Cocoabean

Can you suck on ice chips to get any Fluid down? Be aware of the symptoms of dehydration and be ready for a trip to the ER or urgent care if things don't improve. Symptoms: dizziness headache dark urine (may have a strong odor) inability to urinate dry mouth and nose weakness nausea and vomiting Don't mess around with it. If you start feeling any of the above, either call your doctor back or go get some fluids put in!

You should be able to call your insurance or check your policy online to see if you have coverage. Most have their plan brochures online and the language is fairly plain if surgery is covered or not.

Had another great day!!! no problems at all! :smile: 2 1/2 years out. Just had an upper GI and all is well. As a previous poster said. Once you are past the immediate post-op period and have learned basic band behavior, most problems are the result of pilot error. Yes, there are those who have complications through no fault of their own. This is true of any medical procedure. You need to weigh the risks to benefits. As Betsy said, most people who post are looking for help/advice/motivation/information. It can give a slanted view. I had lasik surgery several years ago. I posted on lasik boards before I had it done and for a time after. Now that I am seeing clearly and well, I don't go any longer. The people there who had been around for long periods were those with complications. It's one of the reasons I hang around here. I am doing fine with my band, but I like to give a positive view. I also helps me with motivation and support.

Hi Chris, A few thoughts come to mind. Have you had a sleep study? Many people have sleep apnea and do not know it. Also, when is the last time you had your height checked? As we age we tend to shrink. Using a BMI calculator, if your height was 1.5 inches off, you'd make the 40 BMI where you'd not need the co-morbidities to qualify. By the same token, what weight are you using? Is it a morning, naked weight? Or a fully clothed in jeans, sneakers, and outer wear, and at the doctor's in the afternoon weight? A half-inch shorter and 7 pounds heavier makes a BMI of 40, also. I am not advocating gaining weight to qualify or putting fish-weights in your clothing. Just pointing out some things that could be different depending on when and were you are measured.

I'll preface my words by saying we all know it is best to not get stuck. :smile: One of my "favorite" ways is to drink down a few ounces of Water. It will usually come right back up and bring the offending item with it. Without retching and trauma. I told my surgeon's nurse practioner this method the other day when I was in for a fill. She said well, the best thing is to not get stuck. But otherwise, whatever works without the retching is the best. They had a patient recently who got stuck on pizza. He waited it out, called, they let the Fluid out, scoped him...nothing worked. He lost his band. Wah. Not sure what the solution for that one would have been. Maybe not eat the pizza? NAH!!! I love pizza.

Hi Chris, I don't have aetna, but I am not sure your post is clear, do you have the co-morbidities that aetna specifies? Or is it specific at all? When I had my surgery, my insurance requirements were fairly clear, but had some wiggle room. BMI 35-39 with 2 comorbities "such as" high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes. It is the "such as" that gives the doctors room for the wording in submitting to the insurance. Mine now says "clinical criteria include but are not limited to..." All companies are different. Do you have what yours says specifically? It can also vary from state to state. Have you spoken to Aetna to find out for sure what their requirements are? Best wishes to you! Note: I edited this post, because grammar is important and I had some typos. :smile:

Like Elcee said, it is only right after surgery that you need to sip sip sip. I thought of the blood sugar, too. But I'd hope you've had that checked during your pre-op. After you are healed, with the exception of during meals, you can drink normally. Unless your band is extremely tight, you'll be able to swallow normal drinks of Water. If you do so right after you've eaten, everything is likely to come back up. The band is like a funnel. When you add liquids, they go through quite rapidly. I saw images from my upper GI last week. It was so cool. But the barium when straight down through my pouch into the lower stomach where it pooled. I could see my band and the restriction it formed. It truly did look like a funnel. The nurse practitioner said that is just what it is supposed to do with liquid, and that I have restriction. I was in to get a small fill.

Hi Lori! Welcome to LBT, great place to be for support. You are doing awesome! Keep up the good work. Loose cooked hamburger was behind one of my worst stuck episodes. I spoke with my surgeon the next day, and he said that even thought we break it up to small pieces, hamburger is very hard on banded folk. It has a lot of gristle in it and is hard to chew, so we tend to swallow pieces that are bigger than we realize. When I then did a web search on it, I found hamburger right up there on the list of things most likely to get stuck. I rarely eat it any longer, and when I do it is with much caution, tiny bites, and lots of chewing. I find I do better with ground turkey if we are having something like Chili. If we are doing burgers, I'll get a veggie burger, then I just have to contend with the bun, which I normally use as a handle and tear away as I eat. Kind of wasteful, but at least I get the burger experience! :smile:

Knock, knock, knock...Heeellloooooo! Anyone home??? :smile: Leigha--the incredible shrinking woman! Or is the rest of the world growing? You know, when they made the second Harry Potter movie, they had to make some of the sets bigger so the kids would look smaller. There was only one year between the first and second books, but more than that between filming and the kids had grown. My DH is in Las Vegas helping his brother move in. I am home alone and loving it. When your spouse is retired, he is ALWAYS home. It's not that I don't love him, but alone time is nice! He'll be home tomorrow. I have the gum surgery Wednesday. The antibiotics have helped a bunch, but there is still an issue back there. For which I am kind of thankful, as it proves I need the surgery, else I'd be tempted to cancel and not spend the money. Then I'd be worse off, I know! Fill update! Down a pound! Oh yeah!!!

Don't pay any attention to the scale when you are sick. When we are sick our Fluid balances get all out of whack. You will have times when you have illnesses and injuries. They are just speedbumps in a very long journey. Don't let it derail you. You did great in just getting yourself back into the gym. Focus on that. It is the habit that will get you to goal. I recently had a horrid intestinal infection. I lost 5 pounds as a result. I was sooooo happy with that. But devistated when it came back. It took my doctors (PCP and bariatric) popping my upside the head and telling me that the loss wasn't fat gone but fluids readjusting. It took a couple of months for the regain to occur, I was that sick! Keep up the good work and feel better!!

Stacie, do you journal or weight & measure your food? I don't, too much like a diet, but now might be a time to do it. To limit intake into your pouch and avoid a gain seems a good idea? I really hope things heal up for you! Stomach troubles suck. My sister and niece have bad GI problems. My sis can't believe I operated myself into potential trouble. I want to CHEW people!!! Wah :thumbup: I had cream of mushroom soup last night for dinner. A bit of chewing with the tiny mushroom bits, but not much. Woke at 4am today, the side of my face is hurting. Yes, the side with the infection. Not bad, just aching. Enough to tick me off. Shad...nothing to admire here, if I weren't in pain, I'd not be going! That is sort of what got me in this mess in the first place. But I only skipped one cleaning, so maybe not. Both of my parents had horrible gums and teeth. Mom was in full dentures at 35. Dad had uppers in his 40's. So I guess I am doing well at nearly 47. Yeah! That's my story! Well, big Friday! Woohoo! Labor Day weekend, and I am on liquids. Sheesh, I thought that was over when I did Super Bowl Sunday on my pre-op liquid. Dang it. The good news? DH is helping his brother move to Las Vegas this weekend. I opted out and have the house to myself!!! Me and Butters bonding! Anyone up for a pool party????? Margaritas are liquid!! Hope everyone has a great day!!

Hey Stacie, I know how you feel about not wanting the unfill. But really, you might feel SO much better! Plus, you might have better restriction when everything is healed. I tell ya, when I went for my fill, I swore to DH I just wanted a tiny one. Then she asked if I wanted .25cc or .5cc. I was darned tempted to get .5! And I know I have decent restriction. WHY in the world would I want .5?? Sometimes it is hard to resist that "fill 'er up" mentality! We want our money's worth, darn it! Here's a dental insurance horror story. I had a dental HMO. They would only have their cleaning schedule open for the next 4 months. You had to wait 2 months before you could call for your next one. Then they'd be booked and you had to go on a waiting list. So, even though you'd get 2 cleanings a year covered, you'd be lucky to get one done. Then I broke a tooth. I called. They brought me in right away, looked at it, and asked if I was in pain. I said not yet. They said we'll see you in two months to do the work! My CO-PAY for what they wanted to do was around $900.00. Total bill? $2300.00!!! So, I called my previous dentist. He got me in the next day, evaluated it, gave me a cost of $623.00 cash and did the work the day after. Yeah, I never used that insurance again! Anyway, day 3 on antibiotics...not much improvement. It IS better, cause I am not complaining all the time. But it is still swollen and sore. And I am wanting to chew! This liquid stuff after a fill, it sux!

Congrats!! Best wishes!

Stacie, Did she say that doing an unfill will help the dilation? If it helps that and the reflux, I'd say you need to give it a try! I have days where I can eat more and days where I can eat less. I believe that to be a fact of life. When I look at my normal weight friends, that is how they eat. My surgeon also told me that the stomach moves within the confines of the band a little bit, giving us more or less restriction at any given time.

I knew it wouldn't be pretty when I said to the dentist's assistant, "this sounds expensive!" She said, "well it's okay, you have insurance!" Uh, no, I don't! Wah! The periodontist said he'll make sure the tooth isn't cracked, which he doesn't think it is. He tapped on it, and looked hard at the x-ray. I don't have hot or cold sensitivity. Then we'll go from there.

Started in a tight 18W. Now fit nicely into a 10, have 2 pair of size 8 pants in the closet that fit on slim days.

I'm glad you mentioned this. I had a fill yesterday with the nurse practioner, rather than the surgeon. First time for me. She gave me 0.25cc. She drew back all to check the level and then put it back in. I thought my surgeon did that, but now am not sure I remember correctly. Especially since my last fill was a year ago. She commented that she is more aggressive than he is, and I wasn't sure what she meant, because it certainly wasn't in amount given. I asked for 0.25, by the way. She was willing to give more if I wanted. Also, it was an odd sensation when she drew the Fluid out the put it back in. I felt the whole thing. I don't really remember that from before. So, she gave me orders for liquids until Monday in case there is swelling. I am hating life right now. :thumbup: But am being a good patient and following orders.

Karen! Your FB says you went to a Coach outlet? What did you get?? Pictures, woman! I want pictures!! Ok, so I've nearly made it through today on clear liquids. Getting sort of hungry..or maybe bored. Went into the pantry to look for some protein shakes. The only ones I had left were best by Oct 2008. Yeah, they are in the trash. Must have gotten them around the time of my surgery! They were way in the back. Still waiting for the antibiotics to kick in. Was fun facilitating a meeting with a sore mouth! Tomorrow is the third day on them, hopefully I'll really start to see a difference. Gum surgery scheduled for next Wednesday afternoon. Woopie!

Yes! My butt bones and my tail bone hurt after sitting for a while. The tail bone especially. I NEVER had that problem before!

Most of the time none. Lately, my blood sugar has been just a bit higher than normal, and I have been second guessing myself about gastric bypass. My endocrinologist whom I hadn't seen for several years (he treated me for a thyroid problem pre-banding), was excited that the pre-diabetes hadn't progressed and that my weight had gone down in the years since I had seen him. BUT, I know there are more things I can do to control my blood sugar. So, overall, no..I have no regrets! Low normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol, size 10 jeans, more energy. It's all good!

Stacie, she said today that overeating can cause dilation. Also that reflux can be a sign of being too tight. I'd want to know more about it, myself. I'd also want to be sure that it will get better. This is not meant to scare, it is most likely a worst case thing... This is from my surgeons site: Lap-Band® Complications | LAP-BAND® | Weight Loss Surgery | all-pages Dilation or stretching of the esophagus is an uncommon complication of adjustable gastric banding. It usually is caused by prolonged presence of an overly tight band. Dilation may be more common in patients with preexisting motility disorders of the esophagus like severe reflux (gerd). One should consider evaluation of esophageal motility in patients with severe gerd before surgery. Treatment of dilation is release or removal of the band. Some patients may need to be converted to gastric bypass.

Were you allowed to progress or are you moving yourself along? No matter if you are feeling fine, you should follow your surgeon's orders. I know it is difficult. I am on Clear liquids now after a tiny fill. And I am pouting about it! I was able to progress faster than I was originally told, but it was with my surgeon's approval after speaking to him on the phone about how I was doing. I was sooo hungry, I was ready to eat my dog! I told my surgeon this, and he let me move to full liquids a few days early.

Elcee...I hate dentists sooooo bad I went 7 years in between appointments in my much younger days! I feel your pain. I have a crown that the gum has receded from and now needs a filling. Yeah, fun. Well, I am now the proud owner of 0.25cc more saline! The nurse practitioner did the fill this time. That was a first for me. The Upper GI showed good restricition. No dilation. She said it cannot determine an erosion, but I have no signs of one. So we are not going to do a scope. The band is at a perfect angle. I am down 10 lbs on their scale for the last year. My record said I had 4cc, I thought I had 5.5cc (which I did not say because I wasn't sure). She said she'd draw all out before filling to be certain. So, no trouble accessing the port. She drew out and found that with the .25 there was a total of nearly 6cc! We were both shocked! Was glad I did not ask for .5! Her rules for post-fill are different than my surgeon's. Clears for today and tomorrow, creamy liquids through Sunday, mushies Monday, and regular diet Tuesday. The good thing is, my mouth hurts and I do not really WANT to eat! My surgeon does liquids the day of fill and normal the next day as tolerated. She said she is more "aggressive" than he is. I am not exactly sure what she meant by that, certainly not the amount, maybe the rate at which she draws out and puts back in? I asked her about my methods of getting unstuck, and learned I am comfortable with what I do. She told of a band patient last week who got stuck on pizza, tried to ride it out, couldn't, they tried to scope him to remove the pizza, no luck-too much swelling; unfilled the band, no luck. Finally had to remove the band. Object lesson for me, remember to chew, chew, chew, and take little bites!!

Well, $1100 for the gum surgery and bone graft To better secure the tooth. Oh yay! Started on antibiotics. Waiting for surgery date and time. Wah.

As to the crying...did you used to eat to calm yourself? Now you don't have food to turn to, and that sucks! I hope it all works out for you. Try to relax and remember, you are not the food police.