fennigen

HeatherO, I'm jealous, I only get max 1 cc every 4 weeks!!! It feels like it's taking forever...I know that is what this is about, but, it does get tiring...

ok, I'm not the insurance expert, I will give you that, but the checking idea doesn't sound so bad to me...I do know that insurance companies will look for loop holes and I'm wondering if I allow a MD to fill beyond the capacity of the band am I putting myself at risk for payment? I have also wondered about fill centers for that reason as well. If I go and get more fill at a fill center and my port tubing gets messed up or something, who is responsible for that? anyone know?

Right there with you!!!! And I find a lot of errors in the posts so they are not just typos either!!!!! Currently Registered Nurse, in practice since 1994 w/ a BSN...in case someone should wonder!!!!!

My husband has been supportive from the start, and even held me up when I started to panic about taking $$$$ from the rest of the family for me...we have 4 kids, so the money has to stretch a long way...when I was ready to cancel, he said, "No way, this is for all of us in the long run"...I say keep looking cause the REAL men, the keepers are out there, they're just fewer and farther between so it takes longer to find them...I wonder would this person make disparaging comments to a hearing impaired person learning to read lips or any other disabled person workiing to find a way to live despite their disabilities??? Got to wonder what's making him unhappy that would cause the reactions you're seeing...he may have some size issues himself?!?!?!? Hope you can talk it out, get it worked out and find the support you need...maybe he just doesn't know how?????

I have 5 cc now, although was supposed to have 5.5 and when they drew everything out found I only had 4 in there...and before rockband replies, no there's no leak, yes, they applied pressure...(I'm an RN and have no difficulty understanding the whole port/band concept as I have filled many ports myself in the past, Morphine pumps, Baclofen pumps)...so, that out of the way, they took out what they thought was 5.5cc and found I actually only had 4 cc. Instead of only adding the 0.5cc, we added a whole 1cc and brought me up to the total now of 5cc. I am starting to stay fuller longer, but my volume has only changed slightly. I can still eat a large amount, not as much as before, but almost. BTW, have held the band/port in my hand, inflated them with saline myself and was comfortable with how it would be on a real stomach after seeing it on the demo one...as for it not being filled when starting, the band itself has a smaller diameter and that's why no fill to begin with, not because it's not as good a band as some have previously implied :redface:...Keep up the fight friends, health is just around the corner!!!!!

it's interesting to me that everyone's progress is slow until they reach restriction...um, yep, that's what the band is supposed to do...so whether we have a realize band or another band, it appears that restriction is the key. I was banded on Aug/08, have 5 cc after 5 fills and am only now starting to stay fuller longer. I can eat a whole lot more than 1/2 cup, but what I do eat stays with me for a long time, a lot longer than BB (b4 banding). When I started this whole journey, I was expecting restriction immediately. The first few days after surgery were EXACTLY what I expected, then whammo, the real world hit. I was so excited to start losing the weight that I started walking every day as well as curves 3-4 times a week. I dropped weight pretty quick early on, then the dreaded APPETITE returned!!!! AGH!!!! I stuck with it for a while, but being hungry was the same as BB and staying the same weight zapped my willpower. See when I was losing I was so ENCOURAGED and it helped, but now w/ only 5 cc and hunger my willpower is what it was before, and that is why I was banded in the first place...to bring it all to a close, I need restriction, I need all the things my band can do to help me fight this battle...I can only get max:1cc every 4 weeks so the waiting is killing me...

I think I need to do what you're doing, measure my food. I don't measure and I find I'm eating almost as much as pre-op with 5 cc in my band...I might feel full with less food and just don't realize it.

I understand what you're saying about busy...but, eventually it gets very user friendly if you persevere...I use it to track my food daily and my exercise and then a running calorie count...I can add my own foods in which has worked best for me...I say whatever you find that works for you, use that !!!! The key is USE it...good luck...

They let me get away with 3 weeks between my fills just because I was already there, but my PA said the last time,"4 weeks, don't let me see you back before 4 weeks". I am thinking of discussing the 'normal' restriction fill of approx 8 cc w/ them to see if they will fill me w/ 2 cc to bring me up to 7 total. we'll see, but the frustration is making it more difficult to stick to curves and walking. Jenn

on that vagal comment, some md's actually cut the vagal nerve to assist in changing the body's ability to tell itself that it's hungry...

oops just saw your last post here and got the answers to my questions.

I was just wondering rockbandster when you had surgery, what have your outcomes been and what type of band do you have?

krtork, I have to say I'm jealous...I was banded on aug 6 and have about 120 to lose. I've lost like about 26. I got my third fill of 1 cc to total 5 cc in my realize band and I only have slight restriction. Like I told my md, it slows me down, but my presurg and post surg volume are the same. I am doing curves 3 x a week and am walking a mile each day it doesn't rain...I've not lost anything since my first fill.

ok, really for truly the last time :wink_smile:

ok, i think i followed all the directions, but i still can't get it to work...cntrl v and my ticker doesn't appear in the edit signature box...i don't know what I'm doing wrong...

trying for the last time...

nope, I must have messed up something...

want to see if it worked for me...

Please forgive this if it sounds cold, cause it's not meant to... I am in the same boat as you...I've had 2 fills in my realize band and as of yet, have no restriction...but, I am telling myself this...I didn't get here overnight and I didn't get here by being hungry either. maybe I need to get my body adjusted to that "not full" feeling. Is it possible that after such a long period of Overeating, our bodies begin to confuse "stuffed full" with just "not being hungry" and then we set the full to another level? I mean, I know that I could eat 6 pieces of toast and two eggs and that I gradually got to the place where my body thought that amount of food was normal for it to feel satisfied. I guess what I'm saying is thatmaybe we are expecting too much when we desire for the band to completely take away that hungry feeling. Maybe we need to reset our minds...I don't know, maybe I'm full of it...In any case, I know that the protein is what kept me on track early on, now, not so much. If you keep a diary of what you eat in a day, you will be amazed at how few calories your body is living on right now.

protein,protein,protein...with the water in between, the protein helps to keep you from being hungry...get some protein bullets from GNC and drink them, at least every two hours and then have SF fudgsicles, popsicles, broth, jello in between...i mix the bullets with a drink mix (1/2 a 42 gram bullet) with a drink mix. I had sx 08/06 and for the first while I felt like I could eat a horse, but once I started getting the protein in, it helps to get rid of that feeling...hope it helps.

does anyone know how to put those weight loss/bmi trackers on your thingy?????

Hey there, I'm Jennifer, a nurse from Canada but relocated to North Carolina. With the first of my four children I started putting on weight and had not stopped until the day I changed my MIND. I watched that Bariatric program on discovery health and realized it was me if I didn't change what I was doing... 04/08-Lap Band Education Classes, Psych & Nutrition Evals, Cardiac workup, pulmonology workup and endoscopy...took until 06/08 to get all of these completed 07/08-Insurance 08/06/08-SURGERY, 7 am after working 12 hours to make the $$$ to pay for surgery----dumb move, should have slept, would have felt better sooner !!! 09/26/08-first fill-24.6 pounds lost-3 cc 10/15/08-second fill-26.6 pounds lost- 1 cc- total:4cc

I have BC/BS w/ the state, my husband is a probation officer...so I have the state health plan, it was great and approved quick and easy...although they haven't made payment yet...I guess I don't want to jinx it...I had surgery on Wed am took the w/e off work and returned on Mon pm---a 12 hour shift---I am a nurse in labor & delivery. I probably should have taken Mon off cause I was still feeling poorly, but by Tues I felt great. The first 3 days are the roughest, but that is typical w/ any surgery, not just banding...anyway, hope this answers your questions. And all, thanks for the well wishes. I hope to lose another 20 by Thanksgiving, but it will take some real work at Curves and my walking track...we'll see...

Are the WalMart kind the same as far as calories and stuff? I cna't believe that I bought online and then GNC when Wally has them...I'll have to check them out. I bought fruit punch first and could hardly choke it down, although was trying it plain. I put 2 tsp splenda in it and it made it slightly better. This time I bought grape and mix it with a 20 oz grape drink mix in a 1 litre bottle and I can't even taste it. I do only take 1/2 at a time, but that's cause of the cost not cause of the absorbable protein.

hye there, can't answer all the questions, but I did try the fruit punch bullets from bariatriceating.com or gnc (42 gram ) kind and ugg they were awful...choked them down. But, I just bought the grape kind from gnc and have mixed 1/2 of it with equate grape drink mix in a litre water bottle and I can drink it without even tasting it. I helps to make sure I get my protein---which I have been told 60-80 grams/day. hope this helps.