kymmie

My surgeon said there wasn’t much difference in the bands, so I choose the Lap Band because he had more experience with it. But at my last fill he was having trouble finding my port and he sort of mumbled how he liked how the Realize band is easier to locate. Had I known it would make the fills easier, I would have gotten the Realize Band. I would ask you surgeon if he also feels this way

Hello everyone in the St Louis area. I am glad to see we have a good support group here. Nice to meet all of you

I'm sorry to tell you, but that is how all three of my fills have gone so far. It seems everytime he sticks me the port moves on him. He pushes on my belly so hard sometimes to find the port, I usually having brusing afterwards. I wish I had better news for you. The way I look at it, I am just glad he finally found the right place.

I have BCBS Federal Employee Program, and it was covered.

I was banded 5/21/08 and have had 3 fills. Weight loss has been slow. A total of 25 lbs (15 was from my pre-op diet). Yesterday I experienced my first major stuck. I was eating steak when I got the sharp pain in the chest. Hiccups/Burbs relieved the pain momentarily, but the food wouldn't pass and eventually came back up. I have had bread stuck before but the hippups/burps would relieve the pain and I would be fine. I thought I should join the forum so I would think about my band more often. Since I don't have much restriction, sometimes I forget about it and I don't take my time to chew and then something gets stuck.

I must see the dietician everytime I go in for a fill. I have a form that I fill out that asks if I'm losing my hair, experiencing acid reflux, how much Protein I get daily, what Vitamins I am taking, and other stuff like that. She reviews the form, then answers whatever question I have. It takes less than 5 minutes if I don't ask to many questions. She knows what she is talking about, so I really take advantage of that.