Cocoabean

Hi Misty, welcome! PB is productive burp. When you burp and you bring up something. Like when a baby spits up milk. Some also use the term when referring to bringing up the offending item during a stuck episode. Slime is the mucous produced by the body during a stuck episode. It is clear and very clingy. When a bite of something gets lodged between the little pouch and the stomach below the body makes copious amounts of the stuff in a effort to help it go down. If the hole is well and truly blocked the slime has no where to go but up and out the mouth. It continues until you get unstuck. It is not a pretty sight. Somewhere on here (not sure where now since the format has changed)...you can find a FAQ with a glossary of some of our more commonly used terms. If I can find it, I'll shoot you the link.

Did you ever think in your life you'd ask God help you weigh more? I didn't know the Holy Spirit weighed anything, but then again, He can do anything. Congratulations! Now that you have your starting BMI it should be OK if you dip below while going through the insurance clearances. At least it was for mine. I asked my doctor what would happen if on surgery day my BMI was below 35, he said he'd personally put rocks in my hospital gown! Then told me that it didn't matter, my approval was based on my starting weight. Best wishes as you proceed through the journey.

Here is the link for passport requirements, you need one to come back from Mexico: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html You cannot get the passport card without a passport book. Other info from the state department: Since March 1, 2010, all U.S. citizens – including children – have been required to present a valid passport or passport card for travel beyond the “border zone” into the interior of Mexico. The “border zone” is generally defined as an area within 20 to 30 kilometers of the border with the U.S., depending on the location. Regardless of the destination in Mexico, however, all U.S. citizens age 16 or older must present a valid U.S. passport or passport card to re-enter the U.S., even by land. All Americans traveling outside of the United States by air, land or sea (except closed-loop cruises) are required to present a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) compliant document such as a passport or a passport card. Travel warnings for Mexico: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_4755.html Best wishes for your decision!

Make your appointment in the afternoon if you can. Have a hearty breakfast and lunch with a big glass of water.

Melody, you have to laugh! It's quite alright! DH and I both had intestinal turkey trouble! I was first and he "poo poo-ed" me, sorry for the pun. Then it was his turn! We figure she just wants to take us all with her. Doctor said MIL's labs look good, but wants to speak to the whole family. If the whole family shows up, he'll be very sorry, that is about 20 people! DH and I suspect he'll want to talk about nursing home for rehab as she is still weak as a kitten. That won't go over well with the two SILs, but for the life of me, I don't know how we will care for her if she won't go. She's a little thing, but we aren't equipped with the skills to care for an elderly person needing that level of help. She has the two daughters and me. DH is not capable of that kind of intimate care of his parent. He'd do whatever else he could around her home. But I work, one SIL works part-time and helps care for her grand-children. The other SIL cannot be expected to do everything, even though she does live in a separate home on the same lot as MIL and is retired. She and MIL don't get along grandly and SIL smokes like a chimney. Her grandchildren should not take part in that type of care, aside from which the local ones all have small children. They have their own issues to deal with. It is a very sad time for the family. It is going to be a strange December!

Post op diet depends on what your surgeon orders. I did clear liquids for 3 days. Was doing very well and got moved to full liquids. During that 3 days I was so hungry I would have eaten my dog if he didn't move faster than I. But each person is different in how they react. Some post that they are not hungry at all. Others are like me. Some surgeons do clear liquids for a week or more. The important thing is that you follow your doctor's orders, even if you are hungry. Each does what he has found best in his practice. What are your doctor's orders?

My surgeon forbids it as well. I haven't had a piece since pre-op. Getting stuck on food is sometimes unavoidable, because I have to eat. I can avoid the risk of getting gum stuck. My surgeon says you might not have ever swallowed your gum, but as soon as you are banded, you will . I don't want to be scoped to remove something I was told not to have. Not to mention the pain of being stuck while waiting to get scoped at the ER if it is after hours for your surgeon. I doubt stomach issues would be top priority. Add to all that, my jaw cracks and snaps all the time, I prefer to not chew it.

Contact your insurance company directly and find out what they cover and what your co-pays are. I was surprised with a $100.00 hospital co-pay. Had I read my policy better, I'd have been expecting it. My surgeon's office wasn't worried about my co-pays, only about my coverage in general.

You are losing about a pound a week or just a little bit less. Bandsters are expected to average 1-2 pounds per week. I averaged 3/4 of a pound per week when I was actively losing. It is frustrating not to lose as fast as we want, but you are doing OK. As others have said, try upping you exercise if you can. At the rate you are losing by May you can be down another 25-30 pounds. Kick up the calorie deficit and you can increase that. Are you keeping a food journal? Do you have good restriction at 3.5cc? If not, when is your next fill? It took me a while to get to good restriction and start losing well. Are you following the diet and bandster rules set forth by your surgeon and/or nutritionist? What are you eating? Most of all, don't compare yourself to others. We each lose at our own rate. Do what you can to be the healthiest you that you can. Do your best, that is really all that you can do. You WILL get there. It takes some of us longer than others, but we can get there!

Shad, love the new do! I cut my own bangs this morning, does that count? My last cut was in January, I think I am waaay overdue! Laura, my port is left of my belly button and an inch or two below my waist. It does not stick out. But when you get closer to goal, if you don't like it, you can have a low profile port put in. Right now, you probably have some swelling from the surgery. Give it time. Elfie, well done on the care package. We got our lights up this past weekend, not sure when we'll put up our tree. It's a 3' fake, so it doesn't take much time. The MIL will need to decide what she is going to do. She normally goes all out for Christmas, gifts up the yang. At least 5 for each person of the extended family. She's already agreed that she won't cook this year, thank goodness. After trying to kill everyone with the underdone turkey, we are all relieved. Of course, she needs to get out of the hospital first. Still waiting to hear from DH how she is doing today.

Laura, welcome!! Leigha, love it!! Great cut and color. MIL is still in the hospital. Doing better, but she now has c. diff. that great intestinal infection I had back in April. It doesn't seem to be hitting her as hard as it hit me. Or maybe they found it earlier, or she has hidden it well around the family. We don't know when she'll be discharged yet. Should prove interesting. I seem to be down a couple of pounds. If I think of it, I'll weigh in on Saturday morning, and see if I can update the ticker!!

What you describe is classic "stuck and sliming"! chicken breast is notorious. I stay away from it. Dark meat is OK, but something about the texture and moisture content of the breast meat just does me in. You might still be able to eat it if you take smaller bites, the size of a pencil eraser small, chew well, and wait about 30 seconds in between to be sure all is well before taking another. Welcome to true Bandsterhood.

Congratulations!!

Banding is not about quick weight-loss. Aside from the fact that you just had surgery that your body is healing from, you need to adjust. Weight loss is not steady. You had a HUGE loss with 15 lbs. It may take some time to get going again. My losses were in starts and stops. Down 3, up 1, down 2, up 2, steady for 2 weeks, up 1. Keep following your doctor's orders, and over time you will get to your goal. You cannot expect losses every week. Bandsters can expect an -average- of 1-2 pounds per week.

I am sure the advertisers hate it, but I love it!

The liquid diet is torture, but our surgeons have us do it for a reason. Keep focus on the prize. It will all be worth it when you are a healthier you! Keep drinking Water. Keep yourself distracted. Like a previous poster suggested. You are half way there! You can do it! Keep up the good work.

I -think- inline notifications are the ones that come up when you log on, but am not sure. I unchecked everything except for inline for PMs. So we'll see. All I want is notices when I sign on that I have a PM. I don't want notices when someone changes their status or quotes me on a thread or posts to a thread I am subscribed to. I am getting it back to that point, but it has been painful. I am really liking Google Chrome's browser with an Ad Blocker running. I am not seeing any of the advertisements at all! I still MUCH prefer the old platform, but it is now bearable.

You are nearly 2 months post-op. My guess would be it isn't surgery related. Maybe you have a stomach bug. Just take it easy and try not to vomit. Peppermint tea is good for stomach upset. Take little sips.

I don't see why not, but I think your medical expenses have to be over a certain percentage of your income before you can deduct them. You also have to be itemizing not doing a standard deduction.

Maybe he is just scared for you. Maybe not. People react in strange ways. Maybe he wants to be able to say, "I told you so." If you have a problem. Or maybe he is worst case scenario-ing you to be sure this is what you want. In real life, I only know one other person who is banded, she lives 100 miles away. This is where I come for my support and understanding. If you trust your surgeon, and you trust your research...you are good to go!

I believe they have up to 30 days to respond. So as early as Wednesday really doesn't mean much. I don't have Cigna, but my paperwork was submitted right around Thanksgiving and I didn't hear until Mid-January that I was approved with all the holidays thrown it, it took a long time.

Every doctor is different as far as pre-op diets go. It even depends on individual patients. So, just because I had to do a two week diet, doesn't mean everyone in my surgeon's practice does. I am not sure of your friend's motivation for sending you this information. I have had trouble with tomato skin when I've tried to eat whole cherry tomatoes, but if I cut them into pieces, I am fine. Grapes, strawberries, and green Beans, I am OK with, unless I get a very fibrous one that I cannot seem to chew, then I spit it out rather than risking getting ti stuck. You won't be living on oatmeal forever. I eat most of the things I did before surgery. I don't eat poultry breast meat, and I don't eat doughy breads in a group setting. Sometimes I can eat them, sometimes they get stuck, so if I am with family, I'll try it, but if I am in with strangers, or in a setting where I cannot excuse myself, I won't chance it. My pre-op eating habit problem was portion control, not so much food choices. So now, my portions are good. I still eat most of my favorites, just in moderation. Was there are learning curve to eating with a band? Yes. Was it worth it? You betcha! Tell you friend, thank you, but I am working with my surgeon and his nutritionist on what I can and cannot eat after my surgery. Or just delete the emails and don't read them.

I did google chrome with an ad blocker. Much better for me too. Still somewhat slower though.

Elcee, if you click where it has signed in as Elcee and go to My Settings, then Notifications, it has where you can be emailed for new topics. In digest of other formats. Have you checked those? Mine were all messed up when they made the changeover.

I downloaded google chrome and did an ad blocker, so I don't see the ads, but it is still slower than before. It is nice to not have all that stuff flashing at me now.