Ellisa

The lump feeling is something I remember. As for the rash, it could be a allergy to antibiotic among other things. But regardless, you should contact the doctor's office. Better to be safe than sorry. The best to you both. My DH was banded 2 years ago. I understand the concerns. When I was banded end of last year, it was nice having him to reassure me every step.

You are sooooo right. Balance is the key. Everyone is different. I think it's great to come here and see all the various ways people let the band work for them and how to improve. I'm not going to put this out here to say this will work for anyone else, but it has worked for one person; who is what? Lucky? My DH has lost 140+ lbs. over 2 years. He sips some liquids with his meals, he doesn't have an exercise program, (although he is much more active now) and most of our meals have always been meats and vegetables and some starchy foods and the occasional dessert. Pre band the portions were WAY out of the norm. Now he still eats all of those things, but protein and veggies first, then a taste of starchy, still the occasional dessert; but now it's a bite or two, not 1/4 pan of brownies. I've watched him become progressively more health conscious with his food choices. He doesn't go to the gym and work out for an hour, but he works up a sweat shoveling snow, or raking the gravel back on the driveway, or in the summer other yard work or walking the dog, that runs free anyway and doesn't need to be walked. But he knows he's raising his activity level and that's the right direction. This works for HIM. Everyone has to keep tweaking and moving a head. As Terry said, life sometimes happens and we can't get to the gym or follow our plan all the time. Figure out what works for you. And let others know what works for you. Someone else out here might be like you and it might work for them. Please don't think I'm saying if your pre band diet was mostly starchy foods and sweets, just cutting back is going to work for you to lose weight and be healthy. I'm not. I don't know if you can lose weight that way, but you surely won't be getting what you need to be healthy. But there MIGHT be room for SOME people to still eat the foods they love in EXTREME moderation. If you are a person that can't touch those foods without setting yourself up for failure then by all means don't touch them. But we can't assume that everyone is like that. There are a variety of reasons that people become obese. But the point is, because we all eat for different reasons and different ways, we all have to find out how to fix our personal issues. (And that goes for exercise.) Some can jump in and do everything all at once and perhaps never fall down... but most have to find what works for them in the long term and they can realistically improve upon and stick with.

I am able to eat just about everything if properly chewed. Only twice have I had an uncomfortable feeling, and both times were because I swallowed before chewing enough. I didn't PB or slime, it was just uncomfortable for a couple of minutes. And, I cut my food up a little smaller than I used to, but not in pea sized piece or anything.

Maybe when it hurts less, like when you've lost a significant amount of weight and you are too elated to care... you could explain to them that you did not have an elective surgery. You had a surgery recommended by your physician to improve your health, for example gall bladder surgery is usually not an emergency, and people can sometimes "elect" to have it now or later. So you could have this now, or open heart later. Like you said, it's not the $25, it's that they didn't understand that your surgery was just as necessary as someone else's. I'm sorry they treated you like that. Hopefully they will get it. If they don't, I hope they have other redeeming qualities.

I am inspired! Way to go!

JohnC, Not to be a "downer" here, but IF you don't have an annual out of pocket max and IF 25% is your share on ANY surgery, should you have issues that make your surgery take longer your share will be higher. For example my DH had excessive scar tissue from an ancient gall bladder surgery. He had to pay 30%. Rather than around $1500 out of pocket we were expecting it was nearly $5K. That was for an out of network facility, 2 years ago. I have different insurance than DH and stayed in network ( after learning that lesson). I had a very large hiatal hernia repair and although my max out of pocket was $750 the insurance ended up paying $21K+ just for the hospital which was about double what it would have been otherwise. All together the surgery was around $25K and would have only been $17K(ish) if it weren't for that. Of course you won't have to have the money upfront for unexpected thing that might crop up during surgery, but you'll still have to pay it. If you do have a yearly max out of pocket, you shouldn't have to pay any extra if the unexpected happens. As already mentioned, talk to the insurance company to find out if there is an annal limit, then if necessary, talk to the hospital and doctor. We hadn't even thought about the possibility of the surgery being anything but routine. And no one at either facility said "hey this is the best-case-scenario price." I had to learn from our personal experience, maybe you won't have to.

Once you are healed enough and it's time to receive fills, I think it's important to explain how much you are able to eat comfortably and how quickly after eating you are hungry again. Don't be vague. If you can hold more than a cup and it's emptying within 45 minutes say so. If you can only hold 1/2 cup and it's staying in there for 3 hours but you demand a fill, I doubt you will get it and you'll probably be sorry if you do. :grouphug:

That's funny. I have a metal plate with screws in my ankle and that's never set one off. Once I set a walk-though one off. So they ran the wand over me, but my heavy necklace was the only thing that showed up.

I used to drink abut 8 - 12 cans of diet pepsi per day. My husband said when I quit drinking it, it caused the stock market crash. I switched to caffeine free even not long before looking into the surgery. And gradually to caffeine free tea. That had nothing to do with having the surgery. I was just tired of being so dependant on it. Yes I miss it and I do on rare occasions have it... but I make sure it's flat. Isn't that sad? But then I realize it's a mental thing and I don't really want or need it. But I keep having to test the theory. LOL

Only you know if you are ready to commit. But it is easier with the tool. I will tell you, I'm a work in progress. I can't do it all at once, but I'm heading in the right direction. And the band is the reason for my success so far. But there are certain things that you have to know you can do... the pre-op and post up diets have to be followed properly. The rules for what you can eat for a day or so after your fill has to be followed. Chewing your food thoroughly is a must. But there's room when on the regular diet for a little play, something I absolutely could not do and still lose on any other plan. Only you know if you are ready, but when you are, we are here for you.

I have the Realize band. The first fill was under flouro (for the sake of being a little more aggressive, I think) but the next two were not. No problem finding my port. I have the website available to me but haven't logged on. I'm going to, I promise! Dr. Watkins, I trust that you and Dr. Curry (and a host of other surgeons who use both) know what you are talking about when you say they are basically equal. My husband has the Allergan band (from two years ago) and he's doing great, but for a variety of reasons; I've lost more in my first 3 months than he did. I don't think that proves or disproves the weight loss is better with one over the other, I think it proves there were different circumstances. I don't think I was as sore as he was following surgery, but I tend to have a fairly high tolerance for pain anyway.

Here's your public congratulations and wishing you well! And just think as you do your prep for today, you are adding more to your weight loss. :drool:

Can you just imagine the future of bands? Someday perhaps they will "auto" adjust? This is exciting. But (there's always a "but" for me) if I were being banded when it's available it would be a lot to consider... something fresh from the trials vs products that have been in use in the real world longer. If the electronic components break, do you have to get a whole new band or just a new port? Will a microwave make it fill and unfill, if it's on the fritz? Silly yes, but what might interfere with it? Magnets? I don't know. What's the life expectancy of the electronics? I do think it's very very exciting that the future looks even more promising for banding. But I have to ask the questions, it's my nature. It took two years of my husband being banded to convince me that this might work for me. LOL I figured if he could succeed maybe I can. I had to SEE with my own eyes that he could lose weight and not feel starved or miserable before I did it. I couldn't just trust clinical trials and I didn't know anyone personally who was banded during that two years besides him. (Note: when I say "know anyone personally" I mean having a relationship with someone that's more than just having a couple of conversations with an acquaintance.) But again, I do believe the future will be better and better, thanks for posting the info.

Wasa, I totally agree with you about the need for ALL people to have a plan. And didn't intend to make it sound as if it's only a Mexican/US thing. I'm sorry if it came across that way. But my point was simply, everyone's choices are limited if we have to have fills by someone other than our original surgeon. And IF there is some prejudice about Mexican surgeries that MIGHT add and additional limit for SOME. I wouldn't know if there is or not, but I thought that's what you meant. Obviously you don't think there is any such prejudice. I didn't mean to put words in your mouth or give the impression I'm against surgery in Mexico. I am not.

I didn't read all the replies thoroughly, but if it wasn't mentioned, keep in mind that not all employers purchase a level of insurance that covers bariatric surgery. You'll need to see the policy or contact your provider to see if there are exclusions for WLS. If not, then start looking for a good surgeon and find out what your are required to do to meet your providers requirements. Not all Anthem policies are the same.

Wasa, Perhaps I read too much into your statements about the drama between US vs. Mexico with regard to this surgery. I thought that's what you meant in some of your posts including your statement below: "I don't expect US surgeons to fill Mexican banded patients. They are in this to make money and that is completely and totally fair." Had I been considering being banded in Mexico, I would have taken that to mean that there are doctors here who won't take patients banded in Mexico therefore limiting (even more) my access to follow up care. But I do understand that no matter where we are banded, many doctors are not willing to take more fill patients regardless of where they were originally banded because they simply don't have the time. Sorry for the confusion.

I guess it depends on how much you want to fight a battle with someone you aren't friends with. And how much you want her blabbing your business to others. If you are going to have the procedure and don't want her to know. Thank her and tell her you've decided after your chat that you are going to do things the healthy way under the care of your physician. Let her draw her own conclusions about what that means. :blushing: And repeat as often as needed. If she offers more advice, say firmly I'm following doctor's orders and this is working for me. What "this" is, is none of her business. I don't care who knows about my surgery. But I didn't tell people that I thought would give me negative feedback beforehand. But if you really don't want the world to know, is it important to win the war of words with someone you really don't care about?

Tried to edit the above post to remove the "B" (at the end) which was the beginning of the word "But" and another sentence that I decided to leave out... BUT I can't seem to edit the post. LOL

Wasa, "Quite frankly, those banded in the US need an emergency plan as well. If your doc dies or retires you will have the same issues I have. Finding another bariatric surgeon to do your fills won't be any easier than a Mexican banded patient finding a fill place." Absolutely !!! But you are right that many surgeons don't want to take patients who've gone to Mexico. And that can be very limiting. "Comparing greedy plastic surgeons to greedy bariatric surgeons is like comparing apples to oranges. One surgeons saves lives and one makes them pretty until they die. ;o)" Ummm maybe, maybe not. I think that some (SOME = small percent) bariatric surgery could be considered cosmetic. One of my grandmothers lived a very full and active life into her 90's. 5 foot nothing and rarely under 200 lbs. She didn't die of obesity related causes. The other was also obese and she died at 60, high blood pressure and diabetes. And not all plastic surgery is cosmetic. Reconstruction can be to eliminate health issues. Ask the large breasted women who have severe back pain or the people who have skin severe skin irritation if it's medically necessary or just to make them pretty. Burn victims? Cancer survivers? But the cost (here) is high regardless of the reason. But we agree, that's not really the point. B

Isuza, The proof will be in the pudding. I'll let you know year after year how my weight loss compares. And if I happen to be as or more successful than folks in my age group (and that's an important factor) than people with LapBand will you come back and say that I watched my diet better or exercised more or had better surgical technique? Again, Isuza, once you have your band this band-brand thing won't be nearly so important to you. You'll have so many more exciting things to think about.

Wasa, Well I see this is a deep area of concern for you. My hernia repair was a lot more than one stitch. And of the $17,000 for self pays at the time, the lion's share went to the hospital. The surgeons can't help what the hospitals have to charge to stay in business. As for greed factor, I'd say any "cosmetic" type surgeries have the greed factor. Should most of those surgeries cost the kind of money they do? At least if you go to Mexico for that you don't have to worry about after care for the rest of your life. I agree if doctors are refusing to do fills for patients they didn't do surgery on, they should say that's the reason. I think most people would understand that they only have so many hours in the week and their patient load is increasing. Mine used to do that, but he has so many patients he's obligated to because he did our surgery, he simply can't any longer. Patients were getting testy because they couldn't get fills in a timely manner. I'd love to see more fill clinics, but that makes me wonder, if the fill clinic isn't with my surgeon and something gets messed up...does the blame game begin? Another reason that the sleeve would have just been simpler. But alas, my insurance doesn't cover it yet. I'm glad though that you point out a very serious concern for folks going to Mexico. Right or wrong, greed or not; unless they can get back to Mexico for fills, it will be expensive if even available in an area close to home. Whatever was saved on the initial surgery could well be spent on travel and fills afterward. It's something I certainly would not have thought about had I needed to consider going to Mexico.

I'm staying on plan today because... I screwed up so bad yesterday. Blame it on the blizzard of '08. But it's gone and I'm still a bandit.

Awesome! I can't wait to be with you. Those of you accomplishing these milestones make me have hope.

Wasa, I agree there is the greed factor. And that all the money in this business is "up front" so there's no write-offs for unpaid bills. But that being said, I also think it's only fair for me to mention that both my surgeon and Jewish Hospital were in network for Anthem. Because of that agreement my surgeon's portion was well under $2K (TWO-K, I didn't leave out a zero) for 1 hour (not $30K for 1/2 hr.). Maybe that's why he no longer is in network as of January and he can lower his prices overall. And due to a large hernia repair my overall bill was much higher than the basic $17K, and due to my distance of travel I had to spend the night at the hospital. In fact the hospital's portion alone was just over $21K. Anthem paid all of that (except my $560 deductible). BTW they paid the Anesthesia Associate nearly as much as the surgeon. My surgery took over an hour, due to the hernia repair. I have to wonder if insurance companies would pay a more fair amount and people didn't consider any medical mistake a lottery opportunity, perhaps US doctors (and facilities) could lower their self pay prices even more. It also wouldn't hurt if the cost of living were the same here as in Mexico and if drug prices etc. were a low here as there. My sister and daughter who are nurses couldn't survive here if they were paid the wages that a nurse in Mexico is paid. My point is there are many many factors in the pricing. I have to wonder if the profit margin might (I'm saying MIGHT, I obviously have nothing to back this up) be the same or higher in Mexico if all is factored in. I know that the $ amount still looks like a lot for an hour's work, but I think we all realize that the surgeon and anesthesiologist have to pay the cost of their office space, utilities, equipment, and staff salaries etc. It's not like we get a separate bill for the nurses, receptionist, scheduler, accountant, etc. And they aren't in surgery everyday. I didn't go to Mexico because I have insurance and could find a good quality surgeon here. If that hadn't been the case, I wouldn't have objected to that possibility. I do believe there are excellent facilities and surgeons there. But I can't agree that the price differences is all about greed of US medical professionals vs. Mexican medical professionals. If medical professionals in either country weren't in this for the money, they could find plenty of pro bono work among the poor/uninsured. I don't think I've ever been under the delusion that medical professionals take care of me because they love me. It's their career, they do it for the money. Just like I do my job for the money. That's not a crime or a bad thing. Ah the blizzard of '08, it's over but still can't get out yet today! The county I live in will actually fine us for driving unless it's an emergency. Going crazy... isn't that an emergency? LOL

Manda T, Where are Fill Center USA located? Are they all over or just certain locations? What do they charge? DH would like to find someplace else to have his fills done; closer to home than my surgeon.