Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story

Calling all DWF area banders!!!! Please Help.. My name is Jade 28 coming in from southwest Colorado..but don't get me wrong, I'm a southern girl from Bama:) I am set for surgery on the 12th of Feb :biggrin: But my flight arrives Wed. 10th. Any friendly banders out there interested in meeting up and talking with me while I am in town pre-op?. I don't know the area at all and would hate to be stuck in a hotel room. (: Drinks on me:) No but for real i would really love some calming techniques for surgery, encouragement, and any personal experiences you might find helpful. Thanks so much.. Jade**

Well, im a single mother of 2 children. I've been looking to get this lapband but at only 23 years old not quite sure really what the best route is to do. At my heaviest 280 pounds I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and a very serious heart condition. I dont have alot of information about this surgery or even where its peformed here in Kentucky. Im just looking for someone to answer some questions for me. I am a self-pay patient does anyone have any pricing range for me to kinda think about. Thanks:rolleyes2:

Hi everone My first post. Ive been reading this site for weeks now and everones experiences are inspirational. Just got the courage to introduce myself. I am 9 days from changing my life forever(January 29th surgery.) I do have a few concerns that I think can be addressed here. My wife hopes I dont trade one obsession for another. In other words will I become obsessed with losing weight and the scale like I was with overeating and in general not caring about my health? I think I have done enough "soul searching" to avoid that. Does anyone have these thoughts? I am a Chef so working with food all day was a huge sticking point for me. How can I make all this great ta…

I leave in a few hours for my consult and cannot wait. I have researched the surgery, called my insurance, etc. I meet all of their criteria, so now it's the waiting game I think. Plus, the psych eval I guess. I just really want to get started on the next phase of my life. I know that probably sounds silly but I feel like I'm "on deck" or something - that I'm waiting to go up. Did anyone else feel that way once you made the decision to have surgery? How long after your consult did it take to get your surgery scheduled? Were there a lot of pre-op testing? Would love to hear of your experiences. :biggrin:

Hi!! I'm Tina and new to this forum. Good to see that those of us who have chosen to walk down this road have support and for that I thank you all in advance!! :001_smile: I'm scheduled for the 5th of March with Dr. Jose Rodriguez in Juarez. (My insurance, unfortunately, excludes any bariatric surgery so I'm traveling to Mexico.) Have any of you had him as your surgeon or have heard anything? I've researched and researched to the wee hours in the morning but it's best to hear first hand. My best friend had gastric bypass with him and has done wonderfully but the more input the better!!! Another Q I have is does it really take 6-8 weeks for a passport??? if so I'm in T…

So, I got my band 5 weeks ago today. I have lost 22 pounds most of that in the first three weeks. The past three weeks have been tortorous losing a pound a week. I have yet have a fill and am struggling slightly. I am monitoring everything I eat very carefully but, am still hungry and feel like I am dieting all the time.... this is exactly why I got the lapband - to not feel hungry.......... Anyone give me an estimate on how many fills it takes before you hit the right place? I get my first fill next week and just want to be prepared as to how many fills it may take to get me where I want to be............. Thanks - Balastrea's Wife

Hey yall, I went to my first visit today. I will have to wait 6 months for insurance to approve it. So i'm looking at July 19, 2010. Woo Hoo. I know it's a long way off but I am so excited. I'm going to be able to have a healthy life with my husband and 2 boys. Thank You JESUS is all I can say.:mad: Any one else having to wait 6 months from now?

I am new at this, I was banded Nov. 17, starting weight was 196, I weigh 170 now. Have not had any fills, but think I am do now.:mad:

I will be seeing my possible future surgeon tomorrow. What is the time frame from my consult to the actual surgery date? I have 1199 SEIU insurance. Is it mandatory to go to the seminar. Why go to that if I have an hour long consult with the surgeon?

Just completed my 6 months of coaching. I got the call today from my insurance company that I am approved and need to go for my final weigh in. Nervous and excited at the same time. Will be relying on this forum to help guide me through the process. So if anyone has any recommended advice I would love to hear them?:mad:

I now have less than 24 hours to be sleeved!!! I am scheduled for surgery tomorrow at 11:45a.m. PST. I am now a bundle of nerves!!!!!!!!! Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone! I am glad for this forum, as I have been lurking on here for a few days checking out the lap band options. Here is my question for you guys...and I hope that no one takes offense to the question...I am just not quite sure I really understand how this all works? From what I can tell...when you have the surgery and afterwards, you are sort of forced to eat healthier. My BMI is 43 and I would qualify for surgery...I am just not sure if I would just be better off pretending I have it and do what I am calling a "lap band diet"... If I can make myself eat that way AFTER the surgery...is there something stopping me from doing it now? What does having…

I had my pre-op visit with Dr. Michael Snyder. We are set for 1-22. Everything went well. I was thinking that I would need to start the liquid diet for the two weeks prior to the surgery, but only have to do a liquid diet for 24 hours. I weighed in at 301 lbs. Dr Snyder thinks I could be down 100 lbs. in 8 months. I have diabetes, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea. I pray that I can get rid of all these things. My cousin did, and he is the one who recommended this to me.

Hi Im in Mass and being banded Feb 11th! Woohoo...and looking to find others to join in supporting each other =) Im so excited it'll be the longest wait...lol :thumbup:

Hey all! i've been lurking around here for a while now just reading and taking in all the awesome information you guys have and i wanted to say thank you for helping me make a very informed decision. I was just wondering how open you guys were when it came to telling people about having this done....i have only told 3 people and i feel myself not even wanting to tell anyone else because i dont want get get crap from people,,,people in my life havent' been that supportive of me.

I've been trying to get an answer to this question for a week, and can't seem to get a straight answer. Does anybody have a clue? If I have 800-1000 calories a day and 60-70 grams of protein a day, How does burning 700 calories at the Gym effect those those numbers? Should I increase my Calorie intake so my body doesn't think I'm starving? And go into starvation mode? At this pace I'm loosing inches but NO lbs. I need to know what to do.....advice?

Hi everyone! I just wanted to take a few moments an introduce myself. I've met with my surgeon, have my psycharist consult tomorrow and the meeting with my nutritionist on Wed. I am so very terribly excited!!! This board has been an utter fountain of knowledge for me and I hope that everyone has a wonderful Banding experience. yes, this will be a hard journey, but the last 15 years of up and down weight loss has been emotionally hard as well, so I am up for the challenge! It's nice to meet you all...By the way, I'm a 37 year old mother of one here in Florida... :thumbup: Nice to meet you all!

Hello....I've been lurking around here for months and started the Lap-Band process back in July with a trip to my pcp. I have jumped through all the insurance hoops and have a surgery date of February 5th. I'm excited and nervous and looking forward to sharing information here on this forum. I'm 52 yrsd old and live in Buffalo NY, my Dr is Dr Pham in Williamsville NY.

Hi, My name is Liz and I had my surgery a year ago on Jan. 8, 2009. I have lost 86 lbs. and have had a lot of difficulty eating solids, but here lately I have no trouble at all and can eat quite a lot of food. I still eat healthy food, just too much I guess. I went to my doctor last week for a fill (my first) and they wanted to do it at the hospital with the flouro to make sure the barium would go through after the fill. I have read a lot of posts here and it has been very helpful. My email is dizlizd@aol.com if anyone wants to talk.

Hello all, I have been on here for awhile but mainly just to get some reading information and answers to a few of my million questions! I am currently wainting for the insurance to approve me as I have completed all of the requirement that they had set, so wish me luck and hello to ALL!

Hi I'm Jennifer, I had my LAP-BAND® surgery on Dec. 9, 2009. I feel great and am loosing weight as we chat! I have Tricare Prime insurance and they paid 100% for my surgery. My Doctor is Dr. Yuan in PA. I visited this chat thread many times in the past to read other peoples questions and got answers. I'm ready to introduce myself and share my journey!:w00t:

Well 5 days away from surgery. :001_smile: I think I'm as prepared as I'm going to be. I did last minute shopping for things I need to take with me to the hospital. I bought a cheap gown to wear, just in case I feel good enough after surgery to wear one. I bought a comfy jogging suit to wear there and back. I also took peoples advice from this site and bought some "big girl panties". Sounds like your belly swells up a bit after surgery and big panties are more comfortable than your regular ones (not that my regular ones aren't big girl panties already:001_unsure:). I normally buy my undies at Dillards and never really paid attention to the size. I just pick up an individu…

Hey, all - My name is Laurie, I'm 36, married to the best guy on earth, and scheduled for VSG on 1/25. I have been struggling my whole life with weight, breaking the 200 barrier at the tender age of 11. Since then, I've never been below 200, and at my lowest with weight watchers I was still 238. In the process of trying to conceive, the stress eating was unreal....and when I moved to DE for my new job I was already back to 280. Now I've broken the 300 barrier with gusto...and the attempts to conceive have been worse after 2 reproductive docs told me that my weight was the only thing keeping me from getting pregnant. After much deliberation, I decided to shoot fo…

Hi, My name is Tiffany. 23 years old. Been looking at this site for a few weeks now, but this is my first post. I have my first consult on 1/20, so excited! Just curious if anyone has used this doctor?

Anyone else out there w/ me. I could use some support. I am excited but scared of the unknown of course. Would love some support for post op period.

So as I posted in someones recent post as a reply,I want to film my surgery. I want to make a short documentary, maybe just something that sheds a little light on Medical Tourism as a whole. The problem is I cant film my own surgery. I need someone to do it. Well, I dont even have a family member or friend that can come down for support let alone stand in an operating room, not pass out and film the process. My family other than my father isnt interested in helping me (my two sisters), and my best friend cant afford to go because he has no job. I dont really have anyone else but my dad and he is in Iraq. Is there anyone that lives close to San Diego that would be interest…

Hi all! I've been perusing the boards trying to gather info. My name is Sabrina and I have 4 small children. I had been thin my entire life. All of a sudden at 33 I had a newborn and a 1 year old and about 100 extra lbs of flub. My sister and I went to Tiajuana and had lap band surgery with Dr. Ortiz on 4/1/04. I lost 80 lbs in 6 months and looked and felt great! Then in 2006 I kept having issues with a "bubbly tummy." I was miserable and in pain almost all of the time. I was also pregnant with #3 and attributed it to being knocked up. 13 months after he was born I had our youngest child. Four babies in 5 years wreaked havoc on my once thin body. Even though I still had…

Hello. I am new here also. Surgery is scheduled for February 9th. My starting weight at my first office visit back in June was 487 lbs. My weight last week was 470. My current weight as of today (6 days into the liquid pre op diet) is 458 lbs. It isn't easy, but the pre-op diet if followed does give results!!! Now if I can just get through 3 more weeks of it!! :w00t:

Hi, I just wanted to say "Hello" and would like to get connected to the community. My surgery date is next Tuesday (1/19/10). I am very excited and nervous at the same time. I am trying to just take it one step at a time until surgery. I have no idea what to expect!

Hi, my name is Jeani, i have had a weight problem my whole life. Maybe not as bad as some people but it's still a MAJOR problem. Now on top of the weight, i have some health issues and i'm not getting any younger. I've been doing lots of research and i had never heard of the sleeve but now i believe it is the only way i want to go. My doctor does do them, but i get the feeling he prefers bypass. I need to take anti inflamatory pain meds and have been told you can still take them with the sleeve, not with bypass. I'm confused, i'm nervous, i'm not sure if my HMO will approve it. Does anyone know if anthem blue cross is approving the sleeve in 2010? I had my first consultat…

Hi Everyone!! Good luck to everyone that has already been banded!!! I am getting banded Sept 10th and would like to have any other sept banders to jump aboard and let support each other like never before!!!:clap2::whoo:

Ready for life to change :w00t:

Hi all! I am what you call a lost lap bander? I had my surgery Dec 08. Not much has changed for me though. I realize it has taken me this long to find out the why's. Sometimes we go into this thinking it will just happen, but it doesn't. So I am hoping with the help and moral support from this group I can find a light at the end of the tunnel. It has taken this year to learn so much about myself and that the band is just the beginning and the tool. I am finding ways to mold my life and make these changes no matter how hard. Any advice, especially nutrition tricks that save time would be welcome! Looking forward to meeting a great group here!

My wife's having the LAP-BAND® procedure done this Friday and I wanted to see if there are any other men on here whose wives or significant others have had this done. I'm very excited at the prospects of her losing weight, her all around health getting better and most of all I'm looking forward to seeing my wife truly happy about her looks again and to feel better about herself. Now for my apprehensions....I'm a little nervous about her having the surgery because there is some risk as with all surgeries. Also, I know that I will be her main support since we are best friends. I'm just afraid I may not be good enough at helping her although this is pretty much a baseless fe…

Hello All- I am Artemis. Scheduling a doctors appointment tomorrow after much research on WLS, having decided that the band is the option that most appeals to me. I am 30 years old and mother of 2, and at my highest weight, which I truly deep down know will only continue to climb in the long run if I don't do something. Since I am going to schedule my appointment, I am also "coming out of the closet" on here after doing a great deal of unregistered reading for some time now. I am both excited and terrified by my decision, and look forward to seeing what my doctor thinks. I really believe he will be supportive of me. He has been my primary care physician for years,…

I am new to this and after being over weight all my life I will have my lap-band surgery on Jan 22nd. Dr. Hollis is my surgeon and if anybody out there has any advice I would greatly appreciate it

Hello everyone, my name is Kini and I live in Dallas, Texas. I decided over the holiday that I no longer wanted to continue this cycle of yo yo dieting and disappointment. I had considered the lap band last year, but talked myself out of it. So with the new year I made a consultation appointment on Jan 5, 2009. Two days later they had my insurance approval. This week I had my lab work done and was cleared by the cardiologist. I start my pre op diet Tuesday and see the Dr Felts on Thursday. My surgery day is Jan 26th! Is it just me or is that moving along super fast!!!!! I'm really nervous about this. Is it normal for things to move so quickly or has the good Lord …

I'VE LOST 15 INCHES!!!!!:w00t:

I'm very excited! I've been on my liquid diet for four days, and have my surgery in no time, it seems! I finished my 7 months of medical management on January 5th and was approved right away! SO glad. I topped out at 197 and am 5'1" with sleep apnea. I am at 194 after these few days of liquid dieting. My doctor is going to perform SILS (single-incision lapband surgery) and I'm very happy about that! I've also been running with the Couch-to-5K Program since November, and have registered for my first two 5K runs in March and April. Very excited! Running is my new addiction. :w00t:

So down and out... I was so happy when I got my approval, but for the past couple of days I have been a little down about it. I know that I need to do this because I have had no long lasting success on my own and it's just a matter of time before I have serious health issues because of my weight. I am grateful to have the most awesome support from my family and my dear best friend!! I am also grateful that I have medical insurance and that they are paying for this!! To sum it up...I feel like such a failure because I can't lose the weight without having surgery to help me. I just want to know if this is a normal feeling? :w00t: Have any of you felt…

Hello, I have been viewing the site since October and have found it to be very helpful and informative...I have 1 more appointment left Feb.9 and then they will submit all paper work to Aetna. (I had to do the 6 consecutive months) I pray that everything goes well! I am so excited!

Well, I'm a newbie here and my band is scheduled to be done on 1/20/10.. I just got done watching the emmi presentation on lap banding, and now I'm nervous! I've never had any surgery done before, and I'm literally scared! I'm scared of the anesthesia, but I guess I never realized that they have to insert a catheter!:tt1: I'm really kinda freaked out about that... I'm a guy, so maybe that's a guy thing???? Oh well, words of encouragement my way would be greatly appreciated!!!!!:thumbup:

Ok, I am at the hospital and having surgery in a little over 12 hours! I am so nervous but super excited. You guys have been an amazing help and I will continue writing on here. I think I may be able to check in before my surgery. :001_smile:

Hey everyone!!! I just got my date and I'm psyched!!! I"ve been reading all the posts for awhile now and adding a couple of my own here and there, but now I plan to be a full fledged active participating part of the VSG community..... My 2 week liquid pre-op diet starts in 6 days and all I keep focusing on is how many good bottles of wine can I drink between now and then...My hubby and I love wine...I more then him....He's supportive of me and the surgery, but a little bummed that I will be taking a break from the wine and the winery trips we take....So, I'm loading up now....LOL I'm ok giving up wine and large portions of food now for a healthier lifestyle long term…

So, I went to the "orientation class" today and I things are starting to roll along smoothly. :thumbup: I go for my psych eval on the 25th and have 1 other mandatory appointment required by my insurance HealthNet (Monarch Medical Group). I scheduled the rest of my appointments within the next 2 weeks. I am really excited :tt1: about starting a new life for myself!

Went to the store to stock up on something to drink post op.. scheduled for the 20th... I know I will be on clears for 1-2 weeks.. Any suggestions?

Hello everyone, my name is Kini and I live in Dallas, Texas. I decided over the holiday that I no longer wanted to continue this cycle of yo yo dieting and disappointment. I had considered the lap band last year, but talked myself out of it. So with the new year I made a consultation appointment on Jan 5, 2009. Two days later they had my insurance approval. This week I had my lab work done and was cleared by the cardiologist. I start my pre op diet Tuesday and see the Dr Felts on Thursday. My surgery day is Jan 26th! Is it just me or is that moving along super fast!!!!! I'm really nervous about this. Is it normal for things to move so quickly or has the good Lord …

Hey Girls and Guys! Well I joined a fittness center Saturday. Although I've been walking outdoors, the recent fidgid weather has reaked havoc on that. So my best friend and I joined Fittness Lady together. I'm so excited. We started Saturday also. We walked a mile, biked 3 miles, and joined in on a Zumba class. It was so much FUN dancing to salsa music, but it wasn't easy. We were huffing and puffing and sweating at the end of the class, but felt great for doing it. We plan on water aerobics 2 nights a week, Zumba 2 nights a week, plus getting in a 2 miles of walking before the classes. I'm already seeing results, I lost 2 lbs the next day!!! I'm ready for the coming yea…

Hi! My name is Brigid and I am 34 years old. I was just banded on January 7th after a very long 5 month pre op surgical process! I am happy to finally have it done and look forward to re-gaining my life back! Hope to get to know y'all!