HeatherO

I would definitely call. There is no reason to wait if you don't feel anything and if they will see you a smidge before the expected date.

My first fill was exactly like yours, but my second was a doozy. I went from no restriction to perfect restriction. It is all a matter of luck and timing. I also requested very aggressive fills and luckily my doctor obliged :0)

If everyone is getting these letters and they obviously qualify, I would have to think they are having prolblems with their website. Also, as everyone says, they don't make the decision anyway, it is the doctors and the insurance companies.

I am a 30 something working mom as well. There really wasn't much downtime. I was banded on a Friday afternoon and back at work bright and early the following Tuesday. Other than being a little tired I was fine. The pain really wasn't bad at all. I still have a pain pill left out of the 4 I was given. Going in for the operation was a little scary but more because I didn't know what to expect. I made one mistake in that I was drinking a couple of cups of coffee everyday and ended up with a horrible headache the day of surgery from caffeine withdrawal and I couldn't take anything for it. I remember going into the operating room and it was like as if I blinked and it was over. They were talking to me and then I was awake and very surprised in that time didn't seem to have passed. My throat was very sore after surgery, in fact it was the only thing that hurt. I was never in much pain at the hospital but I found it hard to bend to tie my shoes (thanks to my darling hubby it wasnt an issue). I also found it slightly difficult to get from a laying position to standing up. I had a bit of a cough post surgery due to my sore throat. Really it was no big deal at all. I wish I could go back and tell myself not to worry because I was worrying over nothing :0). This was 10 times easier than having a baby, that is for certain. I have been averaging 10 pounds of loss every month and just passed my six month bandiversary last Friday. Keep in mind that from about 3 weeks out until your first fill, you may not lose much if at all and you will be HUNGRYY, but it is normal. Once you reach your sweet spot and have restriction things become very easy. I also found that there were 2 things that really kept my weight loss going . . . exercise and I have not been eating processed carbs. When I skimp or overindulge in either of these, I stall on the weight loss (no gain but no loss either). After only six months out, I feel great. I have more energy than I ever had before and I am in great physical health. My clothes look really good on me, and I feel that I have blended into the land of normal. I can shop anywhere for clothes now and I am still curvy. If I never lost another pound I would be happy where I am today. It was the best thing I ever did, I just wish I did it in my early 20's if you know what I mean. Good luck in your journeys :0).

Since you are self-pay, I would consider waiting. It doesn't mean wait forever, just until you and your husband are in a better position financially. I think it would be very stressful to add a lot of extra debt on top of an already tenuous situation.

I have kept my surgery a secret for six months now and I have tight restriction. For the first time someone noticed I wasn't really eating much at a business dinner. He said jokingly "you have been eating that salad for over an hour and you haven't even made a dent in it." I just said I am not that hungry and that was it. No big deal. I feel like I eat like a normal thin person does. We have all known people that "eat like birds" and I am just happy to have joined the flock.

A slow loss is still a loss :0). As long as we are moving in the right direction, there is something to look forward to as time goes on. Cutting out snacking is hard but oh so worth it. For me, it doubled my weekly weight loss.

What have you been eating? Are you following the band rules? That can make a huge difference between gaining and losing.

I have to do liquids the day of and then just eat what I can tolerate thereafter.

I think it would be good if you look at some long term studies. It is better than anecdotal evidence. Most of us do wonderful, some of us have a rough go of it and a few have serious complications. The band is the best thing that ever happened to me and I have no regrets.

You probably don't realllyyy need him on day two, but what the heck . . . we all need a little coddling from time to time. It would be pleasant just to have him there I think. My husband spoiled me for about a week and I really enjoyed it.

The eliptical works great and is a lot less stress on the joints. It definitely feels better on the body than running.

My last fill was the end of April. I thought I was too tight at first (first week or two) because I had fairly constant pb'ing occurring. I soon discovered the problem was me. I was eating too fast, not chewing enough, and not going on liquids for a day after a pb to allow my stomach to settle. After two weeks I felt that I was at my sweet spot. I have been losing steadily ever since. I was not very hungry, easily satisfied but I had to be very careful as to not eat the wrong things, too fast or overeat or I would have to pay the consequences. I the end of June I thought maybe it is time to start thinking about another fill, but I was not ready then and scheduled an appointment for tomorrow. Now, I am hungrier. Weight loss has slowed but I still lose at least a pound a week. I can eat more, even quite a bit more if I try. I can also eat some foods that would make me very sick before. I can eat some forms of bread when before I could eat none. I can eat a teaspoon or two of rice mixed in other foods and before I could not. I have this ability towards the tail end of the day. I also am traveling to Turkey in October and I want to be down to 150 at least, but more preferably somewhere in the 140's which means I still want an aggressive 2 pound a week loss. This makes me think I could probably go for another fill. However, I have had occasional heartburn. Nothing really bad but maybe three times or so a week. This might be partially my fault becuase I love spicy foods and my stomach is not the same as it was before. I also can not really eat Breakfast comfortably. I can manage a couple of small bites of egg, maybe 1/8th cup but certainly not more. If I make instant oatmeal, I can't finish 1 pack without pushing a little. I have had a pb or two over the last two weeks but I am not sure if it is because I am getting more lax in my habits or if I am too tight to be thinking about another fill. I am completely on the fence at this point. Do I wait another month to go in? For those who have been through this, please give me your opinions because I am just not sure what to do at this point.

What I can eat varies greatly from time to time. Sometimes 1/4 of a cup is all I can manage. Sometimes I can probably eat 1 1/2 cups. I probably average about 3/4 cup. A lot of this has to do with how quickly I eat, what time of day it is, what time of month it is, etc. I am really struggling right now about whether to get another fill. Depending on when you ask me I can tell you I am too tight, too loose or anywhere in between. I just don't want to feel too tight all of the time.

I had a nice quiet dinner with my husband the night before, and couldn't hardly eat anything due to nerves :0). I suffered from last meal-itis before banding. I must have had thousands of last meals before the latest and greatest diet plans beginning the following . . . day, week, whatever. I am happy to be through with that. In fact, I have never been happier to say I am not having any more last meals :0). I do think it is a good idea to Celebrate with your family before you take the plunge. It is a great way to rally support, and a good support system really helps to gear you up for success.

I have a ton of energy now but I realize that I wasn't feeling so good before due to too many carbs in my system. I get in between 1000-1200 calories daily and try to fit in plenty of exercise throughout the week. I find that taking my Vitamins and drinking my Water also help with energy levels. Exercise has really made a difference with my "average energy level" throughout the day. I have found by biking that I have gotten to a point where I never feel the need to stop going . . . other than being tired from going up a hill I feel like I could go just about forever (except for the pain in my arse from sitting on that little bike seat after about 2 hours).

It is perfectly normal but it does go away. I found that drinking Water could make me nauseous in the beginning . . . and we have to drink our water. I bought an over-the-counter medicine named "Nausene" from Wal-Mart. They are chewable tabs and worked wonders. It seems like I recovered soon after because I still have half of the only box I ever bought remaining.

I was told coffee is a "free food" as long as I didn't drink it with sugar. I was also told that everything should be done in moderation and I don't want to get in the habit of overdoing the caffeine. I really enjoy my coffee in the morning :0). This is especially true since I have given up diet pop.

Congratulations . . . . that is an awesome NSV!!!!

I hit my sweet spot at 8.3 in a Realize band. Before that it was really easy to eat anything. I would not worry if you are up to 8 and need a little more. You probably do not have much further to go before you are there. Next time you go for a fill, ask them to pull out the fluid and see how much you have in total just as a check.

It sounds very serious and I would not wait to go to the emergency room. There is no way we can tell if she just has a very low pain tolerance or if she is battling an infection or serious problem that may put her life on the line. Go now, or if you can't go where you are, go immediately to somewhere you can. What country are you in?

I was banded in January and never really had heartburn problems before or after banding. However, about a month ago I had a couple of days of heartburn. My last fill was in April so it was not brought on by a new fill. Since that initial heartburn start, I have regular heartburn several days a week. I now have been taking tums or prilosec regularly. It doesnt seem to be triggered by eating, more it is the opposite. If I don't eat for many hours I start to feel like I have heartburn, or if I stay up too late or sometimes I have it at night. I am more likely to have it when my stomach is empty. A few tums and half a glass of milk seem to knock it out pretty well, but if I just ignore it and do nothing it won't go away. I have decent restriction but I am not too tight. I don't PB or slime at all anymore. I might if I eat bread or Pasta but I don't eat those things. My hunger stays in check and sometimes I can eat a little more, sometimes a little less but everything feels workable. I am not sure if this heartburn is indicative of a problem or just par for the course being a bandster with decent restriction. Does anyone have any thoughts regarding why this situation may have arisen out of the blue? Any thoughts or suggestions or has someone had a similar situation?

I wouldn't bother saying anything if you don't know them and they don't know you. I doubt saying anything after overhearing a conversation would cause them to change their minds. I can understand how you felt and I am sure my ears would have perked up just the same.

Actually I have had only two fills over the six months that I have had the band. I got lucky in that I asked for agressive fills and my doctor gave them to me. My band is pretty full at 8.3 in a 9 Realize band for only having had two fills. I asked for the doctor to be agressive because I was afraid to take six months to get a big enough fill to ever start losing because everything was too open. I needed to start fast into my journey before my motivation started to fade. My third fill appointment is next Tuesday, and to be honest, I am not sure if I even need another fill and I am not sure what they will say. My weight loss has been really great, but I can say it was extremely hard before my second fill. I was too hungry and had to do traditional dieting to make it work. I took a low carb option and ate as many veggies as I wanted which worked for me. Actual restriction after the second fill was a godsend. Before restriction I was like Sisyphus pushing the rock up the mountain. I could keep with it and get it up there with a lot of effort and deprivation in dieting . . . but I knew that the day would come when the rock would come tumbling back down again and knock me into a pit of despair, drowning in Little Debbies. I was on the verge of falling off the wagon when my second fill gave me just what I needed to push the rock to the other side. My second fill was absolutely my saving grace. It is sooo much easier now. Once you reach your sweet spot, you will feel the same. I love my band :thumbup::wub::w00t:

I have heard great things about that book as well. I think I will order a copy.