Ok Banded pro's this is my first time posting , I would like to know if n e 1 has been banded in columbus, ohio at the Mt. Carmel hospital and if so how was your experience? I have just sent in my first set of paper work to be approve by their Dr. Also they are charging $300.00 for administrator fee (paper pushing to the Ins.), not to mention I will have to spend another $200.00 for their nutritionist and this $500.00 is not covered by my insurance:faint: . Are fee's normal? I was just wondering because I feel as much as the surgery cost, these things should be included! N E help would be nice

Morning everyone!! I posted yesterday and for some reason it never showed up??!!??

Quick recap... I met Andrea at Mt. Carmel for my one on one nutrition appt. She is a very nice person. I just have my stress test today, pre-op nutrition class on the 1st, and then meet with Dr. Miller on May 13th.

Niki~ hang in there girlie!! the 29th is just around the corner now.

Kathy~ STEP AWAY FROM THE SCALES!! You know you are dedicated and doing all the right things, so it has to be that your retaining Fluid.

Hey ndwife good to hear from ya!

I'm off to have my stress test........ I just love stress tests :redface:.

Well guys, I am still here...and still eating like I have never been banded. I told my mom yesterday that this is the point of a diet when I usually cave in (7 or 8 weeks) and I just thought that this time it was going to be different. I am proud of all of my fellow marchers for doing so well...I just wish I was feeling as good about myself as I was last week!

TM--good luck today! I am so excited that you are crossing things off of your pre-band list so quickly this time!!!

Don't beat yourself up Nikki as I have been struggling too. I am on my way in a few minutes to see Dr. Choban. I hope this fill will help. You are probably doing better than you think you are. I'll let you know how mine goes today.

Good luck Sarah! I work the next two nights, and I tend to do better when I am there. Do you find that is true for you? I hope this is going to jump start my motivation again. I really think missing the last get together also played a part in my spirits...I always feel so motivated after spending time with the group!

Well got 2 more cc's on thurs. Wow is that a big difference. Seems pretty snug now. I had 1 white castle and a little chicken that was prettty tough to go down and I am STUFFED! I tell you I didn't enjoy eating at all it was kind of a chore. so I guess this is restriction huh?:smile2:

I sure hope my fill has that effect on me, and I think the other Shrinking Shamrocks would probably agree. Fortunately, I haven't gained any weight but the losing sure has tapered off. Bring on the saline!

I'm so happy you have some kind of restriction now Sarah. I cant wait for that day.

Here here! I can't wait until Tuesday. I'm thinking about taking my camera so I can get a picture of what it looks like to get a fill... if they will let me. I'll play it by ear and see how it goes.

Was wondering for the Feb/March bandster buddies if you've encountered any food at all before your first fill that you couldn't get down or had trouble with? I haven't but I have not done anything 'stupid' either like eat something obviously doughy or stringy.

I do recommend the cedar planked grilled tilapia at O'Charley's - had that last night and 1/2 of my dinner salad and a few bites of my baked potato and that was really satisfying and the fish is lean and has lots of Protein. I'll definitely try that again when I think I could handle it with restriction.

Seebs -- yes, I got over the idea of just leaving the rest of the fish and salad and having them take it away to throw it away because I knew I'd enjoyed what I had and the leftovers wouldn't be good. That is a NSV for me.

Greg - yep, not gaining but losing has slowed to a crawl so I am totally with you on bring on the saline!

Hey Fill Friends!!! Tomorrow is our day! I am really excited. I am going to ask Melissa or Dr. C to "fill 'er on up" so I can get my head back in this game!

I have two NSVs this weekend. Sat night I went to a bacholorette party for my BFF and wore something sexy. LOL. It was a sleveless shirt I had in my closet, but I haven't warn it in two years. The first thing she said to me was "wow, holy boobies" (I had not seen her since surgery) I guess my waist is shrinking and now there is definition between it and "the girls".

The other NSV was yesterday at Kings Island. I found that I fit in the Kiddy rides much easier this year! The only one I still have a problem with is the Plankton's Plunge. The bars would not fit over "the girls" so my DD had to ride with someone else. I hate that my weight problem hold her back, but I promised that by the end of the summer, I would ride it with her!

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

n.

I am so excited to get this fill today. 10 am can't get here fast enough. lol....... I am going to see if they are going to max it out. ( already had 9ml put in on 1st. fill). (14ml band) Is anyone else going to be there about that time?? I am going to the office, but, I would like to meet you all, so, I would walk over to the testing center. extra walking is a bonus too... Please let me know. I have to leave here around 9:20am or so.

Fills are painless, the drink is not. lol............Mellisa was great, if you start to feel sick from it she will stop and ask if you want to continue, and then waits until you feel a little better and then will continue. She is great. New fillers I want to know what you thought about the experence. Have a great fill!!

:coolgleamA:

WTG Niki!! :coolgleamA: LOL.

Good Luck to everyone getting fills!

Yes I agree with KTBugg - the fill process is pretty painless and quick once they get you into the xray room where the fluroscopy machine is. I asked if I could take a picture of my band placement and the technician said Sure! so I'll get it uploaded off my camera and share.

Melissa is really sweet and does a great job working with you so anyone who hasn't been through this yet should be fine. They started my fill with me standing up behind the fluroscopy screen and when she didn't hit my port at that point, they tilted the fluroscopy/x-ray table to have me lying down and she hit the port very quickly at that point. Then they stood me back up while Melissa actually did the fill. Had me take sips of barium while she watched how it went down. Once she thought she had a good restriction level. She said All Done! They handed me a small cup of maybe 8 oz of water to drink right there and see if I was holding that down. No problems at all. I left and went back to work and nobody here in the office is any the wiser I had something done over lunch...so yes, you can keep this quiet if you want.

I'll be anxious to hear how GregW, NurseNiki and others who also got done today think.

I had visions of the fill needle being 5-8" to get down through the layers of skin, fat and things to get where the port is but it was only about 3" long and I didn't think it felt like much of a stick at all.

I found out I have a APL (large AP) band and they put in 4.5 cc's in a band that holds 14 total. I am anxious to see how this will work. I'm doing liquids today as instructed and doing fine hunger-wise.:w00t:

We found 2 more Shrinking Shamrocks for Mt. Carmel sitting in the Testing Center waiting room and gave them the lapbandtalk.com web info to join in and get information. I hope we'll see them chime in.

Glad to hear you all did well with the fills. I am finally feeling like this is working. I normally would eat a 10 piece McNugget for lunch and today I had to stop at 3!!! I wonder though if I am supposed to have as much discomfort with eating that I'm having. I feel like I am taking really small bites but then I still have pain with ceretain things. I have had a little"slime" if something lingers too long and causes me pain. I haven't had to throw anything up yet though Thank the Lord. Does this all sound normal?

Hey guys! I am reporting back after my first fill. I was told that I have thick skin, Melissa had a hard time getting the lidocane to push. I told her that I was willing to do it without the lidocane, but she said it was just as much for her as it was for me. :-)

I was down 27 lbs by their scale, and Melissa was very happy to see that.

I also have the AP large band and had 4.5 cc placed. I feel like I might have a little restriction after drinking that water, but who knows...at this point I am really hungry and am going to make some dinner.

Kathy--can't wait to see the pic! I think it is great that they let you do that!

Sarah--I am longing for that kind of restriction! I think that sounds great. I would just make sure you are eating some kind of sauce with the stuff that is giving you trouble. I have heard that can help things go/stay down.

It was great to meet you Greg and KTBUGG! I hope you didn't have to wait much longer, Greg. I know you were getting restless. KT--how are you doing??? Did they think it was a leak?

n.

Hi all, I agree with Special K that the process was relatively painless (well, almost!) My only problem was that the person that checked me in at the testing center forgot to tell them upstairs that I was there. Soooo, I sat from 1:00 until 2:40 before they came looking for me, since they figured I wouldn't have been a no-show. I was Missy's 9th (and last) fill of the day. She only gave me 2.5 cc. She started out at 4.5 cc but kept backing it down because the barium wasn't trickling through fast enough. I sure hope 2.5 is enough restriction. In any case, I called as soon as I got back to work and made my next appointment. The scheduler gave me the usual sob story about how busy Dr. C. is and that I couldn't get in for 9 weeks (instead of 6). Then, fortunately, she found an opening in 5 weeks and 2 days! ... It was nice to meet everyone while waiting and be able to put faces with names. I'm sure KTBugg was glad to be able to associate my face & name, instead of the last impression she got (of my butt cheeks!) :blushing: Now on to the next step in our journey.