lafrogura

Wow!! what a horrid experience! I would be pissed, too. That is insane. I work in the medical field, have worked in physician offices and there is no excuse for that! If i were you, i would just have the fill ASAP since you need it and try to see the doctor for your next one to make sure you're where you're supposed to be at with fills, etc ... i chose a very small solo practice for this kind of reason.. living in houston, i could have gone to the most famous WLS surgeon but chose not to, because i didn't want to be a "number" and herded like cattle through his office .. i wanted to go somewhere that i could have a close relationship with my surgeon, which is how my physician practices. He does his own fills. I never see anyone else, but that was my choice to choose someone like that. I am very picky and i don't want to ask questions to a nurse or medical assistant. I just wanted a different experience. I know not everyone has that option but i am sorry that happened to you.

I have not had a fill yet, but from everything i have read, i am sticking to nothing but clear liquids and protein drinks for a solid 3 days after my fills. I have NO plans on getting stuck or PB'ing or throwing up. Oh my gosh, i so dread that. Sorry i don't have any help to offer you. I am so glad people like you talk about your experiences, even if it is too late to help you with it, you are helping others. :wink2: hang in there .. it sounds like there's always some swelling after fills ... i hope you are able to eat soon ..

marisa - have you had very many fills? was just wondering if this was after the first fill or have you had several? i am using your experience as a learning experience for myself for the future. not looking forward to ever PB'ing or getting stuck. Thanks for being honest so others can learn from you.

Well, i weighed myself again today. last time was 4 days ago. I have lost 7 LBS!!! my weight is all over the charts. I am now at 350. This is unbelievable! i gained 5 lbs and then lost 7 lbs in less than a week. I have been doing 2-3 protein drinks a day since surgery. I have stayed away from carbs except for 1 cup of cereal sometimes in the morning. I don't eat cereal every day, though. I have a very small menu.. i am still on mushies but have tested the waters with solids just to cut the hunger and have never been uncomfortable after eating, nor have i ever thrown up or felt like throwing up - never PB's either... not sure i ever want to experience that from what i've read. i am so confused about what is going on with my weight .. i wouldn't think that i would still be losing water weight 2 wks after surgery, but then again, i'm not a nurse or doctor and don't know the correct answer to that ... thank you all again for your support in my time of need ... it means a lot to me!!! i hope i can help you all someday to return the favor :wink2:

Thank you all for your responses! I really appreciate you taking the time to respond!

I've heard bandsters talk about having an "id card" of some sort that you present at restaurants that allows people to buy off the kids' menu at because of the limited amount that can be consumed in one sitting. Does anyone know where to get one of these ID cards from?

I actually had my doctor write a letter stating that for x number of years that my weight had been an average of x # of lbs at each visit. I even did not have a family physician during those years. I had my gynecologist write the letter.I could not even be weighed in her office due to her scale only went up to 350lbs and i weighed more than that. That was enough for my insurance.

Wow! i just had my 1st f/u appt yesterday and the doc warned me not to try shrimp or tuna for at least 5 more weeks. I was told this week to go to mushies and can try some flaky fish like tilapia, halibut,etc. I tried a bite of chicken salad a couple of days ago and it caused severe pain and made me feel sick. I guess everyone is different.

Hi. I am 8 days post-op and I have not physically needed anyone else's help. I am able to get up and down and shower alone, etc. I think you will be ok. Good luck!

I am 8 days out and wish you the best of luck. expect some soreness and have plans for sleeping upright after you get home was key for me. Still is, but you will do great. Keep us posted on your progress.

Truediva, I wish you and your husband the best of luck .. that will be good to have someone to go through it with right by your side .. keep us informed and let us know how it goes

I would go ahead and schedule the pre-op testing and tell the insurance company you need the authorization # for the procedure. If they didn't give an actual auth#, see if they can fax you a copy of the letter since they gave the earlier date and you need to get testing done prior. Worth a try.

You know, i don't know why doctors and insurance companies don't understand or get it that if we could lose the weight on our own, WE freekin would. Of course your weight isn't gonna go down honey, in fact, i think they would not be surprised one bit that it went up. That really angered me that you were a half a pound away the first time and they didn't approve you. They could have told you at that time, when you gain some more, pop back in. Don't get discouraged. Hang in there and don't give up.

That's the most unbelievable story i've ever heard. For someone to be able to lose that much on their own and then gain it back. I'm sorry if i sound rude but my mouth is hanging open right now. I have gained and lost but never been able to lose that much on my own, especially all at once. I wish you the best of luck! I hope this is what you need to get your life back! :biggrin:

Don't worry .. you're not alone .. i did it, too. on my pre-op diet, i would try to eat stuff i knew i wouldn't be able to have for a long, long time, if ever again .. but the thing that helped me through the pre-op diet was knowing that my doc told me if my liver had too much fat on it going into surgery he wouldn't band me - he would close me up and send me home and re-try in 3 months. the whole purpose of the diet is to shrink the liver and the amount of fat on the liver .. that was the hardest diet i ever did but i managed to stick to it for the most part .. i did slip up here and there but you have to get right back on track if you do ..

When you have physical pain and the most uncomfortable feeling that lasts for a long time because of something you shouldn't have eaten! (even if it was one bite) That's one way you learn. Then there's the thought of band slippage which means more surgery to fix the problem. I learned this weekend by eating a few bites of watermelon, which caused unbelievable pain in my side for 2 straight days. THen i had literally one bite of chicken salad and i am still on a full liquid diet and i thought i was going to have to go the emergency room from the pain. I guess you will try it and learn, too. I have always had huge cravings all my life and a voracious appetite. I have to say 7 days post-op i haven't been hungry even with the full liquids. I drink a protein shake and it lasts hours. You literally feel full for hours even with liquids. That's been my experience so far. As far as your mom's friend, has she been getting fills? If so, is she eating the right foods? I mean like does she sit and eat ice cream for a meal or ... I know i've read stories on this site about people that had their band placed years ago and the band was too small. I'm not sure if they had so many choices of different sized bands years ago, but maybe that's one thing that could hender her weight loss. For example, if she has a 4cc band and it is filled to max and she still has a good size pouch. Also drinking carbonated drinks and consistently overeating will stretch the pouch and the band. Don't let other people's experiences frighten you. Find a good doc and good luck! Better to try and fail than never have tried! I know i am!

That's great if i can help one person from going thru what i went thru with this pain. The gas pain was so bad sometimes. I had a hiatal hernia fixed at the same time i had my band done and the doc said that my stomach is kind of like an upside-down coke bottle where the bubbles go to the top and can't come back down to come out. He also said i may be swallowing air when i eat - which adds to the gas .. i guess my days of chewing gum are over because i know before i had the band i would burp quite often while chewing gum. But if you feel like i can't take a full breath sometimes and have some pain in your side or your shoulder, try a different gas med. I am sipping this stuff like it's going out of style now. :ohmy:

Me, too.. i am now a bit scared to eat .. i am 6 days post op. i ate a bit of watermelon Friday evening thinking it would be ok on a full liquid diet. DON'T TRY IT! Caused horrible gas pain (that gas-x did not help) and then diarrhea. It lasted almost 24 hours. I still have some pain in my left side.

Well, i am now 5 days post-op. Everything is going great! I love Dr. Collier and highly recommend him to anyone who's looking for a lap band doc. I had the surgery at Conroe Reg Med Ctr and everything went great. Had a question about one of my incisions last night and he gladly met me as his office to check it out. How many doctors do you know of that would do that on a friday night? I don't. He's wonderful.

HI. i also had my surgery on monday and what helped me get rid of it was walking slowly, doing my incentive spirometer (deep breathing exercise)and doing the shoulder rolls that they taught you in elementary during P.E. Hope this helps you.

Hi I am 5 days post op. I had a little worry about one of my incisions yesterday and called the doc. One of them was spreading past the steri-stip and it was a little oozy looking. I went to see him last night and he said it was a seroma. He cleaned it and redid the dressing and said it was a good thing i had called because it could go bad fast. If you are concerned you should call your doc. Do not put peroxide or anything else on it if it looks open - the doc told me i could have caused a chemical burn by putting that on an open wound, which is what was recommended to me by the person that called me back who was on-call. Thank God my doc decided to call me back himself. :scared2:

Hi. i'm 4 days post -op. i have bcbs of tx. my insurance said they required a 6 month physician supervised diet, which i did not have and was still approved in 4 days. I did have weight watchers weigh-in stickers from 6 straight months and i had my gyno and surgeon write a letter. that was all that was sent in for pre-determintation and i was still approved and very quickly. i did have a bmi of 67 with no co-morbidities. good luck!

I am 4 days post-op. I was scheduled for outpatient surgery and ended up staying the night because it took me longer than most people to wake up in the recovery room and also my oxygen levels were lower than they wanted. So for precautionary reasons, they kept me overnight and i went home about 5:30 pm the following day. Doing great now. I have not taken one pain pill since surgery. I am very sore like i have been exercising very hard, but that's about it. Pretty pain-free. Just move slow and steady and you should be ok.

:tongue2:Hi .. i am using the Vita-gummies (gummy bears) i got it at Sam's Club. They taste just like regular gummy bears. I take 4 a day. I have to chew them until they are mush of course which is fine because they taste good. I also bought the vita-ball (gumballs) from wal-mart .. i chewed one to see how it tasted and it's really good. I still have a lot of burping all day so i am not chewing the vita-balls yet since i'm afraid it will put more air into my stomach.. i am only 4 days post-op. i could not stomach the chewable centrum vitamins.. they were awful. I also heard the flintstone children's chewables are good.

Hi. I am 4 days post-op. I used Dr .Richard Collier - he has offices in Conroe and in the Woodlands:thumbup:. He is with Journeylite but i used the Conroe Regional Medical Center instead of the Journeylite surgery center because I have PPO benefits. Fantastic surgeon with excellent bedside manner! My family and I were completely confident in him. I thanked him after the surgery and he said "The Lord took care of you while i just did a little work on you" .. Very Good Chrisitan doctor. He uses a fantastic anesthesiologist, also. They are wonderful!