Dori

I was banded in 2/07, I too have experienced the same shoulder pain. I spoke with my doctor about it and he told me that quite a few lap band patients experience the same type of shoulder pain. He told me it is caused by the tubing rubbing aganist the diaphragm causing referred pain to the shoulder. Most shoulder pain that is not a direct result of some sort of injury is referred from some place else in the body, thats why gallbladder disease causes shoulder pain. When I get this pain I stretch out my side for a few minutes and the pain goes away. Hope this helps.

WOW we even weigh the same. Talk about having stuff in common. I was down to 206 also and when I weighed in last Tuesday (before my fill) I was back up to 209 also. Today I am back down to 206. We are also the same age. My personal goal is to get under 200 and it has proven to be elusive thus far. That's why I'm going to try my best to keep this fill. I don't seem to have the tickle in the back of my throat as you mention. One thing that does helps me at night, is drinking a glass of water to rinse out my pouch before going to bed.

Hello Sharp, I am having the exact same symptoms as yourself. The coughing at night and after I eat, I also have had a headache from the coughing. I was banded in 02/07 and have had more than 10 fills (my doctor is extremely conservative with fills). I just had my most recent fill a week ago. My experience with this is that it usually goes away after a few days as the band loosens a bit. I have been too full in the past, to the point where Water would not stay down. So I am confident that I am not overfull this time, I can eat and drink, just lots less. I can't tell you what you should do in your situation but I am going to wait it out another week or so and see if it loosens just a bit. Hope this helps. Dori

I work for a managed care company and am very familiar with the benefits for both health plans. Depending on what state you live in the benefits could differ. PacifiCare has a "healthy roads" program that they require most bariatric patients who are considering surgery to complete. Since you have already received authorization from Blue Shield I'm not sure if they will require you to complete that program. Please be sure to read your EOB (explanation of benefits) completely, as your copayment if you have one could be significantly different. Hope this helps. Good luck.

CaliGirl, I had my surgery done by Dr. Douglas Krahn in San Bernardino at St Bernadines Medical Center. If you live in San Bernardino this is very close to you. He has a multi-disciplinary team and supports groups each week at the hospital. He also has a free informational seminars monthly. Good luck to you.

My doctor actually sees me without charge for the first year. I only pay a small co-payment. Now that my year is up my insurance will need to authorize additional visits, and I believe each visit is billed at $150.00 and he is paid a percentage of that based on his contracted rate. Each time a payment is made to your physician, the patient should receive an EOB (explanation of benefits) explaining what has been paid out.

Redgirl, I was banded 02/02/07 and have had a total of 12 fills. None of them have been as painful as you describe. My doctor does not use fluro he only pokes once and gives very small fills. He also is not big on telling his patients how much of a fill he gives or how much is already in your band. After about my 8th fill he did share with me how much he was putting in the band. To give you an idea of how small the fills are, like I mentioned above I've had 12th fills and I have 4.5ccs in my 10 cc band. I've never had to have an unfill and the weight loss is slow, but its worth it. I've lost a total of 40 pounds and just in case your wondering my fills are covered by my insurance.

Hello all, Can anyone tell me what a slipped band feels like?? I'm a little worried :faint: .

Hello Liz, I have been banded a year this month and have lost 42 pounds. I have had 11 fills, I exercise regularly and always have. I can only eat a very limited amount of food. I really thought that perhaps something was wrong with me because I did not start to lose weight until almost eight months after surgery and nine fills. But I began to realize that the spurs that I was suffering from in both feet are not causing me pain anymore. I feel so much healthier and I am now slowly losing about 1 pound per week. Stay encouraged and remember whatever amount of weight you lose you probably would not have done it without the help of your band.

Alli, Thanks for your reply and I totally agree with you that the 40lbs I have already lost has made a world of difference. I suffered terribly from heel spurs and since losing the weight, I have no problems with my heel spurs. After my 8th or 9th fill, i started to feel restriction and after each fill I feel really restricted. After about 3 weeks and some weight loss my restriction pretty much disappears. My nurse says this is pretty normal. So I really didn't start losing until almost 9 months after surgery. My doctor doesn't seem to feel that I have symptoms of a slippage or leakage in my band. If I can lose another 20 pounds I think I will be satisfied with that. God Bless and take care.

Very nicely put Lawanda!! Destiny 79 I am happy for your individual weight loss. Perhaps you should look at the statistics specific to your race AND age and compare them to those of other races. I am 40 years old and have had 9 more fills that you have, exercise 6 days a week (which is nothing new for me I have always been a "gym rat") and I follow the band rules to the letter. As Lawanda pointed out we are genetically different, therefore our bodies are going to react differently.

I agree that for whatever reason, we seem to have a somewhat slower weight loss that our caucasion counterparts. I was banded February 2007 and have lost a total of 40 lbs. I follow the rules for the band with exercise, watching what I eat and having regular adjustments. I have had 11 adjustments to date. I'm not saying that I wouldn't do it again because I probably would not have lost these 40 lbs without my band, it just seems that the weight loss is slower than I anticipated.

Step of faith, I actually work for an insurance company and have been in this buisness for 15 years and I can tell you that the bottom line about HMOs is financial. Make sure to empasize how the extra weight is jeopardizing your health. Mention any and all ailments you suffer from and how the surgery will improve your health which in turn saves the insurance company money in the long run. Make sure to mention all diets you have tried. Lastly, if your request for surgery is denied, do not except no for an answer, file an appeal. Hope this helps. God Bless.

I have experienced that same scenario, but I did not want to go in for an unfill because it was the 1st time I actually saw any significant weight loss. Just make sure you get down as much fluids as you can to prevent dehydration. After a few weeks it loosened up and now I am ready for yet another fill.

I'm not sure how many ccs my doctor does each fill, but I do know that it is very very little. I have a 10cc band and I have almost 4 ccs, and have had 10 fills BEFORE I saw any real weight loss. I had very good restriction for about 2 months and now I have very little restriction, which my nurse says is normal. Time for another fill for me. Hope this helps.

thank you all for your replies it helps to feel that I am not alone. I hope that one day we can get this ball rolling a little faster. I'd hate to think that I endured surgery and have this foreign body inside of me with very little results. But I am keeping the faith and am waiting on my day

If there is such a club I shoud be the 1st member. Even you slow losers are losing more than I am. I wad banded 02/02/07 and I have lost a total of 27 pounds and have had 8 fills to date. I have always been a "gym rat" and love to exercise I am definitely eating less, sometimes one meal per day. My doctor says me eating one meal a day is the problem and I should eat more. Frankly sometimes I just forget to eat because I don't feel hungry. I don't want to give up on my band just yet, but I can't help but to feel a little discouraged. Anyone out there with similar results.

I can so relate with all of the postings on this thread. I was banded 02/02/07 had my 5th fill today and have lost a total of 20 lbs most of these lbs were lost post-op. I lost 1lb since my last fill 4 weeks ago. I really thought I was on my way, and had reached that "sweet spot" last month because I really had good restriction. After 1 1/2 week my restriction was no where to be found!!! I am feeling such like a loser that I can't even lose weight after a "weight loss surgery". To add to my frustration my dr says to me today, "Well, it looks like you are going to have to work harder at this than my other patients who have the band". I literally wanted to kick him in his teeth and say no kidding genius!!! Even after my fill today I do not feel much restriction!!! UGH!!! I am soooooo frustrated....

I would like to join the slow losers club. I was banded 02/02/07 and have lost 16 pounds. I just had my 4th fill and although I can feel restriction the scale in not moving UGH!!! Sometimes I want to throw my scale out a window and just sit on my bed and cry!!!:angry

Hello everybody, I was banded on 02/02/07 and have only lost 13 pounds! I am feeling so discouraged as I see how much weight I need to lose and how slow I am actually losing. I had my 2nd fill yesterday because as of today I have yet to know what restriction feels like. I work out 5 days a week and I am feeling like maybe I am just meant to be this size!! :help:

Shellbellz, I can so totally relate to you. I've been feeling the same way except I have always been an exerciser and I actually like to work out. So I think I assumed that when I got my band that with the exercising and restriction the weight would just somehow melt away, but it is so not like that!!! I too appreciate the encouraging words I have received from you all, especially Julie!! Thanks again...

I am probably eating a little too many carbs, not too much sugar. My dr only wants to fill me every 6 weeks, if I have to wait until fill # 5 or 6 I will scream!!!!! :omg:

Laura, I don't think that is the norm with regards to being so restricted you cannot swallow your own saliva. My doctor has me drink about 4 oz of Water before I leave his office after a fill, to make sure I am not overly restricted.

My doctor did warn me that hair loss is one of the 1st indicators that I am not getting enough protein in my diet. Try increasing your protein.

Same here, I was banded 02/02/07 and I am still feeling quite tired. I expect to be feeling more like myself within the next few weeks. Hang in there!!!