DianaG

Hi again, Just read your post about your Tuesday and planning on making the curry for dinner. Sure sounded good to me! Sorry you had that "stuck" experience. Unfortunately, I have been there also!:w00t: I read, on this forum, chewing up Papaya Enzyme whenever you have a "stuck&slimmy" episode. I found some at the local Walgreens Drug Store and bought 2 bottles:one for home and one in my purse. Sometimes I get a stuck feeling with the oddest things. Lately it has been prune juice....I guess I drink it too fast. Anyway, yesterday morning I commented to my DH that I couldn't figure out how I could get "stuck" on prune juice.....he replied "it's the pits"!! Then started laughing!!!! Oh well, I have always loved his sense of humor and soon was laughing myself!!! Sorry you had to go through that experience, but I imagine we all do it at some time or another...just hope your episodes are really spaced out!

Wow Majj, I am envious of your bird buddies! Wish we got some colorful parrots at our feeders. We feed a lot of birds too here in the Ozark Mtns of Arkansas. We have ruby throated hummingbirds, rose breasted grosbeaks, baltimore orioles, mourning doves, indigo buntings, and cardinals, just to name a few. I would really appreciate it if you would drop by to pressure wash our front porch!:w00t: It really needs it as we haven't cleaned it all winter and "porch sitting" weather is fast approaching! Congrats on the weight loss too!!!

Hello, Ibaladydianatoo! Honestly, when I lived in North Pole,Alaska, a friend always called me "lady Di"!:w00t: I am glad that you have decided to have the surgery. A friend of mine who is 76 had it in Oct 2009. He is doing great and the doc took him off of his diabetes and cholesterol meds and reduced his bp meds. He feels a lot better already. Keep us posted as you approach being banded!

Sounds like you got "stuck". Sometimes it is really easy to get something stuck that you wouldn't dream would do it. This morning I nearly got "stuck" taking my medications with some prune juice.:Banane20: Also, I do the slimeing, foaming thing after a fill. Not fun! The doc says that the fill causes pressure on the vagas nerve that runs by the stomach. It takes about 24 hours to get over that and you can slime and foam a lot in that time!!:Banane20: If you get stuck, sometimes eating some papaya enzyme will help. Don't give in to the urge to "wash it down" with a drink. It doesn't work and only adds to the problem. My doc says it is like having a drain pipe clogged up and thinking that you can wash the clog down...the liquid will just pool up on top of the clog and cause more problems. Hope this was helpful.

Congrats!!!! It is an exciting time!! I am really glad you got your date to "officially" become banded person like me!!!:thumbup: You are going to be so happy that you did this!!!

Hi Sotex, I was banded at the end of July, 2009. I was sent home with a liquid pain killer, but still managed to take my other med's o.k. for quite a while. When I got about 6cc's in my band, I started having trouble with a couple of the larger ones. I bought a pill splitter at Walmart. One of them I cut in quarters and that works fine. The other one is "timed release" and you can't cut those. It happens to be my blood pressure med. The doc took me off of my other 2 blood pressure meds and told me that if I still need this final one after I can no longer swallow it, he will find an alternative. Some people have to crush theirs, but I sure hope I don't have to do that because meds can really taste nasty!! By the way, a friend of mine was on meds for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. His doc has taken him off the diabetes meds and cholesterol meds and reduced his blood pressure meds.... He is 76 years old and was banded in Oct. 2009. So, you may not have to worry too much longer about your meds either!!!:thumbup:

Like MJBF, I use a pill cutter. My largest pill, I cut in quarters and take them spaced out. It takes me about 30 minutes to get them all down. My blood pressure med is time release and therefore I can't cut or crush it. I asked my dr. what to do if I reach the point I can't swallow it and he said that if I still needed it then he would find an alternative. Right after I was banded and until the last couple of fills, I had no problem taking my meds.

As simple as it may seem, I want my wedding band resized. It has always been special to me for a lot of reasons, but an incident that happened after I started losing weight has made it even more special. One day I realized that the ring had slipped off my finger. For weeks, my husband, me and some friends hunted for it. I had given up ever finding it and was very sad. Well, one day we had a new deep freeze delivered and after it was in place, my husband said "come look at the new freezer". I went to take a look, and said "where are the instruction and warranty booklets". My DH said " They must be inside it." So I opened the door and there was my wedding ring sitting on top of the booklets! I screamed, grabbed the ring, turned to hug my husband and dropped the ring! It started rolling toward a floor drain!:scared2: My husband stopped it just before it went down the drain, gave me a kiss and put the ring on my finger. Then he said " this is the second time I have given you this ring, don't lose it again" :cool2: While waiting for the delivery guy to unload the freezer, DH had seen something shining in the gravel of the driveway. He leaned over to see what was there and found my ring. It is now in my jewelry box, waiting to be resized! I can't wait to wear it for another 42 years!!:thumbup:

"the alien in your tummy":lol: Good one Christie!!! I am 7 months post surgery and still have the gurgling, growling sounds when I eat or drink. I have them from my esophagus clear down through the pouch into my "lower stomach!! Bad thing is that I can not make myself burp. I just have to wait until my body decides to do it on it's own! At least it entertains my 13 year old granddaughter.....she gets the "giggles" every time she hears the "alien"!!:thumbup:

DaChanginQueen, you might be on to something there. That Vagus nerve is a trouble maker! Every time I have a fill, it presses on the Vagus nerve and causes me nausea, sliming, and some pain. My doc told me that the nerve would settle down in a couple of days and all the sliming, etc. would stop. Sure enough, it takes about a day and then calms down. So if it can do that, perhaps it could be up to no good in other ways!!:wink2:

I didn't have this problem after the lap band surgery but years ago, I had an appendectomy and above my left knee there was a numb spot about 5-6 inches across. It stayed that way for several years. Never gave me any problems, but sure did feel weird when I shaved my leg!:frown: I can't even tell you when it went away, because I had actually forgotten all about it until I read this thread!!!!

Just a thought, but after I have a fill my doc has me stay on liquids for the next 48 hours. By then the swelling and irritation from the fill is gone. He also recommends staying on liquids for 24 hours after a "stuck" episode. Same as after a fill, this allows your body time to reduce the swelling. Hope this is of some help to you. Of course, as always, check with your doctor and see what advice you are given. Good Luck:smile2:

Oh my dear! I am sorry that you are going through this terrible trial. You have received some very good advice here and I am glad that you posted. I do hope that you will go to a good doctor that you can trust and feel secure with. Don't ever worry about posting on this forum. We are here to help you, if we can, and I personally have received good advice and support here. I also attend a lap band support group once a month. That helps me also. Do you know of a support group near you? Please do keep in touch with us and let us know how you are doing. We may be a bunch of strangers, but we do care for each other and do our best to give good advice. Hope we hear from you soon saying that you have found a good doctor and are receiving the help you need and deserve.:frown:

Hello again, I just re-read my post about taking the milk of magnesia and then prune juice and stool softener....and realized that it sort of sounded like I said to use the milk of magnesia every day! Sorry about that!:blushing: You take the milk of magnesia only if you are really constipated. The only things I was told to take daily was the stool softener and the prune juice!! It is o.k. to take the milk of magnesia if you become constipated again, but not as a daily thing!! Even with the prune juice and the stool softener, it is still possible to become constipated depending on how much Fluid you drink and what foods you eat. I am 7 months post-op and still have the occasional problem. Sorry if I created some confusion with my first post and hope that this cleared it up.:laugh: I would be interested in what your doctor's tell you, so keep posting!!

Jessica, I am sorry you are having to go through this, but perhaps it will help you to know that you are not alone! I have always had a constipation problem and I usually had a bm about every 3rd day. Sometimes I would not be able to go that often and as a result, when things finally broke loose, I had some of the same things going on that you do. I would have terrible cramping, nausea, alternating burning up and feeling cold. Finally things would happen after what seemed an eternity! Then the diarreah would start until nothing was left! When I finally learned to take my metamucil every day, it helped a lot So after banding (7 months ago) I have had the same trouble. The longest between bm's was 10 days!!!!! I had trouble taking metamucil because it would get too thick before I could get it all down. I tried activia yogurt and it did help some. Last month at my check-up with my surgeon, I mentioned it to him and he said I should take some milk of magnesia since it is a rather mild laxative. After it works, he said that I should try a glass of prune juice each day and take a stool softener. What do you know....that really helped!!! Other people have other methods that work for them....every one is different! I hope your problem is as easy to solve (after 6 months!) as mine was. Having said that, I really agree with everyone else and hope that you tell your doctor what is going on. After all, you need to rule out any other possibilities for what you are going through. Please let us know what the doctor says. Good luck!!!!!

Hello, I have been absent from this forum for a while, and just now found your post majj. I too want to welcome you and to let you know that you are already doing great! There are a lot of nice, caring people here and they are ready and willing to help you out. I have learned so much from all the posts and have also gotten a lot of encouragement. So welcome aboard! You are on your way to a better life. I know how good it feels to have my back, knees, hips, and feet free of 51 pounds they were carrying around!!!

I am also one of those who can eat the "slider food" and yet have trouble drinking water!! It is a mystery to me how I have to cut one of my medications into 4 pieces in order to get it down, yet I can turn right around and eat a sweet treat!!! NOT FAIR!! Another strange thing, I really have a hard time eating anything in the morning before having something hot to drink. Others have mentioned the same problem. Have any of you noticed that? For some reason, it is easier for me to eat in the afternoon and evening. This band is a strange creature!

Catherine, you are looking great!! Keep up the good work! Tukeygirl, Forgot to confirm what Catherine said. My doc also allowed very thin hot cereal. I really enjoyed having cream of wheat,malt-o-meal and the grits during that stage. Sure beat the liquid diet!

I am sure the "soupy" grits will be fine and you haven't damaged a thing. However......I had my surgery in July and in January, my hubby made me some grits for breakfast. He got them really thick, but I thought it would be fine..Big surprise. They got stuck!!! Hurt? Yes it hurt! The good news is that they passed on by the band fairly quickly. Other good news, it reminded me that no matter how far from surgery you are, or how well you think you know what you are doing, you can still get a surprise now and again! So, don't worry too much, we all have been there. Good luck to you! You are going to be so happy that you had the surgery!!!!

Hi Misty, They can't disqualify you for asking a question. Your group agreement with BC/BS will identify the benefits available to you. You need to get the booklet specifying these benefits. If the short version, you read, said that bariatric surgery was covered, then the policy booklet will give you more info on what is and is not covered. I really don't think you will be disqualified if you have the co-morbidities that the insurance company requires. More and more insurance companies are finding that it is in their financial interest to fund this type of surgery. After all, you will be healthier and therefore they will not have to spend as much money on your healthcare in the future. Sorta like when, years ago, I had problems with some birth control products and my only choice left was to have my tubes tied. The ins. co. said that they did not cover that. So I told them that since it was the only option I had left, that I guessed I would have to take my chances and if I became pregnant again, they would have to cover the healthcare cost of my child until he/she reached age 18. And who knew how many more children I might have in the future!!!Guess what, they decided to pay!! So, hang in there and don't give up!!!I am sure it will all be fine!

Hi Barb, Funny you should mention rings. For some reason, I was surprised that my fingers lost weight!:confused: I haven't been able to wear my rings for a while now. I told my hubby, that after I get to my goal weight, the one thing I want to reward myself is to have my rings resized!!!

I had an example of this a couple days ago! Not Good! I drank too fast and boy did I pay for it. What happens is, that if you have quite a bit of restriction, the band has narrowed down the opening into the rest of the stomach. If you drink too much, too fast, it can't run through this narrow area fast enough. Therefore, it pools up in your esophagus and that is what causes the pain, pressure, excess saliva, and throwing up. AlienBandit is right "not a good idea":crying:

Forgot to tell you, I have a friend who lives in OKC. You aren't too far from where I live...over here in the Ozarks.

Hi Brew, If you are a state employee then the insurance will not be the federal employee insurance, but it is probably very similar except that the specifics of the policy may have a few different twists and turns. For example, the BC/BS I have did not require the 3-6 month pre diet, but I know that other BC/BS policies do require it. Sometimes if the ins. co. doesn't require it, the medical facility, or surgeon will. It can get really confusing! I think it would be a good idea to request a copy of the insurance policy. You can also call and ask a customer service person about what exactly is covered. Then follow up with the request for a copy of the ins. policy. I imagine they have coordinated with your HMO on what is covered. From what you wrote, it does sound like they do cover the surgery, but it is always a good idea to make really, really sure which procedures they cover. Also, do they cover the pre-surgery testing, appointments with diatitians, psychologists, surgeons fee, and hospital costs? Does your insurance have a list of "preferred"physicians and facilities? It is always a good idea to get a referral from a doctor you trust and who has your best interest in mind. I was lucky in finding my surgeon, as he was recommended by my primary care physician and just happened to be the same surgeon who removed my gall bladder several years ago!:confused: They are both on the "preferred" list of my ins. co. That was a relief! Good luck and please let us know about your progress. There are really great people on this site that are always willing to help.

Hey Brew, I have BC/BS Federal Employee Program, Standard Coverage and it did pay for my surgery. Every policy seems to be different because, as I have learned from people on this site, it depends on who you work for and if they have agreed to let this type of surgery be covered. It is not up to BC/BS, but up to the company, employer, etc. that you got your insurance through. I do hope you have good luck and are able to get the surgery paid for. I don't think I would have had a chance to get it done if it were not for the insurance..of course the insurance premium I pay is pretty high, but not as high as others, and I would have not been able to pay for the surgery on my own. Good luck to you and please let us know how it goes.