Alexandra

Great to hear you're doing so well, Edieparks! :high5:

I went the Freecycle route eventually, but first I tried to give them to a battered-women's shelter. I was also trying to unload PILES of my girls' outgrown clothing, so I figured that would be a great way to do it. But you know what? It was impossible to find one! Even after calling the county for a referral I was told someone would have to call me back--I didn't realize it at first, but it makes sense that they would want to be hard for the public to locate. Duh. Freecycle sounds wonderful and maybe it would be better out where you live, Rain, but in my county I think the members are reselling things even though they're not supposed to. I was disenchanted when one person repeatedly claimed ALL my outgrown clothes, no matter what size. Now my castoffs go to Goodwill, an organization I have faith in.

This pretty much depends on exactly how the procedure is coded. The procedure itself is a hypodermic saline injection, with or without radiology at the same time. That procedure is common and not excluded just on its own merits. But the problem will be the diagnosis code--I don't think your doctor would be able to label it as anything other than a lap-band adjustment without committing outright fraud.

I did indeed! They are terrific doctors and I've had a great relationship with them and their whole office all along. Dr. Abkin was my surgeon, but Dr. Bertha has done all my fills and I think they're both absolutely wonderful.

The summer of 2007 has been amazing for me! It's almost like I'm afraid to bask in my good fortune too much for fear it will come back to bite me. But I have to share my happiness and let you all know what I've been up to. First, after having a slip diagnosed and my band removed in April, and then having my insurer say no to a replacement, I was pretty upset. But in short order I was able to change carriers, they approved my replacement band overnight, and on August 13 I was banded anew. Things have been going wonderfully with my recovery and healing; I'm now on solid food and REVELING in the ability to actually feel satisfied after a reasonable portion. And just this week I made a deal with my former employer to go back to the best job I ever had, at MUCH better terms than when I left! I will be able to hang up my full-time insurance hat and go back to my "real" career as an association administrator. It means going back to the city, working with professional writers and those in the field, and being essentially my own boss with a huge ship to steer. I am absolutely THRILLED!! I'll continue with insurance on the side until and unless I find I can't manage both. So that's my great summer of 2007! I hope things go as well for all of you. :biggrin1:

Hi Karen!! It's great to hear you're doing so well, and you sure sound happy with your procedure. I'm so glad it has worked out--and your surgeon sounds like a dream. Congratulations on your great progress, and everything!!

:rockon: I agree 100%. Like everything else, banding is what you make of it. It is not a "big con" unless you go into it thinking it's a magic bullet that will render you slender overnight with no effort on your part. But no responsible doctor is selling it that way. It's a tool, nothing more, nothing less, and it absolutely makes the job of losing weight and keeping it off easier--hell, it made it POSSIBLE for me.

Congratulations, Rainer!! Wow, that was fast! :biggrin1:

All of this is a learning process, and very personal. I think as healing continues it's likely that you'll feel LESS restriction until you get an adjustment. During this time you'll start wondering if you even have a band at all. Just take it slow, though, because it's there even if you don't feel it all the time. It's a good idea to try to take a good 10-20 seconds between bites. I know I hardly ever manage that, but it's a very good practice.

Thanks, Fab. I'm not sure if I got the small or the large AP band, but either way it's a lot bigger than my original 9.75cm Inamed band.

This one was much easier, but probably only because I wasn't afraid this time. The first surgery had HUGE amounts of apprehension, excitement, fear, nerves, doubts, decision-making, etc., etc. all bound up in it. As much as I wanted it, it was scary and unnerving--and I had never had surgery to speak of before, too. This time it was my 3rd surgery, and there was never a minute's hesitation about whether I wanted it. Recovery was easy, and I'm a whole lot calmer about the entire process.

[rant on] From my personal POV this is one of the worst sorts of "reality" TV. It takes advantage of people who are in a desperate situation for others' entertainment. Sure, people who have attention-whore disorder and don't mind parading their personal pain in public can lose a lot of weight with all the help they are given. But what they go through has less than no bearing on anyone's real life. And I am 100% positive that, as with the general population, 95% of those contestants will gain all of their weight back and more over time. I can't imagine what would make it worth going through that process so publicly and having the experience follow me around the rest of my life. If boot-camp style tactics worked permanently, I'd have been able to avoid a life of morbid obesity after "fat camp" at age 10. [/rant over]

Yes, you are normal. You should still try very hard to eat slowly and with care, because you might still experience a surprise if you take too large a bite. But before the first fill it is very common for people to feel virtually no restriction whatsoever once they've completely healed from surgery.

I''m thoroughly enjoying this "hell," frankly. I'm not anywhere NEAR as hungry as I was before being banded (again), and just a little food makes me satisfied. The hardest thing is to stop eating before I take too many bites, but I know that is always my demon so it's not a surprise. Happy here back in bandland!!! :biggrin1:

Hi Tina, A fill is a fill, but the size of the band that's being adjusted DOES have a lot to do with it. If it's too small to begin with, adding Fluid to make it tighter will just make problems worse. Back in 2002 doctors had only one choice of band size, but people are not all the same size and so some inevitably got bands that just didn't fit right from the start. I think I was one of those people, too; I could only tolerate a fill of less than 1.5ccs at any time and toward the end couldn't tolerate any fill at all. Now I have the new AP band (my old one was removed due to slippage) and I am hopeful that this one will be for life. There's a lot more room to maneuver and adjust to fit my particular anatomy. If you have no fill and are STILL too tight, then doesn't it stand to reason that a larger band might work better for you?

Hi MJ, The requirements for a letter from a family doctor and a 6-month supervised diet are usually those of insurance carriers, not surgeons themselves. If you're going to be self-pay, you should be able to just contact a surgeon and get started. Good luck!

Various doctors have diffeerent post-op regimens, but ALL require at least a week or so of fluids. After that, soft foods may be taken in small amounts (known as the "mushy" phase) and that phase can range from 1-4 weeks. The reason for all of this is to LET YOUR STOMACH HEAL. It is not a matter of whether you can "tolerate" it or that you are actually going to damage anything if you test the waters. It's just to give your body and band the best possible chance to heal in place, so as to avoid problems later on. Soft fish is not out of line for you; I was banded on the same day and I'm on mushies--including salmon salad and cottage cheese. But I'm staying here for at least another two weeks just to give my body the best chance I can. (Doxie is right about the pre-op, but of course you're asking about the POST-OP regimen.) BTW, NewMe, where were you banded? Did we pass one another in the hallways at Morristown Memorial on the 13th?

If your band is completely unfilled and you are still feeling significant restriction, it's possible there is something going on with your esophagus. Have you had a barium swallow test? Or an esophogram? These are tests that will let your doctor see if there's inflammation, a hernia, or something else going on that is making you feel restriction. Whatever the case, it definitely should be looked at and treated. Good luck!!

Ya know, I was thinking that you must be Irish, because Pat sure isn't! My first husband gave me a t-shirt that said "Irish By Marriage." While I didn't enjoy being married to him, I did enjoy being Irish while I was. :biggrin1:

Band removal is NOT dangerous. And of course it's possible!! Even patients with the worst cases of erosion can have their bands safely removed. It's utter hogwash to suggest that it's not possible or safe. Of course, once your band is removed it will be very difficult to maintain your weight loss. Some people certainly have been successful, but I know from personal experience how easy it is to revert back to old, pre-band eating habits. And that way, at least for me, would lie a quick return to morbid obesity.

First, and this is just a pet peeve of mine, but the correct term is "gastric bypass" or "bypass" -- saying "gastric" as a single word makes NO SENSE!! That means "related to the stomach" and is not even a noun!!! Rant over. In my case, I had two major thought processes going on when choosing. First, I was healthy and wanted more than anything to stay that way. Speed of loss was NOT important to me--staying healthy for my two small children WAS. I'd lost weight quickly in the past (on Optifast) and it really threw me off physically and mentally. I definitely didn't want to go through that again. The other thing was the risk of regain and what one's options are if that happens. With bypass you have been permanently altered, and IF there is anything more to be done it requires another, quite major, surgery. The band's adjustability made perfect sense to me and seems to hold the best promise for long-term effectiveness.

[derail] Julie, you just made me realize something. I'm hoping very much to go back to working in the city soon, and though I never thought about it if I DO get it I'll be commuting and navigating the city streets as a much thinner person than I was. I foresee a whole new set of NSVs!! [/derail]

I had my rings resized when losing them became a real possibility. At the same time I had one of them re-set, so the whole thing was expensive, but resizing a simple band isn't all that expensive. It shouldn't affect the setting at all, if there is on. Rainer, I got my first husband a Claddagh ring for his engagement present, too! He loved it, being Irish to the core.

Hi Dawn, I think my original band was too tight from the start, too, though perhaps not as tight as yours. After three years I definitely started suffering regularly from reflux and heartburn, and unfills only helped for a while. My band was finally removed on 4/9 after a slip was diagnosed. Last week I had a new band put in, the new AP band. I don't know if I have the large size or not, but even the small one is a good deal larger than the original 4cc band I had. So far so good--I know it's early days but right out of the gate I am MUCH more comfortable than I had been after the initial surgery four years ago. I hear you about healing, and agree that's very important. Removal probably makes sense for you at this time. But don't close the door on replacement if it's an option for you. Good luck with whatever you decide, and I hope you heal up completely!!

Abkin/Bertha here, too. Check out advancedlaparoscopicsurgeons.com