I'm getting close.....

I spoke with the scheduler at my surgeon's office this morning. She will be submitting my insurance packet today or tomorrow. She said that BCBS has been approving within a week. I have my pre-op nutrition class scheduled for August 27th. Then I just need to do surgical pre-op class and get a physical with my primary doctor, both of those things won't get scheduled until surgery is scheduled. I am probably going to have surgery on September 20th. The scheduler said we could likely do it before then but I need to give work notice and also have a long weekend in Ocean City already scheduled in the beginning of September. Oh, should have mentioned I'm having Lap Band.

So anyway, I am getting sooooo excited and a little nervous. Things are starting to feel very....real, I guess, now. I mean, It's kinda holy crap I'm really doing this. I'm not having second thoughts and am 100% in. I've been lurking on here for a couple months now and you guys are so full of advice. I love it. So if anyone has any advice, experience (especially with Dr. Averbach or St. Agnes Hospital) I would love to hear it.

I am excited for you! If you've been lurking you know the band is just a tool. There is lots of work that needs to happen on the part of the patient. You need to excersise, you need to follow a healthy weight loss diet. Also it may take quite a few fills to get the right amount. You may have times your pretty hungry, and times you are too tight and can't keep much down (that requires a slight unfill). My personal experience is that the band wasn't the tool I hoped it would be. I spent a lot of time either hungry or getting sick. There were a few weeks here and there I was in a really good spot. That being said, I was successful in loosing all my excess weight. I was self pay and that was a huge motivator to succeed. I excersise about 5 days a week and do weights with a trainer 4 days. I ate very low carb/lowfat/high protien. I was too tight in the morning for solids so I had a protien shake. Lunch and dinner were some sort of lean protien (chicken, fish, pork loin) and a non-starchy veggie. I snacked on 1/4c nuts and low fat cheese sticks. Sounds boring I know, but it worked for me. I cut out all junk and also all bread, rice, pasta, corn, anything with significant carbs. I lost 107 pounds in about 10 months. Hope this helps and best of luck to you.

Hey vlp! Congrats on your weight loss! I definitely know that the band is a tool, and I need to put in the work. I've been researching for a year and finally decided in July that I'm going to do it. Since I looked into it, I already knew what my insurance was going to require so I had those things out of the way before I even saw the surgeon. I don't have to do the liquid diet prior to surgery but do have to after. Were you hungry alot with just liquids? And what exercise do you recommend?