Alexandra

HI Carmen, Water is not the problem--fiber is. On a primarily high-protein, low-bulk diet, it's hard to get the amount of Fiber we're used to and things definitely don't run as smoothly as before. My solution is Benefiber. It's a powder that dissolves easily in liquid and a tablespoon a day does wonders. I think Metamucil and other brands also have come out with this powder. But whatever form you decide, the goal is to get more fiber in your diet. Good luck!

First, it's not too late to start following your doctor's orders. Cool it with the solid food!! Take it slow and easy and stick to mushies for at least another week. For what it's worth, I think if you'd done any damage you would probably know it already. Who knows what may happen later on down the road? Just take it really easy and remember that you need to give your body time to really adjust to this new part. Let it heal firmly in place before making it work too hard.

Hi Marsha, Is your plan a self-funded plan? By that I mean, do you work for a large company or government outfit? If that's the case, you can make an appeal to the benefits administrator of the company and try appealing that way. Good luck!!

Hi Jayla, If it's anything like my doctor's seminar, it's used as a mass introduction to the concepts of WLS. The one I attended had well over 400 people attending; the large auditorium was packed. Most of the time was spent on discussing RNY and hearing former patients describe their experiences--in other words, utterly useless for me as a potential band patient.

That's interesting, because that's exactly what my doctor did using fluoro for my fill. It did occur to me at the time that a doctor couldn't take the close-off-completely approach really safely without that real-time visibility. I know that I couldn't feel the difference between the restriction the doctor felt was OK and that tiny bit more he thought would be dangerous. From my POV it just makes good safe sense, and I'm glad my doctor uses it.

Congratulations!! I'm so glad it went smoothly--you deserve it. Take it easy with the kiddies! I know I've said this before but it's really important to lay low during the first week or so and I know how hard that is to do with inquisitive little children around. But it's important to heal well, so tell them to back off and stop climbing on Mommy's tummy!! :cool:

Greetings, and welcome! Of course you can mention Spotlight here. It's a great site! I personally have no patience for any petty wrangling between and among various sites. We're all friends!! :cool:

Hi Bright!! I've resized your photo, and yes indeed, you look terrific! Congratulations on the 30 lbs! I seem to have hit a brick wall but I've decided not to obsess about it until after the holidays. You should come around here more if you're lonely!

Hi Jacky, (I hope you don't mind, I deleted the duplicate thread you made.) Pre-op testing varies somewhat from doctor to doctor, but here's what mine consisted of: --complete physical, including loads of: --blood work --psych eval --nutritionist meeting and evaluation --consult with the doctor I didn't have anything beyond that. People with any sort of reflux history may also have to have an upper GI, and some doctors prescribe that for everyone. Good luck!!

Good luck and quick healing vibes coming from here too Seanmama. Don't forget to come back and let us know how it went! :cool:

Hi Antonio, I can understand your reluctance to identify the physician in question. I hope you can understand the reaction that you received here is not hostile, just curious. Your first few messages sounded like you were making gloomy predictions of failure for a majority of banded patients, and that has not been the experience of most of the people here. I wish you and your daughter luck, and hope that we can all take away from this the lesson that unusual symptoms cannot be ignored. Have you gone back yet to see about getting your daughter's band loosened a little? We'd really like to hear how she's doing. Please stay in touch.

Hi Carmen, Every doctor is different, but I can tell you that my doc's "full liquid" diet did include oatmeal. I imagine that grits would be considered OK as well, but that dish isn't as common up here so it wasn't mentioned.

Hi Gabby, I don't have as much restriction as Donali, and am able to take normal-sized Vitamins with ease. Right after my fill I broke the larger ones in half, but after a while that proved unnecessary. I'm really fearful of getting a pill stuck, though, so after my next fill I'll definitely by splitting them again. But now that I've read all of her post I might be going for liquid vitamins too. (Yuck--I'm glad I don't have a septic tank that needs cleaning!) I've always taken vitamins even way before banding, so it's not because I'm banded that I do it. I haven't changed my variety--one multi, with extra C and E for good measure--at all since surgery. Regarding fiber I too have recently discovered a need for help. My fiber of choice is Benefiber, about one tablespoon added to my morning coffee. It's non-thickening so I don't have to worry about the gel effect (yikes, Donali, that paints an awful picture!), and it completely disappears in hot liquids. I highly recommend it! (I also give it to my 5-year-old daughter, since she lives on chicken nuggets and gets constipated a lot.) Prune juice would be the ideal solution, if just thinking about it didn't repulse me with the force of a thousand jet engines!

Donali, may I say you are my hero? It's really a joy to read your posts, even if I did get to this one late. Congratulations on your milestone!! :cool: :D You are well on your way to a different way of being in the world, and I am so thrilled you're sharing it with us. I'm newly inspired when I read your ruminations, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Enough of the mushy stuff. The basal metabolism thing is very interesting, and does sound like it makes sense. But according to Fitday my basal metabolism rate is 2045. Are you saying that I should be eating MORE than that to lose weight? I guess the million-dollar question is, how much more? The "lifestyle" element of my calories burned is 1330, bringing my daily total of calories burned to 3375. Theoretically, then, if I take in fewer than 3375 calories each day I should be losing weight, right? I've recently been indulging a bit more in carbs, like eating a quarter of the bread that comes with my daily deli sandwich, because of the Fiber thing. But a life completely without carbs seems very unhealthy to me (and my doctor), so I don't think that's my problem. But I will try tracking my food on Fitday for a while and see what that teaches me. Thanks again, Donali, and MORE POWER TO YOU!!! :D

I wonder if some of his confusion is caused by the fact that English is clearly not Antonio's first language? I too am very interested in hearing more about the surgeon with this terrible track record. Please, Antonio, share that information so that others may be educated.

This is a COMMON experience, ladies, and everyone goes through it. The good news about your hunger is that it means you're healing well! The loss of restriction means your swelling is going down. And you can relax at this point about your calorie intake--as Donali says this time is for healing and not losing. But you do want to go slowly with textures. You may feel as though you could eat solid food or a significant amount, but PLEASE try to take it easy. Go hog wild with soup--the richest bisques and meat Soups will go a long way toward satisfying your hunger pangs. My favorite was lobster bisque. There was a time before moving to mushies that I was having a Campbell's Soup-at-Hand five times a day, plus a big Protein drink and loads of Water. And believe that this will pass, and pass quickly. You'll soon be completely over the healing phase and on to getting filled and losing for real. :cool:

Mimi, that unconscious food fest is so well known as to have a name: it's the Last Supper Syndrome. We all go through it. Sometimes twice--once when we make up our minds to have surgery and then again, much later, when we actually get the surgery date. It's very hard to conquer, I know--I gained 7 lbs in the last two months before surgery. But it really is important not to let it get out of control, since you want to be as healthy as possible for the procedure and healing. Take comfort in knowing that our food choices are the same after banding as before, and the behaviors that will change are those that MUST change if we want to leave our obesity behind us. So eat what you want, but try to practice not gorging. That will set you on the right path and possibly abort your weight gain in the process. Good luck with this!!

Hi Kathy, Nice to hear from you! Congratulations on the great weight loss, and here's hoping things continue on an even keel.

Hey bandsister!! I'm with you about wanting to be able to eat a little during the holidays. Normally I'd think I don't have quite enough restriction, but I really was able to enjoy Thanksgiving and have already lost the extra couple of pounds four days of (mini)pigging out put on me. After Christmas, though, I'll be calling the doctor to tweak me a little. This losing weight thing is FUN! :cool:

Hi Elizabeth, "Self-funded" means that you are covered by a large-company plan that insures itself. They hired Cigna to act as a third-party administrator to do the actual work of processing claims and paying them, but the coverage decisions are (or were) made by your own employer. Your chances may or may not have improved, but from what you say I'd guess the original information from the Cigna exec is worth the paper it's printed on (that is to say, not much). That person may not have known that your policy is not a standard Cigna plan, and might have just been telling you that Cigna covers the band as a rule. But all bets are off when you start talking about self-funded plans. The good news is that the maker of the rules can also change them or make coverage decisions on a case-by-case basis. Your benefits administrator will obviously have a contract to go by (which will say whether surgical treatment for morbid obesity is covered or not--a basic and important thing you must find out), but you'll be able to appeal more directly to the decision-makers if you need to. Good luck!!

Sultana, I definitely remember a similar phase; I'm still going through it to some extent. I'm a fairly recent bandster and have had only one fill, and still sort of think that there will be foods I'll "never" be able to eat again. The truth of the matter is that there are no FOODS that are by themselves off limits. That's the great thing about the band. What I do miss--mourn, even--is that marvelous stuff-your-mouth feeling when some food just cries out for that treatment. Like a huge bite of some delicious sandwich, or a big spoonful of macaroni and cheese. :cool: But eating that way is what got me here, and so I know I have to say goodbye to those behaviors. Thankfully, I have my little silicone friend here to help me.

Hi Sultana, That mysterious black dot is there to remind you of the threads you've posted in. Obviously, when you start a thread, you would see the black dot indicating you posted a message in it. Thanks for asking, and welcome to the board! I'm moving this thread to the appropriate section--hope you don't mind!

Antonio, I agree with the others who have said that your daughter very likely needs LESS restriction, which may help resolve the problems she's having. Have you asked the doctor about releasing some of her fill? What has the response been? I find it shocking that of 35 people in a support group *all* of them are having these serious problems!! Is there something you aren't telling us? I haven't met many bandsters face to face, but certainly online the percentages of problems aren't as high as what you've experienced. My mantra is the following: Repeated problems or ongoing pain mean that something is wrong. But the band is eminently fixable, which is the great thing about it. What really needs our attention when these problems occur is our own habits and whether we are getting proper care from our doctors. We can address the first and must insist on the second. Please keep us informed about your daughter, and let us know how she is doing. Edited to add: Mary, reflux is a really bad heartburn-like pain caused by stomach acid burbling up into the esophagus. Loads of people who are not banded suffer from it. PBing is just a physical reaction to eating something that doesn't pass through the stoma readily; I gather it's defined as the actual expulsion of the food that was stuck. No stomach acid is involved.

Hi Helen, What a dilemma! But here's my thinking. If I were in your shoes I'd have the band placed in January as scheduled. Even an empty band is better than no band at all, and you could find yourself waiting months or more to get on some surgeon's schedule here once you do move. You'd also have to start all over again with testing, etc. And while it is indeed harder to find followup care here in the US if you were banded elsewhere, I think you wouldn't face the same prejudices as if you were a US resident who just chose to have surgery elsewhere. You had no choice in the matter. (That may sound odd, but if you were relocating with a hip replacement or other serious condition that needed followup care, you'd be able to find it here without a problem.) As for the cost, well, that varies considerably. Here in NJ my fills would cost about $400 (in a hospital setting, with fluroscopy). I've heard that they can cost $75 on up to $500 depending on lots of factors. You might contact Inamed to find a Georgia doctor to do fills, or continue asking around the message boards. But starting all over again after you relocate would definitely take much more time, and likely cost a minimum of $25,000 if you're paying for it all yourself.

The phrases EPO and PPO don't have any bearing on what is and isn't covered, generally. They refer to whether the plan offers out of network benefits. (EPO is sort of another way of saying non-referred HMO, where there would be no out-of-network benefits). With either plan, you definitely want to stay in-network to get maximum coverage. With a PPO you also have the option of getting services out of network, which would be covered to a lesser extent.