ParrotheadCathy

WAAAAYYYY TO GO, BIG PAPA!!!!! Congratulations.

The obvious is to consider changing your PCP! You are not stuck with this one.

Many overweight people suffer GERD because of pressure on the valve at the connection between the esophagus and stomach. Try sleeping on your left side, with the head of your bed elevated a few inches. As you lose weight it SHOULD get better. Many people are on meds for reflux and there are some people on here who have continuing problems. I wouldn't worry about it not going away until I'd lost a fair amount of weight through your midriff.

And then there's spaghetti squash!! Cut it in half, cook cut side down in a baking dish with a little water. When cooked, take a fork and pull it through the squash "meat" lengthwise and you get a spaghetti-like result. Works fantastic with marinara sauce, etc. for those (like me) who have a problem with pasta!

TripletMomma.....watch those prepackaged meals ..... specifically, the sodium content. I am very sensitive to salt and can retain water in the blink of an eye. I cook with very little salt and almost never, ever add it to foods. There are a few things that I won't eat without salt but that's normal......grits, eggs, and potatoes (which I don't eat very often) is about it. But I remember going on Weight Watchers years ago and I ate a lot of Lean Cuisine and WW meals for lunch at work .... and was retaining a lot of fluid. Then I looked at the sodium content.

New to me! I've traveled quite a bit since my surgery and have another big trip planned for the first week of November (Parrot Head Convention kn Key West). I was told to just treat it as any other day. So far, so good. I haven't noticed any difference in my band that I could attribute to a change in barometric pressure ... but I haven't been in the eye of a hurricaine in like 20 years. I wonder if that would make a difference?

CC, I think pretty much everybody got nervous when it got close to their surgery dates. It is surgery, after all, and you are entitled to be a little nervous. You have my email address. If I can tell you anything at all about my experience (same surgeon, probably same surgical center, etc.), I'll be glad to share. Just remember that it's okay, normal, and common to be nervous as your date gets closer.

You people are leading me down the path, LOL. I get up at 5:00 AM and walk 4 miles almost every morning. So i'm reading in this sectio of LBT and somebody mentions "wogging". I laughed at the word but this morning, I "wogged".....It wasn't as bad as I thought. I mean, I've never run anywhere in my life. It didn't wind me or anything, so I suppose I'll "wog" farther each time tomorrow.

I want to add something else .... it's very easy to let illness get the best of you. I know, I've been there. I almost lost my leg a couple of years ago. And I couldn't get around very well and I was miserable and I sat on the couch and ate. All the way to 284 pounds, which was a new all-time high for me...and I never intend to see it again. We can prevail in spite of tough things happening to us. You, me and probably pretty much everybody else on LBT! So please don't worry about yyesterdayl just worry about today. Geez, tomorrow will be today too soon anyway. And if you want to talk, you can back-channel me at parr0thd51@aol.com That's a zero in my screen name rather than the letter "oh".

Well, I would say persist. Your doctor DID go ahead and do a fill. I'm sure he was frustrated with you since you hadn't been maintaining your band, etc. That 3ccs is working (not causing you any problems), so I would say have a conservative fill next time (maybe .5 or 1 cc) and see what happenes. When you go back the next time, if he's rude, TELL HIM YOU DON'T APPRECIATE IT, that you are trying and that you need his help rather than his ridicule. After all the first part of the Hippocratic oath is "do no harm" and I firmly believe that being rude, ridiculing, etc. does do harm.

You don't say how much saline is now in your band. It is not uncommon to feel a fair amount of restriction after a fill that puts you close to your sweet spot and then a few weeks later not feel as much. Obviously, if you are at like 4 or 5 ccs in a 10 cc band, that could be the case. If you have more, it could be something else. Talk to your doc but don't just assume something terrible has happened. I thought I was at my sweet spot twice before I actually was.

SRiggs, when was your last fill? My doctor stresses that after you reach your sweet spot it is important to come in occasionally and let them withdraw all the Fluid in your band and then top it off to your sweet spot. Apparently over time there is a small amount of evaporation. My eating plan isn't really different from Mango's ..... I have a Protein shake (20 grams of protein) for Breakfast because it's easiest for me. In a time crunch, I can drink it in the car. lunch and dinner .....3 oz of protein which looks to be about the same size as a deck of cards, to help you visualize that. A vegetable, raw or steamed. salad isn't a great choice unless it's spinach or other dark greens since regular lettuces have very little nutrition. If you are still hungry, a single serving of whole grain carb. Drink at least 64 oz. of Water (plain water, not tea or whatever) every day. Take a good Multivitamin each day. If you have that occassional hunger attack, snack on a little protein, like a boiled egg. Watch your blood sugars carefully. Once you drop a few more pounds, you may see a BIG difference that will reduce your insulin dependence so your dosing formula will become very important to you!

Before you start sweating details, pull out your insurance card and call the customer service number. They'll need your policy number. Ask them if they cover weight loss surgery, specifically lap band surgery, and what their requirements are ..... Mimimum BMI? Do they require that youre BMI be at that level for a specific period of time? Do they require a supervised weight loss before surgery? What bariatric surgeons are covered by your policy? Are there any specifica limitations on hospitals or outpatient surgery centers? Do they have any required pre-op testing beyond what a surgeon may require? Once you know those answers, you'll be in a position to know what you're truly facing. GOOD LUCK.

I love my surgeon BUT my insurance excludes weight loss surgeries so I was out-of-pocket 100%. His office staff got a copy of my insurance card to verify that I was not covered. So 2 weeks before surgery, I paid $15,000 in advance. I did all my pre-op testing through my PCP, who sent me to in-network providers and my insurance covered all of that. Well, lo and behold, I two Explanations of Benefits from my insurance where the "central office" in Texas (not in my doctor's office in Georgia) filed two claims for a total of almost $1,000 -- after they'd been paid in advance in full by me! So after the first one, I called and demanded to talk to the person who did it. She said "oh, that was a mistake". But when it happened the second time, I called her back and told her that if she or anybody in their office filed another claim with my insurance that I would report them to the Georgia Insurance Commissioner for attempted fraud. Voila! no more claims, LOL. Bottom line, they will take what they can get. And to me, it sounds like your doctor is grabbing for all he can get. It is DEFINITELY WORTH switching. Get copies of all your records and high-tail it to another physician.

Well, for me, "reversibility" doesn't mean I can get to goal and have my band removed. Far from it, since my problem was never losing weight but keeping it off after I lost it. THAT'S what my band is for. However, if you have unforeseen health problems, gastric bypass is a done deal but they could remove your band if need be. That's reversibility to me. I've heard there are a couple of surgeons who are experimenting with reversing gastric bypass but I can't imagine it would be a simple or inexpensive procedure so for now, I do not consider it reversible. Truthfully, neither surgery is perfect. Neither surgery is foolproof. Neither surgery comes with a written guarantee, so to speak. It still comes down to YOU, YOUR DECISIONS and YOUR COMMITMENT.

You're definitely not crazy. Certain foods can increase mucous production (dairy and orange juice are examples). But the most likely offender is the time of year....allergies can cause post nasal drip (PND) and you may not even be aware that you have allergies because they can be quite mild....not every suffers terribly with allergies. Also, if you had a summer cold (like I did), it can take weeks for the PND to end (it took me more than a month after the cold was gone).

We don't all lose the same! I've done quite well until recently. But when I hit 220 (down 64), I had to really work at it. I managed to get to 214 (down 70) but have bounced back up to 220 twice. I am finally back down to 214 today and I swear the third time there is going to be the charm. I feel like if I can get to 210, then I will start the steady downward movement. I don't have some driving need to lose 20 pounds in a month, but 5-10 would be really nice at this point, LOL.

The needle is a huber needle. It has a bend in it close to the tip. The reason is that the port is self-sealing and the needle shape is to help support the self-sealing. I will admit that I don't have any needle issues so I was just fascinated and asked all about it, LOL.

Call them back and make sure you don't have to have a BMI of 40 for a specific amount of time. My girlfriend was told she was covered for surgery....but when her paperwork was submitted she was denied because her BMI had been 37 for only about 18 months. They're bad about not covering ALL the details.

Unforgettable nailed it. The reason you aren't supposed to eat solid food yet is that there is still a lot of healing going on. Solid food takes more effort by your stomach to break down before it moves into the intestines and all that churning and such can actually make your band slip. Believe me, we ALL know how hard it is to stick to the post-op diet once you start feeling pretty normal, but it's not to punish you -- it's to help you heal.

Becky, it may not be as simple as just eating yourself to a higher BMI. Your insurance may have a requirement that be at a minimum BMI or higher for a certain period of time. That happened to my friend. Her BMI was 37 and that was the minimum with her insurance company .... BUT they required that your BMI be 37 or higher for two years. Soooo before you go on a see-food diet (I see food, I eat it), check with your insurance company to see what their requirements are!

Nursee, you can always call your insurance company and ask for the names of surgeons in your area on their approved list. Then you can check any referral names against the list!

Okay, truth of the matter is that pretty much all these same feelings would have hit you in another day or two, so like your surgery they've just moved up a little. It will be here in no time at all. It's this HUGE step. Maybe you've never had surgery before (or at least not general anesthesia). These are all normal things to be nervous about. Do me a big favor?? This weekend, go out and do something fun. Go to a state park and enjoy the beauty. Go swimming. Go shopping (not something I enjoy but it may be a favorite pasttime for you). The main thing is to RELAX. We all had our moments pre-op and we all got through it. Would it help to know what my surgery day was like? I arrived at the surgery center and waited in the lobby for a little bit since they were running just a little behind. Then they took me back, had me undress and put on a surgical gown, some socks to keep my feet warm and gave me one of those paper hairnet things to put on before we went to the operating room. The nicest nurse on the planet came to put the EKG stuff on my chest and start the IV. She numbed my hand with a little lidocaine and then slid the IV needle in. She chatted with me about nothing in particular. Then the anesthesiologist came and introduced himself to me and asked if I had any questions. He was really nice, too. Then the really nice nurse came back and we walked to the operating room. I sat down on the operating table....surprise! it was heated! The operating room is cold (germ control) so that warm table felt good. I lay down with my left arm on a support (the arm with the IV). They gave me a warm blanket to snuggle in. The anesthesiologist came in and said "hi, again!" Then he said he would be giving me something to relax me .... and I remember absolutely nothing else at all until I woke up in recovery! Gee! All that worry for nothing. The really nice nurse came back and took the IV out and gave me a cup of Water. Asked me if I wanted to go ahead and get dressed. She went and got my brother-in-law who came in and sat down. Then she asked if I would like to try standing up...and I did, with no problem. So my brother-in-law went to get his truck and bring it to the door. And the really nice nurse walked me out to the truck. She hugged me and said she knew I'd do fine but to call my doctor if I had any questions about anything. And I slept the hour it took to drive home. All in all, it was very, very anti-climactic. And I'm sure that while you are nervous now, your experience will be similar enough that you too will wonder why you got so worked up, LOL.

Demand lidocaine! My doc offers it every time. It will at least numb the area so that you just have the little prick from the lidocaine and then nothing more.

Patience is an over-touted virtue. We all felt like we'd taken this absolutely HUGE step and we wanted gratification! But if you've read many posts here, you've heard the phrase "Bandster Hell" and that's exactly where you are. The good news is once you get that first fill, while you may not feel a whole lot of difference, it is the first step toward your "sweet spot" and you WILL get there. Like BamBam, I gained and lost in the first few weeks -- the same few pounds. But 5 months out, I've lost a total of 70 pounds so patience does pay off. But, like the t-shirt says, "Patience, he**!! I wanna go kill something!"