shonette

Over three weeks ago I had my second fill. It ended up being an over fill. I later found out some of it could have been my fault due to not following the outlined diet as ordered. My normal fills are already covered for a year, but I received a bill a couple of days ago for the extra appointment to have some of the saline taken out due to the overfill. I pray my insurance will cover 90% which will leave me only owing $35.00. My God that one visit was expensive and it only took him less than 5 minutes to remove the 1cc that was causing me all that trouble. How be ever (it this is considered an appropriate phase) I really pray my doctor will do another fill today. He assured me my past experience would have no deciding factor on my future fills. Oh well I will see this afternoon when I get there. I really do need a little more restriction. I will follow my diet to the "T" this time, because I want to be successful with my band. I was told never to eat two hours before or after a fill. Today am soooooooo hungry which seems that way every single time I have gotten a fill. As I type this post, my stomach is making all kinds of noise so I really need to put some real food in my stomach before my fill. I need to have my morning protein shake which I am late drinking and an early lunch today. I have been walking 4-5 miles weekly. I know that is not a lot but it's an effort for me due to my very busy and demanding life. I have a five year old son, two month old grand baby:wub: (boy) and a seventeen year old daughter and a husband. I am trying to make sure she remains focused and move beyond her bad choices so her son can have the kind of life he deserves! Her senior year is very demanding and she has to work. Therefore, I have to keep the baby those days she is working. My son is now in constant competition with the baby which keeps my hands full! I really want to do some type of work out daily, but I don't always get the opportunity to do so. My scale is not moving a whole lot but my clothes fit so much looser and some are too big. I am trying to judge my success by the way my clothes are fitting me and not just based on the numbers by the scale. I do thank God I have not gained any weight. I will post how things went with my third fill. I pray I get a fill. I am so very thankful to be able to have my band. It really has been my saving grace!:smile:

As of this morning and constant phone calls to my doctor's office, the office manager decided to go ahead and clear my account in full. I was faxed a statement with a zero balance. They did not sound too pleased to clear my account, but they could not give me any good reason why I owed them a penny more. I was also very clear that I was not willing to pay a penny more to them. I do thank God this situation was worked out in my favor. I really pray fool4dance things will work out for you. I have learned to always keep up with your documentation and have things in writing.

I love # 5 the messy look is really in and it looks very good on you. Whatever you decide to do, I know it will look good. Congrats on all the wonderful comments you are getting and deserve to get!

I was banded on July 21, 2010, and my doctor required that all fees that were not covered by my insurance must be paid in full before my procedure was done. Therefore, I was required to pay out of pocket $2,200.00. Therefore, I would not owe anything once my surgery was done. "So not true"! Since a month ago, I've been getting bill statements from my doctor's office stating I owe a remaining balance of $1,521.62. I though surely some type of error on someone's part had been made, because I had paid every single penny I was told had to be paid in full. I called my insurance company to see what was going on and I was told that my doctor's office was billing under a different tax ID # that what was showing up on his billing invoices. Therefore, I thought this was a simple mistake that could be easily taken care of. Well, it's been a whole month later and I am still getting the run around from my doctor's office manager. As of this morning, I was told my $500 deductible was not paid which is a lot of bull! :ohmy: I have a copy of my deductible showing as paid on my billing statement which came from my doctor's office. I feel like I am getting the run around from Dr. McCowan's office. I do know that I am not going to pay a penny more for anything relating to my surgery. This entire process is becoming very stressful and the office manager Ronda is really getting on my last nerve. She doesn’t return phone calls and I have to constantly run her down. She is really becoming a thorn in my side!!!! I just want to focus on losing weight and changing my life style around my band. :smile:

Seby- let me tell you from personal experience. You have been over filled and the only way to correct all the things you are going through is to have some taken out. I hate that I allowed myself to go through 5 days of hell for a simple fix. I was seen Monday morning by my doctor and within seconds he removed 1cc and my whole life changed back to normal. I still have pretty good restriction, but things are going down the way they should. Make sure you follow up with your doctor so some of the saline can be removed and things will go back to normal instantly. Good luck.

Well, I had my second fill on 9-9-10 and it was an over fill which was an experience from H---! However, 1cc was taken out and Lord knows I feel so much better. However the weight will slow down once you start to eat real food. You have to remember those first couple of weeks is not reality of what you will be eating for the rest of your life (clear liquids, popsicles, soft food, etc). That’s just to allow your insides to heal and adjust to all the new changes it has gone through, but once the real foods are introduced back into your system the body tense to hold on to it a lot more. That's why it's very important to take in your appropriate amount of protein throughout the day. I found being as active in everything I do really helps to burn calories throughout the day and take your multi-vitamins daily. The weight will come off. It will be weeks that I see no weight lost and I get on the scale and 5 pounds are gone. Learn not to measure so much according to what the scale says, but the way your clothes are fitting you. These are some things that have worked for me. Good luck.

My prayers are with you and I am asking God to watch over you throughout your surgery. Good luck.

I have had my second fill as of 9-9-10 which turned out to be an over fill. I had to take 1cc out this past Monday. I now feel sooooooooooo much better. How much restriction are you feeling with the 3cc you were given. I have a standard 10cc band and I have a total of 3cc in it at this time. I have pretty good restriction and it takes so much less than before to satisfy me. I pray everything goes well for you.

If he really cares about you as a person, he will support you in this weight lost process. Therefore, you need to be honest and let him know. Like stated prior by PrairieDawn- if he isn't not supportive or understanding of you having the band get rid of him early. When people really love and care for you, they want the very best for you as well.

It will never hurt for you to ask to see what options you may have. Good luck.

I really do appreciate everyone's concern and kind words. I do thank God that 1cc made such a huge difference in the way I felt and continue to feel. I've heard so many people wanting to get really tight, but that's not a healthy place for me to be. I have my next appointment on September 30th for my third fill, but I don't think I need to consider getting any more fill at this time. My doctor did encourage me not to be fearful of another fill due to the previous experience I had in the past. I have learned not to judge my future by my past experiences.

I do apologize to anyone who read my post earlier. For some reason my blog was entered in the mist of me typing. I had not had an opportunity to edit or complete the blog. Therefore, I do apologize to those who read an incomplete and unedited blog. Again thanks for reading my post.

I had my second fill on last Thursday, and I was experiencing some difficulty swallowing liquids and foods. I thought maybe it was from eating something that I should've eaten based on my fill diet. Maybe that had apart to play in my stomach becoming too irrigated to tolerate any foods or liquids going down. However, I was always told liquids should always go do. Well, that was not the case for me. By Friday morning, anything I put in my mouth was not going down no matter what I did. This was the very first time I have ever had to vomit since my surgery. The next few things I am about to say may sound a little nasty but this was my experience. There was foamy/slimy substance coming up due to things not pasting through my esophagus. I had the worst pain in the center of my chest that you just could not imagine. I continued to say to myself things were going to get better. I started to go to the ER on several occasions, but I did not want the long wait or the ER bill. I prayed for Monday to come like never before. I can not remember being that miserable in a very long time. Nothing I did seemed to make my situation better. My every focus was on how to get some fluids down without all of the awful chest pains. It would take me about 3 hours to slip on a 16 oz bottle of water praying it was not going to come back in with all of the foamy/slimy action going on. Thank God Monday morning came and I called my doctor's office first thing that morning. I was first told to continue to slip water and come in on Tuesday morning at 9am. I told her to let my doctor know he would be coming to meet me in the ER sometime that day. I could not take it any longer. Soon after our conversation I received a phone call stating he would meet me ASAP. I went to the center and he asked if I had eaten anything outside of his fill diet and I stated yes. He explained that could have caused my system to swell and increase more swelling to the band area. He took only 1cc out of my band and instantly I could feel my insides changing. I felt like a brand new person. Today am able to drink and eat just fine. I want good restriction, but being too tight is the worst thing in the world for any band person to experience. I still feel like I have pretty good restriction with the 3cc in my band.

Thanks so much and believe me - I've learned my lesson!

Today I had my second fill of two more cc in my band. I now have a total of 4ccs in a 10cc standard band. I was given a four day diet to follow by my doctor to allow my stomach to adjust to my new fill. Keep in mind- I had not eaten due to following the rules not to eat anything 2 hours before my fill. Well, if you could imagine I was starving and my stomach had been talking all mooring long. When I returned to work, I decided for lunch to eat outside of his 4 day diet plan and have about 3oz of cream soup and two bites of boil lemon pepper fish. Ooooooh my God my stomach started hurting like never before. :eek:I felt for a brief moment I would need some medical attention. It was very difficult for me to walk back to my office. I was praying for God to please forgive me for my hard headedness. It was like I had swallowed a rock. :scared2:I had never ever experienced that kind of pain with food before since my band, and I really never want to experience it again. I will follow that diet like he prescribed for the next four days. I am starting to feel a little better, but now it's just like I've over eaten terribly. I guess from that experience I have pretty good restriction with my new fill. From this point forward I will listen to my doctor!!!!! (DIET) Fill day: n/a breakfast/ no lunch/ cream soup dinner Friday: protein shake/ cream soup lunch/ regular soup dinner Saturday: protein shake/ regular soup lunch / soft food dinner Sunday: protein shake/ soft food lunch/ regular food dinner

I really do appreciate all of the wonderful comments and encouragement from everyone. I do know it is very important to stay true to who you really are and don't try to measure yourself up with anyone else.

That is great! I know the feeling because all of my pants are sagging. It's a good feeling to know things are not too tight. That use to be my biggest problems (too tight clothes). It feels good to be on the other side.

This weight lost journey is very new to me. I have failed miserably for years trying to lose weight. Therefore, it's not easy for me to accept the positive comments people are saying to me about the weight I have lost. I still look into the mirror, and I see a little difference. I still think to myself "it's not all that much of a difference"! The scale is really not moving fast, but I think it's mostly inches that are coming off. I do admit my clothes are very loose and a couple of things I can't even wear any more. I do know that is a good thing, but it is still very hard to see that thinner me. I look into the mirror and I still see all those fat rolls, humps, and fat in areas I don't want it to be in. I don't want to get the "big head” as some people often say to me, but I am proud of the changes I have made. At times I want his weight to come off over night, but I know that isn't going to happen and it would be healthy if it did. When a person has spent so much of their life being over weight, you just want to experience a different side of life. This whole process is more mental than I ever anticipated it to be. I realize that food has different meaning to me for different reasons. It is a comforter, it gives me pleasure, it occupy me when I am bored, and most of all it can't tell me no. For all those reasons food has to be redefined with a different purpose and need in my life. I am a work in progress! This site is so wonderful to have in my life. Thanks to all those wonderful and inspiring people that let me know I can do this.

Your words are very inspiring to my spirit as I read what you said about God being a healer! Yes, God can and he will do just what his word said he can do in all of our lives. God has brought me out of so many situations that my human eyes could not believe were possible, but God can turn the most unfortunate situation in our favor. I do know how it feels to have an unhealthy addiction with food. It has been a blessing to me to be able to have this band. I went through a lot of different things to get to this point, but God is able to do all things exceeding what our minds could only imagine. Faith is the key to any impossible situation, and God is moved through our faith in his word. My prayers are with you through this very difficult time in your life. You are a beautiful person made in God's own image!

I am so very sorry to hear about the dark clouds in your life right now! Please know that God has your back and you’re not alone. I to feel that things start to get out of order in my life and home, but that's when I really have to reach down deep and draw from my faith in God. I have learned that patience is a virtue and it builds character to only make us better. You have to eat, because your body will not release anything if it thinks you're starving yourself. My doctor told me the key to being successful with the band is good food choices and adequate protein daily intake. You have all the tools you need to be happy and healthy. You need to relax, reflect, and release any unwanted stress. "You can do all things through Jesus Christ that strengthens you"!

I really appreciate all the nice and encouraging words from everyone. It means so much to be able to express my feelings and hardships to others who can relate in some way or the other. Again, I really appreciate the love and support I always feel from this site.

I pray God will give you the strenght and the will power to reach your goal. A size means somthing totally different to different people. My size range is 14-16 due to my height 6"1 and large frame. That is my overall goal. I am in a size 20 but not for very long LOL!

This morning I was getting dress for work, and I looked at myself in the mirror! For the first time in years I was somewhat pleasantly surprised at the person I saw! This person has a nice glow about herself than ever before.(me) I have spent some much of my life doing everything for everyone else, and I never took time out to do anything for myself. I am normally racing around my house cleaning up after everyone, cooking, washing, assisting with homework, and being "Grammie"! Yes, I am a grandmother to a one month old little boy! He was born 3 days after my surgery! Therefore, I had very little to no healing time after my surgery. He is soooooo wonderful and I love him to no end! However; being there for my daughter and her baby is a lot to juggle. I also have my finally appointment with my casework today to complete the process to becoming a foster parent. I sometimes feel like I am going to lose my sense of being. I do know God isn't going to place any more on me than I can handle. My plate is very full at times, but it was the way I've always defined who I was in this world. I now know I can take care of myself in the process. I now know I am so much more than that person who provides and takes care of everyone else's needs. I am learning to take some time out of my day to take care of myself. I work out at the YMCA at least 3-4 a week for at least 1 1/2 at night. This gives me the time I need to relax and reflect on myself. Being me isn’t so bad after all!:wub:

Today I received my first fill and it was not as bad as I had anticipated it being. My doctor is a very cool person and he has a way of talking you through your fears of the unknown. I really don't have a problem with needles, but I did not want to be stuck multiple times as I originally thought would happen. I learned that I have a standard seize band that is 10 cc, and I was given 2 cc of saline in my band today. My doctor took me up to 3cc just to let me know how it felt to have an over fill. He then took 1 cc out and I was able to swallow just fine. He was really proud of my weight lost, but he also wanted me to focus more on my fat percentage and not just the weight lost itself. I was put on a three day post adjustment diet to ensure everything was working the way it should. He also encouraged me to buy one of those scales that calculate your body fat mass along with your weight. On the way home from the Hospital I felt a little pressure in my chest area, but it appears to be fading away at this time. I do feel like my diet is very bland at times so I pulled up some food ideas that are high in protein from the net just to mix things up a little. I don't want to feel like this is something I can't do, because I know I can and will do this. Since I now have my first fill, I don't want to feel like my weight lost will slow down. I know that sounds crazy! I really want to keep myself on a consistent weight reduction cycle. I feel really good about the things I am doing right now, and people are really being supportive towards me in this process of losing weight. I had my first appointment with my Podiatrist today, and he gave me a boot to sleep in and a cortisone shot in my heel to relieve some of my pain and pressure. Hopefully, once I get my heel pain under control my exercise can increase. At this point it is just so hard to apply excessive pressure on my feet. The pain is just too much to bare at times. In three more weeks I will be considered for my second fill. I really do thank God that I don't have any type of complications with my new found friend "Allergan" my band!