Chris61

Congradulations on getting a date. It will be here faster than you know it. You must have a great smile at this time. Every thing will go just fine for you. If you have any questions just ask. I had a 3rd fill on Monday and can tell it is there and have to relearn how to eat slow and not to do Soup and food at the same time. Chris

Iam banded and used to live in Daphne, Al. Was banded back in Sept. 07 in St. Louis. Had my third fill yesterday. Miss the area. Chris

Welcome to the group Orsemus. I have UHC Insurance and My wife and I were approved in less than 30 days. If you would like to see the letter we used from the PCP I will be glad to e-mail it. I went for my third fill today and Iam up to 5.2 cc. I had 3cc and he put in 2.5. If you have any questions just ask away. Chris

I have gone from a pressure setting of 12 on my sleep apnea to a setting of 7. I feel great and might not need the machine much longer. Even looking at getting a ortho type retainer once I get a little lower to help keep the snoring in check. Chris

Isvadala is this your first fill? I was banded in Sept. and have had to fills so far. I go for a third one on 1/28 and I hope to be able to keep my restriction for a much longer time. The most so far has been 2 weeks. I spoke to the doctor about it and he said that a lot of it has to deal with the body movement, the loss of fat and stuff around the band. He also said that it takes about 3 -4 fills to get it just right. I have also seen that from people on this site in sections that have the same problem. You are doing great. How long has it been since you have had surgery? As of today Iam 17 weeks out and lost 33 lbs which is average of 1-2 a week. The doctors feel that Iam doing real well. He would like to see more excerise and Iam working towards that even though I injuried my shouldeer back in Dec. I would call your doctor and talk to him and see when you can get another fill. Does he do this in the office or by x-ray? If you would like send me your e-mail address and I will forward you some information in regards to fills and what you should suspect? Another question for you to ask your self is what are you expecting with this? ie: To happen over night or that it will take a while to work? I hope that this helps you out. Glad to see that you are doing real well. For me and my insurance it is the best thing my wife and I have done for ourselves. Chris

I know everyone's diet plan is a little differant, but here is somethings that I did and found that worked well. Did you doctor give you a list of things to take each week. Are doctor gave us a list and worked reeal well. The week before surgery I was on a clear liquids only. After surgery I was on liquids the first week. The doctor said that we could drink milk, have carnation instant breakfast, yoguart. I was able to get enough protien with that. I also drink some ensure that week. The second/third week I was on soft foods. He said that if you grind it up real well you would do just fine. I was able to eat meeat, scramble eggs, etc. The fourth week I was back to eating normal things. The only differance was I could not eat a full meal and it took a long time to eat. I will say that one thing I have been drinking a lot of is the vitiam D water in differant flavors I love it. My doctor has said that you can try anything and everything you would like. My wife was banded a week before by the same doctor and she has a hard time with some founds including breads and bagles but I have no problems with that. I have had some problems if I was to eat to fast etc. I do notice that I leave a lot of bread from a hambuger or other things once I start to eat food. Are doctor said you should try to get about 50 - 60 grams of protien a day. I hope that this will help you all out. If you have any questions just ask. Iam now 18 weeks out and will be getting another fill on 1/28/08 Chris

46 here and down 33 lbs. Next fill on 1/28/08 Chris

My face is thinner I have been able to work in areas that are tight Able to do other things that I had put off before. Chris

I had a 2nd fill in Nov. and lost the restriction with in 2 weeks. I go for another fill at the end of the month. Hope that this time it will last longer. Doc feels it will. Chris

Iam down 33 lbs. Iam now at 217 and go for a fill on 1/28/08 Chris

I have a friend who lives in Grand Forks and is wanting to get banded. I know of one doctor but is there anyone else in town. Thanks Chris

Bozlee thanks for the good post. I think # 8 is one that a lot of people do not think about and plan for a variety of reasons. Chris

I would check with UHC and your employeer and see which covers the lapband and go from there. There is so many programs it is hard to tell. I have the choice PPO and it only cost us out of pocket something like 400.00 for both my wife and I. Chris

Someone on here asked about life insurance. I have seen a couple of post here and on other sites about this question. I have heard that some people have been able to get a price break because they have lost so much weight and their blood levels and other things were back to normal. So we all have something to look forward to. Also keep your current insurance and doo not drop it until you have the documents in hand. I have heard people dropping one and then not getting approved. Just something to keep in mind. I guess you can say for some people that this is a NSV. Chris

Our doctor charges $ 500.00 and the Hosp. charges 1,000. The once insurance is done they pay the Hosp. almost 100.00 and the verdict is still out with the doctor. We have only had 2 fills. The insurance company is going back and forth on procedure codes and billing. Hope to have an answer soon. Chris

First of all you need to find out what band he is going to be using. There are many differant bands out there and a lot of times the doctor does not know until he is ready to put it in. Once you know that you should be able to go to the band website and get the information. I would also ask the doctor for that information also. Chris

My wife and I had the same feeling. We were at the doctor yesterday and asked about this and he said that it is normal like has been mentioned abouve. He also said that you loose fat in the area of the band plus something could have been in the way and it moved. We go for another fill in a couple of weeks and feels that we should get it on the third fill. We have the standard AP Band (10 Cm long) Chris

I can feel my port now that I have lost weight. I can feel the back part thought the belly button. Chris

We know each other weights because we go togehter to have the bands checked and get fills. At first the wife did not want me to know but now its not a problem. Chris

My wife and I both had to stay overnight. We both stayed with each other until the other was out and in the room and settled in. For my wife it was about 7:30 when they got here to the room We were there from 12:00. We were not able to go in for the pre-op because the area was to small. I saw it the following week when I had surgery. We came back the next moring and left later in the day for each other. I hope that this helps you out. Chris

Good luck with getting approved. Iam not sure what your doctor office told you but most insurance have to respond to you within 30 days. So I could call next week and see if they received everything and ask them if they have any questions or need more information. I would also let the doctors office know who you contacted and what they said. It will be here before you know it. My wife and I were approved with in 30 days. And was banded within two weeks after that in St. Louis. Where are you from? Chris

My doctor kept us home for a week. Keep in mind that everyone is differant in how they react to meds, surgery etc. I had surgery on Wed and was home on Thursdays and a minor thing surgery on Friday slept the whole day and felt great on Sat. So for me it was 3 days. I was up and walking right after surgery. Chris

I have UHC and my wife and I were approved in no time. If you would like to see a copy of the letter we used e-mail me. If you have problems with you main doctor as my wife did you can use or OBGYN and get his/her support also. For the matter you could use your other doctors. UHC requires at least 5 years of weights with BMI etc. We were both approved in less than 30 days. The hardest part for us was getting all the history together since we had moved all around. Chris

What type of insurance do you have? Have you check with them to see what they require. I have an example of a letter that my wife and I used and we were approved with in 30 days. What most doctors and insurance requires is a certian amount of time showing the weights you have, have you tried to loose weight, what medical issues that you have Ie: irregular hear beat, asthama, high blood pressure, sleep apena, pre or diabetic. Knee and leg problems. If you would like e-mail me your address and I will forward you a copy of the letter wwe used. The biggest thing that takes some time is putting together all the weights from over the years together. You can use all the times you went to the doctor, obgyn etc. I was right a 39.5/40.0. I hope that this will help you out. Chris

I would suggest you call the Hosp. and ask to talk with your anesthesiolist about your concerns that you have and ask him if you can have pre meds to comfort you and also other meds to comfort you when you come awake. Keep in mind everyone is differant in how they react and handle the meds. For me I was excite going in because I was doing this to make myself better for my wife and kids. I also was at peace with myself and also felt comfortable with the doctor doing the surgery. When I came out I was fine and did not have any pain expect for gas. Some people were surpised that I was up and walking so quickley. You will do just fine. Chris