Rchavez101

Of course it counts assuming if that was your plan.

Great job keep it up.

I had 3 cc's before the unfill. As far as the pineapple I am not sure what it does. I will let you all know if it makes a difference. I have only tried it once but I think the unfill is what made the difference. I will keep you updated.

I am in the same boat. I had BCBSAZ and had surgery Nov 4th. We now switched over the UHC. Well the hospital doesn't take the new insurance. The one thing that my company worked out with UHC was to have "Transition Care". UHC will cover me for 90 days as if it is in network. After 90 days I will be on my own. IT sucks because they are the only ones in New Mexico. I will have to be a selfpay for fills. They are $350 and that is a little steep but I have no choice. You should find out if you have the option of "Transition Care" in the policy. Check with you HR rep. Good luck.

Well that sounds like what I might have going on. Well I may have to call the doc to see what I can do about it. Thanks everyone for the replies.

Well where should I start? With in the last 2 weeks I have noticed that I have to be very cautious of what I eat and have to eat even slower then I did before. I had my surgery on November 4th and have lost about 65lbs with no fill. I am eating small bites and chewing pretty well. With in the last 2 weeks or so I noticed when eating I have lots and lots of gas that wants to come up after taking a bite of food. I have to really wait between bites to be able to get the burps out so that the food doesn't come back up. I have been able to eat some food with success and some with no success. As far as liquids they go down but I still feel sometimes it may come back up but for the most it goes down. I do have a digestive problem where I don't pass as much gas as most people but did not have this burping problem till a few weeks ago. When I went in for my last visit I met some guy who said after never having a fill for the first 4 months he had to go in to get a unfill. After the unfill he was ok and then was back the day I met him to get his first fill. That is the reason I think that maybe it may have gotten to tight. I do know that at this point I have 3cc in since surgery according to the doc. Let me know what your thoughts are.

What exactly is PBing? Is that productive burping? If so why do they call it productive. Thanks for the reply Reverie.

Great story. Keep them coming.

That is awesome and I am on track to do the same hopefully. I have lost 65lbs in a little over 2 months. I am scheduled for a fill at the end of January but I will determine if a fill is necessary at that point. Keep up the good work.

As far as my self I had a lump that was called a hematoma. It is a collection of blood due to hemoroging. They told me that it would absorb back into the body. It took about a month for it to start feeling better. It may be different then what you have but they did a CT scan to make sure there was no infection. Good Luck.

They did a CT scan although that was what they thought before. They wanted to make sure there was no infection. As far as the abdomen belt it was like a belt for a hernia. It was a belt that was from about my waste to the bottom of my chest it was elastic with velcro on the end. It helped a lot when I wore it. I also had bought a black weight lifting belt for like warehouse work. I wore them them for about 3 weeks. When they poked me with the needle the doc said that there was some blood. I am not sure how much but it was below the port where she poked. I was a little confused due to the area was a little lower then where the so called hematoma was. None the less it felt better with in hours after she poked that area. I had my own thought on the issue. Befor surgery I had a tight stomach. As weird as that sounds it was tight but after loosing 62lbs in about 10 weeks it sags a little. Not enough to tell visually but when I would hold my stomach up while standing from a sitting position there was no pain. If I stood up it would kill me. Buying the weight lifting belt and the belt the doc gave me helped keep my stomach compressed and made a difference. I hope this kind of helps.

As far as your port feeling like it's pulling I had something similar to that. It was called a hematoma which is a collection of blood under the skin. The doc told me that I may have somewhat pulled one of the staples on the port which caused it to bleed. They gave me antibiotics which I had a hard time taking. They also gave me a abdomin belt to wear.They said that it would eventually go away. It has been about 1 month and I am feeling better. I don't know if it's what you have but when I would stand it would feel like it was tearing. When I was sitting it was all good. Well hope this may help good luck on your journey and congrats. While I was at the docs I talked to about 2 other people that had the same thing. It sounds like it may be common. When I went for my first fill and did not need it due to my weigh loss success. When they poked me with the needle some blood came out and it felt better the next day. It seems like they must have relived some pressure.

I started my pre-op diet on October 22nd and had surgery on November 4th. To date I have lost 62lbs with out no fills. The journey has had ups and many downs. I am feeling great overall despite some setbacks. Happy Holidays everyone. I started at 344 lbs and now weigh 282 lbs. I hope to get to around 220Lbs.

Your doc possibly determines if you need a fill. It's based on the amount of food you eat in a sitting. Normally 3 small meals a day. If you are losing about 1-2 lbs a week and if you are hungry between meals. I believe that is what they go off of. Of course you can always ultimately you can make the decision I guess. Good luck on your journey Southern Leo.

Congrats to everyone on there weight loss. Keep up the good work. I am not sure why but it seems like men lose weight a lot easier then woman. I am not sure why but that seems to be the case. None the less everyone keep up the good work and look forward to the new year.

That is awesome keep up the good work. I am surprised how easy it has been coming off for my self.

Well from one thing to another. I went into the CT scan today and they found that my large intesting may be twisted. The doc asked if I was in pain due to it looking twisted and me having a lot of gas. I have never felt better I told them and don't feel like I have gas. They want me to schedule to have a colonoscopy some time soon like after the 1st since my insurance is changing. I asked them if I would be ok they said well if you feel very sick go to the ER. Everyone please pray for me that I will be ok to make it to the new year for an appointment and procedure with the gastro doc. I know how long docs take to schedule but hopefully they can get me in soon.

I have been posting for the last 2 weeks about pain in my port area due to a hematoma. I went in yesterday for the second attempt for my first fill. The first time I didn't need it due to my success in weight loss. Again yesterday I was told I did not need a fill yet since my success was still on going. I also talked to the doc about the pain on my side. I told her that it doesn't seem to be getting better but not worse. When she stuck me with the needle for the fill she said some blood came out. I don't know how much but she thought maybe it was from sticking me with a needle. As soon as I left I have felt 100 times better then the I have for the last 3 weeks:D . Even the bump that was on my side at the location is a lot smaller now. I am thinking that she may have relieved some pressure from the hematoma when the blood came out. I am having a CT scan tomorrow just for piece of mind that it's not getting worse. My insurance is changing and not being accepted anymore after the 1st. I am just trying to get things done before the 1st.

Great story everyone. I recently bought suspenders like my father. I need to buy smaller pants but am enjoying these pants for now.

For those of you who had a Hematoma how long was it before you started feeling better and recovered from it. It has been about 3 weeks but I really don't feel any better. I was unable to continue taking the antibiotics they gave me due to pills not staying down. I tried crushing and cutting them but no luck. They said there is no infection. It just sucks because it effects everday activity like work.

Hello everyone I am just wanting to vent about my situation. I was banded on November 4th and have lost 52lbs including the 2 weeks for pre-op diet. Two weeks ago I went to the doctor due to pain and swelling in the port area. They said it was called a Hematoma which is a collection of blood due to hemmorage. They said all would be fine but man it just doesn't seem to be getting any better but not worse. I have to wear a abdomine belt just about 24/7. It really is affecting my days. Thank god I have not been busy at work but am getting ready to be very busy soon. For those of you who have had this issue how long was it till the pain went away? January 1st my employer is changing insurance and my doc doesn't accept the insurance. They are the only office in New Mexico. I have not a had a fill due to the success that I have had with the weight loss. I am just scared that something will go wrong and then what am I suppose to do especially if the issue mentioned above doesn't go away. Like I said I am just venting. I keep thinking are things going to be like this forever. Sometimes I think I should have been happy with how I was before and just dealt with it. I sure hope things get better soon it's starting to take a toll on me.

For those of you who have had the band for awhile have you ever got hit on the port with baseball for example. I am only 5 weeks out from surgery and seem to think that you would feel the port forever especiallly when you lose more weight. I am concerned that later on you would get hit while doing physical activity and it will hurt really bad.

I got news at work that we would be changing our insurance from BCBS of Arizona to United Health Care on the 1st of Jan. I went to the doc today and found out that they don't accept the new insurance. I live in New Mexico and they are the only lapband office in the state. I am a little scared and concerned but I guess worst comes to worst you go back to them and pay full price assuming you have the money. They said the fills would be $350. I went into day for my first fill but did not get it due to having pain at the port but it is going away and I am feeling better. I would have not got the fill anyways due to the great progress that I have had since my surgery on Nov 4th. They scheduled another one for Dec 29th. Hopefully I will continue doing really well so that I don't need one. I would also be concerned in getting one that close to insurance change incase my body did not agree with the fill and had to have the fill removed after the 1st of the New Year. I guess I could always go to AZ, CO, TX and find a doc and just use the one locally for emergencies. It would be nice to be able to just ask questions but I am sure they won't do that anyways with out insurance. I will have to talk to them before the new year and see what they have to say.

I am sure that I will be able to find one out of state. That is going to be a inconvinence for me with the cost of having to fly or drive to my destination. I am more concerned about not having someone locally to talk to or if I need to go in about a situation. I don't know if it's true but I have heard several people say that most doctors don't take banded patients or want a large sum like $800 up front to establish with a new patient. I won't know till I call.

Do you know if they tell you not to swallow pills because it may get stuck or that it won't dissolve as quickly. I have some antibiotics I need to take but crushing them with certain foods is gross. I took one this morning and broke it in 6 pieces small enough to swallow. Of course it was still gross as soon as it hit my tongue but not as bad as crushed. Can you tell me if this is ok or do I have to crush them so I don't get sick.