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Help! Okay, this is the deal-----back in June I got to were I could not eat or even drink anything! I went to my doctor and they removed about half of the Fluid in my band. At that time I had 6.8 cc's. I gained 14 pounds in one week and was not eating too much of anything, but had no restriction whatsoever! I went back and they put me back to 4.25 cc's and still had no restriction. So, yet another fill, this time to 5.75 cc's. Oh, it is working! I am having a lot of trouble eating again though. I have no problem with salad but I can't eat much of anything else. Please tell me what I might be able to eat, how to prepare it and help me! I have lost about 70 pounds post surgery and 20 pre-op and I am one year out! The weight loss has come to a complete halt and I am very discouraged!

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If you're not really able to eat anything again you probably need another slight unfill.

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There are plenty of threads listing menus, food ideas, etc, but I think you need to make a list of what you're eating and talk to your doctor. He might recommend a nutritionist to help you get on track. My doctor doesn't want us to chew our food to death or stick to soft foods, because at that point, you're interfering with the effectiveness of the band. If you can't eat the food your doctor advises, and it sounds like you can't, then he should be able to determine how much saline to remove. Sometimes, just a small amount is all it takes. Also, if you can have a fill under fluoroscopy, he can see how quickly - or not - the barium is going through. In my support group meetings, a couple of people said they had to mix the barium with cottage cheese (maybe yogurt) to get an accurate reading of their band flow. Sounds yucky, and it probably is, but if I were having trouble eating, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

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I think that your "sweet spot" is apparently between 4.25 and 5.75. Get an unfill to 5.00, say (split the difference) and see how you feel! Make sure you are chewing well, not drinking with meals, etc.

It's been my experience that you can go from "no restriction" to "too tight" VERY quickly and in just tenths of a cc.

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      1. NeonRaven8919

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      2. BlondePatriotInCDA

        Thank you! I appreciate the feedback and support.

    • BlondePatriotInCDA  »  Crayon

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      · 1 reply
      1. Crayon

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    • juliie

      Good morning all, how long did it take insurance to approve you?
      · 5 replies
      1. NickelChip

        Once it was submitted, not long at all. Just a few days, I think. But my surgeon's office didn't submit it until all my requirements were met, which included psych eval, dietician meetings, a certain number of visits, bloodwork, etc. As long as you've checked all the right "boxes" they require, the approval process should be very standard and easy. Your surgeon's office should know exactly what you need to get approved.

      2. juliie

        good morning , I just need one more clearance from the insurance requirements which is my basic nutrition class , and that's on the 26th of this month. I have BCBSMI insurance. my surgeon said it usually takes 4-6 weeks for them to approve but can be sooner

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      4. juliie

        @BlondePatriotInCDA thanks, I have BCBSM hopefully it doesn't take them long to approve me, i just need one more clearance from their requirements. wow a week ? that was fast ,have you had yours yet?

      5. BlondePatriotInCDA

        Yes, my one year anniversary is this Wednesday. It will go quickly, it may not seem like it now..but trust me it will. I have BCBS as well. Good luck, you can do this!

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    • Alisa_S

      Long whine alert - I'm really disappointed! I saw my primary Dr last month and told her I wanted WLS and she was all for it. Said that I had to do the 6 month supervised diet for my insurance and a boatload of other tests. Ok. I understand. She started my 6 month diet last month and sent a referral to the bariatric surgeon. MY plan was to do the supervised diet, then at the end of the 6 months in January, do all the other tests...sleep study, endoscopy, ekg, psych, nutritionist, etc. because all of that would get my insurance deductible met, then have surgery in February or March. Since my deductible would be met, I'd only be paying my 20% coinsurance by then. Got the call from the bariatric surgeon's office on Friday and was told that THEY are the ones that will do my 6 month supervised diet. I explained that my primary Dr already had me on it for a month but they said everything will go thru them. Ok. I understand. So I explain about wanting to complete the diet first, then do all the other testing (because I don't want to have to pay my deductible twice by paying for all that stuff now, & then it starts over in January) but she tells me that they do the testing while I'm doing the diet. That means that I cannot even start their bariatric program until January! They made my first appt for Jan 9th & that's when the 6 month diet will start with them & they'll submit to insurance for approval in June & I would have surgery in July. Man!!! That's almost a year from now! All because I don't want to pay $4500 now, than have to pay it again in January. I don't understand why they won't let me diet now & do the other tests at the end.
      · 1 reply
      1. NickelChip

        Before you assume that the testing will take your full deductible, I would make some calls to your insurance. I have a 3k deductible and my portion of the bloodwork was nowhere close to that even though I assumed it would be. I think my copays ended up being around $1k or less for all the preliminary tests. And remember, you will have extensive bloodwork multiple times after surgery, so there may be no way to get it all into one calendar year. Also, you might look into financing options through your hospital. Mine allowed me to put the $3k I owed after the surgery (because yeah, that did max out my deductible for this year) on a 24-month no-interest payment plan. Depending on your options, it may be affordable enough that you can book your appointment sooner and get this whole thing going instead of having to wait almost a full year to have your surgery.

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