MacMadame

I know some surgeon's offices say 1/2 cup, but if they also say eat only 3x a day (and most do), how could you possibly get in all your nutrients with real food? If you have 3oz of Protein at every meal, that's already over half a cup right there and you haven't even gotten to your vegetables. I wonder if they say 1/2 c. because most people are so bad about estimating and they figure if they say 1/2 c., you'll eat 1 cup.

I would want my surgeon to have done at least 250 Lap-bands. I would prefer if they did RnY or other bariatric surgeries too, but I wouldn't count it as lap-band experience.

I think they have more problems, personally. The complications after RnY are many because of the malabsorption. If you are interested, there are boards for RnY where you can lurk and see what kind of complications they have. ObesityHelp.com has boards for all the different types of surgery so you can look in on them all.

I was told only 3 meals a day. You can't do that if you get hungry 2 hours later. I get hungry 2 hours later now and part of why I want the band is to get that up to 4 hours. At my nutritional consult, the dietician said normal hunger is to be hungry every 3-4 hours. I think I would like slightly abnormal hunger -- say 4 to 5 hours. :tongue_smilie:

Aw, I liked Shallow Hal. I agree that there were Hollywood Fat (i.e., not true to life) moments but I thought it was sweet underneath. Hairspray is probably the best "fat acceptance" movie out there and it really isn't even about that. (Which is probably why it succeeds.)

When I was 11, all the girls in my grade had "training" bras. I was the only one who actually had something to put in them. Dd has been begging me for a bra since she was 7! She actually has something now at NINE so I did get her some training bras and camisoles. It's not really enough for a real bar but enough that I don't want to just grab her anywhere any more. My mom got hers at 11 ... I'm hoping dd won't be quite that early. I got mine at 12.75 which is right on the average apparently but I am sure I was the only kid in my class in JH who had it.

I gave up diet soda to see if I could. If figured if I couldn't, I would probably not be a good band candidate. It was a worry of mine because I drank caffeine-free diet coke EVERY SINGLE DAY. Sometimes up to 6 of them! The other day I was thirsty at a work event and there was no Water available, just beer, wine, soda and juice, so I decided to have one anyway since I still haven't got a band. It was DISGUSTING. I don't understand what I saw in it. It wasn't refreshing at all. I poured all but two sips (I couldn't believe it was really that bad after the first sip, so I had another one. Guess I'm hard to convince. :tongue_smilie: ) Anyway, my point is... it's sometimes not as hard to give up stuff you think is your favorite as you think it will be. I didn't think I could give it up at all -- but I gave it up easily and now I don't even like it.

The surgeon's office should submit your pre-diet weight diet. That's how it's usually works.

Yeah, I can see them now too. I thought I had gotten a rep comment, but I guess I hadn't until then.

I was watching Good Luck Chuck and it really annoyed me how Chuck took the fat woman on a date and she ate something like 3 lobsters and was just pigging out, food spewing every where. That is just not realistic. Most of the time, when I go out to eat, I don't eat more than everyone else. I eat about as much as the woman and less than guys. Of course, two hours later I'm hungry and eat something else while they aren't hungry for hours, but they don't see that part.

I only clean out my cache when I am seeing old stuff instead of new stuff. Even then I don't generally clean out the whole thing. I just refresh the page with the Option key held down. (It's probably a different key on Windows.) That tells the browser not to use the cache. Sometimes the browser uses an old copy in the cache instead of getting a fresh copy from the server because it doesn't realize that it's been updated. This happens a lot when a web site gets a face lift.

But it's something people need to be aware of ... that it can happen. With all these surgeries, there is a risk of weight regain. With bypass and the sleeve, the stomach gets stretched out by people over-eating. With lap band, people eat around their bands.

Yes, that definitely happens.

I looked into gastric sleeves when I decided to get a Lap Band. I even watched a surgery on that OR Live channel. (I swear I am addicted to that channel. ) Basically, they put a tube into your stomach and run a staple line up the tube. Then they take the tube out and you have a stomach the shape of a tube. The rest of the stomach gets cut off and thrown away. There is no restriction and your stomach functions completely normally, it is just much smaller.

After you are pre-certified, they'll begin the pre-op testing and other requirements. How much you have to do and how long it takes depends on your insurance and your surgeon's program. For the co-pay, it's just going to depend. It seems bariatric surgeons are all over the place -- some want it upfront, some bill you after they get reimbursed from insurance, some want it all at once, some have payment plans, etc.

Everyone has their own comfort level with the risks of WLS vs. being obese. I was once at a point that you were ... I had no big health problems associated with being overweight and I didn't let it interfere with my life ... or so I thought. Of course, I couldn't wear the kind of clothes I wanted to wear because they didn't come in my size, I ice danced for 10 years and never found a partner, and a host of other small things that I was so used to that I just accepted them. But still, overall, I was happy and WLS was not for me. Maybe it's not for you right now either. I would ask myself a couple of questions: Are the negatives of the band something you can live with? Are the positives things that seem positive to you? Have you dieted successfully before but gained it all back and, if so, what makes you think this time is going to be different? Are the risk factors something I can live with? Are the lifestyle changes that are required something I can live with?

That's not the same thing because the band they had was nothing like our band. It was one of the very first ones done and the band technology and surgery technique is nothing like what we get today. It wasn't stitched in and I think it wasn't adjustable, either. I think it's unlikely. Remember there is that study of patients with a band for 12 years. .... and those were older bands. I think if they can keep their bands for 12 years, then today's bands should last much longer. The main problem I have with the band is that it does seem like the longer you have it, the greater your chance of having a slip. But that doesn't mean everyone will have their bands removed by the time they are 10 years old. The slip rate is higher than I'd like, but not that high. The very first adjustable band was placed in 1986. The band technology we have today was released in 1993 (Realize) and 1996 (Lap Band). Both bands have newer versions. The Lap-band AP system is a newer version of the original 1996 Lap-Band and there is a new Realize band too that isn't available in the US quite yet. (But due to be released this year??) I do think we are guinea pigs. I think that the diet industry has been focused for so long in the wrong direction and they are just recently starting to understand what causes obesity and how to cure it. Bariatric surgery is one of the first treatments that actually works -- compared to diet and exercise which mostly doesn't. Now that we have a way that mostly works, I think it will be possible to take that knowledge and get better and better at it. The new VBLOC device is an interesting direction. Right now it seems like weight loss isn't as good as with a band. (I think I read 20% of excess weight on average vs. 40+% with the band.) But it's much less invasive and maybe they can learn to make it work better. Also, even if it doesn't work for everybody, for some people it's exactly what they need and will work perfectly without many of the risks that other bariatric surgery has.

I want to be a size 10 or 12. The last time I lost a lot of weight, I got down to an easy 12. Then I had my gallbladder out and, for a brief moment in time, I was a tight 10. The reason I want to be these sizes is that they seem to be easy to find in stores and have a lot of selection. I found when I was a size 14, that I still had to go to the fat lady stores/departments or the store I was at carried that size, but they were always out of it. But for me, the big issue is maintenance. I want to be a size and weight that I feel I can maintain. If that turns out to be even lower, I'll take it. As long as I don't get so thin that I worry about dying if I get the flu (like my anorexic grandmother had to).

The last time I went to Mexico, I drank the water just fine. It depends on where you go. I'm sorry you didn't go to a good surgeon. I don't know what led you to select the one you did, but just reading messages on this board, I never would have picked that one. He is one of the handful of MX surgeons with whole threads about how horrible he is and not to go to him. So, I agree .... don't go to Dr. A. Rodriguez. But "Dr. A. Rodriquez was bad so don't go to Mexico"? That's not logical and I can't agree with that.

The other thing is that each year more and more participants dropped out of the study. The last couple of years in the 12 years had something like 35-40 patients. What happened to the rest? Some probably got bored with being studied and are doing fine. Some of them probably died, maybe not from band-related complications, but maybe not. The rest I'm guessing started gaining back the weight and dropped out of the study out of embarrassment. It's good to know such a study exists though and that the band has been around long enough that the medical community does have a good sense of long-term results.

Aetna says if I have a band that I'd have to pay for any complications. I think they may balk at fills too. I'm working on some spreadsheets now to figure out which insurance will have me more out of pocket on average. Maybe it won't be as bad as I think. It's hard to say ... what I have now is so easy -- just little co-pays for office visits and prescriptions and this "Affinity" plan I'd have to switch to is so frigging complicated!! The other thing is, if I want complications and fills and such covered, I have to switch even if I self-pay. Which means I might as well go through UHC to start with. Maybe it would be better if my company didn't have so many choices! (And I haven't even dragged Kaiser into this -- they are a 3rd choice for insurance that my company offers.) Yeah, I know I'm being a big, whinny cry-baby and that some people have to get second mortgages to pay for their surgery and it takes them 2 years to jump through all the hoops, and some people never get it because of money, and that if I really wanted to, I could take off from work during an inconvenient time. What I'd really like to do is: start working on lifestyle changes and emotional eating now, insurance be damned, and re-evaluate in the Fall like I originally planned. I could have a BMI of under 35 by then and maybe I could try to get into the low BMI study. Or I might still be above 35 BMI and UHC might count my hypertension as a co-morbidity after all and it will all be good. The worst that can happen is that I decide, yes, I really want this surgery, and I'll have to self-pay. The reality is that I could afford to self-pay in Mexico if I really wanted to (and was willing to wait a few more years for some other stuff I want like new car and remodeled bathrooms) and I'm not one of those people who thinks all the doctors in Mexico are a bunch of hacks, either. So it's really, really tempting. Mostly the distance and dh's skepticism are what are holding me back. Plus my practical streak that says I'm crazy to consider self-pay before I've exhausted all my insurance options. I know that starting now will dramatically increase my chances of having to self-pay, but I do think that's the best option for me. I really need to deal with my eating problems NOW and not wait until Aug. It's been heck these past two months watching the scales go down (just from logging food and drinking more water) and not being happy because I'm afraid it will screw up my chances for surgery ... which I know I need in the long run. I'm putting off starting up my exercise plan because I'm afraid I'll lose even more weight, which is not good. I've even done stuff like eat a bowl of ice cream at the end of the day to get my calories up so I won't lose more weight until I can weigh in at the surgeon's office only to have my appointment get cancelled because of insurance! So I feel for the OP and may find myself in the same situation in the not too distant future.

It will still cost me $3000 out-of-pocket to do it under insurance and then I'll have the insurance that cost me more every year than the one I've got now. I really like the insurance I have now and I'm really annoyed that I have to switch to get the surgery.

I think when it comes to lap band, it's usually easier, faster and just as safe to go out of country. I still want my insurance to cover the procedure though. And so does MacBoy's college fund. :tongue_smilie:

They should change their web sites then. :tongue_smilie: Because lots of people won't call and will just go by what they say. That's good advice for the OP. There is also that clinical trial that she might be able to get into. For me, I'm in kind of a catch-22. Right now my BMI is too high for the lower BMI clinical trial but I also have to change insurance during Open Enrollment to get the surgery covered. But, if I make the lifestyle changes I have already started to make and want to continue making in preparation for the band, I will lose weight. Heck, I've already lost weight and I haven't even been doing much but drinking more fluids. That means by the time I get the new insurance, my BMI will be too low for my insurance. (This assumes they won't consider my hypertension a co-morbidity. Which it sounds like they won't because it's well controlled with the most mild of medicine.) But if I go to Mexico, none of this will be issue. I will qualify, no problem. The only thing stopping me is that it's so far away. I'd prefer to have my doctor be within an hours drive.

I'm just going by what they say on their web sites under "who is eligible". Every time my insurance issues pop up, I research Mexican doctors so I have a bunch of their sites bookmarked. :biggrin: Here is what I've found: Dr. Alvarez says he'll do 30 to 39 if you have co-morbidities. The OP said there were no co-morbidities. Dr. Aceves web site says: You weigh at least twice your ideal weight or You weigh at least 100 lbs. (45 kilos) more than your ideal weight. (which translates into around 40 BMI for most). And in another place it says, it's normally not done if your BMI is under 40 unless you have co-morbidities. Dr. Rumbault says "We accept obesity surgery patients who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or above and who have been overweight for at least 5 years despite serious attempts to lose weight. We may also consider you for the Lap Band surgery in Monterrey if you have a BMI of 32 and suffer from the obesity related health challenges listed on the Morbid Obesity page and/or from low back pain, arthritis or shortness of breath." So if they are doing it for people with a BMI of 30 with no co-morbidities, they need to update their web sites. :tongue: