Lori Voss Green

About a month and a half ago, I had to get some fluid out of the band. I was not able to eat or drink and was vomiting. I felt so much better, as an unfill will do. Well, last week I suddenly started to get sick again any time I ate or drank. The first unfill was triggered by vomiting from a migraine, which irritated the band. Last week, I have NO clue what caused it. I woke up one morning and my shake made me sick. It was downhill from there. Two days later, I was making an emergency trip for another unfill on a Saturday. That was 2 days ago. When he first took some of the fluid out, I felt relief. I was able to drink 3 cups of water with no problem. It felt awesome. Cut to yesterday, a day later. I was back to all things except water making me sick. It doesn't matter if it's a shake or applesauce or mashed potatoes. Everything immediately gives me pain in my check and makes me vomit. Back to the doctor I go tomorrow, and I have a feeling I will end up getting more fluid out. I am almost 2 years post-op and this is the most issues I have ever had. I had 2 unfills last year but once I got them, I was doing great. I have no clue what is going on right now. Has anyone gone through anything like this? I am so utterly frustrated right now.

I haven't been on this site for a good long time. Life and family issues have kept me from doing much online. I have been moving right along with the band though! I am 3 months away from my 2 year Bandiversary. I am down 130 lbs and feeling awesome. HOWEVER. I feel just....stuck. Not food stuck. In a rut stuck. I am bored with foods. I am stuck in the 173-175 lb range and can't break through to start losing again. I am not drinking nearly enough Water. Exercise isn't happening. I have bat wings for arms and could probably fly if I fell off a building. Loose skin on my inner thighs and stomach area too. The strange thing is......I am happier than I have ever been with the results I have gotten. I feel good. I am starting to feel like I look good. However, I also have the flip side where I am just sad about the things that I am not doing yet can't motivate myself. Did ANY of that make sense to ANYONE at all?

So glad I went back to the dr today. He did an xray, and the band had indeed slipped a bit. Thankfully, he was able to remove some fluid and it slipped back to where it should be. Had that not worked, surgery would have happened. I am SO glad it was fixed with taking some fluid out. He told me I will be mad at him when I start feeling hungry, but he is SO wrong. He is a wonderful dr and I am so thankfully he listens and takes my concerns seriously! I go back in 3 weeks for a follow up. Thank you all for your kind words and support!

He didn't on the last 2 visits, but I am ASKING for an xray tomorrow. There is obviously something not right. When I had to get some out last year, there was immediately relief and I could go back to eating. These last 2, there was immediately relief but only liquids. I even tried ice cream and it caused pain and came back up.

Thank you all SOOOOO very much! I can't begin to tell you how much your words mean to me. I think I have just become overwhelmed with stress from work and my daughter's on going depression.....and it just has me down right now. I think I just need to find the recharge button and get myself back on track mentally. I REALLY need to find a way to get exercise in my life. I am so very tired by the time I get home from work every day that I have no motivation. I work talking on the phone all day, so my lunch is spent trying to eat without rushing it. I think I need to find something I can eat while walking at lunch. Thank you all again for the compliments and words of encouragement. Sometimes I just need to vent to someone who UNDERSTANDS.

Thanks for posting this app info!! Downloading it right now!

I think my last 24 lbs are a little too attached to me. I really would like for them to part ways with me VERY soon!

I haven't posted on this site in sooo long. Too long. Life has had me busy and time for posting has been diminished. I am almost to goal, so these are not my FINAL after photos, but getting close!

This has never happened to me before. I had a fill 2 weeks ago, but instead of maintaining or losing, I have GAINED. I have done very well and this is the first time I have GAINED since surgery. At my last appointment, I had lost 12 lbs in the month prior. The doctor did a fill at that visit, but I have done nothing but gained. I am up about 5-6 lbs. Nothing else has changed other than the fill. I met with the nutritionist that visit, and things were fine. I didn't change how I was eating or anything. I am doing what I have done since surgery, which until now has brought amazing results. Has anyone else GAINED after a fill? I called the doctor's office because I was concerned. They said as long as I feel fine and am able to eat, they will just see me at my next appointment July 11th. I am just so frustrated right now.

I have BCBS of IL AND I work for them. First off, you ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS want to check and be sure YOUR policy covers this surgery. Just because BCBS of IL might cover it, your specific policy COULD have an exclusion for it. Your FIRST step would be to call the # on your ID card and speak with a Customer Advocate in the office that handles your specific group and policy to see what YOUR SPECIFIC group/employer covers when it comes to bariatric surgery. Some groups cover it, some exclude it, and some have certain guidelines/regulations. Again, anything in THIS particular post in GENERAL information and in no way specific to what YOUR own policy might or might not cover. Go to this link: http://medicalpolicy...Test=true#hlink Once you agree to the terms and service and go to the next page, you will get a search box on the left. Put in the word "bariatric" in the search box and hit the "go" button. There should be a search result for "Bariatric Surgery." Click on that and you will get the medical policy criteria for bariatric surgery. Scroll down to the "coverage" section. This is the area that is used to determine if you meet the medical criteria for the surgery. For BMI there are 2, either a BMI or 40 or higher OR 35 with 2 co-morbidites. You can actually print this out (there is a printer friendly option at the top) and take it with you to the dr to discuss with them the criteria that has to be met. Now as far as what PPO means, that means you have to use your PPO/In Network providers in order to get your highest benefit levels. Also, if you use Out of Network, NON PPO doctors and hospitals, they do not have to write off what is over the allowed amount (agreed upon contracted rate) and they can bill you that difference, meaning you would end up with a much higher bill. You can use the provider finder on the BCBS website or call customer service or the provider finder phone # on the back of your ID card to verify if the provider is in network/PPO for you. The predetermination process CAN take up to 30 days. The Medical Review Unit has 30 days from the time they receive medical records from your doctor to make a decision. It doesn't always take that long, but that is the given time frame. Body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 40 kg/meter² (* see guidelines below for BMI calculation); OR BMI equal to or greater than 35kg/meters² with at least two (2) of the following comorbid conditions related to obesity that have not responded to maximum medical management and that are generally expected to be reversed or improved by bariatric treatment: Hypertension, OR Dyslipidemia, OR Diabetes mellitus, OR Coronary heart disease, OR sleep apnea, OR Osteoarthritis; AND

I just had my 10 month post op appointment today. I have lost 12 lbs since last month and am at a total loss of 88 lbs since surgery. I was feeling a bit frustrated when I went in because I am feeling SO HUNGRY in between meals. Within probably 2 hours of eating, I am so very hungry. I met with my nutrionist and we went over a lot of different things today, so hopefully we have gotten some things figured out in that department. I am obviously thrilled with the success so far though. I was a size 26 in jeans the day of surgery, and I am now a size 16. I was a size 3x in shirts, and I am now an XL (and they are actually a bit big really). I have absolutely no regrets about this band...other than not getting it sooner!!

I am 10 months post op and STILL get upset if my scale goes back up. It's a fight and struggle I have within myself daily. I am sure I ALWAYS will. Depression is something I have battled my entire life though. However, I went into this battle knowing it wouldn't be easy. I did not get to 304 pounds overnight, and I knew I wouldn't get to my goal weight overnight either.......although I sure wish I could! I had a doctor's visit today and was complaining that I ONLY lost 12 lbs in the last month. Yes, you read that right. How silly is that!? It's because it is a mental battle with myself. Of course 12 lbs in a month is something to celebrate, and I am thrilled with that. However, there will always be that part of my brain that is telling myself it's not good enough. It's something we have to learn to live with and fight back against. You are doing amazing. We all have slips. We all stumble. It's not how many times you fall down, it's how many times you get back up.

The photo on the left is me one year ago today....June 2, 2012. The photo on the right is me yesterday....June 1, 2013. I have lost 85 lbs since the photo on the left. I still have about 65 lbs to go, but I am proud of how far I have come so far!

Oh my goodness, rice got me not too long ago too!! It was the first time I really had it since surgery and whoa, I think I will pass on ever having it again! Eating slowly is STILL my hardest lesson to learn....and that rice sure tried to teach me a lesson. I had a TINY amount but it was too fast. Thankfully it wasn't stuck for long and came up quickly, but I have lost all desire to ever eat it again.

I don't have the same insurance, but I do work for and have Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. If your policy has a deductible and coinsurance, then that would be correct. Whatever your deductible is would be out of pocket to you before the insurance would kick in and pay their percentage. You might want to double check and see if the provider is PPO with Blue Shield of CA. A 70/30 coinsurance sounds like it could POSSIBLY (not saying it IS) be an out of network benefit level. I would suggest double checking that.....mainly because if the provider IS out of network, anything over the allowed amount could also be your responsibility, they are not required to write that off if they are out of network. In CA, Blue Cross and Blue Shield are separate companies, where as in the other states, Blue Cross Blue Shield is one company. So, a provider could be PPO with Blue Shield but not PPO with Blue Cross in CA, and vice versa. So, I would be sure the person and facility you are going through are PPO/In Network with the insurance you have specifically. Again, the reason being you get a higher benefit level (the coinsurance part), the deductible is almost always lower in network, and most importantly, the PPO provider is contracted to write off what is over the allowed amount while an out of network provider is not and can bill anything over that allowed amount to you.

I actually got in and had 0.2 cc removed from the band and felt amazingly better!

I had a fill 2 weeks ago. Everything was fine until about 3 days ago. I suddenly started to feel nauseous all the time. Basically 24/7 nauseous. I have a hard time eating. I try to make myself eat something because I know I HAVE to, but I end up just feeling sick. There is no vomiting, just constant nausea. Not really even feeling hungry either though. I am worrying myself that the band has slipped or something. The nurse isn't in for another 2 hours, so I am just waiting for a call back. Just curious for thoughts while I am waiting. Anyone?

Thank you both! I tend to immediately think the worst possible thing! LOL

Don't count on finding restriction though, to be honest. I am almost 7 months post op and just now have. My first 6 months I lost about 60 lbs (a bit more really) but had NO restriction. It was a matter of knowing that I had to stop after a cup of food. I believe some people just might not FEEL restriction. Now, last month I had less than a lb of loss. The dr took my Fluid out to measure, put it back in and did a fill of 1 cc, and I am actually feeling restriction now for the first time. However, he did tell me he has patients how never do. So, you might have to learn to go by the amount you eat and what you eat as opposed to feeling any sort of restriction. Just a thought.

In a heartbeat!!! My only regret? Not doing it sooner!!

I am SO ANGRY about this article on Yahoo. First, what right does this woman have to write this? She is not a doctor, or based on anything I read, in the healthcare field. Second, lazy? I get so enraged when people say this. I have worked MORE since the band.....be it changing what and how much I eat and exercising....since I got the band than I EVER did before. I get so damn sick of hearing people make comments like, "I lost weight the hard way, without surgery." Yeah? Good for you. I am losing weight WITH surgery and it is STILL hard! Not to mention basically everything that woman said in her article was inaccurate. I am almost 7 months post op. I have NO FOODS that are off limits. There are foods I have MADE off limits by choice because they are not smart foods, but PHYSICALLY I could eat anything I wanted to. Pretty sure my doc has NO plans to replace my band in a couple of years.....WHICH by the way, would go against one of her other points of the band NEVER EVER EVER being able to come out, right?!?!?!?! OMG I am sorry but I am just seething with anger right now. People like her and articles like that keep people from seeking help for weight loss!! People, who might qualify for and benefit from lap band, might read garbage like that and NOT seek help and end up dying from their weight. It makes me sad and it makes me angry!