snowbird

Grace, she is just 10 days post op. Excuse me, but what the hell are you doing telling her to eat???!! Sigh. You might want to check out this thread. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/information-slippage-dr-ortiz-66430/

My BMI was 37.5, and I went to Dr. Ortiz. I was very pleased with the experience. My husband and daughter have also been banded by Dr. Ortiz, but they had higher BMI's than I did.

"PBing, sliming, vomiting, slippage, weight gain, slow process, have to be committed, severe incision pain, gas killing me, starving, hungry, port problems, taking forever to hit the sweet spont, nauseous, etc." Increased chance of cancer, heart attack, diabetes, shortness of breath, being unable to do the fun things you would like to do, looking like crap . . .You can dwell on the down side, but the upside is more important for me. Yes, I have pb'd and slimed. I consider them a warning from my band that I haven't done what I need to do. If I didn't have uncomfortable results from being banded, I would still be eating like I was when I weighed 255. I've had two fills, and will never need another to reach goal. Gas pains were minimal. Surgery pain was not even worthy of the pain pills I was given; I still have them in a drawer. I'm never physically hungry except when it's meal time and I need to eat, although I still get the munchies from time to time. I have never gained weight (except for the normal variation of a pound or two during the day) since I was banded. I will reach goal within the next two months, which would be 10 months from my surgery date. I've never been nauseous, except when I tried liquid Vitamins. Bleagh! We don't often come on here to start a thread about how wonderful things are. We post when we have a problem, which means you see a lot more problems on a forum like this than you do glowing reports. Plus, many of us who are very successful are simply out there living our lives rather than obsessing about our bands and living our lives on this forum--no negative posts, please, I'm as guilty as anyone! You do have to be committed. I must admit I have little patience for people who want to cheat on their post op diets, complain they can't eat like pre surgery, and feel that the discomforts of surgery without complications is unbearable. The desire to get off the diet roller coaster and away from a life of obesity has to be worth going through a few weeks of soreness and discomfort. I do have to watch what I eat and keep a little mental count of calories every day because I am a snacker and I will absent mindedly eat too much even now. But the difference with the band is that I can stop myself, and before I couldn't. I would tell anyone in a hearbeat that the results of banding have been well worth any minor problems I have had.

Yes. I don't feel a thing except when I sit down and eat a meal. If by normal you mean how you felt pre-band, then no, I don't feel normal. I feel much better.

We spend winters in Arizona and summers in Washington. We went to our first northern barbecue Friday night and one of our summer neighbors said to us that his and his wife's dream was to look just like my dh and me! (he had been drinking before he said it, but I'm takin' it anyway . . .) I can do 15 miles a day on my bike now without any problem, and I feel great.

There's also that negative conditioning to deal with. If you put four dozen donuts in front of me right now, I wouldn't be tempted (well, not much.) I associate them with pain, not pleasure, now.

You might check out this video on why sticking to the post op diet is important. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/information-slippage-dr-ortiz-66430/

"Never attribute to malice that which can adequately be explained by stupidity." --Oscar Wilde One of my favorite quotes that allows me to feel superior rather than hurt by people who say stupid hurtful things. Life is just too short to allow that crap to damage us.

We paid for our daughter's surgery, as her insurance didn't pay for it. She had surgery October 2006 in Tijuana, Mexico for $8500 and has lost 127 lb since then. It has turned her life around. We are so happy for her and so glad we decided to do this. After seeing how well she did, my husband and I decided to have the band and both had surgery in October 2007. I have lost 74 lb and my husband has lost 60. We feel so much better and are very happy with our decision.

allamess, What is your fill history and band size? That must be so frustrating!

Well, there are a number of us here in Arizona, but we haven't been too active lately. We did have a lunch get-together in January, but things have fallen off since then. I am in the area from September through May, but go north for the really hot weather. Our most active member, WASaBubbleButt, just had a revision from band to sleeve, so you aren't alone around here. Welcome to the group. I have been banded for 8 months, and there are other who are old timers and some newbie too in the Phoenix area.

Insurance often approves surgery for BMI's of 35 or above with co-morbidities, or other health problems resulting from obesity. The problems you mention are all co-morbidities. The best way to find out if your insurance will cover surgery for you is to call them and ask! My BMI was around 35 and my doctor confirmed that my knee problems, stress incontinence, borderline HBP and cholesterol and blood sugar levels were all co-morbidities with my weight, and I was approved.

FEP Blue told me they don't ever pre approve this surgery; they gave me the requirements for it to be covered and I made sure I met them, and I didn't have any problems. Sometimes it matters just which claims adjuster worked on it, and a different adjuster may come up with a different decision altogether. Did they specify what part of the requirements you did not meet? BMI? Co-morbidities? Psychological approval? Have you appealed this through FEPBlue? I have had them turn down coverage for smaller issues and it has always been because they or my doctor just screwed something up. A phone call and a talk to a supervisor has always straightened it out for me, but sometimes I had to be nearly rude (okay, make that REALLY rude) to get to talk to the right person who could actually do something about my problem. Good luck! Dealing with insurance is one time that being nice doesn't necessarily work.

If Snoho listened and understood her doctor's instructions and explanations as well as she did the forum's posters, I'm not surprised she had unreasonable expectations and skewed understanding of what was involved with being banded. penni, we each make a decision as to whether the effort of being a successful bandster is worth the end result. food and eating consumed my life pre-band much more than it does now. I am healthy and happy for the first time in many years. Yes, I have to remember to chew slowly. Yes, if I don't follow the rules I experience some discomfort. But I'm not up all night with chronic gastric reflux anymore. I'm not hypertensive and pre-diabetic anymore. I'm not shopping at Lane Bryant anymore! I've only had to get two fills, and I will never need another. Not everyone has as easy a time with the band as I have. But I would definitely not say it hasn't been worth it.

I another one who had 75-80 lb to lose and had been trying to lose it for my entire life. I hated exercise and always gained my weight back. I just don't think that's happening this time. I'm not a crazy fitness freak now, but I do get out and try to ride my bike 10-12 miles a day, and it's so much easier to do now I am near goal and have built up those leg muscles. You can do it if you really want it.

It is much better to lose weight at a slower rate than to have to have your band removed because it has slipped. Being too tight is NOT good.

I've been thinking I might get a small unfill at goal. It depends. I just got off a three month plateau anyway, so I'm not real worried about losing too much. I find that I still have to "diet" (watch what I eat, avoid high calorie foods, stop myself from snacking too much) with my band. I can maintain easily, but I don't lose weight unless I make a real effort. I would probably just smile at my skinny friends and say, "I'll have a little bit more ice cream!"

Asking an obese person to diet successfully is like asking an alcoholic to avoid drinking when life is a constant cocktail party. Especially when you are a mom, there is food everywhere, and everyone is always eating. We are bombarded by ads on TV, drive down the street with restaurants and grocery stores all around us, and then as moms have to prepare food for the other family members that we aren't supposed to eat ourselves?? It just doesn't work. I have "successfully" dieted three or four times, losing over 50 lb each time, but ALWAYS gained it back. Sometimes I could keep it off for several years, but nevertheless is always cam back. When you are denying yourself food, it isn't once a day, it isn't twice a day, or even three times a day you are saying no to what you want. It is every minute. We are programmed to take advantage of food availability by genetics and physiology, and it is horribly difficult to overcome. I have been banded 8 months, and have really changed my attitude toward eating. A lot is due to my band conditioning my body and mind that eating is no longer a great pleasure; it is for the first three bites, but after that it is a chore and a duty to provide myself nutrition. Sure, I am occasionally tempted by ice cream and milkshakes, but the temptation is satisfied if I have a small dish of ice cream. My husband commented last night that now with his band, a container of yogurt with a little whipped cream on top satisfies him just as much as a big sundae used to. Eating wisely just isn't the same with a band. You still have to consciously make the choices to eat well and not constantly snack, but the band is a tool that enables you to make that decision correctly.

Gloucester, I'm with Wheetsin. Set a time for her to pick up the desk, move it outside, and don't stick around. You probably aren't going to get your money anyway. If she doesn't show up, just get rid of it. Apples, your friend is passing on her burden from her SO to you, and it's not yours to deal with. I would tell her that rent starting July 1 at your place is $450. She obviously can pay that, and she should be taking care of her own debts before her SO's. If you want, you could set aside the $450 in a savings account and give it back to her for home repairs later on. This would give her an easy out with her SO as to why she can't make payments to him as she now owes you. What I think she needs to realize is that she CAN afford to pay you rent, but is choosing to give money to him instead.

I didn't find that the reduced calories gave me any problems, but too much sugar does. If you are doing gatorade, try G2 instead. Some protein powders have a lot of carbs; look for ones that don't--they are out there. I was actually surprised how I could survive on such a small amount of food. It made me realize how much we all overfeed ourselves. Otherwise, like I said before, you just had surgery, and it takes a long time for your body to recover from the invasion. Check your vitamin and protein levels--my nutritionist said at least 30 grams of protein a day. If that means you are sipping protein shakes all day long, then that's what you have to do.

The fact that you just had surgery! Your body is using your energy to heal. Avoid sugary drinks and be sure you have enough fluids going in, and you should feel fine in a couple more days.

I do take a sip of Water if my food is really dry and I am having difficulty swallowing it. But if I have a glass of water with a meal (like at a restaurant) there will be less than an inch gone at the end of the meal. I drink before the meal; my doctor has a general rule of no drinking 15 minutes prior to eating, but then also says it really doesn't matter. His rule after a meal is 1 hour. It's something I have to remind myself of, but isn't a big deal. It does save money when we go out, because I never order a beverage anymore because I don't have time to drink it before the food comes.

My husband and I did it together. My daughter did it a year before us. She is now dating a bandster, whose mother is a bandster nurse who does fills for a fill center. How's that for family togetherness? I have had better weight loss success than my husband, but it helps that we are in it together. It means that one of us isn't buying gallons of ice cream and packages of Cookies while the other is trying to eat well. Our meals are planned with healthy band habits in mind. There is no rice, potatoes, bread, or Pasta in our house. When we go out to eat we buy an appetizer or plan that we will be eating leftovers for the next meal or two. I am extremely happy that we did this together. The only problem is when our 22 year old son comes to visit and complains there is no food in the house!

Listen to your body. Lightheaded? Drink. Constipated? drink. Urine dark yellow? Drink. Headache? Drink. Thirsty? Drink. I have seen studies that say the 64 oz of Water a day story is a myth, since generally you are getting a lot of fluids with your foods also and someone basically made up the requirement years ago. I don't worry about how much I drink and don't keep track of it, but I do pay attention to the clues my body gives me that it needs fluids.

So are you giving up solid food for the rest of your life? Most people who do Optifast diets gain the weight right back as soon as they return to real food. I'm not sure what you mean when you say your problem is an eating problem. All of our problems are eating problems. That's why we are fat!