dennii25

Name, real or screen~dennii25 Age~38 Goal weight for January 29th~155 Weight on January 1st~164.8 Dietary goal for January~ Exercise goal for January~ Personal goal for January~ Date banded~6/30/2010 Total weight loss since banding/pre op diet~80 What is your goal weight for the coming year145

Mine is to the right, out of the way I think it depends on your MD's preference.

I agree with the advice to call your insurance company yourself, but if they confirm that there is a 90 day wait, I would do whatever I had to to get the fill now. Why even have the band if you can't have it filled? By 90 days I had good restriction with only two fills. It would be torture to wait 90 days. I'm cash pay though.

I tried to hide it at first because I was afraid this would be another thing I would fail. Now that I've lost 65 lbs. I have told my family and coworkers. It's kind of hard to keep saying you're just dieting when you tried and eventually failed every diet known to man.

Mine are $200 and I have had three fills and one unfill so far. The first three were covered in the cost of the procedure. I'm happy with my restriction now, so hopefully won't need another fill for a while. People who choose this surgery really need to think about future costs even if they are not self pay. You could lose your job or insurance could change, etc. I work with a girl who has gained her weight back, has not been to the doctor and says she can't afford to go. Her lap band was covered by insurance at the time. She would have been better off getting another procedure that doesn't require costly follow up.

Count me in!! I love these challenges, they help me so much. Thanks for setting it up.

It's probably water weight and will come off as soon as you get back on track with low carbs, more protein. I had to have an unfill at the beginning of December and I tried to be really good about portion size, but I did indulge in all the xmas foods. So now I'm getting back on track too and already can see a difference in the scale.

You sound like you need a fill and then you will start losing again.. Go to the doctor, don't feel embarrassed, they see this all the time. The last time I was at my surgeon's getting a fill I met two women who at first I thought they were there for consults to get the band. We all got to talking and they had both been banded several years ago and did not really follow up so lost a bit and then gained it all back. They were there to get started again. That's what you need to do. You will feel a lot better, I promise.

Of course I think you should follow your MD's instructions, but mine says not drinking diet coke is a myth. He even explains it on his dvd that explains each surgery. He shows scientifically how the carbonation cannot cause a slip or stretching of your pouch.

Once you get them on, they are comfortable, but getting them on in the first place is a workout. I would not have been able to get them on right after surgery, but now I don't think I would have a problem. I'm just waiting for the weather to cool off, too hot here still.

This scares me so much. I work with a girl who did the same thing, got down to size 6 and is back to 200+ now. She hasn't been back to her surgeon in over a year. I think she feels ashamed. I also met two ladies in my surgeons waiting room. I thought both were there for consults to have surgery done, but when we got to talking I found out they were both lap band patients who had gained their weight back:scared2:. The common denominator seemed to be that they all stopped following up with their surgeons. Gosh, I hope I don't do that, but I completely understand the strugle and I know comments don't help, it just makes them feel more ashamed.

I love my magic bullet that I got at Costco for about $50. I use it every day, take it on trips, love that it comes with lots of cups and I think it makes great shakes. I also like the easy clean ups.

I personally have switched to Iced tea, but when I first saw my MD, they gave me a DVD explaining all the bariatric surgeries, patient success stories and myths. One of the "myths" discussed was that carbonation can hurt your band or stretch your pouch. The surgeon explained that because sodas are liquid they pass right through the band and therefore cannot stretch the pouch on top of the band. Of course they said no regular sodas because of the sugar. Prior to my surgery I drank most of my diet coke with meals and now that I haven't been doing that for a month, I think I have kicked the addiction. In the future though, I won't worry if I want to have a soda.