bandster_1007

Bandster 1007, you sound like me! The topamax was HORRIBLE!!!! Sounds like you treat your Migraines the same way I do except with different versions of the same meds. I have not heard of this "skelaxin" is it like flexiril (a muscle rexlaxor?) I might ask my doc for it next time I am in cause my body has gotten used to the flexiril and its effectiveness is not what it used to be.

It is a muscle relaxer, but it doesn't make you droggy at all. flexiril and zanaflex, and soma, knocked me out, so this is the best bet.

i had the same problem and mine has lasted for more than a month. my dh keeps saying "your stomach is still so swollen", i'm p.o. about it.

ok, the fee i can completely understand. the insurance process is a monster. and a lot of patients will let the clinic do all the hard work of getting the insurance approval, and then they back out. it is a lot of paperwork on the clinic's side, and i completely understand them charging a fee for it. maybe i'm bias because i work in mortgaging and know what a pain in the ass it is to complete a lot of paperwork on a file that never closes. it can cost the company a lot of money in labor hours.

HOWEVER, i would not be comfortable with their care policy. ok, so we know they are busy already, but if a clinic is so busy that they are already telling you that you can't call them, then i would say they are too busy for new clientel.

my doctor's office has a policy that their door is always open for questions, and they beleive that we should go to them first as they are the best source for answers. sometimes they have heavy call volume and cannot return a call immediately, but they also accept e-mail at any time, and regardless of how many calls they get a day, they ALWAYS return the call.

it doesn't sound like your doctor's office has a good amount of customer service, at least in the area of post op comfort.

i suffer from Migraines terribly. so much to the point that i may lose my job.

i suffer from classic migraines with aura, and the tension in my neck and shoulder's usually "trigger" my Migraine. sometimes i'm lucky and i just have visual changes (one time the very center of my vision was gone, and i only had peripheral vision, i could only see the beginning of a word but not the middle unless i turned my head to the side).

anyways, i was to the point of missing work at least once a week for migraines, and i had tried topamax, midrin, axert. finally i resorted to taking Hydrocodone. it wasn't until the week before my banding that my PCP told me that hydrocodone actually triggers migraines and that tylenol is a culprit.

so my pcp (not my neuro) gave me samples of maxalt and skelaxin. i take the maxalt at onset, but i take a skelaxin when i am having muscle tension.

i took one dose of each 2 days before surgery, and i have not had a single migraine since i had surgery. i have never gone longer than a week, and now i have gone 30 days.

(by the way, i was not in agreement with the topamax, as one of the side effects causes your limbs to "fall asleep", well i get this with the migraines, so why in the world would i add to it.

also, the midrin made me nauseous, and the axert lost it's effectiveness.

my doc says that all pills should go down relatively easy. they want us taking chewable Vitamins because...well you know, you've seen those things.

my docs said that if it is a capsule that is time release, i can open the capsule and put it in applesauce if i ever have a problem, but he said if it is a tablet with a enteric (sp?) coating on it, that i would need to either get a new medication, or ask for it in liquid form.

he said the main difference is where the pill is made to be absorbed in the digestive tract.

i'm going for a pre-dinner tomorrow evening with the in-laws. then i go to mom's next week. i was just cleared to eat "normal" things yesterday, so i will be able to enjoy the thanksgiving feast the week before i get my first fill. perfect timing, and i'm not going to hold back either. next year, i hope to be able to eat a lot less than i can now.

Hey I actually have a couple of size 12 jeans and cords I'd love to offer to another bandster if anyone is interested as well as a few other clothes I no longer fit. I planned on eventually donating them to goodwill or a womens shelter but would actually rather pass them onto another bandster working her way down the scale. PM me if any of you are interested in a more detailed list. Warning on the pants I am 5'2" so most are short leg though even with a short leg they were too long but rather than cut them shorter making it even less likely to find someone else to give them to I duct taped them up inside the leg.

OH MY GOSH!!! THAT IS THE BEST IDEA!! I'm 5'2 and i have a 26 1/2 inseam and i am ABLE to hem my pants, but i'm not very good at it. That is such a great idea. I would love to get the clothes from you, but i'm a long way from that size ...lol... duct tape is going to be my new best clothing accessory!!

i was a self pay, too and my doctor collects a $400 non refundable fee for filing the insurance. i of course did the research on my own and found out that my policy has a written exclusion to any medical treatment for obesity. so, i asked them to waive the fee and they did.

i ordered the samples last week and tried the choco yesterday. i thought it was VERY good. to me it was a treat, almost like dessert. i considered it choco. milk .

i was wondering for those that have tried the unflavored, does it blend pretty well with drink like Crystal Light. I don't want to just wast it, because i may be discouraged to buy a big container.

yeah, my schedule is kind of mid month to mid month. i guess i should have done it for november, but i am 4 weeks out, so now is better than never.

i haven't lost any more weight, but my goals are to focus more on the exercising aspect.

you guys are doing awesome...makes me feel like i'm really on the slow side, but i know it will work later. i haven't been following the rules this past week because my son has been very sick. so i'm starting over tomorrow.

i set up my outlook calender to remind me when it is time to drink whenever i go to work. i usually wake up at 6 a.m. and fix a crystal light orange. i then drink it and take all of my meds. i have my Breakfast before 8 a.m. then i drink 16 oz. at 9 a.m. and again at 11 a.m. Then at noon i go on my lunch break and drink about 8 oz, then eat right after drinking (this is my doc's recommendation), then i can drink at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. w/ 16 oz each time. then i drink a little Water before i eat dinner. and i usually have the time and the thirst to drink 2 more 16 oz glasses before i go to bed.

now, i mix most of my drinks with crystal light, for some reason i cannot get Water to go down as well. i feel like the back of my throat tightens and i swallow too much air, because i have to make myself swallow instead of doing it instinctively. weird, i know.

my doctor says that we should wait one to one and a half hours after eating before we drink. i have drank before when i was snacking, but either way i do, i do not feel that it affects my hunger. however, most often that not, i stick with that rule. it seems to be the only one i can stick to.

yes, i have taken it before, but not prescribed by her...so..that could be the issue.

My Pcp prescribes me 90 tablets of Phenegran every 3 months for just in case times. I've never ever had any trouble and if I run out I just call him and he calls it in for me.

see, this is exactly what i expected to happen!!!!!

haha, lindata, the stomach thing must be an arkansas thing!!!!...lol

i understand my doctor's rationale, completely, and i would agree that i was more annoyed than actually mad. if i do throw up over the weekend, i will go to the ER. but, my neurologist prescribes phenergan like no tomorrow. too bad she's closed today.

[#3 not looking like that lady in that commercial (slim something) when she stop eating bread and so did her DH and he lost and she got larger.

oh, those commercial's are SSOOO perfect!!

i'm looking forward to not having to have the nurse switch to the X-LARGE armcuff when checking my blood pressure.

it would be nice if i could rid the "cottage cheese" look on my thighs

i absolutely cannot beleive that i have rolls on my back (noticed those in my "before" picture.---those have got to go

funny, i had this happen to me just the other day. i had made zatarain's red Beans and rice and i had added smoked turkey sausage. i sat down with my 1/4 cup, and drank a glass of Water before i sat down. half way thru, i felt this terrible urge to drink. it was the first time that i REALLY wanted to drink during my meal. i did not drink, but it was hard not, too. for me, this was the first "dry" food that i had eaten, the sauce and rice was very salty and thick.

i'm officially in the stage now where i can eat normal foods, but i'm finding that i do not like a lot of stuff because it is simply too dry.

would they have ematral at Walgreens? Is it a homeopathic remedy?

nutmeg...i haven't heard of that before. maybe since i think that i look kind of like you do....my body will work the way that your does....lol

when do you get banded?

ok, i know nothing, and i have not lost enough weight yet to safely guess this, but if someone said that to me, i would think about my personal places..lol..i guess i have my mind in the gutter. but you read about so many people needing a boob lift or a mons lift because their personals were heading south after weight loss..

i know it is probably not what she meant, but i had to put what i thought.

thank you for that... i will pick up some mints and gingerale and see if that will help.

i'm being kind of fatalistic, i admit, as i am not vomiting yet, but my stomach hurts like it is sour and i am burping a lot (could be because i just ate 2 too many chicken nuggets). i probably should have just tried to have only liquids with the way my stomach is feeling, but i haven't been getting in a lot of Protein, and i'm afraid that my hurt, more than help.

Well, I don't think many doctors would prescribe something "just in case"...I really don't think you should be mad. Annoyed, maybe, but not mad.

i understand that in most cases, and i would think i'm being a bit ridiculous, but it is a Friday, and i had my surgery only 4 weeks ago. I personally feel like this should be the exception.

no my doctor did not give me anything for nausea after surgery. i only threw up twice, and it was the day after surgery, then no more.

I'm so mad at my primary care physician, that i just told them, i will not be going to their office anymore. maybe you guys can help and let me know whether or not i have a right to be upset.

ok, my son has been VERY sick this week. he has some sort of bug that has caused severe stomach cramps and then finally vomiting. they thought he had meningitis and were minutes away from doing spinal tap, when he began to get better.

well, me being the prepared person that i am, i call my surgeon's office to ask about getting some anti nausea medicine called in, just in case i catch his illness. (my stomach is hurting today like i have a sour stomach). my surgeon says that i have to contact my pcp. so, i call my pcp (who by the way was in support of this), and my pcp says that she will not do it because it is not healthy. WELL NEITHER IS VOMITING!!!. I double checked with the nurse to make sure she knew i was banded and that i would only use it if i began to vomit. my doctor doesn't care, she's not doing it.

wtf? why not? i understand that when you have vomiting and diarhea you are not supposed to stop it, because that is how the virus leaves your body, but i also understand that i am not supposed to throw up. so, am i overreacting?

i called my surgeon back, and he is actually out of town, so he can't help me even if he would, so they gave me the medical exchange number to call if i do start to get sick, maybe they will help me. it looks like if i do get sick, i'll have to go to ER to get them to give me anything.

has anyone else had this problem, and am i just being ridiculous to expect my pcp to help?

i haven't been banded long enough to have this happen, but my doctor's office says that being sick is like a "mini fill". they said that being sick does make your band tighter, and to remember that with the upcoming cold season.

wow, well, i think i will go back to the traditional route of popping my popcorn. or i will just use orville redenb..as they have stopped using the chemical.

lucy, you are correct, if you know something harms you, then why continue to do it, well, i knew that being fat harms me, but for some reason i was unable to stop eating foods that i knew were bad for me. oh the psychology!!!

i try to cut things, and i will cut down on microwave popcorn now that i have read that article, but there are so many things, chlorine in the Water, gamma rays, etc. i want to be one of those people that can move out in the middle of nowhere and live from the vegetables in my garden and the cow in my pasture, but i can't. i am not a believer in free will myself, our choices are limited.

i will cut where i can, and i will cut this..