Rebecca Cain Salpacka

21 of the 35 has been since surgery. I had gotten sick (nothing band related) and it kept me out of the gym for over 2 weeks, then was down with a sprained ankle...so my biggest struggle this last month or so has been exervise. as for foods..breads get stuck, flour tortillas like i use for chicken wraps also get stuck..and chicken i have to eat right when cooked, cuz if i have to reheat it, it gets too dry and then it sticks, if its not dry i can eat it....so far thats the only things i have tired that have bothered me. Im also having a hard time waiting the 30 mins or so to drink, after I eat...but i have got myself down to just a small sip about half way through meal and then right after the last bite.

welcome and good luck on your journey. I too am in south suburbs of chicago..near Oak Lawn. My surgery was 4/26 out at Loyola in Maywood. Looking forward to reading more about your journey and if you ever need anything, just holler...support is the key to any lifestyle change. becky

generally medicaid is for low income or no income families and it is insurance through the state...the best way to find out about it is to google search "apply for Louisiana Medicaid" I would think that would take you to the right website and give you all the information.

I am in Illinois and have just Medicaid..my surgery and all pre evaluation appts were covered, i just had my first fill on june 4 and was told it was covered, i havent heard differently so far, so im assuming its all good..it better be anyway cuz im going to get my second fill mid july

South suburbs of chicago....was banded 4/26 at Loyola

banded 4/26 have lost 21 lbs

my band was empty at surgery, first fill was 5 wks post op. still hungry very little restriction with 4 cc in a 14cc band, plan to ask for anohter fill after 4th of july, give myself time to see if i can still lose steadily without another fill.

I too have been overweight my whole life. I remember wearing "husky" sizes in first and second grade, 5th grade I was 120 lbs, went into h.s at 200 lbs...at age 22 when i met hubby i was 260 lbs...tipped the scales the day I met my LB surgeon at 357 lbs..im now age 39. I have no clue what it will be like to be "thin". My goal for this surgery is to be back at 200...less would be great..but to be back to what i was in h.s for me would be a miracle..and tho I wont be "thin" I know I will be much healthier than I am now. as for how others will react...i pray they wont react different...but i do know of friends who have had WLS and they themselves have changed which changed how those around them have treated them...so as long as my personality doesnt change, i dont think those around me will act any different, and if they do and its in a negative way..(I have read stories on here of this happening) then they were never meant to be in my life anyway.

I had my first fill back on June 4th, prior to that i was eating 3 meals and usually ended up snacking around 8 or 9 pm. Was losing about 2 lbs a week with exception of one week i lost 5. Since fill i found myself not eating as big of portions so then i would be hungry about every 2-2.5 hours instead of every 4-5...i eat about 5 meals a day and havent been hungry after about 6 pm, and im someone that stays up til midnight some nighrs. I went to nutritionist appt on the 7th and had lost 3.5 lbs since that monday..this morning im down another pound so it seems to be working for me, but again everyone is different. try it out for a week or two and see what happens. good luck.

Isnt it the BEST feeling in the world!

if u havent had them since surgery..be careful. i had my first one after my first fill, and well, the shell caused me to get stuck. i know it wasnt the meat cuz i had taco meat prior to that and was fine. If you can stop at just one, you may be ok..but tacos are kinda like chips, at least for me, i want more than one lol. Good thing i got stuck or i would have had more than one.

so far so good, did end up having chicken for dinner, but ate one and half of a grilled tender..was 1.5 oz total and i was good...chewed well and ate slow. no problems

Just finished eating the fish. I was able to eat the whole fillet..but am definitely satisfied and for the first time since surgery, i dont feel hungry when im done eating, its a great feeling lol. im gonna stick with soft mushier stuff, (eggs, cream soup, fish) for the first few days, til i see how im reacting to that stuff before jumping into the chicken or pork.

So i was a little anxious about getting my first band fill..it wasnt nearly as bad as I expected..a little pinch from the needle and that was it. Doc said i can eat solids today (i assumed i had to do liquids for cpl days) since i couldnt eat solids this morning before procedure, i am no doubt hungry. I am hesitant tho, becausse now that i should have restriction..(4 cc's) the fear of getting stuck has consumed me. I will however, make an attempt..im cooking up one fillet of Gortons Lemon Pepper fillet. its 3.5 oz, so according to doc i shouldnt be able to eat it all (3 wks after surgery i was able to eat 2 of them and still feel hungry...so it will be amazing if i cant finish 1) I am excited tho to see how the fill changes things for me, and to see the added pounds I will lose by finally filling full for once.

So, after the first 15 lbs or so that I lost, I felt my bra getting to big...but i just didnt feel i lost enough inches to drop a size. Last tuesday when I weighed myself i was at 29lbs gone (16 of it since surgery 4/26). I had gone to the store with a friend, and as we passed the "intimate apparel" area, i thought..hmmm, maybe? Then i got gutsy lol. I was wearing a 50C, normally you would just try one size down..but i said what the heck and grabbed a 46C...it fit..and it fit great...didnt roll on the sides, straps didnt slip, and mega support! It is a Just My Size brand...but this means that I am not far from a 44, which means I can go into any store, and select from many more styles off the pegs, rather than just the JMS ones in the boxes...i swear i have worn the same 3 styles of bras for as long as I can remember lol. I dont track my measurements..one because in past years when I have...after losing a few inches I would assume that i should change size and then go try it on, and it just didnt work and id be disappointed...so this way, i dont assume anything, and if i try something on and it dont fit..i dont feel so bad. Now, if the lower body can drop as easily as the upper body, id be set lol...but ill take a drop...ANYWHERE on my body lol.

I felt the same way night before surgery...i ended up in bed several hours early lol. good luck tomorrow

A fill is an adjustement to your band. In most cases, the band is put in with no Fluid in the inner ring. approximately a month after surgery..but can vary with each person...u will get a fill..they use a needle to add saline to your band and make it tighter, so you have more restrction and feel full with smaller portions. The other "adjustment" is if its too tight after a fill, and you cant get any food down..they remove fluid to loosen it back up. Ask your surgeon for more info, this should have been something she or he went over with you at your first consultation or would have been in reading materials they should have given you. hope this helps...good luck!

I have been happy with my progress since surgery on 4/26. I found out last week that I am getting my first fill tomorrow 6/4. I have been eating the right foods for my meals and doing pretty good....however, the last 3 or 4 days, I have found myself snacking on crap foods. I dont sit there and eat a whole package of Cookies or bag of chips...but over the 3 days I have had 2 donuts, 2 chocolate bars, about half a bag of low fat chips, and 2 16oz bottles of soda. None of it got stuck (cuz i have no restriction yet) and the carbonation from the soda didnt bother me. I know this isnt an obscene amount of junk over 3 days..but its junk I havent touched since the end of January when I decided I wanted to get the LB... Obviously this wasnt a single slip up since its something i did over few days..but for some reason the will power to not have those things, just wasnt there anymore. I have been able to say no to them even when hubby has them in the house, now that I have been eating them, this morning we tossed the remaining donuts and chips that were in the house....I have tried not to beat myself up over it, we all have moments we "mess up" and i know that things will start going in the right direction again...just still really sucks that I let it happen. I am certain I have gained back a lb or two in the last couple days, or at least I feel like I have...but I vow to get rid of them very soon...I was down into the high 320s and if that scale says 330's again...I WILL NOT be happy.

I hope it does..i dont get my first fill til this coming monday, and i pray it gives me restriction because i have absolutely none right now. the weight i have lost has been pure willpower to step away from the food lol. I have no clue how much my fill will be, most i have read have said between 1-3 cc...so i will have to see. Good luck and hopefully it gets better for ya, or when u talk to your doc, maybe u will need more fill...

wowsa...100 in 5 months. AWESOME~ I told my doc i had goal of 75 in a year and she said thats perfect cuz its the average for most people...so 100 in 5 months is amazing.

I have been sending my food journal and weigh-ins (which i do weekly) to my nutritionist. I told her tho im eating portions twice the size i should be, im still using all i have to stop eating at each meal because im still hungry. I told her i was afraid the surgeon wouldnt do fill cuz im losing, she said losing is one thing, feeling full is anohter, if im not feeling full, then i need a fill, so that i dont end up eating more calories, while trying to get full and then stop losing. So yes, even tho u are losing, you can still get a fill...tho im sure there are some docs out there, who would say otherwise. good luck

You sound like me, having a big goal to work towards is what i need in order to stay motivated...you had your wedding day, and now that has passed. Is there another big day, maybe a childs graduation or reunion, etc..that you can pinpoint and use as a goal? The prednisone for sure has been a huge issue and when you are off of that, hopefully some will drop right back off...like you said you did this before and you CAN do this aggain. believe in yourself, those around you believe in you! Get back to tracking your meals...my guess is, that by now you have stopped doing that, (i only say that because in my past, before the band) i would stop tracking after a cpl months cuz i thought "i had it down and in my head" what i could and could not eat. you may have to go back to the very beginning. Do the pre-op diet for a week or two, then step up like post-op, this may be just enough to get that scale moving again, and once u see the numbers going back down, it will surely get you excited to keep it going. positive thoughts lead to positive actions which can only lead to positive results!

wow thats amazing. since surgery 4/26, ive lost 16...so you are far ahead of me..im still very happy with that tho, considering it took me about 7 weeks to loose the first 13, prior to surgery lol. Keep up the good work...i get my first fill on 6/4 so i know i will see big changes after that.

my first fill is next monday, i was told no solids that morning..my appt is 1130

this is true that most insurances will allow coverage if there are medical issues with rashes, however, most will allow it only after you have lost a percentaghe of the access weight over your "ideal" weight, or after you have had the weight off for a certain time...so depending on these factors you may have to wait a bit for the lift, but it will most likely get covered from what i have researched.