MacMadame

Where are you getting this? This is not what my research shows. The Inamed band was first introduced in 1993, which is almost 15 years ago. It is older than the Realize band by several years. As for it being "crap" and "no doctor worth his salt" using it, all the top surgeons in my area are starting to use them in their practice. It also has better slip stats than the Inamed. Being around along time is not necessarily a bad thing, btw. It means the technology is proven. But of course that means that other companies have had time to make even more improvements. For example, there is now a 3rd band that is being used in other countries that has even better stats than either Inamed or Realize, but hasn't been approved by the FDA for use in the US. I guess that's the price we pay for living somewhere that's conservative about approving things.

Exactly! I have kids and I want to be around for their college graduations and weddings and first grandkids.

What JohnC said. As I get older, I find that the weight is harder on my body. I'm only 5 lb. over my max weight as a 30-something but this time I've got high blood pressure, my cholesterol is approaching 200 and my joints and feet are always hurting. I'm worried that Type II diabetes is next.

Well, I'm confused. In your very first post on this site you say "I am here to support realize band patients I know a fair amount the realize system, I also have a support group, on myspace under groups for the Realize band patients." This makes it seem like you are a rep for J&J available to support people who got this band. But your last post makes it seem like you are just another obese person thinking about WLS who hasn't even got a Realize band. How can you run a support group if you aren't either a banded person or someone who is in the WLS field in a professional capacity?

I second that. I've watched the first one and was totally fascinated. I had never heard about dissecting the muscle behind your stomach before I watched the video. (Or even knew I had one there. :biggrin: ) The other thing that struck me was how little blood or Fluid is involved. That was reassuring.

My breasts sag now and I haven't even gotten a band yet.

I'm going to make the argument that since they are what is called a self-insurer that WLS would end up being cheaper for them in the long run than paying to treat my high blood pressure, my inevitable diabetes, my plantar faciitis, weight loss pills (which are covered) to curb my appetite, plus anything else that comes up later on because of my obesity. A "self insurer" company is one that doesn't pay the insurance company premiums. Instead, they put the money they take out of our paycheck plus a whole bunch more and put it in a special account. Then, when the insurance company pays our doctors, they take the money out of this account. This means that if we go to the doctor less, have less prescriptions, etc. that it costs our company less. So they have a BIG incentive to approve the surgery IMO. In my case, they are spending about a $1000 a year just on my prescriptions for my blood pressure. Plus I have to go for a check up and blood work 2x a year instead of 1x because I'm also taking a potassium supplement. So that's another $1000 a year for the supplement, extra doctor's visit and two sets of lab work a year. That means in 5 years the surgery would pay for itself just by treating my high blood pressure! I'm not even 100% sure at this point that I want this surgery. But my company is enormous and if I get them to approve it, it should help a lot of people. And if I do go through with it, it will help me. Whee! :eek:

I talked to my insurance company about this. (Since my company excludes WLS from its coverage.) The Customer Service Rep I talked to said that if something was "medically necessary" that they would cover it. So if I was having some sort of medical emergency that required removing the lapband to treat, it would be covered. I am not sure how much I believe this. But it did set my mind at ease a bit. I wonder if this is because they do cover the surgery if your company includes the coverage. I.E., it's not that they don't think lap-bands should be covered at all, just that my company chose to cheap out on it. She also said that if I went through my PCP and she made a medical case for all the tests and stuff that were required to get the surgery ... i.e., that she was ordering these tests as part of treating my obesity, that they'd be covered even if the surgery wasn't.

I think it's interesting you put it this way because a few years ago I had a similar epiphany about dieting. If my dieting, losing weight but then gaining it all back and then some, was instead a "bad boy" boyfriend that I kept leaving and going back to, all my friend would be lecturing me and begging me to cut out this destructive behavior. But whenever you go on a diet, people get all excited for you and give you all kind of "atta boys". That is how ingrained it is in our society that fat people have brought their problems on themselves through their own bad behavior and all they have to do to not be fat is have a little bit of self-discipline. The idea that there is a biological component to our condition is rejected outright and us bringing it up is seen as "making excuses" and "not taking responsibility" for our actions. That's also why bariatric surgery is seen as "cheating" instead of a tool to break the destructive cycle of failed dieting.

It's definitely outdated. It was published before the Lap-Band was even approved for use in the US so it's years out of date. It's also shows a pretty overt bias IMO. For example "The Swedish Band will never be utilized in the USA". What a silly thing to say at the time and it looks even sillier when you know that that band *has* been approved by the FDA and has a very good outcome in clinical trials and actual use. The Realize Band (aka the Swedish Band) has been in use in the US less time than Imand's Lap-band. That may be a concern to some. But it's not some cheap product made by a fly-by-night "foreign" company with no hope of being approved for use in the US as that article makes it out to be.

I just found out that my company -- the one with killer benefits that include just about everything including IVF and all sorts of alternative treatments -- excludes WLS from their medical plans. I'm pretty upset about it because, given their generosity on everything else, and their emphasis on people improving their health, I am convinced it's a matter of prejudice and ignorance. Anyway, I'm thinking about writing them a letter. Our Open Enrollment period is in 5+ months so I'm guessing they are working on what the coverage will be right now. If I could convince them to add this coverage, it would help a lot of people. Has anyone been successful in doing this?

Yes, I feel the same. My POV is that my doctor is an expert on the medicine part of it, but I am an expert on ME. I'm the one who knows my values, how risk adverse I am, what my limits are. So it's up to me to make the final choice once the doctor provides the medical knowledge I'm lacking. My PCP is great about that. I'm really sorry my medical group doesn't do lapband so I just stay with them. Maybe when I finally get the financials ducks in a row, they'll have started.

Hey, I just found out last night that my company* excludes this surgery from our plan even though the insurance company offers coverage. 6 months of a supervised diet is nothing compared to not being covered! (*I do have this tiny hope that I'm just reading the plan summary wrong, but I don't think I am.)

I have a lot of experience doing that. That site is so poorly designed... to the point where I couldn't find a search so I thought maybe they didn't have one. Anyway, thanks for the tip.

I did a search here and didn't find much. This doctor is near me and has some really good comments on ObesityHelp.com, plus she's in my insurance and has their Aexcel rating (which means I have smaller co-pays, I think). I'm looking for a doctor who recognizes that I research everything and I have strong opinions about some things and want some say in my health care. I'm also going to ask questions. Not all docs like that.

I have a dumb question. If you don't know the direct link to that document, how would you find it using the links on the Aetna site. Because I've never been able to find it that way and I've looked several times.

Just want to say that to some of us, that stat is not the least bit depressing! Especially when you compare it to traditional dieting, which has a success rate that is only a fraction of that. Anyway, pisses me off that insurance often won't pay if your BMI is slight under 40 unless you have a very specific set of co-morbidities. First of all, BMI is only an approximation of what you should weigh -- it takes into account no individual factors such as muscle to fat ratio or frame size. Secondly, a BMI of 35-39 is still pretty damn high! I think as the surgery gets safer and safer, the protocols will change. At least I can hope!

I usually tell everyone everything about what is going on with me. But the last time I lost a huge amount of weight, I had problems with buttinskies at work who would watch everything I ate and question if I was "allowed" to eat it, and try to monitor my eating, my weight and my exercising. Um, I didn't like that. :biggrin: I think if you invite everyone into your life, then it's a lot harder to say "none of your business" when they get farther in than you intended. So this time, I think I won't invite them in. I'm sure I'll end up telling a lot of people, plus when I make phone calls at work, everyone can hear, so eventually everyone will know. But if I don't run around discussing it with everyone all the time, but let people know gradually and quietly, I think it will work out better for everyone involved.

I'm 5 ft and if I weighed what those BMI charts said to weigh, I'd look really unhealthy. I want to be a size 12. Whatever weight that is. :biggrin:

Here's the corrected link: Brain Scans Hint at Why We Overeat And it was interesting! :biggrin:

Yes, I really worry about that with today's young girls. Apparently the absolutely worst insult you can get on the playground is "you're fat". My daughter has always been one of the tiniest kids in her class. Another girl -- who does have a weight problem -- called her fat one day and she came home in tears. I'm a bit :scared2: that she would take this seriously, but she did. They clearly have some warped views of their own bodies and have absorbed the view of society in general that being fat is a crime of some sort even if she doesn't have a clear idea of what that means.

I am always very open with my kids. My son's attitude is "whatever". He doesn't see it as his business, plus he's a teen and his own issues are so much more interesting to them than mine. :scared2: I was quit surprised by my daughter's reaction though. She has been begging me not to get the surgery because she doesn't want me to change! She says I look great the way I am. She also claims that I don't look any different than I do in my wedding pictures. This is pretty amusing, because I'm about 20 years older and I weight about 90 lb. more, plus I was wearing contacts back then and had curly hair instead of the glasses and straight hair (with pink streaks!) that I have now. So even if there wasn't a weight issues, I clearly don't look anything like I did back then. :wink2: But she's only 9, so I guess that's just 9-year old logic. Anyway, I've promised her that I won't lose so much weight that I'm not still able to give "soft hugs", but I have been firm that I have to do this for my health and to get my life back. At the same times she's quite the little scientist and is very interested in how the surgery works and what is involved. I think I can get her enthusiastic about it if I bring her to a meeting or an appointment.

I can't take off from work until the Fall so I'm actually okay with it taking so long. I'm a bit worried that if I start now, my insurance will be one of those with only a 3 month diet requirement. :scared2: But I'm glad I read here first. Otherwise, I would have waited until Summer to try to sign up and then been hit with the 6 month requirement and that would have SUCKED.

Ooh, I like your Avatar! I have lots and lots of questions. Before I came here, I thought I had actually done my research.

Which doctors practice out of Washington Hospital in Fremont?