DESPERATE, Please Help
(deactivated member)
on 4/27/11 4:32 am
on 4/27/11 4:32 am
First, I want to apologize for the long post.
I had lap band surgery April 2008. I was doing great, no significant problems or issues. I lost weight, felt wonderful, didn't need any medications anymore etc. In August of 2008 my husband (who was our ONLY income provider) abandoned me with no money, all the bills, and no more health insurance, for some woman he had been sneaking around with for a LONG time.
My last Dr. appointment and fill was in July of 2008. Since then I have been trying to work which is hard because of the economy. Im in survival mode, I have two kids, I do not have insurance and medicaid says I'm "too healthy" for benefits...
Food gets stuck CONSTANTLY, I have severe-wakes-me-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-choking-throwing-up reflux and horrible constant pain in my stomach and the middle of my back. I haven't eaten more than a 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes and a piece of fish (the kind you get in the bag at wal-mart 30 for $11) a day for the past 5 months and that takes me around 3-4 hours to eat. Anything else I try to eat I bring right back up...
Since Easter 2011 I have not had a meal-NOTHING-I am barely surviving on Ensure drinks and most of the time I bring those up as well. I burp constantly when I am laying down on my left side and when I lay on my back or right side I feel my throat getting filled with acid.
I didn't have my surgery in Jacksonville so the surgeons I have spoken to here will not even talk to me unless I pay a program fee. Because I have a balance with my old surgeon due to my ex leaving the way he did- I am unable to get any of my records other than a few pictures that were given to me post-op.
I can not afford program fees, I do not have insurance, I JUST started another temporary job. I'm a very hard worker but for some reason no one in Jacksonville is hiring permanent full time Project Coordinators/Admin Assistants but rather it is ALWAYS temporary. Therefore the whole "I will wait until I find a job with insurance and an income lasting an indefinite period of time to get my band fixed" excuse is killing me. Its been almost 3 years. I feel helpless and pathetic and overwhelmed.
I have no idea why I am writing this post besides to get this out there and relieve the added stress of all these emotions and fears that lack of eating due to inability to care for my lapband is going to send me to an early grave.
Does anyone know if there are options? I am sure I am not the only person to have loads of bad luck. I am so very sorry for my long rant. Thanks for reading, advice is MUCH appreciated
I had lap band surgery April 2008. I was doing great, no significant problems or issues. I lost weight, felt wonderful, didn't need any medications anymore etc. In August of 2008 my husband (who was our ONLY income provider) abandoned me with no money, all the bills, and no more health insurance, for some woman he had been sneaking around with for a LONG time.
My last Dr. appointment and fill was in July of 2008. Since then I have been trying to work which is hard because of the economy. Im in survival mode, I have two kids, I do not have insurance and medicaid says I'm "too healthy" for benefits...
Food gets stuck CONSTANTLY, I have severe-wakes-me-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-choking-throwing-up reflux and horrible constant pain in my stomach and the middle of my back. I haven't eaten more than a 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes and a piece of fish (the kind you get in the bag at wal-mart 30 for $11) a day for the past 5 months and that takes me around 3-4 hours to eat. Anything else I try to eat I bring right back up...
Since Easter 2011 I have not had a meal-NOTHING-I am barely surviving on Ensure drinks and most of the time I bring those up as well. I burp constantly when I am laying down on my left side and when I lay on my back or right side I feel my throat getting filled with acid.
I didn't have my surgery in Jacksonville so the surgeons I have spoken to here will not even talk to me unless I pay a program fee. Because I have a balance with my old surgeon due to my ex leaving the way he did- I am unable to get any of my records other than a few pictures that were given to me post-op.
I can not afford program fees, I do not have insurance, I JUST started another temporary job. I'm a very hard worker but for some reason no one in Jacksonville is hiring permanent full time Project Coordinators/Admin Assistants but rather it is ALWAYS temporary. Therefore the whole "I will wait until I find a job with insurance and an income lasting an indefinite period of time to get my band fixed" excuse is killing me. Its been almost 3 years. I feel helpless and pathetic and overwhelmed.
I have no idea why I am writing this post besides to get this out there and relieve the added stress of all these emotions and fears that lack of eating due to inability to care for my lapband is going to send me to an early grave.
Does anyone know if there are options? I am sure I am not the only person to have loads of bad luck. I am so very sorry for my long rant. Thanks for reading, advice is MUCH appreciated
abandster
on 5/2/11 6:35 am
on 5/2/11 6:35 am
I'm in Jacksonville, FL. I had my surgery in 2005 and lost just shy of 100 lbs. That was then. This is now. When you see me (and I hope that will be soon), you're not going to think I ever had any kind of wls. Told you....this is now.
Bottom line is....you need to see a doctor. My guess is that you have something stuck on the ledge of the band and I'm praying the band hasn't slipped. I think you'd be in far more pain if it had but not being able to eat and throwing up all the time is a true sign of a problem. I "worked" with that situation for 2 weeks and finally gave in and saw the surgeon. Yep. something stuck. But I couldn't even keep mashed potatoes down. And by the time I "gave in", I was so swollen from all the throwing up that we had to leave the band wide open until I healed.
Anyway, I'd love to talk to you and if you'll email me at [email protected], I can add you to the group email list and we can stay in touch. From there I'll give you my cell phone number and if you'd like to call, I'd be more than happy to chat.
Anybody else reading this post and would like to be on the group's email list, please feel free to contact me.....whether or not you're in Jacksonville.
I hope to talk to you soon. I can truly feel your pain. We all have a story to tell and I've heard some of yours and would be happy to share mine with you.....soon.
Bottom line is....you need to see a doctor. My guess is that you have something stuck on the ledge of the band and I'm praying the band hasn't slipped. I think you'd be in far more pain if it had but not being able to eat and throwing up all the time is a true sign of a problem. I "worked" with that situation for 2 weeks and finally gave in and saw the surgeon. Yep. something stuck. But I couldn't even keep mashed potatoes down. And by the time I "gave in", I was so swollen from all the throwing up that we had to leave the band wide open until I healed.
Anyway, I'd love to talk to you and if you'll email me at [email protected], I can add you to the group email list and we can stay in touch. From there I'll give you my cell phone number and if you'd like to call, I'd be more than happy to chat.
Anybody else reading this post and would like to be on the group's email list, please feel free to contact me.....whether or not you're in Jacksonville.
I hope to talk to you soon. I can truly feel your pain. We all have a story to tell and I've heard some of yours and would be happy to share mine with you.....soon.
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