zuchinno

I did self pay in Mexico because I couldn't afford to self pay in the states. In the last town where I lived, the only fill doctor who took patients from Mexico charged $400 for a fill with fluoro. They explained that the fluoro was better 'cause they can simultaneously check for problems and also fill you more than they would have because they can see your level of restriction during the fill. However, 3 visits in (and $1200 later!), I had still only been seen by assistants, and had no restriction as the most they would put in at a time was .25cc. Also, the safety part of the fluoro was pointless since the doc had his assistants do the whole thing and they weren't qualified to read the fluoro for risks. Anyway, I saw saw the doc coming out of an exam room while I was there once and he said he couldn't talk to me directly because of liability. This was frustrating and really discouraging because this was a doctor whose name was given to me by my surgeon as someone who would see me. When I called to make the appointment, I specifically asked if I'd get to see the doctor and they said yes... I just didn't think they meant I'd see him walking the other way... Anyway, I've moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and I need to get a fill doc, but I don't want to pay another $400 to be embarrassed and lied to again. Can anyone help me?

What do you guys eat for Breakfast on a good day? When do you eat it? I usually eat an egg (boiled or scrambled), some turkey sausage or bacon, and diced fruit. However, I always seem to get hungry sooner after breakfast than my other meals. Ideally, I wanna up my lean solid Protein 'cause it's supposed to keep me full longer. A little while before I eat, I usually have a 16 oz cup of green tea with some splenda.

Has anyone ever been lied to regarding the complications with the band? I was looking back at my lap-band journal to the notes I had taken when I was first looking at, and shortly after I got the band, and I feel like people were not exactly truthful, for instance, about complications. I feel like I need to vent a little and share the things that were told to me, 'cause I think it's unethical to misinform patients. 1. I was told that it's really rare for bands to have to be removed, although I see a disturbing number of surgeries here, to remedy slippage, infection, kinks, port repositioning etc. 2. When I asked about the port flipping, quite a few places said they'd never heard of it, and that the patients from whom I'd heard of this, must be mistaken. 3. When I asked about the port sticking out when people lose their weight, my surgeon said that would not happen, but I've already seen pictures of people whose ports show. 4. When I went to the fill doctor that my surgeon sent me, I asked if the doctor would be seeing me and they said yes, when I saw him in the hall and asked him a question, he said I could only be seen by his assistants, as I was a liability since my surgery was done by another doctor. 5. When I was researching clinics to do the surgery, a representative from NWWLS in Everett sent me gristly pictures of a supposed counterfeit gastric band that had been put in by a Mexican doctor and removed at the NWWLS. I google image searched the name of the image and found 3 other websites for bariatric surgeons claiming they'd removed the same counterfeit band themselves. I wish I could find the picture... it was scary and unprofessional. Anyway, those are the things I was told that were a little misleading. Have you guys ever been told stuff like that?

Recently I've been downgrading my food utensils. I dunno if it helps you guys, but I found that using smaller utensils and plates and bowls makes everything work a little better. I use a paring knife to cut my proteins, cocktail forks and baby spoons to hold smaller bites, and I eat off of a saucer that only holds about a single cup of food. I think the fork and knife things are practical for cutting up and eating smaller pieces, but using a uniform size plate that I measure my food onto seems to be keeping me at portion control. It's not the most scintillating observation, but it's something that helped me and I thought I'd share.

My boyfriend and I are heading on 5 years together and he's the best person in the world. He's been so supportive of every step of my weight loss. He walks with me every day and congratulates me on scale and non-scale victories. I just wanted to mention that he's played a huge part in supporting me. Here's to all the supportive people out there that help make the good stuff happen!

Thank you Dave. It's really helped to talk to someone about it. Research is my thing and I did eventually find my answers. I was afraid of using my band for a while and didn't get fills, especially 'cause I lived somewhere where I couldn't be seen by a real doctor. I'm finally on the bandwagon again and have a little perspective now that I'm older and better informed. I think it woulda been easier for me all along though, if I'd been told what's up and not had that nagging "This is not the complete truth" feeling. Thanks again, it means a lot. ~z

I understand that they're doing a sales pitch, and I think it's unethical. I think it's really wrong when I've already put down the money and the surgeon still won't give me the straight truth in the pre-surgery consult. I know that there are people meant to rake patients in--- but I don't wanna feel like I'm operated on by a used car salesman. If you can't get the truth from the doc before they cut you open and change everything, how are you supposed to make an informed decision?

Thanks for the suggestion, but the time off of work and cost of gas would probably make that one a little difficult...

I have half a protein shake mixed with coffee about half an hour after I wake up. I eat breakfast at 11. I eat lunch 2-3. I eat dinner at 6:30-7. If I have indigestion, I might drink a little yogurt or some milk in the evening as it settles my stomach. That's it. I'm not really hungry except for about the half hour before I eat, while I'm preparing the meal and smelling its nice smells. One thing is that I feel like I'm eating all day. It takes me half an hour to sip my coffee/shake, and then I drink about 1 cup of water during the hour or two after that 'till 11 and then I wait an hour and have to drink water in-between lunch and dinner or I'll get dehydrated 'cause I can't drink while I eat. Between slowly eating and gulping water, I feel like I never get to have my mouth empty.

My first non-scale victories of my adventure: ~For the first time in memory, I'm not hungry between the moments I actually have food in my mouth. ~I didn't need to take a break walking up the hill by my house. I got to the top and just kept on walkin'. ~I've already gone down from a sz 24 to a 22.

I have a question for anyone who is at or around goal. A lot of the people on this site are older and don't have very elastic skin. Many of them get what I kinda refer to as post-band reconstructive surgery to remove the excess skin. But what about people who are younger. How much does the skin go back? Pics are appreciated but not at all necessary... Also, did anyone end up getting work done after they lost their weight? Just curious...

I started a mini-goal of losing 30lbs by New Years and decided to start a food journal to keep myself accountable. So far I've lost 10lbs in 10 days. I use fitday and keep a photojournal of most of my meals on picasa. *note, sometimes I'll have the same thing for lunch as dinner, so I'll only post one pic of those meals. Also, I don't take pictures of my liquids like protein shakes or yogurt. zuchinno - free online diet and fitness journal Picasa Web Albums - Annie Nonymouse Journaling has *really* helped me.

Hey all, I've got a quiz about eating and appetite. It talks about head hunger etc. It's not really the fun post with your friends kind, but I found the questions helped me sort out some of my ideas about food. Quiz about Eating and Appetite sorting out head hunger versus bodily need: Do you always eat when you feel physical hunger sensations? Do you eat when you don't feel physical hunger sensations? Does seeing and smelling food make you hungry, i.e. walking by a nice smelling food stand or restaurant? If yes, can you tell when that hunger is out of desire, or actual appetite, like when it's time to eat? How far ahead do you think about a meal before you end up cooking or eating it? Do you eat the same when you're alone, as with company? i.e. amount, speed, choices. Do you spend time in the day thinking about how much food you eat, and how much you want to eat? i.e. calorie counting. What is your favorite food? Does the thought of dieting make you hungry? In any given 5 meals, how many meals can you stop eating before feeling uncomfortably full? Have you ever washed down the food you've consumed, so that you can eat and taste more of it without feeling full? When you eat your favorite food, does it make you feel happy to eat it, just full, and/or guilty about eating it? When you limit food intake, or diet, do you think about eating more or less than when you are not limiting food intake? When you socialize with friends or family, are the interactions centered around meals, or drinking, other activities such as going to movies, sports events or museums, or evenly balanced? When you have a treat, is it usually self-prepared or not? Do you control your portions by limiting them before they go onto the plate, or before they go into your mouth? What percentage of the time do you clean your plate? If you've finished eating and there's food left over, do you feel like you're "wasting it?" When you are upset at home, are you more likely to go out or stay in? When you are upset at home, are you more likely to go to the living room, bedroom, or kitchen? What are the three things you've pined for most in life? Has food, and your relationship with eating played a part in anything regarding your top ten needs and desires?

I like how much having a lap band changes these answers. It really helps me change the way I think about food.

Tasty! Hah, weetbix, you MUST be Australian... they don't sell those here except in specialty stores. I might try the muesli thing... I haven't been able to do crunchy as of late 'cause I got a crown and it was tender. I guess a lot of folks do protein shakes... I made one this morning using my morning coffee and it took off about an hour or two of hunger before breakfast and gave a lot of what I needed for the day.

Even though I haven't lost very much, I was gaining 20lb/yr. I'm really glad that it helped me turn it around.

My aunt got the bypass and it's like the movie Thinner. She has terrible gastric dumping syndrome and it creates irreversible damage to the inside of you. So what if you have to get minor surgery to replace it every decade or so, (if that's even true). I'd rather have a piercing that can be taken out, than a tattoo that I'll hate forever.

I've had my band over a year, and had 3 fills. I have moderate restriction, but I'm always scared that it might malfunction or slip, or something might happen to the port. Sometimes I read the stuff in the Complications Forum, and the doctors say it's so rare for that stuff to happen, but hearing so many stories about it makes me nervous. I'm afraid to go forward with any real restriction or put pressure on the band by letting the food sit in the upper pouch because it might come back up or something. Usually when I eat, I'll eat so slowly and wash it down with Water or milk 'cause of this fear. (Please don't tell me I'm not supposed to, it's judgmental and I obviously know it's not right). I'm really afraid of getting food poisoning or the stomach flu and dislodging the band or flipping the port or kinking the tube while retching. Is anybody else scared of things like that? Has anybody seen real numbers on how often bands malfunction one way or another? I'm not sure what kinds of responses I'd need, maybe it was just to get it off of my chest....

@isaviolinist I completely agree that it's totally annoying not having the fills covered. A lot of places will only put .25 in at a time, which is also irritating 'cause I get fluoro every time 'cause I wanna be safe and that means $400/visit out of pocket. I think I get scared a lot because the first few weeks adjusting back to solid foods, I wasn't very practiced at eating slowly and reintegrating solids so I was PB and sliming a lot at first. My solution was drinking a glass of milk with dinner, but that defeated the purpose and I lost very little weight. Now I'm taking another shot at eating without a beverage after several months of slow-eating practice and it's finally working like it should. I'll definitely need a new fill doc now though since I moved to SF from WA state.... :crying:;;; When they hear I got my band in Mexico when I call the clinic, most places act like I've got the plague. Thanks for the empathy guys! It means a whole lot!

Is that $200 for just the saline or the saline and fluoroscopy? Also does he have an initial consult fee too?

Yea, my doc told me to start "testing' also, he had me on soft foods like eggs until the 4 week mark. 2 weeks liquids, and then for weeks 3 and 4 start integrating soft foods one at a time. You're proabbly just not ready yet.

Thanks guys! I understand it a bit better now. I guess things loosen up when you get rid of the abdominal fat.

It's true! Thanks for helping me figure it out! I wonder what will happen when I get pregnant someday. I mean, I still have restriction when the band is empty... so wouldn't that be a risk? I wanna be able to eat enough for a baby..... *ponders*

Thanks, although it's not that special since 15 of the first 20 were lost on my pre-op liquid diet, but for me, that was the hardest part of the journey so heck yea I'm putting it in! It makes me happy though because I'm almost 1/3 of the way to being my ideal weight! My goal is to get there by graduation from college, class of 2009, here I come! But yea, 40 lbs since August 1st. My mini-goal is 199 by xmas. I can do it!