Dody

I'm going to be in Tennessee at my daughter's when I have my surgery, so of course she knows and is very supportive of me and the surgery. I haven't kept it a secret at all from my kids. They are very supportive and know I have been depressed since my husband died and my open heart surgery, so they are glad to see me taking an interest in my life and health again. I don't know my neighbors, and of course wouldn't share the news with anyone like that, but everyone has to make a decision based on their own family/friend situation whether to tell them or not. For me it was a no brainer that would have been impossible to keep from my family. You have to know and trust your friends and have a very supportive family to share this journey with them. If you don't have that kind of relationship maybe it's better if nothing is said. I don't feel like a failure because I need the band, I just feel I need a little extra push. I can't do it myself, and thus I need this tool. There is no shame in needing help of any kind at some point in your life, just be sure you trust in people you tell and not make it every casual acquaintance you have, because then the gossip hits the grapevine and there is no stopping it. Good luck.

Thank you :eek: I think he's pretty special myself. Without him I wouldn't be here today. You're really sweet to say that.:eek: When I told him all about this surgery he not only gave me all the time I need, but promised to be there to hold my hand. Now that is a boss anyone would love to have.

That's a big statement to say that hospitals in the U.S. use things more than once, and it just isn't true. Sterilization and cleanliness are of the utmost importance. You can't even compare us to Mexico when it comes to cleanliness. You get what you pay for. As a nurse I know for a fact NOTHING is ever used more than once on any patient. There temp isn't even taken without putting a new cover on the thermometer. The FDA has guidelines for the hospitals and massive inspections that can happen at anytime. No one in the U.S. would risk losing their hospitals because of misuse of any instrument or anything else. Just want you to be informed, and not in any way going to bring this subject up again, but it just ain't so....that's all she said!!

Dr. Patterson is a great person, and one who accepts Medicare patients. It's true she won't band smokers, but that's true with a lot of surgeons. She taught the two surgeons doing banding in Idaho how to do the procedure and she is considered an expert on lap banding. She has done far too many to count. She is wonderful with older people and getting them the band. She also is at a Center Of Excellence which cuts to the chase. I really don't know what she charges for fills, or if it is included in the cost of the surgery. With a lot of dr's. their fills are included. If you are already banded by someone else I don't know if she would do the fills for you or not. It is always worth a phone call. You will like her very much. I do know for a fact she only requires a couple weeks of supervised dieting and a meeting with a dietician. I don't think the requirement is 40 lbs. That's a great deal of weight to lose on your own. If you could accomplish that you wouldn't need the band. I'm guessing it's around 10 lbs. to show you can do it. Jack goes to that clinic, and I think he would know the rules. Most are the same by all the doctors in that Clinic. Hey Jack chime in will you about how much weight you had to lose before surgery, etc.

I was having my surgery in Marysville, Tennessee at a small but very nice hospital (but not a center of excellence). They told me honestly they have supplied the paperwork, but it takes someone from Medicare to do a completel evaluation and walkthough before they will even be considered, and it could take a year or even longer. I've already waited a year, so I shifted gears. I was about ready to give up when my daughter called me and said she had called Vanderbilt in Nashville and gotten me an appt. with a surgeon there. The good part is the surgeon who was originally going to operate will be right there around my daughter and will do the fills and maintenance of the band if there are any problems, and their ER is familiar with lap banding patients. Nashville will be a 3 hour drive and I go to see the surgeon on Apr. 26, and I'm not sure what he will require from me. I've had all my pre-testing done in Idaho where I live....everything you could imagine and more. I have documented weight loss for 2 years; psych eval; upper GI; clearance and letters from my cardiologist and GP; echos, EKG's and anything they can and would require. I hope the appt. goes well and that it won't be long before the surgery is scheduled. Everyone has applied to be accepted as a Center Of Excellence. Do you know how many smaller hospitals do this procedure? It is going to take a long time to qualify them, and they may not meet the qualifications in the end. I don't want to wait all that time again.......I'm tired of hassleing with insurance. I hope your hospital gets approved, but I know it is going to take a lot of time. We are talking about every smaller hospital in the U.S. It is hurting the surgeons that operate out of these hospitals too, as it also includes RNY patients. Everyone is on hold and has been for about a mo. and I think it's going to be a lot longer. I'm fortunate to have found a Center Of Excellence and a surgeon that will accept Medicare. Maybe something is finally starting to go right. I'm tired of being on HOLD!!:eek:

When I go to the store someone mysteriously puts Reese's Peanut Butter eggs in my basket. It happens every time. Wish I could find out who the culprit is. :eek:

Lots of prayers coming your way. What a magnificent accomplishment. I don't think you are vain at all. I think after losing weight that sometimes in order to feel really good about yourself it's essential to get rid of the loose skin. I say more power to you. Let us all know how you are doing.

I think when you are dealing with insurance patience perseveres. I have Medicare and finally they began covering the lap banding. I worked months trying to fight them on this surgery and then BAM they decided to cover it. I found a good dr. and was all set, and just a mo. or so they through another clink into the process by stating they would only cover lap banding at a Center Of Excellence. It took me only a short time to realize my dr. didn't operate at one of these. He operated, as many lap banding surgeons do, at a much smaller hospital. I think in one sense Medicare is protecting it's patients, but on the other hand they make things tough. I'm traveling to Vanderbilt in Tennesee and staying with my daughter to be at a Center Of Excellence. If you really want to have it paid for and you are entitled to it then I would dig in my heels and fight them.

Medicare does cover the band, but only in what they call A Center Of Excellence. This is tough to find in a lot of places and limits the hospitals that are equipped to do the surgery. A Center Of Excellence would be a full-service, five-star hospital that does open heart surgery for one. It would also be a hospital that has done thousands of lap bands and RNY's. If Tricare follows Medicare and makes that ruling, it could be tough. A lot of surgeons are not doing the lap banding for Medicare patients because they are with smaller hospitals that have not been approved and may never be approved. In my case I'm going to my daughter's in Tennessee to go to Vanderbilt which is a Center Of Excellence. Please make sure and google this before proceeding with your choice of physician/city and make sure you have one of these Centers or be prepared to travel to one. I wish you the best of luck. I have a friend who has Tricare. They approved her for bypass when she wanted the lapband; she fought them but she didn't win; and she had the bypass. She's had lots of problems that don't come with the band, but the band has a different set of problems for some and for others it seems they have few problems. Tricare pays for plastic surgery one time after your weight loss, which is a great thing, but this is on RNY. I'm curious if anyone on here had Tricare and fought and won to have the lapband. Maybe if you are tenatious as a bulldog you can get them to do it.

DeCarla to DeLarla. Is there a reason behind this. Veddy, veddy confusing.

Now I remember (after you jogged my mind). Yes, what a long time ago that was. I do recall the day Kennedy was assasinated like it was yesterday. I was living in NY and my oldest daughter was just a little toddler when we got the news. It was like the end of the world around my part of the woods. Where I lived the population was almost all Catholic, and I recall now he was the first Catholic president every elected, and it was devastating. To this day I believe there is more to the story than we will ever know, but it shall remain a mystery I guess. Thanks for refreshing my memory Jack. My health is OK except for arthritis. I had 5-way-bypass in 2001, but no problems since the surgery. This should be a walk in the park compared to getting my chest cracked open and wired shut again. The first few weeks of that are a blur thank God.

It makes sense if you got banded in Mexico and followed up in the U.S. that they might have problems finding the port. I guess that is one benefit to having the surgeon doing the banding doing the filling. Each surgeon does things just a little bit differently, and I think if the same surgeon places the band that does the fills he knows exactly where that port is. You are right, getting jabbed many times probably would not cause infection, but it sure could be unpleasant. I was kind of hoping fills didn't hurt. :eek:

Why did you change your name from DeCarla to DeLarla if you don't mind my asking. It took me awhile to realize you were you. I always knew you are DeCarla.

I'm very surprised that you weren't given Procardia at the hospital. I worked the ER for 38 years and that is the first step we took with high blood pressure. One Procardia tablet usually lowers the BP about 30 points in 30 minutes. It is common practice in hospitals to try this method. I can't understand why the dr. didn't try to lower your blood pressure. We used to get a lot of trauma patients whose BP would be very high, and you may have what we called "white coat syndrome" meaning doctors or hospitals actually make you nervous and your PB sky-rockets. So sorry you had to be sent home, but curious why they didn't try and lower your BP in hospital surroundings.

Insurance seems to be a huge issue for almost everyone on this forum. A lot of people find they aren't covered, or they have to fight for their coverage and it takes a long time. A lot of people give up and self-pay and a lot of people persevere by fighting the insurance companies (kudos to them). You should find out first if your insurance covers the surgery and go from there. All insurance companies are different and I know nothing about yours. Good luck.

I've just recently had a lot of dental work done and my teeth lasered, and that alone did wonders for bad breath. I was getting gingivitis, even though I'm faithful about going to the dr. She prescribed a medicated mouth wash that is prescription only and it is marvelous for bad breath. I used it for about a mo., but now that I've had my gums planed(talk about painful) and my teeth lasered I find I no longer have any problems at all with bad breath. I am fanatical about brushing and flossing after each and every meal now, as I don't want to go through that gum planeing ever again. It was extremely painful and I had to have each quadrant done on separate visits. It was worth it though. I just had my teeth lasered and they are as white as if I was 16 again. I'm so proud of them and want to keep them this way. I sure hope surgery doesn't change it. Why does this surgery cause bad breath? I'm just curious.

I take 1200 mg of ibuprofen every 6 hr. for arthritis. My dr. has recently switched me to Celebrex because of the upcoming surgery. She also has told me that too much Tylenol is very bad for the liver (not sure why), but it is. I'm actually hoping that losing weight will helpt the arthritis and the foot pain and I can eventually get by taking very little in the way of medicine. I have high blood pressure which is wonderfully controlled with Lopressor and Norvasc, and I will probably always have to take it, as I know that even when I was thin I was prone to high blood pressure. Everyone in my family has it. I will always have to take Lopressor 100 mg bid because of arrhythmias, but it is far safer than a lot of other medications on the market. I've taken it for about 20 years now, so it's certainly not a new drug. I don't get headaches, just the pain from the arthritis, but that can be miserable for sure. Not sure if I've helped much, but probably the Celebrex is the right answer for now....and I certainly would allow it to disolve part way before swallowing it. You girls and guys are full of great advice. This forum has been very informative on what to expect and how to deal with it and I thank you all for sharing your experiences. Everyone should belong long before they are banded, because there would be lots fewer surprises afterwards. Now I know what to expect at least and what is normal and not normal.

I haven't yet been banded, but I've heard many bandsters here say they gained weight after their surgery. I'm sure many will chime in and tell you the reasons why, but you will lose it. I think it's a pretty common experience from what I've read on this forum. Don't give up on yourself. You've just begun an incredible journey. Good luck. There's a lot of great advise on here, so just wait for someone to chime in who is already banded and been there and done that. Wish I could be more help to you.

I think we all have weaknesses. Probably that one day will be a reminder for a long time of what not to do. Hey, it was one day, and you ate all the crap-food you've been wanting, so don't beat yourself up over it. If you have a desire for something I really think you should have some of it instead of craving it. You probably sabotaged yourself with the first stop at Jack In The Box, and figured the rest of the day was shot. Like I said, it's only one day, and the chances of you doing it again are slim to none. Today is a new day. Back to the bandster rules. Please be kind enough to remind me of that after I am banded and craving Reese's Peanut Butter cups, because I know it is my one big weakness. If it has peanut butter and chocolate in it I'm a goner. I'm also going to Tennessee for my surgery to be with family that "loves to eat" and OMG southern food is just soooooooooooo good. They drink loads of sweet tea (which I find out is really what we call iced tea), but I can put splenda in mine and some lemon (can't stand it without lemon) and be happy. Strange thing, but no matter what they eat for dinner macaroni and cheese is always a part of the meal even if there are mashed potatoes..... I'm going to be tempted at every turn I think. My daughter has a list of all the things she misses from her Idaho upbringing that she wants me to cook...that one will be tough I'm sure....especially after banding, but they both work, so that's the least I can do. Wish me luck, because I'm up against a big challenge, but dying to see my kids, so anything is worth it. Hoping for surgery in May, but not seeing the surgeon until the end of April. All paperwork is in order, so hopefully won't be too long getting around to it. Heck, I've waited a yr. and I guess a mo. or so more won't hurt me.

I'm 64 and hoping to be banded in May. I don't know what to expect, but I'm glad to see there are a lot of older bandsters out there. Jack, was Kennedy president in 59 when I graduated? Darned if my memory goes back that far. I do remember my daughter being about 2 when he was killed. I believe that was 62....close?

When I was growing up (in the old days) my Mom made the best lima beans and ham. Today I couldn't imagine buying or cooking lima beans, but I grew up with them and loved the way she fixed them. I couldn't stomach drinking tomato juice though, because I'm just not a tomato lover. I get my protein in my South Beach Protein Bars and call it good. Wait...I'm not even banded yet. My opinions don't mean a thing. It just got me thinking about how I used to love lima beans. My Mom could make Spam taste like ham. She would put cloves in the spam and a brown sugar sauce on them and bake it. That Spam was to die for. Thanks for mentioning a lima bean and bringing back all those memories.

If the same surgeon puts the port in that does the fills, how come he doesn't know exactly where he placed it? That part confuses me. I wonder if some people have the band and port placed somewhere else and then follow up with a different dr. for their fills and that could be part of the problem. Anyone have an opinion on this one?

I order a product called Shock It Out on line. Two bottles last me a good 6 mo. and I use it for everything. You dilute it with water (spray bottle is included). It is great for pet stains and anything and everything under the sun. I use it in my carpet cleaning system and find it does a better job than anything I can buy on the market. It is excellent with pest odors also.

I thought I would be a wreck going in for open heart surgery, but the anesthesiologist told me I wouldn't even remember and he is right....some Versed beforehand puts you in happy land long before you get to the OR. You don't have anything to worry about. These anesthesologists work wonderful magic. Good luck on your banding.

I was excited to read the post where you were taking mushies and tolerating them.......and then you started having problems again. Have you tried making sure the Water is not ice cold? How about bottled water at room temp? It seems like water seems to give you the worse problem, and you are right, that is weird alright. I hope by the time I have my surgery you will be feeling great and be able to give me some advise from what you have learned. So sorry you had a "down day" again. I hope tomorrow and the days after get easier for you. Think Cowbells!!