KarenB

I claimed the cost of my banding on this past year's filing. My accountant told me that as long as it was medically necessary it was o.k. I asked him if co-morbidities counted & he said yes, as long as there was some diagnosis besides obesity. We also unfortunately had tons of other non-covered medical expense to claim. You have to ask your accountant about the plane-fare; I didn't even think of it.

That's basically the standard; it has to be medically necessary. Perhaps a plastic surgeon can make a case for it--I've heard that fungal infections etc. can happen below a stretched out stomach that's lost a lot of weight. It's worth looking into. FYI, for my plan I first have to submit the bill to the insurance company, then submit to the flex company the "reply" stating co-pay or whatever.

Is it good? My son who wasn't a reader finally became one from those books. I read them when he finished. At first he was so glad I was reading them, now he's almost 16! I think he still secretly likes it though. We'll try & get ours tomorrow.

Hi Glenda. I know someone here has used Dr. Fielding, try using the search button on top of this site. I'd find it for you & paste it if I knew how. Please let us know how things go for you.

Thanks so much for posting here, Mae. It's so nice to meet someone who has been banded for so long & lost weight successfully. I'm so sorry your band slipped & wish you the best of luck w/your revision. Please keep us "posted" on how you are doing.

I've been taking it for a month now. I don't know if I feel better, although I forgot the last few days & feel much more tired. So maybe it is working. Also, my husband finally came home from the hospital & I'm putting him on a regimin. Couldn't hurt, he was just diagnosed w/primary sclerosing colongitis, for which the only cure is a liver transplant. It's the result of his having ulcerative colitis as a young man. Anyway, it's also thought to be an autoimune disease, so...it's worth a try! We'll keep you posted, Paula.

In my humble opinion, I disagree. You should definately check with your band surgeon before making any decisions. I was told only solid Protein. If you're not getting any protein @ Breakfast & can't get any down a few hours after waking up, and lunch is mushies; yogurt doesn't have much protein, it doesn't seem that you're getting enough protein. I always eat breakfast even if I'm in a real rush & have to resort to a Protein Drink (in a pinch, solids are much prefered). Also I asked my Dr. about having a South Beach Protein Bar for breakfast when I'm rushing and he said that's even better, because it's a solid & has 10g of protein. Again, please consult your band surgeon.

My daughter is 17 1/2 & was banded on May 27th by Dr. Ortiz. He specializes in teens. If you should want your mom to talk to me, just PM me & I'll give you my phone #. Regarding my own banding, it took my 5 months to tell my mother. She reacted well, I think she was just so happy to see me lose weight. Good luck.

Thanks for the info, Penni. Hope you're doing better. Looking forward to Estella posting--I hope she's healing well and not too painfully.

Generally it's liquids in, liquids out. If you are constipated, however, as some of us are during the liquid phase (also, anesthesia & pain meds cause constipation) you can try Phillips MO, it's really gentle & helped me a lot. Some people take Milk of Mag. or Senecot. I still have to take stool softners regularly. (excuse the pun)

When I walk into my office building, you can see quite clearly your reflection in the glass doors. I used to think "there's something distorted w/these doors; I can't be this fat" Well, guess what. Now I look at the reflection and I am so happy! Obviously there was no distortion. I'm not near goal yet, but I look a whole heck of alot better. I think I'll be very, very happy & satisfied when (if?) I reach 140!

The way my flex plan works is that you can submit any medical bills, co-pays, etc. that aren't covered on your insurance. The criteria they use is if it can be used as a tax deduction. I used mine as a tax deduction (medical necessity, co-morbities) cause I had already used up my flex plan. Legally you cannot do both.

What I'd love to do is just take out half the fill, stay on liquids for a few days to rest, then see how it goes with mushies. Whaddya think? Karen? That sounds good to me. I had it all taken out cause she was leaving on vacation for 1 week & I knew I was going to TJ w/my daughter 12 days after that. Yes, in retrospect, I didn't need to have it all taken out. Having said that, it really gave me a chance to heal, so maybe it was worth it. BTW, I was so tight cause I was under a tremendous amount of stress ( hubby in hospital, etc). That was a long answer to your question. Interestingly, US docs, my fills here are done by a very competent nurse practitioner, are MUCH more conservative w/fills. They typically sart you w/.5cc's, then go up in .2cc increments. At least that's what she told me the American protocal is. And she's not making $ per fill, I paid for a year. The average amount of Mexican fills for the 1st year is 2-3. Average in US is 10.

Just regular alcholic father & cold/distant mother. My father beat the crud out of my brother when he was 5 or 6 years old because my father had a collection of silver dimes (we had to put any we found in there; this was the '60's so there were a lot) Anyway, my brother thought it would be a good idea to take all the dimes & treat all his friends to candy. He kept the dimes in a huge fake booze bottle w/a slit cut in it to be a bank. How apropos. My brother almost got his ear torn off for that. I went fishing w/my father; I was about 11 - 12. Well, he dropped the rod off the boat & blamed it on me. I dont THINK I did it. Anyway, my punishment was when we got back to the marina, he locked me in the car for at least 2 hours (it felt like eternity) while he drank beer w/his buddies. It was very, very hot outside. The saddest part of all is that I didn't even realize that I could just open the door. In those days there were no child locks; you could always get out of the back of a car. It never crossed my mind; his favorite motto was "When I say Jump, you say How High?" I hated my mother--but she was just being co-dependent. She's a real cold fish, but didn't abuse us. I know there are a lot worse stories than mine, but I've always wondered what a "normal" family was like. FYI, it's been shown that daughters of alcholic fathers are more likely to become obese/have an eating disorder. Guess so.

Hi there. Yup it's me; my daughter & I were both banded by Dr. Ortiz. Me in December, Hanna @ the end of May. I really like him a lot & I've been back to TJ for fills. Dr. Martinez, his associate (they do the bandings together) does the fills & he's great at it. I like both of them so much. You get both of their cell phone numbers to call anytime. They actually answer or get back to you soon after! It doesn't hurt either that they're both quite handsome! (both married, tsk, tsk.) You didn't say where you live--I'm in NY and went back 2X so me and then my daughter could have our 1st fills. It's quite a trip--I do have aftercare here as well. If you don't live in CA, I would highly recommend lining up after-care near you. It's really important that you do that. Please feel free to PM me. Tell Dr. Ortiz tonight that Karen & Hanna say hi! O.K., I'm adding these words now. I didn't realize you are 14. Feel free to have your mom or yourself PM me. My daughter is 17 1/2 & had other medical issues. She is very happy she was banded.

Hi Seppi. Hope your gas is getting better. I took GasX chewables; they helped somewhat. Everyone's advice is good. Welcome to Bandland!

My fills are no worse than a regular shot. Less painful than a flu shot! Depends on who does the fill. I've heard some bad stories, I think it depends on the experience of the "filler" My person here always hits the port on the first try & doesn't even use Flouro. Dr. Martinez in Mexico is the fill king, but it's not always easy to get there from NY.

Kathy, been there done that. You are doing the right thing. It was a hollow victory for me too to get down to 181 & yes I did gain 5 lbs. till I was filled again (at .2cc's less this time). But it will come right off again, especially as you will probably be on liquids for a couple/few days after your unfill. You need to give everything a rest!

Congratulations. Babies are gifts from God. I saw my step-grandson (2 weeks old) today & called myself Mommy to him instead of Grandma. Oops. But I love that feeling and I pray everthing will go well for you.

Sounds like good advice here. Better to be safe than sorry. I got filled right before a 2 week vacation & was miserable. I didn't know the liquids after PB rule so that might have made it better, but it sounds like the voices of experience speak here. Scotland sounds so exciting. Have a great time.

I've researched it & heard it's a big rip off. They offer you some kind of guarantee, right. I've heard that it's almost impossible to get your $ back. If you google it, you'll see a lot of negative feedback.

I always know how much is there, especially when they remove it all into the syringe before adding more, I look at it! Maybe it would be better not to know.

Oh if teenagers had the wisdom we have. Remember how smart we were then? It's a very sensitive situation to want to tell a daughter, "Dont wear that, your stomach's too big" If you say "it's not flattering on you" they know darn well what you mean. My daughter, as most of you know, was banded, and she had a lot more than 40 lbs. to lose. Being pre-diabetic didn't help. She's down 20 lbs., we'll see how her numbers are soon. The media doesn't help these girls either. They look at Lindsay Lohan, look at themselves, then eat more! And they also wear those clothes to show off their belly-button rings! It looks like higher waisted jeans are coming back in style, as well as longer shirts. I can't wait! BTW, I look at plenty of adults and wonder, didn't they look in the mirror this morning?

Chris, how is everything now? FYI, Dr. Martinez is usually easier to reach by phone & he has helped me w/any/all questions I've had.

Good thread guys. I think it gives a balanced view & shows different experiences. I am very happy with Dr. Ortiz and get better care w/fills etc. there than here. Also Dr. Ortiz as well as Dr. Kuri have done way more bandings than Drs. here. That said, it's certainly a pain in the butt to travel to TJ from NY, but that's what frequent flyer miles are for. I did make friends while there so I didn't feel alone. Whatever you decide, Dawn, good luck and I'm sure you'll be fine. Dr. Pleatman sounds wonderful--couldn't get an experienced band surgeon w/self pay around here below @ least $20,000! It is the hospital costs, one very nice doc was willing to cut his fee drastically, but the hospital wasn't.