Cocoabean

Call the member number on your card. There are different BC policies out there, your best bet is to call or look it up online. I have BCBS California Access H M O. All of the requirements were spelled out online.

I don't wait 1-2 minutes between each and every bite. So, some of the food would back-up into the pouch, yes? Helen, did the studies have the patients eat an entire meal or a few bites? I am sorry, but I could not wade through all the statistical "mumbo jumbo" (for lack of a better term) to get through the entire thing. Like Humming Bird, if I drink during a meal, often times it leads to dire consequences and much pain. Early on I could, but as I got more fill, it became less practical.

1. How long have you been banded? 4.5 years 2. How much weight did want to lose? Enough to get rid of high blood pressure and cholesterol, and help pre-diabetes. Wanted to become normal-weight. Did not have specific number in mind. Successful on all counts. 3. How much weight have you lost? About 75 lbs give or take, depending on the day. 4. How happy are you that you have been banded: scale of 1-10 (1 being regretful, 10 being elated) I give it a 9. It is totally awesome, but it has its downside. Getting stuck is not fun, and sometimes inconvenient, but sometimes funny. There is a lot of aftercare. Having a foreign body inside me forever will always be a concern, but something I will risk for better health. I am very, very pleased with my band.

If only I could understand all the "study speak" of the study! Page 3 does have some very interesting information on the pouch filling up. It also speaks to us feeling the reflux from peristalsis if it hasn't cleared on the first trip down. interesting. And exactly what I experienced. They also observed some stuck episodes..cool! I think we will be seeing more studies of this type come out. If nothing more in an effort to understand truly how bands work and to see if they can be made better.

Elcee, you are right, I only ate a few bites of a sandwich. It was for the purpose of checking my restriction level and for reflux. And you are again correct in that I was very aware of my chewing. But after my experience, my personal belief is that food passes through the band fairly rapidly. With each bite I took, it went through fairly quickly. But then again, I don't normally take a bite, watch it on TV for 30 seconds to a minute then take another bite. But they were normal sized bites, if covered with barium. I get to repeat it again this week..yum. Throughout medical science we see treatments that are effective for some unexplained reason. We see off-label use of medications for conditions other than for which they were developed. Apparently Allergen doesn't even know. I dunno. I think there is just way more to be learned about the mechanism of how the band works, myself.

The pain meds can cause nausea and vomiting. Were you given anti-nausea meds? If not, call your surgeon and ask for a prescription. Slowly sip water, you don't want to get dehydrated, THAT is more important than protein at this point.

I am glad things went a bit better for you. I always have a big learning curve after a fill as to what I can tolerate and how bit my bites can be. I have an upper GI schedule for Wednesday. I get to eat a barium dipped sandwich, how tasty! Ugh. I've been having quite a bit of heartburn, so it will be interesting to see if I have reflux. I am on the mend from my illness, it was not band related. I had a horrible blood infection called Sepsis. It brought me mighty low, and the recovery is long, but I am improving, thanks! Some people can only do teensy fills of .1cc or .25cc. My surgeon always said he prefers to sneak up on the green zone than go blasting through it and end up chasing it. I am hoping to just get .1 removed, as long as there isn't something wrong. Which is why I love my surgeon, he makes sure nothing is wrong at this point before adding or removing Fluid. The fill before this last one was a great level for me for a year. This was just a little top-off. I guess a little to big of a little top-off.

Bread is pretty much off my menu these days, it is just too dense. Same with white meat chicken. I can eat dark meat no problem. The smaller the pieces are cut, the better for me. And the moister the better also. My opinion, there is nothing wrong with take out, just remember, there is extra fat in some of the choices. So beware of that, but I eat out often. Making 3 meals out of one is something that I do a lot. It sounds like you did pretty well the other day!

I am in California. They have 30 days to respond, business days, that is. Mine was submitted just before Thanksgiving. By the time it all went back and forth with all the holidays, it was mid-January before I heard back. My surgeon's schedule was booked a month ahead. I made the appointment for my pre-op visit and to begin my 2-week pre-op diet. Does your surgeon have time on his schedule for June? Once you have approval you have to get onto the surgical schedule. Mine was a month out, yours might not be. You can ask about a pre-op diet and make arrangements to start it with a proposed June surgery date. If approval doesn't come through, no harm no foul. Or if you don't have to do a pre-op, then no worries. But if your approval doesn't come through until June 15 and you want surgery June 20, and you should have been on a 2-week pre-op diet..you have troubles.

Is your port red or inflamed or hot to the touch? Can you eat without restriction? Where is the pain?

These could be the study in question: http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/20835896 http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/21912383 http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/21136303 The conclusion of the 3rd: CONCLUSIONS: Weight loss, satiety, and early satiation following LAGB were associated with briefly delayed bolus transit into the infraband stomach. Retention of the semisolid meal above the LAGB was not observed. This is further evidence that suggests satiety develops following LAGB without physical restriction of meal size.

I agree. You don't need a fill if you are losing, and you are not struggling to "diet" and starving while doing it. I am sitting here with the food backed up feeling. The thought of a fill? No way. I think we all get excited to get that first fill, but really, until you need it? You don't need it. That make sense? To stop the food in the throat feeling... take smaller bites, chew very well, pause between bites, and stop eating at the first tiny signal you are satisfied. NOT full. Just now I pushed beyond satisfied because it tasted good, and it seemed like I had such a little bit on my plate. I did however stop when I felt some discomfort telling me I was being stupid. 5 minutes later all is well. Had I kept eating, it would have led to a stuck episode and vomiting. Congrats on your loss so far!

I hate when that happens!! :-)

How are elcee's statement reckless?

From my personal experience: I had an Upper GI and esophogram with food last September ordered by my surgeon. I got the watch the entire process of the food going down my esophagus, into the pouch, then into the larger stomach. It really did only take a minute or two for the food to clear the pouch. When instructed to take a larger bite and not chew so well, I experienced some reflux into my esophagus from the pouch that I could feel, and we could also see. Then we watched that food leave the pouch. My opinions and ponderings: I agree that the food empties rather quickly. If some is stuck above/in the stoma, that is what comes up undigested. For me, that is usually not a large amount, just a few bites. I don't understand why "they" haven't figured out how long it takes for a banded pouch to empty. A few Upper GIs with food and they are done. Why is it such a mystery? They pouch of a banded person grinds and has paristaltic action. A bypass patient does not. Bypassers depend on gravity to move food to the lower stomach. We don't. I am having another barium sandwich on Wednesday. Should be interesting to see if the results are similar to the last one.

Are you able to get liquids down most of the time? If you are drinking and spitting up like a baby, try smaller sips and wait in between to let it go down. If you are having trouble getting these Clear Liquids to go down and stay down, call your ASAP. If you are not wanting to drink because you are afraid you will throw up, CALL. Use the pain meds if you need them. Stay on top of the pain. You need to stay hydrated. That is #1 importance right now.

The band doesn't really remind you, until it gives you negative information. I am unaware of my band when all is going well. If I am chewing well and taking small bites, I do not get any feedback from my band. When I take a bite that is too big and don't chew it well, THAT is when I am reminded I have a band. After over 4 years living with my band, I do generally eat slower, take smaller bites, and chew better. But there are times when old habits die hard...all it takes is one slight oops.... When I was newly banded, I would pause before each mean and remind myself to chew, chew, chew, and take little tiny bites. It helped, but I'd still get stuck from time-to-time.

I could have chicken when I went on solids. After a few fills, white meat chicken was off my menu. I can still eat dark meat.

Yes!! I get to do it again on Wed. Last time it was bologna. Deciding what to take this time. Ugh.

I do ok with grape tomatoes, cherry ones can be too large. If I cut them in half they are ok. Many foods are trial and error for us. And what went down yesterday will not go down today. Gotta love banded life!

Hello and welcome. I have heard of bands being placed too high. Very sorry for your troubles. At this point in my WLS life, I would not hesitate to revise to another procedure were it warranted. I know that without some surgical intervention the weight would come right back on and I'd be back on the road to diabetes. I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol before surgery. I am sure those would be back as well. Is it possible to reposition your band to where it needs to be, or is it too late for that due to the damage done? I wish you all the best with this difficult decision. Feel better soon!

Grocery bags have holes in them. I bring dog poo bags. They come in a roll at the pet store. You can get a dispenser for them. The ends tie off and they are scented.

Walk walk walk. A heating pad was a lifesaver for me. Also, many say gas-x strips can help dissipate it, even though they just go through the digestive tract, they CAN help with the gas in your chest. I did laps up and down my hallway. Walking really is the best thing to get the gas moving out.

I ate them the first year, then they started getting stuck..so they are on my bye-bye list.

It isn't just the car ride, it is the entire orientation, too. I imagine there will be quite a bit of walking invoilved? I would not have been able to handle it, bit I am a big wimp. I also caught a cold around the time I was at the hospital. Day 3 is when the sore throat set in and symptoms started really brewing. The days following were not fun for me. There are many bandsters who have their surgery on a Thursday or Friday and return to work on Monday. So it is really hard to say how YOU will react.