This past Wednesday, I finally returned to see my surgeon after a year. Most people will think the year I'm referring to is a year from the date I was initially banded. So, I need to clarify the "year" just a bit.

I was banded on November 20, 2006. Yes, that's right, the week of Thanksgiving. It was total surprise to me too. From the time I made my first visit to the my Surgeon in October 2006 to the time I was notified of my surgery date was less than a month. The way my surgeon explained it to me is that since I was self-paying for the procedure, I could be moved ahead of the insured patients who had to wait on various approvals. Regadless of the reason, when the call came I was sitting at my desk with my mouth hanging open and my heart pounding in my chest.

I thought I still had more time. I thought I would be able to have one last hurrah for over the holidays. I thought I had until at least January. I thought, I thought, I thought . . . But, ready or not on D-day, I was banded.

By the time the middle of January rolled around, I was 20 pounds lighter. The reason is I was trying my best to stick to the guidelines my surgeon had given me and I was on an aggressive fill schedule. How agressive you might ask, take a look below:

December 6, 2006/1.0cc

December 13, 2006/0.6cc

December 20, 2006/0.6cc

December 27, 2006/0.6cc

January 17, 2007/1.0cc

January 25, 2007/0.6cc (unfill)

That's right. After two weeks of recovery, I received a fill every week for four weeks, had another fill three weeks later. One week after the last fill, I returned to the surgeon's office to have some fluid removed from my band. For the record, I must say that last fill terrified me.

I had done a lot of research on the band, surgeons, methods. I even watched a lap-band surgery being performed from start to finish online at the National Institute of Health website. I knew that every surgeon's aftercare requirement varied, even their fill schedules. My surgeon, however, stayed on the cutting edge of research and based on that infomation, he was filling patients sooner to alleviate hunger and faciliate weightloss.

I was apprehensive. I had read no such information on such an agressive fill schedule. But I chose my surgeon because I trusted my him and I still do. So, I continued to return for fills as told until the fill on January 17th made me return a week later because I could barely swallow water. I knew something was wrong. As it turned out, I was overfilled. When some of the saline was removed, I was able to swallow again. I never returned to the surgeon's office after that. And, that's the "year" I needed to clarify.

There are several reasons or rather excuses why I didn't return:

A. The surgeon's Physician Assistant told me that I only need to return if I needed fills. I didn't think my surgeon would have totally agreed with that statement had he heard it being made, but it made a sort of half-way sense to me.[/b]

B. I was self-pay and only had 90 days of services from my surgery date covered in my treatment plan by the surgery group. So, after the 90 days were up I was going to be the payee responsible for flouroscope fills and office visits including visits to the dietician. I didn't know how much that would cost, never tried to find out the final totals that would be charged for self-pay patients, and some part of me thought I couldn't afford it anyway. However, I was afforded the opportunity of four free visits to behavioral health within a year, which I never took advantage of because I had taken issue with a statement the counselor made and my pride wouldn't let me use the visits.

C. I wasn't closely (or loosely for that matter) following the lapband guidelines. So, what sense did it make to return to the surgeon's office when I knew EXACTLY what I wasn't doing.

D. We were selling and purchasing a home and I totally lost focus on me and was focusing on everthing and everyone but me.

E. The contract I was on ended in September, which meant I no longer had a job. Who in their right mind pays for something they could only afford with a job after they lose their job? Not me.

E. I was ashamed. I had paid all this money out-of-pocket and I still wasn't successful losing or keeping the weight off. I had regained it all.

So, as 2008 reared it's ugly head. I was once again contemplating the same New Year's resolution about losing weight. I knew something had to change. I knew that "something" was me.

On January 17th of the new year, I was given a ray of hope that I could now afford to go back to my surgeon's office and get back on track. My friend, Phia, sent me an email containing an article that my insurance carrier had officially announced that they were now covering lap-band. So, to me, it only made sense that they were now also covering fills and office visits. I called and made a follow-up appointment with my surgeon's office immediately.

I had lost 60 - 65 lbs. I had all the saline removed a year ago and have gained 30 lbs. I have started fills again and don't feel the full feeling? I am in a panic?