NurseTeresa

Actually they do make thongs with tummy support. Can even find them at walmart! Believe that one? I about fell over when I saw them the first time. Didn't try them however. Let me know how they feel and do if you decide to try them.

Mandy, I have not yet been banded however I have had my gallbladder removed and mine was at the same stage as yours. The pain was OH SO MUCH BETTER surgery then before. Make sure you try foods carefully after surgery. Somethings you have eaten forever that never bothered you will all of the sudden bother you. Cause Dumping syndrome. Also like Big Dog stated...sometimes those farts really aren't farts...the closer to a bathroom the better. Also from a nurses point of view...when you get home make sure you keep walking that will help with the bloating and the setteling of the gas in places like your chest and shoulders. If you get those pains make sure you get up and walk....no matter how bad it hurts you have to walk to break that gas up. I thought I was having a heart attack. I had to calm myself down and think logically. Its one thing being a nurse and telling patients why they should.......but until you undergo it you really cant relate. Best of luck with the removal. Just remember......walk walk and walk.

LOL Had to laugh at the side effect of the band as REFLUX>>>>>>>>I have it very bad and don't even have my band yet. Can't ever imagine that it could be any worse then what it is now somedays!

As you all know I am a nurse and have been attending several seminars on weightloss surgeries. We just had a meeting on friday and at that time we were told that they have been doing the surgeries in europe for around 30years and that the FDA approved it for here in the states in 1991 which is when the first cases were done here. That they were very few and far between until here recently. As for mexico...no statistics were given. Hope that this helps alittle. Here are a few other interesting statistics that I learned.....Mortality Rates with the RNY is 0.5% Lap Band is 0.1% and the Biliopancreatic Diversion(BPD)with or without the switch is 1.1% (Very high mortality rate and very few people do these now becasue of that) Hope that this information is of value to someone out there.

where are the chat rooms at? i am so new to this and trudgin my way through here tryin to find things

I didn't even know that they had chat rooms....guess I am still too new!

Lauren, Thanks for the information. Columbus is only an hour away from here. How long did it take you to get things set up? Did your insurance pay for it? I am beginning to think that I will have to pay for it myself. Any more input you have would be greatly appreciated.

Try fruit 2 O it comes in various flavors and it is calorie and carb free. Alot of the hospitals in ohio use it instead of plain water for the WLS patients. Just have to try the various flavors and see what ones you like the best. They however taste much better very cold then warm and dont taste too good diluted in a glass with ice. Just a little FYI. Plus if you have a Sams club near you they are much cheaper there and come in multiple variety packs. Best of luck with your water issues.

Thanks ReneBean for the insite on what to tell the insurance co. My family doctor would very well state that with out a problems since I am undergoing several health issues most from my weight. Lord knows I have tried ever other "diet" under the sun and have ran out of options. Working third shift makes it hard to eat the way one needs. Sure would be easier to take a bite and run and take a bite and run. Will also have to check out with the hospital if they will do a payment plan. I do know for co pays to other surgeries they will do the $100.00 over two pay periods but that is about it. However, I do know that there are other hospitals in the area that will do payment plans. A good friend of mine who had WLS is about to have a tummy tuck and the girls lifted and her hospital is going to do it on payroll deduction over three years. Again thanks for the help! It is all greatly appreciated. I will share this with a co worker who is also wanting to have the Banding done. I am trying to get her on this site to check things out for herself.

Hello everyone and congratulations on your successess! I have been reading posts for a few days now and was so glad when I found this site. I am in the starting process of this whole thing. However, I have realized that more insurances then not, mine included are not covering any sort of weightloss surgeries medications etc. Where do you start when trying to fight them to get this covered? Where do you find financing for the surgery if they continue to deny it? I am a nurse and work on a surgery trauma unit and we are rolling out our barriatric section of our unit in feb. I have been to several seminars offerred by the companies that do the teaching to the Drs. regarding all of the surgeries. I was so excited when we found out that the banding was going to be offerred at our hospital. As I want to take the less invasive procedure so that if complications occur it can be reversed. Please help me on where to start.........it is all so frustrating. Anyone else feel the frustration?

Hello Carmen best of luck in the decision that you make. Please read a posting that I replied to for the person on consultation with surgeon on 2/11/06 and nervous. This might give you a little imput on what I have seen first hand as a nurse to some of the complications with an open rny that they neglect to tell you. Good luck with you WLS.

Thanks for all the wonderful advice. Lapband vol #1 would be a great thing however they are not doing anything like that as I already asked for that position. They said that since the practice is an established one and just changing hospitals that is not any option. As for the insurance...I started by calling and asking about what sort of weightloss procedures they will help pay for and they said NONE!! I then had to wonder why would a hospital have insurance through a carrier that will not cover any weightloss procedures at all or discount a gym memebership let along drs appts for any sort of prescription weightloss. Just makes no sense. However, I will take your wonderful advice and check with HR and see about petitioning for a change in the policy and to see if they will approve it. Again thanks for the help and appreciate anymore anyone has to offer!

I have been looking into the lap banding for some time now. One of the main reasons that has swayed me towards the lap banding is because of it being reversable if needed. I work a surgery trauma unit ( we are opening a barriatric center in feb) and I have seen first hands alot of complications that can arise from having gastric bypass either the RNY or the Duodonal Switch. There are so many things that they dont tell you about in the seminars when you go through an open surgery instead of laproscopic. Any time they cut you open you get scar tissue build up and eventually it can cause several problems with it building up and attatching to other organs this is called lysis of adheasions. Once they are developed they and cause problems(very painful) even though removed they have to be removed over and over and over. Also those that have it done open have more chance to develop hernias. I know several people that have had various types of barriatric surgical treatments and to me...less pain is better and reversable is the best!!! Sorry for being so long but when you see it first hand several times a month...thought I would share with you what I get to see.

The major reason for the hair loss is lack of protein. Once that you get your protein back up the hair loss should slow down and eventually stop all together. Any surgery is stressful to the body itself and stress can be a cause but from the several seminars I have been to they stress the importancey of protein to keep hair loss at a minimal and say it is more from lack of protein then the stress of surgery itself. Hope this helps!

Sorry to hear about the pains that you are having. I am in the process of getting things together to have the banding done myself. However, I am a nurse and work on a surgery trauma unit and we also will be doing lap banding and rny starting feb. The pains that you are experienceing are from the gas that they use to expand your abdomen so that they can see what they are doing in surgery. All you can do is get up and move. The more you walk the more it will break the gas up and make it not so strong in your collarbone area. Sometimes it also settles in your chest and you feel as if you are having a heart attack. Experienced that one myself after gallbladder surgery. It will pass thank god, just keep walking walking walking......