CamarilloCA

It says "Settings Saved" when I enter my story, but then, when I click on My Story in my profile, it says I haven't shared my story yet. I'll try a bit later. Thanks for working on it:-)

Yes, you fixed it. Thanks! I'll check on my story now.

Hi Mo, congrats on your successful revision surgery. When you get a chance, will you tell me about your arm/shoulder pain? I have a lap band too and have had this pain in my upper right quadrant of my back that flares up, and I had no idea that it could be related to my band. Yet another reason to have it removed if I didn't have enough reasons already.

I am exactly where you are. I paid for my lap band myself and really regret it. I've lost very little weight and just got used to vommiting into the trash or clearing the stuck food at every meal. I too was still hungry and usually cleared and ate and cleared and ate until something stayed down. My husband thought it was very bad, but I felt like I had paid $15k for this surgery, and so I better make it work. My feeling is this: because I've done so much yo-yo dieting in my life (lost 70 pounds on phentermine only to gain it back), the natural survival instinct in my body wants to protect me from the next starvation period. Either ghrelin or my brain or both gives me a strong desire to eat and craves high-fat food. I need to silence them, and I think that, because the ghrelin is removed during the sleeve surgery, that will greatly assist me in making the healthy choices that I want to make. When I was on Phentermine, I had no hunger and no food cravings, and I think that was because the Serotonin in my brain took that away or masked it. I think taking away the ghrelin along with shrinking the size of the stomach will in essence do the same thing. That's my take on it anyway. Best of luck to you. I think you will be successful as so many others have been who once had the band. You may want to watch some You Tube videos if you haven't already. There are some really good ones. Chantell once had a lap band too: http://www.youtube.com/user/scneaux

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone who has Kaiser Permanente insurance got them to cover revision surgery from lap band to a gastric sleeve. I qualified for the lap band surgery through Kaiser, but I opted to self-pay because they wanted me to do the Options program before the surgery, which would have meant driving into Los Angeles once a week for six months, and I couldn't do that. I wanted to have my surgery performed by a surgeon in Ventura, which is much closer to where I live. Anyway, I paid to have the lap band surgery and got the lap band in April, 2008, and I had a small amount of weight loss at first, which eventually came back. My band was tightened nearly to the max, and I would throw up at nearly every meal. They told me that my metabolism is very low, which would make it hard to lose weight, and I have found that to be true and try to exercise when I can. Lately, I have a never-ending stomach ache and am trying to see if Kaiser will remove the lap band and approve the vertical sleeve instead. The endoscope apparently showed that there is no erosion, slippage, or ulcers, but it is possible that I have scar tissue around my band or that I may have a hiatal hernia. I am trying to get a upper G.I. to be able to learn more about my stomach pain, but I have to wait about a month before I can get an appointment with my PCP. Has anyone here with Kaiser Insurance had revision surgery approved? Can you tell me what your experience was? Did Kaiser make you wait a long time until your revision surgery? Thanks very much for any advice or assistance.

Thanks very much. I am coming from Camarillo so I have a drive also. I have no idea how long it might take from where I am given traffic conditions. I am about 70 miles away, and so it will probably take me an hour and a half also, but I'll probably come like an hour early just in case there is a lot of traffic. I am really excited. I was afraid I was going to have to live with this pain for months longer.

Thank you so much for the reassurance! Your story has really comforted me so thank you for sharing that! I'm going to be there tomorrow at 1:00. If you will be there too around that time, I'd like to give you a hug!

Hi Bionic, I'm supposed to see Dr. Mun tomorrow! I am so excited and thrilled. I have the same situation you had. I have a slight slippage but everpresent abdominal pain. I am hoping that he will agree with my desire to have the band removed and a sleeve put in. Can you tell me your thoughts on Dr. Mun, and were you happy with what he did for you? Thanks!

Thanks. I ended up buying it. I'll post when I taste it if anyone else is interested.

Has anyone tried Costco's Betty Lou's Low Glycemic Whey Protein Shake Powder? Here's a link: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Productgroup.aspx?Prodid=11730733&search=Betty%20Lou&topnav=&Mo=0&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search〈=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode%20matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=Betty%20Lou&Ntt=Betty%20Lou&No=0&Nty=1&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial

Your story is exactly my story except that my lap band went in in 2008, and I only lost about 35 or 40 pounds with it before gaining some of that back. I have thrown up at nearly every meal for the last three years and have stopped trying to eat good high fiber food with my lap band and will eat anything that will slide down just because I am hungry. After one particularly violent episode of hurling, my stomach began hurting, and it hasn't stopped hurting since then, which is about a month ago. I think we will both be very successful once the sleeve is done. My understanding is that it is very hard to cheat with the sleeve unless one eats ice cream all day -- something we're not going to do. I hope the process goes quickly for you and me. So far, it seems like a very slow process to meet with doctors and get insurance approval, but it is happening, and so I am grateful. Best of luck to you. Please update when you can.

Are there any recent patients (like now or this year) of Dr. Zane or Dr. Belzberg here? I am curious about how long it was from your meeting with your surgeon until your surgery date. I have been referred there to Harbor City, but they won't schedule my appointment yet until they receive the referral paperwork. I have a lap band that needs to come out, and I hope to have the sleeve put in. My stomach hurts all the time, and so I'm hoping it won't be a month wait for an appointment with the surgeon and then another two months until surgery.

Hi Pamela, I was just wondering how you are doing and what you thought of Dr. Belzberg. I may be referred to either him or Dr. Zane next week. Thanks:-)

Thanks very much for the support:-) I will keep this thread updated. Maybe I will get Dr. Mun too. I am just hoping that I don't have to wait too long for an appointment. The girl that I talked to on Friday wouldn't give me an appointment time until my referral arrived there. She said that appointments are now being made at the end of March and beginning of April. Maybe I can be put on a cancellation list. It's hard to be patient when one's stomach hurts all the time!

Hi Bionicbroad, I was just referred to the Harbor City Kaiser Facility. The bariatric nurse said that I would probably see Dr. Zane or Dr. Belzberg. My stomach still hurts so I am hoping that I can have the lap band to sleeve revision surgery fast like you did. I had the band unfilled so I am not throwing up anymore, but I still feel pain. My primary care physican said that the Upper G.I. report showed that I had a slight slip also. Can you tell me which facility or hospital you had surgery at? Woodland Hills is closest to me, but I'm sure they have one hospital they use there at Harbor City, or maybe Harbor City is a hospital? Thanks. At this point, I really don't care where I go or what surgeon I use. I just want to get this lap band out of me.

Nevermind. I found it.

Does anyone have Dr. Zane's phone number or the phone number at Harbor City? I just looked through the KP web site and couldn't find the number. Thanks!

Here is another really good series of videos with someone who had a lap band and went to sleeve also: http://www.youtube.com/user/scneaux/videos

I'm going to Dr. Billy in Ventura for my sleeve and can highly recommend him. Here's a link: http://www.drbillybariatrics.com/default

Hi April! I'm in the same boat as you. I too have lost and gained so many times. I lost 70 pounds on Phentermine only to gain in back eventually. I also have a lap band that I had put in in April, 2008, and I've lost little to no weight with it, which is surprising since I have been throwing up at every meal for the last four years. My lap band had been filled nearly to capacity, and after one particularly violent episode of vommiting, my stomach started hurting. That was about a month ago, and it still hurts. I've been to the doctor, and they did an endoscopy and an Upper G.I., but they see no erosion, tears, haital hernia, ulcers, or other problems. The Upper G.I. says that there could be slippage, depending on where the band was placed. Anyway, the band obviously hasn't worked for me, and I feel like I have wasted the last four years with it, and I am so looking forward to getting this stupid band removed and getting the sleeve instead. I know the band works for some people, but I think I am one of those people that has a problem with foreign bodies in my body. I am allergic to bug bites and bee stings, and my body has actually spit out internal stitches, known as "stitch spitting." The great thing about you is that you are 25. You are doing a great thing for yourself at a perfect age. I am 47, and I wish I would have done this earlier in life. The sleeve wasn't offered to me back in 2008, and maybe I wouldn't have done it then as I didn't want anything too drastic, but I now believe that this is the only way that I will be successful in losing the weight and keeping it off. I think you will be successful too, and being nervous is completely understandable. I've been watching videos of women who have had the sleeve on You Tube, and it has been so encouraging and has really helped to convince me that I'm going the right thing. Many women have documented their progress, their experiences, and their journey, and that has just been amazing to see. Check it out when you get a chance. Some good ones are: Amysdmom, gastricsleevereviews, and luvenit1979. These women all lost over 100 pounds and look amazing! HTH

Thanks for this thread. I found it during a search as I too have Kaiser. I'm waiting for a revision from Lap Band to Vertical Gastric Sleeve, and my tentative date is April 3rd, 2012. Kaiser has been great insurance for me and my husband. We pay out of pocket for our insurance, and our Primary Care Physician is probably the most caring physician that I've ever had.

Hi Everyone, it looks like I have been referred to Barriatrics now, and my upper G.I. was covered by Kaiser. They didn't see a slip or erosion or any ulcers, but I still have pain so I don't know what is going on. The radiologist did say that he can see reflux. I think that Kaiser will cover the removal of the lap band, but I don't know yet if they will approve a revision to gastric sleeve. I am anxious, but all I can do is sit and wait now until I hear something. The receptionist at my surgeon's office seems a little annoyed with me because I've called her a bunch of times already to get the upper G.I. test going and because I wanted to see if I could get a surgery date. She said that I can't get a surgery date and I couldn't get in to even see the surgeon until mid-March for a consulation, which bums me out because that means another two weeks of stomach pain. I asked if I could be put on a cancellation list, and she said, "Oh, no. We don't do that. Otherwise, we would be on the phone all day long." I wanted to say, "Uh, isn't it your job to be on the phone all day?" I guess they aren't worried about clients leaving and going elsewhere. Anyway, I'll keep this thread updated on my progress. I am jealous of you, The Bionic Broad, and wish it could happen that quick for me too. I think you were really lucky to get such quick attention. Hmmm, how far is Harbor City from Ventura? LOL!

Congrats so much on your success! Love the Maine Coon in your picture. I have one too:-) So can I ask you which tooth did they crack? Was it a front one? Was it when they put that big tube down through your mouth into your stomach before the sleeve? That is so scary to me. I would be so devastated if they were to crack one of my teeth. It seems like they should be responsible for fixing it. I hope your tooth is better now. Thanks for the blog on how you are doing. It is encouraging to me and others.

I think most people can deduct medical expenses if all your medical expenses exceed a percentage of your income. The percentage is around 7% of your income, but I would have to look that up to be sure of the exact number. Anything after that percentage, you can take as an itemized deduction. Also, if you are self-employed, you can deduct medical expense as well for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. I use Turbo Tax to help me figure out these deductions. It's pretty good at taking you step by step. I don't think a gym membership would qualify as a medical expense even if your doctor did prescribe it, but I'm not a tax professional. HTH.

Hi everyone, I went to the doctor yesterday, and he said that he did send in a referral for an Upper G.I. and to bariatrics, but he has no way of knowing what happens from here. His nurse told me that it is sent to an "authorization department." I'll update this thread when I hear something. All in all, Kaiser has been good insurance. I'm hopeful that I can get this thing out of me soon and start my new life with the sleeve.