SuzanneG

It does sounds like you had something stuck and you did all the right things. Glad you are feeling better this morning.

Mine is off to the left, under my rib cage.

My port is just below my ribs on my left front.

I was right at 37 BMI, did a 10-day preop diet of 2 protien drinks a day and 1 lean and green meal. I lost 11 pounds.

Angela, Welcome to LBT! I was banded in Jan 08 and have been on a plateau for about 6 months now. I'm looking for something to jump start my weightloss again and get me going, but can't seem to break away. This is a great site for suggestions and support. You've come to the right place!

I"m a year and a half out and I still get pain in my port area, but only if I overeat. It's strange because you would think the pain would be up high where the actual band is, but instead, my port area gets very tender if I overeat.

My mom, sister-in-law, and a friend had all had GBP. Two them have since gained the weight back. My mom didn't gain the weight back, but her intestines got screwed up and she's sick EVERY day of her life. She's 10 years out, still skinny, but always either throwing up, stuck (in her intestines), or diarrhea. I liked the fact that the risks were low with the lapband, it's adjustable, and doesn't change your intestinal tract at all. So no problem with malabsorbtion and other problems. My mom can't even absorb many of her medications which further complicates her health. At the end of the day you have to do what you think is right for you and what you think you can live with. Best of luck to you.

Ladies, best of luck to you all. You will be fine. I found the anticipation of the surgery was way worse than the surgery itself. It's really more discomfort than actual pain. Not too bad really and is pretty much over with in a bout a week. Congrats on starting this new phase of your life.

Many patients with acid reflux have hiatal hernia as they are extremely common. Most doctor's automatically repair them during surgery and the problem goes away.

I have had heart burn, but not acide reflux (no problem at night and no feeling of something washing up) ever since my last fill in October. Since then, I've been slightly unfilled 3 times and still have the heartburn. The bad news is that I can pretty much eat anything now, even bread which I couldn't do before, yet I still have heartburn. Doc looked at me under fluro twice and says I'm fine. I don't know what to think....

Leah, CONGRATS!

Hey Derek, I'm a female, married, 43 years old. I used to be a web developer, but don't do much actual developing anymore. :cool2: I work in DC and live in VA. Anyway, I was banded Jan 08 and have lost between 75-80 pounds depending on the week. ha ha I'd like to lose 15 more pounds, but have been stuck in the same 5 pound range since Jan of this year. I'm happy to talk any time or answer any questions you may have.

I've chewed gum since the begining, but you will see where some on here said their doctors told them not to have it. My doc never said and I'd die without my gum. ha ha

Pretty good, but been on a plateau since January this year (my bandiversary). I would love to lose the last few pounds, but really struggling to move the scales. I haven't seen any action on our New Year's Knockouts thread... I'm starting to feel like an old-timer on here. ha ha

I got my shoes at a running store as well. Big difference as I was buying the wrong type of shoe. Ang, great to see you! I haven't seen you post in a while. How's it going?

I used it with Sugar Free Carnation Instant Breakfast and skim milk. I didn't have a problem with the taste, but found it made my lips feel sticky and that kind of grossed me out.

Georgia, so sorry about the headaches, I can't imagine. I know how difficult it is to be on steriods too. Hopefully you can wean off of them effectively. I've been off track lately too and I'm going to try and get back on track myself. You might have read on the C25K thread, but I've had surgery on my foot and the nerve isn't healing right. Lots of nerve pain and I haven't been able to run, it's killing me. I may have to have surgery on it again, so I decided that I best get my eating under control first or I'll start to gain weight. I'll join you, let's get back on this wagon and make it work for us!

I have federal BC/BS and I pay my regular co-pays. Doctor's appt is $30 for specialist, I had a $100 surgery co-pay. I also have to pay that co-pay when I have a fill. I know some docs include the fills for a year or something like that, so it really does depend on how they bill it. Hope this helps.

Congrats! Wanna feel even better about it? I just read an article that said that American clothes makers have been making the clothes bigger as we grow as a population. As nation gains, 'overweight' is relative - CNN.com I knew that when I was 139 pounds, for 5 minutes 10 years ago, I was squeezing into a size 8. Now I'm 147-150 and I'm squeezing into a size 6. WTH? As for those Lands End jeans, I had the same problem with not wanting to spend a lot on clothes while I was losing. If you have a Ross in your area, they have a lot of name brand jeans/clothes for very reasonable prices. I have gotten a lot of Liz Claiborne, Jones New York, and many many others there. DH said I shop all the time now. I would say "I'm celebrating my weight loss" and he would say "You're always celebrating!". ha ha

Introduce more healthy carbs into your diet. Too low carb is not good for you. I only eat complex carbs and nothing white (rice, potato, bread...ect) and I don't have a bad breath problem.

I definitely have trouble with corn. I also have trouble with white potatos, even mashed. It's a little bit like swollowing sawdust and glue, it just packs up on me. I can eat it, but I have to be very careful and take small bites. You perfectly described a stuck. Good thing you took it slow. A PB often follows that same feeling if you can't get it through. I used to think if I took one more bite or drink a sip that it would push it through. NOT, it just compounds the problem. Good job figuring that out so early on your band journey though. Now you know that corn may not be your friend right now. You will also find that what you can eat one day may not be the same as what you can eat another day. The band can be fickle from time to time.

I don't know what to say that Jodi and Headhunter haven't already said. I do know of one example where it was clear to see what went wrong. My daugther works with two ladies that each had lapband. One is losing great and the other isn't losing at all. She said the one who isn't losing seems to know nothing about how to make good food choices. She ate a huge loaded baked potato and then asked DD if it had any protien. She eats candy and slider foods all the time. It goes back to what Jodi said, you have to be willing to make lifestyle changes, the band will give you the boost you need, but you have to do the work. By the way, MacMadame is also on this site. You can often find her in the Fitness section, look at the C25K thread. She's awesome and would probably be more than happy to chat with you about this as well.

I loved Miller Chill (the limey beer) and really missed it at first. Now I drink mostly margarittas and sometimes wine. Wine gives me a headache, so I stick mostly to my ritas. I've discovered Patron Tequila, YUM! Like Jodi said, it does suck at events. We were at an outdoor concert this past weekend and they had wine, but it sucked. So I got a beer, first one in almost 2 years, and I sipped at it and did OK. It was draft, so it wasn't as bubbly as a can or bottle might have been. I still take sips from DH's beer when we go out, but I wouldn't risk the bubbles to do it on a regular basis, not to mention the calories. We've had too many celebrations lately, time for me to take it down a notch. lol Best of luck to you!

Way to go BigPapa2!! What an amazing year for you, eh?

Determined, good luck with your appeal. I too had to appeal. Sounds like you've already sent yours in, but if its not too late, I would suggest getting letters of support from your doctors. I wrote 2 letters from me, one medical, one emotional and then went to each of my doctors (gyn, gastrointerologist, podiatrist, GP) and asked for letters of support and then submitted the entire thing as a package. It certainly got their attention, the ins rep called me directly to tell me they decided to approve me. I've shared my letters with dozens of folks on LBT and would be happy to do so again if you or anyone else would like to use them as a template. Keep us posted and good luck!