thewired1

I had my last fill 2 weeks ago today. Last Thursday, I started having issues with reflux, but knew that it was tied to a change in eating times (about 7 hours between lunch & supper) and my menstrual cycle. Had an appointment for a fill today but did not have one. Just met with my NP who agreed that a fill would not be the best thing today. Stick with mushies and fluids. I got back to the office, stole TWO french fries from the boss and made myself a hot chocolate/protien drink. I've managed to get 3 sips of the drink down and the heartburn hit BIG TIME. I finally ended up doing the mad dash for the bathroom and loosing the drink (and getting splashed in the face with the toilet Water too boot). I'm still in a decent amount of pain and still dealing with the slime-monster. Any opinions on if this is a "wait & see" thing or if I should get myself to the ER? Banded 12/04/2007. First incidence of severe sliming/loosing food in over 8 weeks. Thank you for any and all help.

The pain subsided. At least until I tried to eat again. I'm going to try going back to liquids and mushies only. If I'm having trouble with that on Friday @ noon, I'll be going in for an unfill.

It took about 6 weeks to 2 months for all the swelling and bruising around my port to heal. It sucks, but it takes time.

Toothbrush and toothpaste are biggies. My hospital does all bands as at least one night in the hospital. But I wasn't allowed out of bed until about 24 hours after. You had to have drank 8 oz in an hour and I kept nodding off and couldn't do it. BABY WIPES! I felt so gross and sticky (and smelly) and wanted a shower so badly... But couldn't get out of bed. Neighbor had people constantly in & out of the room and they'd always peek in my curtain so I didn't feel comfortable asking for a spongebath. I really wish I could have freshened up a little before they let me take a shower. Portable DVD player would have been a godsend too. With headphones.

One of the things I keep telling myself is that this isn't a sprint, it's a freaking MARATHON. A strong and steady pace is what it's going to take to reach the finishline without burning out. In our case, burning out is self-sabatoging like not exercising or making less-than-healthy food choices. You're so close!

I still remember being 13 years old and my mother driving me to ballet class and giving me "the talk". Not the Birds and the Bees mind you, the "you're getting heavy and it's embarrassing me" talk. Never mind that I was half her size, a good foot shorter and much thinner than she was at my age. At 13 years old and a size 6, I was fat. And she wondered why I got rebellious after that.

I was banded at the beginging of December and still miserable around Christmas. There's no way I would have been ready for a major international trip just 2 weeks post surgery. If you feel the need to move it up, can you move it up by a week?

Where are you? I'm in ND too. I would ask for a fill under the MRI or CT or whatever that machine is called. In Grand Forks, our first fills are done there to make sure that everything is properly placed. Everything that you mentioned is possible as well as maybe a defective port? Call your surgeon's office and ask for them to x-ray or check positioning another way.

I'm sorry I forgot to mention it! The Psych eval and the Behavior Change classes should be covered by your insurance regardless of if they give you pre-approval for the surgery. They count as therapy sessions, which BCBS is really good about covering. I believe the high BP is considered a co-morbidity. So his your family history of diabetes & heart disease. Have you ever been told you have pre-diabetes? That can help you qualify too.

Amanda, I have BCBS ND. The approval process can be a bear if you don't have at least one co-morbidity, even if you hare 100# overweight. I can walk you through the process as it went for me, although the process went fairly quickly for me as I had a few co-morbidities. First: Meet with the Bariatric Coordinator. You may have to fill out some paperwork at this meeting or before it. It's similar to filling out a medical history form but it also focuses on your weight history and attempts at losing weight. If the coordinator believes you are a good candidate, they will set up your first consultation with a surgeon. The coordinator will probably push for a sleep study. If you snore, this will be covered by your insurance. Your primary care doctor will need to call in the referral. BCBS will only pay for your Gastric Emptying study, if you're found to have less than normal gastric emptying. It's one of two of Altru's required tests that your insurance will only pay for if something is wrong, even if they've already agreed to pay for the surgery. The other--I forget the name of the test but it's where they look at your esophagus, stomach and upper intestine. If you're having heartburn (or in some cases excessive hic-ups) then BCBS will pay for this. They will also pay if anything is found during the test. A lot of the people in my classes had to go through all three before they got their pre-approval for surgery. I don't know if Park Rapids has the NEW Start program but that was required by Altru and is never covered by insurance. $350 for it and honestly, it's a good program that is a combination nutrition/exercise class & group therapy session for 12 weeks. For me: I picked up some healthier eating tips, learned some fun exercise that I wouldn't have tried on my own, and reminded me that I wasn't alone in what I was doing. But that last one is what this forum is for! Do you know if you have any co-morbidities?

I'm in a stalled phase. My feet are so bad that it's hard to even walk sometimes, which has made it really hard to exercise--but I'm trying! My backsliding pre-band would have had be back to be NEW Start begining weight and I've only gained 3 pounds instead of 30. When did you have your classes? I did the last of the Saturday groups of 2007.

Blackcherry, feel free to PM me and I'll give you any info you want that I have. I haven't figured out that feature here yet!:cursing:

OMG YES! When you have more belts than shoes in your closet. When the resale shops get excited to see you coming because they need to re-stock their inventory.

I have that trouble too, especially with spicy food. I've taken to getting a glass of water with extra ice and when the burning is about to get too bad, I'll take a small ice cube on my tongue and let it melt. It's about the same amount of water as a small sip, the cold helps the burning and makes me wait a few extra moments before my next bite.

Food choices get me every time. Getting a fill will help some, at least with portion sizes.

Most days, there are other ways to satisfy those pop cravings. Those PUR Water flavor additions help a lot-or so I've been told. Crystal Light, Propel Fitness Water, and sugar-free Kool-Aid all make mix-ins that you can carry with you for bottles of water. On the days that nothing else will do but a diet coke or some ginger ale, I'll pour some in a glass and stir it as quickly as possible to get it flat. When you haven't had anything like it in several months and really need it--it still tastes good. Lastly, if you're craving it because you need something fizzy on your tongue there are (I can't believe I'm saying this) some fizzy candies that aren't too bad on calories and carbs. The Jones Soda Candies come to mind. I would not recommend turning to candy. It's a slippery slope because one piece can too easily turn into the whole box. But darn-it, sometimes the cravings won't go away unless you have a small taste of what you're craving.

I am Wendy. My Endocrinologist suggested the band to me and I was grateful as I was too afraid to ask about it. I was at the time a type 1/2 diabetic (type 2 but insulin dependent as well) and have PCOS. I had been told that I was not to attempt to have children in my state of health as the pregnancy would be dangerous to me. But loose at least 50# and maybe try then. 100# would be even better. Started my local hospital's "New Start" program for bariatric patients in 09/2007. Banded on 12/04/2008. Repeatedly injured during the 12 week pre-surgical prep. Badly sprained ankle, shoulder problems and loss of feeling in hands from the crutches, sprained both knees (separately) and developed severe plantars fascitis. I have slipped back into some un-healthy eating habits but am working to correct that. Having surgery at the end of June to correct the more severe plantars fascitis in one foot so that I can hopefully get back into the gym. Bought a bicycle with part of our stimulus package money and my goal is to work up to riding it to work 3-4 days per week with an additional, longer ride on the weekend. I have gained a total of 4 pounds in the last 3 months, due mainly to lack of exercise. The upper body workout just isn't cutting it for me at the moment. I had a recent fill on 5/28/08 and feel I am too tight. Getting bad heartburn/reflux with the second to third bite of solid food and am loosing about half of any solids that I eat. Cannot attempt solids before 7pm at night. Very little gurgling with liquids, but some slime. I currently have 7.5cc in a 14cc band. If you've read my novel, I thank you and commend you! I look forward to meeting all of you.

Hello all! Banded in 12/2007 by Dr McColl in Grand Forks with PA Shelley Wright assisting. Shelley performs my adjustments and I'm really happy with the staff at Altru.

I'm from Grand Forks and get my fills from Shelley Wright at the Altru Bariatric Center. What is the difference of Fluoro and Saline?

Yvonne and Susan, thank you so much for your kind words. Here's to focusing on the positive! Positive things since being banded: No insulin. (Last shot was 12/3/07.) Very few un-tolerated foods. (Mainly homemade, dense breads.) Compliments on changing appearance. Increasing desire to exercise. Struggles since being banded: food choices. (My cravings haven't changed much.) Negative emotional reaction to adjustments. There. At least the positives are out-weighing the negatives!

My husband was scared and mentioned me canceling the surgery. He even mentioned that I could cancel it while we were waiting to be taken to the holding room pre-surgery! It's so hard on them to watch us get all worked up and then hurt. It hurts them to see us in pain. And since most men are 'fixers' and there's nothing here that they can 'fix', they try to help by avoidance. I went through with my procedure. My hubby has been right by my side for just about everything post-surgery and your hubby will too. He's just having a momentary freak-out.

Thank you for sharing this. I have similar feelings, in regards to emotional and pyschological issues. I too feel that they lead me to my top weight. They are demons to be slain, that is most definite.