calgal
hi,
7/22/05
after reading all the great posts on this site and consulting with two bariatric surgeons, i find out that the best thing i can do for my gerd , is to have the surgery.
i am still pre-op.
my insurance will pay for the by-pass , but i want the lap band.
so i have done all my pre-ops as of today and will wait( but not too long) for approval.
if i get approval i will have surgery in the L.A area.
he is in my insurance system.
if not, i will have surgery in mexico with either dr. rambaut or dr. ortiz.
i am very excited after doing months of research.
see you on the losing side...
sally
8/15/05
i finished my pre-ops last month.
i also had a cardio lite adenosine test last month.
it was a test that was done in two day increments.
when i recieved the results three weeks ago, i was informed that i have coronary heart disease.
my pcp told me to cancel my lap band surgery.
at that point , i had an appointment with dr. rumbuat in monterrey, mexico.
the surgery date, was today, aug.15.
my pcp told me that i would need to see a cardiovascular surgeon and most likely need an angioplasty or by-pass.
unfortunately, my assigned cardio man is out of the country for one month.
so i am self paying another cardo doc., just to get the ball rolling , tomorrow.
i will then later see my assigned cardio doc when he returns and that way i will also have two opinions.
well the good thing is that they found this out before i had a heart attack or stroke.
so many unfortunate people find out that way....
Original Post by Sally Gross at 8:41 AM PST on 08/21/2005
Thousand Oaks, CA
8/21/05
this is my post today, just made it easier for me , rather than retype it....
hi,
this site has helped save my life , so far....
i am pre-op and have been losing ssssssllllllooooowwwwwllllllyyyyyy.
firstly, finding out about the lap band in may, just gave me soooo much hope.
as we all know, if you have been obese for many years , you really start feeling there is no hope.
and an eating disorder , is an eating disorder.
we will fight this the rest of our lifes.
however when we do behaviour modification, and get support etc. it will get easier over time.
but the battle will always be there , however so will the choices.
then as i kept reading the posts almost everyday , which was encouraging.
i started watching more carefully what i ate and exercising more.
then i discovered, on this site, bariactriceating.com.
i ordered the delicious shakes and liquid vitamins and bought a new blender.
i am lactose intolerant so i use lactaid and water and really vary these shakes a little each day , which gives me the variety of taste and texture, which is important.
i add different fruits, etc.
i also have started drinking low sodium v8 to get my veggies in better.
as part of my pre-op i had to have an adenosine cardio lite at my local hospital as i was having arrythimias that had changed.
i 've had arrythmia's for 30 years , but this last year had been exceptionly stressful with 8 kids(most grown) and some terrible personal avents in my life and my dad dying in may, and i am 57, no spring chick.and with the traumatizing personal events, gained weight , of course.
so in light of all that , my pcp sent me for a more thourough cardiac testing.
well you could say that finding out and wanting the lap band ,in away, saved my life, as i found out that i have coronary heart diseae BEFORE i have a stroke or heart attack, which i eventually would have.
the arrymthima's over the last 30 years had been benign and exercise would greatly improve them.
.now have shakes for two of my meals and whenever i get hungry. and ihave increased my water, a lot for me, but still not where i should be, but i am working on that everyday.
and yes, i do have days when i do not do good .
my main problem is in the evenings when i am tired and my guard is down and i eat because i am tired instead of going to bed.
the biggest thingi have gottenout of this site is that the band is just a tool.
these lap banders work just as hard as i am without a band, so why no start now???
i have my second cardiology appointment tomorrow.
the first cardio man said , i would definitely need an angioplasty, which of
course comes with risks.
a catheter is place into the groin and threaded to the heart arteries and intto them . then they will place a balloon in the reduce the plaque and/or a metal stent.
the artery could restenos( partial or full blockage) in 6 months, go back to the original state or variation of it.
and that is one artery.
when he goes in he may find more than one, and i would need a by-pass.
so this has scared me enough to continue working my "HEAD BAND", meaning of course my imaginary band , until i get one.
another catch-22 is the fact that if i have a minimal surgery , the angioplasty, my pcp said i have to wait 6 months until i have an elective surgery, meaning of course, the lap band.
so the dilemna i am in is, do i continue working my "head band" and losing wieight for the next 6/8 months and not qualify for the lap band surgery as if lost to much weight, i will not qualify for surgery or do i hold on to the weight.
my observations are that the lap band is truly a tool and you banders are working just as hard as me and i am working just as hard as you.
my answer is , lose the weight to stay alive.
i have lost so far, 5 pounds since winter and 10 pounds since discovering this site.
i am getting below a bmi of 40 but of course have the co-morbidites, arthritis in my weight bearing joints,severe gerd, heart problems, etc.
so hopefully all you lap banders will let me stay and try to stay alive.
much thanks ahead for all your continued support.sally
10/05/05
hi everyone,
updating i have great news!!
firstly, my angiogram was negative.
the cardiologist says this is common in big breasted woman.
so hurrah for big breasts!
apparently, the breast tissue gets in the way and can show a false positive for blockage..whew...
secondly, i found out i did get approved.
my pcp sent my clearance for surgery to the insurance company on thurs, sept.29 at 2:05pm.
i was approved the next morning at 9:10 am, sept.30.
i couldn't believe it!!!
so i must get a lot done before monday the 10th.
god is good!!
sally
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11/28/05
hi,
i haven't updated in a long time.
i had lap band surgery on 10/10/05.
it was exactly what i expected.
i was prepared, so it went well.
i walked , day one and everyday, sometimes twice a day for the first two weeks, post-op, therefore almost completely eliminating gas.
i lost about 16 pounds pre-op and have lost another 15/16 pounds post-op, so i am pleased.
when i had my surgery, my bmi was about 37.5, which is considered a "light weight", and my weight loss has been a little slow, but still within the targeted goals of 1-2 pounds a week.
i had my first fill two weeks ago.
i think i may feel a little restriction , but not much.
my doc said if i didn't notice much, he would fill me again in two weeks.
so i will go in and talk with him and we will make a decision.
i am very please with my band , which has become my new "friend".
best to all...
sally
o1/21/05
it has been awhile since i have updated.
i have maintained my 32 pound loss.
however i did eat around my band over the holidays.
i am lucky not to have gained any weight back.
however, i have recommitted to getting back to following the bandster rules.
so i feel a whole lot better...
best to all....
sally
03/20/06
hi everyone,
again haven't updated in awhile...
finally i feel i have "somewhat" hopefully, the right restriction.
i was banded 10/10/05 and had a fill at 5 weeks, which apparently is just standard procedure for my doc.
i hadn't started solids yet.
i was too tight for 11 weeks.
i thought i was doing something wrong, perhaps not chewing slow enough or my bites were too big etc.
so i continued over the 11 weeks trying to improve on what i was doing.
finally at the end of 11 weeks and no weight loss as i had soft food syndrome at that point, not being able to tolerate solids, i had a complete unfill.
i rested my tummy for 5 weeks.
i did gain back 7 pounds in that period.
at the end of 5 weeks, i had a .5 fill.
it is somewhat tight, but again, i really don't know what proper restriction is .
i have lost the 7 pounds that i gained and feel really good about that.
i do have to exercise hard 5 days a week and keep the carbs down in order to lose.
so now, hopefully, i can move on.
my doc has me scheduled for another fill in two weeks, but i feel tight enough.
i would rather have one when i lose a substantial amount of weight, meaning also that when i lose some fat padding around my tummy and really do need another fill.
we are all learning as we go...
best to all,
sally:-)
07/19/06,
hi everyone,
well it truly has been awhile since i updated.
my fill has been on the tight side this entire time and i think i am finally learning how to deal with it, although i probably should have had my .5 cc fill out a long time ago. and that is all i have in my 4 cc band.
however, i kept saying to myself, i will learn to eat correctly and eventually i will lose and the fat pad will shrink and then i will need another fill.
so i have finally lost some weight.i am down to 187 and happy about that, finally seeing results!
i have very heavily increased my exercise to twice a day.
i watch my carbs and try not to have more than 20/30 grams a day as i feel certain that i have "metabolic syndrome" or "insulin resistence".plus all my weight is pretty much in my tummy which is another symptom.
i was gestational diabetic in all 8 of my pregnancies and delivered 8 very large babies.
i was told way back then( am currently 58) that gestational diabetes is generally a precursor to diabetes later on in life.
i do very poorly with carbs, so i am being very careful.
i try to make my 20/30 grams of carbs a day, good carbs, not refined carbs.
so with cutting the carbs and really increasing my exercise to twice a day to 6/7 times a week, i am losing.
gee whiz, it takes a lot for some of us...
i also think my metabolism also runs slow ,as it does in my family.
i am making sure my fluid intake is between 80/100 ozs. a day, so this should work as long as i can keep up this grueling pace.
best to all,
sally:-)
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