Jim1967

Thank you all for your kind words, prayers and encouragement. Much appreciated.

I don't have head hunger or cravings much anymore since my last fill. My Nutritionist tells me for a man I should shoot for 80 to 110 grams of protein a day. I find between a 36 gram protein shake and a nice dinner I don't get hungry hardly ever. I usually have my shake in the morning and a smart one for lunch and dinner is usually a 4oz protein some veggies and if I can take in a small starch. I eat the starch last to make sure I get all the important stuff in. Sometimes I eat just to get my intake not because I am hungry. I had a sugar free peanut butter cup about a month ago but other than that no sweets.

Thank you!!

Thanks I'll check that out. My concern with fills is I am already at 7cc in a 11cc band. I don't want to max it out.

I was banded April 16 this year. Just over 3 months. I have had 3 fills and scheduled for another Monday. Haven't decided if I need or want more. May do a half cc to teak it a bit. My head hunger and appetite have diminished since fill 2.

Welcome to the forum!! Good to see more guys getting active on here. No offense to you ladies. I am learning a lot from all of you. You know who you are.

Very odd with my last two fills I had restriction early on and then it seems to go away. This 3rd fill lasted longer then the second but now I am questioning whether or not I need more. I am a little confused. I see Nutrtionist tomorrow and I will discuss it. My fill appointment is Monday.

I visited the nutrionist twice before surgery and Friday will be my first post op. I just want to talk to her and get an opinion on getting a fill or not. My Nutrionist is part of my weight center team and she works directly with the surgical team.

I am not siding with insurance companies but I understand them not freely approving people without the person proving they are commited to the life style change. 14k for my overnight hospital stay and 5k for the surgeon and another 1.5k for anesthesia. If a person is not commited then it's a waste. Health care costs are out of control as it is. Giving away surgey approvals like a bank giving away pens is unrealistic.. I had to do the 6month diet for Cigna and I would do it all over again. Fact that they changed from 6 months to 3 is great progress.

I took a week vacation but I could've gone back to work after day 3. I have a desk job.

They contacted Cigna and submitted the date along with documentation all in one shot. Surgeon staff and I discussed a date on one day and then the next Cigna denied us for missing documentation and they had my birthdate wrong. I was approved the very next day after that was all straightened out. Basically, Cigna did not have a date beforehand. It was included in the initial request for coverage. It all happened so fast....

I have the Realize band as well. My first fill was also 5cc. I have had two more additional fills since at 1cc a piece for a total of 7cc. I am due for another fill appointment on Monday and haven't decided if I want more. I feel I am in the zone and I usually stay satisfied for about 3.5 to 4 hours. My cravings and head hunger are gone and my appetite has diminished greatly. I may ask for .5 cc not sure. I see the Nutritionist this Friday so I will get her opinion on things.

Wow, the 30 days is surprising. I was denied on day 2 after submitting for not providing food journals and workout logs and they also had my birth date wrong and thought I was under 18. All of that was corrected and re-submitted on day 3 and I was approved on that afternoon.

Don't give up...appeal, appeal and appeal. When you call them make sure to ask for the bariatric coverage in writing. Some times over the phone they will just say "oh we don't cover that". It happened to me and sure enough it was covered as long as certain criteria is met.

I had to stop reading the comments on cnn it was pissing me off...people are so ignorant!!

Folks make sure you go to CNN to see this article. It has before and after photos. Thanks for sharing Mis73!!

Great story and quite a motivator!! I was thinking about posting this on my Facebook page but that would just make people curious that I don't see often...

I was banded in April of this year and I have certainly had my ups and downs. Good news is the ups and downs was all mental because physically I couldn't have wished for a better outcome. At 450 pounds I was certainly nervous about anesthesia and the actual surgery. My Surgeon absolutely rocked and he gave me kuddos during recovery about how good of a job I did preparing and shrinking my liver. We both had exceptional days that day. So, I have been banded about 10 weeks now and I have lost 48lbs. First month after surgery was the roughest because my mind started playing tricks on me. I started thinking weight should be falling off of me instantly and it wasn't. I dropped a 172 lbs between 2003 and 2004 doing Atkins and some how I had it my mind that with the band I would drop weight even quicker (which is not really healthy anyway). Well, I am dropping it fast. It is really easy to get caught up when your stepping on the scale daily. Every morning I would step on the scale and then just get annoyed and start wishing I had bypass. I am still not great with the scale as I am stepping on it every other day but now I don't get hung up on it like I was in the beginning. Rome was not built in a day and neither was the 486 pounds. My Wife often tells me I don't give myself enough credit for what I have accomplished both pre-op and post-op. I told her my problem is I am still hung up on the past and the dis-service I did to myself. In 2003 I was 393 pounds and I did Atkins so by Christmas 2004 I was in Disney World weighing in a 219 and I was on top of the world. 174 pounds gone and I thought it was forever...I started enjoying life and indulging. I never changed my habits. I went back to poor eating and gained it all back plus 93 additional pounds. For the life of me I don't understand how I got from 219 to 486 pounds. How did I let it go like that, I understand it is no fault but my own but why didn't the people around me not stage an intervention. I am trying very hard to find peace with it and the fact I failed. It is hard. I hope maybe once I hit 393 again my mind might be a little more at ease. What has me the most concerned is hitting that 219 again and not falling back into my old ways that got me to where I was in October 2011. Today, I have to say with the band and the 6cc's I got in it I no longer have cravings. I no longer desire to simply walk to the fridge or pantry and eat. My habits have changed as well as my appetite. I no longer live to eat. I eat to live and I only eat when I am hungry. I cannot explain in words how different I look at things. I used to sit down in front of the tv and eat a box cheese its and a liter of diet pepsi. Now, I have no thought for that stuff. No cravings, no mental arguments. I sit down now and watch t.v. I don't think about eating. Not even during commercials. It just feels "normal" to eat when I am hungry and that's it, no side eating... Is this the way it supposed to work???? Did having this band "cure" my head hunger or am I just in the zone to a point where junk food and binging is just blocked mentally? Maybe I shouldn't try to analyze it and just enjoy the ride. If you have read this far then thank you...I rambled on a bit but what the hell I find that to be therapeutic...

Strangely enough after my third fill my appetite, head hunger have fallen off the map completely...mind you I am not complaining and I hope it continues. As for the stuck episodes make sure you are chewing everything up really fine. I am still struggling with that but I also discovered I have more of a problem when I am in a hurry or multitasking such as working, watching tv. I have started to eat in the dining room away from the t.v. and now at work I eat in the Cafe as opposed to at my desk where work will distract me. Like Mis73 said you have to have that internal conversation with yourself and analyze whether or not you are truly hungry. Up until this last fill I would do that all the time. I wish everyone could experience what I have it is amazing. Been overweight all my life and this feeling is strange but welcoming... Have to remember we been shoving food in our faces and eating a certain way for a very, very long time. New habits take time to hone. Good Luck!!

Time will be here and gone before you know it. I started Oct 2011 and was banded in April. It will start going faster as you get more involved with all the preop appointments. Good Luck to both of you.

Hi Lori, Welcome and sorry for your loss. I am going through some of this myself. Three years ago my father was diagnosed with lung cancer and during the preop testing they did to prepare to remove the lung they discovered more cancer in the prostate and bladder. They took out the lower lobe of his lung then sent him off to chemo to see if that would help the bladder and prostate. After 12 weeks of chemo no such luck. 6 months later he had major surgery and had his bladder removed. He was pronounced cancer free 6 months later. Fast forward to last week we found out the cancer has returned to the same lung but this time at the stem. They are still testing to see what options if any exist. Poor man has been through a lot in 3 years and is very tired. I am not ready to give up on him yet but how much more can one give and how much more can be asked of him. Heart attack followed by triple bypass and a couple of major bouts with cancer. All in the last 10 years. Such a horrible, horrible disease... Sorry I rambled. I am not trying to hijack your thread. Again welcome, and I wish you the best of luck on your journey. - Jim