dawalsh

My doctor (PCP) was very compliant. He wrote that it was a medical necessity. My insurance needed that letter before I would be qualified. Also, my BMI was 40.5 when I started my BMI is 32.6 now if I calculated correctly. I was borderline on the BMI factor so I was sweating it out but my doctor got that letter into my insurance right sway.

OK, so I'm cooking dinner for my grandchildren and my son walks in the front door proceeds over to my granddaughter and whispers in her ear. My granddaughter age 11 comes over and whispers in my wars "Grandma, pick up your shorts they've fallen below your butt. I looked down and said oh my goodness so they have. So, these shorts used to fit nice and now they've gotten too big! I'm losing slowly and it's driving me crazy that my son does not have a bathroom scale in his house I'm assuming I've lost weight but it would be nice to know. I don't return back to my home in FL until August 1st. I'm hoping I have a loss along with this embarrassing but cute NSV!

I'm here to attest to the fact I was fearful all the way being wheeled into the OR. I've had many surgeries and as my doctor put it the scars I have look like the road map of Europe . Every time I have had surgery I have had that fear but came out of it fine everytime. I think it's normal to be a little anxious before any type of surgical procedure. My doctor requires an overnight stay for all his patients having Lapband surgery in case of any complications. If I was having the sleeve he would require a 3 day stay and 4 days for bypass surgery. He's pretty thorough. When I had my port revised because it flipped I was released early evening. I went in the OR at 7:30 was in recovery by 9 and released at 4 PM. I still had that fear going into the OR but was given an injectable sedative to relax before being operated on. Thank God everything turned out OK. Best wishes to you!

Aside from all my other medical issues my body is "riddled" with osteoarthritis. I grew up with aspirin and always used it sparingly. I mean my mother was the St Joseph's children's aspirin queen when it came to my brother and I growing up. I'm showing my age but the doctor made house calls when we were kids (back in the 50's and 60's). Anyway, we were usually prescribed penicillin and baby aspirin (this was before Reyes Syndrome actually was discovered as a disease or symptom). Anyway, the irony of it all was my mother developed ulcers and had to stop taking aspirin. She also became allergic to penicillin as did my brother. I have never ever had a problem with either and I have to say I do miss my aspirin. I take Lortab or Vicodin for pain now but I miss my aspirin a lot. It works on my headaches and my arthritis. My doctor said absolutely NO aspirin or ibuprofen for fear of band erosion. I figured if it causes band erosion I'll skip the aspirin but it's the only drug that relieves my joint pain completely. Lortab or Vicodin relieves it only a tinge. If I didn't have the band I'd be using my aspirin, that's for sure. Hopefully, as I lose more weight my joint pain will be less and less.

Yes, I'd very curious about the scar tissue. How long before this was discovered. I'd be devastated if I couldn't do a revision surgery. I pray that never happens but how you holding food down without the band? How much scar tissue and is it the scar tissue that damaged your esophagus? I really hope you're doing OK and not struggling with food.

No, you have not screwed up. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself and start anew. Just don't fall into a pattern and say well I already screwed up so I'll continue to screw up! The answer is because of your monthly your mind is playing tricks on you. I used to feel it was it was an excuse to eat the wrong foods. I would keep gaining weight and keep using excuses to compensate for the wrong I had done. It's up to you to forgive yourself and say today is a new day. I'm starting fresh and today I'm going to do the right thing. Good luck on your journey!

Well, there definitely is a difference and you're looking better!

I'm so glad you brought that up about going to Mexico for cheap. I almost went that route when my insurance came through and I chose to use a surgeon that is 2 1/2 hrs by car. My insurance covered me because of the hospital he is affiliated with. There is a surgeon closer that does bariatric surgery but my insurance would not cover his fee or the hospital he's affiliated with. People ask me why I go so far, well first and foremost I like my surgeon but my insurance picked up almost everything. I have the utmost respect for people who had surgery in Mexico but I also had a fear of the unknown in a foreign country. The anesthesia factor weighed in heavily as well. I was really worried if complications set in I would be stuck in a foreign country.

(((Hugs)))

You have always been my inspiration since I joined this group. KUDOS to you!

You should be very, very proud of yourself! You look fantastic! I was banded on 12/28/12 and my pre-op weight was 267 so I'm down to 215 and that's where I stay. I can't do a lot of exercise because of my disability but my goal is to get down to 145. My PCP said he'd be happy if I weighed 180 (I'm 5'8"), but I won't be happy until I can maintain between 140-145. It is SO SLOW but I understand due to my inability to do strenuous exercise that it's going to take me longer. My doctor took a before pic of me, when I near my goal I'll post that along with a new pic of me. Keep up the good work girl, you're looking great!

Wait, let me get this straight, were you having any issues with the band to begin with? Or, did you just voluntarily sign up for this study? We're you feeling restriction before this study? I'm all for research on the lapband but if I was doing OK with the band I guess I wouldn't want to be a part of this study. Make sure and tell your surgeon every detail about how you felt before and after and explain what's happening now. I hope you don't have to pay for future fills if you volunteered for this study. Good luck and I hope everything turns out OK!

Great post and congratulations on your 7 year bictory thus far! Your story is very inspiring!

My surgeon's office has a clothing exchange so you're always welcome to take something as you are transitioning. I live too far to take advantage of the exchange but I do plan on donating the clothes that I feel are too big for me. That's a great way to clean out my closet! Good job! Have fun shopping for those smaller sizes!

Your story was very inspiring and hopefully othe people will learn from your journey. I remember my mom suffering with a hiatal hernia most of her life. Maalox became her best friend. She'd sleep with a bottle of that chalky liquid on her nightstand. She had a weight problem too. I never considered her morbidly obese but she had gained 100 lbs from the time she married. She went from 89 lbs to 189. She also had duodenal I stomach ulcers. So I empathize with all the suffering you went through. Good luck!

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother, my sincerest condolences. I have records going back over 20 yrs of my attempts to lose weight. So my insurance company had proof that I had many failed attempts at losing weight including taking that scandalous drug combo phen-fen. Does anyone remember the phen-fen craze? People were getting pretty sick and there was a class action suit where the pharmaceutical company had to pay for ECG's because people were having irreversible damage done to their hearts. Luckily, my ECG read normal but that was a big scandal either in the 80's or 90's not sure. Anyway, my point is I did not have to go on a 6 wk diet or a 30 day diet to be approved by my insurance. My PCP documented that it was medically necessary for me to have this surgery due to all my health issues. So I wouldn't worry about a weight gain, I mean, you've been through a lot and you are attempting to lose weight and it is being documented. Good luck to you. Sorry I got off the track but I tend to go off the subject but I hope you get my point. God bless.

I couldn't eat white rice before being banded because it would clump up in my chest area (for lack of a better description) but some brown rice pilafs I try sparingly because I don't like the feeling I get with the white rice. I love rice btw, I grew up having rice 3 to 4 times a week so I would love to eat rice again, I'm just afraid to.

Definitely mention it to your doctor. I don't have any problems when I eat. There could be an underlying problem that needs to be addressed.

Are you sure you're getting enough calories? 800 calories seems awfully low unless you haven't got that much to lose. Your body could be going into starvation mode and hanging onto every calorie you eat. I'm on 1500 but average about 1200 and I'm doing OK. My body goes into starvation mode when I go under 1000 calories. Ask your doctor or NUT if you're not sure. Good luck on your journey!