swishbc

That info was crap, they told me that too. Whoever told us all that should be fired, lol! Dr. Baggs said that he can consult me over the phone on how I'm feeling or can transfer records to new doctors but that if we don't have Kaiser they can NOT treat us, even for a fee. Sucks. I called around a bunch of places today and I think I might go to Dr. Machado at UCD Med Center. It's $500 to join her program but then only $100 for fills and $75 for no-fill consults...not too horrible for no insurance. My Blue Cross PCP said they'll eventually cover Bariatric Services soon but she doesn't know when. Hopefully hubby's company will offer Kaiser again in the future.

Hey everyone! I know it's been FOREVER and some of you don't even know who I am... My husband's company dropped Kaiser in January and we now have Blue Cross--with NO lapband coverage. Lame. I was wondering if any of you have or know anyone who has had a fill anywhere else out of pocket? I need a fill BAD and am trying to get something scheduled. Any advice? I'll post more of an update later but I gotta get the baby up from his nap.

Tina--I have a decent amount of restriction. I've been on the verge of being stuck a few times and have PB'd only once. I just talked to Robin today (supposed to have a fill on MOnday) but her and I both agreed that I seem to be at a sweet spot for now. I've lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks and have had no hunger in between meals and have kept my cals around 800-1200 a day. We changed my appt to September 10th so that I'll have lost another 5-10 lbs by then and will probably be ready for a fill at that point. Reggie!!! I'm back to posting here and on Youtube. Let's get back in regular contact so we can meet up in person and on facebook and here and keep eachother motivated and encouraged. We've lost the weight before, we can do it again! I keep in touch with Candi and she's doing good. She hasn't lost in a while though she said, but she's maintaining and looks AMAZING. She's just beautiful. We need to have another one of our lunches in Sac soon. Sophie is back in school and I'm available until 2:30 Tues-Friday. Let's plan it, okay?

Hey everyone! Hope you're all doing okay. Riley I'm so sorry to hear about your house, I usually get annoyed when people say this but maybe it's all happening for a reason? Even though I hate to hear it it is usually true, you know? Pam, that's horrible! I'm sure that would be very upsetting...I'm sorry for that poor mother, I can NOT even imagine... So I'm back in kick ass mode and doing great! I'm journaling, eating 800-1200 cals a day, exercising (but not enough...I'm getting better) drinking lots of water, avoiding sliders, etc. My hard work is paying off! I've lost 10 lbs in the last 3 weeks and I've earned back my 50 lbs lost! I gained when pregnant and lost my 50 lbs so I'm so happy to be back on the 50+ lost side of my journey. Now on to the big 1-0-0! I'm doing weekly updates on youtube again, I've made some good friends there and it keeps me accountable know they're watching every week. Check 'em out if you want! Hope you're all having a great week!

Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing well! I've been lurking for a while and have gotten re-motivated and am BACK on the lapband wagon 100%! I've been following ALL of the rules: protein first, not drinking with meals, no sliders, no snacking, exercising 5x a week, etc. and I feel SO GOOD! Stacy, I'm sorry you had such a crappy visit. I would recommend switching surgeons. I was originally with Dr. Fisher also and he was too conservative for me (and I'm pretty conservative with my surgery/body) so I switched to Dr. Baggs and really like him a lot. I plan on posting here more regularly and look forward to getting back into the groove and getting to my goal. I have several goals I'm trying to acheive throughout the rest of the year, but my biggest most exciting goal is to be 199 or less by new years eve! I lost 5.2 lbs this week and have made a weight loss chart with my weekly goals through the end of the year and I KNOW I CAN DO IT!!! I'm excited to be motivated again, I was worried that after having the baby that I would have a really hard time getting back into the swing of things. Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend! We're hotel-ing it up in Emeryville this weekend and are going to the Berkeley Kite Festival. It should be lots of fun and great weather!

Are you talking about April--smilin_apple (sp?) Oh no! I hope she doesn't lose her band. That's awful, I'll be thinking GOOD thoughts for her. Poor thing...<3

Tina, I have an appt with Dr. Baggs on 7/15 too! Mine is at 10:15, when is yours? That would be weird if Kaiser stopped doing the band...would they still treat us for our band maintenance? I hope so! I don't want to have a revision surgery, I love my band!

How exciting! Good luck to everyone that's soon to be banded! And keep kicking butt to everyone that's already had surgery. WE CAN DO THIS! We deserve it! :devil_smile:

Hey all, I had my fill today with Dr. Baggs and he gave me 2cc's so I'm at 4.5 cc's now. Not much else besides that for an update...he gave me a goal of 5 lbs to lose before my next fill in one month. I'm gonna kick that 5 lbs BUTT!!! I was surprised that they've changed the 24 hours of clear liquids to 48 hours...that sucks! I'm friggin' starving and it's only been about 12 hours. BOO. Oh well, maybe I'll get a nice jump start to my weight loss this way. I'm hoping it won't affect my nursing Dex. If I notice a drop in my milk supply I'll start adding in runny cream of wheat, oatmeal, etc before my 48 hours is up.

Thanks Pam! I only have 2.5 cc's and he said that he'll give me 2cc's for the first fill, then 1 cc, then .5 for ever fill after that til I get to my sweet spot again. I had 5.5 put in on my day of surgery so I'm thinking 2cc's will be fine. Wish me luck!

Hey everyone! Long time no post. Dex is 7 weeks old now and I've been cleared to work out and get my Lapband refilled. I have an appt with Dr. Baggs tomorrow in Vacaville and can't WAIT! I'm so ready to get back on track with my weight loss journey and am looking forward to setting new goals. We're going to Hawaii in October so that'll be my biggest goal! :thumbup: I'm looking forward to being back posting on here often once again. It's been forever!

He also said he'll give me fills every month until I get to my sweet spot. My sweet spot before getting preggo was 6 or 6.5 cc's, I was WAY tight at 8.0 and got an unfill as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I won't ever get that tight again, I was PB'ing every few days and it SUCKED.

Thanks everyone! Dr. Baggs said my fill schedule will be just like it was after surgery: 2 cc's for the first re-fill, 1 cc for the second, and .5 or 1.0 for fills after that until I get to my sweet spot. I only have 2.5 cc's right now but strangely have noticed restriction SINCE having the baby! I've gotten a little bit stuck and even slimed a bit with bread/bagels since he was born. I was enjoying my breads, pasta and rice while preggo and never had any problems. It's weird...I don't know why I didn't feel my band while all my organs were all squished together and I can feel it now when everything is moving back to where it's supposed to be and I don't have a big ol' baby in there too!

Dex 5/10

Sophie and Dex today, Dex is 3 weeks old today.

Dex just a couple minutes old

OMG people, I'm back! Most of you probably have no idea who I am since it's been...oh, about 9 months or so! I had Dex on 4/23 and he was 9lbs 7 oz and 22 inches long. BIG BOY! He's great and snuggling with me as I type. He's sleeping alot and nursing like a little champ and getting chunkier and chunkier every day. I--on the other hand am starting to be VERY ready to get rid of the chunk on my own body. :w00t: Dr. Baggs said I can come in for my first post-partum fill after 6 weeks, so I'm gonna call and schedule an appt on Monday for 6 weeks out. I gained 30 lbs during my pregnancy but have already lost 20 and only have 10 to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. WOOHOO! That feels like a victory to me for sure. I'm looking forward to posting here regularly again and getting to know those of you that have joined since I've been gone. Eventually I'll start going to the Kaiser support group meetings, maybe not every month but I'll try. Everyone have a great weekend! If I eventually figure out how to post pics on here I'll post a pic of Dex...he's pretty darn cute. :laugh:

Hey everyone! I don't know a lot of you on here since I haven't been around much since getting pregnant but HELLO! I'm 31 weeks now and starting to feel like I'm ready to be done being pregnant. This little guy is moving all over and is getting really strong! My weight is still doing well (I've gained about 20 lbs) and my band is treating me good. I have 3.5 cc's in my band (had 8 when I got pregnant and had a couple unfills in the first 3 months). I have an appt with Dr. Baggs in Vacaville on Friday and I think I'll get a small unfill to get me through the rest of the pregnancy. Everything is so squished inside me now that I've been on the verge of being stuck a few times lately...no fun. He said I can start getting fills again 6 weeks after I have the baby, so that'll be nice to get that and be able to exercise again and get back on track. Hope you're all doing well! I was gonna post a preggo pic of me but I can't figure it out...I'll keep trying though. :tongue_smilie: Take care!

Hey girls, just checking in! I read and catch up on the last few pages about once a week and I miss losing weight! I can't wait until April when I can get back into my routine with working out and working my band. I'm 23 weeks and have gained about 12 lbs...not horrible, but MAN! It's so tough seeing the scale go up instead of down. I keep telling myself that it's not all true weight gained but it still hecka sucks. I hope you all had great Christmases and that we can see eachother soon. I'd be up for meeting in the Sac/Natomas area after my daughter starts school again on the 11th. Have a great night!

Hey girls, just popping in real quick to tell you that we just found out today that we're having a.....BOY!!! We're so excited and can't wait to meet him. I'm pretty sure his name will be Dexter Monroe Swisher (we'll call him Dex). I'm still only up 8 lbs and am 19 weeks, feeling pretty good! I've read the last couple pages here but haven't had the time to be here regularly. I miss you all though and will try to be around more. Have a great day!

Happy Sunday everyone! It's been a while since I've been around. It's such a busy time of year in our family, all fun stuff but it's go go go! I'm 16 weeks now and have my ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby in 3 weeks and I can't WAIT!!! I don't have a gut feeling either way so it'll be interesting to see what it'll be. We've got some baby names picked out: if it's a boy it'll be Dexter (Dex) or Eli and if it's a girl we're still deciding between Lucy, Lila or Charlotte. I've still only gained about 5 lbs and am feeling good. I'm walking but that's about it for exercise. It's weird for me to not be the turbo exerciser I was for the last year! I kinda miss it but I'm enjoying the little break while it lasts. I have 3.5 ccs in my band now and I have another appt with Dr. Baggs next Friday. I think I'm fine for now and won't have to have an unfill. It's been nice to be able to eat sandwiches and the occasional burger (shhh!) I hope you're all doing great, from what I've read it sounds like you are! I'll post a belly pic in a couple weeks. I've REALLY popped out! Have a great day!

Hey girls! Just checking in and saying hi. I've been reading but don't have much to post in the way of weight loss. :cryin: I'm 14 weeks now and just felt some baby flutters for the first time last night. It lasted for about 10 minutes so I'm pretty sure that's what it was! So cool. My weight is still doing well, we find out the sex on December 1st...can't wait! I'm busy this week with 3 halloween parties and getting our costumes ready for Saturday. It'll be a really fun week! Hope you're all doing great! :wink2:

Candra, the rule before a fill isn't a biggie...just no food 6 hours before your appt. Liquids are not restricted. Good luck! I hope you get a fill and start to really know you have a band in there!

So the baby is laying on it's back, the head is on the right, you can see the arm sticking up in the air, the legs and umbilical cord is on the left. SO CUTE!

Here's my baby! Everything went great today, baby was kicking and moving everywhere, arms and legs going crazy...it was adorable! I got my appt for the big ultrasound to find out the sex and it's for Tues December 1st, 7 weeks from today. Normally I'd think 7 weeks was a long time, but with Halloween and Thanksgiving in there I know it's gonna fly by!!! Just wanted to share with you all!