Alexandra

I'm so sorry to hear of your trouble. Thank goodness you were able to get medical care and are on the way to recovery!! Good luck for a quick recovery and return to total health.

Oh, Paula! It's so hard to imagine what you've all been through. Thank goodness everyone is safe and sound. In retrospect it will all seem like an adventure.

Kim, I know EXACTLY what you mean! We don't realize it most of the time but the esophagus has an active role in pushing food down. When food meets a barrier--the band--it can feel really strange. If there's a little too much food in the pouch, the esophagus doesn't stop its action but there's nowhere for the food to go. I was aware sometimes of a distinct pulsing sensation, almost like a muscular clenching and releasing, clench/release. Finally the large piece of whatever-it-was goes through, and the sensation stops. You're just taking bites that are too big, that's all. Lesson learned!

You shouldn't have to do any of that again, really. Horizon may just be saying that they can't give a precert for any surgery faster than three weeks, because they need processing time. In my experience they send out approvals much faster than that, but they will always tell you there's a three-week lag. Also, in most cases, carrier's approvals are only good for 30 days, so once you get the approval you can have surgery within that time frame.

That's brilliant, Crystal!! Any chance of a newer pic for us? He looks like a veddy handsome bloke!

I've heard surgeons say that if you are morbidly obese, it's highly unlikely there are NO co-morbidities. Things like high cholesterol may be invisible to you but they're considered to be co-morbidities for this purpose. Your doc's office is probably quite skilled in layering on the medical information to get an approval. They'll know fairly quickly if you're a candidate. And as was said, if you're self-pay all the issues change. Anyone willing to pay for the service can probably get it. Good luck!!

Sleepyjean, if the doctors you're dealing with have lots of bariatric patients, I promise you they've seen this before. Morbid obesity causes social isolation in LOTS of people, and that's one of the reasons it's unhealthy. No one will hold it against you. With regard to your insurance, if both types of coverage are with the same company their medical decisions may be the same. But it's great that you have choices and I hope you prevail!

I've had two fills seem like they were nothing until about three weeks later. So I guess that's my time frame, three weeks.

Thanks for sharing the details, Sue. Good luck with everything!!

I'd be leery of referencing any vague "female stuff" unless you are confident they won't leap to the conclusion you're having an abortion. That sort of rumor can be professionally more damaging than people thinking you're having weight-loss surgery. But in general, saying "it's personal, I'd rather not talk about it" should be enough for anyone. If they're close enough to you that they might feel put out, they are close enough to understand that if/when you're ready, you'll tell them. If they're only acquaintances they have no right or reason to be prying into your personal life in the first place. I think that if you expect people to respect your boundaries and be clear on where those lie, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Eileen, you may be frustrated but in the long run three weeks will not matter one tiny bit. Get a grip, take a deep breath, and relax. Horizon is very good about approving bariatric surgery, so you really have nothing to worry about. Every little frustration seems huge when we're waiting for such important developments, but it helps to have a little perspective. Before you know it, you'll be prepping for surgery. Keep smiling!

I think you should go ahead and talk to your surgeon now. Especially in light of how long it may take and how much medical intervention may be required, it may indeed be months before you conceive. There's no medical reason to avoid getting pregnant shortly after being banded, so I can't see him objecting on any real grounds. The only thing is that it may compromise your weight loss (duh!) but of course that's your decision to make. Even if he does recommend waiting a little while longer before starting in with fertility interventions, maybe nature will surprise you in the meantime! Hey, with weight loss often comes increased fertility. All our fingers and toes are crossed for you!

Megan, you are beautiful and it is an honor and privilege to share this journey with you. Congratulations on two years and may there be many, many more years of banded bliss!!

Sleepyjean, there is absolutely NO WAY IN HELL any carrier could use any of that in making a determination about whether banding is medically necessary and whether they will pay for it. Just curious: how is it that you have two different kinds of coverage? ETA: It occurs to me that perhaps your doctor may care whether you have a support system in place, and that may influence his or her request for precertification and the terms in which it is couched. So sure, if the subject comes up, go ahead and tell the doctor that you are fully supported in this endeavor by all your friends and family. That's all they are likely to want to hear, anyway. I mean, they really don't care if you're popular or not.

Speaking for myself I'm guessing you're right. After a year or so of concentrating so much on weight loss, it's very refreshing to just go off and do something else entirely. I'm often tempted to do that myself. And as we've all seen, it's patients who've had complications who tend to come back looking for support or to share their stories. When things are going well, there's just not that much to say!

Hi Paula! Nice to hear from you. I hpoe your life is getting back to normal, a little? No flooding near me, thank goodness. In my area the reservoir nearby was almost bone-dry before the rains came, so there was plenty of room for Water to collect.

Some docs use a sternal placement, so that might indeed be where your port is. I have no idea why they do it in different places, may just be a physician's preference sort of thing.

Hi Lisa Marie, Yep, it sure sounds to me like it may be time for a fill. Your surgery was more than two months ago, so you're all nice and healed up now. You can eat larger amounts and don't experience the sensation of being full quickly or for any length of time. You're drinking plenty of Water and exercising (right?), and your weight loss has leveled off after the post-op drop. Tell all this to your doctor and I'm reasonably certain he or she will agree it's time for a fill. Assuming you're eating normal foods and all of the above is true, unless you're still losing weight quickly there's no reason not to go for your first adjustment. Congratulations on losing 32 lbs!!

Oh my god. I swear, that has to be the best PB story I've ever heard, and you have photographic evidence to back it up! Priceless. Any chance you want to post that pic?

This is me, exactly. (The only change is that the numbers are 215-220 instead of 175-185, and it hasn't been a whole year.) Bolding mine.

Happy Birthday(s)!! Enjoy, just don't eat any more than is comfortable. Take it slow!! That's the trick. You'll do great.

LOL!! I'm assuming you meant "emphatically" but this was a great Freudian slip!

There really is no "easy" answer here, because what is true 3 months out won't be true six months out or nine months out or twelve months out or after a fill or before a fill or whatever. The whole POINT of being banded is that it's progressive, changeable, individual, and personalized. People make choices about how tight they want to be, how much of whatever food they want to eat, and whether they need a fill after XX amount of time. All anyone can do with this list is answer for themselves at one particular point in time. So here are my answers, more than two years out: 1. Bread Yes, but I only have a little because it fills me up quickly. 2. Pasta Yes, but I only have a little because it fills me up quickly. 3. Pop I stay away from carbonated beverages because a) my doctor told me to, and they're very uncomfortable to drink. 4. Tortillas Yes, but I only have a little because it fills me up quickly. (Crispy tortillas, not so quickly.) 5. salad YES, and I love it. 6. Steak Has to be VERY tendert. I've had a couple of unpleasant experiences with it, so I mostly avoid it. 7. Roast See steak. 8. Cereal Recently been able to eat more of this. I couldn't for a long time; it just filled me up totally after a couple of bites. 9. Hamburger Sure, but without the roll. 10. pizza Not worth it, but I can eat almost a whole piece. 11. Apples Yep, chewed well. 12. chips Yep, but I try to steer clear due to their addictive nature. 13. cheese YES! A dietary staple. 14. Shrimp Yes, but again, it has to be chewed carefully. 15. Pop corn Yes, never had a problem with this. 16. pretzels Too dry, not comfortable to eat. Also if you go out somewhere and need something quick and only fast food is available what would you order? Could you order a Mc Donalds hamburger and just eat the meat? Would this be ok on a very occasional basis?? Now I can eat fast-food salads with no problem, or I go for the chicken strips. This is just because fast-food hamburger is not, to my palate, edible without the bun.

Ooh, yuck! Thank goodness it was caught and fixed right up. You rest and heal, and stay in touch!

Cindy, it does seem to be conflicting but I think there's room in the real world for both phenomena. The short-term physical response to a shortage of calories is what we refer to as "starvation mode," wherein the body starts conserving calories as a result of too few being taken in. I think this is not a myth, but it is temporary. In the longer-term, a very low calorie diet will always result in significant weight loss. How long it takes to get past the "starvation" mode will vary from person to person, of course, but it's always true that a sustained very-low-calorie diet is not a healthy way to lose weight.