ericsmom

I just had my first fill last Thursday and I can feel quite a bit of restriction. We'll have to see how long it lasts. All I know is not very much goes in at any one time!

An UPDATE for Ericsmom - H 337/ S 322.5/ C 296.4/ CBMI 50.9 (-40.6 lbs total, -2.6 this week) and I got a fill last Thursday!

I used to drink caffeine free diet coke all day long. I had my last one on June 20th the night before I started my 2 week pre-op fast. I haven't had one since. I was told to stay away from carbination. I know if I have one, I'll want more, so I just don't have it. Surprisingly I've been okay with that so far.

Congratulations Penni!! I hope it all goes smoothly for you

I got my statement the other day that showed insurance company responsibility and patient responsibility. I only have to pay $155.84~~~!!!! My co-pay is $250 and then it goes 80/20 until my maximum out of pocket of $1,000 is met for the year. I have arthritis in my knees and go often for cortisone shots so I must have been almost to the $1,000 maximum because my 14,800+ bill said I'll only be responsible for $155.84! I am so happy!!! I know a lot of people have major issues with their insurance companies, and I feel really bad for them. I had an employer whose policy wouldn't cover gastric bypass and they wouldn't change their policy, so I got a job with much better benefits. I haven't seen the detailed bill yet, but I'm sure it will come out soon.

Congrats to you on the great NSV!! You should be very proud of yourself

Congrats and welcome to bandland, Jewel! Glad to hear it went well for you. Yes, feeling uncomfortable and/or pain in your port site is typical, I think. You will find this site VERY informative, VERY supportive, and VERY friendly

Welcome to LBT Luna!

Congrats on your great NSV!! What a great feeling, huh?

It's so good to hear that you are doing well and on your way to a full recovery! So sorry to hear you had bad experiences with your care, but you've proven that the power of prayer really works! Blessings to you

That is so true! I just had my first fill this morning and boy was my stomach making noises as I sit here drinking my Protein shake! I, too, feel much better and wish I had done it sooner...I've not had any complications at all

(I posted this on the July thread) I had my doctor's appt. this morning. I got my first fill!! Boy can I tell a difference!!! He had me lay on a table. He asked whether or not I wanted the area numbed first. I said sure He said my band can take a max of 4cc's and he gave me 3cc's. He said that if he got in there and felt the Fluid push back, it would be less, but he didn't feel a kick back, so 3cc's went in just fine. He just had me take a breath and extend my stomach out so he could find the port easily. I asked if they were going to take another xray and he said no, that wouldn't be necessary. I go back in 4 weeks for a check. It was a piece of cake. I didn't feel a thing. I had to stay and drink 3 Dixie cups of Water within 5 minutes before I could leave. I felt super full! Then I had asked to see the X-ray they took the day I left the hospital, so he let me come in his office and he pulled it up. It was so cool to see!! He said the band should be at a slant pointing up toward my left shoulder and it was. I could see the tubing going down and back up to the port. AMAZING! It seems more real now that I actually saw it. I am on liquid the rest of today and tomorrow to give my stomach a chance to get used to it.

*I can also bend over and tie my own shoes without suffocating or being in extreme pain from my arthritis in my knees. *I noticed my sides of my thighs don't touch my chair here at the computer. *My stomach doesn't push against the steering wheel anymore. *I realize it's not the end of the world to not be drinking caffiene free diet coke and eating ice cream!

Very well said... Where I work at the middle school here in town, teachers bring in treats regularly to share in the break room. I won't have an issue with those as long as I stay away from the room - and frankly fried foods like that used to kill me with heartburn, so I'm sure they wouldn't agree with me still. I used to have candy - M&M's especially - at my desk that I would share with the teachers and kids. Well now our school is going to allow only healthy foods and healthy snacks, so no more candy. That's good though, because then they won't be there for me. For a "welcome back" to school treat for my teachers on my team I got name tags with apple people on the bottom (very cute) and I wrote "Welcome Back!" on each one and wrapped the tag around a low fat chocolate chip chewy granola bar. I'll be putting one in each of their boxes on the first day of school. If it were last year and pre-band, they would have gotten a small bag of M&M's and I would have bought an extra bag for just me!

Congrats on your awesome NSV!! You should feel vey proud!!

Ericsmom - H 337/ S 322.5/ C 299/ CBMI 51.3 (-38 lbs total, -3.20 this week) I'm in TWOTERVILLE!!!!! Yippee!!! I get my first fill tomorrow morning

Happy Birthday Leona!!!

Wow, Paula! You're really doing good hanging in there with this long fast! I couldn't imagine... My doctor had me introducing foods and aiming for 60g of Protein or more a day since my two week post-op check up and I'm having my first fill tomorrow. It's just amazing how different every doctor is! I've averaged 3-4 lbs per week weight loss for 6 weeks and I'm down 38 lbs as of this morning! I finally hit twoterville, too! Only by one lb, but it's 38 lbs I'll never see again! Good luck to you with your fill next Monday!!

PhotoNut, thanks for posting Ryan's last post...he had such a way with words. Those on LBT who have been here a long time and had the pleasure of reading Ryan's many words will be eternally grateful that he touched many lives through this forum. May he rest in peace.

Marc, I had subscribed to this thread to keep an eye on how you're doing. I just went through the thread and see you haven't been back to post...is everything okay? There is a lot of love and advice and hugs on this thread for you. I hope all is well and that you have either already been banded or are getting ready. Keep us posted!

I have emailed him...we'll see if I get a response. Thanks for the info!!

Good luck to you! Everything will be fine Keep us posted on your progress

I tried to email the people from this site from their link to an email address and it came back undeliverable. Does anyone know if these ladies hang out here at LBT and if there is another way to order these?

I used to work at a non-profit organization. They had a plan with a company that did cover it, but the plan excluded it. The best way they explained it to me is that my employer had the "Ford" plan and in order to have the surgery they needed the "Cadillac" plan. I petitioned my employer to ammend their plan to include this coverage (I was persuing gastric bypass at the time) and they would not do it. They were afraid it would start a "trend" in the company. I left that employer a year ago and work for our local school district and my banding was definitely covered Good luck to you as you seek your funding source...

Congrats on the great test results! What a relief, I'm sure, and what a reason to celebrate!!! Yippee!!!