Laura_MD

I have never heard of the port being that close to the belly button. How odd. It seems like that would be a particularly sensitive spot for fills. Also, what if you decide to have a tummy tuck later, wouldn't that interfere? Hhhmmmm! Very interesting.

Check this! Barack My World T-shirt.pdf

"Obamacans" - Republicans who secretly back Obama The great news is that they get to go into the voting booth all by themselves and they can vote any way they please and no one need EVER know! Barack My World! :cursing:

I was very lucky, BC/CS accepted my Weight Watchers booklets as proof of my following the plan for 6 months and I only had to wait long enough to do all the pre-op evals and stuff! Definitely ask if what ever you have been doing counts and ask you regular doc when the last time you were there was. Most of us have co-morbidities that require monthly (at least) visits to the doc. If they weighed you (which they almost always do), then it may count! Ask questions, check records, there are lots of things that count toward your six months that you might not think would. Weight Watchers for instance is a little known exception because it is designed and managed by a team of physicians, it is considered medically supervised. I don't know about curves or any of the other programs but it is worth checking it our if you have been attending. Eigna, why are you getting cold feet? If you can share, maybe we can help. Laura

Please tell us about your favorite, newest, or most memorable non-scale victory! We have many little victories in the war on obesity and I think it is important to recognize as many of them as we can to sustain us when we get in a rut. That's where I am, stuck in a rut! I am trying to remember some of my NSVs to sustain me trough this, but it sure helps to hear from you guys too. Often times I can read them and go "Oh yeah, I can do that now too!". It really does help me and hopefully it will help others too. So let's hear them! :biggrin:

I am having my fill at John's Hopkins Bayview (Dr. Kimberly Steele). Where is Dr. Singh?

I only got 3 responses to the meeting poll. :cursing: Is there anyone else in the Maryland group (or surrounding area) interested in meeting for dinner in Baltimore? Secondly, my husband has to have some tests done on the 18th in Salisbury so I can not make it over there that day. However, I will be in Baltimore on the 19th & 21st for an upper GI and a fill (hopefully). Is anyone interested in meeting on the 19th or 21st? Thanks, Laura

I only got 3 responses to the meeting poll. :cursing: Is there anyone else in the Maryland group (or surrounding area) interested in meeting for dinner in Baltimore? Secondly, my husband has to have some tests done on the 18th in Salisbury so I can not make it over there that day. However, I will be in Baltimore on the 19th & 21st for an upper GI and a fill (hopefully). Is anyone interested in meeting on the 19th or 21st? Thanks, Laura

Thanks Susan!

Chrissi, Here is what I wrote previously regarding insurance coverage when you have complications with your band. Please read this and I really hope it helps. Drop me a PM if you need help or have any questions. I have been dealing with insurance policies and companies for a long time so I know a few tricks of the trade and I will be glad to help in any way I can. Laura Previous post: I have seen many posts on this site regarding "self-pays" worried about paying for subsequent surgery when they have a problem such as slippage. You should all be aware that even though the Lap-band surgery was elective and may not have been covered by your insurance, problems that arise later are very different! If you have a slippage for instance, that is potentially life threatening and MUST be corrected. That means it is required, not elective, surgery and your insurance must pay for it. Go to the mat with your insurance company, even call the insurance commissioner's office for help if you have to, write the appeal letters and ask your doctors' office to help you if need be, but make them cover it! Don't take no for an answer, and DO NOT put off proper care because you are worried about the cost. Besides, any doctor worth their Hippocratic Oath will do the surgery regardless of your coverage, if your health is at risk. Please take care of yourself first and the details later.

I just posted a poll to help organize a meet. Vote at http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f41/md-meeting-where-when-51700/

What part of Maryland is your friend moving to? :biggrin:

Hi Molly Brown, That's so funny to say that name after all these years because I went to school in Delaware with a Molly Brown who was named for her mother who was one of my teachers. Anyway, it would be great if some of your old friends found us here. What ever we can do to grow our group is great. I would love to get some activities going if we can, especially when it warms up.

While most docs will tell you that your records are their property, you are entitled under HIPPA to have your records transfered to any doctor you choose in a timely fashion. You can get the blood work sent directly from the lab to your bariatric doc. Also, have your band doc call your former primary personally and ask for the records (most of them know each other). If that doesn't work, call the hospital where they practice and ask for the patient advocate and explain the problem. They should be able to help since both docs are likely on staff at the same hospital and they don't want a stink. Speaking of stinks, if none of the above works, make a big stink. Call the state medical board and, if all else fails, call the media! If the local station has an investigative reporter, you will have your records in 60 minutes or less. Your health care is being held hostage by this irresponsible doc! Do not pay the ransom (repeating phone calls begging them to do their job and giving them the power). Call the (medical) police and get a professional negotiator on your side. Good luck!

BJean, I read your post inquiring about Obama (it will be nice for "O" to mean someone besides just Oprah won't it). I would like to espouse my opinion about how Obama is the only candidate that I feel can restore the grace and dignity to the presidency of the US, but I would really rather direct you to the sources I used to reach that conclusion and let you decide for yourself. Besides, the others did a very good job of eloquently saying most of what I would have said. Except this, those viral emails you referred to are, as you say, trash! Obama is NOT Muslim and he was NOT the one who was sworn in on the Koran (This claim confuses Obama with the first and only Muslim member of Congress, Democratic House member Keith Ellison of Minnesota. (You can see a picture of Obama being sworn in on his own personal Bible at FactCheck.org: Sliming Obama ). Just so you know, those emails came from staffers on the Clinton campaign who she fired when she "discovered" that they were responsible. Of course she new nothing about it, like she didn't know about the question from her friend that made her "cry" the night before the NH primary. And oh golly, it just happened again last night. HHHMMM! I smell a rat. I used to like her until she started doing this same political crap they have done for years. To check the facts on any candidate (national or local) go to FactCheck.org. It is a refreshingly honest and unbiased site operated by a student group at the University of Pennsylvania. They quote their sources and will snoop out answers to your questions if they don't already have them. To read Obama's plan and see where he stands on any issue go to his website: Welcome to Obama for America Lastly, if you like to read, check out Obama's book, The Audacity to Hope from the library next week. He is awe inspiring and he is a very funny, intelligent man who is an excellent writer. Just my 10 cents (adjusted for Bush's inflation rates). Good luck with your decision. Is your primary today? When?

One reason was to shut me up rather than discuss whether or not I needed a fill, another could be to string out the number of fill until you get to your "sweet spot", after all, they are paid by the fill. Lastly, just because he's a jerk who gets off on control!

It's not really that scary, you just have to be careful and follow the rules. And remember, sometimes you just need to burp, so let it out!

Tia, Yes it hurts like crazy to when you get something stuck and it can be very dangerous so break your pills in half and cut your food up really small. You should know that you can get pain though even without having anything stuck. Lots of people think that if they have pain, they have food stuck but that is not always the case. I experienced the same thing from time to time and I can tell you what has caused mine and what has helped in the past. For me, it was sometimes that something got stuck (I took a pill that was too large, or ate sushi rice, or the doughy part of bread), but usually it was just that I really needed to burp. You see, I have made the discovery that for me, there are very few foods that actually get stuck or that I cannot eat. The problem usually occurs when I let myself get too hungry and my stomach gets filled with a lot of air. Then, when I eat, as the food tries to pass through the band the air is being displaced by the food, but it has nowhere to go because the food is blocking its escape at the band site. This is much like the air bubbles you get when you try to sink an empty glass or bottle into Water. Until that bubble breaks and the air escapes, the water (or food in this case) cannot get in. When this happens, the pressure builds up in your esophagus and presses on your diaphragm and causes the pain in the shoulder. This will sometimes happen, even with my Protein shakes, so it is not that my food pieces are too large or the wrong consistency, it is just the mechanics of the band and our stomachs. My solution has usually been to ask my husband to burp me. Yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, but I know now why babies cry if you don't burp them properly, it hurts! Sometimes I can make myself burp if it is not too bad, but I have never been very good at that, so I usually ask for his discreet help. I doesn't usually take too much, just a few well placed pats on the back and it dislodges the food or pops the air pocket and I burp like a sailor and go on eating as before. I hope this helps you some, but do follow up with your doctor if it continues. I have read many stories of people waiting it out and making the problem much worse than it needed to be. And if you have a true blockage (say from a pill or something) that is nothing to mess around with.

Where in Maryland are the rest of you from? Where are you planning to meet? Do you mind if newbies join in?

Is this Lee F. banded at DBC? It's Laura M! Glad to see you here!

Hi Debby, welcome to the Maryland bandsters' thread. Hopefully, by word of mouth or otherwise, we can get some more people in here. I live in Salisbury on the Eastern Shore. Good to have you here.

I'm with you Kristen. If it weren't for the non-scale victories, I wouldn't know that I had lost an once. I never really saw myself as being that big (even at 277lbs) except in pictures, so I guess it is only fitting that I can't really see the loss. It kinda worries me though, I have lost 102 lbs now, how much will I lose before I can see it? Will I be satisfied when I reach my goal? I hope so. By the way, there is a thread in this forum for non-scale victories and it would be great if some of you shared your stories there too. They are inspirational!

Aubrie, You surgeon can require you to attend support group meetings but you can also require him to provide one if that is the case. What you endured was psychological abuse, not support! Have you had your psychological exam yet? Ask the psychologist how healthy he/she thinks that environment is for you. Can we place bets on the answer? Also, your doc probably has or is seeking the endorsement of the Centers for Excellence. Visit their website and contact them if you do not get anywhere with your doc because they specifically require a LAP-BAND support group to give their certification if I am not mistaken. You can also ask you doctor if he will consider this as participating in a support group until he can get one going just for bandsters. Good luck!

Wow Bozlee, that is great progress! And I love your quote about missing your mind, I use that all the time too. Unfortunately, its true. :-} I am glad to hear that you are feeling better. Remember, you have lots of support on this site and there is almost always someone here to listen. Laura

That, FLMan is really terrific! As are our children, I am sure she is a big part of the reason that you are doing this too. Just think of what size you will be by the time you attend her high school and college graduations, better ye, when you walk her down the isle! It is a long journey back down but we can all do it together. Great job with the belt too Jack! Maybe the next step will be a NEW belt. ShalomToAll, I think you will find that the energy continues to increase as long as you eat the right foods. The band controls the QUANTITY, but it is up to us to control the QUALITY.