RestlessMonkey

Ask your surgeon if it will hurt the port (I doubt it but maybe?) eventually you may need your port moved.

Winniehunt...just because your insurance didn't cover having the band placed does not mean it will not cover ANYTHING that might be related to the band. For good or ill it's inside you now..and insurance usually will cover. My advice? Before you panic any further, call your insurance provider and ASK. You may be surprised to find out it is a non-issue; and you can go wherever you want to get the endoscopy done. I think it would depend on WHY you need it done, actually. If there's a medical need, then ins will cover. If not, then why have it anyway? Just for the doc to have info? If you are losing, feeling well, no issues, and your blood work is fine, then it is a medically unnecessary test. just say no! (It's ok to say no to a test you don't think you need)

I don't think the realize band IS sutured... but (and I'm just thinking this through, not a doc, haven't asked...this is opinion, not sound medical advice) I know that if you eat ahead of your post op diet and make your stomach churn (which it does to digest food), even if the entire band doesnt move, you can pop a stitch or two and set yourself up for problems down the road. And I think it would slip "upwards" usually, it will take the path of least resistance. It can also erode INTO your stomach (again...one way you can set yourself up for that is eating too early on your post op diet before you've healed well)... anyway I think usually it slips UP but am seeing my doc on thurs and will ask him! Good question! :biggrin:

Excuse me,,,,12K for an endoscopy? Did I read that right? yes that is too much.

I was clear liquids week one, full liquids week 2 (in other words it had to go through a straw, and included Protein shakes week 2) week 3 mushies week 4 soft foods (ie baked fish) and week 5-6 transition to regular food. Do you have a realize band, or a lap band, do you know?

I just think you're lucky you get mushies at 10 days! LOL I got clear liquids week one, and then got to add in .... protein shakes! (oh wow) but no I agree with the others; if it didn't hurt and it was per your doc's dietary guidelines, then you're fine.

Maybe your doc is that way. Mine is going by the research that says aggressive fills can cause esophageal spasms and a host of other problems. Sounds like you're just unhappy, period...sorry it hasn't worked out for you the way you thought it would.

Sorry it isn't something easily fixed, but I'm glad to know you've told your primary about it! Just ask your surgeon; and fyi tylenol and a little caffeine is a GREAT headache rememdy :thumbup:

I agree about the weight, according to the Lap Band site (where I cut the following info from): you've been thinking about weight loss surgery as a tool in losing and your excess weight and maintaining your ongoing health goals, you can use the guideline below to determine if LAP-BAND® System is the right option for you. To determine if your weight and physical attributes meet the criteria for the LAP-BAND® System, slide the controls below to your approximate weight and height. You may be able to benefit from the LAP-BAND® System if: You are at least 18 years old You are at least 100 pounds overweight or your BMI is 40 or higher (or at least 35 if you have one or more comorbidities - weight-related health conditions - such as type 2 diabetes) Keep in mind that only a qualified physician/surgeon can properly evaluate all the factors in your case. Personally (and this is just me...) I wouldn't have the surgery for that amount of weight to lose, and there is no way on earth I'd go to Mexico to have it done. Period. BUT I've lived on the border and heard tales of terror since I was little (A LONG time ago).... and I know germs can't be seen with the naked eye so just because something "looks" clean doesn't mean it is. People DO go to Mexico and have good results. Right now with the drug wars, though, isn't a good time. There is a doctor in Colorado, Kirschenbaum, who does the whole thing for under 10K...I don't know him but would probably do something like that (others in the USA are also cheaper than 10K) rather than going to Mexico, if i couldn't afford the 15K my local surgeon charged, or if I didn't have insurance.

During the "preview" process they asked how much I'd like to weigh and I said as long as I lost I'd be happy. For my surgeon, I think the idea was more to see if we were ready for the band, realisitic etc. Since then, the focus hasn't been on weight so much as portion control, no snacking, exercise, etc.

Me! The only thing that went wrong for me happened when I didn't follow my preop diet (I lost anyway but not by the diet my doc gave me) and couldn't get the band because my liver was too thick. Once I did what the doc said (lost more weight) and was successfully banded, I've been fine! I do what he says, and everything is groovy! :thumbup: Just follow your docs instructions and you'll do well!

Do you have after care lined up locally, or if not, do you plan to go back to get fills etc? Becaused the aftercare is almost more important than the band...and it can be hard to obtain if you have your surgery by a different surgeon. Also...be VERY careful traveling in Mexico. Depending on where you're headed, things are in a furor down there right now...drug cartels fighting police etc. (I live near the border and there is something on the news here almost nightly) Good luck! :thumbup:

I picked the weight I was at through my mid twenties-mid thirties. I feel good at that weight and feel I can maintain it. Since they say lap banders lose only about 50% of their excess weight, (and my goal puts my total loss at a good chunk more than 50%) I figured it was a good stretch, but do-able. Honestly since I started at 405 I'll be happy as a skinny pig when I get down to 200. Once I hit 185, I'll see how I feel and if I want to lose more. Again, my big issue isn't hitting a low, but being able to maintain it. So I'll adjust it as I feel the need. Right now, any pound I lose is great. My mini goal is to just get to 50 lost...the most I've EVER lost on any diet is 45. So once I hit that 50 I'll be in "virgin diet" territory! :thumbup:

You shouldn't get frequent headaches, for one! :thumbup: You need your primary to check that out! You may need glasses, or have an allergy, or some such. AND NSAIDS (like aspirin, motrin, aleve) can irritate the stomach in any person. Once you are banded and have restriction, the pill CAN sit in your pouch and really mess it up. Some docs say no NSAIDS, some don't care, some say proceed carefully. So you are right, you need to ask your surgeon. Tylenol should work for your headache and not mess with your pouch. It should be safe, depending on your health status, as long as you don't overdo it. Seriously though, get those headaches checked out.

In the seminar (way back at the beginning of this journey!) my surgeon said (I'm paraphrasing but this is the jist of it) Most of you will lose a lot of hair, around month 3 to month 6 or so. You can take supplements, make sure you have enough Protein, or not do anything, and you will still lose hair. I have done over 1000 procedures and only had one patient who needed a wig; coincidentally she owned a wig shop. For the rest of you, it won't be that drastic, it will stop, and your hair will grow back just fine. That's what happened to me. Starting about 2 1/2 months in (but then I had 2 surgeries in August) I lost hair. The loss lasted about 2 1/2 months, then quit. It is all growing back fine and full. And even my beautitian of 20+ years never could tell I'd lost a bunch (but it was a bunch!) so I guess my surgeon knows his stuff. You can take the supplements to make yourself feel better but I don't think they will stop or impact the loss. I did look into Biotin during month 4 because I was starting to worry but the stuff I read said biotin took up to 3 months to work. So I didn't spend the money (or mess with the pill). So supplement or not, you'll probably be one who loses hair, then it will stop and all grow back!

I think you should probably not worry about it and just follow your doc's advice, even though I'm someone who didn't get the band at first because of my liver size. Unless your surgeon saw an indication that you have an excessively large liver (and blood work and ultrasound should indicate this) then you are fine! Just be sure to brace for all liquids AFTER the surgery; that was harder! :thumbup: Good luck!

I agree 100000% with Macmadame! Your stomach churns to digest the food and that can really mess with your band placement. It's something my surgeon addressed in the seminar! He said if we couldn't follow the post op diet of liquids, etc, then do NOT get the band. Many of us are very hungry post op. I was! You just have to tough it out for a few weeks! Please call your surgeon on Monday and let him know; he may want to do some tests to make sure you're ok.

I know what you mean! BUT stick to your preop diet to the letter (and even more importantly the first 6 weeks or so of the post op diet)! Don't cheat...it's just for a little while and then you should be able to eat most foods again, you'll just (as you get restriction) be able to eat less. This is the hardest part but hang in there so your liver will shrink and you will have a smooth operation! :tongue_smilie:

Good luck! It's a process, getting the fill level "just right". But when it is at the correct spot, it works marvelously! Don't give up! :tongue_smilie:

I apologize; I meant that for me, honesty is the best policy. Yes, I cheated on the preop diet. Did I get away with it? NO. Do others? YES. Am I up front about it now? YES Would you know if I didn't tell you? NO. If I were, say, to say "I am having a hernia repaired" instead of telling about the band, then BAM I'd need a hernia repaired and people would wonder why since I JUST HAD it repaired. As I think I made clear, that is MY personality and MY karma. If I try to get out of an appt by saying my car battery died, then I know it is a rock solid fact that the darn thing WILL die within the next 2 weeks, usually when I am due at an appt with the people I just lied to. See my point? Some can get away with that type of thing; I can't. So I told. Would you point out to me where I called you a liar? I think you chose that name yourself. I think I said FOR ME Honesty is the best and easiest policy. Maybe you feel guilty? Don't know. But chill out. The only person doing any name calling here is you.

I've told people I got the lap band. I'm proud of it. I'm happy to have it. I think that it is my best chance for a healthier life. I've been met, unfailingly, with support and interest (many people say they have a family member who wants to have it, or some such, and are pleased to have someone to talk to about it). No one has ever been rude or told me I should try something different, but then, my personality is pretty open. For me I've learned, from the time I was small, that honesty is the best (and easiest) policy.

What did your doc's directions say to do? For about 99% of us, we are NOT to eat, but rather have liquids only. You need to follow your surgeon's directions.

Slider foods are foods that are perhaps inappropriate for weight loss (cookies, milkshakes, mashed potatoes with butter and gravy) but that "slide" through the band easily. This becomes important if someone has too much restriction or fill in the band...because then the tendency is to pick slider foods rather than the healthy ones.

What exactly are you afraid of, or is it just general nerves?

What exactly do your instructions from your surgeon say? It is important that you do exactly what YOUR doc tells you to; all diets are a little different. Tell us what yours says and we can maybe help you...