Toddy

What part of NC? I've recently relocated from Middle Tennessee to the Coast.

Part of the 2 hours may be filling out the MMPI.

Perfect example: I had BCBS Tennessee and my insurance paid all but about $1500. My daughter has BCBS Tennessee, but her policy has an exclusion for WLS so she had no coverage at all.

I just went in yesterday and had .5 cc removed. My last fill was in April and I was very happily in the green zone for three months. Then I started having just a little bit of heartburn that was easily controlled with Zantac. A few weeks later it was a little hard to swallow, then had a burning feeling in my esophagus and started having some regurgitation. Then I developed nausea after just a couple of bites of food. I've had nothing but Soup for the last week and even had trouble getting and keeping that down. After my doctor removed the .5 cc I feel like a new person!! My advice: Don't stay too tight -- in my case the symptoms only got worse!!

Wow, that might be kind of rushing things. I went back to work after exactly a week and spent all day feeling like I was going to pass out! I wasn't in any pain, but I was extremely weak and light-headed.

When my band slipped I went into surgery with three possible outcomes: Band removed; band restitched; band restitched and plication. My doctor said he wouldn't know until he got in and looked around to see what was going on which option I would end up with. I was fortunate that he was able to restitch and do plication. If you have a doctor that is approved to do plication, it greatly reduces the possibility of future slips.

I had a slip after eight months. It needed to be fixed surgically, so I wanted to revise to the sleeve. My surgeon said revision surgery is not always the answer. Fortunately he was also approved to do plication, so I had my slip repaired surgically and plication added. As far as insurance goes, it was billed just like the original surgery was.

I agree with the fluoro... however, I don't know why you'd want an unfill. Seems like you should just go in and have your current fill tweaked. I have had a complete unfill due to a slip and restitching of my band and plication. The process to get back to the green zone seemed like it took forever and I was really having to white-knuckle diet to keep from gaining more weight back than I did... eight pounds. I've been back in the green zone for a couple of months now, but have just noticed my appetite and the amount I'm able to eat increasing, so I'm making an appt to go back in for a little fill myself!!

I just feel comfortable... and tired of chewing! I also start sneezing... weird, I know. If I overeat, even just a tiny bit, I'll feel nauseous and have to kind of fight a gag reflex... needless to say, I try and never overeat!

You should be eligible for COBRA benefits for 18 months and it's a continuation of your current insurance so you don't have to get re-approved. It's not cheap, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $500ish just for you, but if you do that, it will still be cheaper than paying for surgery out of pocket. Also, if your dad gets re-employed with insurance benefits, you can discontinue the COBRA.

Wow, you do have a lot on your plate, but the great thing is by writing all this and asking for help it means you haven't given up!!! I think you need to prioritize some things. No. 1: Make your health your priority! Quit smoking! I don't know how in the world anybody can afford to smoke, even if you're not worried about the health consequences... It's not easy, but it's so worth it. I was a heavy smoker that LOVED smoking, but quit cold turkey almost 20 years ago, so I know it can be done. No. 2, focus on healthy eating so you feel better!! No. 3, stay in school and get your BSN. If you focus on these three things, you will feel better and be better able to take care of the kiddos in case you end up having to do it alone.

Even though you are able to eat anything until you reach restriction, you should try to practice some self control. My Fitness Pal was a great help for me before I reached restriction. The band will not be a magic weight loss weapon, you have to get used to the fact that you need to change your eating habits. The band only helps with this, but what you choose to eat is strictly up to you.

I've had to be unfilled twice. The best thing I did was get on the scale EVERY morning. When I saw my weight creeping up, I knew it was up to me to control that. I did gain about eight pounds, but if I hadn't weighed every day I know it would have been a lot worse!!!

My surgeon said I could drive as long as I had been off pain meds for 24 hours.

When is your first post-op follow-up scheduled with your doctor? If you're doing good, I'm sure he'll write a note for you to go back earlier.

The first week was horrible for me. I spent the fifth day post-op in the ER thinking something had to be horribly wrong -- of course, nothing was. Then the 7th day was my first day back at work and I thought I was dying... didn't have any pain; I was just so weak and light-headed I thought I was going to pass out. The 7th day was the worst day I had and also the last day I felt bad. Woke up on the 8th day and felt good felt fully recovered at that point. That was a year and a half ago and now I can easily say the band is the best thing I've ever done for myself!! Just hang in there and you'll get to the good part

You need to have a barium swallow. I had two episodes of extreme pain that sent me to the ER. An unfill relieved the pain tremendously. After the second unfill I insisted upon a barium swallow before we started to fill again... it showed a slip that was severe enough that I had to have surgery again.

I am new to researching the sleeve. Is there anything in particular that caused the bulge? It seems if you gradually increase the amount of food you eat over time, that it could stretch out just like we all stretched our stomachs before wls. Please let me know if that's a possibility or if there could be other factors. Thanks!

I couldn't live without a scale and B,B&B is a good place for that too. I've had a Thinner brand scale for years and it's extremely accurate -- I always weigh exactly four pounds less than I do on my doctor's scale and I chalk that up to being nakie at home and clothed at the doctor's office

I went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and got a bunch of appetizer plates, bowls, spoons and forks. They were the perfect size. Now, a year and a half later, even if I use normal size dishes and just put a small amount on them, I never can finish the amount I put on a regular dish... and by regular dish I mean a salad plate or a Cereal bowl.

It's different for everybody. For some, it's a breeze; for others it's hell. One thing I do enjoy when I have had surgery: I LOVE the fact that one second I'm awake and the next minute I'm waking up and it's all over. I've been an insomniac for years and to fall asleep like that is just heavenly!!!! The worst pain I experienced from the lapband surgery was not the incisions... it was the gas pains felt up in my chest and shoulders. That's really the only thing I had to use pain meds for, that and a heating pad made it bearable.

Some doctors numb and some do not; they feel like a stick to numb is the same as a stick to fill. Both of my doctors have numbed before the fill and I'm glad they do... although the doctor I have now doesn't really let the numbing medicine go to work before he's sticking me with the fill needle. Regardless, it doesn't hurt any more than any other injection or IV.

I had that trouble yesterday and then today was able to sign on just fine.

I didn't have to do the diet over. Just the normal npo after midnight the day of surgery.

When my band slipped, it required surgery. There were three possible options, when I went into surgery: The band would have to be removed; the band could be restitched or replaced; and what I really wanted was the band replaced or restitched and plication added. My surgeon couldn't say which it would be until he got in there to see what was going on. I was very lucky and woke up with my band restitched and plication added to help with weight loss and greatly reduce the possibility of another slip!!