Wheetsin

Bulging could be anything from swelling to -- well, anything. If you feel you're in excessive pain and not recovering as you would expect, call surgeon first, post here fifth or sixth.

I have no idea what all those abbreviations mean, and if there are pics attached to your post I don't see them, but if you think you're preggo & can't get consistency on test results, just go to the doctor and have them do it. There was a lot of (happy) surprise around my pregnancy, and I was in a bit of disbelief -- the corcumstances around it. I ended up taking 9 tests over 3 days, all different brands. Not any from the dollar store though. They were all undoubtedly positive. If I had doubted it, I would have gone straight to the doctor. Which I ended up doing anyway, just as a formailty and to get a rec on an OB.

Appanretly my state is one the few where your health insurance provider is the primary provider, regardless of who is at fault. I had to go through way too much subrogation process to find that out. So in other words, even though he hit me, my insurance company pays for my bills, meaning I'm charged copays, out-of-network fees if applicable, etc. Then I submit my expenses to the at-fault driver's insurance and they reimburse what I paid out-of-pocket. My point being - it's an annoying concept, because I'm out the costs until I file with his insurance company, which I wouldn't do until my treatment is complete (which it isn't). From there, it's the whole idea of them telling me "our goal is to ensure you have no change or interruption in your life because of this." But I have paid out money I wouldn't have had to pay if their customer had not hit me, so that's not a true statement. Maybe in a year it will be true, but right now it is not. Right now I have ~8k of money "in limbo" -- that's reimbursable, but not yet, but that also is not in an account drawing the interest I'd otherwise be drawing. I happened to have the money on hand, but if I hadn't, I would have had to charge these expenses or seek some kind of loan for them, and I'm pretty damn sure the guy's insurance company wouldn't be paying my finance or origination costs, at least not voluntarily. So I was just wondering out loud how situations like that are handled. Really it's just the absurdity of the whole idea that no matter what, being the victim of an idiot costs you money in some way, shape or form. :thumbup: I know I don't have to settle, etc. It's just the concept of what insurance is supposed to do for you, versus the reality of this (and other) situations. It's so annoying. (Hence I'm venting)

There's the obvious difference in capacity there are also differences in inner diameters, balloon construction, etc. I'm not sure I've heard of a 5cc band, perhaps he said 4cc? (Then again I've not paid much attention to non-Allergan bands). 4cc and 10cc are the Inamed/Allergan old standards. Their new ones are 10cc and 14cc. In the pic below, 10cm = 4cc and VG = 10cc.

How long I wait depends on how the food feels. Sometimes it goes on through, so drinking isn't an issue. Sometimes I may have a few hours of pressure, in which case I don't drink until it's gone. I think if you drink too soon, you know it (I do, anyway). I think my surgeon's guidelines used to be to wait 2 hours, and now have been changed to 45-60 mins, so best advice is to follow whatever your surgeon's guidelines are.

Make sure your meds aren't enteric coated. You don't want to crush coated meds. I use the screw down type crusher. Sometimes it's a bit of work. I find it's suually easier to just use two spoons ("spoon" them with the pill between the two). As for getting stuff down, I've had to crush & take some nasty shite. Don't mix it into something that you then have to taste, or the entire something will taste like crap. What I do is fill l arge spoon partway with drinkable yogurt, addpowder, top with yogurt, and pretty much pour down the back of my throat. Any taste I get that way is short lived and insignificant.

At mine they did labwork, chest x-ray and EKG. I've heard of others needing different tests, I think this is a bare minimum. You'll have to ask your surgeon or admitting nurse whether or not you should reschedule.

This one is too easy.

My "second mother" growing up was from Australia and used to put that or Maramite on toast. I think I got used to it and liked it but now I don't remember.

Yeah that one was ironic to me. Here's an obese person who's not banded, telling us we need to do something to fix our problems. I like that ironic bit of sagery. Like you can "do something" about having a port that's hard to access. Perhaps the OP is a proponent of self-surgery?

Oh be careful with gum, if you go that route. One wrong swallow could land you in a world of trouble. I've done the fruit thing and the sauce thing, but more than anything I just go for a sip if I need it. (Would love to find a surgeon who could discuss the funnel theory with me and actually have it make some sense, because right now it's counterintuitive to my thoughts and -- physics, really).

Erosion is when the band erodes through the organ wall. It happens from the outside in, and I can't see for the life of me how drinking Water has anything to do with it. I think OP may have gotten some bad information or confused something with another. I personally have never seen a difference in the quanitity I eat when I drink or don't drink, but I can't drink much when I'm restricted or it's painville. And the funnel theory doesn't make logical sense to me. But that's just me. If I'm thirsty and can do it, I drink (sips only, too much sneaks up on you very quicly). However this was mostly in the first year - 18 months. Nowadays I find that I'm just not that thirsty during meals.

There are sometimes confusions between anesthesia, anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists. I'd definitely call and ask them why anesthesia is not covered. At least it's usually a reasonable amount compared to the hospital bill.

I had to fight to get the larger part of my anesthesia covered. Not because of a denial tho, in my case it was a billing fiasco. I have heard of people who have had certain parts of their procedures, including anesthesia, denied. It may be that the type of anesthesia goes beyond their definition of "reasonable and customary" (in which case you would pay the difference). It could also be that the anesthesiologist is not a networked provider. Because a facility is in noetwork doesn't mean all its employees are. Definitely follow-up with them for more information... find out EXACTLY what about it isn't covered.

I've never heard "drinking" and "erosion" in the same sentence before. I don't think any research has yet connected erosion rates with drinking Water during or after meals, either... and from where I sit that doesn't even make any sense. Most surgeons tell you NOT to eat within a certain amount of time before, during, or after meals because the theory is that the water "funnels" the food through the pouch, emptying it sooner and reducing the body's ability to register the "full" sensation from the food sitting in the pouch.

Hi Truckoholic. Remember that our bodies' abilit to store fat is not just a product of how much we eat, but also what we eat, our metabolism (given your age and profession, I'm guessing this one might hurt you), etc. There are two places I would recommend for getting started. The first one is to call your insurance company, see if they approve the procedure, and see what their requirements are. Once you know whether or not insurance coverage is possible, schedule an information seminar (more than one preferrably, so you can test the waters with different surgeons). This will give you base information on the band, the surgeon, practice, and most likely the preliminary paperwork you will need to fill out. But some practices won't get to the paperwork route until they know your carrier covers the procedure, or you're self-pay. Your preliminary info indicates that you qualify based on the generic requirements for carriers that cover: BMI 35+ with 2+ comorbidities or bmi 40+. From that generic baseline there are variations, and there are also carrier-specific requirements such as medically supervised weightloss attempts, physician referrals, medical histories, requisite testing such sleep studies and stress tests (will depend on your medical history). Best of luck. Men kick ass at this (and every other) type of weightloss effort.

A lot of ppl find that going after low-carb varieties of weak foods does nothing for them other than to perpetuate their cravings for weak foods. That's one reason a lot of ppl choose to avoid them. They're also very heavy on the artificial sweetners, which at least in the low-carb world are known stallers and even cause gastrointestinal distress in some people, esp. maltitol and sorbitol.

The pill worked for me while I could take it. I haven't been able to take it in 8 - 10 years probably. Most surgeons do recommend a minimum of one year, and several are now starting to go upwards of 2 - 3 years. The BCP works with a failure rate, just like any other BC. I will move this to a better forum for you since it's a question about BC rather than surgery.

It depends on your insurance. HMO v. PPO v. EPO v. etc. If you don't know whether referrals are required, call your insurance provider and ask.

Haha, I'll be the "Mom, is she fat or pregnant?" girl. Unless my baby's really damn high, like by my boobs, I'm not worried about my port.

Moved to RnR since that's really all OP was doing. Post away. Maybe we should request that our members only post the good things. Suerly that will give everyone an honest idea of what the depth of band experiences out there looks like.

A few thoughts. Maybe an aquarobics class. Most of the people in the class will be obese or geriatric, or a combination of the two, so who cares? :wink: My parents' neighborhood rents their pool out to bring extra money in to the Homeowner's Association -- $10 an hour. A reasonable rate for good exercise that's private. Any chance an endless pool is feasible? That would be a great investment, and they're deep enough to do some resistance work. I'd get one if we had the space. *sigh*

Many surgeons run their commercials on local channels. Allergan has a new commercial campaing too, replacing the previous "hunger lion" one. It may be getting more air time.

It took me like 6 - 8 months to get out of the 250s. I can't say for sure it was anything other than my behaviors, but I know that not much changed between then and when the weight started changing again. On Atkins I would sometimes stall for 6+ months, even though I remained in ketosis the entire time. ETA - those are scale reflections.

Hairloss is NOT a side-effect of the band, it's a side-effect of surgery, general body trauma, anesthesia, etc. It was as much a side-effect of having my gallbladder surgery in August as it was my band surgery 2 years ago. I've not heard of heartburn being a side-effect of the band under normal circumstances. I think most people find their heartburn subsides, but either way I don't have it so I don't know personally. Other side effects - there really aren't many. Change on behaviors, negative reinforcement when you do something stupid, weightloss, increased self-esteem....