making.a.change

Starting with the "facts", I was banded in Aug 2010. Had my gallbladder removed prior to the band. I have had several fills and have been doing well until just recently. Started having severe heartburn then what I call explosive acid refulx. Then I began getting right side pain just under my ribs that would wrap around to my back just below my shoulder blade. Next thing was when I would eat I had excrutiating pain like churning glass in my stomach. It was almost unbearable. I called my GI doc and he did and EGD (scope into stomach) and all clear there. He did an abdominal scan to see if I had a loose gallstone floating around. Again, all clear. I finally called my lapband doc and they did a barium swallow test. All the barium I drank just sat in my pouch instead of passing right through like it should. Turns out my band was way too tight and irritated. So it was pretty much a complete unfill for me for the next month or so. It's been 3 weeks and things are better. I can eat food without pain. YAY! -- not so fast. I'm starting to have the right side/back pain again. It's nothing like before, more of a tightness and discomfort kinda pain. No stomach pain though. Has anyone else had this? It reminds me of the gallbladder pain I had but I don't have a gallbladder anymore. So what in the world can it be? Anyone have any ideas? I see my lapband doc again next week, but wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this too and maybe found some resolution.Thanks!!

I've had Panda Express too. I love the chicken dish that has pineapples and red peppers but I always forget the name. Anyway, we order a 3 entre dinner and all 3 of us eat my (my hubby, daughter and I). We all had lapbad last year. So we eat cheap now. Cannot eat the rice or noodles anymore but will sometimes order them because I like the taste of the celery in the noodles.

We've been using liquid Tylenol. I've tried Tylenol pills and they go down ok if they are caplets or capsules. Round pills are a little tougher -- they get a little stuck. I've had 4 fills so have pretty good restriction. You could also cut the round pills in half as long as they are not extended release.

I was banded at the end of July 2010 and am down about 35lbs after 4 fills. Everything is/was going great 3 days ago. I have been hungry, hungry, hungry. It's just like it was right after surgery. The hunger gets stronger when I eat. What in the world is going on? I haven't been eating the best the past week or so -- the holidays, so perhaps I haven't had enough protein? Anyone else experience this intense hunger after being banded for awhile?

I had surgery at the end of July 2010. I'm down about 35lbs since my surgery weigh-in. I've had 4 fills. My last weigh-in I was down 4lbs. Don't expect the weight to fall off because it's not going to and you will be disappointed. It wasn't until my last fill that I finally felt like I was really cutting back on the amount of food I eat. But, I'm not very active so I don't burn many calories. It's still all about calories in and calories out. That will never change. If I want to lose more weight I either have to eat less or burn more calories. So if my "maintenance" calorie range is 1800 per day, I have to eat less than that to lose pounds. This surgery is a way to help you cut back those calories and it will probably take you several fills to get to that point, so hang in there. It will take time.

I've had some trouble with this too. Gas has been awful. The only thing I found that helped with the gas was a product called Phazyme (sp). It cost about $12 at Walmart but it did the trick. I still can't figure out the loose stools though. Could be some of the meds I'm on. Can't wait till I get rid of them -- some day!

I'm in Lee's Summit. We aren't banded yet. Just finished jumping thru the insurance hoops. Waiting for approval now. Going thru this with Dr. Malley and his team.

I have Aetna too. Mine did not require two years of records, they only wanted my highest weight two years ago at about this same time. My doctor just included that weight in one of my diet reports.

Don't worry about the consult. It's pretty much to go over the medical forms you filled out and for the doctor to ask you about your health history. Pretty standard stuff and nothing to fret about.

At my surgeon's seminar they mentioned that typically everyone who has their weight around their middle and has skinny legs (that's me) most likely will require a liquid diet a couple of weeks before surgery to shrink the liver. How do you handle a liquid diet with 4 adults in one house and only one of you on a liquid diet? OMG! How will I manage this when my time comes?

Well that worked out well! Glad you healthy. Hope all goes well and you have no more chest pains.

I just did this and it worked for me. In the two "upload" boxes at the bottom of the "Edit Signature" profile page, you need to type the html address that you get from the ticker website. You get this address by entering your pin and then clicking "get code" on their site. You're not going to type the whole thing, your only going to use what appears after the http://. ... Here's what mine looks like. http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/t/wX1EWDh/weight.png You'll put this in the "Option 1" box. Make sure there aren't any extra characters like these <> at the ends. That will cause the invalid file response. After you get everything how you want it, there's a little purple link to the right of your ticker image that says "insert". Click this for it to go into your signature. Don't forget to click save after that.

Hi... Has anyone gotten approval from Aetna without having other comorbidities (ex. diabeties, sleep apnea, etc.)? My daughter has a BMI of 42 but is young so is in good health otherwise. She does have foot pain and low back pain, but I don't think those weight-bearing issues count. Just trying to think ahead to prevent any denial by Aetna as being "not medically necessary". Any thoughts/comments?:thumbup: