Gerberdayzee

Here's the 411: I am 6.5 weeks post op with the 11cc realize band, got my first fill (4cc) on 9/11 and everything was going great until Thursday. I flew on Wednesday to visit realtives out of state, so that day I ate more challenging food then usual, but I was eating slow, chewing throughly, and it went down with no problems. And I made sure not to over eat. I also showed my family my scars and stretched to let them feel my port. The next morning was ok and then when I went to get dressed I felt I felt a stitch in my port side. I went for a walk and it hurt worse. I called the doctor and they said that I most likely strained it and to just take it easy. I talked to a freind who said she sometimes feels that way when she eats too much or wrong. Anywho, I quickly ran to WalMart to get softer and safer food and have since only eaten that. Today I felt a bit better, but it still hurts. I'm planning on going to the doctor as soon as I get home on Monday, but in the meantime I'm worryed that I pulled a stitch at the port area or worse yet, totally dislodged it. Has anyone ever had anything like this happen? Thanks for any advice :blushing:

8/4 here! I'm getting better each day except I feel like a bloated tick. And I'm a little upset that I have gained back 5 pounds since I started on mushies on Monday. Seriously, how can anyone gain weight on less than 700 cal a day?! Can't wait for my 2 week follow up and talk to the nutritionist. Otherwise, I am very excited to get going and to get healthy! 264/253/165

Aug 4!! I started the liquid diet yesterday and so far so good. Although tonight I experienced my first case of nerves. All of a sudden I thought, "OMG, I'm really doing this. I'm going to have this device in me forever." Then I thought, yes I am and it's no different then a knee replacment to help someone walk. Just like knee pain keeps someone from fully living life and hurts them, the weight hurts me and keeps me from living life to the fullest. This calmed me down and put things in prespective. Wish me luck!

I was denied today by my insurance and in the process of appealing, but am researching plan c --- paying for it myself. My question is while you can get packages that include so much after care, what if you have complications further down the line? Will insurance refuse to pay for anything related to the lap band surgery?

I'm awaiting approval from the insurance (request submitted tuesday), but there's a chance that I might be denied. Low BMI of 37.8 and the insurance coordinator at my dr's office said my hypertension didn't seem bad enough even though I'm on daily meds. I visited the dr on 4/1 and that's when they told me that I might be denied. Since then I have been so stressed out about what I'd do if I were deined that I've already gained about five pounds--which puts me around 10 pounds away from a BMI of 40. And even though I've never done it on purpose, I believe I could quickly gain the weight if I had to. My question is ... does anyone know how soon I could resubmit the request the insurance company? Thanks!

Thanks so much Aurelia! That gives me hope. She is definitely sending the request, but she painted a very doom and gloom forecast this afternoon. Hopefully the documents that she received since then helped. Please keep your fingers crossed for me .

Hi ... I also have UHC Choice Plus and my doctor's office has been working over a week on the information to send to the insurance company. My BMI is 37.8 and I'm on medicine for hypertension and have PCOS and am prediabetic. I thought this would be enough, but the lady at the doctor's office said that it wasn't a good case. She said she needed more documentation on the hypertension from one doctor and background on the PCOS from another. I contacted both doctors, and the one faxed her over 30 pages on the hypertension including EKGs, an echocardiogram, and lab results. And while, I couldn't get anyone from the endocrinolist, the doctor who diagnosed me with PCOS was supposed to send whatever they had today. So, in your experience, do y'all think I'll be approved or denied? I'm trying to stay positive but am really worried that I won't be approved. For the first time in a long time I am excited about my future, and now I'm afraid my dreams of a healthy future are disappearing right before my eyes.

Hey Banders … I’m a long-time reader, but a first-time poster and I’m very excited to be joining your awesome community! With that, I am seeking some advice. I had my initial meeting with my surgeon today and it went great. He seems like a very good doctor and comes highly recommended. He said that I am a “beyond ideal” lap LB candidate. YAY! My stats are: 5’8’’, 248 pounds (BMI around 38), hypertension and PCOS (insulin resistant and pre-diabetic), and thanks to LB Talk and friends, an understanding that LB is a tool to help my reach my weight loss goals. Needless to say, I’m super excited to be starting my journey into health! And when I asked him about metabolic issues, such as PCOS, and LB success, he said that his practice is conducting a study regarding Omentum Separation during LB surgery. He says they have had great results and that these patients have lost an avg of 12 percent more then patients with LB alone. He thinks it would be perfect for me. Here’s an excerpt from the dr’s website—although he explained it better in person: Omentum Separation The omentum is a large fatty structure that hangs down from the stomach. As food is absorbed, some of the sugar passes down through veins into the omentum, where it is stored. The omentum releases a variety of substances into the blood stream, including inflammation chemicals and appetite-stimulating chemicals. When the omentum is separated from the food supply as is seen with a gastric bypass or sleeve, there is a rapid improvement in diabetes. The Purpose of this study is to determine the potential benefit of separating (dividing) the blood vessels that drain down into the omentum from the stomach during the time that a Band is placed. Sounds great, also because it may help with any rheumatoid arthritis genes I may have inherited from my mom. And, best of all it would just add five min to the surgery and it would done at no additional charge. Anyway when I got home, I of course started googleing the omentum and learned that it also has something to do with the cortisol and other stress hormones. This is where I start to get a little nervous. Back in 2004 when I was diagnosed with PCOS I was put on Metformin (took for about six months) and began having anxiety and panic attacks. I’m not totally sure if it was the meds, my unhappiness about my impending thirtieth birthday, or a combination of the two that caused them, but whatever it was, I never want to go through that again. My fear is that if we do the Omentum Seperation it will mess with these hormones, and bring back the anxiety and there won’t be any way to go back and fix it. Of course, I’m planning on talking to the dr about my concerns because really, who am I? I'm no doctor ... just a girl with internet access. But in the meantime, I thought I'd see if anyone has heard of this procedure and what y'all would do in this situation: Stick with regular LP or opt for the additional procedure that may enhance the LP tool and better help the metabolic issues, but could also possibly (more fear then fact for now) screw up some hormones? Thanks!