kefirchick

"I'm Kosher but not shomer, and am probably considered "conservadox" by most people." "Conservadox" I love it! I think my husband is that. Me, I am more like "reformadox." Grew up reform, and now exploring orthodox. So much to learn!

Hi- Thanks for your answer. I am self pay too. I am not having problems, so I really don't want to rock the boat by having a tube stuck down my kishkes, and chance having to get unfilled, refilled, or whatever. I am at my sweet spot, and I want to stay there. As for reflux, I had frequent bad heartburn before being banded, at which time I started taking Nexium. I am still on it. I do have occasional heartburn, especially if my bra is too tight, and my posture is slouchy for one reason or another. Unfortunately, I need to wear a bra in public to keep my girls above my waist ha ha. FIrst thing I do when I get home is remove the double barrelled slingshot, and change into comfy clothes. I also have fewer problems with eating if my bra is loose, or is off entirely. I have had a few PB's, and they are usually when I have left my bra on and am eating dinner under time stress. The combination is is deadly. I also sleep on a wedge shaped pillow, so I have not had any problems at night, when a lot of people get reflux. If heartburn or reflux is new for you, then I would speak to your surgeon. They will probably do endoscopy, but then, there is a reason to look. What would concern me would be a change. If I developed new symptoms, such as new pain, or new onset reflux etc, I would definitely let the doc know.

"I would then talk to my primary care doctor to order the test in a facility my insurance would cover making sure my primary care doctor shared the results with my LAP-BAND^® doctor." Hmm. Good advice. I don't have a primary care doc, but I do know a gastroenterologist not affiliated with True Results who may be in my insurance network. I will pick her brain and see what she thinks.

Hi Sue Baby: I just got a letter recommending that I come in for one too! I am a little (actually, a lot) suspicious about being requested to have this procedure since I am not having any problems. Is this just an income generator? I am from the old school of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it.":biggrin: It would be different if I were having reflux, or pain, but I am fine. Was your letter from True Results? Who sent you the letter? Have you ever been told you needed this procedure just to check things out??? Did you get a recommendation to have it done at your one year anniversary? I am wondering if this is something new.......

Thanks Abby. The problem is that my surgeon is one of the people who support True Results, the business. So it seems like a conflict of interest to me, especially since I have never heard of this recommendation. There are no medical/literature references to this procedure in the letter. It just says it is recommended. OK. By whom? Since when? Why didn't they tell me this a year ago when I signed up? Why don't more people know about this? I was hoping to hear from others on the forum as to whether they had been told the same thing. :whatchutalkingabout

True Results is a business that calls itself a Bariatric center. Many of the Docs here in Texas refer their lap band patients to this center to have them do the fills and unfills and barium swallows. The practitioners, as far as I can tell, are nurses and PA's, NOT Docs. However the Docs share charting information with them, and I presume, must have some financial role in the support of the center. (I wonder if I could find some disclosure information somewhere) Over the years, the service they offer has changed, and not for the better. Initially, fills were done under fluoro. Now, they are done blind. Makes me nervous every time I have to get a fill. What if they miss? Does the nurse/PA know what he or she is doing? Is it a new PA, or a seasoned one?? Fluoro is available, and can be done, but only if ordered by a doc, which the docs don't do, probably because it is more expensive, and takes more time. It used to be easy to make or change an appointment for a fill, but now, you have to call, leave a message, and wait for them to get back to you. Once you get there for your fill, people are lined up like cattle waiting in line for their turn. All in all, it seems to be the business of medicine here, and that always leads to cutting corners etc. That is why I am so suspect of the suggestion that I undergo this procedure even though I am not having any problems. I don't remember being told that this would be necessary a year ago. I am a full private pay for full services, so I doubt that my insurance company is going to pay for this. (And why should they, if it isn't even necessary?) Moreover, this procedure was not mentioned as something that would be necessary as part of my original deal. So, I am suspicious. Also, I have not seen anything anywhere on this forum or on google about this procedure as a recommendation just because the patient is one year out. Smells very fishy to me. And unethical. :whatchutalkingabout

Help! I just received a "form" letter from True Results recommending that at my 1 year bandiversary, I should schedule this procedure that may or may not be covered by insurance and that may or may not require an unfill.."just to check things out" If I am doing ok, why do I need this? Is this just a money generating procedure? I am not inclined to rock the boat at this point, and dont really care to do it since I am not having any bad or problematic symptoms. I also don[t remember being told I would need this a year ago. Is this something new??:cursing::confused::scared2:

Wow! Thank you so much. I am surprised kosher whey supplements were so hard to find. kefirchick

Does anyone know of a good Kosher (dairy or parve, of course) whey or egg based Protein supplement? My son needs to increase his calories (I should have such problems) and was told to take protein supplements. Unfortunately, none of the standard brands in the grocery stores have heksures (did I spell that correctly????) and he doesn't want to depend on only soy products. Thanks in advance for your help. kefirchick

I definitely can relate! If I am eating white meat chicken, hard boiled eggs, or even scrambled eggs, my upper pouch can get painfully full after just a few bites, while my "bottom" stomach is still starving. They say this doesn't happen because the "I-am-full" receptors are supposed to be in the upper stomach. For me, that is NOT the case. Because of the restriction I have, I do think I am at my sweet spot(6 ml in a 10 ml band). It is kind of a catch 22. Ground beef goes down much easier than chicken, but is not as healthy. So I have to use a LOT of willpower when eating foods that go down easy-and I don't mean ice cream, which I avoid like the plague. I am talking about foods like chili-pie, tuna salad, egg salad etc. I have a sort of love-hate relationship with my band. I hate how I feel when I eat one bite too many, but I love the fact that it is there to keep me in line. It was either the band or having someone slap my face every time I ate too much. And the band is much more socially acceptable than having Guido monitor my food intake! :thumbup:

You must be my twin.:blushing: I was banded on Dec 21, and have only lost 17 pounds from my start date on Dec 7. I consider myself a slow loser based on what most of the other posters lost in the first four months. However the last time I lost this much at one sitting was in 1995 when I was taking Phen Phen. And of course, I gained that all back once they took the drug off the market. (BooHoo) So, since drugs are out, I am depending on the band to help me keep these 17 pounds gone forever. I would love to lose another 50, but I have a feeling it will take me at least a year to do so, if at all. Check out the slow losers forum. THere are plenty of us out here who are grateful to see even .5 pounds loss a week. We WILL get there. As long as we stay away from crap food, WE WILL MAKE IT!!!!!

btw, do you get the fullness sensation when you are almost at the end of your meal or is it when you feel pain that you stop eating? Regards, Dana :funscale: In answer to your question about "fullness sensation"-I don't ever have the fullness sensation I used to have preband; Now, when my POUCH is full, I start getting pain/tightness up in my chest, and if I have enough self control, I put my fork down, and STOP EATING. If I keep on eating, even one bite more, or heaven forbid, take a drink, I have to meet with the porcelain goddess (if-you-know-what-I-mean-and-I-think-you-do).:thumbup: That feeling is SO unpleasant it kills what was left of my appetite. THat is why the band works for me. It is sort of a negative behavior modification punch in the gut to make me stop eating. My stopping point pain wise usually means I have taken the edge off my pre-meal hunger, but don't think for a minute that I am really full like I used to get preband. I still struggle with hunger. Even with no drinking during the meal, I frequently get hungry a few hours after eating-usually when I have eaten an especially small volume of dry food-like chicken. That and eggs give me a stop signal long before other moister foods like veggies. In fact, The only time in the last 4 months that I got that wonderful "full" feeling without pain was last night after having a bowl of hot chicken Soup with matzoh balls. I actually felt pleasantly full in my lower stomach! However matzoh balls are not at all healthy-they are hi carb high fat slider food. Bad Bad Bad. But Passover is only once a year, so I splurged. That and the warm soup went down really easy, and gave me that full feeling with no upper chest pain. This is why my doc also told me not to drink Soups for meals once I got restriction from my fills. Soup DOES go down very easily, and it helps move any calories you eat along with it down too, defeating the purpose of the band. And don't even think about high calorie cream soups. You may as well be eating a tub of Haagen Das! In answer to the survey-I drink immediately prior to meal time, often warm tea or wine, to fill my lower belly, and then I don't drink again until about an hour after the meal. On rare occasions, I may have a sip of wine with my meal because it is there on the table. But I try to avoid it. I usually just hand my glass to my husband and have him finish off what I started just so it isn't there on the table tempting me.

Oh Thank you! I forgot about chopped liver!!!!! I usually make mine with hardboiled eggs, chicken livers, onions (to wet it down and give it flavor), salt, and schmaltz, of course. In an effort to make it more heart healthy (ha ha) perhaps I will try it with olive oil and or flax seed oil instead of chicken fat. (Ya gotta have SOME fat in your diet). I have never messed with my Mother's recipe, but maybe now is the time to try something different. Now the question is, what platform to eat it on? It is pretty potent to eat all by itself.