Katy517

Your accomplishment while faced with such adversity is something to be proud of. The advice to find some way to celebrate is a sound one. Congrats and good luck to you in your weight loss efforts and I hope that your other health concerns improve soon.

I have restriction now and only since my 3rd fill, which was 4 1/2 months post-surgery. I have had 9.5 cc in a 14 cc Allergan band for the past ~4 weeks. I now am satisfied with very little food, but also PB with very little of the wrong type of food. Slider foods still go down with no problem for me so I work on eliminating those from my diet as I encounter them. It's definitely a process.

Congratulations on your successes during this past year. It sounds like you have embraced banding and your new lifestyle and good health with great commitment. I love your comment about being able to paint your toenails again! The little things mean so very much.

Congratulations! You've lost an incredible amount of weight in a very short time frame. Nicely done. I'm so happy for you that you'll be able to return to horseback riding.

Congratulations Jen - that's one heckuva milestone to pass into the 'lower' 100s. I'm sure that it will be very much a motivator for you to continue to be successful too. Nicely done!

It might not be the protein shakes at all, but rather just after-effects of surgery. I had pretty bad gas for 2-3 weeks and it looks like you're just 10 days post-op so could be post-surgery. which does go away - thankfully. Good luck.

I was five pounds short of meeting my Labor Day goal. On to the Christmas challenge where I hope to be more successful. Should be a bit more support from my band as I feel like I finally have decent restriction after my 3rd fill. Good luck everybody in your own weight loss and maintenance efforts.

Just got my data entered into the spreadsheet with my starting weight of 230 on 6/24. My goal is to get to onderland by Christmas. I'm at 214 today.

I was banded on 4/15 and had problems immediately related to my port. It sticks way out, rubs on a rib and causes a great deal of discomfort when I exercise or even bend over. It actually throbs when I exercise. Very weird. Anyway, I've been complaining since about 4 days post-op and just had what must have been my 5th or 6th follow-up appointment in the past 12 weeks. Up to now my surgeon kept asking me to be patient and wait it out suggesting that once I lost enough weight it would move/settle and the pain would dissipate. He said that all that was available was another surgery and he didn't want to go that route. Today I informed my surgeon that I wanted to do something since it bothers me so much. Also told him that in all likelihood I will not have insurance that covers anything that is WLS-related after the first of next year. He agreed - for the most part. He said that he'd have his office staff pursue getting pre-approval from my insurance for port revision surgery, but is confident that by the time it comes around to do the surgery I won't feel the need any longer. I get the feeling that he just doesn't want to admit to placing it in a bad spot. Anyway, I feel a huge sense of relief knowing that correcting this problem is finally in the works. Who has had port revision surgery? I'm told that recovery is much quicker than for WLS. Any experience out there? TIA.

I was told prior to surgery that they would not be doing an unfill. My follow-up is 8/23 so I will find out for sure then. I already was in dire need of a fill so definitely hope no unfill was done. My appetite restriction tells me though that I'm at about the same level as before. Good luck with your revision surgery!

Thank you Pickles and Mimi. I think my surgeon is a bit ornery too. He's good though at what he does so I'm willing to overlook the lack of bedside manner for the most part. Fortunately, his support staff is superb. Will report back once this swelling and water retention ceases and I have a better idea of what impact the revision has had.

Loose shorts, loose t-shirt and a looser golf shirt over that so no bra required. Flip-flops for shoes. I wore the same basic outfit yesterday for my port revision surgery too. Funny, one of the nurses called me 'Slim' and suggested that I buy some better-fitting shorts. That was definitely a NSV. Pretty sure the bracelets can be purchased on eBay.

Thank you Mimi. I made it through port revision surgery yesterday and other than the discomfort from the incision I'm in pretty good shape. Very gassy, major diarrhea and retaining lots of fluids that I attribute to the procedure. I did find out from the hospital's bariatric coordinator that low profile ports aren't available yet for the 14cc bands that are the hospital's standard for use. I'm anxious for the swelling to go down to see if this makes the difference that I hope.

Does yours cause discomfort Amy? Mine is actually stitched to muscle and I believe that's why it causes me such discomfort when I exercise or otherwise exert myself physically. It just throbs then. Also painful bending over. I met with my surgeon today concerning tomorrow's port revision. I was kind of disappointed to find that I don't really have any options relative to a low profile port or choosing a location. He told me that the only option is to open me up at the large incision spot above the port and to then detach the port from the muscle at the current location. He'll then move it down a bit below the current placement in the same general location. He made it sound very simple. He also made kind of a big deal of the fact that I'm the only port revision he's ever had to do in over 500 surgeries. I wasn't about to feel guilty for requesting this or complaining about the port from day #1 though. I also found out that it will be a while until I can get another fill after the revision surgery. No idea as to how long at this point. Wish me luck please. Katy

Ditto what Kimmy wrote. I also was told by my surgeon to wait six weeks before swimming and bathing.

High and unhealthy blood pressure readings. Am now registering a consistent 110 over 70 and I am delighted.

Congratulations on your approval and good luck with the surgery. I was out four weeks as a result of complications. My surgeon said his standard recommendation is two weeks and that is what we planned for initially. I would ask your surgeon's office what their standard is for somebody who is in a similar situation as yourself as far as the nature of your job/work. You'll find that all surgeons are quite different as far as recommendations related to diet, etc. so best to follow your own surgeon's advice.

My port revision surgery has been approved by insurance and is scheduled for next week. I have to have an EKG and blood work done as well as get a 'readiness for surgery' pronouncement from my PCP. Also have to do a 3-day liquid diet prior to surgery. I have an appointment with the surgeon for the day prior to surgery to find out what my options are for port placement. I'm told that I should be back to work within a few days and that it's a pretty minor outpatient surgery. What I really need is a fill though as I've been stuck at the same weight for weeks now. Not sure when I'll be able to get my first after the revision. Would appreciate comments/advice from anybody who's gone through this previously.

I was banded this year under my partner's insurance plan as a dependent. That insurance coverage option will no longer be available to me as of Jan. 2011 so I'll be opting back into my employer's medical coverage. I have two options under that plan - United Health Care PPO or UHC EPO. From what I understand both specifically exclude WLS. I've read conflicting information here though concerning what UHC covers. I've confirmed that my lap band surgeon is not included in either network. Am wondering whether post-surgical fills or follow-up visits will be included? There is no preexisting condition clause so that's not an issue. What I'm especially unclear on is whether the WLS exclusion would also exclude related post-op care. It looks like I should choose the PPO option if I want any portion of visits with my lap band surgeon to be covered at all. Also have an ongoing issue with my port. I'm two months post-op tomorrow and my port is still a constant irritant to me and painful doing almost anything that works my abdomen including bending over, sitting up, etc. It also looks and feels like a large tumor. My surgeon keeps tells me to wait it out and thinks it will get better and be less problematic once I lost more weight (currently 41 pounds down) but I'm not really hopeful. He's said that the only thing we can do to truly resolve it is another surgery. Am now concerned that I need to do that sooner than later if it would be considered WLS to be sure it's covered. Am also wondering though if that surgery should be covered by the surgeon since it's a problem arising from the original banding. I'm unclear on just where to turn to get answers to these questions so am starting here. Thanks.

Really sorry to hear of your band and coverage problems feedrate. I wish you the best of luck and hope that maybe an appeal will be the answer. Please keep us posted. Katy

Whillow has a great line in her signature here that reads "My "Oh yeah" moment when I *saw* the changes 2/12/2010". When was yours? Those close to me say they can see a difference now that I'm down almost 50 pounds, but I still don't see it. Wondering how it is for others who are further along post-banding.

Thank you Sandy. Your point about it getting worse after significant weight loss are the same that I've been trying to use on my doctor. It's so bad now and was immediately after surgery. I can't even imagine how bad it would be once I lost more weight than I have so far. He keeps telling me that after I lose more it will 'adjust itself' but I'm not buying that at this point.

I definitely worked all the way up until the day before surgery through my pre-op liquid diet. I found that it was actually easier to deal with the lack of solid food while busy at work than it was when I was at home. I didn't experience any real lack of energy either.

Thank you for your kind thoughts Jane and good luck with your own surgery when you have it.

Way to go losing the 50 pounds! You look great and more than that you look like you feel great in the newer pics. Nicely done.