tjeep34

Everytime I look in the Mirror and see the Progress, I get so angry at myself that I didn't realize my full potential years ago!!! I am happy, finding love from Myself, Others, and Even a Rekindled Relationship..... I wish Sucess and happiness for all my Bandsters. Just always remember!!!! IF YOU DONT QUIT YOU WILL WIN!!!!!
Love You All!!!

You are not doing anything wrong! It just takes me. I remember being able to eat A LOT for a couple of months. You just have to do the best you can. The first six weeks are for healing . Maybe now you can begin getting your food choices in order....protein first, veggies, whole grains, Water and Vitamins.
Good luck...you can do this!!!

I had my first fill two weeks ago and still have no restriction.
You have to hang in there and do the best you can.
You are doing fine, so don't worry.

Thank goodness for this forum... I've had one fill, felt what I think was restriction for about two days and then it went away. My surgeon prewarned me that I was going to feel that. He said it was completely normal. My second fill is at the end of August and then I will have 5 cc's in my band. All that I can say is "wow! This takes patience!" I'm eating less than before surgery, which is great, but the scale definitely doesn't move quick enough. I'm not gaining though, so I'm not freaking out... Just waiting patiently for my fills and trying to make the smartest choices that I can based solely on will power. I think I would definitely feel like I've failed if I wasn't able to read so many posts from people that have already experienced or are currently experiencing this.

I have tons of clothing sizes 16W-20W. Dresses, dress and casual pants, capris and blouses. No charge!! Just pay for shipping cost. I live in the East Texas area. Reply if interested.

What you're going through we often call "bandster hell", because your band has little or no restriction so you're stuck white knuckling it on will power alone until you get a couple fills. Most can eat just like they could before surgery until they get some restriction, so what you're going through is totally normal.
It may take a couple fills, but restriction will come. Best wishes to you

I swear I'm going to create a default answer to this question that pops up 2-4 times a day.
You are still in the healing phase. You probably won't find that your band is a good tool until you get enough fills to find restriction. Until then: It's still just a diet till there's restriction!
You may be one of the lucky ones and don't need fills, never hungry and lose weight easily. NAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Here's a phrase you may not have heard in the seminars and nutrition counseling sessions. "BANDSTER HELL"
Your band has very little saline in it now. Your Dr did that on purpose because you are in the healing phase. He will fill it as time goes along. Until then, you have a large hole between the upper pouch and lower stomach. You will feel like there are days that you can eat anything you could have eaten prior to surgery. And you may feel like you are hungrier than before. Make good, healthy food choices at this time because you may be in "Bandster Hell" for some time to come.
Congrats and welcome.
tmf

i didnt have insurance either so i was looking around for a while and was even considering going to mexico for a long time. my mom had some patients that went there and had great experiences its 5000 there. i ended up finding a dr in my state that did it for 8000. his name is dr morris washington hes on this website under the surgeons tab. i just went on the lapband website and called all the drs within a 2 state radius. since U.S. drs have to compete with prices out of the country some of them are willing to work with u. i am getting lasik on friday and i got a deal cuz i called them back afrter my eval and told them that i found a clinic in canada that did the same kind of ilasik for cheaper and they gave me a deal. well i dont know if this even really helped but good luck on your jouney!!!! its super awesome being banded. i just got banded thursday and i feel pretty good considering i have a plastic ring strangling my stomach..... im still pretty swollen and i lost 20 lbs since i started my pre surgery cleanse which wasnt hard at all.

Researching, identifying, and selecting an insurance carrier that covers WLS, will accept you as a subscriber at a premium you can afford to pay, and will eventually approve you for surgery sounds to me like an enormous task for an individual patient to undertake. Doing all that could add years to your journey. I suggest that instead, you research bariatric surgery clinics in your area, attend an educational seminar, and hook up with a clinic's insurance coordinator to get suggestions for how to deal with the insurance issue.
If you eventually decide to self-pay as 2muchfun suggested, I wouldn't recommend the band. Don't get me wrong, I love my band, but the band requires a LOT more aftercare than the other procedures because it usually doesn't work without fills, and those fills (and unfills) can get to be expensive both in terms of cash and in terms of your time and energy. You'd also need to consider the possible expense of revisional or corrective surgery if something went wrong. For example, my port flipped over so I needed surgery to reposition it. My insurance company was billed a total of $34,628.70 for the repair surgery, and paid the providers a total of $4850.11. I don't know about you, but I don't usually have an extra $5000 stuffed under my mattress!
Jean

Your profile doesn't say where you reside but I'd google bariatric surgery or click on surgeon in the tab bar at the top of this page. Most surgeons offer seminars on how the band works and what you will need to do. Also, they can give you information on support group meetings in your area that you can attend. Go to 2-3 seminars and sit in on several support groups before you decide.
If insurance becomes a problem, consider self-pay. It's usually in the neighborhood of $10K which seems like a lot but most people will drop $20K on a car without a thought. Wish I would have done this years ago with or without insurance.

Some insurance companies require proof of a history of obesity for x number of years. If you haven't been to a doctor in 2 years, that is something to be aware of. You don't say how tall you are, but the requirements are based on BMI, you can find a calculator online. Most insurance requirements are a BMI of 35-39 with 1 or 2 co-morbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, etc. Or BMI 40 and over qualifies. Many companies require a 6 month medically supervised diet program.
You'll have to check for a pre-exisisting condition clause, see if you need to be covered for a certain amount of time before they will cover bariatric surgery. Be certain there is not an exclusion of it.
All the insurance companies are slightly different. These are generalizations. Most have their plan brochures online and a google search will bring you to them.
Good luck and best wishes! Welcome to LBT, keep asking questions!

Each insurance is different on the requirements. I have Blue Cross blue Shield (anthem) and they had me do 6 months of Dr. supervised visits for weight loss (I didn't lose a thing). I would just check out and ask specific questions when you are inquiring to various insurance groups to fax you their specific policies regarding lapband surgery and specifically ask how long you have to be insured before it will cover. You don't want to get into it and then have any surprises come up. Good luck with your journey!