Jim1967

Sasha has a point but first you need to determine if these stuck episodes are being caused by you or the band. I have had a couple of stuck episodes as well and when it happens it's because I either eat to fast or don't chew enough. Had that problem once with eggs and it was because I ate fast. New eating habits take time to form. At the same token the band should not prevent you from eating foods.

I go to a center of excellence and among the various staff is two Nutritionist. I saw them a couple of times prior to surgery and saw her again last Friday. She was very happy with my progress and recommended I change nothing.

So you cheated on the 6 month diet...no biggie. Important thing is not to cheat during that liquid preop diet. If you don't shrink that liver you could very well wake up and find you were not banded. I am not trying to scare you but simply motivate you. You need to shrink that liver for safety sake.

Welcome and congratulations on your surgery date. Very exciting but at the same anxious time.

I have two good articles on restriction in my signature that I keep handy to re-read once in a while to make sure I stay fresh. One of them was written by the lovely Jean McMillian and the other is on drsimpson.net both great articles.

I have it in both legs but the left is the worse of the two. I broke my left leg so it swells up pretty good through out the day. I tried diuretics for about 6 months and didn't help. As I lose weight the swelling is not as bad but I have a long way to go yet to see if any positive effects last.

Thank you all for your kind words, prayers and encouragement. Much appreciated.

I don't have head hunger or cravings much anymore since my last fill. My Nutritionist tells me for a man I should shoot for 80 to 110 grams of protein a day. I find between a 36 gram protein shake and a nice dinner I don't get hungry hardly ever. I usually have my shake in the morning and a smart one for lunch and dinner is usually a 4oz protein some veggies and if I can take in a small starch. I eat the starch last to make sure I get all the important stuff in. Sometimes I eat just to get my intake not because I am hungry. I had a sugar free peanut butter cup about a month ago but other than that no sweets.

Thank you!!

What else needs to be said? Cancer affects everyone and it is not prejudice. It will go after whoever it wants and whenever it wants. It doesn't matter who you are, what color you are, what religion you are. It does not care if you are an infant or an 80 year old senior. It will take you. Stating the obvious? I suppose..... Three years ago my Father was diagnosed with lung cancer. While he was preparing for lung surgery they performed a full body diagnoses and found he had bladder and prostate cancer. October 2009 he had his lower lobe of the left lung removed. He then did 12 weeks of chemo. He needed the chemo for the lung and they hoped it would shrink the tumors on the bladder but it did not. August 2010 (on his birthday actually) he under went major surgery and had his bladder removed. He came through the surgery fine but recovery was long and tough. Because of heart disease (heart attack, triple bypass in 2004) they kept him sedated for 5 days and slowly brought him out of it. Pain meds they given him had a done a number on him. He had awful nightmares of war. Six months ago my father was pronounced cancer free...then within the next 3 weeks he developed a cough a bad nasty cough and no one could tell him what it was. He started coughing up blood and then they found the cancer had returned but this time in the top stem of the left lung and also in the lymph node. He is currently undergoing testing to see if the right lung can sustain him with or without oxygen full time. He is on the fence about surgery and the testing they are doing will be his deciding factor. Either way he is facing another 12 weeks of chemo with or without surgery. In the last 8 years my father has endured a heart attack, triple bypass and his 3rd bout with cancer is about to get under way. He is a fighter and I can only hope when I encounter such adversity that I can attack it with same tenacity. I haven't been around much and I have only managed to drop a pound but hey its better then nothing and right now it's not about me....

Thanks I'll check that out. My concern with fills is I am already at 7cc in a 11cc band. I don't want to max it out.

I was banded April 16 this year. Just over 3 months. I have had 3 fills and scheduled for another Monday. Haven't decided if I need or want more. May do a half cc to teak it a bit. My head hunger and appetite have diminished since fill 2.

Welcome to the forum!! Good to see more guys getting active on here. No offense to you ladies. I am learning a lot from all of you. You know who you are.

Very odd with my last two fills I had restriction early on and then it seems to go away. This 3rd fill lasted longer then the second but now I am questioning whether or not I need more. I am a little confused. I see Nutrtionist tomorrow and I will discuss it. My fill appointment is Monday.

I visited the nutrionist twice before surgery and Friday will be my first post op. I just want to talk to her and get an opinion on getting a fill or not. My Nutrionist is part of my weight center team and she works directly with the surgical team.

I am not siding with insurance companies but I understand them not freely approving people without the person proving they are commited to the life style change. 14k for my overnight hospital stay and 5k for the surgeon and another 1.5k for anesthesia. If a person is not commited then it's a waste. Health care costs are out of control as it is. Giving away surgey approvals like a bank giving away pens is unrealistic.. I had to do the 6month diet for Cigna and I would do it all over again. Fact that they changed from 6 months to 3 is great progress.

I took a week vacation but I could've gone back to work after day 3. I have a desk job.

They contacted Cigna and submitted the date along with documentation all in one shot. Surgeon staff and I discussed a date on one day and then the next Cigna denied us for missing documentation and they had my birthdate wrong. I was approved the very next day after that was all straightened out. Basically, Cigna did not have a date beforehand. It was included in the initial request for coverage. It all happened so fast....

I have the Realize band as well. My first fill was also 5cc. I have had two more additional fills since at 1cc a piece for a total of 7cc. I am due for another fill appointment on Monday and haven't decided if I want more. I feel I am in the zone and I usually stay satisfied for about 3.5 to 4 hours. My cravings and head hunger are gone and my appetite has diminished greatly. I may ask for .5 cc not sure. I see the Nutritionist this Friday so I will get her opinion on things.

Wow, the 30 days is surprising. I was denied on day 2 after submitting for not providing food journals and workout logs and they also had my birth date wrong and thought I was under 18. All of that was corrected and re-submitted on day 3 and I was approved on that afternoon.

Don't give up...appeal, appeal and appeal. When you call them make sure to ask for the bariatric coverage in writing. Some times over the phone they will just say "oh we don't cover that". It happened to me and sure enough it was covered as long as certain criteria is met.

I had to stop reading the comments on cnn it was pissing me off...people are so ignorant!!

Folks make sure you go to CNN to see this article. It has before and after photos. Thanks for sharing Mis73!!

Great story and quite a motivator!! I was thinking about posting this on my Facebook page but that would just make people curious that I don't see often...

Strangely enough after my third fill my appetite, head hunger have fallen off the map completely...mind you I am not complaining and I hope it continues. As for the stuck episodes make sure you are chewing everything up really fine. I am still struggling with that but I also discovered I have more of a problem when I am in a hurry or multitasking such as working, watching tv. I have started to eat in the dining room away from the t.v. and now at work I eat in the Cafe as opposed to at my desk where work will distract me. Like Mis73 said you have to have that internal conversation with yourself and analyze whether or not you are truly hungry. Up until this last fill I would do that all the time. I wish everyone could experience what I have it is amazing. Been overweight all my life and this feeling is strange but welcoming... Have to remember we been shoving food in our faces and eating a certain way for a very, very long time. New habits take time to hone. Good Luck!!