adagray

Love it! You are an inspiration!!!

If you meet all of their requirements and have documentation for it all, I would not include the letter. My surgeon's insurance people said it can just complicate matters to add more information than they need. In my case, I did not meet my insurance company's rqmts, though, so I did include a letter. But, it didn't help. They denied me anyway. I appealed, they denied again, I did a second appeal, and they finally approved.

Mine is right below the middle of my left ribs. I like where its at. I am very aware of where its at, but it doesn't bother me for sleeping even though I am a side/stomach sleeper. Easy for them to find for fills, but does not protrude (at least not yet... maybe after I lose more weight).

Stuck is very different from full/satisfied. Being stuck is painful. I only get stuck rarely. Most of the time, I just eat smaller portions and feel full or satisfied. Really, our goal is to stop at feeling satisfied, but its a gray area... satisfied, comfortably full, full, overfull. I probably stop at comfortably full most of the time now. Also, satisfied/full is a slightly different feeling now than it used to be. The feeling is higher in the stomach. The only thing I can compare it to pre-band is when I was in my 3rd trimester pregnant and my daughter was pressing so hard on my stomach that I couldn't eat much. I remember thinking if only there was a way to get full that easy all the time then I wouldn't be obese. And, turns out there is... the band! LOL

You will need at least a few fills before you get to the proper restriction level. I think I read that 5-8 fills is typical. With the larger band, they will give you bigger fills and 5cc is a good start. But, w/any of the bands, I think its a good idea to assume that it could take up to 6 months to get to your 'sweet spot' or perfect restriction. As you get closer and closer to that spot, you will be able to eat less and less w/each meal and it will keep you satiated longer and longer between meals. My doctor does not give me a limit of calories per day or quantity of food I can have in a meal, but just that I should not eat for longer than 20 minutes. I think that's a good rule, easy to follow and won't leave you starving during the adjustment period. I wouldn't write off your family, but take some time to explain to them how the band works and set their expectations that this works differently than a normal 'diet' or other WLS like gastric bypass. The big difference w/the band is that it has to be adjusted before it can work optimally and weightloss can be slower (or even non-existant) at the beginning. When I explain it to friends/family, I explain that it is wide open when they put it in initially (basically, not doing anything) and that it gets a little tighter w/each fill. Most people just don't understand the whole adjustability aspect of the band until you explain it. Its so different from other diets/WLS where you lose the most at the very beginning and then less and less as the diet goes on. With the band, you may lose the least at first and then more and more as you adjusted tighter and tighter until you finally get to the right fill level. Then, you have good steady weightloss. Of course, through all of this, you have to do your part to work w/the band. I understand eating the whole plate of fish & chips just to see where you are w/restriction, but this should not be a habit. Ultimately, there are many many ways to eat around the band even when you get to proper restriction. So, if you are always testing the band to see if it can be sabotaged, you will confirm that.

Just realized that even w/my super long post, I didn't actually answer your question. LOL OK, so the first time I could feel food not going down well was about one week after surgery. My doctor does not do a full liquid or soft/puree stage after surgery. You go straight from Clear Liquids to regular food on day 4 post surgery. Christmas dinner was one week after surgery and I did fine w/it. The day after, I had some leftover turkey meat that just did not feel good going down. Not really stuck, but my first feeling of any discomfort while eating. I think it was about three weeks after surgery, that I had my first real stuck episode w/a roll. That cured my desire for bread! LOL Since then, I have not had many really stuck episodes until my most recent fill. Now, I've been getting stuck here and there. I'll maybe get stuck twice over a three day period and then go another week w/not getting stuck. I'm still getting used to eating w/this level of restriction even though I'm not at my 'sweet spot' yet. I find that I now have to be very careful w/any meat that is dry or too big a piece.

You sound the same as me. I really really really did not ever want to get stuck or PB. I'm 3 months out now and have only had a handful of stuck episodes. Let me clarify that there are many different levels of being stuck. Sometimes the food is going down, but you can just feel that it is not going down well. This is your first warning to stop! Wait for the discomfort to pass and then if you are really still hungry, continue your meal and chew chew chew and slooooowwww down. Other times the food is stuck, hurts a lot, but passes quickly (under a minute). Usually this is enough to make me feel 'done' w/eating so I don't even want any more. Then, the worst is when you get really stuck. It hurts and I excuse myself to the bathroom. You slime. You pray the food will just go up or go down. You really can't do anything until the darn thing decides to move one way or the other. I have never PB'd yet, but have wished I could PB to get over the episode. The good thing is that you can avoid most of the worst episodes by being mindful while eating (chewing well, slowing down, taking smaller bites, avoiding foods you know could be a problem or adding moisture/sauces to some foods that may be too dry otherwise). The biggest one for me is to just to respect the early signals of discomfort and not just mindlessly eat past that. If I look back at ALL of the times I got really stuck, I did have some discomfort beforehand, but for whatever reason I did not stop.

Bread is the first thing that really gave me a problem. I think I got stuck on bread before I even had my first fill. Pasta is fine for me, but I have a wheat intolerance (not related to the band) so the 'pasta' I am eating is a gluten-free type (made out of quinoa flour). The texture is different and may break down differently. I eat this pasta very occasionally, though, because I'm still trying to avoid starch in my diet. My dietician prefers that we only have starchy stuff like this not more than twice per week. Rice is fine, but once again, I use in small amounts and usually mixed in w/other foods. Potatoes, I'm not sure. I'm not much of a potato person so I can't really remember the last time I had some potato. For anyone reading this who is not banded yet and scared that they won't be able to eat their favorite starch anymore, please don't let that get in the way of having this surgery. I know its hard to believe, but you will actually lose your taste for bread if you do get stuck on it. At least for me, even w/my wheat intolerance (prior to being banded), I was still tempted by bread. But, once I had a stuck episode, I was cured of my desire for bread. I have no problem w/it sitting right in front of me in a restaurant and letting my DH and kids eat it all. Now, very occasionally, if it looks like really really really good bread, I will tear off the tiniest piece and nibble at it very slowly and very carefully. And, as long as I am very careful and slow, it does not get stuck and I am happy w/my tiny little taste.

Hey Ohm, don't feel bad. I don't think anyone is upset by your post. Its a really good question and one that I pondered too for a long time because my doctor says the same thing. I think that's why a lot of people are responding, not cause they are upset by it.

I just want you all to know that all this talk of protein shakes has got me craving one even though I have not had one since being banded. LOL

Ohm, I was given the same advice as you. To take it further, my doctor and her dieticians do not want us drinking anything other than Water. And, there was/is no 'full liquid' or 'pureed' stage after surgery or fills. Basically, there is no time that my doctor recommends Protein shakes. That said, we are expected to get our protein in, but through solid protein (eaten first at mealtime - 3x per day - no snacking). I think the recommendation is 60-80 grams. I actually get closer to 100. I understand it will probably be harder to get in that much protein as solid protein as I get more restriction, though. A lot of people in support group who are at their 'sweet spot' say they cannot eat solid protein for b-fast so they have a protein shake for that meal (even though that's not what the doctor recommends). These are people who are at goal or making good progress towards goal so I don't see any harm it in. I imagine that when I get to that point, I may have a protein shake for b-fast too. Honestly, I don't care much about b-fast. I've never been much of a b-fast person, but I understand that it is necessary to have b-fast or your hunger ends up going out of control for the rest of the day. So, if it comes to it that I cannot eat solid protein for b-fast because I'm too tight in the morning (at what is otherwise my 'sweet spot' for the rest of the day), then I will be happy to drink a protein shake for that meal. Ultimately, this is a journey of trying to fashion a new 'lifestyle' using our new tool (the band) the best we can. All the doctors and experts have different advice. I do take my doctor's advice very very seriously. I wouldn't have picked her if I didn't respect and trust her. But, ultimately, we all take responsibility for figuring out what works for us as individuals. We are the ones working the band, losing the weight, and living w/the lifestyle changes we make for the long-term. So, although I always try what my doctor and dieticians recommend first, I appreciate the other advice and perspectives on here. It gives me an arsenal of backup strategies I can try if my doctor's advice stops working for me.

Honestly, this hasn't been hard for me. With all my dieting before, I've noticed that drinking w/meals tends to wash the food right through my stomach so I never feel satisfied. So, I've just naturally cut back on drinking w/meals over time. With the band, I take it one step further by not putting a glass of Water near me while I'm eating. And, to get in enough water during the day, I make sure to get in one 24 oz bottle before lunch, another 24 oz bottle before dinner, and another 24 oz bottle after dinner. A lot of days I even get ahead of this schedule and drink more, but I don't allow myself to eat the next meal or go to bed until I've had these three at least. It works for me and I thoroughly enjoy my water between meals, but not WITH meals. :->

Yikes! That doesn't seem right. Although you are happy to finally get a proper fill and know that it was not your fault that you did not feel any restriction, I don't think you should let them off the hook that easily. You underwent the inconvenience, emotion, and cost of 'fills' that never actually filled your band and are now putting yourself at risk of having an overly aggressive fill (and possible side effects from that) by having all of your missed fills lumped together in one big fill. This is definitely not ideal and not fair to you since you showed up and spent the time and money on all those other appointments. Yes, I get a little annoyed w/the seemingly slow process of filling just a little at a time, but I get through it by telling myself it is for the best so that I don't have too big of a fill all at once which can cause problems. If I was in the same situation as you, I would be pissed!!!

I had just regained all the weight it took me 2.5 years on Weight Watchers to lose. For all the effort and time it took me to lose that weight, the most I ever lost was 50 pounds. And, I gained it all back in about 10 months. My scale hit my WW starting weight the same month (December '08) that was my mom's bandiversary and I found out she had lost 100 pounds. I immediately started researching my medical coverage, surgeons, went to a seminar, requesting all my old medical records for insurance. During '09, I did the 6 month diet required by my insurance and was denied twice. By the second denial, I had pretty much decided to wait until January '10 because the only thing holding me back from meeting their criteria is because I fell below the needed BMI when I had been on WW. Then, in October of '09 my doctor put me on meds for high cholesterol and I was told I was prediabetic. This is all on top of having chronic high bp and sleep apnea. I felt like my body was falling apart and I couldn't wait it out until January. So, I wrote a second appeal and this one was approved. Woohoo!!! I called my surgeon's office to get scheduled and when they called me back, they gave me my surgery date which would be December 17, 2009 (my mom had her surgery on December 17, 2007 so exactly two years after my mom). I'm following in good footsteps. BTW, my surgeon stopped taking Aetna as of this January. I am so so glad I pushed through and got the surgery last year!!!

I have just been so hungry this past week and not losing any weight. :bored: I was so sure I needed to make an appointment for another fill ASAP. But, then this morning I just got the most stuck I have ever gotten. First of all, let me back up and tell you about the most horrible recipe for any lapbander... I've been looking for new ways to cook chicken. I'm trying to 'lean in' to the whole organic/kind eating (a la recent Oprah show). So, when I was at Costco the last time, I bought two whole organic chickens instead of the conventional parts I normally buy. I figured if I learn some new recipes for cooking the chickens whole then I will save money (whole chickens cost less than parts) and everyone in my family can be happy (DH prefers light meat and the kids and I prefer dark). First recipe tried was roasted chicken from the Barefoot Contessa's cookbook. Delicious! And, no stuck episodes. :tt2: Second recipe was from a low-carb crockpot recipe book I took out from the library. You cook the whole bird upside down in the crockpot. Tastes OK, but this method literally boils out all the fat and juices from the meat. Last night I got a little stuck w/it. But, this morning I got stuck the worst I have ever gotten. Still, I could not PB it even though I REALLY REALLY wanted to. I finally tried the Papaya Enzyme tablets I got for just such an 'emergency'. I don't know if they helped or not, but the evil crockpot chicken did eventually pass. Suffice to say, I warn you all, do NOT crockpot a whole chicken like this. It is not 'kind' to the band! :tt1: Please don't let this scare you away from soupy/stew type crockpot recipes, though. I have a great chicken chili recipe (uses boneless thighs) which is wonderful for the band. But, if you want to do a whole chicken, roast it in the oven like the Barefoot Contessa. OK, so back to my 'Restriction Roller-Coaster'. I just don't know where to go from here. I was so hungry this past week that I figure I MUST need a fill, but maybe I will put it off a week just to make sure I really understand what my current restriction is first. Its hard trying to figure out what is the right level of fill when you feel like your restriction is all over the place... totally unrestricted one day and getting mega stuck the next day. I realize some of this is just the learning curve of what foods work w/the band and which ones don't. And, its really a combination of the food AND your fill level (as well as other factors like water retention). :tt2: This band is a complicated thing really. I can understand why a lot of people get freaked out that it won't work for them or give up on it. Not saying that I'm feeling that way. I understood it would be a process to get to the right level of restriction, but I guess you can't understand just how complex it is until you actually have the band and are working with it yourself. Just want to make it clear that I am still really really happy w/my band. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm not. Even w/the ups and downs, its still a great ride and I'm very happy w/my weightloss. :glare:

OK, I got stuck AGAIN tonight on 'Fish Provencale' which is basically a fish stew (mahi mahi, tomatoes, onion, bacon, sherry, and spices). I think I must be pretty tight right now (could have some swelling from this morning's episode). So so glad now that I am giving this a couple weeks to figure out where I'm really at.

Well, I decided to err on the side of being aggressive w/my fills and called to make my next appointment (thinking they'd be able to take me towards the end of next week). Turns out they don't have an appointment available until 3/29 (two more weeks). Ack! But, the more I think about it, the more I think maybe this is for the best. I have not gone a full four weeks between fills yet. And, since my restriction seems to be all over the place, maybe its good to just settle in w/this one for awhile to see how it feels for the full month.

I have just been so hungry this past week and not losing any weight. :glare: I was so sure I needed to make an appointment for another fill ASAP. But, then this morning I just got the most stuck I have ever gotten. First of all, let me back up and tell you about the most horrible recipe for any lapbander... I've been looking for new ways to cook chicken. I'm trying to 'lean in' to the whole organic/kind eating (a la recent Oprah show). So, when I was at Costco the last time, I bought two whole organic chickens instead of the conventional parts I normally buy. I figured if I learn some new recipes for cooking the chickens whole then I will save money (whole chickens cost less than parts) and everyone in my family can be happy (DH prefers light meat and the kids and I prefer dark). First recipe tried was roasted chicken from the Barefoot Contessa's cookbook. Delicious! And, no stuck episodes. Second recipe was from a low-carb crockpot recipe book I took out from the library. You cook the whole bird upside down in the crockpot. Tastes OK, but this method literally boils out all the fat and juices from the meat. Last night I got a little stuck w/it. But, this morning I got stuck the worst I have ever gotten. Still, I could not PB it even though I REALLY REALLY wanted to. I finally tried the Papaya Enzyme tablets I got for just such an 'emergency'. I don't know if they helped or not, but the evil crockpot chicken did eventually pass. Suffice to say, I warn you all, do NOT crockpot a whole chicken like this. It is not 'kind' to the band! Please don't let this scare you away from soupy/stew type crockpot recipes, though. I have a great chicken chili recipe (uses boneless thighs) which is wonderful for the band. But, if you want to do a whole chicken, roast it in the oven like the Barefoot Contessa. OK, so back to my 'Restriction Roller-Coaster'. I just don't know where to go from here. I was so hungry this past week that I figure I MUST need a fill, but maybe I will put it off a week just to make sure I really understand what my current restriction is first. Its hard trying to figure out what is the right level of fill when you feel like your restriction is all over the place... totally unrestricted one day and getting mega stuck the next day. I realize some of this is just the learning curve of what foods work w/the band and which ones don't. And, its really a combination of the food AND your fill level (as well as other factors like water retention). This band is a complicated thing really. I can understand why a lot of people get freaked out that it won't work for them or give up on it. Not saying that I'm feeling that way. I understood it would be a process to get to the right level of restriction, but I guess you can't understand just how complex it is until you actually have the band and are working with it yourself. :wink2: Just want to make it clear that I am still really really happy w/my band. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm not. Even w/the ups and downs, its still a great ride and I'm very happy w/my weightloss. :smile2:

I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this after getting lapband surgery. My doctor had set expectations w/me that I should not expect to get off any of my meds right away... that it would take time to lose weight and then retest and adjust medicines (maybe in 6 months or so). Well, for the past few days I have felt very tired and yesterday I was feeling a little dizzy as I was trying to get some housework done. It occurred to me that this could be a sign of low blood pressure and I hadn't tested mine for awhile so I took it and it was 88/65! Now, normally I am around 140/90 even with taking 60mg of lisinopril (high bp med) per day. Seems like every time I go in, they up my dose because they could just never get it to stay down. So, I am blown away by the drastic drop. This morning, I decided to just test my BP before taking my med and it was 113/79 so I skipped my med today (my doctor did say this was OK if I got a low reading). I retested a couple more times and it is staying in the healthy range w/no med. Of course, I am ecstatic if this really means my high blood pressure has already been cured by the lapband, but its just so hard for me to believe. I've been on high bp meds for over 10 years and I had borderline high bp when I was a teenager. I'm kind of in disbelief that it could just go away like that. I have been on many many diets before and my high bp never just went away. So, I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this? And, a part of me is wondering if it could have something to do w/some of the other things I've given up... like artificial sweeteners, caffeine, etc.

Just sending some hugs your way. Sorry you have so much to deal with. Stay strong!

First of all, I have now come to the conclusion that I am one of those people who doesn't feel a fill (lol, that sounds funny) right away. Meaning, I do not seem to swell up or feel any restriction right away right after a fill. In fact, I feel more hungry (probably because of my doctor's rule to not eat for 72 hours after). Anyway, so I got my 3rd fill last Monday and was thinking I felt less restricted after the fill than before it. And, honestly, that was kind of annoying. :glare: Flash forward to this weekend and suddenly I am feeling a lot more restriction. I got stuck two times this weekend (on solid protein) and slimed for the first time. I kept everything down, but it hurt so bad I wished it would just come back up. :thumbup: I'm just not a puker (or PBer), though. Oh well, I gotta learn to chew and take it slow. But, that's a good thing! Even though I have a bit of a learning curve w/this, I am grateful for the restriction. I am definitely satisfied on less food now and it is lasting me longer. :thumbup: In other happy news, my blood pressure has dropped significantly. I felt a bit dizzy doing some housework on Saturday so I took my BP and found it was 86/65! So, I have been monitoring my BP closely since then, skipped my BP meds Sunday and today, and so far my blood pressure is staying in a normal healthy range without the meds. Not sure if it will stay this way. Its hard to believe I could just drop the meds alltogether like that, but we will see. I'm gonna track it for a bit longer and then call my doctor.

First of all, I have now come to the conclusion that I am one of those people who doesn't feel a fill (lol, that sounds funny) right away. Meaning, I do not seem to swell up or feel any restriction right away right after a fill. In fact, I feel more hungry (probably because of my doctor's rule to not eat for 72 hours after). Anyway, so I got my 3rd fill last Monday and was thinking I felt less restricted after the fill than before it. And, honestly, that was kind of annoying. :wub: Flash forward to this weekend and suddenly I am feeling a lot more restriction. I got stuck two times this weekend (on solid protein) and slimed for the first time. I kept everything down, but it hurt so bad I wished it would just come back up. I'm just not a puker (or PBer), though. Oh well, I gotta learn to chew and take it slow. But, that's a good thing! Even though I have a bit of a learning curve w/this, I am grateful for the restriction. I am definitely satisfied on less food now and it is lasting me longer. :thumbup: In other happy news, my blood pressure has dropped significantly. :thumbup: I felt a bit dizzy doing some housework on Saturday so I took my BP and found it was 86/65! So, I have been monitoring my BP closely since then, skipped my BP meds Sunday and today, and so far my blood pressure is staying in a normal healthy range without the meds. Not sure if it will stay this way. Its hard to believe I could just drop the meds alltogether like that, but we will see. I'm gonna track it for a bit longer and then call my doctor.

The blood pressure monitor I use is made by Omron. I think that is the most respected brand. I recommend getting one w/a cuff that goes around the arm. I have a wrist one too, but I took it in to compare to my doctor's reading and it is not very accurate. The arm one is very accurate. You can buy one at costco or a drugstore. For anyone who takes high bp meds, I think its good to have your own monitor. My readings can be a lot higher in the doctor's office (what they call 'white coat hypertension'). Bob, the funny thing is the only other time I have seen a really low BP reading is while waiting for surgery in pre-op. I wonder if the 'no eating' causes your BP to drop. I've been reading up a bit on high/low BP and found several articles that talk about how 'inflamation' can cause high BP. Many things cause inflamation, mostly an unhealthy lifestyle. So, it could be that even though I haven't lost a lot of weight, my blood pressure is coming down because maybe I have less inflamation due to the drastic change in lifestyle. I'm sure it is a shock to my body that I am suddenly eating very little, healthy foods, and exercising. I know sugar in the diet causes inflamation and I'm eating hardly any sugar right now. Anyway, whatever is the cause, I'm very very happy. Hope it stays down. :->

I'm less than 3 months out and have lost 24 pounds. Just follow the rules as best you can and exercise. And, if you have a choice as to how quickly you get fills, then be proactive about it and get a fill as soon as you think it would help you. I think your goal is totally doable. Just keep your eye on the prize. Good luck!

I like the 'Imagine' brand organic free range chicken broth and also their vegetable broth. The vegetable broth actually tastes rich to me. I don't know how that is possible since it is only 20 calories a cup, but it does. You can usually find this brand in the health food aisle or w/the healthy/gourmet options. It comes in a big box (like a big juice box) that holds 4 cups. 'College Inn' brand also makes different flavored broths that they call 'culinary broth' and I got one that was Thai flavored and that was really yummy. The other liquid I was allowed was decaf tea and I can tell you the best ones are Stash Chai Vanilla and Stash Chocolate Hazlenut. I was only allowed broth, decaf tea, sf jello, and water for the first 4 days post-op so it was nice to find some stuff that at least had good flavor. Good luck to you!