Jeter2

Hi! Paxil is a NOTORIOUS weight gainer! You're lucky you've been able to keep the 12 lbs. off that you lost. I've seen many people gain 5-10 lbs. A MONTH on Paxil. Of course, this doesn't happen to everyone, but Paxil has gained the reputation as one of the antidepressants that can cause the most weight gain. While everyone is different, have you tried Lexapro? In MOST patients it is weight neutral and in some can help w/weight loss at the beginning of use. Good Luck! Give yourself a pat on the back that you have been able to keep that intial weight loss and not gain more. One thing I will say, though, never stop taking your meds without talking to your doctor and you will probably have to be weaned off the Paxil slowly, in increments, if that's what you and your doctor decide.

I was banded in mid-June, had a follow up visit a week later and everything looked good, although really nothing was done: I got weighed and asked a few questions. Insurance billed $250.00. I was then scheduled for a fill 4 weeks later, which would be 5 weeks post-op. About 40 minutes before my appointment (it takes me about 35 minutes to get to the office and I took time off from work), my cell rings and I'm told that they have to cancel my appt. because the person doing the fill had an "emergency". OK, things happen. They say they can get me in the following Tuesday. Ok, I'll be there. Tuesday comes along, again take time off and they ask me why I'm there, my appt. was scheduled for last week and I was a "no show". Wrong, I tell them, your office called and said I had to reschedule. Chaos ensues in the office and finally one office person admits the rescheduling "probably happened" after I told them I was told I was rescheduled because of an "emergency". They say if I can wait 3 hours, maybe they can fit me in. I was not happy, and it was apparent. So they tell me they'll call the surgeon over from the hospital and maybe if he's not busy he can do it sooner. I wait an hour, he shows up, and decides he won't give me a fill without using the fluroscopy, so I'll have to wait. Again, insurance charged $250.00 for office visit. I leave irate, and they say they'll call me with the fluroscopy info. The call comes and I have to wait another 3 weeks. So now we're up to the second week of August. I go into the hospital for the fluroscopy. I wait and wait, and then am told I have to reschedule, dr. has an "emergency". I come back the following week. The doctor says he'll give me a 3cc fill, and this will help keep my excellent progress going. So he puts in 1 cc, has me drink some barium, and says thats enough for now. wtf? I have no restriction. But not to worry! He says he's being cautious but I can come back in 3 weeks and get more fill from the nurse practitioner that normally gives fills. Another $250.00 from the insurance. The three weeks pass and guess what? I'm in the car, ready to go to the appt. and decide to call and make sure they're ready for me. Guess what? You got it, the fill person has had another "emergency" and I can not be seen. I asked "Were you going to call me, I live 40 minutes away and have taken more time off from work" Answer-- "I'm only the secretary and I don't have the time to call everyone, you'd have found out the appointment was cancelled when you got here." I was livid!!! I told her that my insurance had paid $750 since my surgery for 1 cc of fill that has given me no restriction whatsoever. I'm starving! I have missed hours of work and gotten babysitters for cancelled appts. My insurance paid about $15,000 for the surgery and I have lost a good amout of weight, but that they are paying for the follow ups and I expect appt. times to be kept. I told her about all the rescheduled appt's, etc, (which she didn't seem to believe so I told her to look it up in her recotrds) and her response - "Well what do you want me to do about it?" I said "Get me in for a fill". " Well I can't help that the NP scheduled to do your fill had an "emergency." Another emergency?!!! If this is true, I feel bad for the person with all these "emergencies" but it seems fishy to me. I had lost almost 30 lbs, but now have lost none the past month. I ask her "When can you reschedule me?" She says "I've had to reschedule a lot of people, so probably not until November, end of October at the earliest." I was fuming!!! Finally she says she'll try to push through another appt. w/ the dr., to do the fill under fluroscopy. She'll get back to me. I get a letter in the mail, giving me a fluro. appt. for mid October, at 6:45 AM, and I need to show up 45 minutes in advance. Now I need to find some one to get the kids up for school (my husband is a FF who works a 24 hr shift that day). Otherwise, I must cancel my appointmet and wait until November. I'm not happy, and will be furious if I get a baysitter for 5:30 in the morning and they cancel. Should I get another doctor's office for fills? Will another doctor even want to take me on as a patient when they didn't do the surgery? If I were the other doctor I don't know if I'd even believe my story! My surgeon was great surgery-wise, but the office and NP's never seemed that great. I am lucky that my insurance has paid every cent of my bills, no copays at all. But now when I look back I see they were paying $220.00 for pre-op visits where all they did was weigh me and ask a couple of questions. But I really don't want to contact the insurance because I don't want them to stop paying. What would you guys do? I feel like they got my $15,000 and now really don't want to be bothered. I don't have a fill center USA (is that what it's called?) near me so that isn't an option. Any opinions?

Thanks guys. You kind of confirmed what I've been thinking. My husband keeps saying "find a new doctor", like it's that easy. I have a fill appointment with my actual surgeon in the beginning of October, so I'm going to keep the appt. and tell him directly what's going on. I know he's really busy -- maybe he just doesn't know how the office is being run. The hospital is right across the street from the bariatric center, and he spends most of his time there, and the fluroscopy is in the hospitals radiology dept., so he really hardly ever has to go "into the office". But your right, this is all unacceptable. I don't think my insurance is being fraudulently charged, because technically I guess they did "something" to charge for when they weighed me and talked with me, even though I've definately learned more from this board then from the office! I will say my surgeon is a nice guy, did excellent work. If my October appointment is cancelled, I'm done with them, though. I will call my insurance. I just worry if I get a new doctor who will do fills but won't do surgery if god forbid complications arise, then I have to go back to my present surgeon, that would make me very uncomfortable. And would my insurance pay if I had reported this surgeons office as fraudulent? Somebody asked where I'm located, it's in upstate NY near Syracuse. Now I've probably outed myself to someone from the doctors office that reads this forum! Oh well, it can't only be me having this problem with this office. And even though I may sound outgoing when I post, I'm actually kind of shy in person and easy going and don't like to rock the boat, so this is kind of hard for me to deal with, but it must be done.

At first I was sad, crying; now I'm just plain mad! Bear with me, this story does have to do with my lap band! I was banded mid-June, my husband is the only one that knows and he has been so supportive. My family is just way to judgmental, and would be watching everything that went into my mouth, asking why I wasn't losing weight faster, saying I took the "easy way out", etc. My mother is elderly and doesn't drive and needs to be taken to many appointments every week. As a stay-at-home Mom of 2, that job always fell to me, even though I have 3 siblings that have felxible schedules. I or my husband have taken my mother to almost all of her appointments for the past 5 years. Because we have been busy this summer, and I have been helping my husband with his business, I asked my sister to take my mother to a couple of appointments. All week long she said she would, no problem, she had next Wednesday off. Tuesday morning, my phone rings. She just has to talk to me. She wanted to know why I'm not living up to MY responsibility concerning my mother. Now, I do all my mothers bills, shopping, pay the extra if she runs out of money for the month, am her power of attorney and health care proxy. I love my mother, but this can be burdensome sometimes. Anyway, my sister decided that since we were "already in an argument" it was time she got a few other things off her chest. She decided to tell me that I look "disgusting" to her and have completely let myself go weight wise. As I stated, I had lap band surgery last month and have lost 25 pounds, down to 211. I was just starting to feel good about myself and she comes out with this! I have been kind of avoiding her since the surgery because when I went into the hospital for my "ulcer surgery" (that's what we told her and I was home same day) she said "oh please I hope you're not having gastric bypass, that would be ridiculous and stupid". I sad "no", which was true. She never once asked me how I was feeling, or if she could help me out. After she called me "disgusting" the conversation went down from there. She had found out that after a long and agonizing time we finally decided to try medication for our daughter's ADHD. She is a great kid but has struggled greatly because of her ADHD. We decided on a trial of medication, and we can always stop the meds if we don't like the outcome. My sister proceeded to tell me that ADHD meds meant lazy parenting, and that's probably why I am so disgustingly fat and I just want to drug my child to avoid watching her, to basically make her into a zombie. I was shocked! We agonized over the meds for her and just want to help her be the best she can be! My older daughter is a straight - A student, and to be honest my sister has always acted jelous of that, because her kids aren't, but I always look at all the children as individuals with their own strengths and don't make comparisons. Finally, my sister said that because I hadn't called her in a couple of weeks, it must mean that I am just sitting at home, watching tv and eating. I told her that my life didn't evolve around her, and that I had other things to do and people to do them with. I really think she's losing it!! She said because I didn't have a job outside the home I basically had no life. This coming from a person who has three kids, goes through a boyfriend every few months and makes her older kids babysit so that she can hang out at a local dive bar, and I have no life? I then later find out she's been calling mutual friends and telling them that I called her "crazy", her son "abnormal" (I did mention that he may have adhd to) and that I am no longer welcome in her home or at any family events she holds. I have always been close to all my siblings, but this blew me away! She's also telling people that my other sister and brother refuse to talk to me (not true I talk to them at least twice a week, my brother and husband work together and we are very close.) It seems to be a pattern that she trashes people to make herself look good, she never takes any responsibility for her own actions. She plays people against each other. Did I also mention she thinks she's gods gift to all men (she's thin), which is why she lost her best friend since HS, telling her that because she was looking good (my sister) that she thought her friends husband wanted her?! Sorry to rant on and on, but with this surgery I've tried to become an all around better person, to learn to forgive, to improve my health and I felt I was succeeding until this!! She made me feel absolutely horrible. I should have known what she was thinking, I lost 75 pounds about 10 years ago, and she said "Thank god you lost some weight, you were looking reallly bad." I gained it all back, so like I said, you know what she's been thinking and saying to people. My other sister and brother both weigh much more then me, I don't dare tell them what she said, I wouldn't want to make them feel bad. But I'm sure she's called them and made me look bad... Do I turn the other cheek and try to get past this or cut her out of my life for a while? Her two older children are more then just neices to me, she had them when she was 18 and 20 and I watched them most of the time, they even spent entire weekends at my house. I still see them daily as they can and do walk to my house (we live close to each other) and they've remarked that their mother goes into nonsensical rantings toward them all of the time, which other people have witnessed. Could my sister be having some sort of mental problem or is she just mean? What should I do? I just don't want to talk to her anymore, but I feel for her kids and she is my sister. She did tell her oldest to tell me if I apologized for causing 100% of the argument, she would "consider" talking to me. Of course after she's already trashed me around town and has such a bad opinion of me. I really feel deep down this is how she feels, because I am college educated but my husband and I decided I'd stay home and because I am over weight I am a loser. I don't think this opinion will change. Knowing her, as I lose weight she'll probably take credit becasue she gave me "tough love"....

I'm trying to give her time to think about how hurtful the things she said were, and if she apologizes then maybe I can talk to her civilly. But I don't know. She really pi**** me off. I've spoken to some of her ex-friends and my brother and other sister and they all agree something's just not right w/ the way she acts and treats people. She seems to "go off" on people and then later not understand why they're mad at her (although I made it clear I was not happy). We took her kids camping these last few days and she didn't speak to me when I picked them up and dropped them off, didn't thank us, nothing. My older sister is trying to keep an eye on her, make sure things are ok.

Don't I know it! When I lost weight before (never getting out of the overweight/borderline obese category) she told most of the family I was anorexic! I was actually eating more then ever and just had a very physical job, was just out of college with no kids or husband and my best friend was a work out addict so I'd tag along. I gained all the weight back, so I guess my anorexia is cured! (No disrespect to those suffering w/ an eating disorder.)

You have all made me feel so much better. I really needed to hear from other people that could relate to my struggles. My sister and I are 3 years apart, and we had always been close growing up. It really hurts when she treats me like this, and I think you guys are right, she's not happy with her life. But she would never admit it, she always has to act like she's more popular, better looking and in complete control-- like she's still in high school. (We're in our mid and late 30's.) Part of me wants to help her, part of me wants to never talk to her again. I think I need to take a break from her, at least temporarily. We're going camping next week and her kids are going with us, so I can spend some time with them. (She will never thank me for taking them camping with us-- never has.) I never say anything bad about her to them, but I know she puts me down in front of them. Being teenagers now, I think they see the truth but that's sad because it is their Mom and I know they love her. As for the fact that she may be Bipolar, this may be true. My mother is bipolar. I make sure she takes her meds so she is stable now, but I know bipolar can be hereditary and my sister shows some signs. WW III would erupt if I brought this up though! It's like this-- put up with her so I'm there when she needs me or feel guilty by cutting off our relationship and not being there if something bad happens. When we were children and my Mom had to be hospitalized, I always tried to protect my sister from everything going on around us as she was younger then I was. And this is how I now get treated? As for my daughter's ADHD, thanks you guys for the support. Along w/ meds she's getting counseling and lots of support at her school. She is a wonderful, happy little girl who just happens to have trouble with memory and concentrating. We adopted her from China when she was a year and a day old (now 7). My other bio daughter is 10, and then there's my husband. They're both great, too. I am blessed and I should not let others get me down! But why do some people have to be so darn hurtful? :teeth_smile:

Pre op- 236 Post op - (today) 213 Goal - 145 -150 ish Height - 5' 6"

I've had a c-pap for 2 years. I rarely use it because I could never get used to it. I would take it off in the night without even waking up and knowing I did it! Every so often I try again, with the same result. I was banded on 6/18 and have lost 21 pounds. I hope soon I won't even have the mild sleep apnea I was diagnosed with. Anyway, my doctor mentioned bringing the c-pap to the hospital as they did not provide one and I said "No, I won't ever use it." He said "ok", and that was that. He also said many people aren't able to use the c-pap, but just be sure to tell any surgeon I ever have that I have sleep apnea, because then they use a breathing tube to make sure you breath correctly during surgey.(I had no sore throat afterwards.) My sleep study doctor also said that when I sleep on my side, I experience much less apnea, so I try to do this. He even suggested that when I go to bed placing a tennis ball in the top part of the back of my underwear so when I go to roll onto my back to sleep it would be a rememinder that was a no-no! I started out at 236, close to your 240 and hope to get rid of this sleep apnea with some weight loss.

My bmi was 36, I also had sleep apnea and GERD. My band doctor's office told me that the six months my insurance required wasn't just for losing weight but for education on the band, meeting with the dietician, the psychologist, etc. I was told if I lost more then 15 pounds, I'd be under the required bmi of 35. At my 2nd moth visit I had lost the 15 pounds! The dr's office told me not to lose anymore or I wouldn't be approved, which of course I took to mean EAT! So I did, gaining back 8 or 9 pounds at the end of the six months. Long story short, my insurance approved me first time around because I had completed the 6 months of doctor visits, had attempted and lost some weight and met their requirements of a bmi over 35 w/comorbidities. Good Luck! I was banded on 6/18 and have lost 21 pounds. My first fill is today, 7/17. I'm a little nervous!

I'm 9 days out and scraped the toppings off a piece of pizza today, ate that, and ate one large bite of crust! I felt bad that I did it, but didn't have any pain. At 4 days post-op I was doing fine on full liquids and on Thurs. I had my post-op visit. Because I had no problems they said it was ok to start eating more foods, and to keep it to no more than a cup of whatever I was eating at that time. I've been good until today, but I just was so tempted. My doctor said that I'll get a fill in 3 weeks, and until then I would probably be hungry at times and to try and keep to their food lists and eat small portions when I was hungry. At my Thurs. appt. I had lost 11 pounds since surgery on 6/18 and I don't want it to come back! Good Luck, I know we can get back on track!! My doctor also said if there is a problem there will probably be a lot of pain. I know what you mean by trying to keep your surgery quiet, I ate a couple of bites of food last week (and then gave my plate to my husband) because a friend of mine that is "so against" weight loss surgery has been "watching me" every time I see her out because, although she knew I had surgery she doesn't know why, and quote "she hopes I wasn't stupid enough to have weight loss surgery". (jelousy). Maybe I need to find a new friend!

NOBAMA!! Go McCain!! And yes, I am educated. I am a woman. I have met John McCain and he has the experience we need now!:thumbs_up:

I have an appointment tomorrow with my PC doctor who said ambien or lunestra might be good for sleep. Or maybe a small dose of xanax or ativan on an as-needed basis for sleep and relaxation. I did (with dr permission) use one of my sister's ambien last night (finally gave in and took it at 4:00 am) and slept 'til noon, and it was the best sleep since surgery, which explains my much improved mood. I'm finally pain med free so that's good to. Like I said, gotta thank the hubby for being home so I could sleep that long with 2 kids!! Hope you're no longer sleppless in NJ and I remain rested in NY!!:thumbup:

I have felt a lot better today, still a little sore. I was allowed to go to week 2 foods which included oatmeal and strained cream soups so I feel a little better there to. I have lost 10 pounds since last week so that's encouraging. I think I needed that "day of crying" to get all of my fears and (very slight) regret out of me! Now I really want to try and look only forward. My husband is so supportive and I feel so lucky in that regard. Thanks so much for writing back and I hope everything is well with you.:thumbup:

And sense I'm writing this at 3:54 am, obviously not sleeping to well. Having back and stomach pain, which all started when I realized I was allergic to the Lortab and had to force myself NOT to get sick. So they changed me to Darvocet (I think) which makes me dizzy and faint, so I went to plain tylenol which I don't like at all in liquid form. I spent a lot of yesterday crying, why did I do this and put this "thing" into my body? I'm so hoping this feeling is temporary. I'm hungry too! Please assure me that this gets better and that I can eat a little of what I want soon!! I feel like such a burden to my family right now, but my husband is so understanding and loving, which is great. :grouphug:

Hi all, I've only posted a couple times but I read this sight all the time. My surgery date is June 18th and I have my pre-op later today. I am soooo nervous! Will it work? Complications? I decided not to tell anyone except my husband, because we came to the conclusion that our families are just to judgmental. His family -- all thin and eat what they want-- mine : fat and don't care! Both would be against the band for different reasons. Will I really be able to keep this a secret? I really want this to work but I'm afraid of not waking up from the surgery (I've had 2 surgeries before, so why does this bother me?), I'm afraid of regretting the decision afterward because I love food!! I hate the aches and pains I have, the sleep apnea, and I don't even like to be in family pictures due to me weight. I know I'm rambling but every worst case scenario keeps popping into my head!! (I'm that type of person, but things usually work out in the end, I just like to be prepared!) I guess I'm just looking for words of encouragement here, and if anyone's got them I'm all ears. One last thing, our whole family (hubby, me, two kids) are trying to eat better, but at age 40 my husband eats anything and everything and is still at his high school lacrosse playing weight. He says he knows he needs to eat better for health reasons too but I feel he may sabbotage my progress with his snacking. What to do? Thanks for reading my ramble. I'll post after my pre-op tomorrow. --Gail

You all have made me feel so much better. I never thought I would have this last minute fear because I had been waiting so long for the surgery. I started with my first visit to the bariatric center in March '07 and becasue of unforseen problems I didn't end up with the actual surgery date until June 18th, 2008. When the realization hit that it was only a week away -- WOW-- it hit me! I'm still nervous, but I believe I'm ready. My pre-op visit yesterday went well. I was even told that after a few months I could have a little diet Pepsi, my fave. My doctor's office says that they've been reviewing the diet soda thing for a long time and see no evidence that it causes any harm. But it also has no nutritional value, so I intend to try to not have it, but it makes me feel a little better knowing later on I can try some if I want. I also met a really nice nurse that had adopted a little girl from China, like we have, and we talked about how much more I would be able to do with my kids. My husband and older daughter went hiking in the Adirondacks a few weeks back, and I didn't go because I knew I would just hold them back. Next year, I'm going!! Thanks for all of the encouragement!! --Gail

Hi all, I just got all of my paper work submitted and am waiting for insurance approval (fingers crossed). I was more excited then nervous until I read about all of the complications on this board! I'm still willing to go ahead w/ this surgery because I need help to make this major lifestyle change, I've lost weight before and felt great. Now that I gained it all back, I don't want my picture taken, dread going to parties, can't participate in hiking w/ the rest of the family, etc. I want my life back! My main questions: do most people see a lot of complications? and I've had knee surgery and my gall bladder out in the past, and also an upper GI. Each time I awake from the anesthesia, I am nauseaus, have severe stomach pain and eventually start throwing up. Is there any "alternative" anesthesias that cause less nausea? With my knee surgey they doubled my anti-nausea medication which seemed to help, but is this ok to do with surgey involving the stomach? I had surgey before I had my daughter and had no problem with vomitting. Did pregnancy make my stomach more sensitive? (I got sick a lot.) I know you guys aren't all dr's, but your experience has really helped me out! Thanks!!:thumbup: I feel better just being able to vent!! Only my husband knows about the surgery, my family and friends are to judgmental!

Thanks MollyMolly! I've read some of your other posts and they are very encouraging!