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 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.