dawns

Hi Smiley, Thanks for your insight. I actually had the appt. because my PC doc thought I would qualify for a breast reduction covered by insurance. When I went to see the PS in Salina he told me that I would not qualify because they would have to take at least 500 grams of breast tissue for it to be covered by insurance. He showed me what that would amount to and said in the end I would not have any breast left and would be a small A cup which I find really hard to believe since I am now a triple D, which is down from an H. I was very disappointed in what he was telling me. He pretty much acted as if it was not worth the time to try and get insurance to cover it. I may call your PS and see what he tells me. Would you be willing to PM me and tell me what your costs were for the TT and arm lift? I am curious to see if this guy was a money sucker or he was being up front and honest with me and comparable in costs. Thanks again, dawn

Hi Shelby, I have really bad bat wings also. I would be interested in knowing where and who you might go to if you decide to stay in KC. I had a PS consult last week in Salina for TT, arms and breast reduction and lift. The cost was far more than I can afford. Good luck dawn

If you had your band placed with Dr. Ortiz at the OCC then you should have gotten a card that tells you what size your band is. If you can't find it then you should call your doctor who placed your band and ask them what size you have. Take care, dawn

you look great!

Hi CindyLou, I do this also. However I have discovered that if I drink something warm right before eating, it helps a lot! The other thing that I have noticed is that if I start out eating standing up, I don't have any problems. I think that my torso is shorter so things get clogged easily when I sit and eat at the very beginning. I know that sounds weird but oh well what can I say. Congrats on your weight loss. dawn

WOW! Just out of curiosity who do you have insurance with? dawn

Funny story on that note. Had to go and have my hearing checked with an audiologist b/c of some ringing in my ear. She put me in a sound proof room and we both wore head phones so that she could communicate with me since she was on the other side of the wall. I had to press a button every time I heard a faint tone that she produced -- all I could hear was my pouch draining and making that sound that reminds me of a clogged slow drain pipe. I was so sure that she could hear it also that I was completely distracted for a part of the test. My pouch continued to make the noise the entire appt. time. I could just imagine what that doctor was thinking! Just thought I would share. dawn

Thats awesome! Congrats to you for being 1# away from your goal! dawns

Mickie, So sorry to hear about your flipped port. Although I haven't seen it much, I have seen a couple posts where peoples ports have flipped. They do stitch the port in but who knows what happens to cause a flip. Sounds like the great thing tho is that Dr. O will fix it for free. Good luck. dawns

Red, I think everyone who has gotten their band has had to deal with those feelings of being afraid that they will "fail at this one too" because all previous "diets" have failed us. It takes a little while to get to the point where you trust yourself and that you will succeed. Just keep trusting the process and telling yourself that you will succeed and you will. I am coming up to my one year anniversary with the band on Sept. 1. and I have learned many things but the biggest thing that I have learned is that this band forces you to face those difficult emotional stressors and feelings that come with food and why we use it as a crutch. I have gone from needing food to help self medicate whatever emotion was going on at the time to now dealing with the actual emotions and finding healthier ways to make myself feel better. It's a process and as you go along you will figure out what to do and how to do it that works for you. Happy weight loss! dawns

Well said Jude. I just noticed that you are 3 days away from your one year anniversary! You have done so well and you are such a motivating person. I appreciate you so much. Have a great one year band day. dawn

Good for YOU! Happy you found some peace and have new motivation. dawn

It would be helpful to know what foods you are eating like everyone else has said. Also there is also the chance that you are not eating enough calories since you are exercising. Look forward to hearing more from you. dawn

If it were me, I would call OCC to feel better. Take care, dawn

Hi AimmeJo, Welcome to bandland. Yes you will stop feeling it, but anytime you have surgery done you will have inflammation and swelling. Give yourself some time and you will be feeling better soon. I know that you are talking about around your upper stomach, throat area but something that helped me tremendously at my port site when would get sore was a rice/corn bag heated in the microwave. It also does really help a lot to get up and walk around as often as possible and then rest when you are tired. Good luck and happy healing and weight loss. dawn

Hi Stormy, I agree 100% about logging your food intake. When I get lazy and don't log it, I don't lose, when I discipline myself and log everyday the scale moves. It really is an eye opener. I use sparkpeople.com. It takes a little bit to navigate your way around it but they have videos to help you get started and it is free. If you decide to try it let us know how it works for you. dawn

You are very welcome! Take care. dawn

HI benjigirl, Not sure when you were banded but I can tell you from the time you stop losing really fast (right after surgery up to about the 6th week mark), to the point when you finally hit your sweet spot can be a real test of will. This is the time for you to start to find ways to deal with the head hunger and the issues that come about when we realize we can't or shouldn't eat like we used to. It becomes very easy to try and compare yourself with the other people that post on this board and other boards and get caught up in what can feel like a "competition" (for lack of a better word) of how fast to lose weight. Then your mind starts to play games with you because it always looks like someone is doing better than you. Everyone loses at a different pace. If you read far enough back you will start seeing that most people go through a pattern of losing then plateau then losing again. It's not a competition, it is really an adjustment to your new and better life Try not to get caught up in "that person lost that amount in this amount of time", but focus on how great you feel physically and how you will continue to feel great as you continue to lose weight. And be proud of yourself that you have taken this step to make you a healthier you! And just as a side note, you probably won't get much restriction with your first couple of fills, some people do, but most people don't, everyone is different. It can take a while to get to your sweet spot. So take this time to learn other things to do with your hands and keep your mind busy when you feel like you need to eat and you are not hungry. It took me almost 9 months to figure out that my band is my friend and I purchased it to help me get to my goal of a healthier life and lifestyle. We still fight, but most times the band wins and puts me back in my place! Good luck with your journey. It will all play out okay in the end, just trust in yourself :-h

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

Thanks everyone. I am feeling much better today and not having any issues. Thanks for the support. dawn

I think that I have finally been at my sweet spot for about a month now and things have been going well until today. For some reason my band has been super super tight today. I ate about 3 bites of lunch and felt that closing up feeling so I stopped eating to wait it out. Well it didn't go away and continued to get worse. I am so thankful that I have my own office at work because after standing at the sink for about 20 minutes sliming I thought things were easing up a little bit. Wrong! At one point I was sitting in my chair resting my forehead on my desk and spitting into the trashcan underneath me. Sorry to be so graphic but it is really nice to be able to share this with people who know exactly what I am talking about. It has lasted pretty much the entire afternoon. I was finally able to get liquids down but have to go super super slow. I have never had a day like this before with my band. I didn't PB but I was sure uncomfortable, and continue to be so to some extent. I am not really sure what the deal is. I am not even going to try solid foods for the rest of the day. I am sipping on soup right now and will play tomorrow by ear. I have had a super stressful day today so I am pretty sure that has played a big part in it. I really hope tomorrow it is much better. I don't even want to start thinking about needing to go for an unfill. Thanks for empathizing with me! dawn

Sabrina, Dr. Miranda told me 1200 to 1500 calories a day. When I was a smidge too tight about a month ago I was only able to take in about 3 bites of food at a time also. When I talked to my fill doctor who is a surgeon who does the lapband, I asked if this is what I should be eating, he said no, you should be able to eat a small plate of food at each meal. Which when measured out usually comes out to be about a cup. I try to eat 3-4 oz of meat and then 2 oz of veggies and then I usually have to stop, but if you were able to get about 2 oz of carbs in, then you are at about a cup. I think the question for you also is whether or not you are having pain or discomfort when the food tries to pass through the stoma? I was having pain when the food would try to go through so I knew that I was probably too tight. I let it go for about 6 weeks thinking at first it was normal and then thinking that it would pass. Then I started getting worried because I had read some posts from people who were too tight for too long and started having swelling and it was becoming quite uncomfortable to eat anything. I went in and he took .3 out, waited about 4 weeks and went back and had .2 put back in and now I am perfect and losing again. Maybe you should email Dr. Miranda and get her take on how much you are eating and she could probably give you some insight on whether or not you need a slight unfill. I have emailed her on several things and found her to be very helpful. Hope this helps. Good luck and take care, dawn

Nicole, I am sorry to hear about your band. I hope all goes well with you next week. Please keep us posted as to what the doc says. Good luck! dawn

Sometimes I will have one day where I can eat more than I usually do and then the very next day I go right back to being restricted as normal. Maybe you had one of those days? dawn

Call your doctor today -- right now if you haven't already. You run the risk of becoming dehydrated. Not fun and if bad enough requires IV fluids. Let us know how you are doing. dawn