vhoke1

I've heard good things about Dr Alexander, I heard he's really good with revision surgeries. And I pass his office every time I visit my bariatric surgeon, dr Nirmal Jayaseelan, who I've had well over 5 years, he's removing my band and will be converting me to the gastric sleeve in two weeks, on July 5th :-) Good luck with your surgery!

Tina, you definitely an inspiration, I too LOVE your 'Tina-ism's' I know exactly how Donna feels as I'm bring sleeved on July 5th. I'm SOOO Geeked (excited), but the road to here has been an arduous one. I am currently a bander (5 yrs). & found out in January that my band had failed me and that was the reason for my regaining nearly all of the 80+ pounds I had lost with the band. All of this time prior to finding out my band had failed, "I felt like the failure", I attributed it to my failing marriage and post divorce (Nov of 2012). Thankfully, my ex & I have remained friends although the divorce was tough Fory entire family . Fast fwd to 1/2012, my lap band dr who I've had for well over 5 years, told me my band had failed me and I must say, that was a monumental 'light bulb' moment for me! I learned that I was NOT the failure, my band was! So... Began the journey to get approved for a band removal & gastric sleeve surgery, the road was HARD, I will not lie to you all, it was HARD. Because I has already had a previous weight loss surgery, my insurance co (who has also been a great co to wk with) now required MUCH more detailed information this go round, but my dr, myself & my body had PLENTY to give to my insurance co in the way ofadditional: (my co-morbidity's...(increased bp meds, cholesterol meds, and learning that I now have a mild case of sleep apnea & now sleep with a CPAP machine, have SEVERE acid reflux desease) . All of these additional conditions i gained after regaining my weight back due to my band failure helped to turn over my appeal and I was fully approved by my insurance co two weeks ago. I had completed all of my visits, nut & psyche eval, classes, office visits, EGD, & sleep studies. I did my EKG & Exhocardiogram yesterday by the same heart dr I had 5 years ago and have officially been cleared for surgery two weeks from today :-) I have blood work in the morning, am also starting my two week full liquid diet tomorrow, then I have my pre-op visit wih my dr in the 27th of Jume before my surgery the following week on July 5th. If I can offer anything, I'd say don't feel like you're alone, because you're NEVER alone on this type of journey. SEEK out support and USE It, that's the ONLY way you will learn as you yourself journey. Peace and blessings, Vikki p.s., Tina you should start a support group page here if you don't already have one going!

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum & have been reading the posts and enjoying the WEALTH of information that I've been reading as a whole. SUPER congratulations to Amy on her surgery, thanks for giving all of us who sit 'pre op' a glimpse into your life pre & post op. My story & journey is that I am (currently) a bander, and am scheduled to be sleeved on July 5th. What an a hard toad traveled to have gotten to this stage of FINALLLY having the opportunity of breaking from this confinement that is my weight. The lap band TOTALLY failed me, only I thought 'I was the failure', & it put me in a depression when I gained all of my weight back. I started a new journey this past January at tackling my health once again and scheduled a visit with my lap band doctor and was surprised to find that I was NOT alone, & more importantly I was NOT a failure! My doctor said something that resonates in my mind & gave me hope again. He said: "your band failed YOU!' He ran tests to confirm this (including an EGD). My dr then suggested having the band removed & having the Gastric Sleeve. I was surprised, I didn't know this was possible either, but I was all for FINALLY getting a tool that would not relapse as long as I did what I was supposed to do nutritionally & physically. Sooo began the long six month road to getting to where I am today: pre op with a surgery date of July 5th. The process to get approved was fairly quick, I did the Nut & psyche eval in the same day, had the EGD done, sleep study whih revealed my mild apnea, I attended classes, and my dr submitted everything to my insurance co which was the same insurance I had 5 years prior. Hitch in the giddy up: my surgery was denied on a technicality, my surgeon anticipated 3 hours or more to do my surgery, but the insurance code would only allow for 2 hours. Even though it was anticipated, it was devastating none the less. I was then told by my insurance company about the quick appeals process, what letter to expect, etc. they were VERY nice and showed humanity in speaking to me. Last week, I received 'the letter' regarding the decision on my appeal. I stared at the envelope, cried, prayed that God would continue to see me thru...it took about an hour before I opened the letter and automatically my eyes 'zoomed' to the words 'approved'! I cried uncontrollably, my face flushed with tears of joy & thanks. I was able to schedule my pre op appt & surgery date very quickly & have a stress test scheduled on June 20th, then I begin my liquid diet 2 days later prior to my surgery on July 5th. Having surgery is not new to me, but having and living post op with a 'successful' surgery (my sleeve) has me so excited I can barely stand it! Thanks for taking the time to read my very first post, & I look forward to reading more about all of you :-) Vikki H.