Cocoabean

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!

Thanks for posting this, I was searching for a thread about how often people with good restriction slime/get stuck. For me it is about 3 or 4 times a month to varying degrees. It seems just when I start pondering getting another fill I get stuck! Maybe I start getting too lazy with eating, not chewing or too big of bites. I don't know, but when it happens, I say I won't get another fill, then a week or two goes by and I think maybe.................. Denise

Chicken is a cr*p-shoot for me, especially if it is dry. The moister the better for me and I chew-chew-chew. With something like steak, I get sick of chewing before I get much down, but I do love the taste! With drier meats I try to always cut it into very small pieces. As my surgeon's nurse practitioner advised, cut into pieces the size of a pencil eraser and chew the dickens out of it! Denise

Hi Arran, I had one stuck episode when my band was too tight that lasted over 5 hours, vomitting every 30-45 minutes. I have no idea where all that liquid came from! It was no fun at all. I got stuck on a small peice of loose hamburger. My doc advised that if it happens again and I cannot stand it that he could completely unfill my band to let things recover and then do a re-fill. As it turned out, I had some Fluid taken out of my band about a week later as I kept having problems, but nothing lasting 5 hours. I can't imagine 2 days! But I will say that when I get stuck, nothing feels so good as urping it up! Denise

I had to have a slight unfill two weeks after a fill. About a month later I had half the amount taken out put back in and I was fine. Denise

Just my experience, after a year with the band I averaged 1 lb. per week. Some weeks were 2-3 lbs.--others none, but on average 1 per. I think it depends a lot on starting weight. My doc said at first 5-6 lbs. per month for me then later 3-4 per month as I get closer to goal. Denise

My band seems to change from day to day. One day I cannot eat much, the next I feel like I cannot get full. My attitude is that this is fairly "normal." I watch my hubby who does not have a weight problem, some days he eats more than others. I do tend to have problems when eating out. I think because I am usually more talkative and fail to pay attention like I should. And yes, walking when stuck helps bunches. I do laps up and down our hallway. Hubby says that some day I am going to wear out the carpet. I don't know why moving helps, but it truly does. Also, when I am about to get stuck I apparently get an odd look on my face. Sometimes my hubby spots it before I feel it! Denise

My doc uses a numbing injection first, that kind of stings, after that it is just pressure and I sense a sort of "pop" when the Huber Needle goes into the port. I can always tell he found it! Denise

Hi Julie, I hope the fill gives you the boost you need to get back to losing! My tendency is to stay at a weight for several weeks then lose several pounds over a couple of weeks, then start the process over again. Plateaus are horrible. That is for certain. During the plateau, you might adjust your goals to non-scale things, like increasing exercise, concentrating on better food choices, etc. What I have found with having scale related goals is that when my body rebels for whatever reason I feel like I have failed. If I set a 10 lb. loss goal and lose only 8, I have truly succeeded, but I did not meet my goal, so feel that I failed. A recent non-scale victory for me is that I have been able to stop my blood pressure meds!! I have been hoping for this since my surgery. It was a goal I set but did not have a deadline for it. I struggled for years with obsessing over food and it has been a gradual change for me since being banded. Best wishes for making the goal of under 300! That is a wonderful thing. 22 lbs. in 10 weeks is doable if the body cooperates. But if you lose 10 and not 22, you have still been successful. 78 lbs. in 6 months is fantastic! The plateau may just be your body adjusting to its new size for a bit. Let us know how the fill goes!!! Denise

Hello all! Yesterday was my One Year Bandiversary. Since starting the process to be banded, I am down 53.5 lbs. I am down 58.5 from my all time high. I want to post about how my attitude about "dieting" has changed over the last year. Prior to this journey I had tried numerous times to lose weight. Each time keeping a jornal and pictures. Keeping track of my weight and measurements. Obsessing over every bite and every calorie burned. I was never able to make lifestyle changes that were maintainable. It was an on or off mentality. Over the past year my attitude has changed drastically along with my relationship with food. Don't get me wrong, I still love food--but my appetite no longer rules me. In years gone by, my hunger would run my day. That no longer happens. I eat my meal and I am satisfied for a few hours. I don't constantly think about my next meal or snack. I am more active because I don't hurt and it is a joy to be involved in life. After my band surgery, I went about things the way I always have, weighing in and taking my measurements weekly, keeping focus on the weight loss prize. Getting frustrated when things didn't move at the rate I felt they should. Now, at 1 year, I have averaged a pound a week. Not too shabby!! At some point recently, I discovered I am no longer weighing and measuring myself obsessively. On the date of my bandiversary, I didn't even get on the scale! I did the day before as Saturday is the day I check my weight as a rule. The best change of all is that this time, I am relaxed and confident that I will succeed. The changes to my diet are easily maintainable. I don't worry that if I relax my vigilance I will regain the weight. I realize that it has only been a year, but this is the longest I have ever gone without being on some sort of "diet" or "program." All the while losing at a steady pace (over the course of a year, not every week). Another poster in the success stories forum talked of feeling "normal." I so agree with this statement. I no longer wonder if I stand out in the crowd, or if people are looking at my plate and thinking...... At this point, I am very thankful for my band and the chages it has helped me make. Best wishes to all! Denise

Hi V-Queen. I have figured out that we don't always have control over sliming or getting stuck. Sometimes all it takes is one bite of something and whammo, pain and AGONY!!! I had issues with foods this weekend that I have eaten successfully in the past. I've learned to say a little prayer before eating that the food will go down well :scared2: If nothing else, it gets me to slow down and think before I put a bite in my mouth. I believe that if you have a band, you will slime at some point. All we can do is hope to lessen the pain by listening to our bodies and catching the problem quickly.

My stomach tends to be tender after a bad stuck episode. It can last a day or two. I try to be very easy on it for a couple of days. Denise

I got a pill stuck today. Shortly before eating lunch I took a pill. Before my first bite I got that feeling. Never had a pill stuck before but have had food stuck. It took a while to figure out why I was hurting before taking a bite of food :/ Could only eat two bites of food. Then it dawned on me what I had done. Worst of all, I am a juror on a court case, there I was sliming in the jury box!!! As a side note, if I let myself get very hungry I have a tendency to take too big a bite and not chew well. That is what cause me to get stuck most often.

Call your doc, ASAP. If you are getting blood in your digestive tract, that is NOT normal. Denise