Alexandra

A stop of weight loss shortly after surgery is absolutely normal, Katarina. I just posted to someone else with essentially the same question. If you have not had an adjustment yet you very likely won't feel any restriction or effect of the band. You're in what's known as "bandster hell"--that time when you know you've had surgery but can't feel any difference. Patience is called for, and you'll feel the difference once you've had one or two adjustments. YOU ARE NORMAL and everything is fine.

Mandi, you're still healing and your body is recovering from a pretty major trauma (even if you don't feel that way). In all of this journey, the great unpredictable is the way our bodies react to circumstances. If you're looking for an absolutely steady rate of loss you are bound to be disappointed. EVERYONE goes through stops and starts, plateaus and periods of rapid loss. YOU ARE NORMAL. just be patient and take a longer view of the process. You're doing great!!

I think they meant "Inamed" lapbands, right? There's no such thing as an "enamel" band. As I understand it, the band that's just been approved has been in use under the name Swedish AGB for years now. Johnson & Johnson bought it, or the American rights to it, in order to compete with Inamed (now Allergan). And they've just received FDA approval. Many, many patients banded outside the US have this band, and while there's nothing wrong with it they have found it difficult to get followup care here in the States because it was not FDA-approved. That may change now, but probably not for a good while. I'd be leery of getting anything other than in Inamed/Allergan band if you plan to have aftercare in the States.

The word "restriction" itself means just that the band is tightened to a point where the banded person feels its effects. The actual sensation and effects vary considerably from person to person, and even from time to time in the same person. And there's "good" restriction and "bad" restriction (which usually means over-restriction). When people have what feels like perfect restriction for them (also called their "sweet spot"), the effects will be such that: --a small portion of highly nutritious food, eaten slowly and chewed well, satisfies hunger; --hunger remains at bay for 4-6 hours. There should be no other negative effects; if there are, there is something wrong with the patient's behavior or the level of restriction. (I say that assuming that we all agree that an inability to eat a whole pizza at a sitting is not a "negative" effect.)

This was very interesting! Here is mine:

In general, any truly emergency situation will be covered by all carriers, no matter what the reason. There's just too much liability otherwise. That said, the treatment might be limited to an emergency unfill or whatever is necessary just to stabilize the situation; it's unlikely a carrier that excluded the surgery in the first place will pay for a revision surgery, even if it is necessary.

I 1000% agree, BetsyJane. This thread will be locked if the personal attacks and name-calling don't stop. Thank you.

In my experience, it takes about four HOURS before I notice a difference with BeneFiber! :peep: Just to show your mileage may vary. It's great advice, a great product, and daily use will prevent any problems.

As long as the thyroid hormone levels are well-controlled with medication, an underactive thyroid is no reason not to get banded. If it's newly diagnosed or is not responding to hormone treatment, the doctors will want to get a handle on it before proceeding with surgery.

This discussion has really helped, y'all. I just ordered a Palm TX handheld which should do everything I need it to do without making me change phones or learn too much new stuff. Thanks!!

Believe me, I would. But I really do need to be able to check e-mail from places other than my home or office from time to time. In past years I've done things like go to the library, but that won't work everywhere.

Can you look at this and let me know what you think? It looks cool!

Thanks, L. I think this is probably is the way to go, since I do need a new PDA and would prefer NOT to combine it with my phone. And it seems a lot more reasonably priced than a whole-shebang unit. Now, if a machine is Wifi-equipped, does that mean I just need to find a WiFi hotspot and I'm online? I was looking at the Palms and they seem to have this feature already in.

I just looked at Palm, and their Treo looks to me like a Blackberry. What's the difference? And it's $400!! yikes.

I already have a Palm PDA, a Zire model. Is that the sort of thing you're talking about? If I had a new one of those, are you saying it can access the web? How does that work?

I just got a new job (YAY!) and I think I'm going to need something that will let me check e-mail and the web when I'm traveling. But I don't want a laptop, since I just bought a new desktop and really only want to use that. I have no idea what I'm doing, though, and could really use some help. Here are my questions: I have Verizon Wireless as my phone provider, and I really like it. Naturally, I just signed a new contract and got a new phone over the summer, and now I find I need more. But I've heard that I can buy a phone anywhere and make it work. Is that true? Is there any way to have two cell phones using the same number? I really like my cell phone and don't want to use a Blackberry all the time if I don't have to. If I can buy a unit (for lack of a better term) elsewhere, what am I looking for? Blackberry? Palm Treo? Something like that? What's a "Smartphone"? The listings on Ebay are utterly mind-spinning, and in any event I've never used Ebay and find that intimidating enough. What I'd really like to do is rent a Blackberry or Palm Treo or something just to use on business trips and vacations. Anyone know if that's at all possible? Or maybe I can rent a laptop? God, I feel like such a dork. All this new technology is finally making me feel old.

Fish is fish, smoked or not. Smoked salmon is one of my staples. And matzoh ball soup is great, too, as long as you don't stuff yourself with the balls. Bagels are out, though, if you have restriction; that was the one thing I had to completely give up that I really was afraid I'd miss. But it's amazing how good restriction lets you just ignore food that will cause a problem!

This is a decision best made with medical advice. Leaving the band in but empty should be OK, as long as you are sure that it's in the right position and you will be able to keep it that way by not overeating and putting pressure on it. The device itself will not cause any problems, but if it hasn't worked well for you so far it seems to me that taking it out might be a better way to go. Revising to RNY is certainly not the only option. Talk with your doctor honestly about your goals and concerns and I hope you'll find the answer you seek!

There are several reasons not to eat late in the evening before going to bed, and it's even more important for bandsters. Eating late means that whatever you eat is going to be metabolized as slowly as possible, since you're sleeping rather than up and moving around. Almost all conventional diets recognize this and advise against eating late. And for bandsters it's even more important, because lying down while there is still food in the pouch can lead to irritation of the tissues. This can lead to being too tight in the morning, leading to the well-known phenomenon of not eating before mid-afternoon, getting hungry in the evening, eating late, and starting the whole vicious cycle over again. So, in general, try not to eat solid food for three hours or so before retiring for the night.

Hi Angelica, I just replied to your other thread about individual insurance, and now that I know you're in NJ I can tell you that you absolutely are NOT eligible for individual insurance as long as you are eligible for your group plan. That said, let me ask this: are you in a large-group plan? I'm in NJ and have not heard that BC/BS has that requirement here. Maybe it's being levied by your employer in an effort to make the plan more restrictive? In any event, it's worth a call indeed. Good luck!!

Hi Angelica, You need to check what the regulations are in your state before considering this option. In many states, individuals aren't even eligible for insurance if they are eligible for group plans through their employers. And even if you are, it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to purchase insurance that is *better* than what's offered by your employer. In general, group plans offer better benefits at more reasonable prices than individual plans.

Sorry, Ryan, that's really not the same thing. What they're probably offering is reimbursement for gym memberships or things like Weight Watchers, which is just an added benefit and not medical insurance at all. It's one of those "value added" things that the carrier or vendor throws in (since they know relatively few people will take advantage, and it's low-cost even if they do) to make it seem like the company is getting a great value. It really has nothing to do with coverage for medical conditions.

I doubt very much that any state permits individuals to buy additional insurance to cover what's excluded by their employers' policies. I know in NJ it's not even possible to buy individual insurance AT ALL if you're eligible to be covered under a group plan. But check with your state's department of insurance to find out what the regulations are in your area. Exclusions are a bitch, but definitely check ALL the writing in your policy to see if treatment for morbid obesity is excluded. Often there will be a caveat to the exclusion to the effect that IF you are medically qualified, treatment will be covered. In other words, they won't cover treatment UNLESS you have a BMI of 40+ or 35+ with accompanying comorbidities. I think the day is coming when across-the-board exclusions of treatment for morbid obesity won't be permitted. But it's not here yet.

I agree. I HATE talking about my weight--on the way up or the way down--always have. It is just not a topic of conversation I will engage in except with very close friends, and even then, only rarely. When people I don't consider close friends ask I get a chilly tone in my voice and that seems to send the message that this is not something I'm going to be happy talking about. That seems to shut them up.

Thanks, guys! Right now and until the transition is complete, I'm really working both careers and trying to stay on top of things. I may be scarce--even scarcer than usual--but I'll try not to disappear entirely. This is so exciting!!!