JRFAN88

I started at a BMI of 40. My surgery was May 7th. I lost 10 pounds on the pre-surgery diet. 10 pounds the week following surgery. The nurse just bragged on me when I went to my first check-up for losing so much. Then I told her I could always lose 20 pounds fast but then the weight would get stuck then that's when I get discouraged, gain the weight back plus some. After I went to solid foods I gained back 5 pounds. I eventually lost it back then after my 2nd fill I've managed to lose about 5 more pounds. Today I go back for my 3rd fill. I do have some restiction but not enough. I also walk at least 30 minutes most days of the week. It does seem very slow but at least I'm not gaining it back like I used to would have.

My doctor has already told me that once I lose more weight where I'm not needing fills very often that I'll probably need her to go back in & put a low-profile port. Mine is very noticable. But right now it is so easy to get a fill that she said I should leave it alone as long as I'm still getting fills.

I lost 10 pounds on the pre-surgery diet then 10 pounds the week following surgery. I didn't lose anything else until after my 2nd fill & even that has been very slow. Sorry I can't offer any help but at least know that you aren't alone & help will come after a few fills. Good luck!

I had my surgery on May 7th. I only lost about 1 pound from a week after surgery until my 2nd fill. I couldn't even tell I had a band until the 2nd fill. That was 3 weeks ago and I've lost about 5 pounds since then. I also am walking almost everyday. I go back in August too. I still want a little fill. I am not eating nearly as much as before but I still get hungry & my portions are still too large. I also wanted to throw in that I haven't thrown up or pb'd at all. I do get that chest pain when I eat too much & the left shoulder pain. I also had that burning sensation at the port area about a week ago. That was the first time so I was glad to see y'all mention it.

I had no problem with the size of my liver during surgery. I lost about 12 pounds on the 2 week pre-surgery diet. I still drink the Slim-Fast Optima most every morning for my Breakfast. I love the taste. ws476: I love Dr. Keilin & the staff there. It was less than 2 months from my first visit until surgery. It was 2 weeks after all paperwork was done & I had the sleep study that I found out I was approved.

My surgeon recommended Slim-Fast Optima for the pre-surgery diet. 3 per day along with a Bariatric protein shake or 4 Slim-Fast Optima per day if you didn't buy the Bariatric shakes.

My boyfriend has had this trouble since his last fill. He thought surely he needed to have some removed. But the nurse told him to drink something hot in the morning as soon as he wakes up. It has worked for him. He can almost always eat fine the rest of the day as long as he starts with something hot. I haven't had that problem yet. Hope this helps.

I think you are doing good. I had surgery on May 7th. I've lost about 25 pounds & 10 of that was pre-surgery & the 10 more was the week after surgery so only 5 pounds has been in the last 2 months. I keep going up & down with that same 5. I just wanted to let you know that it was my 2nd fill before I could even tell that I had a band. I cannot eat as much as before that fill. I think I'm at 5 cc in a 10 cc band. I think I may need a little more to get to my sweet spot but at least now I know that it is working. Good luck to you.

JennyLynn & Cota, Just wanted to let you know that I was there too. On Thanksgiving day 2006 my husband of 17 years left. One month later he moved in with his girlfriend. This was a huge shock. He was my best friend. We have 2 kids. My life was just how you described yours - a roller coaster. I just had to go through the motions for months. I wasn't able to sleep or eat. My doctor put me on medication for sleep & panic attacks. Everybody said it would get better but I just couldn't see it. One of the good things that came of it was that I lost 56 pounds in about 4 months. In August 2007 I started dating someone. It was very hard because my husband was the only boyfriend that I had ever had. My weight gradually came back on but good thing was I was able to get off the sleep medication & no more panic attacks. My & my boyfriend are still dating over 11 months later & talking about marriage. I never thought I would find someone so soon. He's actually the reason I got the lapband. He got his in February then I followed in May. Good luck to you both. And know that it will get better. My life didn't turn out the way I had expected but it is very good.

I describe the feeling of my port exactly the same way that it reminds me of when I was pregnant. Sometimes I won't even notice I'm rubbing it until someone asks me if I'm hurting. I'm not going through the empty nest thing yet, though with a 14-year old son I sometimes wish I was. Lol.

I'm almost 4 weeks out but that's exactly how I describe the port to everyone. It feels like when I was pregnant & I could feel my baby in there. I guess the band is kinda like my baby now too. But I hope this one stays in there & never grows up to back talk me. Lol.

My surgeon's office did most of the work for me. I only had to write down what doctors I had seen in the past 5 years. I filled out a release form & those doctors mailed my records straight to the surgeon. The surgeon's office scheduled my sleep study & my psyche evaluation. My insurance which is Federal BC/BS required 6 months of documented diet history but it didn't require that it was doctor supervised. I had 6 months of personal journals that span period of years of different diets & stuff I had been on. The office made copies of those. And it worked. I went for my first consult in March then got in for the sleep study & psyche eval within about 2 weeks & 3 weeks later got the call to schedule the surgery. Good luck to you both! :thumbdown:

Well. I had the surgery on Wednesday. Finally on Sunday I was feeling a little better. But I decided I was finally ready to have my first bowel movement. OMG! I was not ready for that. This may be too much info for most of you but I swear I sat there for 2 hours trying to go. It was so painful. If I had it to do over again I would have been taking metamucil from the beginning. I didn't think about it until I felt the urge to go which was too late. After that passed I felt so much better. And today is much, much better & the scales finally moved a couple more pounds. Bad part is though I finally feel hunger again. Hopefully only good things from here.:biggrin:

Do you mind me asking what your copay was with Federal BC/BS? I am scheduled for surgery next Wednesday. I thought I had read on this site where most people on this insurance had about $100 copay. I just received a call from the surgery center to tell me about my copay there - $923.41 which is 15%. Now I'm worried about what the surgeon's bill will be. Don't get me wrong - I'd have probably paid it myself (with payments of course) but this was quite a shock.

COOL! I like that too. Go JR!

Put me down. Glad I won't be alone! This will be cool to keep up with everyone. Betty To be banded in Texarkana, TX by Dr. Rachel Keilin at Precision Surgery:biggrin:

Precision Surgery in Texarkana, TX says they will do lapband for BMI 30 or higher. Of course it would be selfpay because no insurance is going to cover that. Price is about $15,000.

Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Betty. I live in a small town in SW Arkansas. I'm having my surgery at Precision Surgery in Texarkana, TX. So far I love the doctors & staff there. I've attended a couple of support groups already because my boyfriend had the surgery in February. I never had considered that I could actually have this surgery until he did & then I started checking into it. I went for my first appointment last month, had a sleep study & psyche evaluation & got a call last Thursday to schedule the surgery. May 7th is their first available appointment & barring no conflicts at work I will have it that day & start my 2-week liquid diet next Wednesday. That will be hard. I'm one of those folks that had been eating very heavy to make sure my BMI was at 40 & I'm still eating that way because I don't want too big of a drop before the surgery. So I am going to crash hard after a few hours of liquids only. I want this surgery because I am so tired of losing the same 50 pounds. I have lost at least 1000 pounds in my life only to gain it back + 5 more. I was to the point that I didn't see the sense of another diet. I actually lost 56 pounds just last year, not because I was trying but because I went through a very hard divorce that I didn't want after 17 years of marriage. But as soon as I started dating my boyfriend in the fall the weight started creeping back on. I love this website. I have learned so much already that I feel will help me be prepared. I've already got my grocery list ready of what I'm going to need. I've also already got my first little nasty response that ticked me off. I found out that I had sleep apnea during the sleep study. I went to pick up my c-pap machine on Monday. The respitory therapist said "so, you're having the Lap Band? You don't look like you need it". I said well, my BMI was 40 & I have sleep apnea & high blood pressure. I guess I may as well get used to it. I can't keep it to myself. This is a small town & i have a "high-profile" job. Last year everyone was asking me how I was losing weight. I would just tell them the "divorce diet". Well. This got longer than planned. I look forward to chatting with some of you. BTW - I'm a single mom of 2 kids... a boy 14 & a girl 9. I also have a chocolate Cocker Spaniel who is like a child. And I'm a big NASCAR fan if you don't know what the JRFAN88 stands for - Dale Jr!:crying:

I did find out that I had sleep apnea. But they still scheduled my surgery for their first available appointment which was about 4 weeks out. My question if anyone knows is this: I started using a cpap machine Monday night. If I lose a lot of weight after my lapband should I just stop using the machine or wait & have another sleep study. Those things aren't cheap. Even with good insurance I still owe about $500 & they only cover 1 per year.

We have several things in common - I also live in Arkansas & I'm also 39 years old & I also have federal bc/bs. I went for my first appointment about a month ago with the surgeon. The following week I did the sleep study & psyche eval. I got my call this Thursday to schedule my surgery. I couldn't believe it. My BMI was 40. I also found I had 2 co-morbidities that I didn't even know I had. Well one I sorta knew about. I had some high blood pressure troubles last year when I went through a rough divorce after 17 years of marriage. The doc just assumed that was why & never put me on meds for it. But when I saw the surgeon she told me I needed to go back to my family doc to get on bp meds because it was too high. I also found out during the sleep study that I have sleep apnea & I would've never guessed that. I go Monday to get fitted for my c-pap machine. I'm not sure if that helped me get the insurance to pay for the surgery but it probably didn't hurt. With our insurance I was told that we had to have 5 years of medical records. I was worried about that because I have always been a yo-yoer. One year my weight is only 30-40 pounds overweight & the next year I'd be 80 pounds overweight. I also had to show evidence of trying to lose weight for at least 6 months. I was worried about this because I didn't have any medically-supervised programs. I showed journals of different plans I had done on my own & they made copies of these to send to the insurance companies. She told me our insurance does not say that they have to be medical-supervised. I am still in shock about all this but really can't wait to get started with my new life. My 40th bday is in October & I want to have my weight issues under control for the last time by then. Good luck with everything!

I had to wish you good luck. We're in about the same position including I will be 40 in October. I went for my consult about 2 weeks ago then had my sleep study & psyche eval. Now waiting for them to gather all the reports & get it submitted to insurance. I am so hoping that when I turn 40 that my weight is where I want it to be & that I start my 40s feeling better than I did at 20. I was also a little short of where I needed to be to be at 40 BMI but I had read enough of these posts on here that I knew some hints of how to instantly gain weight. Best of luck. I hope you get to post tomorrow to let us know how it went.