Alexandra

The beautiful thing about lap-banding is that it's NOT the final straw. There are other things to try if it doesn't work. There are three other bariatric surgeries that are more drastic, but that have more-certain results (in the short term). They are RNY, Duodenal Switch, and Gastric Sleeve. I knew that if I could let the band help me eat less, I would lose weight. So that's where the effort lies--LETTING the band HELP. If I found myself unable to let the band help, then I'd be looking at something more drastic. Those options remain for you, so turn your attention to the band and what it can help you do. There's always more choices down the road.

Hi Mrs. P-- I brought this question up with my doctor when we first started talking about it. My band had, I thought, always been tight, with fills being given in tiny increments. I'd also been sensitive to allergies, with hay fever making my band almost unbearably tight from time to time. So when it came time to ask I brought this up, and my doctor immediately mentioned the new AP band. I'm not qualified to make the decision, so I'm letting my doctor make it. I think as long as he knows all the information I can possibly give him, he'll make the right choice for me. Good luck!!

Holy cow, I'm old. I haven't even HEARD of a lot of those groups, Chickie. My MP3 player has mostly show tunes (Wicked, Aida, Rent). Other than that, the one song that is guaranteed to get me up and running is It's Raining Men, by the Weather Girls. This is a GREAT idea for a thread, because us old folks really do need inspiration and I for one don't have the first clue about what's out there. The problem is I hate "dance" mixes, and almost all rap. What's good to move to?? Keep those ideas coming!!

Hi Nicole, For my money, the two surgeries are equally easy to "cheat" and over the long term have very similar results. Banding takes more patience and -- in the short term, at least -- a bit more participation from the patient. RNY will result in drastic, immediate weight loss no matter what the patient does, but after about two years the patient's behavior becomes pivotal again and it's very possible to gain the weight back. When considering between the two, it seems to me most important to decide whether short-term or long-term results are more important. If one is in need of immediate results for health reasons, the RNY makes a lot of sense. But if one is otherwise healthy, and wants to learn how to eat less permanently without running the risk of malnutrition, the band would seem to make more sense. (I believe it always makes more sense for younger people, too, because the negative effects of RNY stay with patients for life.)

Bud, that's really one of the nicest posts I've ever seen. You remind me, at least, why I keep coming back to this site. When I was researching my banding surgery it was so hard to find other weight-loss-surgery patients who could relate to the desire to NOT go whole hog and have RNY right out of the gate. That idea had indeed been floated by doctors and acquaintances, but it just never seemed right to me. Finding an online community of like-minded people was the single best thing that happened to me with regard to my banding journey. Welcome to LBT, the best of luck to you in your journey, and keep posting! :biggrin1:

Well, whatever the differential in weight to fact I guarantee you the carrier has assumed MOST people will lie about their weight. Your husband has just hired and so was added on to the company's plan when he was eligible. Therefore there should be no pre-existing condition exclusions, and the information you put on your enrollment form is probably not material to the kind of coverage you will receive.

Lying about your weight on insurance forms is not enough, I wouldn't think, to create a problem with the carrier in terms of coverage. You should call your husband's HR administrator as soon as you can and ask how important it is that those numbers be accurate. But I very much doubt that the information on that application form has anything to do with whether the policy covers you for banding surgery. You haven't even begun the process of being diagnosed with morbid obesity and submitting a request for surgery precertification, right? You're just talking about the enrollment form, and one thing has nothing to do with another. Also, your new carrier can't exclude anything as a pre-existing condition if you're moving from one carrier to another. If you didn't have a gap in your coverage, you can't be penalized for your employer changing plans.

Alizmarieo, every carrier is different with regard to their medical review procedures. And large group policies vary considerably with what is covered and what is excluded--the only way to find out what's excluded on your plan is to read your plan documents or speak with your benefit adminstrator. There are some general rules, however, for coverage of bariatric surgery. They are: --Your plan must cover treatment for bariatric surgery for medically qualified patients. --Medically qualified people are those who: Have a BMI of 40 or above; or who have a BMI of 35+ with two co-morbid conditions (these are health conditions that are caused or made worse by excess weight). These are the criteria necessary for a patient to be diagnosed with morbid obesity. --In many cases, insurers also consider that people with a diagnosis of morbid obesity must have been MO for at least five years befor they will approve bariatric surgery as treatment. --A psychological screening is necessary to test for eating disorders or psychological conditions that would interfere with treatment.

Thanks, y'all!! I've talked to my bosses and it seems a sure thing that I'll be changing carriers in July. So I called my surgeon's office to let them know, and to see if I can get on the schedule for sometime this summer. My NEW tentative surgery date is...August 13! This is exactly one week shy of four years from my original band placement. Now the next hurdle is, once again, insurance approval. First I have to do the paperwork to change carriers, get it approved and get ID numbers, then have my doctor submit the request for precertification. Whew!

It's called the AP band.

Awwww, thanks, Katie! I think these surveys are always skewed when they're posted at places like this, because the responders are those who are in the midst of the best part of banding--the losing phase. Of COURSE people are going to be enthusiastic about a procedure they voluntarily undertook to help them lose large amounts of weight when they are either fresh out of surgery or in the process of watching their bodies shrink. It's the very rare person who's going to say they made a mistake this early out. Taking a long view is harder--but to me it was more important. How do people feel years afterward? Did it do the job AND leave them healthy and happier? Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) there aren't a lot of long-term bandsters online to talk about their experiences--but I see that as an indication that they've moved on and are out living their new, healthier lives. Anyway, this is just a long way of saying that if I knew then what I know now, I'd DEFINITELY still have chosen the band. It did what I was told it would do, nothing more, nothing less. And it left me healthier and still whole.

She's up to her eyebrows in schoolwork, having taken on a full load in one accelerated session. She said she's going to be MIA for another month or so. But I'm sure she's thinking of us! :girl_hug:

Congratulations to your daughter! She sounds like a remarkable young woman who can be very proud of herself. You'r doing exactly the right thing by redirecting your frustration with family here, where it can't do any harm. I wish my stepson showed half the initiative and determination that your daughter does. He's graduating in two weeks with no next step in mind. :girl_hug:

My worst fears came true and my band was removed on April 9 due to slippage. That was preceded by about a month of very uncomfortable refllux, an inability to eat, an overall unhealthy feeling and fear. So I'm a good person to ask if I'd do it again. The answer is YES, and I'm tentatively scheduled to be rebanded on August 13 (insurance gods willing). Even with the negative experiences, and there were some, there is no other tool I've ever come across that made it POSSIBLE for me to lose the weight I needed to lose. And though my weight loss stopped before I got to anyone's idea of a goal weight (my lowest was around 210, giving me a BMI of just under 30), it was the very first time in my LIFE that I had any hope of staying at anything close to a normal weight. It was a lifesaver for me, and I am eagerly anticipating the day I get a new little silicone buddy to keep me from falling prey once again to morbid obesity.

In my honest opinion, the lap band is not a good fit for people battling short-term weight problems (like those brought about by pregnancy). It's for people who have fought and lost a long-term battle with morbid obesity, for whom weight has become a serious health concern. You've only had a baby 8 months ago? Give it time. Is your baby still nursing? Contrary to popular belief, it's just as likely that nursing mothers can retain weight through the whole nursing relationship, rather than lose it quickly. I kno that I only was able to drop the extra baby pounds when my babies weaned. Having a baby is a huge physical ordeal. As your baby grows you will become more and more active, and perhaps the weight will come off more easily. In my humble opinion, weight loss surgery is not a good idea for you. Congratulations on your new baby!!

The only supplement I've ever tried that had any effect at all was ephedra, which is also now off the market. It didn't reduce my appetite that I recall but did increase my energy to the point where I really would rather be doing something than sitting still. Time would fly by and I'd forget to eat. My biggest eating trigger was and still is boredom, so anything that gets me off my butt is a great anti-nibbling influence. I've tried to replicate the effect with caffeine, but that just makes me unpleasantly jittery and irritable in the bargain. I'd love to find something like ephedra again--I lost 30 lbs with it in the year before I was banded. If I could combine it with being banded? Watch out, mama!!

Good luck Karen! You know these jitters are perfectly normal. Come back and let us know how it all went. :biggrin1:

I'm not sure what you mean. If there are more than a few pages in any thread, the page numbers have always been shown as "1,2,3,...last" -- haven't they? In any event, you can jump to a particular page by clicking on the little down arrow symbol to the right of the word "last" in the page number indicator; that lets you jump to a page number of your choosing. You have to be IN the thread to do that, though; perhaps you used to be able to do that from the forum page? Let me know if that's what you're referring to, or if it's something else.

Carlene gives wonderful advice and knows whereof she speaks. Listen to her. And take care of yourself. :hug:

For what it's worth, in both of my pregnancies there was no heartbeat detected until I had ultrasounds at 13 and 14 weeks. The doppler in the gyno's office couldn't hear anything through my ample flesh.

This morning I told my bosses that I really want to switch to Horizon...the conversation has begun! I'm confident that it will happen effective 7/1, and then we start the request for precert all over again. Now I just have to get through the next month or two without GAINING!!!

There is indeed a glimmer of hope!

Adele, there are no sure things. Lots of people who are depressed find that with weight loss, their lives improve immensely. Being lighter makes us more able to move around, which in turn lifts the mood. So right there, sure, losing weight improves our lives. But clinical depression is something else entirely, and weight loss may not be a cure for that. Only you can figure out if you're just depressed about your weight (which ALL of us were, or we wouldn't be here), or if you're suffering from something more profound. Have you ever been thin? Do you know if your depression is directly related to your weight? Desperation is not the same thing as depression, necessarily, and desperation is what leads most of us to weight loss surgery in the first place. So is what you're feeling desperation? Weight loss definitely improves lives for those of us who are morbidly obese. I can't imagine anyone saying anything different. That's not to say life is perfect afterwards--not all of our problems are caused by excess weight, so not all of them can be cured by weight loss. But life is definitely better with less weight to haul around, no question about that.

Well, sure, the port can move, but that's usually not something one can do TO it once it's healed. How long ago did you have surgery? Are your incisions healed up? The port is stitched to you internally so yes, it's possible to rip stitches if there hasn't been enough healing time.

Robin, all of the doctors I know of around here (in NJ and NY) do lap banding surgery as an outpatient procedure. It's in a hospital, but there is no admission and no overnight stay. It's routine!