kgloverii

I usually cannot eat until about 11 am. And then it is very minimal. I start my day with some coffee or tea and one small square of chocolate. On the weekend, we'll do a late breakfast and I'll eat 1/2 an egg and 1/3 piece of sausage. I loosen up throughout the day, but I am really NOT a big eater in general, now. LOL

I can feel my band in the AM. I can feel the tightness in my tummy. My port is very easy to feel, but not noticeable to the naked it. It does not stick out. My port is not a low-profile port. It is on my left side under my rib-cage. It does not hurt or bother me.

Have them send you an actual COPY of your policy with all appropriate riders... This will tell you if WLS is excluded. The "No bariatric resource coverage" sounds like a big red flag that WLS is NOT covered.

I lined up my doc ahead of time for fills, so I knew before I had the surgery what my cost for fills was going to be. He charges me $200- $150 is for the fill and $50 is billed as an office consult fee because he actually weighs me, uses the nifty scale that calculates my body fat, talks to me about my issues and is my aftercare DOC. When I have issues, he's there. He orders my upper GIs and diagnoses based on them, etc. Is $200 a lot? Well, it is not cheap, but I knew going in that was what I was going to have to choke up. And the guy I go to, it is totally worth it. He follows Allergan's guidelines for his fill recommendation. BUT, I am the paying customer. So, if I want more or less, he does as I choose. If I am overfilled and notice within a day or two, he takes out at no charge. BUT, if I am not filled enough and want more, I pay. It is completely fair to me. He didn't do my surgery. He's taken over my care as my DOCTOR, so I have no right to complain. To jeapordize the time of a doctor/nurse/whatever by getting filled for 'free' is simply NOT fair. Nor is it fair to get overfilled just to get to the right point and expect them to take some out for free... My doc said A LOT of the people that he does fills on walk around with this sense of entitlement. He took over my care, he didn't do the surgery, and his time IS money. Sometimes, we need to be prepared to pay. You get the surgery, you better be prepared for the costs upfront.

Ok, I'm going to put it ALL out there, cause DH and I just had this discussion, and so did my mom and I... YES. You ARE treated differently because you're overweight. There is a TON if science to back it up. The science says that even women who are 15-20 pounds overweight start to be perceived differently by others. So, that being said, I'm going to give you MY personal story... I have ALWAYS been a super happy friendly jovial fat person. And when I heard those studies, I thought, "I am the exception to that rule. My personality makes up for my fatness, and people LOVE me." And people DO love me. I am always enthusiastic, smiling, outgoing, and bubbly. I'm like Penny from Hairspray, the typical fat, happy girl. My husband watches that movie and is like "Katy! It is YOU" and I admit, it is me. I never felt held back career-wise because I always interviewed well, and mostly always got the job. I never thought there was something wrong with me love-wise, I just considered myself a late bloomer. I had good looking boyfriends, and I landed myself a REALLY FINE husband. A husband that is a dream come true for a woman, and he saw beyond my weight, what I had, and it was my personality... And then I had my band. And once I got down to a size 10, I started noticing little things. Like people opening doors for me more, people initiating conversation more, coworkers who now invited me to go to the bar. And then I realized, in my own sunshiney Penny from Hairspray kind of way, I never noticed I was never invited to the bar with the people I work with at ANY job. They all went, but I never did. I had chalked it up to me being married, me having kids, etc. But looking back, a lot of those people were married, with kids... But they WEREN'T fat. I am now a size 6. There is even a difference in the way you are treated between a 10 and a 6. Now people WANT to be my friend. They gush on me. I mean, I am the SAME person, the same Penny from Hairspray I was... even my husband says I carry myself NO different. But NOW, I am not fat. I'm 'skinny' and 'tiny' as others have described me. I still don't see that so much but that is the way I am perceived. The way I carry my weight, is actually good because I look a good 20 pounds thinner than I even am. This is according to people of the medical community. Even my band doc RECALIBRATED HIS scale because he didn't think I was 140. He was like "You're 120, max." It is a VERY sad thing. But as Steve said, WE ALL prejudge. I mean, even ME, who has been through it all, will look at a fat person and think for a split second, "Should you REALLY be eating that?" and then I dial it back and am ASHAMED for thinking like 'everyone else.' And EVERYONE ELSE includes the overweight people. I think overweight people can even be MORE critical of their peers. I've noticed overweight people showering me with friendliness. I wonder why. Maybe its cause I'm thin so I am "in control?" A lot of overweight people look at others who are bigger than themselves and think, "Well at least I have more control than THEM. I didn't let myself get to XXX pounds." But we ALL must realize, in a majority of cases, weight doesn't have to do with CONTROL. Our bodies have ULTIMATE control over our weight and if we try to lose it, our bodies GO NUTS HORMONALLY so that we put it back on! So, I ranted a bit, but I wanted to put it all out there. YOU WILL SEE A DIFFERENCE. But I don't look at anyone and think "Are you just being nice cause I am skinny?" I just chalk it up to the world being a nicer place. :thumbup:

Two of my favorite fast food options: Wendy's Chili Taco Bell Refried Beans I am always in business with those...

At a 16 I could cross them, at a 14 I could cross them 'more elegantly' as Jacqui stated. At a size 10, I could cross them in the airplane seat and tuck them under. I knew I arrived to the pearly gates when that happened!

What a great post... Love it...

I had my surgery with Dr. Ortiz and lined up my aftercare before my surgery. Dr. Ortiz was great at giving me some local docs that could help me out with aftercare, and the guy that was highly recommended (Ortiz proctored him) to me is unbelievable. Fantastic. He treats me as if he were my surgeon. The guy even came in on his day off to help me out when I was ridiculously tight, and didn't even charge me a office consult fee, just the regular fill fee. I know not everyone has that experience, but I did my homework before I went down to MX. Going to Mexico is NOT a bad thing, but you MUST do your research beforehand. You must line up your aftercare ahead of time. You must know where you will go in an emergency (DH and I know the closest hospital that is a Bariatric Center of Excellence). You must also pick a surgeon who is going to give you your records, is going to do a good job, and is going to be there if you run into a problem and you need a second opinion. Ortiz was good for that. I have no complaints, but I can see where a lot of people have problems. Your post serves as a good reminder that if we are going to go international, we MUST practice EXTRA due diligence....

MEAL! But, if you are going to count it as a meal, I'd buy a more substantial soup... The light soup is SUPER low cal, and as much as we ALL like Low-Cal, we still need our nutrition!

Congrats on your success! You look awesome! I second what PP said. Slider foods= too tight. Look at your regimen and you'll know if you are relying on sliders too much. I got MUCH too tight a few weeks ago and was worried I had a slipped band. After confirming there was no slip, my doc took .4 ccs out of my VG Band and I was good as new... I cat eat again, and no more sliders for me.

Special K Protein water is another good 'addition' if you want something light...

If you are not feeling any restriction, you may gain some weight. I suggest until you have restriction, you count your calories and exercise to continue to lose weight. Don't rely on your band until you are feeling effects of restriction.

Merced, I am very very sorry to hear about your band. I hope your recovery is smooth.

A band holds a certain amount, but your tubing holds extra. So, there are often people who are 'overfilled.'

I believe the Adderall XR capsule can be opened up and sprinkled on some food, and eaten that way. I have had to discontinue my Adderall instant release because it simply dehydrates me too much, and I get WAY TOO tight. I am going to call my doc today so we can find something different. Adderall has been a GREAT help to me, but I hope I can find something else that does the trick as well and cooperates with my band.

YOU NEED AN UNFILL. A small unfill will do you wonders. I let that happen to me and got to the point of almost passing out. Go NOW to get an unfill. You need more nutrition than what you are getting. I know, the scale is rocking, but STOP looking at the scale. A too tight band can = a band that will slip. Don't chance it.

I have had my band for 15 months, and have gotten the hang of it, and have learned to embrace its fickleness. I did want to share this with any newer banders out there: HOT BEVERAGES ARE YOUR FRIEND. If you are not allowed to drink coffee, you need to embrace tea, whether caffeinated or not. I am an herbal tea addict, I admit. Stash teas are my favorites and I make 3-4 cups a day. If food gets stuck, or is having a hard time going down, and you become uncomfortable (and downward dog doesn't fix it), make a hot beverage, and sip tiny, tiny, sips... I also use the hot drink tip in the AM when I wake up, and also will preface my meals with a hot beverage. Prefacing the meals will loosen my band up a little bit, making food go down a bit easier. The hot drinks thing is well-known, but I wanted to remind everyone. My hot tea got me 'out of a jam today' and even now, sometimes I am amazed at how well it works...

I just went through this. My band got tight for NO REASON. I thought it was a slip. I had an Upper GI and all was well, we just took out .4 ccs and I am all better. I asked my doctor why I had sudden tightness, when it was FINE before (and last fill was 5 months ago), and he said he had no idea... it just sometimes does...

I will drink about 20 mins before I eat... and it will be something hot. I like to keep a tight band, so this helps loosen it on a tighter day. I tend to stay away from cold beverages because they constrict my band so much. This summer I might have a tiny bit taken out of my band so that I can enjoy cold drinks in hot weather. Maybe... but I know in warmer weather, my band is looser too, so it might resolve itself just a bit...

Yes Downward dog is GREAT for when you get stuck. Do the pose, hold it for as long as you can, and get up and walk around... works well for me, often.

I'd like to sit and drink a LARGE McDonald's Sweet Tea with complete abandon. But then... the coldness mixes with my band and I am reminded to STOP. Which is a good thing...

BEANS! Beans are your best friend for protein. Refried beans are WONDERFUL. Also, make best friends with your crock pot and learn the joys of all kinds of bean soups... Pea Soup, Veggie Stews, 15 bean soups... There are endless possibilities and they are NEVER tiring for our family. Vegetarian Chili is another REALLY good one...

You could go to a place in Mexico, but you'd likely be going to a hack-shop. Most reputable surgeons charge around $8K in Mexico. Kirshenbaum charges $9950 in Colorado.

My daughters were very very young when I had my surgery, 4 and 2. We DID decide to tell them... I explained in simple terms that 'Mommy was having a rubber band in my tummy because she's hungry all the time and doesn't want to be hungry like that anymore.' They got it. My now 6 year old will occasionally mention my rubber band, and remembers 'when mommy was fat.' BUT she knows I was overweight because I was hungry all of the time. For our kids, it has (I hope!) reinforced to them that overweight people are not 'lazy' or 'out of control' but it is a health issue... My daughter pointed to a large lady in a store one time and whispered to me, "Mommy, do you remember when you used to look like that? You're much healthier now." And I am. :cursing: They also have stated that Mommy isn't tired all of the time, and got the surgery so she could 'run and play with us.' So true. And that has manifested itself many times.