Alexandra

Of course that went through my head. I don't know. First I'll have to have it cleaned, and then I might wear it on my right hand. It would be so cool to have that with me all the time. :cool:

Thank goodness everything was able to be repaired, and so easily! Glad you're back and hope everything will be at 100% very shortly. :cool:

On the wall in this room is a photo frame with pix from my parents' wedding back in 1953. Hung from the frame is a piece of ribbon with my mother's wedding band attached. (Although my parents' marriage wasn't successful, their wedding was on the lawn of the house where we now live, and this room has a lot of old photos like that.) My mother stopped wearing her ring when I was about 10 and that's when I first discovered it didn't fit. You can imagine the shame I felt, and since then her ring has always been some sort of talisman that I knew I could never wear. She used to keep it hidden because it was painful for both of us when I would play with it. :cool: Tonight the wedding band caught my eye and I decided to try it on. IT FIT!! It was even LOOSE!! This ring has not fit me in my entire life. Both of my parents, somewhere, are absolutely amazed and delighted. As am I. Wow.

My BMI as of this morning was 32.6!!! Holy crap, Batman. I think I have to sit down, I'm feeling woozy. But it's a good kind of woozy. :cool:

The thing I will miss is indeed the feeling of fullness, Zoe. I literally have to remind myself to eat! Today I think I've had something like 800 calories. It really is nice not to be hungry, but it's also not normal. And lord knows waking up coughing with fluid in my throat isn't normal either. :rolleyes

Wow. The only thing that I could have wished to improve my banding experience would have been to do it with someone I'm close to--someone I live with, even. You are so lucky!! Good luck to both of you and please come and let us know how you're doing.

Scotty, I just want to mention that if you're interested in really tracking your food, nutrition, and other progress you might want to spring for the $20 and get Fitday's desktop version. The feature I like best is the ability to create and save custom foods based on their ingredients, rather than just the label information. This way my husband's recipes get counted accurately. Enjoy your baby food, when it's time. And I know you will! :cool:

The last time I had any Fluid taken out he wanted to see me in six weeks. At the end of that period I asked if the fill could be put back, and he actually filled me a tiny bit more than I had been before. So maybe it's just that extra .1 cc that is doing me in this time, and that's all that will have to be removed. I think this is just going to be a teeny tiny adjustment and I'm hoping it will be the last one I need for a long time. Eating fruits and veggies sounds HEAVENLY!!

Yep, welcome to the world of restriction! You will have to take it very slowly and experiment with various foods to see what works. For the early days it might be a good idea to avoid dry things and put sauce on meat when possible. Fish seems to be a lot easier for people than meat, so if that's an option you might go that route. This is bandland. Good luck with the navigating!

Hey Misty, you were banded on my birthday!! A wonderful band-day to Celebrate indeed. Sounds like you're doing great! And you've added a new phrase to my lexicon: "have all your eggs in a roll." I love it!! Welcome to LBT! :)

"Productive Burping"

Thanks for coming back and letting us know how it went. I'm so glad you're OK! Good luck with the healing this time and hopefully there will be no more dramatic events in your banding journey.

PB is shorthand for "productive burping" which is what happens when you eat more than your pouch can handle. What can't go down has to come up, which can be anywhere from mildly inconvenient to painful and prolonged. It's almost a given that every bandster will experience this at least a couple of times as we learn how truly little food makes a meal, and how to handle a new level of restriction. Even 18 months out I had a PB yesterday with some chicken soup that had stringy pieces of meat in it (and yes, that's how I know I'm too tight). Tammy, I'm no expert on the mechanics of digestion but in general food doesn't stay in the pouch all that long. It will pass through in at most a couple of hours and move on its merry way. The pouch is just a smaller part of your stomach so whatever digesting happens in the stomach will, I guess, start happening in the pouch. I've never heard of Beans expanding but if you eat anything that is prone to do that you will be very uncomfortable indeed. Someone reported a misadventure with a Fiber drink that thickens (Metamucil?) which did exactly that in the pouch. Blech. Things like bread and Pasta may not expand in your pouch but you will discover that they take up a lot of room anyway and you'll be too full to eat the real food. For example, if I take a bite of a sandwich with the bread it will take literally only two bites to fill me up. But if I eat only the insides of the sandwich I can eat maybe 3/4 of it. That's much better nutrition and gives me the Protein I need. Most bandsters wave bye-bye to most bread and pasta after a while. Before you get a fill you might not have any restriction and so none of what I've said will be true for you. (I don't know what to say about the bands being filled to 2.5 cc in surgery--I asked my doctor about that and he said it sounded unusual and even risky to him.) If you do have restriction you'll know it, and you'll be avoiding foods that make you too full too fast before long. And that's when you'll start losing weight!

Marion, I so completely know what you mean! When I first started thinking about weight loss surgery, I would literally get shaky thinking about the possibility of living the rest of my life as a thinner person. I've been so fat for so long that even touching on the idea in my brain was enough to give me heart palpitations! But that's why I knew I had to go slow. 15 years ago I lost 75 lbs in three months on Optifast, and it never seemed real. As it turned out, it wasn't real and all the weight plus more came back on over the next few years. Weight loss wouldn't be meaningful again unless there was a real, DIFFERENT, chance that I could keep it off this time. RNY patients have a short window of opportunity for weight loss, and when that time ends it's just them against the enemy. I have a weapon in my arsenal that remains inside me, forever keeping me from overindulging. I have spent the last 18 months really learning how to eat less, and slower, and will spend the next 30-40-50 years continuing to hone those skills. When I fall off the program, which is BOUND to happen from time to time, I won't fall far thanks to my silicone friend. That's what's different about the band--I need a tool that won't quit on me!

As with any physical activity, the way you feel should be your guide. There are no restrictions whatever on sexual activity post-banding. If it feels good, do it!

Hi Roxana, and welcome!! There are so many nurses deciding on banding rather than RNY it warms my heart. I totally agree about the absurdity of the insurance carriers' preferences. However, I'm living proof that you can fight the carriers and win, since my insurer wouldn't pay for banding at all on the "experimental" grounds. I appealed to the third-party review guaranteed by my state and won, and I've heard that I was the first or second person in the country to have Aetna pay for my band. So even if you think it's impossible, you may find out that it's not. Good luck with everything!

Thanks, Sue. Just what we need...a pinch hitter!

That all depends on what kind of insurance you have and what your medical condition is. It seems to me that if someone qualifies medically for the surgery there's no reason not to petition your insurance carrier to pay for it. I did, and even though I was denied three times I eventually prevailed by going to a third-party review. Maybe if I could have afforded to self-pay I wouldn't have stuck it out so long. Depending on your coverage you might be able to submit your expenses now (unless you went out of the country for surgery). Why not look into it?

One of the best things about living in NJ is that weight is not one of the things that goes on our drivers' licenses. I must say, though, that when I renewed mine last October I was fairly dancing out of the DMV. I love the picture!

Ryan and Kelly, please know that whenever you need information or support on your banding journey we'll be here. This sort of thing pops up on message boards periodically; it's part of the dynamic and really just has to play out. Take care, and good luck!!

Marion, to my mind the slower speed of weight loss is one of the best things about the band. Babs is right, the "average" speed of loss is 1-2 lbs a week, but obviously that is largely within your control. I lost 70 lbs in my first year, just over 5 lbs a month, and that was absolutely fine with me. There are lots of ways to achieve rapid weight loss. Permanent weight loss is the holy grail, and that can't (shouldn't) be done quickly. It's necessary to learn and totally embrace different behaviors that will be with us the rest of our lives in order for this to work in the long run. The kinds of behaviors that result in rapid weight loss are not the kind I need to make mine.

Bigmom, that really bites the big one, I know it!! I broke my ankle about ten years ago and had to spend a whole summer on crutches. I feel for you!! But this is one of the greatest things about the band. It's not like you're forced into inactivity during the first crucial months after bypass, possibly hindering your loss and definitely hurting your ability to build muscle while losing weight rapidly. Nope, this is the BAND and it will be there waiting for you when you're back on your feet. Just concentrate on healing and taking care of yourself. Remember, you are banded for the rest of your life and hey, this is your life! Not fun at the moment, but this will in no way change the effectiveness of the band when you're ready to get moving.

IMO people should stay away from any outfit offering special financing for medical procedures. If you have any other sources of credit, follow them first. For example, if you own a home consider a home equity line of credit. Or refinance your mortgage and take some cash back. Self-pay patients can often work out payment plans directly with the doctors. If you don't have a good credit rating, then you'll pay top dollar for credit. A good way to find out where you stand is go to your bank, which already knows you, and ask them about their terms for a personal loan.

The tax man said who might deny your claim? You can indeed deduct banding as a medical expense, no question. The IRS is not going to come to you seeking your proof of medical necessity. Only insurance carriers care about that. If you want to submit the expenses now to your carrier, they might indeed deny your claim. But one thing has nothing to do with the other. You can deduct the expense when it was incurred (i.e., on your 2004 taxes), and when and if you are reimbursed by insurance you would report that as income and pay taxes on it then.

I have days like this too, Betty. Two days a year--the day he was born and the day he left us--my father is first and foremost in my mind. He was the best person in my life and I lost him quite suddenly. Take care of yourself and know that he loves you still.