Alexandra

Hi Rica, Nice to meet you! And thanks for sharing your pics--you and your hubby look so happy!!! Sigh, what a wonderful picture. My doc was one who had sort of loose instructions on post-surgery eating. By the third day I was on full liquids and a week out I had permission to try mushy foods. A week after that a full diet was permitted. All we can do is our best, and believe me, you're not the first person to try solid food a little early. I'm sure you didn't do any damage. Do take it easy with the anti-inflammatories. If it's at all possible, try to make do with Tylenol or whatever else is not an NSAID. I understand they can do more than just irritate our stomachs, and I've heard bandsters should avoid them completely. Welcome to the site!! :D

Hi B, Advice from others is usually not worth much with regard to insurance issues, because the only thing that really matters is what your policy says. If your policy is like many standard plans, treatment for morbid obesity is covered if you qualify medically. It sure sounds to me like you do, but only your carrier will be able to tell you what their specific criteria are. The place to start, in any event, is with your primary care physician. If you haven't had a physical recently, get one, and have him note in your records a diagnosis of Morbid Obesity (the code for which is 278.01). Assuming that condition is covered by your carrier, all your testing and so forth should be covered as well. But the first thing to find out is what your carrier's position is on treatment of morbid obesity. Dig out your coverage documents and find out what they say. If they're not clear, call the carrier or your h.r. department (if your company is self-insured) for clarification. You're entitled to know. Good luck, and let us know how it unfolds!

Jeanie, that's fabulous, CONGRATULATIONS!!! :Bunny :Bunny :Bunny I keep filling big garbage bags with clothes that are just WAYYY too big. It's a little sad sometimes--there goes my honeymoon nightgown; the slacks I wore when coming home from the hospital after delivering baby #1, then #2; my favorite shirt for nursing--but my college sweatshirt fits again, and even my husband's huge collection of t-shirts are mine for the taking!! 77 lbs is a whole lotta weight, lady. Be proud of yourself!! :)

Whew, I'm glad I didn't tick anyone off!! The last thing I wanted was to sound like I was making light of anyone's troubles, or worse, to be gloating that I haven't had any. Complications can happen to anyone, anytime, and blessedly with the band they'll mostly be minor. Before I was banded I read the boards religiously for a year or so, and the question that kept coming up for me was: Is it possible to live your life WITHOUT thinking about the band all the time??? Of course, reading hundreds of messages on just this subject would tend to convince us otherwise, but the fact is it's more than possible. Until and unless complications arise, being banded means a daily life where food occupies a much, much smaller place than it used to. That's the answer I was looking for.

Newlapper, the sensation of restriction is not the only indicator of the band doing its job. There are lots of times when I can't really say I feel "restriction" as I eat, but I know the band is working because, hey, after a tiny amount of food I know I've had enough. I could keep eating, and sometimes do because I'm a dumbass, but hunger is gone and I really don't need any more than what I've already eaten. My point is only that we should look at several indicators of whether it's time for a fill. Chief among them is whether we are losing weight. If you are still losing, you don't need a fill just yet. Let us know what your doc says!

Glad you're back and recovering Leatha! Best wishes for lots of rest and a quick bounceback to normal. :)

Hi Kelly , welcome!! How great that you can see such a silver lining in having two surgeries in two months. Now it's all behind you and you can get on with the banded life. Congratulations!!

Go, Janis!! It's such a shock when something like that happens--you have to readjust your mental image of the week and get ready to jump into the unknown that much earlier. But you're ready! Good luck on Monday and be sure to come back and let us know how it went! :)

What is it, the Water out there in the west? Can we hear from some people who healed right up neatly with no infections or twists or protrusions? I think newbies are going to run screaming from these stories!! Penni, we all know you're a smart cookie and will do things in the right order. Here's hoping there's NO EROSION and that you turn out to be allergic to, well, something. Dr. Billy sounds like a peach and you are lucky to have him for your care. I wish there were docs like him in every major city!! (Someday, maybe, there will be.) Lisa, I agree with Teresa that you need to find a way to relax (and I don't mean with more cocktails). You clearly heal slowly, which is something you knew already, so maybe you want to give your body a week or month off from alcohol while you're doing it? Just a suggestion. Repeated infections are very troublesome, of course, so do everything you can to let your body be as strong as humanly possible to heal completely. Including sleep!!

Hi Newlapper, Let me also just point out that you've lost 23 lbs in 2.5 months; that's almost 10 lbs / mo which is just perfect!! It's better than perfect; you're doing great! Certainly explore the reasons you're not feeling restriction with your doctor, but don't get down on yourself while you're doing it. Even with this "slow" start (HA!) you're almost 25 lbs less heavy than you were 3 months ago. That's the size of a big toddler!! And this is progress you can keep. Let us know what your doctor says, and don't worry!! :)

I agree with everyone else. Think of it as fine-tuning. If your machinery is working--and it sure seems like it is--there's no reason for a tuneup at the moment.

Oh my god, this is hilarious. Should I delete this thread, or do we want to leave it here for DeLarla to have a whack at it?

Anne, honey, I'm so sorry about your travails! The good news is that now you know it wasn't in your head, that the band really was leaking and it wasn't your imagination that you were losing restriction. And what's broken can be fixed, even though it means another surgery. We're here for you, no problem. Come back and vent any time! I hope Inamed does the right thing by you and picks up the costs for your replacement. Hugs, Anne...this too shall pass and everything will be just fine and dandy.

That means the band is working, it's doing exactly what you want it to do. Eating too fast was a big problem for me pre-banding, and I'm very glad that it keeps me from doing it. That's the key to my losing weight--I'm eating slowly, thoughtfully, and as a result can stop when I've had enough. It's not good to let it happen too often, since having the food come back up can put stress on your band and your esophagus and lead to problems. If it's happening to you a lot, try to change your eating habits. If it's still hard to eat solid food even if you're chewing a lot and eating small amounts at a time, you may be too tight and need a small unfill.

Hi Frances, nice to meet you! Good luck with your explorations and don't be afraid to ask whatever off-the-wall question you might be able to come up with. We've heard 'em all! :)

Hi Koukla, Sure, of course we all feel hungry from time to time! I found that eating three ounces of something at a meal is just not enough to keep me from being hungry a couple of hours later. Nor would I expect it to! I'm still a full-grown adult, and while I don't need the copious amounts of food I used to put away I do need a certain amount of sustenance to continue my day. So sure, have a snack now and then! Just listen closely to your stomach and stop eating when your hunger pangs have gone. You'll be amazed at how, sometimes, it takes as little as 3 almonds or one bite of cheese for that to happen. It may be time for another fill, too, but that all depends on more than whether you get hungry between meals. You've lost 60 lbs in 4 months!! Holy cow, child, eat something! :)

Wow, Donali, that's really interesting! You couldn't have phantom restriction, I don't think--is your brain so used to there being just a little room in there that it makes you react the same way even without a band? That would be so great. How's the outside of your tummy feeling? A little better each day I bet now that the stitches are gone.

Jane, thanks for the tip! I've been taking my regular tablets (a multi, plus more C and E) just normally until recently. This last fill was the one that made it impossible for me to take these tablets the way I had been. I've been looking for a good chewable and now I know where to look. Thanks!! Oh, and let me plug the Viactiv chews as well. They are YUMMY!! Calcium was impossible for me to take so now I'm fixed.

Congratulations, Nanny! You sound like you're doing great!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Jane, that's good to know that even people who do know better are mystified by what keeps airplanes in the sky. I'm normal! Lisa, you are going to find that your band and stomach really do have a mind of their own sometimes. RELAX!!! I never know from one day to the next how my band is going to be behaving, so I always follow the golden rule of taking that first bite SLOWLY. If I'm super-tight or wide open, I'll know it soon enough. And you will learn that you just have to WALK AWAY when food in the kitchen is calling your name. Although the amount you ate when you had the munchies is not excessive (really, it's not!), it may be more than you can comfortably hold in the future. Our brains definitely need time to process the fact that a meal is over when it's over, and the way I deal with it if it's too hard to just sit there is to remove myself from the situation. My family has come to accept that sometimes Mommy has to leave the table early, and I sometimes find myself outside a restaurant with the smokers while my family enjoys dessert. That doesn't happen often to me anymore, but my point is that it's a learning curve we all have to climb. Figure out what works for you and do it.

Constipation is a problem for me pretty frequently. What I do is put about a teaspoon of Benefiber into my morning coffee. Benefiber is not a laxative but just a fiber supplement, and I definitely need it because there's no way I've been getting enough fiber in my diet. Recently I discovered Atkins Protein bars, which have 10 or 11 grams of fiber in each one in addition to the 20 or so grams of protein. That's made a HUGE difference in my bowel function as well. Water is important, sure, but fiber is absolutely key to keeping things moving. No question--that's where my answer lies.

So today I was at the gym, filling my water bottle at the fountain, and staring idly at the BMI chart posted above it. I've always just ignored it, because to read it one would think no female can possibly weigh as much as I always have. Of course, people with BMIs over 38 just don't go to gyms, right? But as I was standing there, it suddenly dawned on me that I'M ON THE CHART!!! A 70" female CAN weigh as much as 268, according to it, and I weighed 262 this morning. YAAAHOOOO!! I guess I'm in normal-people-land!!! (Well, normal with a BMI of 38, but I started at 47 so HEY, I'll take it!) :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Babs, congratulations!! That's a major achievement and the best thing--it's permanent! Mary, the little "smilies" you're seeing are part of the collection you see when you post a reply. Click on the "get more" link and a little window will pop up showing more smilies than you see at first. They don't all work, unfortunately, but the bunnies and bananas do. :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

Hi Lori, Wow, another youngster!! You're in such a great place in your life to be doing this; I know you'll do extremely well with the band. It does my heart good to see young people gravitating to the band instead of bypass surgery. It seems a no-brainer to go with the less-invasive procedure when someone is really just recently an adult. I wish more doctors agreed. Welcome to the board and we look forward to hearing about your progress. Nice to meet you!! :)

Hey Dizzy, Welcome back!! You have done exceptionally well--how are you feeling to be down so much weight? You're so young, and now you have your whole life ahead of you as a non-morbidly-obese person. What a blessing, to have this chance at such a young age. We look forward to hearing more about your progress. Congratulations!! :)