Kinley7390

Did this occur after a fill or just spontaneously? If spontaneously, I would call the doctor right away just to have them check it out. You don't want to risk having an infection or abscess or anything else going on. It's probably nothing, but it never hurts to ask if you are concerned. Nothing feels better than peace of mind. My doctor says, "If your house was on fire, who would you call?" Of course, I say the Fire Department. He says, "Well I am the Fire Department for your lap band! I don't care if it's the middle of the night. If something is wrong, you call." Great doctor.

Ask your PCP to correct the paperwork by giving a more complete, thorough picture of your dietary attempts the past six months! Clearly you've been trying and it sounds like the slip up on behalf of your PCP is the reason for denial. Incomplete information was submitted and I would be very angry and voice that concern to your doctor. If you don't get anywhere, switch PCP's! You can also try to call the insurance company, and explain your frustration and your perception of the reason the coverage was denied and see what they advise you to do. I wouldn't give up hope yet. You have all of the co-morbidity factors in your favor (diabetes, high blood pressure and joint pain). It sounds like you might be in the right range as far as your BMI from what you described, so I can't imagine why you would be denied this surgery if not for an error on the part of the physician in providing a comprehensive picture to your insurance company. Please advocate for yourself and stay strong. It sounds like you want this, so do what you can to turn this around and be optimistic. It is easy to want to throw in the towel when you've done all the prep work on your end, when you feel so run down and defeated by the health issues and unsuccessful dieting, but this is when you need to find all your inner strength and talk confidently to your doctor and express your feelings. Give him or her a chance to rectify this, and if they won't, find someone who cares enough to provide the right documentation. You deserve no less. Call the insurance co. in the meantime. They have patient advocates (usually) or case managers who will listen to you and advise you. Good luck, keep your chin up, and please keep us posted!

Awesome! Congratulations! Such exciting news!

Yes, it is possible. My port is a couple of inches away from my incision site also. Like you, I had discomfort there for close to four weeks after the surgery. Not even kidding, really sore and couldn't sleep comfortably. I was miserable and concerned about it, but told by my surgeon that it was perfectly normal. Everything was okay, but people heal differently and no two cases are identical. He said they really have to tuck the port into a muscle where is doesn't fit easily as this helps anchor it and encourages tissue growth behind and through the mesh on the back of the port. The good news is that (for me at least, and hopefully for you too), the pain and discomfort did eventually subside. Now it feels fine except for some tenderness for a couple of days after a fill which is normal. Give it a couple more weeks, unless you really feel that something is wrong in which case it never hurts to run your concerns by your surgeon for some peace of mind. Good luck!

I'd like others to chime in here, b/c I am by no means a lap band expert having just been banded on 9/6 and consider myself a newbie, however, I believe you should be eating more Protein. I've heard recommendations from 60mg on up. No doubt, you'll hear differing opinions, some say women need at least 50mg and men 70mg, but I've heard many patients say they had higher recommendations and do great with that amount. I personally get in 70-90g of protein a day as recommended to me. Also, your Multivitamin doesn't have the magnesium or vit. C in it already? Again, I can only speak from my experience, but I was told I only need to take two things, chewable Centrum (once in the morning) and Viactiv with Calcium chewables. Since your headaches obviously aren't from stopping caffeine, I would have thought as "timeformyself" did (above) that perhaps you weren't drinking enough Water, but you say that isn't the issue... Aside from upping your protein intake, I would talk to a professional. Follow up care is critically important for most lap band patients, not only for support, but for information that only a trained professional can provide. Do you monitor your food intake with myfitnesspal or loseit or any of those apps? Are you getting enough calories? If you aren't keeping a log of your diet, I would start now. It would be helpful to log a few days worth and bring it to a lap band nutritionist for his or her opinion. Good luck!!!

You should definitely talk to your primary care physician then, and see if he or she can recommend a nutritionist with lap band knowledge. I can't imagine trying to navigate this on my own. In the meantime, we can try to help though... How much protein are you eating each day? Did you stop caffeine? Just trying to get more info to assist you. You are taking multivitamins daily? How about exercise? Sorry for all the questions...

You know, I wouldn't have believed it, but it just happened to me! My first fill was 5cc. I was hungry every 2-3 hours. Couldn't wait to get the second fill. I got 1cc, and OMG, what a difference! I have been so happy the past two days because I am no longer hungry whatsoever between meals. Staying full for a full 4-5 hours and have lost my craving for food in between. This has made me so happy. So yes, yes, yes, it can make a difference!

Good luck tomorrow!

Had a fill two weeks ago from my surgeon and it went so smoothly. Didn't feel a thing. He did it quickly, painlessly and professionally. My appt. today for my fill went a bit differently. It was not with the surgeon, but rather a Physician's Assistant. This time, there was a lot of forceful pushing around and all over my port site. The surgeon didn't push on the site at all! This was followed by a lot more physical discomfort when the needle went in, and to top it off, the needle broke or didn't work or whatever the first time (after it had gone in), and a second needle was used and this meant having to endure the pushing all over again! Am I crazy to think that some people are simply more qualified to do fills than others? Mind you, my port is right at the surface and I can feel it very well. I want to request the surgeon again next time, but didn't want to offend the P.A. when I was making the appt. b/c she was within earshot. She is very, very nice, but the thought of having another fill like this makes me anxious. I think I am going to call and change the appt. to request the doctor. Has anyone had a similar experience getting a fill?

Regarding the unjury question... I love it! Drink it every day. I always respond to questions about Protein shake recommendations, b/c I am such a fan of the taste of the unjury Protein powder. I love the vanilla and the chocolate splendor. I have it delivered regularly. I personally mix a scoop of vanilla powder, a small banana, a cup of skim, and some ice - throw it in the blender and it is delicious. Freezing the bananas is a great idea too for better consistency. Mis73 (Missy) also turned me on to the cafe mocha using unjury vanilla powder and it is delicious! 1 scoop of Unjury vanilla, a half cup of skim milk, and a cup of coffee (I use decaf), and blend it. It is sooo good. I have some coffee in the fridge right now b/c I am going to make an iced cafe mocha later. I think finding a Protein Drink you enjoy the taste of is so important. I hear people say all the time that they hate the Protein shakes and I think how lost I'd be if I didn't like mine! Good luck!

I agree with the comments that you might not be eating enough. I posted recently regarding my weight loss plateau. I received the same advice, followed it, and guess what! Yup, the weight started moving again. In fact, I researched on my own a bit and found several sources that recommended one day of really amping up your caloric intake (in small amounts of course, since we are banded and don't want to eat too much at once) and then going back to the normal 1200 calories or so. I tried it and it worked for me. Tricked my body enough to get it moving again. I went for a fill today, and to my surprise, I had lost 5 pounds (after almost 5 weeks of staying stagnant). Good luck! Keep us posted!

Honey, you lost 20 lbs. in 30 days! That is amazing if not almost too much weight! My thoughts: 1) You are being too hard on yourself. Fluctuations of a pound or two are normal. Get on the scale once a week or once every two weeks instead of every day. If you are the kind of person who will get very emotional over a small fluctuation like that, then you need to give yourself more distance from the scale and look at the overall picture. 2) We all have difficulty in social situations sometimes. It is normal and it is okay. We aren't always going to be perfect every single minute of every single day. If that was such an easy feat, none of us would have needed lap band in the first place. 3) Exercising. Yes, it is important, but missing a day here or there is not going to kill you. Believe me, it isn't falling in Water that makes us drown, it is staying there that makes us drown. If you miss a day, try to start again the next day. 4) Don't apologize for the tears. You are a passionate person who wants to lose the weight badly, that is very obvious. However, maybe think about talking to someone? Sometimes a therapist can help keep you positive when you are being too hard on yourself. Sounds like you might need some positive encouragement and permission to not be perfect! There is no shame in needing a little extra support. 5) Hang in there. Think of how much weight you've lost, and how that supercedes the small fluctuation you perceive to be a legitimate gain. That two pounds might be gone in a day or two, and all this stress and worry isn't going to help. Your body can sense when you are happy and optimistic and it can sense when you are depressed or unhappy. Try to stay positive. It will help you be successful. You are doing great. No one here is perfect. We all have our days. Your 20 lb. loss is incredible in such a short time. You can do this, but please don't feel you have to lose so much so quickly. Slow and steady wins the race! :wub:

How many ounces are your protein shakes post lap band? Are people making them 4, 6, or 8 ounces? I don't feel full with 4 oz. shakes so I was just curious. Do those in the green zone find that 8oz. of shake is too much? I sometimes blend in a banana as several people had suggested to me, but does this mean I should decrease the milk from one cup to a half cup? General shake advice appreciated!

Thank you for the responses! I will continue to do the 8 ounces of milk as I've been doing. I know it ends up being more than 8 ounces if I add ice or banana, but I sip it slowly, so I won't stress about it. Thanks again.

I should add that I know it can make sugars rise in diabetics. I have to limit my caffeine for that reason alone.

I always thought caffeine was an appetite suppressor?

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I would not chance anything, especially now that you are pregnant, so my best advice would be to call your doctor. You mentioned the pain comes after vomiting or sleeping on your left side. Are you vomiting a lot?

Hope all goes well for you! Good luck and congratulations!

Agreed. People come here for help, not criticism. Picking on someone's spelling and grammar is not only rude and demeaning, but it is no less insulting than someone picking on someone's weight. We are all unique individuals with varied strengths and weaknesses, but we come here for a common cause which is lap band info. Let's keep the focus!

P.S. I had a friend who battled (and subsequently conquered) bulimia for several years before I met her. She mentioned that after a while, vomiting came naturally after she ate, because she had conditioned her body to doing so. She no longer had to try to prompt it, her body just began doing it on its own. This would lend validity to your concern that if this goes on too long, the brain can make unhealthy associations between food and vomiting. So please, do get help! Good luck.

I was going to say just what Jen said regarding 300-500 calories not being enough to sustain your physical health. As most everyone else said, you need to get this looked at immediately. You mentioned not wanting to scare your kids, but if they have witnessed this already, then chances are, unfortunately, they are probably already scared! You mentioned not wanting an adjustment because you lost nothing at 7cc's, but you have to know that fixing this vomiting issue is far more important than losing weight right now! You are not only setting yourself up for a potential slip as Missy mentioned, but repeated vomiting can erode the esophagus and cause a host of other medical concerns. I would be on my phone with the doctor immediately if I were you. Please don't wait another day, and please let us know how you make out!

Sleeping was horrible for me too. I was banded 9/6, and almost three weeks later, I was in tears b/c I was so frustrated that I couldn't sleep on my sides (my preferred sleeping position) b/c I was still too sore and sensitive. I had to sleep on my back which I was not used to. It definitely takes time (and for some more time than others) to feel comfortable sleeping. For those first few weeks, I ended up sleeping in a recliner chair. It was much easier to get up from the recliner. I hope you heal quickly, but the pain and discomfort, although a pain in the you know what when it comes to sleeping, is normal and will only decrease with time. Good luck!

I was on a plateau for almost 4 weeks! Today is the first day it broke, finally, and I lost two pounds. How long have you been on this plateau? I imagine the liquid diet would help jump start the weight loss again, but maybe you'll hear from someone who has done it, b/c I have not done that personally. Good luck!

Like ValAnn, your story almost brought me to tears too. I understand every single word of what you said and exactly how you feel. I am that person too! I have done those same exact things over and over again. I think it took a lot of guts to pour your heart out like that in such an honest way. Somehow, I am doing this lap band thing, and it is working, so I can only believe that will happen for you too. This has truly changed my life. Thank you for sharing your story. It honestly felt as if you were writing my thoughts, and it helped to know that others have experienced the very same struggle with food. I wish you lots of success on your journey. You won't believe how good it feels, but feeling full honestly does take the cravings down and make it easier to do the right thing. Nothing else has ever worked for me. Best of luck.