Cocoabean

Me too! Denise

I also wanted to add, he cheers when I let loose a big burp. Burps are good when banded. It means the food is moving along and the banded purson is not stuck. Might not be ladylike, but it feels soooooo good! Thanks for being there for her! Denise

Worst PB ever for me---Newbies--this might gross you out..but it wasn't painful, just surprising!: This was just last week. I was in the middle of a slime episode where I was holding the paper towel up to my mouth. I was sliming a bit. Was going to spit it into the towel and burped at the same time. This jet propelled the slime and food into the towel. When it hit the towel it then shot backward and spread out all over my face! EEEWWW! That was a new one. Thought I had experienced everything in two years! NOT!!

The way I see it with keeping it private...which certainly is your choice. 1. You swear a person who needs to know to secrecy or tell them that they may tell one person. So they do, and swear that person to secrecy or give permission that they may tell one person. Yada yada...every one is in your business. 2. People see you have lost weight and comment. Many are curious as to how you do it. Some are interested for personal reasons. I am guilty of this. A person I sort of knew at work was losing weight, I asked how she did it, thinking maybe she had found the magic bullet. She confided after a moment's cosideration that she had gone through gastric bypass. I am sure she had gone through the same thought process of how to handle the situration. I am thankful she told me. She helped me to see that it was possible to me, also. So, for what it is worth, that's my thinking on the topic. I chose to be open...except for the two people I mentioned upthread. Denise

The honesty is refreshing, however. :biggrin: But I agree with the other poster, unless there are complications, this surgery doesn't rate 6 weeks off. I'd be surprised if a doctor would support it. I did 1 week of sick leave and half-time work/sick leave the second week. In my case, with no complications, my surgeon cleared me for work at one week, but said he would write me a note for two weeks. My boss did not require a note and would have let me take more if I wanted it. But it was my sick leave not disability. Best wishes in your recovery! Denise

This just cracked me up! Sorry to laugh at your expense, but it is laughing WITH you! We've all been there. Being overfilled is no fun. That is for sure. I was once, I could still get Water down, but that was all and it was a struggle. Don't mess with it. I also had a stuck episode that went on for 5 hours. Never knew the body could manufacture that much spit and slime. I called my surgeon the next morning just to check in about it. I didn't need an unfill after that one, just took it easy for a couple of days. It's all a learning process. As to the original topic, I do the same. One day I can eat half a cow the next day only soup or mushies. I asked my surgeon about it. He says that the stomach moves a bit up and down within the confines of the band. So you feel tighter or looser as this occurs. Also, as I watch my "normal weight" friends, they have days when they are more hungry and days when they are less. Just my thoughts on the topic! Denise

Not a Master Bander, either. I eat to my appetite. Breakfast is usually 2-3 graham crackers with a little Peanut Butter. lunch is either a half sandwich and salad or Pasta, soup, or frozen low-cal meal. dinner is salad and meat of some sort. I'll admit to occassional Snacks that aren't the best choice. But I like that about the band. I am free to make choices and have special treats. Denise

Oh, forgot to mention -- PB (productive burp) you don't have control over. You burp, and surprise! You have a mouth full of whatever just went down.

Best advice I can give -- as soon as you start to feel any discomfort stop eating until it goes away. If you ignore it and keep eating, you are in trouble. Can't say how many times I have done that. :biggrin: There is not always an immediate relief. One of my first stuck episodes went on for 5 hours. I never knew a body could manufacture so much liquid. I kept vomitting, but the offending item would not come up. After hours of torture, it finally cleared...that was the worst. A few things that have worked for me: Walk, walk, walk, and walk. The more you move, the less it hurts. Making weird faces seems to help, too. :tongue2: Hubby will rub my back to help me burp. Same principle as burping a baby. Mix a little baking soda in Water and drink it down. This will often bring it back up with very little heaving. Be near a sink or toilet when you do this. Sometimes I can just lean over the toilet and work my stomach muscles and bring it up. Last resort is a finger down the throat. Sometimes it will take more than one attempt to get the "cork" out of the bottleneck. But once it comes out, then the relief is immediate. After a bad episode, I take it easy for a day or two and stick with soft foods. My stomach can be sore for a while. I have problems with breads and dry meats. I pretty much avoid them these days. Best wishes on your journey. Denise

My husband does not have a weight problem and never has, so my struggle was never his. Things my husband does that I love... He'll say "chew, chew, chew" at the beginning of a meal to remind me, as I tend to eat too fast and take bites that are too big. He shares meals with me when we eat out. Saves money and calories! He can identify when I am getting something stuck before I can and will say, "you OK?" Never blames me if I get stuck, unless I blame myself first, and only then in a loving manner. Leaves me alone when stuck. Was right there with the pain meds after surgery. Things I hate: He used to tend to be the food police. He's worked hard to knock that off. When I was getting close to getting to a weight below his he decided to "teach me a lesson" about controlling food intake and started restricting his food and lost about 7 lbs in short order. Best wishes to both of you! Denise

My doc said no gum. It could get stuck if swallowed. Fortunately, I am not a gum chewer. Check with your doc to see what he or she says and ask why. Denise

I chose to be open about it. The only person close to me that I didn't tell is my mother-in-law, and that is because she would have made a huge production out of it, and would still be asking me if I am ok and rubbing my cheek in concern--2 years later. Some people assumed that I have done it on my own, since the loss was slow, and I didn't go out of my way to dispell them. But if asked how I did it, I tell the truth. There was one person at work for whom I had a vehement dislike. I did tell her it was smaller portions, which was not a lie. But there was no way I was going to go into it with her. She'd proceed to say whatever she wanted to about me to anyone who'd listen anyway, so there was no point in wasting my breath. She was one who didn't need to lose weight but was forever saying she needed to go on a diet. Or complained about how "fat" she was. Ugh! Anyway, my 2 cents worth. Denise

I was a very show loser. I didn't start to lose anything until 2 weeks post-op and then I averaged 0.5-1 lb. per week. Many don't lose anything until they start getting fills. Don't get discouraged. I remember being on here and seeing others lose way faster than I was. I'd get so annoyed! But you know what? I continued on, and now, I am down 60 lbs. I am about 5 lbs. away from a normal BMI. My blood pressure is normal, my blood sugar is normal! Just remember, this is not a race or a contest, you WILL succeed. Continue to heal and look forward to fills. Denise

Hillmama, Could some of your timidity with your doctor be related to the complications? What I mean is that do you fear that your surgeon thinks you might blame him for the problems? I know that might change my behavior around someone. Even though you don't blame him. The longer the Quest for answers goes on about something "he did to you" could cause a change in the dynamics of the relationship. Perhaps I don't know what I am talking about. It's just my two cents worth from the outside looking in. Denise

Reading the replies, I was amazed to see that there was anyone who said never. I'd say that is the exception rather than the rule. Your skills at eating slowly and chewing well will definitely help. But I have had a couple of times where what went down---came up. Not often, but I did not have a choice in the matter. Denise

Hi Maybe, I wrote a post to you yesterday that went into web oblivion, or I forgot to hit the submit button. I prefer to think it went into oblivion! :biggrin: Anyway. Let me try it again. Look at it this way, if you have to wait to be self pay, you have to wait. If you have to wait to show the history of obesity, you have to wait. Either way, time is going to pass. Use the time wisely to educate yourself about this process. In the end, you'll get the surgery you need, and most likely the insurance will pay for it. I don't know much about Aetna, I had BCBS. But I would not be surprised if you have to appeal. Don't be afraid of appealing, you owe it to yourself to fight for your health. Hey! There is a good motto for us! My opinion is that they deny and deny and have all these hoops hoping that we will give up and they don't have to pay out the money for the surgery. I was denied even a consult with a surgeon because I hadn't done a 6 month supervised program. I submitted years and years worth of Weight Watchers records and BCBS waived that requirement. After that, I had no problems with the insurance portion. I made a good argument, they agreed. You could submit with the weight you had logged in 2007 (did they record that you were to heavy to weigh, or just that you did not weigh in?) and where you are now. If you were too high for the scale in 2007 and still roughly that high now, point out how unlikely it is that your BMI dropped to a healthy level in 2008, be sure to point out how many pounds that would have been to lose and regain in that span of time. While perhaps not impossible to do, losing and regaining 200 lbs. in a year and a half or two would be less than healthy to say the least. Sorry if I am overestimating on the amounts here. Not trying to be rude just trying to make a point. I am of course using logic here, which the insurance companies don't seem to understand. But if you submit pictures of you from years past like when you were much younger showing obesity then list the few records you DO have--I believe that to be a long history of this disease. The book Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies is an excellent resource. It has some great appeals letters. Best Wishes, Denise

I am in California, and have BCBS. I believe my info was submitted in late November/early December and I heard mid-January. I -think- I remember someone in my surgeon's office saying they have 30 days to approve or deny. But that could have been my appeal to even see the surgeon. Best wishes!! Denise

I used Weight Watchers records to prove a history of diet attempts. I'd think something like that might work to prove weight as well. If you did any type if weight loss program, submit that. If it doesn't apply to you, hopefully it might help someone else. Denise

Normal blood pressure (off meds--yay!!) Normal blood sugar! Life doesn't revolve around next meal. Obsessing over food is a thing of the past. Don't mind walking distances-because my joints don't hurt as bad, and I don't get winded. Single digit size jeans (size 8!)--down from size 20. My husband isn't as worried about my health. I don't feel as though people are looking at or judging what I am eating when I eat out. I don't feel that I stand out. I am not always the biggest person in a group. No more shopping at "The Tent Makers Shop"--Misses sizes are fun A silly one---my wrists are tiny. I was always envious of ladies with little wrists. Mine are now! Denise

I know budget can be a big factor is shopping strategy. But some excellent suggestions have gone before me. I find wearing clothes that fit nicely to be a good motivator. Wearing loose and baggy stuff doesn't show the new me! My surgeon has a support group where they do a clothing exchage, and people bring in what doesn't fit to donate to those who can use them. Perhaps there is something like that in your areas? Or you could start something. I love to shop, so I bought a few things with every size drop. But some of my nicer things I had tailored to fit the smaller me. In my area having a pair of slacks taken in is around $14.00. Not bad to keep a fairly expensive pair of pants in the closet for a while. When done by a professional, you can't tell that anything was done. Had I attempted it, ugh! Has anyone else noticed that pants get longer as your thighs get thinner? Now that my weight is pretty stable, I don't have the excuse to shop so much My size has never been the same this long, I might actually wear something out! Denise

I sometimes get pain just above my port, that feels like a "stitch in the side"--it worried me at first, but over time, I realized it wasn't my port at all, but gas pain. I don't know if this is true, but I envision it as some gas caught in a spot that the surgery created. Like a corner that wasn't there before. Denise

Hello TeganRheana, I have a 10cc band with either 4.5cc or 5cc (I can't remember exactly now for some reason). I am now back to the level I was when my band got too tight and I had to have some taken out. I have good restriction. Although I am losing at a snail's pace right now. But I am happy with my health and body at this size and am not highly motivated to work harder at losing. When I had my last fill, the first few days were wonderful. I was not hungry, could make excellent choices, and was full for quite a while on one small meal. Then my appetite seemed to return to the same level as the previous fill. I don't know what happened with that. I know the band can be volatile, but dang! And I have had three stuck episodes over the last week, so I really do not want to go tighter. My doc is very conservative on fills and we speak a lot before deciding on how much to put in. And he listens to what I have to say. He says he'd rather we sneak up on the sweet spot than go over then under then over....chasing it like crazy. I hope your relationship with your doc improves. Denise

Hello Zepol, Yes, I am still very pleased with Dr. Callery. I just saw him for a fill a few weeks ago. Dr. Callery's office has a forum at thinnertimes.com I may have posted there. Most of my posts are here at lapbandtalk. I think there is a way to search my posts. As a note about Dr. Callery, my post-op nurse told me she has worked with him many times and feels he is one of the most caring doctor she has worked with, and also one of her personal favorites. She told me that if I have problems and need to call his office to not hesitate and that I would hear from him personally. Fortunately, I did not have any problems post-op, but I did have a problem with a fill once. I called the office, and Dr. Callery called me back within 15 minutes. They saw me about an hour later to remove some of the fill. I am happy to answer questions about my experience (the good and the bad), and if you decide to go to one of Dr. Callery's seminars let me know if you'd like me to attend. Best of luck in your journey! Denise

Dr. Callery did my surgery 2-15-2008. I think he did a fantastic job and is a very competent, caring, and compassionate physician. I have posted many of my experiences in other forums. Denise

Hello there! Thinner Times offers off-line support, as well as an online forum: Support Groups | Practice Information I am not sure if their off-line support is just for patients of their practice, you might want to call to be sure before venturing to Poway. Best wishes for your surgery!