Wheetsin

Oh I should add - my numbers don't reflect the plan's negotiated rates. They're way lower. Here's a piece pasted that shows "submitted" vs. "actual" payout.

Sounds like restriction to me, and sounds like we're in just about the same spot. I had my 2nd fill on the 28th. I didn't feel too much before that, but I could feel applesauce & bananas (no idea why those 2 things only) "hanging out" or something. Anyway, I've had 2 PBs since my 2nd fill and I'm 99% sure it's due to getting too secure with my eating habits after not having any problems after my 1st fill. I think both times I either didn't chew well enough, or swallowed too much at once (I'm fairly sure swallowing too much at once brought on my most recent PB). I spent all that time re-training myself how to eat, then I think I got a little too "safe" with what I could do & how, and I think now I just need to re-learn, again. I don't feel like I have any phsyical limitation to how much I can eat. I usually make myself stop after a healthy amount, but in terms of a mechanical device making me stop - definitely don't feel like I'm there yet. I certainly CAN eat more than I do, I just don't feel the need to -- the hunger goes away. But on the rare occasion that my hunger doesn't go away, I've had no problems eating more than a bandster portion (in which is case I'm still eating much much less than I'd eat pre-op). What I DO feel is the food "catching" sometimes. I think it happens when the food gathers in the pouch before going on down. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't, and it doesn't correlate with any particular foods that I can feel. This "feeling" kind of feels like belly cramps, on either side of my bellybutton. I'm not sure why it hurts there. 99% of the time it goes away in a few minutes, gradually lightening up, followed by LOTS of throaty gurling and maybe some hiccups, and I can resume eating my meal like normal and won't have any more problems at all. When I've PBed since my 2nd fill it has started off with this feeling, but quickly progressed to my "PB Pain" -- which for me is centered in my spine between my shoulderblades (which is also where I feel brain freeze) and in my waist, right where I might put my hands if I was standing in an impatient pose. That's why I think the "1st stage" pain is the food accumulating in the pouch -- because it makes sense that the food can either get through or not, and when it does I gurgle and when it doesn't I PB it back up. At the same time I HOPE it's not just the food accumuilating in the pouch, because that's what is supposed to happen, and I don't really like the tought of getting "the right level" of restriction and feeling this every time I eat. Who knows, and the challenges of describing these foreign feelings to others certainly doesn't help get a lot of input on what's going on. :second:

Here's a pasting directly from my insurance company's online claims center, with visits to my PCP removed. I have no clue what the $4000 is for, it has just shown up recently. Need to call my carrier and ask, because the 29k would have covered everything, I'd think... and I don't even know who "P KRAMER" is... "R SABAPATHY" was the psychologist in the bariatric program, "S HOEHN" was my surgeon and SHAWNEE MISSION was the hospital I had my surgery at. I'm also not sure why the 19k shows twice, I assume it's a mistake... Grand total charged so far: $35518.73 Out of pocket so far: $20.00

Duddies have you tried the LB Cacique bras? Just wondering b/c I *love* those (I DO buy the padded ones, with the removable air-filled "chicken tender" for the cleavage tops), but if this is better I'll check it out.

I spent all of last week in FL at a work conference, and since my team is virtual (spread across 6 states) I only see about 80% of them at events like this, where everyone is brought to the same location. The people on my team that I've seen in the last 4 or 5 months know I had lap-band, but I never made an announcement to everyone. "I don't mind talking about it at all, but not going to throw it in people's faces" kind of thing. Anyway, I went to dinner Monday with a group that had no idea I'd had the surgery (and didn't appear to have any idea I'd lost weight, either!) We're looking at the menu, and I'm so used to eating business lunches with people who know, and so used to talking about what it's like, what I can/can't eat (that's the first thing people want to know) that I said out loud "Hmm, I wonder if I could eat that..." One of the girls asked me what I meant so I told her about my surgery. She of course asked me if I could tell a difference, and I told her how much weight I had lost, and she replied: "Wow, I had no idea you were that heavy!" Now, wait a minute... what the heck!? What did that mean? 1. You've lost a good chunk of weight, but you still look so fat... I had no idea you were so fat that you could lose that much but still be so big. 2. You looked so good, trim and svelte that I'd have guessed you had maybe 30 or 40 pounds to lose, I had no idea you were so overweight. The lady who said that is very nice, so I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it, but wowzer, what a "compliment". :biggrin1:

Hmm... I had no change in tightness on the actual flights. I could eat and drink with 0 problems. Once there I seemed a little tighter than usual in the early part of the day, and once back have had two PBs, which is very unusual for me. More evidence that it's probably just my fill kicking in (but the whole idea of a fill having to "kick in" doesn't make any more sense than a flight making you tighter)

Don't max out the Immodium, it won't do much good. You have diarrhea because your body can't make solids out of Water. Immodium (Loperamide) has a slight paralysis effect on your intestinal muscles... it doesn't treat the cause of the diarrhea, it just stops your body from being able to get rid of it. When your diarrhea is temporary the other waste products mesh up and the liquids can be absorbed, or -- well -- at least stored up until no amount of Immodium can keep back the flood. Overdoing the Loperamide can cause constipation when things return to normal, which should begin once you start ingesting things with some substance and nutrients.

Just read a response of yours that I had missed previously. One thing I'd note: This statement is perhaps a little unfair to your daughter. It's kind of like saying, "If she'd slap someone, why wouldn't she also kill someone?" With something like pot, and something like crack, you're comparing apples to oranges. They're both illegal, and they're both classified as drugs. They're also night and day. Pot can be a gateway, so can alcohol and a host of other "baddies", but in MOST cases it's all the farther people go, especially in people who can be considered mentally healthy. Gen X- and Y-ers see pot as the "safe" drug - the one that can't hurt you, and it's the "cool" drug -- relatively cheap, easy to get, you're probably not going to overdose on it, its effects don't last hours, etc. They see alcohol in a similar way. I'm not trying to defend pot, or other drug use - not at all. I have no reason to, I never smoked pot. I was a clean kid, have never even been drunk, but I think every single friend of mine except 1 that I can think of did smoke it and/or drink. Around her age I had a very large group of friends, so we're talking 40 - 50 people that I saw regularly, at least 98% of whom smoked pot, and 0% of whom never did any other drugs.

Seems like maybe you're jumping to the conclusion that she's on drugs or that this is caused by something negative? Lots o' things can lead to weightloss, including diet changes & exercise. She looks to me like most kids look nowadays, it's the "style" to be thin. She does not look unhealthy thin, gaunt, withdrawn, or anything else that would maybe tip me off to a disorder or dangerous condition. My first reaction is, "She just wanted to be thinner." You said: So they HAD to move, and there was financial strain as a result of it. Maybe she was stressed and not eating? If they're having to save, maybe she opted to pay rent rather than eat? (That's not a disorder, it's something people in economic hardship do every day). I didn't see when she moved out, just that the change was between then and when she moved back in in March. When did she move out? Don't look to weightloss as a major sole indicator of drug use. How is her behavior? How is her mental state? How is she doing in school, assuming she's in college? If not in school, how is she before work? After? How is her presence? How is her affect? What are her friends/SO like? Has she done anything to cause distrust in your relationship? Can you believe her when she tells you she is not taking drugs?

Are you serious? Are you referring to length or diameter? A knitting needle will cause a significant puncture. Our ports are designed to self-heal after small punctures, but a knitting needle is huge in comparison to the surface of the port. That would worry me. I did my last fill without lidocaine and it was much better. Normally lidocaine isn't an issue for me, but it took a long time (I'm going to guess 15 - 20 seconds) before the "bee sting" went away, and I could feel it getting deeper & deeper in me. No thanks! Asked him to skip the lidocaine last time and for one, the physical pain was less than bee sting, and for two, he dropped it right in the port and was done with it, whereas with the lidocaine they have to advance so slowly... So yeppers, found what works for me, and I'm a happy camper.

During laparoscopic surgery the surgeon inflates your abdomen with carbon dioxide. If you've ever seen it done, it's kind of freaky - your abdomen gets all distended. The gas pressure pushes the "skin" up off the organs so the surgeons can move around and see what they're doing. It's the laparoscopic version of retractors. Anyway, the surgical gas is not inside your organs, it is outside, between the organs and the skin in the "space" in your body. It can apply pressure on the organ from the outside, but cannot apply pressure from the inside. When you ingest carbon dioxide, it is in the organ itself, and can apply from the inside but not the outside. In other words, having your abdomen blown up like a balloon during surgery isn't going to stretch your organ, but having your puch blown up from the inside can. Hope that makes sense. :success1: I was burping in recovery. I never had an ounce of pain related to the gas. There was some residual gas in me, because they put flat "stickers" over my staples, and by the time I got home some of those stickers had bubbled up around the staples... that was a little freaky. I've noticed that now when I burp, it feels like it's coming from deeper inside, it comes out slowly & lasts forever, like it's trickling out whereas pre-op it would come charging out. :scales:

My surgeon uses the VG and the 10cm. I asked him during my consultation which I would get and he said he thought the VG, but it would depend on what he saw once he got in. Come to find out I actually got the 10cm. I thought that was bittersweet. Here are my reasons (these are just my peronal reasoning/opinions, not anything backed by medical evidence). I wanted the VG because I liked the large "pillows". My logic tells me that the VG would have less likelihood of erosion. My rationale is like this: take two hotdogs. Tie a string around one, and a piece of ribbon around the other. Then tighten the string and the ribbon the same amount. Because the ribbon has more surface area, it may "dent" the hotdog, but the string is always going to "cut" the hotdog first because it has less surface area. Tie a string and a ribbon around different hotdogs and starting blowing the hotdogs up. Again, the string is going to cut first. Granted our organs aren't hotdogs, but for analogy's sake... This reasoning tells me that the VG band & its "pillow" construction should have either fewer cases of erosion, or longer duration in place prior to the onset of erosion. Again -- that's just my reasoning something out, it means nothing in the real world. I did NOT like the VG for the same reason - the "pillows". When I watched one get filled, I noticed there were crevices/pinches between the pillows, and as much as I thought the larger surfaec area would help ward off erosion, I also felt these crevices could be an area for potential problems, esp. depending on the natural thickness of someone's organ. I did not want the VG band because higher capacity = longer to fill. I've since learned that my surgeon is pretty agressive with his fills, and the first VG fill is typically 4 - 5 cc with a full cc on follow-ups, as appropriate, and less as you start to feel restriction. I guess in hindsight, this shouldn't have been as much of a concern as it was. I hear it said a lot on messageboards that the 4cc bands can be adjusted any more accurately than larger capacities, but I personally don't believe it. 4cc is 4cc... and once the VG is filled to 6cc it has the same 4cc of play as a smaller band. Adding 6.5cc to a larger band or .5 cc to a smaller one still gives you 3.5cc of room to play with. If I'd had my druthers I probably would have picked the VG band, but I did not. I trusted my surgeon with my life, so I'll certainly trust him to know which band is best for me. :success1:

We'll see if I'm a long-term success, I'm only 2.5 months out, but I'm down 65 lbs (according to wacky home scale), from 382 to 317. (Ok, editing after I typed all that... this ended up as more of a NSV list, but I intend for it to show my "successes") I've gone from a VERY tight 32/34 in jeans to a comfortable 26. I was to the point that only some of my 30/32 shirts still fit, and when I went shopping last weekend several of the 22/24 shirts fit just fine. When I see myself in the mirror, I no longer think that I have the profile of a rubber duck. My "floatie" back fat roll (nice visual! I call it that because it goes right where a floatation device would go) pre-op would touch in the back... in other words the roll started on the sides and went all the way around and no matter how tall I tried to stand, the sides always came together at the small of my back. Now when I stand, there's a good 7 - 8 inches of just plain old back! Without pushing my shoulders forward I can see/feel my collarbones. Pre-op no matter how far I pushed my shoulders forward I couldn't find the pesky things. I have two pair of 28 pants that I had to retire in Dec. They had gotten so tight that I was afraid sitting in them would rip the seams out, literally, and the last couple of times I squeezed into them I couldn't close the button, and only half the zipper, b/c it was so uncomfortable. I put those same pants on today, fresh out of the dryer (I would normally never dryer my clothes, they might shrink!), hooked the wasitband with my finger, and pulled it out a good 5" before the material started getting taut. If my hips weren't so darned big still, they'd be falling off. I lost a lot of weight on Atkins 2 years ago and bought a TON of new clothes. Of course, most of that weight came back on pre-banding. I'm now wearing most of those clothes again. Some are still snug, but I know that in the next 20 or so lbs they will fit just fine. Because of the point above, I've been able to take on the "turned back time" mentality. When I lost the weight two years ago, I had turned the clock back about 6 years. Then I pushed it forward about 5.5 years, and now I've turned it back another 2.

I went home the same day. Surgery started late into 11, I went home around 2.

Oh man. Reese's are the only candy that I really like, and they're my favorite. I haven't had one since banding. I do have a surrogate, FWIW. I add a tbl of low-fat PB to my Protein shakes. In chocolate powder it tastes Peanut Butter cup-ish, not spot on but really good. In vanilla powder it tastes like the white chocolate cups, IMO. Next time I make a shale I'm going to try the SF PB DaVinci syrup. Mmm... can't wait... (Ok, speaking of peanut butter & chocolate addictions, I don't really like ice cream that much, but BR has the BEST flavor, Peanut Butter Chocolate... mmmmmmmmm...)

I flew out on the 7th and in on the 12th. My only PB before flying was something I accidentally drank that was not supposed to be in my cup. I PBed on Saturday (not sure what on) and again tonight on a baked chip. I've never had a prob w/ the baked chips before. I figure one of two things: 1. My fill I had on the 28th is just now "kicking in", and I need to, again, re-learn how to eat right or 2. Flying had something to do with it, in which case I think I'd be over it by now.

If you ever need to stay in the Tampa area, I can recommend the Tampa Bay Grand Hyatt. Normally I stay more inland, so I had never stayed there before, and since I travel so much I'm a tough hotel critic, but this place was wonderful. Flamingos strutting around by the pool, a boardwalk covered with small sea crabs, lizards on the promenade... loved loved loved it. Anyway... the day before I left my last fill really kicked in. My last feel was just about a week prior to leaving. Ever since getting it I'd been having a twinge of "first bite syndrome" every now and then, but really starting the day before I left Breakfast was pretty much out except for a handful of bites before the pain would kick in, and lunch was a toss up, sometimes yes and sometimes no. I could normally get a few bites down, but way before my tiny amount of food was gone, the pain would kick in and I'd give up. Pain is lasting longer now, too -- used to just be a min or so, now I'm about 5 mins before it feels back to normal. dinner was usually fine and I could eat anything, even bread, and pretty large quantities (in bandster terms, not pre-banding terms). Yesterday afternoon I PBed at lunch (didn't eat breakfast), after 2 bites. Started with the usual pain, but as it kept getting worse and the minutes kept ticking by... and I started getting the "tell tale" pain in my back, I knew it wasn't going to subside. First "real" PB since surgery (I had one other, but it was an accident and I know what caused it... long story). This time I have no idea what made me PB. I had to leave the restaurant (bathroom was occupied) so I walked in front of my husband's truck and after several minutes of agony I PBed on the curb/grass. It took two heaves at different times to get back to normal. Afterwards I peeked but didn't see anything other than saliva, so I'm not sure what I PBed, maybe something that made it into the grass. I definitely seem to have my "wide open" moments, because sometimes my will power is all that keeps me from finishing my plate... there's nothing about the band that prevents me from eating normal portions. And other times the pain kicks in after 1 bite (I don't normally PB though, it usually goes away on its own, followed by a lot of gurgling). Guess my band is showing me who's boss.

Call your ins co and ask. Some require it prior to pre-approval. I think most do, actually, since the psychologist can give a big thumbs-down and remove your candidacy. Or at least could in my program.

There's a big difference in your shoulders, and your belly isn't hanging over your bottoms like it is in the middle picture. Also look at the angle of your arms. In the befores, they're much more like / and in the after much closer to | |. Looks like you've lost your double chin, and there's more distance between your calves now. Great job! Is your avatar you? Just curious 'cause you blurred out your pics, but if your avatar is you we know what you look like anyway.

With most diets, and this probably isn't much exception, you will see an initial weightloss (glycogen stores, etc. - I have a previous post with more detail on what's happening) and then a plateau while your body "levels out" and adjusts to the changes. I lost 25ish lbs my first week, then 8 more, then 6... then just lost & regained 3 more pounds for the next 5 weeks, then another 5 lbs... then nothing... I've *just* started losing steadily again -- about 12 lbs in the last 2 weeks. It's just a "thing", really, and nothing to get worried about. The weight WILL come off as long as you're doing your part, but not until your body gets into the groove. On another note ------------------------------------------------------- Eating just Protein isn't safe. You can actually get a type of "poisoning" from eating just Proteins (which is why survival experts always preach that if you're going to hunt animals to survive, you have to eat the organs/bones/etc. and not just the muscle). Ketones can build up in your body and if they build up enough you will become... well... I've seen it compared to diabetics who do not take insulin, with the same dangers. I'm surprised ANY doctor would say "protein only" since there have been deaths documented in medical literature, caused by high protein-only diets (I've read them! - given to me by 3 different personal friends who are doctors when I was all gung-ho on Atkins) Here are some add'l potential side-effects of protein-only diets:

I travel frequently, not really car travel but business travel so the cooler isn't much of an option. Fast food: Chipotle - chicken bol w/ a few black Beans, green chile salsa, pinch of cheese & sour cream. Will eat just a few chips & guac if DH orders them. Quizno's - Salads. I'm usually full by the time I eat the meat off (I get the <something> Chicken one... Romano Chicken... something like that). Subway - salad or have them put all the sandwich innards on a plate. They have good tuna. Taco Bell - Nachos or a spicy chicken taco that I'll eat the insides of with an order of pintos & cheese w/ extra red sauce. "OK" (quality of food) sit in: Cracker Barrel - Grilled chicken tenderloins with mashed potatoes or applesauce. Applebee's - (not my fav restaurant but these two dishes are good and do well with my band) Chipotle lime tilapia or Asiago garlic chicken. 54th Street - The salad that has the lime dressing, can't remember the name of it. O'Charley's - cup of Soup and "Chicken O'Tenders" (I eat two, rest go to hotel if it has a fridge/microwave, otherwise goes to the others at my table). Good (yum!) sit in: PF Chang's - Kung Pao or Chang's Spicy chicken. Or I just get the lettuce wrap appetizer, which is more than I can eat and very yummy. Baja 600 or Jose Pepper's - "Pollo magnifico". It's the same item in both places but has a different name. Uno's - Clam chowder Carlos O'Kelly's - Prarie fire chicken & enchillada. Eat the chicken breast, few bites of the enchillada innards & I'm good to go. Panera - Roast beef & asiago sandwich. I can eat the outside of the bread, the meat & cheese w/ no problem... haven't tried the soft inside bread. I'll eat about 1/4 and take the rest or give it to someone else with me. Cheesecake Factory - I've had several on-the-go meals here and haven't had any problems with them. As a rule I stay away from hamburger & pork. If I can pack a snack, say for a long flight, I'll usually go with: Turkey pepperoni microwaved 'til crunchy Starkist on the go packs, minus the relish Applesauce cup banana (don't always do these well, but either way about 1/5 will fill me up) Soy crackers

Not at all Pnut. I had the same dilemma too, but got some good advice from someone else here who shared my surgeon. I kept thinking and telling myself - "I'd rather be a little 'loose' and let my willpower close the gap, than be tight and PB." My willpower is still holding out, just as it has before, but eventually it cracks and I don't expect that to be any different. The band is there to back me up when this happens, and if I don't have fill in it, it isn't doing me much good. About a month after surgery I started thinking, "Maybe just knowing it's there will be enough to keep me on the right track..." but as soon as I was able to start eating more, I did. My routine now is -- if I eat before afternoon, I almost always have some discomfort, temporarily. I wouldn't call it a golfball, but it's probably my version of it (I seem to feel things differently than most, e.g. when something is stuck, it hurts in my back and waist, not in my chest). It's not enough to keep me from doiung whatever I'm doing, but it really makes me drop my fork in a hurry and pretty much lose whatever appetite I came to the table with. Normally I feel it more in my belly, kind of on either side of my bellybutton which makes NO sense, unless it's ... forgetting the term, but basically you feel the pain in one place but it originates from another, and I feel it in my belly even though it originates by the band. Anyway, there's a weird "gas trying to rise up" feeling when I get this... I don't burp, but I can feel something going on... then I'll start getting gurgly which I think is the food actually passing. I'll stay gurgly for a while after it's done. I can then resume eating comfortably, but normally the experience has taken my appetite away so I don't. If I eat later in the day I am usually fine the entire time and don't have the extra tightness. It's also not really a first bite thing. Yesterday I ate 8 bites just fine, then about a minute after my 9th bite it struck. Also when I PBed this weekend, my first bite was all meat, and I didn't PB any meat up, so my band seems to "clamp down" randomly. Since I'm not PBing frequently I don't think I'm too tight at all, but since I do get this feeling I don't think I'm "wide open" either (2cc in a 4cc band). Maybe this is my sweet spot? I'm guessing this weekend, maybe something made its way down my throat that I hadn't chewed well. I have noticed that sometimes while I'm chewing something will make its way back there before I'm really ready for it to. It has never bothered me before, but maybe it was just the wrong thing this time. When I went in for my last fill I told my surgeon that I really wasn't feeling much restriction. He put in another cc and told me, "There, you should feel that!" He was right, and now I understand the "fickle" nature of the band I'd heard so much about.

Woo! My plateau seems to be over! I'm not quite putting faith in it yet, because the past has taught me that every time I think "maybe I'll be able to lose a little more consistently" is right about when I hit another plateau, but my fingers are crossed! According to home scale, which I used about two weeks ago and didn't use again until this morning, I've lost about 12 more lbs and am now in the 300-teens. Who knows if that number is reliable, but I like it! You know what that means? Less than 20 to go until I'm in Twoterville! (also means that according to home scale I've lost about 65 lbs!)

My program's recommendation is 2 - 4 oz per meal, but that material is joint with bypass patients and I think is more geared toward them. I generally eat about a cup, sometimes more sometimes less. Right now I don't think my restriction physically keeps me from eating more, but I am no longer hungry after eating that amount. I have had two fills, one was because that's when I was scheduled for and felt I needed it, and another because I found myself able to eat "normal" portions before feeling that I was no longer hungry.

I don't think is related to the band, but I do think it's related to either low-carb eating habits, or maybe just a change in eating habits, or maybe just general weightloss. This has happened to me once before, about 4 months into my Atkins experience. Never happened before, or since, until now. Anyway... My nails, where the white meets the pink, will start to look sort of transparent in a thin band, following the contour of the nail. Does this for a few days. Then the transparent area starts to turn a reddish purple, but not everywhere, just in spots - sometimes big spots, sometimes little spots, sometimes tiny spots... but all spots follow the ridges in my nail, it's just a matter of how deep into the pink area they go. After the spots have been there a few days, the area will start to have a weird discharge from under the nail. It DOES NOT have any odor or color, and when it dries it just looks like a shiny area, almost like there's dried superglue there. It's thicker than Water because if you push down with your finger, pushing the nail against the skin, it will "stick" for a bit before pulling free... tacky, kind of like glue. The best example I can think of is that it's almost like serum (the clear Fluid that is in blisters). There's no pain/discomfort. From what I remember (last happened about 2 years ago) it will stat sticky/wet for maybe a week, then it will be better, and the white of my nail will be lower down on the bed than it used to, like the pink area where the weird stuff formed becomes detached... but eventually it goes back to normal. I went to my doc last time this happened and she wasn't sure what it was. She ruled out infection, under-nail fungus, and all other things usually associated with weird nail things. She finally ruled it as, "irritation" and told me to come back if it didn't clear up. It did, so I didn't. I assumed it was a one-time fluke kind of thing until now. Last time it started with my left ring finger, and this time it's starting in the same place. Last time it ended up hitting both ring fingers, both little fingers, and right hand index finger. So far I only see "signs" of it on my left ring finger and left little finger. BTW, I don't wear fake nails or anything else known to cause problems. I do get manicures, but I don't have them polish, just buff & oil. Nothing has happened out of the oridinary, I've been doing the same things for years and have only had this happen the two times that I've changed dietary habits. Anyone else or am I all by my lonesome?