you. no reason to torture yourself with it (it is hard! LOL) before you have to. not everyone has a large liver. I was VERY fat (405 and 5'5") and older...53...which I'm sure contributed. I realized eventually that's why some people don't NEED to do one, or can do a shorter one. Not everyone needs to eat 600 cal with little/no carbs or fat for 3 weeks before their surgery!

[healthyme2 0]

I still think you did great so far. Keep it up! You have changed your life and will continue to do so. Looking forward to joining you soon!