Cocoabean

Did she truly say "stretch the band"? I ask because the band itself cannot be stretched. The outer part of it is hard. Or did she say stretch the pouch above the band? My confidence in a group leader would be sorely shaken if she told you the device itself could be stretched. My understanding of stretching the pouch is that it is not as easy as just drinking Water. Water being liquid will go down much quicker than the time needed to cause damage. To stretch the pouch takes overeating for quite some time. Unlike bypass patients, our pouches retain the ability to grind. Bypass depends on gravity to empty the pouch, band patients' stomachs still use muscle action to empty.

I hate typos! The "thicker" liquid! Rats! :-) Sorry about that.

I may be wrong, but if it isn't a covered service (which seems strange, how do you have surgery without anesthesia?) As long as you make a payment, even if a dollar a month, they cannot turn it over to collections or affect your credit. I'd not start on payments until you know for sure though. I am not Tricare, but as an example, I broke my wrist when I was out of my plan area. I kept getting bills for the emergency room visit. It went to a collections agency. I refused to pay, explaining that I was covered. The hospital wanted me to make a payment to them and recoup from my insurance. I declined. As I could prove I had coverage, they put the collection in abeyance until my HMO got their heads out of their you-know-whats, so it would not affect my credit. My company kept telling me it was in "utilization review." Turns out that with my HMO when a bill is less than $500.00 the medical group pays it, over that the insurance co. pays. My bill was $495 and out of area, so they were wrangling over who was going to write the check. They finally figured it out and paid the bill.

liquids tend to go right through the band without trouble. As long as you are following your doctor's orders about not drinking around mealtimes, it should not be a problem. Do you get pain when you drink? If not, then I'd not be concerned. After you get fills you might have to slow it down just a touch if it causes discomfort. I can easily drink a half-liter bottle of Water without stopping on an empty stomach. If I have just eaten and try to drink that quickly, I risk bringing everything back up. I think of it like a funnel, if you pour in a lot of liquid, it will back up somewhat, but continue to go down. The tighter your band, the slower it will drain. The thinner the liquid, the faster it will drain. The ticker the liquid, the slower it drains. I've been banded over three years and have good restriction. Of course, talk if over with your doctor, but I believe you should be able to drink enough to quench your thirst without damaging your band.

Crystl, congrats on the new job! That is great, especially in this job market! Elfie, so sorry about your illness. I don't think nyquil has aspirin. But if you are hacking and coughing, I doubt they will want to proceed. Wah! I am currently attempting to upload some of the pictures from the trip to FB. I am not really good at it...so check back!

Hi Everyone! We are back on dry land! I made it through a two week cruise and did not gain a pound, yay band!!!! Woot Woot! We had a great time, other than the DH being a jerk from time to time and Bandit being tight the first week. On Oahu we took the city bus from Aloha Tower where we docked over to Pearl Harbor. We'd already been to the Arizona Memorial so DH went on a tour of the submarine Bowfin and the Battleship Missouri on which Japan signed the article of surrender for WWII. It was a beautiful day, so I hung around the Pearl Harbor visitor center as the tour of the sub and ship were quite costly. He really enjoyed it. From there we took the bus to Waikiki. The bus got stuck in traffic, so DH had a fit over that. (Like a cab would not have gotten stuck? With the meter running?--what ever!). We did a 3.5 mile trudge back to the ship from there. I sure could not have made that walk prior to being banded! From Oahu we sailed to Kauai where we rented a car for the day. A convertible Mustang. We had a wonderful time driving around the island. We saw the land of Hanalei from Puff the Magic Dragon. Oooh, dinner time! More to come!

It's been tough getting on the internet! Hi Everyone! Seems internet traffic is slowing down! Elfie, his mood has improved dramatically. I think he had a bit of the guilts over leaving his mom, even though it was his decision. She got admitted one night toward the beginning of the trip. As she refuses to elevate her legs, the edema got very bad and the skin started breaking down. We discovered we had cell service when the safe started ringing! DH had not turned off his phone. It was the doctor. He said they admitted her to increase the diuretic. There truly isn't much they can do, but as she is refusing hospice, they have to treat everything as if they are trying to cure it. He told her that the refusal would mean many admissions and trips to the hospital rather than being treated symptomatically for comfort at home. Then, the second or third day of the trip, he went to the promenade deck for a walk and fell. Landed very hard. We think he might have broken a rib. He would not go see the doctor due to the cost. (Not that we would not get it reimbursed! Sheesh!) He did not tell me about this until it became clear to me that something was very wrong. But pain will put one in a very bad mood. Then he gets a sore throat. Yeah, he's had a great trip. I will say, that sort of stuff is usually happening to me on vacations. Worst one was having my appendix out on a trip. Anyway! We are heading for Ensenada, Mexico. We arrive there this afternoon. As we live just over the border, we've been there, done that. So we probably won't get off the ship, unless there is a little shopping area right at the port. My band is behaving much better now. Once I quit trying to eat Breakfast, all is right. Although I was waiting for a while, I guess it just wasn't ready for food, and it told me so for the remainder of the day. On shore days I just took a Protein Bar with me. It has worked out much nicer. I've been more active than normal on the ship. As we are on deck 9 of 14, with the shopping on 6-7 and food on 14 (with no deck 13), I find myself using the stairs more often as it is only a few flights. My knee doesn't always like it, so I'll grab an elevator from time to time. It's funny. At 47 and 57, DH and I are some of the youngest people on board!

Hi Everyone! We are still alive and surfing! Actually we didn't feel anything. We got out of Hilo on the Big Island the day before the wave hit. The safest place to be during a tsunami, aside from half the world away, is on the open ocean. I could not get on the ship's wifi as everyone else was doing the same, letting folks know we were well. We also have cell service here, so I was able to let family know we were fine. It was certainly the talk of the ship! Having a great time. Just a few more days left...wah....Bandit is not being nice, so I am hardly feeding him, as punishment! Now, we are doing much better!

Today we are on Kauai, band is being bad! More the operator is being bad. DH had a horrible day yesterday. Will report later. Now off to get a car for the day!

Wow Leigha, tragic! Glad you are ok though. I am 769 miles from Los Angeles coming to you via satellite!! Had my first urp incident yesterday. Oh well. But we are having a great time. It's nice to get away from all the craziness at home right now.

If only it were so easy as taking a thyroid pill, eh? I have had thyroid issues for years, until I finally had it radiated away. Do look closely at your caloric intake. My fear would be that if you already eat a lower calorie diet that a restrictive-only procedure might not give you enough of a boost. But you and your doctor are the best judges of that. Not me! It is very easy to under-estimate what we consume. I'd have sworn I was eating about 1200-1300 a day. Then I used a food tracker app and discovered it was closer to 1700. Which is fine as I am maintaining now. But I was shocked! Best wishes in your decision.

Oh my goodness! That sucks! I have arthritic joints, too. Can't imagine not being able to take anything. Is that the rooster comb injections? A friend had that done. It helped. He really needs new knees, but isn't ready for that. I hobble along the best I can.

Ok, so you don't have time to do a formal exercise program. Little steps on this journey. Park at the back of the lot. That will get you a few extra steps in your day. Get up and take a break and walk for 5 or 10 minutes a couple of times a day. Those add up. You know, my surgeon didn't get on me to overhaul my diet during "bandster hell." He wanted me eating better, but he understood that until I got some restriction I was facing all the demons I had before being banded. I needed the help of the band in order to be successful. At my first post-op appointment he told me that he was fine if gained a few before my first fill. Do your best to make healthy choices. Try not to sabotage yourself. You are worth taking care of yourself!

It is normal for me. Bands can be fickle things. They can vary day-to-day. What went down well yesterday might get stuck today. It is just the way of it. It gets very frustrating at times. Even after three years banded, I still experience it. It gets annoying when you go to a restaurant, get your food, take one bite, and then have to sit there and stare at it....hoping it will go down. Doggie bag time. I've learned to order things that travel well.

Over the course of a year, 1 lb per week is 52 pounds gone. That's nothing to sneeze at. If I'd gained 52 pounds in a year, I'd have been in tears like nobody's business. Being banded is about the long haul. Sometimes in the heat of the battle it's easy to forget that. Yes, we gain faster than we lose, but it is much easier to eat an extra 3500 calories than to create a deficit of 3500 calories. Believe me, I wanted the weight gone yesterday as well. But now, it IS gone. And so far, it is staying gone, with ease.

Have you ever tracked your food or worked with a nutritionist to determine how many calories you are eating? Are your thyroid levels normal? What you describe is about what I eat in a day (depending on how big your portions are). The lap band will only aid with hunger/portion control. It does nothing for malabsorption. If your problem is portion control or grazing the band could be your answer. If I were already eating small portions and not snacking, and I could show I was eating a calorie controlled diet and not losing weight....I'd want some metabolic tests done before having surgery to find out why I was gaining the weight. I eat 1600-1700 calories a day to maintain my current weight. Prior to surgery I was eating somewhere around 2500-2600 a day. Best wishes!

AquarianCrab, what can you take for pain? Anything? Do you have to take some sort of narcotic without the tylenol? My surgeon said I can do NSAIDs from time to time, just not daily.

Awesome!! I hit #3 a couple of weeks ago. Great work!

Everyone is different in what they find to be their sweet spot. I am somewhere around 6-6.5cc in a 10cc band. Others may be great at 5 or 8. There is no formula for what makes a sweet spot sweet. It depends on your anatomy.

Yes, it is. Just because your BMI is lower, doesn't mean you aren't overweight or obese. Are you gaining each year? A BMI of 30 puts you as obese. Whether or not you choose to proceed with surgery is a decision for you and your doctors. I am not saying you should have the surgery, but don't rule it out just because you fear that your insurance might not cover it. Find out the facts first. I had to appeal my medical group's decision to not allow me to see my surgeon. I won. It was a simple fight. Don't run. Get the information, then decide.

The only solid protein I cannot eat is white meat chicken. Dark meat is fine. Be sure you are cutting it into small pieces and taking your time to eat it. Celery is a problem unless I take out the strings. Asparagus is very fibrous, I have to chew very carefully. Tomato skins are an issue. If you are resorting to protein shakes, you are too tight, taking bites that are too big, or not chewing well enough. I believe anytime a bandster "resorts" to liquids to get nutrition in...something is wrong.

Oh, forgot to add, the FDA just approved the band for BMI as low as 30. That might help, too!

It depends on your insurance. Some require a 5 year history, some don't. Have you called them? You might be able to appeal that requirement by stating that the National Institutes of Health do not recommend a 5 year history as part of the criteria for patient selection. You can read about it here: http://consensus.nih.gov/1991/1991GISurgeryObesity084html.htm In order to appeal, you'd have to have been denied first.

I haven't had the experience myself, but being around the board for over 3 years..I've seen this question many times. So you are not alone. Depending on your port's location, the person doing the fill can sometimes have problems getting to it. Mine is attached to my abdominal muscles, so my surgeon had to go through quite a bit of fat to access it. They can attempt to do the fill under fluoroscopy, which is a live x-ray. That allows them to visualize the port. It's good you have an appointment to see the surgeon. It's possible that the port has flipped. It's a small procedure to correct. Do a search of the forum on "port flip" and you can read up on it.

Mattie, it's possible that with the last fill you had restriction due to the fill and a bit of swelling. When the swelling went down, you lost the restriction. But, I think you've seen what is to come when you find your sweet spot. Many doctors don't want to be too aggressive with fills for fear of making you too tight. Being too tight is absolutely miserable. I've been there. Believe me, slowly coming up to your sweet spot is much better. Also, 21 pounds since December is a fantastic loss. Please remember plateaus will happen on the journey. I discovered along the way that my trend was to lose several pounds one week, then nothing for a couple of weeks, then down one, up one, down four, same, same, same, down one, down, two, up one. So on, so on....until the total was 70 pounds gone. It's frustrating at the time, but in the long run, you will succeed.