Cocoabean

I was dying on the clear liquids! I totally feel your pain! My surgery was on a Friday and I got cleared for full liquids on Monday. There is hope! Denise

If he doesn't call you, you call him and ask. They might have a suggestion of something you can have that will sustain you better until you can move forward to mushies. Best wishes! Denise

My surgery was the second case of the day. So I got to go home that day. Had it been later, I would have stayed. I also would have stayed if there were any complications. Nothing was set in stone until the release papers were signed. At one point I wished I had stayed-I woke up during the night and the vicodin had worn off. I could not sit up. Had to wake the DH to get me some and help me get out of bed to use the bathroom. A mechanical bed would have been nice for that. Don't know what I would have done without someone to help. I guess I'd have lost weight quicker! :smile2:

Keep focus on the prize! You can make it! Also, keep the hope. I was pleasantly surprised, when my surgeon called to check on me a few days post-op, he was so pleased with my progress he let me move from liquids to mushies several days before I expected it! But really, don't do anything to risk vomitting or hurting yourself right now! Very important! It sucks, but you are worth it. Denise

The OP posted in an open forum a question about disability coverage. One's right to respond should not have anything to do with working in the industry. Some people here might have had a need to use disabilty coverage and had approval for 6 weeks of covearge due to medical need from complications or some such. This forum is designed for exchange of information and support. The OP took it one step further to say her desire to be off work had nothing to do with medical need but hatred of the job. Again in an open forum. Post in an open forum and you get what you get. She didn't ask for professional guidance from insurance folk nor for PM responses. My opinion is just a valid as anyone elses.

What bugs me the most about it is that there is no rhyme or reason to it. What I ate with no problem yesterday might get stuck today. It's especially frustrating when eating out. I try to pick things that will go down, but I can't count how many times I have taken one bite of something and gotten stuck. What a waste. If possible, I take it home, but it is darned annoying! Scottyd -- I hope your refill goes well. Fight the good fight with the hunger until then. You really want your stomach to heal so that the fill will go well and not cause new problems! Sorry you had to go through all this. I hated it when I was overfilled and trying to decide whether to get unfilled or not. Denise

Jacqui, Glad to see you are still posting! I took some time away. Nice to see long-term successes still around. Motivating to see many at different places along the journey. Denise

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