Wheetsin

The band doesn't erode. Erosion is when the band "erodes" through or into the organ. The search feature will bring up this information, as well as current stats. You may want to see what you can find using it. Here are two of the first hits: What is erosion? What is Erosion?

BTW. I don't put my stats in my signature, but I was 382 lbs the day of surgery. Today I'm about 228. My BMI has gone from almost 55 to just under 33. Medically I was medically "super morbidly obese." I'm still medically obese, but I'm close to just "overweight". An odd thing for someone who's never been there to Celebrate, but a huge celebration for me. And I've lost about 10 sizes. Trust me, if anyone out there was "labeled" to fail, it was me.

Here's where I was at before surgery: I'm pretty decided that I need some kind of help, outside the next diet, to keep the weight off. Most of the options seem pretty drastic to me, but this band thing -- I could deal with that. People seem to do well with it, and although loss rates seem maybe a little low, there's nothing guaranteeing I have to be a statistic. I've beaten the numbers before, why couldn't I do it now? But then again... If you're anything like me, I could lose the weight, but I could never keep it off. So I lived this constant cycle of failing. After you learn that you're a failure for so long, it's really really hard to believe that something could work. I mean, the last thing we want is to get our hopes up, only to have them crushed -- again -- right? So here's how I looked at it. It was still up to me to lose the weight. I had to do it this one last time. My band's job was to help me keep it off. Up until I was under anestehsia I was constantly analyzing my decision (I'm a "thinker"). And if I ever felt any doubt or uncertainy that I was doing the right thing (trust me, I had more moments of -- Maybe just one more diet is all it would take... -- than I can count), I just had to remind myself -- this is the LAST TIME I will have to lose the weight. I didn't know if insurance would cover me or not, but that wouldn't have stopped me. I was actually approved very quicky and very easily, without any real requirements. That was much easier than I had expected going in. Before I submitted my paperwork, I told DH about it and gained his agreement that if insurance wouldn't pay, this was something well worth writing a check for. Then I got a very happy surprise in the form of a 3 week approval and told DH to save the money and put it toward future plastics instead. :ohmy:

I don't think many of us hit our target fluids for a few days. Immediately post-op I was doing good to down a 16.9 oz bottle in a day, let alone much else on top of that. I'm wanting to think it was around day 5 or 6 that I could finish a bottle of water. If you're getting to the point of dehydration, call. IV fluids are better than dehydration.

People ask me all the time if I'm happy I did it, or if I regret anything. The best way I can answer them is that even when I'm at my worst, I would do it all over again without thinking twice. Due in part to talking to me about it, 4 of my family members are in the insurance process, 3 friends have already had the surgery, 4 spouse's friends have had the surgery, and 2 more friends are in the insurance. Plus various stages for about 6 people at work (although one of them changed her mind to bypass). I wouldn't recommend something that highly to people I care about if there was anything I regretted. Even if I have to lose my band someday, there will be no regret.

I hate trolls. BTW, IVs hurt like a bitch.

If you work for a large company, employer-enforced exlusions are pretty firm. If you work for a smaller company, and could "rally" enough others who would be interested, and petition the employer from the perspective that there are a lot of us and numbers matter, then maybe you'd be able to make some headway. But employers care about bottom lines and ROI so you'd need to be prepared to back up your request with numbers. However, since you are a contractor on part-time (annual) basis, I'm guessing you work for a mid-large employer. Do they offer other plans you could choose from, perhaps one that doesn't have an exclusion, and then switch over during open enrollment?

It's either in the water, spring fever, or 2 or 3 people sharing about 275 logins. I'm not sure which... but it makes me want to cry. Not really, but really.

Just some food for thought -- think twice before you cancel your in-force UHC coverage. I think you mentioned already being told this, but picking up a private pay policy can be hard to do when you're obese, have existing health issues, etc. When people can actually find a carrier, they often learn it's more expensive than they would have ever thought. More info in my 3rd paragraph. Answering whomever asked this (I don't remeber now) -- you can't really fight an employer-enforced exclusion because there's nothing to fight. They opted out of some options to save money, that's all it is on the business end. There's nothing there to fight because it's like asking for something from UHC that no one is paying for or agreed to purchase. Really the only thing you can do with an employer-enforced exclusion is ask the company to make the exception. BUT, they can't just make an exception for one person. With group coverage everything has to apply to everyone, except for MAYBE cases of extreme disability. MAYBE. And this wouldn't be one of them. Kimmie - you will probably have to start from scratch. This is because UHC doesn't sell "X insurance product" it sells many, many different products. My company has UHC as one of the insurance options, and I think we have 9 plans to choose from - and that's not even the tip of the iceberg. Sometimes they will sell package deals (like a gift bag that's already assembled), sometimes customers (you're not the customer, your employer is) can pick the individual items to make their own gift bags but that's increasingly rare because of the cost. On top of that, each plan can have completely different requirements for approval, testing, facilities, etc. So being approved with UHC "plan x" doesn't mean you will be approved with plan y, z, a, b, c, d, e.... nor does it mean approval requirements, coverage rates, copays, OOP maxes, etc. will be the same. I do understand what you're saying -- I hope this makes sense. :thumbup:

BTW, with a banded BMI near 50 you're in the upper percentile of BMI to get banded. I'm not sure why your surgeon would say that you're smaller, or even if you were a lower BMI (generally around 35 or less) what that would have to do with your fills... unless he's referring to organ fat pad. *shrug* Maybe that's his way of answering a question he can't otherwise answer.

Restriction can definitely be random by week, day, even time of day. Go slow with your fills, if you even need one right now. My first fill was only .5 cc and at the time it was all I needed. I've been too tight also, and had to seek an emergency unfill (caught during regular Dr. hours, but had to be done by someone who had never done a fill/unfill before). It's not a happy place.

I would say just give it time as long as you can get fluids down (Water consistency). If you cannot get fluids down, that's too tight. Often with fills I may have had pressure up or even slimed over thick liquids (e.g. prptein drink) for a day or two, only to feel fine afterwards. I am not super tight, IMO I'm just right, and I cannot do solids nor sometimes even water consistency liquids in the morning. The liquids never get stuck, but I know they're there. However, come evening it's a different story. So it may be a matter of two things -- letting the fill "take", and then learning and adapting to your personal pattern of restriction.

You know when enough is enough much better than any of us do. When it's enough, tell him about it. Nothing gets better if the problem isn't made common knowledge. You've done well, best of luck.

Answered this on your other thread.

Allergan has the "old" bands which held 4cc (2 options) and 10cc. Their new AP bands hold 10cc and 14cc. I've never heard of a Lap-Band brand band that held 12cc unless it was in reference to a VG (10cc band) that had been overfilled, which does happen. Saline can be lost of there is a leak, some surgeons may subtract some to compensate for what's in the tubing, and there's a theory of diffusion that I've not yet seen any documentation to support (it may be out there, I've just never seen it personally).

It pretty much doesn't happen that someone has 200 lbs to lose and ISN'T depressed, at least situationally. We also have "funks" and it sounds like you're in one. How far out is your surgery? I see about a month until your 2nd nutritionist appt, but how far out does surgery look like? If you need work as validation (MANY people do) then you could always get a temp job, or one you wouldn't mind walking away from, until your surgery comes up. If it's significantly far away, your benefits will likely have kicked in my surgery time and being out a week won't matter. If you won't work, find something to busy yourself with. Hobbies? Crafts? Volunteer work? It sounds like your husband is a good guy. He's "ok" with you not working (that says more than most husbands out there), it sounds like he's trying to be supportive, etc. Just really try to stop and think before you speak. Crabiness makes us snappy, and all that really does is give us more to apologize for later on, and cause lots of hurt feelings in the meantime. Maybe just sit him down ad tell him -- I'm sorry, I'm in this funk and I'm not sure why, I know I've been bitchy, please help me. You'll probably get good results.

Wheetsin's #1 solution to "I need some crunch": Buy turkey pepperoni, I use "Hormel" brand. Place it on paper towels on a paper plate and microwave it for about 3 minutes. You're looking for the grease to stop bubbling up and the overall color to darken, but NOT for the pepperonis to start to blacken. Just a darker red. At work this is about 2 mins, and at home it's about 3. mins, so you just need to pay attention until you get a feel for how much time it will take. As soon as the micro is off, remove and blot dry with additional paper towels. Between what's caught during cooking and what you remove by blotting, I'd guess 90% or more of the fat is removed. Let them cool to room temp, just takes a minute or so. They're now crunchier than most chips (because they're thicker), low fat, low cal, high Protein, high flavor. They pack well in a baggie for on-the-go. They go down easy. They make perfect scoops for: cream cheese (they're really good with the garden vegetable flavor), cottage cheese, tuna salad, etc. Another solution to crunch -- I've posted a how-to on this before and can't find it, so bear with me. It will be a bit sketchy. Buy some good quality parmesan cheese. Not the powdery kind like you put on pizza, but either a wedge or the long shreds you can get in a bag. Line a baking pan with wax or parchment paper. Preheat the oven to about 350, I think (been a while since I made this). Grate the cheese and form little piles of either 1 or 2 tbl - I do it by eye. Leave a few inches between piles. Put it in the oven and watch for it to melt and start to brown, them remove and let cool. When the cheese cools it will hold the flat shape and crunch and be kind of liek a cheese chip. I lived Atkins for a while, and I would make larger versions of these, then before they cooled completely I would lay them over a taco form and when the cheese cooled the rest of the way it would hold the taco shape and = tasty 0 carb taco shells. I saw that the small chips are actually for sale in some health food stores, REALLY expensive, like $4 for the size bag you'd buy to go in a kid's lunchbox. This is much cheaper. Have to take it easy with these b/c they are cheese, but parmesan is usually not as fattening as softer cheeses, and some of the fat bakes out. As for fills, for a long time I erred on the side of "looser over tighter" trusting my willpower to make up the difference. I'm glad I went this route. I know people who like to be so tight that they slime over a thick liquid, but that's not me.

In real life as with internet communication, I often speak in analogy -- without even realizing I'm doing it. Fine and dandy, until I remember that most people don't make connections through analogy, so to them -- all I'm doing is now talking about a traffic light instead of cooking... or some such shite. I realized how much I rely on expressions when my in-laws were here last/this month (they're not native English speakers) and had to constantly re-think how to get some point across. It's interesting, how little we notice it until something situational forces us to look a little more closely. (Green, I'm an f-bomber too, or "sailor mouth" as my mom calls it... but you have to take the good with the bad, no?)

I was just ready to be done eating, so mine had no pomp or circumstance. I think it was something stupid like BLTs and cottage cheese in front of the TV watching Jackie Chan's "Around the World in 80 Days" (DH picked it).

Time has been the best fader so far.

Cramping didn't concern me, it wasn't terrible... it was actually a lot more mild than menstrual cramping. Bleeding has stopped (nothing for 4 days now). OB appt on the 19th -- they did an ultrasound to follow-up on the subchorionic hemmorhage that had been noted at 3cm. The OB uiltrasound showed a heartbeat @ about 170, expected sizing, and no more sign of the hemmorhage. It was a big relief to hear the heartbeat. Today I go from "embryo" to "fetus" -- hehe. Weight on the 19th was down something like 10 - 15 lbs from weight when I had the doctor do the preggo test (start of the month). The OB wasn't too concerned about it, told me "you have plenty of reserves, the baby will still get what it needs." Thanks, I think??

Cute. I've lost an average-sized American female and an automobile tire. Or 4 legs and a chihuahua. Or 2 elephant penii and an elephant heart. Interesting.

If steak and lobster are part of your 7th week post-op diet, and you personally are able to tolerate them (assuming you'll have at least one fill by then), then go for it. Unless you'd rather wait until you have a better feel for what foods you do well with, a better feel for how your fill reacts to different foods, etc. -- in which case you can get steak & lobster any day, and don't have to do it "right now".

I don't think they're necessarily video-taped by default. The camera is more so the surgeon can see what's going on than for "souvenirs". I think it's surgeon's discretion. I never asked, I didn't care to see it. If you're curious, ask your surgeon. If they don't/won't tape it, ask why. All well within your rights as a patient.

Did someone tell them your cousin's coma was related to the band, or is it just something they pieced together, like maybe if she'd had pudding for dinner that could also be why? 30 lbs in 5 weeks, unless she was like underweight when she had her band, is nothing terrible. I lost over 30 in my first 1 week. Sorry to heara bout your loss, and sorry your family is reacting in such a knee-jerk reaction. It's easy to point your finger at "the only thing different," even if it has no connections to what's going on. Hopefully they will ease up on you a bit.