Alexandra

Hi Jennifer! I can tell you that I fluctuate by 5 pounds easy when I'm getting my period. As a general rule I consider my weight to be within a range of 5 lbs (hence the "ish" in my sig) and that's perfectly normal for me. If you've eaten anything salty recently you could be retaining Water for that reason as well. Just be patient and I'm sure those pounds will come back off if not tomorrow, then within a week or so. Not to worry!!

How wonderful, Teresa! Please give mom and baby a big hug and kiss from their friends at LBT!! :D I so miss babies. They're amazing.

As a general rule, if you have complications that require medical attention, your insurer will have to cover that attention in accordance with your contract. If you got a tattoo that became infected, or had a hair-dye accident or something, the medical issues become something separate than the initial procedure and are handled differently. The fact that that initial surgery wasn't covered is irrelevant, as long as the complications aren't the same day or week. If you're discharged from the hospital then the next medical claim is a clean slate as far as coverage goes. That said, it's always a good idea to call your own insurance carrier to see what their rules are. And then call your state department of insurance and see if THEY have any rules that supercede those of your carrier. Your insurer might want to say that they exclude anything that is a result of medical procedures they didn't cover in the first place, but your state may not allow that. But in my experience as a health insurance broker, the general rule applies. (Every carrier will ALWAYS say they can't predict with any accuracy until they see an actual claim.)

And everything I bought was in a size 14/16 (tops) or 16 (bottoms). I came out of the dressing room in a blouse to ask the salesperson if she thought it fit me. It is a fitted blouse with darts and a nipped-in waist, and I honestly couldn't tell if it fit or was a little too snug. I thought it looked great, but can't really trust my own eyes. She confirmed for me that it did indeed fit and if I went up a size I'd be swimming in it. When I told her I'd NEVER bought tops this size and was more used to a 28, she said she'd never have believed I was that big. Wow. Just wow.

Road Queen, if you decide to take or not take the job don't let your band be any part of the reason why. If you are at all worried about being far from medical care or not being able to eat readily, the simple answer is to keep your band relatively loose. You could keep it that way for 3 years easily enough, and when you're relocated somewhere with good access to medical care have it tightened up. We certainly don't get "weak" or have health issues 3-4 months after surgery as a general rule. Complications can happen, but if you're healed well and are not going for fills I'd think it highly unlikely that anything could go wrong spontaneously. Bad situations are almost always related to being too tight--either because of too much of a fill or post-fill swelling. So if you're on top of that there's no reason having a band will present any problems for you just because it's there. You're a brave person!! I hear Congo is somewhat, ahem, unsettled nowadays. What kind of job is it? Sounds fascinating, exciting, and wonderful!

I find that cold meats are much easier to eat than hot meats, for some reason. I often don't need any lube for my lunchmeat, if it's chicken or ham. If it's turkey I will need something, and I always go right for the mayo. Hell, for the small amount I'm using it's worth it to use the real thing. Fake mayonnaise is repulsive.

How long have you been banded? 20 months (Kellymoos is my bandtwin!) What do you eat each day? Whatever I want, just not much of it. There's nothing I can't eat, anymore. How much do you eat? Typical day: bowl of raisin bran or an Atkins Protein bar for breakfast; 4 ozs of sliced meat and cheese for lunch; small dinner of whatever my hubby has made. Snacks usually involve nuts or ice cream. Do you eat sweets? Oh sure! I try not to go overboard though. How much have you lost? Altogether almost 120 lbs. Do you feel its worth it? Since the day I decided to do it I have never once looked back or regretted it for one second.

I've so far had it done at one year out and will again at two years. My annual physical involves blood work, so I'm going to get a printout from my surgeon to give to my PCP for future reference. That way I know all the various things that need checking will be checked every year.

Pat, she didn't say she was bedridden, just "almost" bedridden.

Dallasdoll, you are one of the lucky ones who heal quickly! The downside of that (which I hesitate to call a downside) is that your hunger will return and you will be able to eat pretty much normally before you get a fill. You have another three or so weeks yet before you can get one, probably, so why not just enjoy this period of freedom? You say it is already letting you eat less and feel satisfied, which is just exactly what it's supposed to do! If you're taking in fewer calories than you were pre-band, you will likely continue losing weight, albeit slowly. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you or with your band--you just don't have any restriction! After your first fill or two you'll start to understand what restriction feels like, and then you'll want to be very careful about how you chew and how quickly you eat. Enjoy! You're in your honeymoon period!! Jodie, I just wanted to comment that overeating or pouchpacking is not necessarily going to cause erosion. From everything I've heard there's no specific cause. That behavior can certainly damage the effectiveness of the band by stretching the pouch or esophagus, but I don't think it's safe to say it will necessarily lead to erosion. That's a whole different animal.

Hi Jodie, welcome to LBT!! I so sympathize with your story--it's a lot like mine was and I just wish I could have been banded at 17. What a difference it would have made! Just want to caution you that this is not a miracle cure or anything, and the weight will not fall off of you overnight. I've lost more than 100 lbs but it's taken 18 months to happen. I think that's a good thing, healthy and more likely to maintain, but it sounds like you have an expectation of the weight dropping off faster. With your slow metabolism it definitely sounds like exercise would be crucial for you--the good news is that you can start now even if you are bedridden! Get some light free weights and do some arm exercises from a chair. Every little bit helps and the more muscle you have the better your metabolism will be. When you combine that with the drastic cut in caloric intake most bandsters experience, the result is indeed weight loss. Just not overnight. Banding is a wonderful thing that can really change lives. Here's hoping it will do everything you need it to!

I'm so sorry you're going through this hard time!! I'm sure things will resolve as time passes. Some people do have a lot of postop swelling and it sounds like you're really having a very hard time with the anaesthesia working itself out too. Not fair!! I can tell you that YES, the day will come when your band is not the primary focus of your day. Of course that seems impossible to you now because you're suffering, but it's not too far off, I promise. Your liquid phase should last as long as YOU need it too, and I wouldn't suggest trying anything beyond really mushy things until you're completely comfortable. As I recall there were times in the immediate postop period when I felt a little like I was choking, but it was all related to the surgery itself and faded as time passed. The presence of the band itself became indetectable once I healed from surgery. Yet even without any fill it makes itself known if you eat too fast. It creates a bottleneck in your stomach even without fluid in it, and that bottleneck WILL slow you down. And that's not a bad thing! I hope you're feeling better with each passing day. It can be hard, but once this healing phase is over you'll definitely be able to forget you're banded. Until you eat too fast or too much, that is!

Babs, I'm with Pat in thinking that negativity doesn't do you any good. Don't beat yourself up!! If you want to turn things around and meet a goal you need to think positively. You KNOW you can do whatever you set your mind to do, and this is no different. Keep checking in and we'll be here cheering you on!!

Actually, this was in Dress Barn Woman, which is the plus-size addition to Dress Barn. The regular store's sizes go all the way up to 12 :rolleyes, with the women's store going from 14-24. There were many years when I couldn't shop there because I was too big! I'm still wary of regular stores because I'm somehow positive nothing will fit me. I've never set foot in a Mandee's, strawberry, or any department store's misses' department. Someday maybe, but for now I'm just happy to be where I am. I wonder what range of sizes a "normal" woman fits into. I mean, is it normal to have clothes in two or three different sizes even if one's weight doesn't fluctuate by more than a few pounds?

A better count would be if you're planning on coming and need a hotel room. Not all of us who will be popping in will want to take a room overnight. Bright can get a great rate on rooms at the Madison Hotel, which really is convenient to the train into the city besides being a gorgeous place in its own right. No one should think about renting a car! The rate she can get is about $140 per room, which is only $70 if someone is sharing. That'd be very hard to beat in the city for a hotel of decent quality, particularly on a fall weekend.

Pat, I know, it's so annoying that everything has to be tried on and there's no continuity from style to style with regard to size. But this is shopping in the normal world! I can see this even being fun on those few occasions when I have plenty of time to spare.

best wishes for an uneventful surgery and quick recovery, Drama Queen!! Come back and let us know how it went when you can.

Hey, Kelly Ann, where are you in New Jersey? If you're interested in attending a support group, my doctors' group is open to people banded elsewhere. We meet on the last Wednesday of each month. It really helps to get together with other bandsters in person, especially if no one in your life knows about it. PM or e-mail me if you want directions. We'd love to have you!

Hi Nick, Actually, I think the fact that Dr. Fielding scheduled you so soon knowing that you have UHC and are not yet approved is very encouraging! They know best which carriers and which patients are most likely to get approvals done quickly, and UHC is indeed one of the best. Evidently your medical details are such that Dr. Fielding's office has very little doubt that your approval will be forthcoming quite soon. For what it's worth, precert requests are usually made less than 30 days before surgery, since the approvals typically have a time limit on them. So it's standard procedure to schedule surgery within a 30-day window from the time the request for precert is submitted. Try not to worry about it over the weekend, and if you haven't heard anything from UHC or the doctors by Tuesday afternoon give UHC a call. You might be very pleasantly surprised!

Bandit, May 9th is JUST around the corner! Are you ready?? Yeee-haa!! Kathy, you and my younger daughter share a birthday, too. What a wonderful way to ring in the spring!! :)

Congratulations!! I'm so happy for you, and I'll be thinking about you that day. Your re-birthday is my younger daughter's birthday. A great way to Celebrate spring!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Hi Staramorcita, Paula's right. If the requirement is for a doctor-supervised weight loss program then Weight Watchers won't even make the cut, registration books or no. Some insurers want to see you on a program to lose weight under the care of a physician for some period of time (6 months, usually) before they will consider approving WLS. Carriers will also ask about your diet history and previous attempts, and on that score WW will definitely count. You'll want to list all your previous diets and programs, along with what the results were. But these do not fulfill the requirement, if there is one for you, about the physician-directed weight loss program.

Sorry, Zoe, can't help ya. I'm still an ice cream junkie and give in to my jones on a regular basis. As I've said all along, a world without ice cream isn't a world I want to live in. What to do? Well, I find that drinking Water when I first start thinking about getting a fix can really help minimize the craving. Every day as I'm getting ready to leave for work I find myself thinking about stopping at TCBY, so I take a good drink and try to get distracted. I have ice cream at home so I tell myself it's there waiting for me if I need it later. Then when I get home there's dinner and kids and mail and husband, lots of distractions. Lots of days I'm busy enough at home that I don't think about ice cream until I'm in bed and it's too late. But when I do have it I'm not going to punish myself for it. It's yummy!!

Megan, that is so cool and really heartwarming! I got all warm and fuzzy for you. Congratulations and I hope you enjoy every minute of it!! :D

Hi Collegejoe! MOST of the people here have already been banded or are about to be, so you've come to the right place. Good luck with your research and ask away!!