snowbird

The weight you have lost so recently is a mixture of fat and Fluid. You can't depend on daily weight loss, and you will most likely have some fluctuation. Watch for a downward trend over a period of weeks, not days. We get so impatient with our scales. It's a learning process about how our body loses, and it is often a matter of steps and plateaus, rather than a steady daily (or later on, even weekly) slide. Don't get discouraged by expecting too much too soon. And by the way, your weight loss so far is wonderful! At this point in my journey, I go several weeks without any loss, then lose several pounds all at once.

I told my husband the other day that I no longer have any idea what I look like. I used to look at other women and do a mental evaluation, "she's about my size" . . ." I'm smaller than she is" Stuff like that. Now I have no idea. My scale says I have 13 lb more to lose, but mentally I just don't even know what that means anymore. It's a strange feeling.

Has anyone used quinoa? My friend recommended it as a good source of protein and fiber, so I bought a box, but now I'm not sure what to do with it. Someone wrote in about an easy chicken chili recipe a while back, and I just made some and added 1/2 cup of quinoa. It gives it a nice texture and thickens it up a lot too. Anyone know of anything else I can do with the rest of the box??

Do you know how much your fills were? Also, what size band do you have? I have a 4 cc band with a total of 1.9 cc fills, and that puts me in a pretty good spot. My husband has a 10 cc band and has three fills totalling 7 cc, and he can still eat more than he should. Proper fills geared to each individual is what makes this thing work. Don't give up yet!

It's not a diet food, and certainly not low carb. However, I added a 1/2 cup to an entire pot of chili. It added 48 g net carbs to the pot, and about 300 calories, with 10 g fiber and 10 g protein.

My husband and I were banded in Mexico. BCBS/FEP reiumbursed him $7900 of the $8000 total cost of the procedure, and they reimbursed me $7200. Don't know why the amounts were different, other than two different claims adjusters worked on them.

The answers to your questions are probably going to vary from surgeon to surgeon. Are you going to be staying in a hotel before or after surgery? Will you be in a hospital or a clinic? You might want to think about bringing some loose elastic waist shorts and a tee shirt to double as pjs, if you don't want to go out and buy something especially for this trip that you won't use afterwards.

Oh, give me a break. She hasn't even been involved in this latest round of Dr H love, and you knew exactly what you were doing. You are trying to ruin someone's reputation. The whole point of MY post (if you want to slam me, go ahead, but leave absent friends out of it, please) is that Dr H seems to be one of the very few doctors whose patients (and I use that term with some doubt) seem to feel it is necessary to come on here periodically and say how wonderful he is. Why is that??? I certainly do not believe it is because they are the only satisfied patients out there. You would think you would at least have sense to start a new thread once in a while, rather than just resurrecting a dead one over and over and over.

My husband did fine. He was sitting in the chair greeting me when I woke up, even though I went into surgery before he did.

Definitely ask your doctor what would be the best way to take your medications. I take a large capsule vitamin and a couple of fiber capsules daily with no problems. However, I am not right out of surgery, so you may have some difficulty if you are very swollen post op.

Just start on page 1 of the thread and keep on reading . . .

My daughter's doctor prescribed B12 shots for her and they seem to have a similar effect for her. The same doctor told me I didn't need them.

One of the first questions I would ask myself in finding a reputable surgeon is if the surgeon has a good reputation. (DUH!) If I found one who has a number of patients with serious complications, I would move on to another surgeon who did not have such a record. If he seems to have a larger than usual number of complications, I would run like hell. I would also ask myself why a surgeon would resort to loading a talk forum with claims about how good he was for one single patient (the purported author of the post), his cuteness, niceness, likability, etc. Wouldn't a reputable doctor not need that kind of advertising to build a good practice? Just wondering to myself, of course. But I don't see threads entitled "Dr. (fill in the blank) he is certified" or anything similar except about this one surgeon, whose posts keep reappearing and reappearing and reappearing like it's on a timetable where some employee is required to bring it up at set intervals.

I don't think there is any reason to avoid sugar with your band any more than anyone should avoid it. It causes your blood sugar levels to fluctuate and make you feel hungry, but I didn't worry too much about sugar intake immediately after surgery when I was on Clear liquids only. I wouldn't worry about using it until you have a chance to get back to the store and replace it. Not worth an emergency shopping trip.

Good to hear things seem to be moving along. I would advise you make a note of the dates you talked to them most recently, and follow up in a couple of weeks if you haven't heard anything further. Unfortunately, the squeaky wheel does get the grease in the insurance business!

I have a friend who runs a restaurant business. She slipped TWO bands lifting stuff in the restaurant too soon. She must be a real trouper, because she went back for a third time and seems to be doing well now.

My first was 1.7. From what I have heard, my surgeon's clinic usually gives 1.6 or 1.7 for the first fill. I am at 1.9 after a second fill, and doubt I will need any further ones before I reach my goal.

Yes, those are valid co-morbidities. I would call back BCBS and ask them more specifically what they need. Ask to speak to a supervisor or someone with more authority if you do not get an adequate reply. Ask them if they have requested the needed information from your doctor, and then ask them what your doctor's response has been. Get dates of their contacts with your doctor, and write down names and phone numbers of people you contact at BCBS. Believe me, it can be a pain, but if you show them you are thorough and not going to be put off, I bet they will come through. I have experience from a couple of sides with this stuff: first, I worked for the Social Security Administration processing claims for 25 years, and secondly, I have dealt with BCBS myself. Keep pushing, but keep it polite and calm, and I think you will see things moving along. Unfortunately, it is the nature of some people to give a glib answer and consider the problem solved if you go away and don't bother them anymore. Don't let that be a resolution for them.

Hi. I am in Birch Bay from the end of May through the middle of September. If you guys decide to get together, let me know!

My daughter lost about 100 lb in a year, without much in the way of exercise. I have had less to lose, but have lost 68 in 10 months (counting my pre op diet time) and ride my bike 5-10 miles a day for exercise. It is definitely doable.

Does your doctor do fluoroscopy with your fills? He should be able to tell if you have a slip if he does.

It hurts when something gets stuck. The actual pb itself is like a very mild vomiting for me. In fact, I can bring up the stuck food pretty much at will by bending over and pressing on my stomach. I try to avoid that, if possible, by going for a brisk walk, which often moves the stuck food along and relieves the problem.. I have never had anything stuck for more than a few minutes. My worst episode was when I was on a trip with relatives and ate something I should have known would give me problems. We were riding in a car and it was 30 minutes before I could do anything to relieve the stuck food.

Usually it is right after I have eaten something. Often, I haven't even finished eating (of course, maybe that's the problem!) Lots of times I can avoid a pb incident if I get out and walk a lot. That kind of shakes things down and loose.

You know, I was thinking about this "easy way" thing the other day. I was wondering if doctors came up with a surgical way to cure or alleviate alcoholism, would everyone tell alcoholics they shouldn't take the "easy way" out? I don't think so. In fact, I bet it would be instantly the acceptable way to cure alcoholism. For some reason, even the obese among us feel that obesity is merely a lack of willpower and a sign of self-indulgence. No matter how many studies come out about genetics or whatever, we still accept that the fatties among us just love to eat and can't say no to themselves. We ignore the fact that even if we say no to our cravings 100 times a day, the cravings will sneak up on us 101 times. I would just not discuss your banding with your friend anymore, and gently show her through your positive results that banding is a good way to deal with obesity.

Generally, I think it is a good investment in yourself. However, be sure that you have enough money for fills and aftercare, if you don't have insurance and the surgery does not include the fills. Be sure to research what your aftercare costs are going to be. If you can't afford the fills afterwards, there is little sense in getting the surgery, since the fills are what usually makes it work!