B-52

If I had the choice, I would ask it to be as far around the side as possible....as opposed to dead center for all the world to see as if it were some kind of large "Tumor" I've contemplated asking to have mine relocated....

Are you saying they denied you because you GAINED WEIGHT? That's ridiculous...that's why we need the WLS because we cannot, or have a very difficult time loosing weight any other way.... When I went through this phase, 2 things I remember...I was looked at on a different scale and a different set of criteria because of the co morbidites....they actually made it easier to get the approval....even my PCP knew this and it was the main reason he referred me...my health issues....and bleak prognosis...which only loosing weight and changing lifestyle would cure. 2nd...the 6 month required medical supervised diet, in my case, had nothing to do with loosing weight.....it was to show, as part of my record signed off by a physician, along with charts, grafts, and weekly progress notes, that I did make a sincere effort to loose weight and FAILED! Thereby proving that surgery was the last, and perhaps only resort for me to loose weight and re-gain my health. And sure enough, just as I did in every other diet I have ever took part in, I started out great, then eventually leveled off, then reversed and failed...I lost weight, but by the time the program was over I was steadily gaining it all back.... Next thing you know Insurance Companies will start denying people because they will argue... "See? You CAN loose weight on your own...you don't need surgical intervention" My...how the rules have changed.....the girls in my office deal with insurance submissions all day...and thy have gotten very good at it....it takes a lot of documentation, and you need to get past their first line of defense which is usually minimum wage staff who know nothing about medical issues but are trained to spot "Red Flags"..certain words..and kick the claims back without even looking at the entire picture... You know Insurance companies consider "Bathing" a "Luxury" and "Not Medically Necessary?" But this is what your Surgeons office does every day....deals with the ridiculous with appeals...."The squeaky wheel gets the oil"

Well it is definitely something to be aware of...I have gotten to know my band pretty well by now, and the slightest "Quirk" makes me jumpy....the best I can do is give it a good rest at regular intervals....

Too much common sense around here!

I'm coming up on 3 years with no problems at all....You went 5.....What happened? Did they ever say exactly? Erosion? Slippage? Or did your body just stop tolerating it...."the band just bonded to the stomach" as in adhesion? Seriously...these are the posts I pay attention to and weigh all the information....

Anyone who tells another person what they can or cannot do is being negative, IMO.... The best people can do is share their own experiences, good and bad and let the accept or reject it....

Thank You....spoken like a true veteran....

What does your Dr. suggest? My Dr. had/has a set treatment plan in mind as to what I should expect and how he was to get me there....he would ask me specific questions about my level of hunger, cravings, my food choices etc, then determine what my next step would be, if any was indicated..... You'll notice from reading enough posts here that no 2 persons are the same, as is their Dr.'s....

In the beginning, I could not run because of all the excess weight and fat...too much of a high impact that would have destroyed my knees and hips......so I became an Elliptical maniac, everyday at he gym....wore a heart monitor and was not pleased unless I was in my "Zone 4" workout for at last 45 minutes..........I then purchased the same exact commercial brand elliptical used in the gym for my home...$3000 ! ....and that was not new, but factory refurbished...but it is a "industrial model"..not a typical home model..... Fast forward...lost the needed weight to be able to start running...I now run 5 miles every day, and I have not used my elliptical I have at home for over a year now.....but I know there will come a day I will not be able to run anymore, or care to go to the gym everyday...so the elliptical will be very much used come then.....(I'm close to 62 years old) Running = High Impact,........Elliptical = Low Impact

I do it every 4-6 weeks as routine maintenance...I don't consider it a diet,i or a means to loose additional weight ...nor do I follow the regime someone came up with as to what stages of food to eat and when.... I will simply go all liquids, soups and shakes, etc....staying away from solid foods for at least 2 days, sometimes 3...giving the band a good rest, until I can feel everything getting back to my "New Normal" and in optimum working order which it always does from this simple procedure.

The reason I had WLS was because I could not do it on my own....lap band was my last resort, and my health was failing fast.... Believe me If I didn't need surgery, I would not have done it....bu=t seeing how I did need, I'm glad I did and glad with nothing but positive results I received from it....

Speaking for myself...I can tell, when My portions get larger with less problem eating....Like NaNa said...more food and hunger......it is then I will go all liquids for a few days. For me, it does the trick and I consider it routine maintenance.

This website - forum has always been about 75% negative....mostly new people still trying to find their way! and a few with problems....the people who are happy and successful move on with their lives very little info here for them to glean. When I first joined, it was a whole different group of people, save a few.... This is nothing new.....it is just not a fair picture of everyone out there who has undergone this surgery.... The same is true at my Surgeon's office.....the only people who attend support groups are those needing help...the people who are successful and finished with this journey, and there are MANY......have to be asked to come back to present to the groups...

Are you still overweight....have a lot of excess skin, fat layers? Although I tried, I could not handle running untill I dropped about 80 pounds, and a lot of the sagging skin......the pounding I took was unbearable.... Running is one of the exercises that will work the entire body from head to toe...including every joint.

I had 4 cc's for my first fill 1 month after surgery....After which I gained weight!!! The 4 cc's did absolutely nothing for me, plus at 4 weeks it was the point in my post-op diet that I started back on regular solid food....I lost on the post-op mushie's...who doesn't???? 2nd fill was 2 cc's, 4 weeks after the first...felt something, but dissipated after a week...weight held steady, in other words still not loosing... 3rd fill was 4 weeks after the 2nd, or 12 weeks from surgery...1cc...pushed me completely over the top!!! Thought i might be too tight, trouble keeping anything down for about 2 weeks...but I was determined to make it work...and as I figured it was ME who needed to adjust, not the other way around...it took me about 2 months to finally get into a "Groove" and settle into a new lifestyle living in the Green Zone.... That was over 2 years ago...have never had a fill since...and have stayed consistently in the Green Zone with all my hunger and cravings held in check, and my portion sizes determined by my band....lost all the excess weight possible.....returning to a normal weight and body fat% for a male my age, and height. EASIEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE!!!!! but getting there was another, frustrating story...I could have taken one step back at any time...., got a slight un-fill, and settled into a lifestyle of hard work and determination, using the band as a tool for me to use... (dieting) and complaining of not loosing weight......I'm glad I did not!! And I'm glad my Dr. would not let me but kept encouraging me....

It's addictive....I'm 61 and cannot get enough! I run every morning on a empty stomach...other than coffee, Water and some Vitamin and Omega supplements... But I'm only doing 5 miles as part of a full workout with weights, etc, not a competition thing... I'll have a high Protein recovery shake after my workout, as opposed to pigging out....

Vomiting is the one thing I fear the most since having the Lap band Surgery.....fortunately it has not occurred, and that's been almost 3 years now..... People are always talking about band Slippage, and just about everything is blamed for it...I'm not sure people stop and think about how that can happen....but if stop and think about what can happen to the band form vomiting...that can be very clearly understood.... Also people throw the term Vomiting around very loosely here. ANYONE who can say they are vomiting as a direct result of the band already have some serious problems and should see their surgeon ASAP....may take surgical intervention to correct.

Up to your Dr....I had an appointment with my surgeon one week post op to check for infection, etc...it was then he cleared me to return to the gym, and also to soak in baths, whirlpools, etc....but also said go easy on heavy lifting for a few weeks more.... Again, this is a question you should be asking your Dr. and the answer should be only from your Dr.

True, but in my case I don't need to eat to "feel Full" as some call it...I am not hungry, nor have any interest in eating 24 hrs. a day....whether I eat something or not....and food does stay in my pouch...I know this because I can judge by the feedback I get while attempting to drink something after eating....it can take up to 1/2 hour. Sorry this is just my first hand experience I have been experiencing for over 2 years...can't provide you with any printed articles....just what I experience....... Last night we had a pretty good dinner....I was just not interested in eating....no hunger...did take one or two small bites to see if I can get something going, but I was just not hungry in the least.... The plate is in the fridge covered in foil.....I'll heat it up and have it today....

Question...the "Rules"...I'm curious as to what people feel the rules are, and why do they follow them? Do you follow certain rules to loose weight, or do you follow certain rules because that is the only way you can get along with the band and what it does.... Everyone is different, because everyone's band is different....many people drink Water while eating, because they can...that's not a opinion, that's their experience...I cannot drink while eating, because it will come back up, cause pain, and undoubtedly stretch my pouch because I quickly overfilled it...that's my experience, not my opionion... Carbonated drinks, crushing pills, lunch meat?....some do because they can, some don't because they cannot....and some have no clue because they're just learning to fly.... Eat an entire pizza right after surgery?? Some do it because they can....but start learneing the rules because some day, like me, you will not be able to get through one single slice...I have not eaten pizza in over 2 years...NOT because I was told not to and it was against any rule that I know of, again other than weight watchers.....it's not my opinion you should not eat pizza, (unless we're talking jenny Craig or something)..it's my experience that living with the band I cannot eat Pizza....rules or no rules.... No 2 people are alike because no 2 bands can be adjusted and identical with one's body....but it is my experience, not my opinon, if you want to progress with the band, then you need to learn the rules because that is the only way you can live with the band. I read statements here all the time and I wonder where in the world did they learn that? They say doing this will casue that...I want to ask them HOW does that happen exactly????...and have you ever had that happen to you? That you can say it's true? But, I keep my mouth shut, and ignore the pseudo experts with little or no first hand experience...I even blocked a few....

I have no ide...I stopped counting calories 4 months after my surgery...with my Dr.'s advice...his traetment plan has always been to take a more practible approach to simply learn the band, and eat healthy and wisely. Glad I went that route because today it developed into a lifestyle of not stressing over such things...just living life every day.

I can tell when my pouch begins to stretch buy the portion sizes I am allowed to eat....there are days I realize I'm eating more than normal... It is then I go on few days of all liquids...shakes and Soups..real sliders that don't stay in the pouch...result is my pouch will return to it's normal size and my portions are back under control..(Green Zone)...some people call it a "5 day pouch test" I call it routine maintenance...about once every 4-6 weeks. It's good to give it a rest. Spoke with my Dr. about this an he said many people do not have the discipline to go all liquids...it is for that reason he will usually do a complete un-fill, thereby allowing all food to pass and not sit in the pouch....allowing it to get a rest and shrink.

That sounds very familiar....my gym opens at 5, and I am there 5 days a week at 5:30am.....I will also say there is a pretty good crowd there also.... I run 5 miles each day, except once a week I attend the "Advanced Training" class...aka "Boot Camp" The other days I lift weights after my run.... The good thing about the health club I attend, is that they have locker rooms, showers, sauna, steam room and whirlpool...so I cam literally crawl out of bed, drive to the club with my coffee in hand. After my workout I can shower, shave and dress for work. They also have a restaurant with a lunch counter where I can purchase my morning, recovery, Breakfast smoothie.... When I miss a workout day...I can feel it and I'm down all day long...a true sign of a exercise junkie!

I see patients everyday and rely on insurance reimbursement.....I can say this, that getting insurance co. To pay for anything is getting worse every week.....many Dr. And hospitals are refusing to accept what once was respectable carriers because of the low payments.... And it is getting worse.....and to add insult to injury, rates are starting to go through the roof.

It's a LIFESTYLE...not another diet.....sounds like you learned your lessons well... Most of the day I don't even think about it anymore....as though I had my appendix taken out once upon a time.