LAP-BAND Surgery Forums

My BMI is 34. Anyone out there that had this lower bmi before surgery? Are you willing to share your banding experience. Sure would help me out!

I am wondering if other people got emotional before being banded? I am four days away and was about to cry all day over nothing. I feel a lot of stress over things that need to be done prior to my getting banded. I know this is the right thing to do, so I am not sure what my problem is. Did anyone else do this?

I am being banded on 12/13 and called my insurance to see if fills are covered. It seems like a no-brainer to me if they pay for the band, they should pay for the fill. Well it seems that there is not a clear answer to that. I was told that there is a pre-certification process and there is no guarentee that it will be covered. So I am wondering if people are paying for fills or if they are covered, I have Cigna insurance and my dr charges about $250 for each fill.

hello all, I'm home after surgery at 1:30 today, I am now a bandster. so far so good thanks for all the prayers.. will fill in the blanks tomorrow

Well I had my first fill yesterday. 1.5cc's. so before the fill I was able to eat alot.( and so was my hubby. he had 2.0 cc's filled yesterday for his first fill.) I am hoping that having the first fill changes that. I have lost some weight though. I am able to fit into a pair of jeans that I've had in the closet for three years "just in case'. I used to be able to wear them three years ago and now that I can fit back into them I am so happy! It is just a small victory in this battle against the bulge, but I'll take what ever I can get! Every little bit counts right???

I'm seeing Dr. Margo in Deer River,Mn.He was trained by Dr. Horgan in Chicago,who was in on the ground floor of lapband in this country so I feel secure in his care.He requires alot of pretests...colonoscopy,manometry,esophageal endoscopy,psych report,etc.Has anyone else had this experience?I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere on the boards.I'm about in the middle of completing these procedures. Thanks,Sonjia

After I had my port revision I had pretty good restriction but I could take a bite or two and it would sort of hurt but then if I waited a few minutes I could go ahead with my meal and to me was eating too much so I decided to go and get another fill. Well when I did this he moved me up to 1.6 and the rest of that day and most of the next day I couldnt hardly even swallow liquid or even saliva was uncomfortable and I was burping up acid so by the next afternoon I decided to go and get some taken out. The medical assistant went in and tried to get it and she couldnt get it out so she called the nurse in and she tried and by then she could only get like less than one cc t…

i think I know but i may be wrong

Hello Everyone! Just got my first fill today. 4.2 cc's for a 11 cc band. It was a breeze. They used no numbing solution or anything. I felt nothing. The only time I felt a little soreness was from standing up with the needle still in me to fill the band. A paper cut would of been much worse. I was on the flouroscope machine table and it automatically hoists you up from lying down to standing. Don't be afraid of your first fill. I'm one of the biggest needle chickens there is and it was fine. Horray! I beat the big fill fright beast! He was a big beastie indeed!!!!!

I felt so bad yesterday. I felt like a fool after I did my post and wished I could take it back. But you all had kind and funny words for me. I'm normally not a whiner or a complainer. I learned after developing arthritis that noon like a whiner. Like most overweight people I have lots of pain everyday but I don't say anything. But sometimes we all reach our limit. Today I hosted the smeinar I talked about in my post. The speaker was a nice guy and knew his stuff. My dh made sure I had something to wear and I did my haiur and makeup special. I even wore my expensive perfume. Mid-day came and the speaker came up to me and said, "You look like you've had a hard…

I couldnt sleep last nightthinking of Penni, knowing she was in surgery. It got me to thinking about things...People just because you have an upper GI does not mean your band is fine.. Penni is perfect example of this.. Here is a quote from her post last week in regards to her upper GI Then they sent me to have an upper GI. I was shocked they wanted me to have it done today. I was equally shocked I was worked in so fast. ANyway I drank that horrible stuff and rolled and tossed on the table while the doc looked at my innards. He showed me the pictures and he said it all looks fine. It doesn't appear I have either a slip or erosion but then again he wasn't my band doc.…

When I asked my surgeon about this he made it sound so rare and obviously it is not. He said he hadnt had an erosions but some that he heard about some on the people are doing just fine without any complications and are keeping their band. This seems dangerous to keep the band-- it seems like it could open you up to serious infection, any one know about this??? Jill

Hello all, earlier in the week I had written about being filled and not being able to get down liquid without it hurting. Now it's Wednesday and I have been a little more successful with getting it down, but not completly, I have been able to eat soft foods and soups and keep them down. But now I am confused, I made an appointment to get some of the fill out but since I have been eating should I re-think that decision? I still feel the need to burp and it's always a sour burp, so at night I am getting reflux. What do I do? I still feel the need to drink more liquids and that continues to be a problem, but food isn't. HELP!

Happy Birthday Dianne !!! :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

I was just thinking.Maybe in the future we could have a get together in Shreveport at one of the casinos.Does anyone have friends at the casinos?

Dh talked with the president of his co. today about the fact that the insurance denied me, and the whole saga. His boss said he will do whatever it takes to get it approved for me!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!

I have heard these two mentioned alot and I *think* I know what they mean. Anyone enlighten me??

So a week ago I had my third adjustment (my second fill was taken out because it was too tight). I am too tight again, or am I My morning coffee is refluxing and liquids take a while to go through. When I try to eat I chew, and chew and then it gets stuck and I pb. Does this sound too tight or am I doing something wrong? I called doctor and staying on liquids until next Wednesday when I go back to see him to an un-fill ( I think)

I made a pot of vegtable beef Soup last night.I was to start mushies today so I thought I would try that pureed. I got out my baby spoon to sample. OMG it is so good.It just hopped into my magic bullet.What can I say. I could only eat 3/4 cup and I was satisfied not full but satisfied. First time in Six days. Amazing I could eat two bowls and 2 grilled chees sandwiches before. I could wait till tommorrow. Doc told me to try to do the liquids for seven days if I could. Well I made it 6 days and 20 hours.I went to the doctor yesterday Im down eleven poulds now at 207.Instead of taking 65 units of insulin and four pills for just my blood sugar Im at 10 units and two pills…

I'm narrowing my choice of surgeons in Mexico (I have a lower, right! BMI) so I know that I would never get my insurance to pay for it. I guess they would rather pay for weight related problems that will come along later - anyway that's another story - plus I'm sick, sick, sick, of the "loosing" battle that I've fought since I was a child - anyway I digress and I apologize for that - but what I was asking about was advice on who to go to locally for fills. Actually I live in River Falls, WI - but I suspect the nearest fill-facilities would be in MN. Can anyone help me with this? THANKS!

Tomorrow marks three weeks since my banding. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> First week passed with little appetite...which was a great feeling......but was related only to swelling, etc. and not necessarily the band. This is where my meager weight loss probably occurred. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The second week my appetite came back.......and surprise....little restriction....the feeling of being full just isn't there.....so I'm starting to panic!<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The third week confirms that I feel very …

Well first two weeks down 10 lbs......but now very hungry and can eat just about anything except beef, bread, stringy veg's w/o reaction......having a very hard time............is this normal? Will it be better after 1st fill? not full like i was at first? Help..........newley banded

Went to see my surgeon yesterday afternoon and he and I discussed my long hospitilization with pneumonia, pleural effusion and enlarged spleen. He agreed with my hospital physician that there was a bleed related to my surgery, though he has never had one happen after being closed. I feel sure that he checked me throughly to make sure all was intact after surgery, it was just one of those things. Just wanted to make everyone aware of this as it took a long time for them to look below my diaphragm for anything besides just regular pneumonia, and it could make a differerence for someone else in the future to have heard of my case and maybe have a quicker resolution-rather…

I am a 35 year old man who was banded in February 14, 2005 (Valentine's Day). At that day I weighted 275 lbs. and today I weight 215 (total 60 lbs. down). I feel great because I went from a pants size 42" and now I'm a 36", I can tide my shoes without getting out of breath and I love the compliments. I want to be at 200 lbs. when my aniversary comes. My goal is to get to 190 lbs. I've had 3 fills so maybe 1 more should do it, anyhow just wanted to share and wish you all a very happy Christmas. Dan 275/215/190 Dr. Kuri 02/14/05

Hey Michigan Bandsters...I am wondering if any of you had BCBS of MI cover your band surgery? Did you have to provide the 1 year of documentation of medically supervised wt loss? I have BCBS Community Blue PPO and I know they cover it, but I refuse to give them my first born child in exchange for their coverage

Why does the scale have such a hold on me? It is amazing that I don't think about the scale or what it will tell me when I am in the kitchen eating. I had my band surgery on the 17th. I have been steadily loosing weight, down 23 pounds. Then.... I get up on Sunday morning, get on the scale and I had gained a pound. I cried, I picked a fight with my husband, asked him if he was disappointed in me. I had convinced myself that I had lost my last pound. I was never going to loose another pound. What a psycho.... I am now on a scale fast. My husband has hidden it and when I start to spaz about my weight I will stop and tell myself that my sucess is not measured by…

I've been seeing lots of folks lately talking about "the great deal" they are getting on their surgery. The talk of, oh my surgeon only charges $X amount, which is cheaper than doctor Y charges. I don't know why, but this really started to bother me this afternoon. What with all the talk of problems that have suddenly hit our community, with slips and leaks and the E-word, I would think that we would search out the very most qualified, the very best surgeon and aftercare facility that we can possibly find. I know that I'm so very lucky to have wonderful insurance. I knwo this and I am increadibly thankful for it. I know that when I was looking for a new sofa I lo…

Hi everyone! I'm writing to you from my NEW computer I just got my first home computer and connected to the internet tonight! It's quite intimidating, sometimes these weird messages come up and I don't know what they mean. So I'll be able to pop in when I'm at home! On the subject of banding, some of you may know I've been researching it. I have taken the first step, well maybe it's the 2nd (after research of course), but I've called my primary doctor for a referral to a surgeon I'm still kind of worried I will fail (by tha I mean that I'm afraid I'll mess up the dietary rules) and think that maybe behind my back people will say it was stupid of me to do this, …

With all the erosion going on with MX banded patients I did some inquiring about Sanchez's statistics. Dr. Sanchez has not had a single erosion case since Fall 2003 aproximently 2 years now and the ones that were reported before that were due to the Swedish band that he used to place that had a higher erosion rate to begin with. Directly from Dr. Sanchez's person - through all of their research US erosions vs. MX erosions are not signifcantly higher than the other. The majority of erosions are diagnosed from 18 months - 30 months out. Erosions after 30 months are significantly decreased. Many of the erosions had port infections prior to eroding and 70% of all eroded…

I am about to graduate to solid foods but I have been having an issue. Sometimes my food sneaks up on me. I am eating, I think I'm still hungery so I eat a little more and about 10 minutes after I'm done, I feel ill. So full, overstuffed and not like th "good old days". This hurts. It's like the food has expanded inside me. I follow the drinking rules and eat small portions. Not sure why it happens. Anyone else in this boat?

So, starting today right? Everyone know about the Crystal/Kare Turtle challenge? Anyone else wanna join? The challenge is MINIMUM 1 hour of AEROBIC workout--5 days per week (minimum) for 4 weeks and keeping under 1200. (Right, Vines?) My dad goes in for cardiac surgery tomorrow. I think I'm going to need the inspiration of ya'll this week and I'm gonna need something to think about and log in for. There's nothing so encouraging as sharing our inspiration & success.

Ok, After all the positive feedback I have gotten here I have decided to go for this. I'm psyched! Thanks to all for your encouragement and support. I have contacted Dr. Rumbaut and await his response. If I may ask for some more advice here. I am planning a trip to the carribean in early February. I can't possibly get the surgery done before early January. If you were in my shoes would you wait until after the trip? Thanks in advance.

Many many Christmas (( hugs)) from me to all of you. I have so enjoyed getting on the forum over the last 7 months. I have learned alot and laughed alot and even shared some scenes from my lap band experiences that I just could not tell just anyone. (Not many would understand!) That being said--here is my cyber-space Christmas card and I hope Santa is good to you and a blessed New Year to all.

Alright here's the deal. The weight is not coming off. I have had 2 fills in since my surgery date (July 29, 2005).(4ccs total volumne in a VG band). I eat slow, no liquids with a meal, 1/2 hour before and after, protein first....yada, yada, yada. I have gained weight back, my low weight was 273, I am now 288! My hair is starting to thin and fall out and I am scared. I take Optisource vitamins 4X a day and eat healthy foods. I can eat 2 or more cups at a time and am hungry within an hour. I know I have to work with my band, but I feel like I am doing all the work. I see my dietician Monday Nov 21st, she said if I am still not a loser, she would ask my doc to do another fi…

Im still getting this awfull pain in my shoulder at time it feels like my arm is dislocated.It comes and goes. Im walking heat, massage and hot showers. It 3:30 am day 7 and here we go again.

Just wanted to know if any of you have less restriction at night since my last fill I have been tight in the morning then at night look out I can eat anything is this normal

I'm SO excited! The surgeon's office called yesterday to let me know my insurance company had called them with approval and asked me to call back to schedule the surgery. I'm having it done Tues., January 24. I have to go to Sioux Falls Monday for an education class and an appointment with the doc and then stay over and have it done Tues. I've done a lot of research and really want to have this done, but I know I'm going to be teetering back and forth until then. It's helped so much to read the posts responding to someone's question about whether you all regret being banded...it's comforting that nearly all of you said you'd do it again. Dr. O'Brien does want me…

Congratssssss, you are doing so well and boy I am jealous. I just wanted to publicly congratulate you. 80kgs wow!!!!!

Well atleast not for while. While out christmas shopping, my daughter and i stop at chic-filet. I decide to get a 6 piece nugget. BAD IDEA. I took to big of bite and oops stuck. So instead of just sitting there in pain, i drink some tea thinking that will help break it up and make it pass...BAD IDEA. SO i PB i was able to hide it in a napkin, but then the pain gets worse and i know i'm in for a full on vomit. So i quickly run to the womens bathroom...door is locked someone is in there. So i'm pacing the hall begging the band to be merciful , i waited as long as i could but no it insisted on coming up, So i quickly pop open the lid in my drink and proceed to vomi…

Hi everybody. I was wondering if anyone can relate. I am one of those who went through the buffet line twice when they were passing out boobies. Some of the poundage I've lost has come out of the boobs. They are getting longer by the day. The thing is, they, along with my tummy itch like crazy. This has been going on for about a month +. I actually went to the Doctor about it and went through the whole drill about whether or not I'm using (soap/detergent) or eating anything different--I'm not. Anybody else had anything similar?

I will likely have my band done in Mexico. A lot of the packages include airfare. But hello! I am too big to fit in an airplane seat. I imagine most people who need a band are. What do i do? I can't afford 2 seats.

I had a fill a week and a half ago. It seems tight and I am working with the band as the quantity of food that I can eat has been greatly reduced. Since the fill I notice when I take a nap or go to sleep, I find myslef waking up with food kind of caught in my throwt. Has anyone had this experiance?

On the 17th do we want to all bring an ornament to exchange. We could wrap them and play some time of number game or some thing like that. They wouldn't be expensive or big so would be douable in the resturant. Just a thought. Melissa

Well I'm in a bad mood. I had to go have a bit of an unfill today. Had a bad "incident" last night (details here http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=12410) and I've been having SUCH trouble with PB'ing. So get this..I go to my doc who weighs me. I've lost 6 lbs in the past month. He tells me "I'm not happy with your progress. You were losing 10lbs a month before and now it's only six.....what are you doing wrong?" And kind of chastised me. I had TOLD HIM that being too tight was driving bad behavior and I guess he had to hand slap me! I was pretty mad. I mean....I'm pretty happy with a six pound weight loss in a month....grrrrrrr. Aaaaanyhow, the real rea…

My endoscopy went fine. The doctor did find two areas of inflammation in the bottom of my stomach that he did biopsies on. He said it was common procedure and didn't seem at all concerned about it. Now I guess it's just a matter of how quickly my surgeon gets the report and dictates my letter. Who knows, maybe I will get my surgery date for Christmas?

Well, I went to my doctor yesterday for my pre-op consultation. I really thought I would get more information from him concerning the post-op eating and such. Well, what I got was a required clear liquid/laxative diet for the day before surgery (hey - y'all didn't tell me about that doozie!?!?!), a packet from inamed with cards and a brochure about the product, and a statement from the doc that it is up to me to make use of the band. I really hope I get some literature after the surgery, I mean, this site is awesome, but I was hoping to have a strict guideline from the doc. I do so well on strict regimens (Jenny Craig), but suck at things such as weight watchers where …

I'm yelling at the top of my lungs in less then 24 hours I'll be a bandster. I can't wait to be able to play with my grandson and not hurt when I get up off the floor they just left and I'm one tired Grammy of a active 2 year old...

Eating has always made me hungry. Sounds funny, but it's true. Once I start eating I could just go on and on. Eating while already full has never been a problem for me. I have successfully dieted in the past - never kept the weight off. But as long as I'm in "diet Mode" I'm OK 'till I go off of it. Then look out! So, my pattern has ALWAYS been - Dieting to loose, trying to keep it off with more dieting, then gaining it all back (plus more). I just want off of this horrible nightmare of a ride. Will the band help someone like me? Seriously choosing a doctor - probably Kuri - in Jan.

I just wanted to tell everyone to be careful, especially now that the Holidays are coming. My car was broken into Friday, and my purse, credit card, bank card, cash, and make-up was stolen (but they left my wallet...). People are getting desperate right now, and looking for $ and presents, so I just wanted to tell you all to be careful at night, don't leave your purse or presents in the car and everything like that. I live in a good neighborhood - some people just walked up my driveway looking for anything they could find. Luckily, all they got was $12, a FAKE Gucci purse, and my make-up (now, I am upset about that, Bare Escentiuals is good stuff) but I cancelled my cards…

After 1.5 years of research and saving for my Lap Band I went in Mon. for surgery. After 20 minutes in my surgean found that I had to much scar tissue and mesh from previous surgerys to do the Lap Band. < I wish every one the best as I will continue the old fashion way to lose wieght. If you have been lucky enough to have this surgery done please honor it by trying your best to be faithful to your eating habits and excercise program. I am very depressed now but I will not give up on my fight for better health. IDAHOFATS