emjay

I guess I view the change in my diet as not a "diet" but making better food choices. I'm no angel, I still like my occasional potato chip and sweets, but I try to limit them if I can. Some days I get the munchies and tend to graze, other days I'm pretty good. But overall I reach for the flavored rice cakes or granola or a 100 cal snack than something rich or my old junk food standbys. But the changes I've made overall I think contributed to my weight loss and that is trying to consistently eat better foods, exercise 4-6x/week (whether it's walking, elliptical, biking, hiking, using the strength machines at the Y - whatever) and try and stay busy. You know the old saying about insanity - is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. I try to keep that in mind. I want a better life, I deserve it, and I'm going to do what it takes to get it. Again, if you're too tight, you may be doing yourself more harm than good. When I was too tight I didn't want any taken out for fear that I would be able to eat more. In reality, I can eat about the same amount as before the slight unfill, but I don't slime, pb, or having near the problems with tightness as before. It's not as uncomfortable to eat as before and I can tolerate more foods. As far as your physician and his practice, it does sound like you could get better support elsewhere. And the consult plus another visit for an adjustment sounds ludicrous to me. I've never had to do this and I don't know of many who do. I'm sure around Mishawaka there are other bariatric practices that would be more than happy to provide your aftercare and can also direct you to some support groups. We kind of have an ad hoc group that meets once a month around here - affiliated with my surgeon's practice but you don't have to be banded by him to be involved in the support groups. Maybe that would be an option for you also in your area. And when you are at the office - pin them down and ask about support groups in your area. If they put you off again - move on. Your aftercare is so important to your success. I truly believe that. It's nice to speak with other bandsters and have others you can talk to that understand what it's like and the struggles involved. I wish you the very best...

My doc puts in 10cc and 14cc bands and what he mentioned at the time is that the size of the band placed on a person is determined by the size of their stomach. But I'm not in the medical field either so I don't know. Logically, I'm thinking if you put in too large of a band in a person with a smaller stomach, it would take quite a few fills to get to proper restriction with the possibility of that person never getting restriction. But again, heck my logic may be flawed for all I know.

My favorite recent NSV - I just bought a pair of WHITE crop pants. Now for those of you "triangles" out there who always looked good in white pants - congrats. But for us pears, this was a huge leap. My first pair of white pants since...oh I don't know, grade school? My favorite NSV - feeling like I fit in and am "normal". People aren't looking or judging the fat girl anymore. And I have to say that the fact that food doesn't seem to have as much of a hold over me anymore is a great reliever. The feeling of having some sort of control of my food issues has been very liberating.

I had surgery today, totally in an area not anywhere near the band, and boy am I tight. As in just able to sip Water tight. Takes me an hour to eat a couple of ounces of pudding and even then it is uncomfortable. Has anybody experienced this and if so, how long did it take before you felt your tightness ease?

Sorry, but I get the feeling that you do not exactly understand how the fills work. Once you get to your correct fill level, you shouldn't need too much adjustment to your band as you continue to lose weight. Even .05 or .1 cc can make a huge difference. While there may be a few people that end up with a "fully filled" band and don't have enough restriction, that is more a problem with the wrong size band originally being placed by the surgeon. You're not going to put a 14cc band in a person with a small stomach to begin with. Or at least you shouldn't be. I think your worry about filling your band completely should not be a concern right now. For some people, it only takes 1 or 2 cc's in a 10cc band, for others, 8 or 9 cc's. It is my understanding that the tubing also can hold 1-2 cc's of Fluid in addition to the actual band. Myself, I'm at 7.8 cc's and don't expect to ever need much more than that. There is also the possibility of a little of the fluid "kind of" evaporating every year. Don't ask my why, but apparently this is somewhat common. But apparently it is a negligible amount.

It sounds like you received some good advice. From your words, it sounds to me like you need a bit of an unfill. When you said you are choosing foods that don't get stuck, that's a red flag. Just a suggestion, but just a .1 cc or .2 cc unfill can make a huge difference. I was a bit too tight for about 2 months and it was no fun...stuck too much, too uncomfortable too eat anything but softer foods and alot of gurgling and acid reflux. Up your Protein intake, drink your fluids and try a bit of an unfill and then slowly eat your "harder" Proteins, like a firm fish, chicken or steak and see what happens. Sounds like you need a practice that listens to you. Don't give up after all this time. It can work for you.

I've seen $$ figures posted all over the place - from $25 - $500, so it really is different depending on who your doctor is and their pay structure. Best to just ask your physician's office directly:)

Cocoabean - the same thing happened to me a couple of times. Mostly when I had been standing for 30-60 minutes and not drinking anything and a couple of hours after a meal. I never have been on BP meds and my normal bp these days is around 104/70. It seemed to go away after drinking Water and being able to sit down, but it was kind of scary. I couldn't pinpoint what is was exactly that caused the episodes, and I attributed it to maybe a little low blood sugar, but don't really know - don't have an issue normally with that either. The last time was 3-4 months ago. I had bloodwork about the same time and all was great. Go figure!

Congratulations! Isn't it a great feeling!!!

I was going to recommend ibuprofen also. Children's chewables or the liquid form. Then try to sip water - as much as possible to wash it thru the stomach.

Can I amend your statement Apples2 and say that you ended up with "only" three just cuz they look good! That's the big difference - before you bought clothes because they fit - NOW you buy clothes because not ONLY do they fit - THEY LOOK GOOD! Enjoy!!! mj

Hey all - Don't post much on the Bunny site but always keep up with the comments posted. Tomorrow will be my 1 yr bandiversary and if I go by my scale - I have lost 92 lbs as of today. The last 2 months have been at pretty much a standstill, but I have 10 lbs to go to reach goal. I haven't been my current weight since high school - 28 years ago. Feeling great, much more active, no more knee and back pain. I just feel like I got my life back after so many years. Can't say I make the best food choices 100% of the time, but I eat alot healthier than I did before and my hubby and I are consistently exercising which is quite a change for us. It's our month ladies and gentlemen. It's time to celebrate and do something good for yourself! I hope you all are doing well and are enjoying your success! I am so thankful for this surgery as it has given me confidence that this weight will stay off and that I have so much more control over my habits and eating. The weight has been lifted - LITERALLY!

I drink the Unjury (mostly chocolate) every day. It's been the best tasting I have found. I use to drink the Atkins shakes way back when but I can't even gag them down anymore. Pretty much just tastes like chocolate milk. Good start to the day.

I attend a monthly meeting of a small group of women in my area. It's really a satellite group of the main office and we just meet on our own, however, the doc has come up to one of our meetings for support. It's a mixture of people recently banded and some who have been banded for 2-3 years. It is a really good group of women who "get it" (all the issues and things that happen being banded). But, we are having some issues in the group that have nothing to do with the lap band and more to do with "girl drama" that may very well end up with us having no more meetings. Long story, some hurt feelings, and very unfortunate. Such a shame because we come to the meetings for support and the other issues are what are keeping people from coming. But we have each other's e-mail addresses and if it does end up that the group no longer meets, we can still stay in touch with those who we want to stay in touch with. I look forward to the meetings every month because it keeps me focused and also helps to reinforce that there are success stories out there and some terrific people who are blossoming now. It also has been a great source for advice and alerted me to the fact that I was a little too tight. Now that I have that taken care of....everything has been so much better!

Hate to tell you, but if it is excluded there really isn't anything you can do. But as BetsyB said, it will be covered in the Summary Plan Description (insurance manual) that you receive as to whether it is a covered medical benefit or not. From what I am gathering, many plans do require a 6-month medically supervised diet beforehand and the 35 BMI w/2 co-morbidities is pretty "standard" as well if you are between 35-40 BMI. I have no doubt is you're self-pay you could get the procedure alot quicker. Myself it only took 3 weeks after my initial consult. However, it's a big chunk of change. Also, please note that most plans, if they do not cover certain medical procedures, then they will not cover any complications due to those procedures either. Not all the time is that true, but many times. Something to think about...

I don't think it's normal either, but if all feels well and your doctor says it's okay, then don't worry. Wow, that's amazing!

I think the turning point of loving my band for me was when we went on vacation and I gained 2 lbs instead of the 16 I gained on the last vacation. It was at that point that I knew this band was going to HELP me solve my weight problem. Not resolve it, but help me solve it. When I was too tight, I can't say I was in love with it, but since I've had a couple of unfills, no more pbing, sliming, or acid reflux so everything is so much better. When the weight starts to steadily come off, you will really start to like what is happening. For all the minor inconveniences, I would do it over again in a heartbeat and not think twice about it.

I use the Unjury chocolate and it foams also in the Bullet. I have to wait about 2 hours for it to go down, but that's okay. Minor stuff. I'm not hungry in the morning anyway. Never was much for physics but it is probably due to the high powered blending action of the Bullet.

CONGRATULATIONS! I'm (hopefully) right behind you and I can't wait until the day comes! Enjoy your success in accomplishing your goal!

I am so happy for you and your family! You are well on your way to being able to enjoy all the things you've missed out on. Isn't it sad what being obese can do to you - emotionally, psychologically, not to mention physically. If everyone had a taste of it for a year, there would be a more compassionate universe out there. You seem to really have a great outlook on your life now. I wish you the very best in your journey and am so happy your life is much more positive. You made my day. I just have 1 piece of advice for you. Print out what you wrote and give it to the doctor who did your surgery. It's the best way to let him know exactly how he has changed your life. You'll make his day too!

Don't know if this will help you, but I was originally self-pay at $15,900 (2 years free fills, any surgeon fees during this time for revisions, dilations, etc). But after 2 rounds of appeals I ended up getting part of it paid for, but out of network. So all in all I ended up having to pay about $4700 out of pocket due to higher deductibles and out of pockets and over UCR amounts. It's really hard to say how much your Dad may have to pay since plans can be all over the place in terms of coverages, deductibles, OOP's, limits, etc. And without a detailed list of charges complete with coding, I doubt any insurance company will tell you what his personal cost would be.

Plateaus are so difficult. Your surgery date was very close to mine. I guess I had what you would call a mini-plateau for about 6 weeks. I was exercising more than ever and eating better and the scale still wouldn't budge. But for some reason, one day it did and it kept on moving. That was 5 lbs ago. So please don't get discouraged. Try upping you Protein levels to help stave off the hunger and make good food choices. Drink lots of fluids and exercise and it will come off. Just call yourself a slow loser and don't compare yourself to anyone, that will discourage you! It is difficult to not want the weight to come off NOW. Just keep in mind your goal and how you want your life to be. If you can keep the sweets out of your system you will be way ahead of the game. It seems like once you get the taste for it, it's hard to break. Best of luck and try and keep focused.

Please don't make global statements about those opposing this bill. Just because I didn't like this bill doesn't mean I would stoop to this level. And don't say those supporting it haven't stooped to some low levels. The politics behind getting this bill passed was tough to swallow. Blanket statements serve no purpose.

This thread is rapidly becoming a flamer. Exactly why it was so heated in Congress. There are alot of differing opinions. Do I personally like the bill? No. Because I am trying to see it from both sides and I don't like what I'm seeing. I handle the benefits for our company, a family company that has about 1/3 of the participants we had 18 months ago and our insurance costs INCREASED over 30% in a year. With a 1/3 less people. Now I see healthcare mandates that will be placed on us with this plan that are additional costs to the company. Do you know what that does? It causes us to look for additional ways to cut costs, i.e. decrease coverages, increase deductibles and out of pockets, increase employee contributions and incorporate spousal surcharges or even not cover spouses who can get coverage elsewhere. Don't get me wrong. I agree that something needs to be done. But I also see that the cuts in Medicare that are being used to pay for this bill will have an effect on the seniors and also private insurance will be further subsidizing those cuts. You may see providers with no choice but not allow Medicare patients due to reimbursement issues. It is too soon to tell the effects of this bill. I hope, believe me, I sincerely hope all my fears are not realized and I didn't mention them all. I hope it is the best thing that could have been done. I just don't think our government has the best track record in the area of cost containment. And I don't believe Congress has dealt with the fundamental issue of putting enough in this bill to control rising health care costs, which is one of the main reasons this issue has become such a necessity to deal with. I know for our company, our costs have tripled in trying to provide good coverage for our employees in the last 7 years. Tripled. Without passing the majority of it onto our employees. That will not be the case when this bill gets implemented and our costs increase. The officers are already crying uncle when it comes to our insurance benefits. So in the end, it will get passed onto you and me personally. Either through higher deductibles, out of pockets, limiting coverage, employee contributions, or the subsidizing of Medicare and other programs. Not trying to start a war here. Just trying to highlight other reasons this is such an important issue. What effects this will have on our economy is yet to come.

I just had a .1 cc unfill a couple of days ago since I was still getting a bit of reflux 1-2 days per week. I originally got a .1 cc unfill after almost nightly reflux issues and it didn't quite cure the problem. A titch more taken out and haven't had a problem since. Side note: I never had reflux issues before being banded, so this was new to me. Now I know how being a little too tight effects me...the sweet spot can be a very fine line. But please don't worry. They shouldn't have to do a complete unfill unless you have a pouch dilation. And that would show up on a flouroscopy.