Vicki J

Contact obesitylaw.com and ask them for advise. They are a firm that works with bariactric surgery and insurances. They don't charge you if there isn't a case and they will give you a quote if there is one. From what I hear, they are #1.

Irene - Wow - You made me stop and realize that this December will be 2 years. I'm shocked, I hadn't realized it had been that long. Congrats on keeping the weight off. I have too to an extent. I'm about 6 pounds above my goal weight right now and I'm trying to muster up the stick-to-itiveness to drop it. It's really hard when there's so much stress right now. I think I'm actually handling the stress much better because I don't have myself to be down on for being fat. I recently had the experience of fill, unfill, fill. I had a fill of about .5 cc and it actually turned out to be about .1cc too much. Of course we had to do the .5cc in, .3cc out, .2cc in to get it right and being from Sac it meant 3 days of sick leave but I'm finally back to not starving in between meals. Now to work on the head hunger. Being hungry in between meals starts those old grazing habits back up and off we go. Anyway, hope things go well for you and "bump" me anytime you want to chat. Vicki

It was probably heartburn. Yep, I've had that feeling and my co-worker has. With both of us is was GERD. Hurts like a heart attack. You might try some Pepsid or something next time.

By the way, if the coffee went down you're not stuck.

Well now let's see...you could make sure you have some chocolate pudding (sugar free) or some applesauce. Fugescycles are a good treat. You could carry your magic bullet with you and puree what is there. LOL You could also make yourself some virgin margaritas or strawberry daquries. Be creative here! It doesn't have to be rough.

There are some good suggestions here. Papaya enzymes work well. I've used them with success. I have also heard that meat tenderizer in warm water works. I haven't tried it so I can't say how well it does. I have also been told NOT to drink anything if you are stuck. A small amount of biscuit like that WILL eventually go away. It just hurts like hell now. Sticking your finger down your throat whenever you feel stuck is NOT a good idea since you do not want to traumatize your stomach and possibly cause a slip. FYI, you probably haven't slipped so take that worry out of your mind. Also, go to smartbandsters.com and get talking with Jessie. She is a banded bariactric nurse that works in a band only bariactric clinic. She is so cool and so smart. She started the website because when she was banded 10.5 years ago they didn't have support groups. There are also many, many good people on there. Sit up, walk around and it will go away. Good luck.

There was a time that I was in a similar position. I was in a bad marriage on the way out. Looking at supporting 2 daughters by myself with no job and no home. I found myself pregnant. Now I'm not a big fan of abortion but staunchly believe it is a personal choice and one that can only be made by the person who is pregnant. I scheduled one. Two days before I was supposed to go in for the abortion I ended up in a classroom in a church doing a prenatal class with a friend. I tried everything to really not connect with what I was doing there. It hurt too badly. So I wondered up to the bulletin board at break (to avoid the prospective mommies beaming) and proceeded to check out anything that would not remind me that I was going to do something I never thought I would do. That's when I heard a noise at my feet. I looked down and there was a baby (probably 1 mo. old) cooing away. That was really not the way to avoid what was happening. On the way home my girlfriend and I talked about my situation. She told me that she would support any decision I made but to think on the fact that I might be carrying the son I had always wanted and she suggested I call someone in my family for support. Well, I called my sister and, bless her heart (I can say that now), she called my folks. When the phone rang and it was them I about died. To my surprise they told me NOT to make the decision based on my financial status but from my heart. They also told me to come home and they would give me whatever I needed no matter which way I went. My dad did say that I needed to make sure I wasn't making a mistake because on one that was already made. I went home. I didn't get the abortion. I had my son (no ultrasound knowledge of the sex). I had my parents put their arms around me and shelter us with love. I got back together with my high school sweetheart (first and only true love/best friend) and he adopted my son. Here I am 27 years later so thankful that I didn't make that decision while I was emotionally blown out of the Water due to bad circumstances. I have a beautiful son and two beautiful daughters that I was blessed with. My message here is to not let this ruin your life. I am a true believer that we all have a path to walk in our lives and that things happen for a reason. I also believe that there is a higher power who watches out for us. Trust in yourself and know that finances are more often than not temporary. I feel your pain there too because my husband is out of work and has been for a year. We have a $2500 per month house payment and a $4400 per month income. With all the other bills we fall woefully short. But I know we will make it somehow. I would walk away from my home in a nano second for my family. There isn't anything there without them. I'm so happy my path led me to where I am today. My thoughts are with you and may you find the peace and happiness you're looking for.

I can see both side of it. I really can understand how it would be easier on your stomach. However, when I went in this year for a touch up (he put .5cc in) I ended up too tight. When I went back for a slight unfill the other doctor was surprised I was having trouble with only 4.5 cc in my band. So he withdrew the fluid to check and I had 8 cc in my band. The other doctor had withdrawn the fluid too but he just didn't get it all for some reason. Now I setting at around 7.8 cc and that little bit taken out helped tremendously.

Go onto smartbandsters.com and ask Jessie. She is a nurse who not only works in a bariactric office that does ONLY lapbands but she has been banded for about 10 1/2 years herself. She can also let you know if she knows of anyone close to you that can help. It's a yahoo group. Good luck.

If you are getting full that easily, I would wait. This is strictly personal opinion here. Some people are lucky and never need a fill. It may be that it's just not your time to need one yet. Make sure you use good choices while this is going on and you will loose weight. I stayed pretty loose for a long time. I hadn't had an appointment for a year and was getting hungry at about 2.5 hours so I went in for a fill. It took 4 trips which cost me 4 days of sick leave to fix it. I got too tight and had one (the only one ever) PB incident and that was one too many. Now I'm finally back to where I was when I was at a good spot.

I personally would wait.

Mimilou2004 - don't rush up on that sweet spot. You'll be paying more trying to readjust the band than you would if you just creep up on it. One tenth of a cc can put you into dire straights.

My sweet spot is where I feel satisfied with a 3 oz portion of Protein and a 1/2 to 1 cup of veggies for about 3 - 4 hours. It's hard to explain because NO you don't feel the full feelings like you used to feel. At least you shouldn't get to that point for fear of stretching your pouch. When you get to the proper amount of "full" you will maybe give a little sigh, hiccup or believe it or not your nose may run. Don't ask my why your body does things like that cause I don't know. My sweet spot makes it a doable thing to eat smaller portions and make it 3 - 4 hours in between meals. I still sometimes feel hunger but not often if I eat the right things. My sweet spot makes it where I'm not all consumed with thoughts of food but of other things in life. Sometimes I can eat more and sometimes I can eat less. Things like stress, hormones and stuff will affect it. I had my first and I pray only experience with PBing this last month and it wasn't fun. I had to have a little Fluid removed because I don't want to have to tiptoe around everything I eat and I absolutely HATE heartburn. Some people want the strangle hold feeling but it causes lots of problems. Me, I want to live my life without constantly worrying about what I'm eating. I know my trouble foods and I have learned to listen to my body. I hope this helps. It is hard to explain and yes everyone will explain it differently. If I can help anymore, please feel free to contact me. I will try my darndest to answer you.

One of the things that ALL bariactric patients NEED to realize is that no matter what surgery they have it may cause them to be denied insurance. This should be a HUGE consideration prior to surgery. It's sad but it is true. I'm sorry to hear about your problems. I agree with JoJo1, you NEED to get Protein into yourself. There are so many ways to do that, even on a liquid diet. This is an urgent thing. You will feel much better if you do. Good luck!

Why does everyone treat the fact that they have a lapband like it is some kind of social disease? If you had a defilbulator placed in you would you hide the fact? This makes me feel like people are still ashamed of what they were and not what they are and how hard they have worked to accopmplish what they did. Wow, that was a mouthful. Yes, your port will probably draw some attention if you wear anything that might expose that area or decided to not wear something to cover the area. Ahem.... Good people (not just guys) are supportive. I've never, ever considered hiding what I did. I for once in my life lost weight for me and yes I used everything I could get my hands on to help. I will stand outside and shout about the band. Thank God for the people who made the band and the people who put them in!!! We are all blessed and I've had many people ask me about my journey and evidentially because I didn't hide it people have never given me grief about it. Being fat I got grief about. Insecure obnoxious jerks react as your ex. They are not happy with themselves so they find someone who is more unhappy than they are. That way they can be treated like they are something they are not - special. When a person looses weight we loose the need for those crutches and that puts them in their insecure spot all over again and they run. Let 'em go, girl and don't let that pitiful excuse for a man make you think that the "right" guy will treat you the same and you won't find the right guy by lying or hiding. The term is, I am working hard at bettering my health by not overeating and exercising. Should you feel more secure tell him the rest of the story. Me, I'm a blabber mouth and would tell him what I did and how proud of myself of what I have done. Works for me. I've told people they can touch my port if they want to. That gets some great expressions. LOL Long story short - don't hide the great journey that you are on. Be proud of yourself. Hiding is what we did when we were out of control and obese. Good luck!!!

Make sure your pants aren't irritating your port area. I wear jeans and my port is near the band on the jeans. Now 1.5 years later I don't notice it but it caused some pain back then. I had quite a bit of pain the day after. It felt like they put a mason jar lid in there instead of a band. They kept me over night again just to give me the good pain meds. If they gave you pain meds, take them as prescribed. Don't try to hero it out. If they didn't give you any, try liquid Tylenol. It helped a lot. You haven't slipped, erroded or any of that other stuff. You had surgery. Stop reading about all the complications. You'll drive yourself nuts. This will pass and trust me there will be other things to keep your mind active. Like all the things you'll be able to do when you're skinny! sleep in a recliner or with a pillow supporting your tummy. Again, you just had surgery on your stomach and sometimes the weight we bear in that area causes us to have more pain when laying down. Learn how to get up using your arms because it will help for a while. No it will not be permanent. Sometimes just using the pillow to put a small amount of pressure on your stomach helps. Gas X and hot pads are essential at this time. Put the hot pad on your shoulder for the gas. Baby yourself right now and there will come a day when the sun will be shining for you again.

Wow, I would definitely be calling my doctor and requesting his/her advice and not the nurse's. My doctor had me wait around an hour after my fill sipping on juice. He did this because I live over 100 miles from him and he did not want me having problems. You will become dehydrated and be visiting the emergency room if you do not get this handled.

Smile sweetly and say "At least exercising will help in my continued journey towards good health. Unfortunately, exercise won't help with aquiring good manners."

It could have been heart burn. I had this several years ago and I know what you mean about it feeling like a heart attack.

Those symptoms can also be caused by a lack of protein. There are different ways to drink them. I personally liked the New Whey protein bullets. The reason I said this could be protein related is because I went through the same thing and was drinking plenty.

swardlaw - If you have not been able to hold down liquids for 3 days, you are nearing an emergency situation!!!! Dehydration is not something to be triffled with. CALL YOUR DOCTOR NOW!!! As for the tightness in the chest, try drinking slower and possible not drinking really cold stuff. Cold stuff tends to tighten your band which can cause some of the tight feelings. Also, even though you "think" you're drinking slow enough but may not be. Your system is still a little new at this and it takes time to adjust. The type of pain you are describing is usually from eating or drinking too fast. Some people have what is called the first bite syndrom in which when they first start eating the first bites can be painful, then everything seems to mellow out. Sometimes drinking warm liquid prior to eating helps relax the stoma and helps with this. Good luck and if I can be of any help, PM me.

I was banded 12/07 and I've been so blessed on my journey. I did listen to my doctor and I had a great one. As you can see, I've lost a total of 128 lbs and I have maintained that for 11 months. I recently had to go in for a slight fill because I was getting hungry in between meals. All went well and hunger is gone again. Just remember this is a change of lifestyle. Any WLS is. If you're committed to that, there is a 97% chance of no complications. Don't get worried over how long it takes to get to your "sweet spot" because it will happen and if you convince your doctor to be too agressive in the fills it will mean unfills. Just be honest with your doctor and it will happen.

When I first started the process of getting my band my surgeon told me that most bandsters only loose about 30% of their excess weight. I had done my research and knew that a lot of doctors quote this type of thing because of statistics and, therefore, they also avoid making statements that might or might not come true as to successes. I looked him right in the eye and said "Are you saying that because of your statistics?" He replied yes. I then told him to hang on to his statistics because I was going to blow them out of the Water and I did. He now refers to me as a "poster child for the band". Kaiser was new to the band and so was he. I am a feather in his cap and he lets me know how proud of me he is. I just went back for a touch up on Tuesday and he again told me how good I had done. I also wanted to say that in the beginning we had somewhat of a communication problem. After running what I said through my mind I realized what the problem was and the next time I was able to get my message across. Like the others have said before me, maybe (?) he was trying to compliment you. We don't always say what we mean. You are in charge of how you take the comment. Until something makes it plain that he was indeed saying that the band doesn't work, take it as a compliment. If it comes back that he was saying it doesn't work, prove him wrong and bring him some information to educated him. Good luck!!

Legally a boss cannot talk about why you are out to other people. So, you may have to confide in the boss but they had better keep it QT.