tiggergramma

My doc allows fluids up to an hour before a fill, but doesn't want solids within 4 hours. I have forgotten, and had a fill anyway, so I don't know how much it affects the process, other than what Hazel says; the stoma may be more open and anything in the pouch may slow the barium down falsely.

Yay for going off a medication! I would say your doctor is correct. If no infection or defects were found, it very likely is the muscle complaining. Muscles are notorious for complaining, and unfortunately they can take a very long time to behave.

Let us know what they find. Good luck!

I had a Board celebration to attend last night (we just completed a $1.2 million fundraiser to renovate the stage in the theater I am Board president of) and was going through my closet in some frustration yesterday morning. They've seen this, they've seen that, they've seen that one a hundred times...Then, at the very back of the closet, was a black sheath with a floral jacket that I hadn't worn in over 10 years! I didn't know I even still had the thing! It was my favorite dress for a long time, and I used to wear it when I was this weight before, so....maybe.... I tried on the jacket, and voila! It fit! I was so excited all day, I could hardly wait to get dressed up for the fete! I have to attend 2 or 3 very dressy events each year for this theater, and I have never felt "pretty" even though I'm dressed to the nines. Last night, I felt pretty and the compliments were just rolling in! This morning I feel like I could go shopping...and I HATE shopping!

Sending healing thoughts your direction!

no, it should NOT be that kind of pain! Glad you got in to the doctor right away. Normal port pain is like a sore muscle or a bruise.

Nope, no preop diet, barely any preop prep at all really. They told me not to have a "last supper" the night before surgery and what to have in the house for recovery. That was about it.

According to the ladies who do my fills, who each have bands, forever! Because it is sewn into the muscle, any time you work that muscle you will feel it in your port. Mine hurts mostly when I do Pilates now, but will also hurt if I eat too much. (being too full pushes on the fluid in the band, which pushes back to the port?) Anyway, you are normal. Not to worry!

Thank you NaNa, for doing the grunt work! Unfortunately, there are some who will never be reached with facts. Health insurance can't fix that.

I did say Progressives...Obama has never counted himself among the Progressives, he has always been a conservative Democrat and his voting history bore that out long before he was elected President.

Well, blame the GOP for that. The progressives in this country wanted far more and far better.

Here is just one sample of citizens being happier with their national health care: http://www.gallup.com/poll/8056/healthcare-system-ratings-us-great-britain-canada.aspx AARP is holding a webinar on how the ACA and Medicare will work on Oct. 16 that anyone can sit in on, I believe. All of you who have decided you hate the ACA might do well to sit in and see if what you have heard about it is really true. http://aarp.cvent.com/events/aarp-wa-webinar-the-health-care-law-what-it-means-for-people-with-medicare-wa-10-16-13/event-summary-290cbac9084742089395939ac3bb3777.aspx

Can you please point me to legitimate studies that support your claim?

Nearly all of the countries that have socialized healthcare coverage have higher success rates medically than the US. Their citizens are happier with their healthcare overall than many US citizens are with their pay-to-play insurance coverage. There have been learning curves in some countries, and not all have managed to keep socialized care because they could not manage their expenses; which makes me think the US is clearly not grown up enough to manage socialized care right now either. Until we establish that a middle class is wholly necessary and that unending wealth is killing our country, we will not be in a position to do anything helpful or healthy at all. That is an entirely different discussion. The point is, many countries manage socialized health care very well and quite successfully. Hell, even CUBA has a better track record than the US!

Really? Here you go: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/heres-a-map-of-the-countries-that-provide-universal-health-care-americas-still-not-on-it/259153/

I think it is truly bully behavior of your insurance company to opt out of providing ongoing coverage and claiming it is the result of the ACA. They appear to be taking advantage of a loop hole in the ACA, which is very unfortunate for you. I would begin a letter campaign to Katherine Sebelius and don't stop until you have some help.

First of all, it was the insurance company that dropped you, not the ACA. While I understand you are between a rock and a hard spot right now, if Kentucky is participating in the open enrollment of ACA insurers, you should be able to shop the market of new carriers and pick up a policy that a) you can afford and will cover your needs. If you end up having to pay for your fills out of pocket, negotiate a deal with your surgeon's office. It is hard to function when you are in a panic. I hope you will be able to get what you need once you have had a chance to calm down.

While there are plenty of reasons to not like the Affordable Care Act; i.e. it does not go nearly far enough in offering universal health care coverage to everyone, it continues to reward insurance corporations by giving them more business, and a single-payer, government sponsored health system would have been less expensive and better run in the long run...it is still better than what we have had previously. I find it extremely sad that so many people have opted to hate something they have not really bothered to research simply because they hate the current president. (as evidenced by renaming the ACA "Obamacare" and throwing it around derisively, as though it were a plate of feces) I don't know anything about CVS, but it seems to me that if they are "Opting in" on the ACA, that simply means they will accept new insurers into their programs...or, more realistically; they are going to be an accepted pharmacy in the insurance plans offered in the areas they have stores. How does that change their service to anyone?

How exciting!!! Hug that scale! I would have hollered so loud the neighbors would have heard me! Good on you!

If you absolutely, positively cannot get the surgery covered with your insurance; there are a couple of possible options, neither of which is perfect, but may be worth looking into. 1) Check in to the new insurance markets that are being opened up to folks without coverage. It may be that you can afford to get your own insurance that will cover the surgery and followup adjustments. 2) Use hypnosis. There are programs now that use the suggestion of stomach compartmentalization, a la lap band, that suggest you will be full with 1 cup of food and not have hunger for 4-5 hours, etc., basically fooling the mind into thinking you have had the surgery. Katie Evans has one available on CD that you would listen to daily for 21 days...She has Living Lite, which you can check out here: http://www.livinglitenow.com/ I recently attended a 3-hour session for weight loss and exercise motivation because I felt like I needed a little extra help with the band. (my band IS working, it is just so bloody slow that I am frustrated) Anyway, I know hypnosis does not work for everyone, but I know that it does work for me; I used it to quit smoking almost 20 years ago and it worked great. I also use self-hypnosis methods for relaxation and stress, or to get my heart rate up while exercising. Good luck to you! I hope you finally can talk sense into your insurer!

So, the good news is I can no longer eat donuts! Yay! The bad news is, I really wanted that donut yesterday...but really, this is all about the good news, which is I can no longer eat donuts! Yay! So, I am a year in, have lost half of what I had hoped to by now, and only now am I feeling like my "tool" is working to potential. However, I am thrilled it is working at all and I certainly did not get this big in a year...the 30 pounds gone came on over the last 8 years! So, I will carry on and hopefully find more foods over the next few months that I can no longer get down!

Donna, I am 54, from Auburn, WA...a few miles SE of Seattle. I was banded a year ago. I am, apparently, one of the slow losers. But, I'm still losing, so that counts. I am scheduled to attend a 3-hour hypnosis in a couple of weeks to see if I can add to the tools the band has given me and really get beyond this food fixation! Injera is a strange, damp, spongey bread that you pick up Ethiopian food with to eat it. It is a little bit sour, and served cold, while the rest of the food is served hot. The food is very good, and restaurants will give you a fork if you just can't eat with your hands...I'm afraid I am going to have to have a fork because I just can't eat the injera anymore... I have 2 granddaughters; 5 and 7, and they are the reason I had surgery. I was so miserable in my body, and some days I had such a feeling of impending death, I knew I had to do something or I was not going to live to see them grow up. I am back to the weight I was 8 years ago, and my goal is to get another 80 pounds off. I want to be able to ride bikes with them, and horses, and pester them through their teens at least!

I've never been big on donuts either, that was a once in a blue moon thing, but the other day they smelled so good... So last night I took my niece out for her birthday dinner and we went to a new Ethiopian place she likes. I had more trouble with the Injera than I have ever had in the past, so I suppose that is now out too. Well, still in the learning curve. Just have to keep trying and discarding things until I have it right, I guess!

I can still tolerate quite a few things, but I have found doughy things, like donuts and pancakes, are out now. Dry chicken is awful, and the other day I had trouble with pastrami. I never did drink much in the way of carbonated drinks, but now sometimes I have trouble drinking a beer. That was a rare thing anyway, so I won't miss it. There was a veg I struggled with last week too, but now I can't remember what it was for the life of me...

Mine started coming off at 3 weeks or so, but I still had a couple at my 4-week recheck.