Linda Hamsing Rosen

How wonderful !! I'm so happy for you and proud of you. We all know how touch weight loss is and you are to be commended. I've seen you active on this website. I am still fairly new (2/27/08) and making progress, but slowly (25 pounds). Can you please share your habits, methods, particularly around the eating part. For instance, are you following a specific eating plan or calorie plan? How often to you eat, what, how do you gauge your satiety etc. How much do you exercise. Thank you so much. I would like to be as successful as you, if possible.

first of all, I admire all of you who have had problems and are sticking with your weight loss/maintence plan and have good attitudes on top of it !!! I'm fairly new to the band (2/27/08) and was wondering: (1) were the problems you had that required removal easy to identify? Like pain that was out of control? what is erosion/slippage and how do you know you have it; (2) was there anything that you could have done to prevent it or it was just a fluke, the nature of the band; (3) did your insurance pay for complication revisions even if you were initially self pay; (4) do they usually allow for a revision to a bypass or something else even if you've already lost your weight? Good luck to all of you who have lost a ton of weight and are keeping it off !!!!

Hi Kjeter, you seem like you know what you're doing !! I was banded 2/27/08, have had two fills and have a question for ya. Sometimes I feel very restricted and other times not (and it's not consistent with the time of day either). For instance, I had my second fill on 5/4 and the last week, the restriction seems greatly diminished even though I really didn't lose that much (5 pounds). Now today it's a little better again. I'm wondering if this is REAL or is this in my head? For instance, it was memorial day weekend and I know I associate "holidays" with food. But then I noticed you said you can't eat more than a cup of food no matter what. I'm not at that point, I don't think. Any thoughts, advice?

here is a quick update on my situation. I see the progress I have made. I originally wrote that I had lost 18 pounds. Well I'm happy to report that I'm now down 25 pounds. It is still very slow and a learning process. I don't know why but sometimes I feel much more restricted than other times. I wonder how much of it is in my head. For instance, I struggled this last weekend. Was it because it was a "holiday" that I associate with food and I was out of my routine or was the band looser? don't know yet. But the fluttering sensation. I only had that one day. I mentioned it to my doctor and he shrugged it off as nothing. He said that lower left abdomen pains are gas. He also said that minor pain or discomfort in the port area is common if you move a certain way. I have noticed that once in a while I still get a pain in my left shoulder. I'm going to ask him about that at my next visit.

I have thought the same thing at times (why didn't I have the bypass). My sister had the bypass and what happened to her (as the statistics show) is she lost a bunch of weight and then gain a little back. With the band, it is much slower and steady but I don't think there is the weight gain at the end (because you have always been on solid foods). Anyway, my doctor says that after 3 years, the band and bypass end up being about the same weight loss.

Can someone give me some advice? The doctor's office submitted my medical pre-assessment last fall to the insurance company (Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employees Plan). The doctor's office called me around Christmas saying: "Congratulations, you're pre-approved !!" At the time, I didn't get a copy of the letter the insurance sent but I have since gotten a copy after the surgery and it basically just reiterates the medical requirements. It never says I was "approved." So I had the surgery and now afterwards, the procedure has been disapproved twice. Based on the same exact medical information which was sent to the insurance prior to the surgery. I called them and they said it was because there is no evidence of two co-morbidities. (BMI was 39). The doctor's assessment documents: high cholesterol, hearburn (but not acid refux), depression not being treated, past infertility. I also have fatty liver but that does not appear to be in the pre-assessment. I also have acid reflux which was diagnosed prior to the surgery but after the pre-assessment was sent in. I am facing more than $40,000 in charges including the hospital. Here are my questions: (1) should I get an insurance advocate to help me with this? (2) isn't the doctor's office at fault here for telling me this was pre-approved and it really wasn't? (3) isn't the insurance company at fault for having the medical information prior to the surgery and at least telling me they didn't think I met the qualifications at that time? (instead of sending a form letter?) (4) what should I do next? any other thoughts, advice?

Dear Kate: I'm sorry you had to go through all that but I'm glad it was worth it--100 pounds is so awesome. Let me ask you this: did you think obesity law was helpful ? I checked out their website and am considering contacting them. They say their success rate on overturning denials is greater than 90 percent. ???

specific question for snowbird: (I'm so glad you didn't have trouble). What kind of documentation did your doctor submit exactly? Did he just say you had these things, did he produce blood tests, write a letter?

Justmel1957: you should get a copy of the letter. My letter was simply a statement of benefits. It was written personally for me, nor did it guarantee anything. That is not pre-approval to me. I believe the doctor's office misled me. But I'm more worried about the hospital charge. Can any of you recommend an attorney in Illinois? My husband and I have started looking but most say they don't deal with this issue (even if they say they deal with insurance law). I also plan to call the ILlinois Insurance commission and the Office of Personnel Management (the federal office which handles FEP appeals) I am in the process of gathering all my medical records. Should I try to get the doctors to write letters and how easy is that to do?

I just thought of another thing. If you aren't already doing this, don't eat 3 hours before bedtime. it helps

I'm sorry you're not feeling well. the second day is the worst. You will feel better and better each day. Make sure you take your pain medication regularly. Regarding the left shoulder pain, I had that for about a week. It helped to lay on my left side and lay on the shoulder (counterintuitive I know but it worked). I still get the shoulder pain once in a while but it's not too bad. hang in there !

I'm certainly no expert at losing weight (I was banded in February 2007) but I heard that varying the intensity of your workout can help. Interval training is what I mean. Also, you want to calculate your calories but make sure you are eating enough, don't starve. Also, I'm assuming you never drink during the meal. I have found that I unwittingly eat more when I do that

Thanks for the advice. After calling the doctors office and finding out that they did respond, I called the insurance and asked them if they got everything they needed and they said they did. BCBS then said they would assign it right away and have it "rushed." So it looks like it did help to call. Now I have to do the same thing with the hospital.

I feel so much better just getting it out there and feeling heard. Plus everyone's advice has been so good--thanks! The spasms have gotten a little better as the day goes on. I'm hoping it's just an adjustment to the band. I have done good today so far on my eating. I do think the band helps you to make better food choices which is beneficial in the long run. I'm going to see the doctor on Monday and then I think I will also attend a lap band support group this weekend. May also see the psychiatrist--heck why not? I think part of my problem is comparison. I have a friend who had RNY two weeks after me at the same clinic. She's lost 40 pounds. But I know the long term weight loss is supposed to be about the same.

Hi jbrule, Although I have only been banded 2 months, I'm already questioning my decision. I have spasms too. They just started today. Can you tell me what yours are like? What did they say is the cause and what to do about them? Mine just started out of the blue, this morning before I even at anything (and it's been 3 weeks since my first fill). Also, my weight loss is going terrible. I think it's probably too early for me to seriously considering a conversion but you should talk to your doctor about it. I know that many people have done it. What is it about the bypass you don't like?

Hi, I'm considering the lap band and am favoring it over the gastric bypass. Hopefully I won't have a problem but I've been wondering about this scenario: I lose a bunch of weight and then there's a problem with the band (erodes into stomach or whatever) and I need a revision to say the gastric bypass. Would the insurance pay even though I now have lost most of the weight? Would they require me to regain it first? I hope this doesn't happen but just trying to prepare...I have BCBS federal employees plan (FEP).

Hi Tish, I had something similar. High liver enzymes. I had to have an ultrasound where they found fatty liver on 30 percent of liver. Then they had me to a liver biopsy. They do this to find out whether there has been permanent liver damage or cancer. ONce that cleared, the diagnose was officially "fatty liver." My guess is that your doctor wants you to do further investigation just to confirm it's fatty liver and not something else. I would doubt that the doctor wouldn't operate on you if you had fatter liver. So many people have it !!!

Hi everyone! I'm new to the website. I'm considering the surgery and had a consultation this week. I qualify for both the gastric bypass and the lapband (BMI 39 with high cholesterol of 330). My doctor will support either decision I make. I'm leaning strongly toward the band because the bypass just seems too drastic and risky (and my doctor supports the decision). However, he did say that for high cholesterol, the bypass seems to do better. So my question is: (1) Have any of you had success in drastically lowering your cholesterol with the band? Other questions: (2) when you're eating, it if takes 20 minutes to get the food down or register to the brain, how do you become "full" with a few bites of food? Are you truly not hungry with the band (after the recovery period)? (3) I love steak. Am I going to have to give that up forever? Can anyone eat steak and how? (4) It seems like a very straightforward procedure, then why am I so scared? Thanks for your help and support !!!