Alexandra

The BMI calculation matters when the doctor first submits his request for precertification. I believe--though you should actually ask Aetna about this--that even if you lose enough weight on the three- or six-month supervised diet to drop your BMI below 40 that would be seen as proof you can be compliant, not evidence that you don't need surgery anymore.

Toni, I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles. :confused: A word to the wise: when you're price-shopping be sure you get the TOTAL price for removal. I can't imagine a situation in the U.S. where the price for any surgery would be as low as $5500. That is probably the surgeon's fee alone, and all the facility charges would be extra. Good luck with your unfill on Monday. Will they be taking a look at the band's position? If nothing else, once you have an unfill you might try staying away from Pasta or anything at all that is starchy (rice, bread, potatoes, pasta). My first time around I couldn't take more than one or two bits of anything like that without feeling it right away. Best of luck to you and please let us know how it goes!

I'm closing this thread at the request of the OP. Thanks.

What about other band manufacturers? Do we know what all every band maker is recommending around the world? Do we know if new bands have different postop protocols? Hell, I'm not making any attempt to keep up with the literature on this issue, and I'm certainly not recommending that everyone disregard any information. But for medical advice I put my trust in my doctor, and assume other people do the same. Wasa, with regard to quoting you above I wasn't intending to chastise. I wasn't saying anyone had done what I was trying to prevent (get high and mighty), I was just pointing out the potential for it happening on the other thread and hoping to head it off. Sorry it didn't come across that way.

You know what? It's clear that the doctor in question is in some other country. There is no reason to get high and mighty about operative procedures or doctors' postop instructions--let the patient read, learn, and ask questions of her doctor. The fact that the patient is here is a terrific thing and perhaps she will have more information because of it. But let's not jump all over her because her doctor is not up on what LBTers think is the optimum postop protocol. Thanks.

Smoking is so bad for the entire body it's not beyond belief that it could increase the chances of erosion. But it's not "bad for the band," an inert piece of silicone. STOP SMOKING. It probably is a contributing factor to your reflux.

Wannarunfree, getting the lapband is a medical decision that only you and your doctor can make. If you are medically qualified for surgery and believe having a gastric band can make it easier for you to lose weight and keep it off, then you have to decide FOR YOURSELF if you want to take that step. The infighting and b.s. that you might see on various message boards should have absolutely nothing to do with your decision. You should indeed steer clear of doctors with poor reputations, or feel free to disregard the information given by posters who seem to have some other agenda, but none of that is relevant to your decision-making about this medical procedure. Make the decision for yourself on a medical basis ONLY, and then look for your best option for how to get it done. Take it one step at a time and ask loads of questions along the way. There are just as many ways to get banded as there are to buy a car, and research is crucial.

Are you seeking to fill a patient-coordinator position? Can you tell us who the surgeon you represent is?

Since the originator of this thread requested it, I will lock the thread. (Hi, Neal!!)

That's a quite legitimate concern, and shows you clearly where your focus needs to be. That's headwork you have to do, not any failing of the band. I am the same way--if food is there and it will go down, I want to eat it. But when my band is doing its work, I find that I am ABLE to move away and think about something else in a way that I am not normally able to do. That's what the band does--it's OUR job to LET it. You need to find ways to walk away when you've eaten a reasonable amount for a meal. Those ways differ from person to person and certainly are not always easy. But if a well-adjusted band doesn't make that a bit easier to do, then you may very well have an eating issue that the band can't help with.

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is why Wheetsin is a moderator. Very, very well said. :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

The fact that you need to take small bites and chew thoroughly IS the band doing its work. How long does it take you to eat 6-8 slices of pizza without problems? When I had good restriction, that would have taken me all day. Literally, half a slice of pizza would take 20 minutes to eat, and was plenty to make me not hungry anymore. Then I could go ahead and focus on something else. A couple of hours later, I'd actually be hungry again -- still human, remember -- and I'd eat again. The band's role is to slow.us.down and make us think about every bite that goes in. Is it not doing that for you at all?

I think the postop instructions have to be considered individual medical advice. Only your surgeon knows exactly what the state of your stomach was when the band was removed--he's been in there and looked around, and we haven't. If you have questions about the directions, ASK YOUR DOCTOR. There might be some very good medical reason he's telling you to to take it slowly. When my band was removed (due to slippage) my doc said I could start introducing "real" food as soon as I felt up to it since, he said, there was no damage or any injury to my stomach. The way he put it it sounded like one thing was dependent on the other.

It sounds like you have a stomach virus, actually. It's probably a bug that will go away in a day or so, and has nothing to do with your band. Your surgeon, if you were to call him, would probably say to try the usual diarrhea remedies, and if you're not better by Monday call your GP.

This is actually not that uncommon. My doctors have dropped out of two networks (including Aetna) while I have been their patient. What is questionable is the implication that he can back out of doing YOUR surgery--you should realize that it's got nothing to do with you. If he is still under contract with Aetna to be a participating provider, he really doesn't have the right to refuse what they pay him for surgeries. If he doesn't like it, he has to change or end that contract, which is fully within his rights. The difference between what a carrier pays a participating physician and what his "standard" fee is can be substantial, WAY more than $1200. But even so, he is probably contractually prohibited from balance billing you if he is an in-network doctor, so he can't come to you for that money. His only option would be to end his agreement with Aetna. Insurance sucks, all around.

There is never an excuse for being rude or insensitive, on journal comments or anywhere else. But since you raised this question in the R&R section, I will also say that I don't think we're necessarily "here to support each other" blindly. Please don't take me wrong--I am NOT saying that rudeness is acceptable and I'm not addressing any specific comments or posts (I have not seen those you are talking about, for example). But I don't think it fits to say that we're all about "support" here, if saying that somehow dictates what can and can't be said. This site is called LapBandTALK, not LapBandSupport. I bristle when I hear things like "you're not being supportive" because that implies that UNLESS a comment meets someone else's definition of "supportive" it's somehow unacceptable. I personally think that honesty is the best support, and it doesn't always come wrapped in pink bubblewrap. And since not everyone likes or wants honest feedback it can seem harsh even when it's not meant that way. We're all on the same road here and there's no cause at all--EVER--to attack one another. I'll wholeheartedly agree with that.

Piece of cake, Laurend. You'll knock it out of the park. (What degree IS this, anyway? I think I'll pass on this one...)

I've heard them too, but my experience has been completely different. Sure, I'm talking with Bangalore, but somehow I manage to get the right answer on only the first or second try.

I think that is the first outright negative comment I've ever seen about an Apple computer! I'm shocked! FWIW, I am a loyal Dell customer. Never bought a laptop, but I've purchased three desktops for my home and at least six for two businesses. Never had a problem that they didn't fix right away.

Please remember this is NOT a debate section, ladies. MB, you look terrific!!

Congratulations, Rain!! That is such a marvelous feeling, I envy you. Before you know it your perspective will have changed so much that you can't believe you ever wore that size, much less considered it your "goal" size. Way to go!!

Depending on the state you are in, the carrier may have a statutory limit on how much time they can take to decide on a precert request. If any carrier said that to me, I'd call the state insurance department and find out what the law says. Forever. feh.

I know this to be not necessarily true, at least in my case. Unless you don't define "getting into" the same clothes as the same as having the clothes actually fit. People are often shaped very much differently than one another, even at similar weights and heights.

But "not trying" is NOT the same thing as going for a goal that someone else sets for you! We are all here because we ARE trying, in our own ways, to become healthier by losing weight. We definitely all have that in common, and we all experience joy in the benchmarks and victories that mean something to us. I'm just saying the process, and the benchmarks and victories, are very different from person to person. Whether we see it as a battle to be won or a journey to be taken, or wherever we set the "finish" line, we each put our own stamp on this project. Losing weight for me was a dream, a wish, and when it started to become reality I was thrilled. I embraced it and tried to make my new habits permanent (which did NOT work--HOLY COW I need a fill!). But I never saw it as a battle I had to fight--unless you count with my insurance company. If I saw it as a "battle" I know me--I would lose, give up, not want to do it anymore. It's just not a helpful frame of reference for me; that's why I never participate in challenges here. But not thinking of it that way didn't keep me from losing 100 lbs and living life as a thinner person, which is what I set out to do. Though I'm desperately trying not to gain right now, I know that if I started battling with myself about it that scale would be moving UP.

Kat, best wishes with your next breast-battle. Here's hoping that it's minor and easily whipped! My goodness, emotionally disconnected--that's not at all what I meant to say. I meant to say that it may be OTHER things that give people a charge rather than what gives you a charge. (I'm more of a team-player kind of person. I get really excited, for example, when something I've worked on with a group of others comes off without a hitch, such as a conference.) What gives you joy--"pushing yourself further than you ever dared to go"--just isn't something I've ever focused on, and just because I'm trying to lose weight that's not going to automatically change. Why should that make anyone think I'm selling myself short? That's what I don't get. I have no interest in winning a battle, or even engaging in one. Different strokes for different folks.