Jodi_620

I was diagnosed with PCOS six years ago. I was put on Metformin 2000MG which helped control it. Then when I was banded, I couldn't swallow the pills so I stopped taking them and decided I would talk to my doctor about an alternative at my next appointment. During this time all of my PCOS symptoms started going away and blood tests a couple months after surgery showed no sign of PCOS, this was even before I lost a good deal of weight! My advice: 1.) If you are not doing so, see an Endocrinologist or a Reproductive Endocrinologist for treatment, they specialize in this area. 2.) Watch your processed carbs. PCOS is a form of insulin resistance. Cutting out white flour, Pasta, rice and starchy veggies (potato, corn, etc) will go a long way to help get it under control. 3.) Don't let your doctor treat it with birth control pills alone. That is like a band-aid treatment. Sure it may force your body to start having cycles but it does not treat the underlying problem-insulin resistance. Insulin Sensitizing drugs work much better (Metformin/Glucophage). 4.) Get the condition under control with weight loss and/or Medication and there is no reason why you can't conceive.

I may be experiencing Gall Bladder issues now, I go in for an abdominal scan on Thursday. I had two gall bladder attacks years ago and they were at least a year apart and the pain was unbelievable. What I am experiencing now is nowhere near what I had then. For the past several months I have been getting this sensation more like a stitch in my side (that feeling you get when you run too soon after eating). It isn't really painful, just annoying. I can't really tie it in with eating or activity. At first it happened for 30 minutes once or twice a week but lately it has been several times a day. I swear, when I move a certain way I can actually feel something shift in there. I mentioned all this to the surgeons assistant at my last fill appointment and he didn't seem to think it was gallbladder. Comparing this to the pain of my previous gallbladder attacks, I agreed. He decided it was probably musculoskeletal and we should just watch it. Last week I went to my family doctor and decided to mention it to him. He seemed pretty confident that it is gallbladder and ordered an abdominal ultrasound...so I guess we will see. With the rapid weight loss and my family history (I think I am the only remaining adult in my family who still has theirs), it wouldn't surprise me if they find mine needs to come out.

I am not sure which area the pain is coming from. The part of the bra that goes around you should be being supported by your ribcage. Your band is lower (toward the left just below the ribcage and behind your liver). Where was your port inserted? Mine is near the belly button but I have read that some surgeons put them in higher.

My surgeon didn't require it but I know that some insurance companies do. It will be hard but worth it in the end.

Sounds like it may be gas in the esophagus causing the pain. I had something similar but was unable to actually burp properly...the episodes of pain lasted about a week. Try not to drink too much too fast, just take small sips. I started to get hungry after several days. It is hard, but once you start taking in more solid food you will feel a better. Take it one day at a time!

Good for you sylver! From my experience, the best way the quiet the naysayers is to prove them wrong!

I get a lot of discouragement from lifelong dieters and from Gastric Patients. It seems that a lot of people think their method of weight loss, whatever it may be, is the only answer. Even fellow bandsters have disagreed with me about the diet I should be following as if their way is the only way. I know a couple gastric patients who are now eating their words but in the beginning told me that I would probably only lose about 1/3 of my excess weight. Many of them are now gaining weight back and actually considering Lap Band. My MIL tried to talk me out of getting Lap Band based on comments from three people, one was her cousin who said a neighbor had it done and actually gained weight. One co-worker that had Gastric Bypass and obviously knew nothing about Lap Band because she told MIL that I would have to go back and get several surgeries to get the band adjusted and another co-worker who had lost 75lbs. with Jenny Craig and insisted that was the way to go. I politely ignored them all and did what I knew was best for me and I am so glad I did. :frown: 1.) Addiction transfer is very real but it can be avoided. For me, being aware was my biggest weapon against it. I gave up caffeine, cigarettes and got the Lap Band all at the same time. I have not been a big drinker for years but I found myself strongly desiring liquor to calm my nerves I realized why I was wanting the alcohol and resisted. Those cravings are pretty much gone now. Actually, the co-worker that told my MIL that I would need several surgeries, did do well with weight loss but has since been fired from her job...she lost her drivers license due to DWI, MIL was helping her get to work but even still she was often late or out sick. She was even caught drinking the mouthwash from the office restroom just to get some alcohol during the workday! 2.) There are good and bad doctors out there. No doctor who wants to preserve his reputation will simply take your money and run and the law is on your side. You do have to do your homework and find one that offers a good maintenance program and will be there for you long-term 3.) I also agree on the Psych evaluation. I have not needed it post-op, but I also feel that the psych should be there long-term in the event that you need counseling during this process. 4) Just take a look at my ticker, it will be 10 months next Tuesday. There are rare instances where the Lap Band doesn't work for someone but for the most part, just like anything else in life, with the Lap Band you only get out of it what you put into it. 5.) Only you know for sure whether you have weighed the good vs the bad and only you can determine if this is for you.

I wish you had received counseling prior to surgery too. I know I did and it helped me to decide which surgery is best for me. In my opinion based on what you wrote here, it is not that the Lap Band is not working but that you are not working the band by eating properly, you are not receiving the proper care & support and possibly the band was simply not for you. I am not pointing a finger here but it is obvious that more research was needed and perhaps a better doctor should have been chosen. Prior to surgery, I understood that the Lap Band would just be a tool to keep me from being hungry while I did what I needed to do to lose the weight. That I would need to deal with the emotional and addictive side myself, I would have to keep track of what I was eating and give up foods that I shouldn't have. At proper restriction you should be able to tolerate meats and veggies as long as you eat properly, taking small bites, chewing well and not overeating. So you are either too tight or perhaps you are eating too much or too fast. Do you measure how much you are eating? It is not too late to set your mind to make this work. You need counseling both psych. and nutritional. You need to decide that you will start eating properly and exercising and you need support. My surgeons office offers that counseling should I ever need it. In fact, I had to sign a promise stating that I would seek counseling if it was determined that I needed it. I also can get nutritional counseling any time I need it. Does your doctor not offer any of this?

Nope, this is an individual thing. It would be something you should put on your list of questions to ask as you are choosing a surgeon.

Before you move forward, be sure to do two things. 1.) Talk to your surgeon and discuss the poor treatment received by the insurance coordinator. This surgeon is being paid a lot of money to provide all aspects of the Lap Band to you, including insurance coordination. The staff was a big part of deciding which surgeon I would go with. 2.) Make sure you get approval in writing before scheduling surgery. If I were you, I would call my insurance company back and confirm what you have been told. Then explain to the insurance rep what is going on. Maybe they will call the coordinator and work to get it straightened out.

What is the location of the pain?

I don't see how there would be any connection to the Lap Band. I agree with your doctor, probably a virus...there are a lot of those going around right now.

Unless you are feeling pain, I wouldn't panic too much. Did you try laying on your back and lifting your feet up in the air, then feeling around for it? Sometimes doing so will cause the abdominal muscles to push the port forward so that you can feel it.

I had a harder time with the two-week liquid PRE-op diet. For the first several days post-op, I had to force myself to get enough food and liquid down. I was not as hungry so I was able to better handle the tempations. I did not prepare meals during this time, DH was on his own. If his eating bothered me then I got myself away from the situation, some days it bothered me and others days it did not so I decided what I needed to do to deal with each situation. A nice long walk got me away from the food and some exercise.

This is something you should to ask your surgeon.

Mine really aren't that bad. At this stage, I am thinking the port scar will probably never completely heal although it is flat and lighter but the others are barely visible and look like freckles The port scar is about 1 1/2 inch straight purple line above my belly button. I can say that scar looks beautiful compared to the 87 pounds of fat I was carrying around though!

I know exactly how you feel. My fourth fill was like that, it was late afternoon and by the time I realized I was too tight, it was too late to go back. Had to go through the night and part of the next morning barely able to swallow my spit, was foaming at the mouth and very miserable. I went back the next day and in that short period had lost 4 pounds from deydration. He took a little out and I was good for about two months then I started to show signs of needing another fill and I kept putting it off afraid that it would happen again. But I finally did get a fill and had no problems, that was more than two months ago.

Your stomach is a muscle and it has no nerves so you can't feel the actual band around the stomach. (There ARE hairlike nerves hanging down at the top of the stomach, these are not part of the stomach, they sense when you are full and send that message to your brain, but there are no nerves where the band is placed). The stomach is behind the liver so you cant feel it with your fingers either. The tubing from the band and the port are stitched in muscle and nerve so you will feel that, especially as you are healing! There are sensations that you will feel as a result of having the band but you will not actually feel the band inside you. You will feel full faster, at least after a few fills. Most of the sensations related to the band itself, the sensation directly related to eating are in the esophagus (in the middle between your breasts on up to your throat) but not in the stomach which is toward the left just below your ribs. If you eat too fast or too much, the food presses on your diaphragm or backs up into the esophagus and you will feel pain or pressure there. If you get stuck, that is where you will feel the pain (chest or throat area). After I get a fill I feel a pressure/sucking feeling and that is felt in the esophagus.

First of all, Welcome! Once you are approved and you have all of your pre-op requirements met (tests, classes, diet etc.) then you can have the surgery. I got my approval in the mail and after doing a short happy dance, :ohmy: immediately called my surgeons office and recieved my surgery date. I had to give myself time to get a few more tests and start the pre-op liquid diet so I was scheduled to be banded about two weeks later. There is usually an expiration date for your approval but they typically give you at least a couple months. From start (attending the seminar) to finish (surgery) it was just over a month. My insurance did not require much though.

Not really, I have a feeling that he is all part of a bigger game that the government is playing. I always feel like what we see and hear on the news is all a farce to direct our attention where they want it. There is a whole other ballgame being played in the background and Libby is no doubt part of that. I know, I sound like one of those tin-hat wearing conspiracy nuts, I'm really not. But I do resist believing most of what the government and the media tell me.

Can't offer anything magical. We all would rather have something more concrete than the advice i have but: Just be patient. The first fill rarely does it. On average it takes 4 to really start feeling it. Do you have to wait a full month to get another fill?

That is something to gloat about! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! :tongue_smilie:

With sliming, I don't feel nausea at first. Just a gaggy feeling like my food didn't go down. Then thick mucus starts to slowly creep up into my throat. You can not make it go back down and have to spit it out. As you spit it out more is created. I have sat and spit mucus for up to 45 minutes. Your body will keep creating it until the food gets dislodged from your band. Now in this case I couldn't spit so I tried swallowing hard to keep it down. It built up and I was gagging on it. I had no choice, either spit it out or have it come out projectile style.

Every doctor has their own program so all I can do is tell you how mine went. 1.) Attended a seminar to learn about the Lap Band 2.) Went to the consult, was weighed and talked about my BMI, health history, how the Lap Band works, process leading up to surgery. Was given orders for sleep study (if necessary), upper GI at radiologist, Bloodwork/EKG at my family doctors office. Scheduled Psych evaluation with in-house psych. While I was doing all this, the insurance coordinator was on the phone getting the ball rolling on insurance. 3.) Received my insurance approval letter. 4.) Went to Radiologist and got upper GI 5.) Went to Family doctor and got EKG, Bloodwork and surgery release letter 6.) Saw psych, first visit 1-2 hours to take test, second visit 30 minutes to discuss test and surgery. Scheduled visit with nutritionist 7.) Saw nutritionist first visit to discuss my current eating habits second visit to discuss how I would be eating pre-op and post-op. 8.) Saw surgeon for pre-op. Went over all above tests and visits, scheduled surgery date, discussed procedures for checking in at hospital etc. Start to finish, about one month. Of that time, one week for insurance approval with United Healthcare. No pre-op requirements (i.e. supervised diet, weight history etc.)

Thanks for the congrats, coloradobanding. All of the milestones along the way are so rewarding and I have no doubt that you will be joining me soon!