Mary-2b150

I'd love to join too! I was banded in '07 but went a year with an unfill, and am just getting back on track the past few months. Would love to have something to motivate me to stay on track! Looking forward to the new us'es! :thumbup:

I actually wish that I had gotten a different type of surgery quite often. I've had many ups and downs in this battle. The Lapband DOES help, but it takes SO much effort and i've had my share of tears of frustrations regarding the band. Even when I'm trying to do everything right it seems impossible sometimes. A lot of times it seems so fickle as to if it will work or not too. It really is about finding your "sweet spot" though. I was doing okay in the beginning, then I had to have a complete unfill for a while, gained twenty pounds, and for 11 months straight just struggled not to gain another pound. FINALLY a month ago I think I found it again and the band is back to doing what it's supposed to, and I've been losing weight for the first time in almost a year again... So I know the lap-band does definitely WORK, but it takes a lot of work just to get it to work! So right now I'm happy with the band and think it's a great tool, but it makes me sad sometimes to think about where I'd be if I had just gotten the bypass to begin with. Either way, it's in there now, and I've just got to keep using it as best as I can! Goodluck, I share your frustration, hang in there though, I'm sure you will do great!

I had my surgery in 2007 with BCBS of Massachusetts (the best insurance company ever by the way!), but in 2008 our employer switched to United Health Care (booo!).. I went to the doctor for fills all last year and never had a big bill, so I figured they covered adjustments. Just last week I got a bill for around 300 dollars, saying they don't cover the injection (the fill). I called and they just kept repeating that "medical treatment of obesity is not in your policy". I asked why they paid all last year, but they seemed to think it was a mistake and kept repeating what was in my policy. I need some help here, is there anything I can do? I know 300 isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it makes me so angry that they won't cover the aftercare. So I have this great tool inside of me to help me lose weight, but we're sorry we're not going to help you use it. Great company! Am I overreacting here? I almost feel like it's so discriminatory. I feel like if it were any other type of surgery the aftercare would be covered even if you switch insurances, but because that word "obesity" is in there, it's okay to deny the claim. Any help or information on what I can or can't do would be greatly appreciated! If not, at least I vented my frustrations a little. I am so scared too, I felt secure knowing I had insurance, but now if something goes wrong, I have no idea what my options are. Well, thanks for listening, I hope to hear fromsomeone

Congratulations! Thank you so much for posting, it really is inspiring. :thumbup:

I'm going to try to lose about 15 pounds by then, which would put me at about 175 or so... Alright we can do this!

Thanks for the info! If you hear anything more, I would love to hear about it! :thumbup:

I never received a response from her (not sure if she got my email or not). Has anyone heard any new updates about Dr. Deol's chicago practice? I'll be first in line if she ever opens her new clinic!

Your weight loss is incredible!! That is really fast weight loss! Your body is just catching up with itself! Weight loss is never linear and it's not as simple as eating X amount of calories and exercising, and you will lose exactly 2.2 pounds a week, etc... There are sooo many factors at work. Trust me, keep up exactly what you are doing and in a few weeks you will see the scale going down again. Every time I have ever lost significant amounts of weight, it would then stall. The body just seems to need a time of adjustment. You're doing awesome!!

glad you got a handle on it! I know the feeling you're talking about, I was extremely tight for a few months, and then I had an emergency unfill and was told not to get any fills for a while, so it's back like I was pre-banding - hungry all the time!! Wish I could get my appetite under better control until my next fill. Goodluck with your appetite and restriction! Keep up the good work!

There are a few Richard Simmons DVDs designed for people with low-mobility. One of them is called "Sit Tight" - you can find it on amazon, ebay, or richard simmons website. I bought one for my mom who has a lot of knee problems. Goodluck!

I know a lot of people go through this before getting banded. Someone referred to it as "last supper syndrome", or sometimes a "Farewell to food" tour. I think the feeling like you're not going to be able to eat these foods anymore is what makes people do this, but truly and honestly - you WILL be able to eat the same kinds of foods even after banding! But hopefully with the right restriction - you'll be eating LESS of it. Knowing this in the back of my mind before being banded helped me to avoid the "last supper syndrome" too much, though I certainly wasn't perfect! I don't think the fact that you are "saying goodbye" to certain food types will mean you won't succeed with the lap-band. I think you'll be able to do just fine! Just keep coming to the forums for more support. I always notice the more I read around here, the better I do. The longer I'm away from the forum, the more I stray from the lap-band way-of-life.. Goodluck with everything!

I know the feeling about the doctor acting like you're bothering him wanting to get it right, that's what I'm going through right now too. We went through surgery to get restriction, fills are a big part of the process. Without proper fill we might as well not have the lap band at all, so I don't know why it's so hard to get fills from some of these doctors! Grrr if only there were other fill doctors in my area!

one of the best things that helped me was wearing a sturdy pair of slippers around the house, instead of walking around barefoot or with a thin pair of socks. The extra support just around the house really helped my feet feel better!

During the summer I was too tight and would get sore throats. For me, it was from bad reflux during the night as I laid down. Stomach acids and other things were filling the back of my mouth as I slept, and I would woke up with my throat feeling "raw". Not sure if that's the same as what you're experiencing. I had to get an unfill and it has gone away. It was also better if I didn't eat or sleep for a few hours before I went to bed. Good luck!

I had this problem too, back in July. I was waking up choking on vomit, it was terrible terrible terrible!! I had to get an emergency unfill, and went on liquids for a while, and it fixed the problem. No more choking or anything. Now i'm back to being able to eat anything and as much as anything as I can, and am gaining weight despite my efforts to lose, it is very frustrating! Looking back I think part of the problem was that I would get something stuck, PB, but then I would be fine and try to eat something later that same day. I think if I had gone on liquids for a while after each time I PB'ed and been more careful not to get anything stuck, it wouldn't have happened. I think my stoma just kept getting more and more swollen. I should mention that 80% of the time I could eat fine with no problems, small portions but most types of foods went down as long as I was careful. I think sometimes I just wasn't careful enough and things would start to swell up. Not sure though. Either way, I am glad the choking has stopped, but really really want another fill now before I gain all my weight back! :embaressed_smile:

I'm going through the same thing as well. I was banded august 2007, lost 55 pounds, but then had 4 months where the band was too tight and I was vomiting all the time, but I kept thinking it was my fault and not the band, so I didn't get it loosened in time. Finally it got so bad I had almost all the liquid taken out, and now I am all better but am back to being able to eat anything and as much of anything as I want. It has been a struggle just to not gain much lose less weight! You're lucky your appointment is for Sept 10, mine isn't until the end of October and I fear what I may weigh at that point. All we can do is keep trying though. Just a part of the journey I suppose! Goodluck and I hope you find restriction with your next fill. Just know you're not alone with these ups and downs!

That is a good idea! I stumbled upon this thread in my attempt to find Dr. Deol's new practice too - I have been unsuccessful. I am going to give that email a shot, thanks for the suggestion!

Every time I am even slightly tempted to tell people, I see threads like this and am thankful that it isn't public knowledge yet! Thank you for your sharing your story so I remember to keep this to myself. I've read somewhere on this board that "you can't UNTELL once you've told" and I keep reminding myself of that. I am not the least bit ashamed of what I have done, but I do not want to constantly be dealing with people's ignorance and outright rudeness. Hopefully confronting the people that are bothering you will help. Goodluck!

One of the myths I had before getting the band was that there would be certain foods that I would never be able to eat after the band - that turned out to be completely false... First, I was surprised to find that when I had absolutely NO restriction (the first few months after surgery), I could eat any food type and never had any problems with the food getting stuck. After a few fills when I started to get restriction, it started to change, but it was a matter of learning how to chew and be careful. There really isn't anything that I'm not physically able to eat if I really want it. This may vary person to person, however. Another myth, not for the lap-band but for bariatric surgeries in general, is that this is the "easy way out"... I have personally never worked so hard at something in my life! It may have been said before but it bears repeating - the lap band is a tool... an excellent tool, but one that needs to be used right in order to work. I still have to work hard to lose weight, but the lap-band made what was an impossible challenge possible.

I have an issue with burping a lot as well, but they're not "regular burps", they are small, in the back-of-the-throat type of burps... little ones but one every few seconds. Not sure if that makes any sense or not. The more restricted I am, the more it happens. For now I've just been ignoring it.

I hate that question too, you might as well ask what I weigh! I'll usually try to laugh it off by saing "not enough" or something.. If they ask more than once I'll say "more than I care to admit", and that usually ends the conversation.

I'm so confused about my hair loss. I lose weight very sloooooowly... like 4 pounds a month maybe, give or take a pound... I always choose foods high in Protein, though i don't count the number of grams per day, it's got to be around 65 grams per day at least... I take Vitamins and eat foods high in natural vitamins/minerals.. I wouldn't mind the hair loss (as much) if I was losing like 12 pounds a month or something, but when you're losing slowly AND losing your hair, it is very frustrating! I'm glad that everyone who's experienced hair loss says it comes back, that makes me feel much better!

Congrats!! Size 14 is an awesome feeling - just got there recently myself... And just think, size 12 is the next size down!!

Congratulations on getting to onederland!! It's an awesome feeling, isn't it! Excellent job!

Congratulations on your success! It takes a while for your mental image to catch up with your real image, but it will happen! I've heard an expression for what you're describing calling it "fat goggles". I think too we're so hard on ourselves... If you saw someone else at the weight you're currently at, you'd think they look great.. but then we expect absolute perfection from ourselves.. if that makes any sense... Just keep telling yourself the truth - that you look great! Eventually you'll see it