juliegeraci

I would shop around and see if your insurance would cover it for a cheaper surgeon. You can always find a local doctor to do your fills.

What type of diet are you on? How many calories a day do you consume? What types of medications are you on for your ailments?

Why do you have to wait a year to be banded? Why not work for 6 months then take a week off? I would not miss the wedding but 1 year out is unrealistic.

I would call your surgeon's office first thing in the a.m.

I would do it again. The only thing is that you have to know there are people out there with fickle bands. I have one of them. I have had 20 fills in 2 years trying to find my sweet spot. I go from being too tight to too loose so it takes time. Just know that sometimes it is not easy.

Jaylow, this is completely normal. I have had a lot of fills over 2 years and it took forever to get to my sweet spot, often times losing it. When you lose weight you will need a fill so it is quite possible to get a fill every coupld months or so.

You are doing great. Get the dieting mentality out of you. You will not gain it back with good and balanced restriction and nutrition. You are doing great. Congrats.

Yes, it is part of the healing as well as gas. I would take a gas x strip when it happens. Sounds like it goes away which is a good thing.

The thick stuff is sliming and the vomitting is PBing. You need to make sure you chew really well and eat slowly so when you get the satisfied feeling you don't push it. You probably do not need a slight unfill because from the sounds of it it has only happened twice in 6-8 weeks. As far as the soda goes sometmes it does help to hiccup due to the carbonation. I do drink soda on occassion and do not have a problem with it accept for burping.

Are you able to eat solid protein later in the day? My doctor told me there are 3 types of tight. Liquids, mushies and solids. If you can only live on liquids that is a bad thing. If you can eat mushies and lose then you may want to stay there. If you want to eat solids and can't you are too tight. So there is a fine balance between a sweet spot and not having one. In your case, it depends on if you lossen up later in the day. I am just curious as to how much solids you can get in? At what rate are you losing on liquids and mushies?

For me my sweet spot is when I can eat 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food and be satisfied. Sometimes though it is only a few bites then I wait a bit to finish maybe 2-3oz of fish or whatever. Also its when you don't PB or have reflux. I know you PMd me about my fills. I emailed you back. Some bands are really fickle so you just have to work with your surgeon. Sometimes its as little as .01 or .02 which is literally 2 drops of saline and precision. It took me 2 years to get to my sweet spot so hang in there. Mine is at 3.45 in a 4cc band. 3.2 was too tight then I went down and up 3 more time then finally hit it. The stomach is a ficke thing so I don't know why 3.2 I would PB and 3.45 I wouldnt'. Go figure. BTW, reflux is not good. I would take an antacid every day to see if that helps. It is a sure sign of being too tight. Fickle bands though you can go down and go back up and it can be gone. So don't be afraid of doing that. That is what I did and I don't have any heartburn or reflux.

It was no big deal. I did have a sore throat afterwards though. I didn't remember the tube going in or out.

I would call the insurance company every day.

Great NSV. I got out of a low beach chair yesterday so I totally understand what you are saying. How fun! I wish her luck. Let us know how it goes today.

I have a ledge in my shower so that helps. If you don't have one you may want to get a plastic step for your shower. It really helps, especially after surgery.

I know this is a very old thread but I just saw it pop up. My Brother is dying of alcoholism right now. He is living with my parents which isn't helping the situation. He had 3 drunk in publics against him. He drinks at least 2 5th a day. He is unemployed for at least a year or 2. My parents don't help the situation by letting him live with them. He hasn't hit rock bottom yet. He has been found unresponsive on side walks, parks and the like. He has crashed his bike. He is currently in driving school, which he is now missing to get his breath alizer removed from his car. He has a license but that will be revoked since he hasn't been going to his classes. What a mess. We think he needs to be homeless to get it together. The most sober he has been is 50 days. He went to rehab twice in the last year or so. My parents paid $17k for that and it hasn't helped. So this is my story unfortunately. He will probably outlive all of us. We call him the cat with nine lives. He has been in motorcycle drunk accidents, DUI, drunk in public, just about everything. He missed his court dates recently so maybe he'll be put away for a few months. That may help.

Julia, this is totally bogus. My BMI was probably lower than yours and I'm banded. I would go to the doctor and talk to them. They should be educated enough to know what the lapband is. Good luck.

Obesity is a disease. It is just like having diabetes and is incurable. I would ignore her. Once she sees the results she will want one too! Good for you for making a life changing decision. You will do great.

Hi Kelli, I take it you are self pay? The first thing I would do is find a good Bariatric surgeon experiences with lapband. My doctor has done thousands of surgeries so that is why I chose him.

My doctor has never had to use fluro. He always gets me on 1, maybe 2 pricks. Make sure they use a numbing agent so it will not hurt as much. It will really help if you are nervous.

The only problem I have had with my band is mine is very fickle. It took me just over 2 years to get to my sweet spot. I lost about 60 lbs during that time. I have been filled and unfilled over 20 times so it can get quite costly. I finally got my insurance to cover my fills. I paid out of pocket the first 18 months.

This is bogus information. 2 weeks liquids, 2 weeks mushies, 2 weeks solid. Fills at 6 week. I drink caffeine without a problem. As far as the diet goes, I eat everything just less of it. That includes fruits, vegies, meat, breads, rice, potatoes. Did you get this information from an actual surgeon? If so you may want a new one.

Often time you can fix a slip in a month or so with a complete unfill. That is what you should do first then go back in for small fills.

Leslie, this is great. I wish you all the luck.

I would talk to his father again and give him an ultimatum. You shouldn't have to live in fear with your children. Do it before it gets any more out of control.