Lois Lane

I think it depends on your Doctor. My surgery Dr. Deol did have a charge of $40 a fill but my new Doctor (Dr. Deol moved out of state) Dr. Krause out of Royal Oak Beaumont covers everything so they are free. If I can give you any advise at all it would be to be aggressive with your fills, as soon as you start to be able to eat more, get a little tweak. Good Luck, I know you'll do great.

I have BCBSM, what would you like to know? I haven't updated my signature lately--I'm a Nov 06 bandster and am down 80 pounds.

Slow Loser Here But Happy I to like the some of the others don't like to exercise, but I do walk the dog almost every night about 1/2 to 3/4 mile. I have not lost a huge amount of weight but am very happy to be down 19 pounds that any other way would not have come off and stayed off like it does with my wonderful band. I have to cut out white breads and white sugar, but do cheat occassionally. It just makes it easier to eat less when you get full quicker. I don't follow any commercial diet, just eat regular foods, just alot less than I used to. Good luck to you and keep us posted.

Hi Everyone, Had my first fill yesterday. 2cc's. I'm having some knawing pain like someone's pinching my insides on the left side. I'm pretty sure it's from band being to tight, although I'm having no trouble eating or swallowing and it started about 1 hour after my fill, feels a little better in the morning then it starts again for the remainder of the day. Do you think I need an unfill or will it eventually go away. :help:

It's actually pretty easy. Just go to Tickerfactory.com and enter your info and just highlight the area you want and hit Control C, then go to your profile, delete your old ticker, and hit Control V to copy your new ticker. Don't forget to hit Save. Hope this helps.

Hi Everyone, I was just banded Monday Nov 6. It wasn't as easy and painless as I had hoped but now the 3rd day post op I am feeling a little better and expect to feel even better everyday from here on out. I can't believe how fast I get full and how my appetite has virtually disappeared. Not even hungry--it is like a dream. I lost 9 1/2 pounds on my pre-op diet but haven't stepped on the scale yet:cry I am now eating some cream of potato soup and its like heaven. Thanks for everyone's support and advice before the big day it was such a help. I'm here if anyone has any questions. :clap2:

:faint: I started my optifast liquid diet 4 days ago, and cheated with some low sodium canned chicken, 1 carb, 30 calories, 1 gr protein, 0 fat. I hope I didn't ruin anything. Anyone have any guesses if I did? It's so hard, I hate everything on the optifast menu except the tomato soup. I did buy some no sodium chicken broth powder and had a large cup today-it tasted so good. It equals about what a diet FUZE has in it and the nutritionist said they were ok to drink. All we can do is one day at a time and try to keep our eye on the ball. Good luck to you!!

You forgot me.....Lois Lane being banded Nov 6 by Dr. Deol, Sterling Heights, MI

Thanks for your thoughts. I was confused only because I have the nutrition bars which certainly are not liquid so I figured if I was cutting 2-3 optifast meals a day out I could substitute some lean chicken breast. The point is to shrink the liver and that seems to be what you guys are doing too only with some real food. I may try the chicken breast for a couple of days and then 4-5 before surgery just grin and bear it. :hungry:

Hi November bandsters, I'm scheduled for Nov 6 and am on the optifast liquid diet now and not liking it much. Do you think it would be bad to just have a few bites of the lean canned chicken, it has 0.5 fat, 40 calories and lots of protein. I need some advice. I checked with my nutritionist and she said I could not substitute anything. I wonder if anyone has done it and still came out successful. Thanks for any help you can give me. :help:

:kiss2: My doc is Dr. Deol, Sterling Heights Michigan. Scheduled to be banded Nov 6. Scared--am I doing the right thing, I so want there to be less of me.

:kiss2: Hi, I'm Lois and scheduled to be banded Nov 6 by Dr. Deol in Sterling Heights, Mi. Scared and excited. I'm on the liquid diet now and not liking it much. Does anyone know if more people are fine afer surgery than are not? After surgery we are just supposed to sip water or juice and broth the first few days then move on to smoothies and such, but at what point do we start worrying about getting enough protein. I don't know how you can get protein the first few days. Thanks for any help anyone can give me. I've been looking and reading on this site for about a month now and find it very helpful. Eveyone seems to be so great.

You have to do what you feel is right for you. I just started a new job and have no vacation time what-so-ever. I told them the truth that I was having the lap-band procedure and everyone has been very very supportive and I haven't even had the procedure yet. I don't know if I will get time off paid or not and frankly I don't care...we are doing this for our health. I wish you luck--be strong and do what you gotta do.