GayleTX

Sounds like he's telling you the truth (and why would he not???) I found this when I googled.....could get it to copy since it was adobe but here are the links. PDF] A Patient’s Guide to Advocating for Improved Access to Weight-Loss ... <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=j>File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML Accessing Weight-Loss Surgery in Indiana. Access to weight-loss surgery is mandated by Indiana law (Indiana Public Law 196). The mandate ... www.obesityaction.org/advocacy/<WBR>Advocating%20for%20Improved%20Access%20to%20Obesity%20Management%20Service... - <NOBR>Similar pages</NOBR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> [PDF] The mission of the Obesity Action Coalition is to elevate and ... <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class="j hc">File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML As you may be aware, insurance coverage of weight-loss surgery is mandated by Indiana law (Indiana Public Law. 196) and the OAC strongly supports this ... www.obesityaction.org/advocacy/<WBR>Indiana%20-%20Governor%20Daniels.pdf - <NOBR>Similar pages</NOBR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

There are also companies that will lend money at reasonable rates for medical procedures. Your surgeon probably has brochures in his office. If your policy ordinarily covers wls but denied yours (that's not uncommon) you can appeal. And there are lawyers who specialize in weight loss surgery appeals (google).

hair loss is not nearly as much an issue with lapband as it is with gastric bypass....GB people don't absorb nutrients because their intestines have been rearranged. LB's still have all their 'innards' in the right place and down have a malabsorption problem. However, since we don't eat much and eat a limited diet, hair loss can happen if you don't hit the Protein like you need to.....80-100 grams/day. It's hard to get that much since we can't eat much, but you can do it easily with good protein supplements. Find some you love and plan to use it the rest of your life. I'm 15 mo. out and my hair is thicker and healthier than it's been in many years....also have good strong fingernails that no longer crack. It's probably a combination of high protein and being able to come off all my medications that I've been on for many years (blood pressure, diabetes, etc).

Protein supplements are a necessity.....you can't eat enough food to get all the protein you need.....so keep trying! No need to drink crap!! nectar makes wonderful Fruit drinks.....good to mix w/Chrystal Lite or tea or coffee. Hot or cold drinks. Matrix makes wonderful choclolate and a creamsicle falvor as well as others. whey Gourmet is one of the great new ones. I don't even miss eating sweets because I enjoy my protein supps so much!! You need 60-80 gr/day. Be sure you are using protein that is designed for bariatric patients, not jocks!! They are available at netrition.com bariatriceating.com (good recipes here)

Hope you'll be getting a fill very soon....you are in the most difficult phase of your wls right now. You have a tool, but it's not yet operational. Therefore you have to use a little willpower and self-restraint until you get good restriction. It may take more than one fill....or two....or three.... everyone is different. Until you get good restriction, you'll do yourself a favor by going ahead and getting in your 64 oz Water/day AND your protein - Protein powder supplements are the low cal/low carb way to get in the 80-100 grams/day that you need. Find some you love and use them! If you'll cut out all white carbs (rice, Pasta, potatoes, white bread), you won't suffer from cravings so much.....that helps you stay in control much better. Don't be depressed....you're going to do fine! We all start this journey with the fear that "I'll be the one person on earth that this doesn't work for." But it will work....it gets easier. Best wishes!

Why would she want to you add an empty carb like potatoes? If you know those are trigger foods, then don't do it...they serve no good purpose in your wls journey at all! Sounds like you are doing very well the way you are.

I've been dealing with the same thing for a few months now....PCP put me on Protonix and that helps some. I also had to cut out my arthritis meds, SF dark chocolate and had to switch to low acid coffee. That helped for a few months but now it's back again. I had an EGD last week to examin my esophagus (they put a camera down your throat).... I just knew I had an ulcer but they said it was mildly irritated BUT my band has tightened up and food is backing up in my esophagus. So .....Monday I'm getting a slight unfill. I hope they know what they are talking about because this is getting miserable. Hope you get some relief soon, sweetie!!

Glad things are going better for you. We are all so certain that "I'll be the one person in the world that this doesn't work for" that when we stall out it is frightening. Hit the Protein hard....with a small pouch you can't hold much food but you can supplement with good quality Protein drinks and bars (not grocery store stuff....good stuff made for bariatric people like us).....up around 80-100 grs/day. And eliminate the white carbs....keep even the good carbs less than 30-40 gr/day. That will keep the scale moving in the right direction.

I've been on bp meds for 30 years.....at the time of wls I ws on 3 different kinds, all of them 2-3 times/days and was still running high....felt very sluggish. Within 3-4 months, I was off of most of them and by a year out I was off all of them....I do still take a diruretic, though, but my bp runs about 105/75 and my pulse is nice and slow and stead (it was almost rapid and irregular). My mind feels much clearer now that I'm off all that. I'm also off all my diabetic meds (after 20 years) and it runs about 5.6 all the time.

Nectar (brand) makes wonderful clear proteins.......lots of fruit flavor and a wonderful cappacino flavor. They are good espcially if you add more liquid than it calls for.....I mostly mix mine with Chrystla Lite or SF Koolaid or iced tea (or hot tea)

Well, after losing 135 lbs, I finally feel mine. But the dr has had no problem finding it for the fills. Guess that's why they do it for us!!

I had never had trouble til about 6-8 mo after banding....now it's acid reflux and ulcer-feeling pain. I finally had a EGD last week and they said I don't have an ulcer but my band is too tight and is causing the food to back up into the esophagus and cause irritation. Dr said Protonix is probably the best med you can use. I also was ordered to cut out my arthritis meds because they certainly irritate my pouch. I'm also now using Folger's Smooth (low acid) coffee. I'm getting a a slight unfill next week and hope to get some relief.

As I recall, SlimFast Hi Protein is not really very high protein! It's only about 15 grams. The good quality protein drinks made for bariatric patients have anywhere between 25-40 grms for about the same price. Since we need 80-100 grams a day, and it's hard to get much with just food in a tiny little pouch, I think the bariatric drinks are much healthier and you don't have to use as many. And if you use the powders, much cheaper. Canned RTD's average about 2 dollars/can whereas powders average about 50 cents a serving. I keep RTD's on hand for traveling or a quick drink, but use the powders for daily life. Also, the powders can be 'doctored up' with SF syrups and fruit and give you much more variety than just drinking the same thing every day.

It's hard to keep your lip zipped, isn't it!! Our situation is comparable to that of a recent regious convert .....we feel so much happier and hopeful for the future that we want to shout 'hallelujah" and we want EVERYONE to get the spirit and march to Gloryland with us!! Instead, our 'preaching' can very easily make people want to run the other way when they see us coming! So we just have to get it right for ourselves and be a good example and hope they'll want to follow. But it's hard!

Becky.......Dr. Fred Maese in both Ferris, TX and Highland Park on Sherry Ave. will do MX patient fills. His father and uncle are both pioneers in LB's in Mexico and he got his background with them. He is a cardiologist but specialises in bariatric patients and does a masterful job at fills. Preston Cardiology Wellness Center 214 234 0330

My BMI was 62, I weighed a good bit more than you, and I had a number of co-morbidities..and I have done extremely well. However, I eat by the same regimen that an RNY person has to use. There are people who say an LB can "eat whatever they want, just less of it", are, in my opinion, dreaming....either that or they just don't have as much to lose as you and I do. In fact, I chose LB because I needed to lose 200+ pounds. RNY is good for only about 18 months ('window of opportunity')....after that you are on your own. I doubted being able to lose 200 lbs in 18 months, so I went with the band - it's there forever and can be adjusted to suit your needs as you progress thru the wls journey. If you backslide it's still always there waiting for you to get your mind right and get back on track with your lifestyle modifications. I know there are many successful pregnancies that have taken place after GB, but it would make me a little nervous knowing that my re-routed innards were not absorbing the nutrients I put in my body and that baby and the mother are both totally dependent on Vitamins and supplements. It is my understanding that RNY may be preferable for people who are sugar addicts whereas LB is best for people who are volume eaters. (RNY makes you very ill ('dump') when you get sugar in your system). That's just my thoughts on the situation....I wish you well!!!

Tardiness.....one of the pet peeves in my life (guess it's the ol' school teacher in me!). No need to quit drinking before a meal.....the 'no drinking afterward' is to keep from washng the food out of your pouch too quickly, but no point in quitting before. However.....I am carefully not to drink iced drinks before eating because it tightens my band and makes it hard for some things to go down (maybe that's what your doc. had in mind??) So if I'm eating out with others and needs to "sip and socialize" before a meal, I order hot tea/ coffee and don't take a chance on getting tightened up. Doctors and theirs nuts get confused sometimes about 'rules'...maybe he came in LATE to class the day they discussed drinking rules!! LOL!!

They'd have to take me kickin' and screamin' to get mine outta me!!!

I don't even have to lie down for mine....I just lift by blouse, doc's head disappears under my left boob for a few seconds and it's over.....then I do a barium swallow and I'm out the door. That said....not every doctor or technician is as skilled as mine - some miss the port, some hurt, some have to make multible stabs but MOST fills are not traumatic at all.

The only thing 'wierd' you may need to add into your life is protein supplements. You really will not be able to eat enough food to get all the protein you need (80-100 gr/day), so supplements are a reality from now on. There are some really tasty and wonderful ones on the market.....you may have to hunt, but they are there. Sample until you find a few you love....there are hot drinks made with coffee, tea, water, milk; cold ones made with water, tea, Chrystal Light, coffee; chewy ones in bars, cookies, etc. You'll learn to love them.

Yep, even tho they were falling off of me, I had to haul them to the shelter to keep from putting them back on. Now there are a lot of well-dressed battered wives out there somewhere!!

Just remember.....if you tell them you had your gall bladder out - and then you really have to have it out at a later date - well.....you get the picture. And it is very common to have g.b. problems after wls.

Surgery Center of Richardson 610 North Coit Road, Richardson, TX 75080 (972) 331-9500

I don't know about 'should' have. But I do know that all the successful losers I know take in less than 40 net carbs (net, not total) carbs a day and about 100 gr. protein a day. If you do that, and you have a wls pouch with good restriction , you are not going to be able to eat enough food to get your fat and/or calorie count too high.

Several people I know use the glycolax very successfully....both wls people and little old ladies like my mother. It is the same as Miralax and requires a perscription.