browneyes185

Carlene, Great news! I hope everything continues to work out for you. How long have you been unfilled? sherrie

Thanks for the info. I am waiting on a call from Dr. Provost office for a second opinion. which I no longer know if it is going to matter. I called my insurance yesterday and they said they do not cover gastric bypass or the removal of my band. I don't know what to do and am quiet concerned. I have been reading how esopheal dilation can turn into cancer and I sure don't want that ugly beast. I started on liquids and am doing okay with that. I actually have several things to consider here. I have PKD and my kidneys are functioning at 37% currently (down 10% in 6 months). when I reach 10% or there abouts I will have to have diaylsis. I also know that being overweight while on dialysis is hard on your overall health. And in the event I am fortunate enough to get a transplant that will put additional weight on me (most probably) which will again be harder on my kidneys and over all health. At this time I feel that it is SO important to get the weight off to avert more possible problems. But now I don't know how I can get anything done. Of course it would be better to get it done sooner than later since my kidneys are where they are right now. so I guess support and contact from the band world will help me through. Frustrated but not giving up, browneyes185, AKA, Sherrie

Actually, my doctor is recommending it for me if my next test does not come out well. I will be having the upper GI again to chekc for dilation. what is going on with you if i may ask? sherrie

Carlene, I am pretty new to posting but not to the band. I have had mine for four years and have only lost 35 pounds. I also went to my doctor recently (4-23) and was told that I have esophogeal dilation. Okay that really freaked me out because the doctor that I started seeing is realitively new to lap bands and he said it is possilble that I will have to get mine off and have a bypass. This makes me real nervous as well. He took all the Fluid out and i go back on the 23rd of this month. He did not tell me to eat mushies, or liquids but since I have been reading I started. I have actually started gaining weight since I am not full on liquids and I drink more. I guess I need support to keep me going as we all do at times. I want you to know that you have been an encouragement to me as well as several others since I started reading the posts. I did notice that there are a lot of people that have had their bands removed. I wonder how many went on to have a bypass. Also, does anyone know about Dr. Provost in Dallas, Dr. Suits in Longview, or Dr. Babineau in Tyler? I need advice. thanks so much, sherrie :help:

Good Morning Phazer08!! I am glad you got over the hiccups! You are doing great on your weight too! Aren't you happy you did talk yourself out of the surgery? Audrey is doing well. I believe she is down over 10 pounds and has not been hungry at all. Thanks so much for telling me about this group, you are right they are more supportive than some of the others. I will see you around!

I have to say it is nice to get a response when I post a message. I have been on other lap band web pages and asked a question or vented my feeling and never received a response. I finally gave up on posting. While in Mexico I met a lady who referred me to this web page and said that this group is different than the others. I believe she is right. My story is: As a child I was always one of the "chubby" kids, not really much overweight but enough to notice. My dad would tease me and call me "Mrs. Tucker". I did not know what he was referring to but I did understand that he was referring to my weight. I got married while very young and constantly battled the weight issue which in turn made my weight worse because of all the YOYO diets. Around 4 years ago my sister went to Mexico and had the lap band surgery by Dr. Sanchez and since that time i was determined that I was going to have it done. She lost all of her weight within 8 months. I had no doubts that it would work for me too. I was not able to pay for the procedure so I researched it, and was able to jump through the hoops and get my insurance company (at the time) to pay for the surgery and on January 20, 2004 I was banded in Texas. Up til now I have lost 34 pounds. I have been VERY disapponted for many months and finally when a friend invited me to go with her to Mexico for her surgery, I decided to contact Dr. Sanchez to see if he believed that my band was okay. I had already contacted my doctor in texas and was not convienced that my band was fine. My band is, in fact Great, according to Dr. Sanchez. This is a mixed blessing. I knew that something must be wrong since i have not lost any more than this however, i am relieved that nothing was wrong. Dr. Rodriguez gave me a diet plan in which I have worked on. I am noticing that my clothing is not as tight. I understand that I am one of the 5% that will really have to exercise and work harder to lose the weight than most others however, at least I now have a clearer understanding of the problem. I will be so happy to finally lose some more weight and I am still convinced that it will work for me. 210/176/110 Thanks for listening!

Dear ReneBean, Thanks for all the details that is very helpful. I will be checking it all out soon. Since it is the holidays it may be a few days before i get back to post. I have to go cook for the families... thanks so much, browneyes185

Hello all, I am a new member and am not sure how the this lapband forum is set up. Can i get some info about how to posts on this site and read posts easily. I have been banded for almost two years and recently met a few bandsters in Mexico. browneyes185