Jean McMillan

And remember, you can't necessarily believe everything you see on the internet as God's truth. Maybe the You Tube braggers were torturing the truth. Or maybe they started out twice as heavy as you did, so naturally lost weight more quickly (at first, anyway). Comparing yourself to others is usually fruitless unless you can somehow use it for inspiration.

Oh, oh! I just had a great idea! Why don't you call your surgeon's office and tell them that your PCP is extremely concerned that you will lose too much weight during this strict pre-op liquid diet and that you undergoing surgery when you're underweight would be dangerous? Well, maybe not a great idea. A good idea. An idea worth considering? :-)

No, no surgery date yet. We have to make sure all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed, you know. I had to get cardiac clearance because of my age (I'm 58, and I'm proud to say I aced the treadmill stress test) and blood tests for TSH and H. Pylori (the 1st was normal and the 2nd was absent). My internist's office was supposed to fax it to my surgeon's office yesterday afternoon. I left a message for the patient advocate this morning and haven't had a reply yet. I'm going with the sleeve instead of another band because my surgeon thinks another band would be asking for trouble (not her exact words, but that's what it boils down to). I love my band and hate, hate, hate to see it go, but I'm just trying to make the best of the circumstances. God clearly wants me to learn some more lessons...

I truly believe some of these surgeons just want to torture you LOL! I think there's a grain or 2 of truth in that. I've been wondering if the surgeons are even aware of all of the rules their clinics impose on patients. My current surgeon's patient advocate (advocate isn't the exact word I'd use to describe her) told me that I have to follow all their pre-op procedures for my revision surgery despite the fact that I've already done all of this before. She said, "Listen, Jean, I know you wrote a book about it and everything, but this is the way we do things." Ah, yes, my very favorite reason for doing things: "we've always done it this way"! But, trying to give them the benefit of the doubt, I'm telling myself that since my original surgery was done by a different surgeon in another state (who also got his medical license yanked), my current surgeon's office has to assume that everything I learned the first time around is worthless, despite my evident success. I went to a mandatory nutrition class yesterday (which involved a 240 mile round trip, with gas at $4.09/gallon) and heard the dietitian say some things that just did not click with my understanding of things, but you'd be proud, I didn't make any smart-aleck or know-it-all remarks. Out loud, anyway.

It does seem strange that a nice, soft scrambled egg could cause problems, but that's happened to me. Also, your esophagus may have been inflamed from yesterday's episode with the egg and bread. As for losing "only" 30 lbs since your surgery...by my reckoning, that means you've lost an average of 1.5 lbs/week. Typical weight loss with the band is 1-2 lbs/week, so you're right on track!

Insurance approval will depend on the terms of your particular policy. Call the insurance company and ask for the weight loss surgery coverage terms for your own policy. Most surgeons have an insurance coordinator who helps patients determine what requirements each patient has to meet in order for their policy to cover pre-op tests & evaluation, the surgery, and fills or aftercare visits. For input about Dr. Enoch and his/her staff, you might get more responses if you post your question here: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forum/47-north-carolina-local-lap-band-support/

Some signs of a band that's too tight: > eating problems - getting stuck, regurgitating food (PB's), sliming > heartburn > night cough > reflux > sore throat (from the reflux) > chest pain (also need to screen for cardiac problems) > fullness or pain in the back of the throat > difficulty swallowing liquids If you're having eating problems and feel that your eating skills are good (take tiny bites, chew very well, eat slowly, etc.), you might need an unfill. In my experience, even a tiny unfill can make all the difference in your quality of life without compromising your restriction. If you suspect that your band is too tight, call your surgeon. The longer you ignore a problem, the harder it is to fix.

I don't have any more helpful suggestions, I just want to say, "For crying out loud!" I hate it when medical offices bungle important patient communications like that. I would be indignant too, but save expressing my thoughts about it until I calmed down. At this point it'd be counterproductive to alienate that surgeon & clinic. Good luck!

One of the reasons for the pre-op liver shrink diet is to improve the texture of the liver (not just the size) so that it's less slippery for your surgeon to handle, making the procedure safer for you. But I completely understand how tiresome it is to go through all of that stuff all over again. I'm facing something similar myself. I keep telling myself it's only 2 weeks, not 2 or 20 years!

Ah, stability! I long for it too. I grew up in a very unstable family situation, and in adulthood have faced the truth over and over again that being a control freak is very, very difficult. Unfortunately, living and succeeding with an adjustable gastric band requires a lot of fine-tuning of fill adjustments and eating skills. And so do a lot of other things in life. The #1 benefit of living with a fickle band has been that it's forced me to pay much closer attention to my body and all its signals about hunger and satiety. I think most people (obese or not) could benefit from awareness like that. My body used to be my enemy. Now it's my friend. Or frenemy, depending on the day...

I'm glad that article clicked for you. Marriage to anyone (or anything) is a big question mark no matter how much in love you are at the start. As time goes on, you discover things you never expected or dreamed of. Some of them are hard to take, and some of them are wonderful!

Was this pain in your stomach, or your abdomen? Your stomach is at the top of your abdomen, and your band is at the top of that, so any sensations related to your band would probably be felt in your chest, not your abdomen. And if your port is also near your chest, then the feeling in your abdomen probably has nothing to do with your band or your port.

I'm sure that was disconcerting, but freaking out won't help fix it. It's possible that you popped a suture, but since you're so recently banded, it could just be that the act of rolling over pulled a bit on your healing abdominal muscles. Was this weird sensation located anywhere near your port (the biggest incision)? The port is stitched into the abdominal fascia and it's very hard to avoid putting stress on that area when rolling over in bed. Even if you did pop a suture there, your port may still be accessible for fills, and you won't know that until you go to the doc for your first fill. For the sake of peace of mind, why don't you call your surgeon's office?

I think you should ask your nutritionist or surgeon about that. My pre-op diet was low, low sodium - no canned or processed foods, no cured meats (like ham or deli meats)or sausage. It's my understanding that a low sodium diet helps your body burn up the glycogen it has stored in the form of adipose (fat) tissue, much of which is located in the liver. That, and weight loss, helps improve the texture and size of your liver so that it's easier for your surgeon to maneuver during band placement.

My starting BMI was 39.5, but I want to tell you that recently the FDA approved the Lap-Band for patients with BMI's of 30+. Approval of surgery for you will depend on your particular insurance policy, so why don't you give them a call and find out what your weight loss surgery coverage is and what, if anything, you'll have to do to qualify. Some policies require the patient to do a 6-month medically supervised weight loss diet, for example. Good luck! Jean

Congrats on starting your journey to good health!

I don't know who or what Darlene Zebley is. If you're in Georgia, you can use the surgeon finder feature here on LBT (click on SURGEONS at the top of the page) to locate surgeons near you, then call their offices to find out if they're accepting patients whose surgery was done in Mexico.

Sounds like sloppy recordkeeping by your surgeon's office. I'm glad you insisted on persuing the cause of your eating problems. It's possible that emptying your band and giving your esophagus and stomach a week's rest could help relieve whatever has been causing the vomiting. Good luck, and keep us posted. Jean

Elcee, I was hoping for revision at the end of April, but my surgeon's so-called patient advocate is spectacularly unhelpful so I feel like for every step I take forward, she sends me 2 steps back. I'm not going to think about the post-op liquid diet until I absolutely must. It won't be fun, but it's certainly not as difficult as some other challenges I've faced in the past, and it's for a good cause. I agree with you 100% - there's nothing like an unfill to make you appreciate how much your band was doing for you and you may have been taking for granted! And I've really been enjoying eating raw veggies and fruits again.

Oh, I feel your pain! I've regained 10 lbs in 4 weeks since my complete unfill. I think you just have to do the best you can, and remind yourself that you lost 100%+ of your excess weight once and you can do it again once you have the tool to help you.

That must be a really bad slip. What was your surgeon's explanation for the 3 month wait? Does putting a new band in at the same time as your old one is removed pose too great a risk of another slip? If that's the case, the 3 month wait might be worth it even if you regain weight.

I think you're absolutely right about that, Tammy.

Jean who and why would anyone gloat about you having to revise?? Band-bashers like Formerlyfluffy seem to feel that karma is biting me in the butt.

Oh yes, plenty of gloating going on, making me wonder once again how some people can get so much pleasure out of other people's misfortune.

not sure what I was asking for I know, I know. You get to the point where you think, "I don't even know where to begin!" I'm so glad you like Bandwagon!