Jodi_620

Welcome Mommy07 Yep the guidelines for most insurance companies are a BMI above 40 or 35-40 with co-morbidities. They may aloso require weight records or diet history but you should let the surgeon's office deal with all that. Go to a seminar then schedule to meet with your surgeon. He/she should have and insurance coordinator who will look into all of that stuff for you.

You will have to ask your doctor. I have seen different people get different rules on this. Mine has me come in once a month for the first year so he can ask questions and determine whether I need a fill but if in between those visits, I feel I need an adjustment I can make an appointment after waiting one week.

You will get pain an/or you will slime. Have you ever taken a drink and swallowed wrong and got the intense pain down your esophogus? That is the closest comparison I can make. Only the pain moves up instead of down and can last longer. Your body may "unstick" it by Burping it up. (PB'ing). You will burp and the stuck food will come back up to your mouth. Sliming. The stomach makes excess phelgm to try and wash it up. Or sometimes you just have to wait it out. :eek: I have read here not to take a drink while stuck but my surgeon told me to try Water and it worked for me. I took a hard swallow and the water immediately came right back up with the stuck piece of food.

kerrik54304, Which insurance company are you dealing with? Maybe someone who has dealt with the same company can help you out there.

Four ounces is very reasonable and probably about what you will be able to eat in a meal. The types of foods not tolerated vary. Some people can eat pretty much anything. I can't eat bread, it gets stuck every time. I tolerate lettuce just fine. Dry and/or fibrous meats are sometimes a problem for me. I was also told that fibrous veggies can get stuck too (asparagus, celery etc.) Basically, if you can't chew it to mush in your mouth you could have a problem with it getting stuck. The foods that slip through the band are soft foods like ice cream. Pre-op and while healing you eat softer foods, first liquids (shakes, carnation instant breakfast, broth) then mushies (baby food consistency) but once you are on solids you should focus on denser high nutrient foods that will stay in your stoma and keep you full longer whereas the Protein shakes and soft foods although easier to get down slip through the band faster and leave you hungry sooner. I was told not to replace any of my meals with Protein Shakes for that very reason. My surgeon says that protein shakes should be thought of as a supplement, not a meal.

Don't worry about that two pounds, it could anything...perhaps Water gain or maybe muscle gain from exercise (doesn't mean you are not still losing fat). Small fluctuations at times are very normal. Weigh yoursel first thing after your morning pee and don't weigh too often if such fluctions will get you down...once a week max. As for your weight loss so far...you are doing just fine. You haven't even begun using your band until you start getting fills. Any weight loss at this point is fantastic! Be patient it will happen before you know it!

If you have never truly tried dieting in the past then I agree with your approach otherwise you won't know for sure whether this tool will work for you. But if you have tried losing weight in the past have lost but have never been able to keep it up then I say just move forward with the requirements of the surgery.

Puju10, You are not alone and in my opinion the Lap Band is just for those of us like you...those of us who have been able to successfully lose weight in the past but just couldn't keep it off. The lap band will do more than remind you to stay focused it will make you stay focused. And although I am new to the band, so far it truly has not been a huge struggle compared to all of those diets. Good luck!

Puju10, There is no reason why you would be unable to continue with your exercise once you are healed from surgery.

Welcome Sweetpea! As far as the pre-op diet, just follow your doctors requirements and take it one day at a time. Not all doctors have the same pre-op and post-op diet requirements so I don't want to offer any specifics without knowing what kind of diet you will be on. I was on two weeks liquid Protein pre-op, two weeks Liquid Protein post-op then two weeks mushies before I eased into solids...what will you be on? My insurance allowed for one night in the hospital but I chose not to stay. That is an individual choice, I just feel more comfortable in my own bed and I didn't regret my decision. I had both Lap Band and Hiatal Hernia repair at the same time. I had my surgery on a Friday, took off the following Monday through Wednesday then worked 1/2 days on Thursday and Friday. It is important to note that I work an office job so I don't do heavy lifting. I still had pain at my port incision and needed to wear loose clothing for the first couple weeks.

It took me three weeks to get the barium swallow, psych evaluation and nutrition classes fit into my work schedule. Then the paperwork was submitted to United Healthcare, I was approved in about a week and a half. My surgery date was set right away which left me one week to get my bloodwork, EKG and physicians release done and the results in to the surgeon in time for my pre-op appointment which was five days before my surgery. It really depends on your insurance company though, mine did not require anything from me other than a BMI above 40 or a BMI between 35-40 with co-morbidities. I just made it with a 41 BMI so I didn't have to document any co-morbidities.

:biggrin: A response from another Jodi... I have done all the diets too and I can say for sure that for me the Lap band can not be compared to those diets. I don't consider it a diet either it is a permanent lifestyle change. Diets leave you deprived, hungry, frustrated and because of that, most people can only stick to them short term then gain it all back--and then some. With the lap band, you get to eat normal food you just physically can't eat a lot of it and you are satisfied with that until your next meal. The band will not let you go back to your old ways. It is a big decision and scary but in the end you will find that it is worth it...esepcially with the diabetes which as the other Jodi said, could very well be put in remission with lap band surgery.

It is like Debski said, to document whether you can be compliant. The Lap Band is wonderful but it is just a tool to make it easier for you to lose weight. I haven't been here long but I have already seen a few people come here thinking that the band is a magic wand where they don't have to do their part to lose weight and that just isn't the case. The lap band will stop the stomach hunger but you still have to control your head hunger and cravings and accept the fact that no matter how great the food is, you will only be able to eat a small amount of it or YOU WILL become sick. And you will not be able to eat your next meal until you are actually hungry...some people just love food way too much to be able to make that sacrafice. The band is not for everyone and the Insurance companies want to make sure you are able to make the band work before they shell out all that cash.

werice55, I just wanted to welcome you to the boards. I really can't help you with the combination insurance deal--I can say that I have United Healthcare and it was a breeze with them.

Welcome KikiM! I really enjoyed your post...you sound like such a fun person. As for the anxiety of surgery, it is truly nowhere near what we build it up to be in our heads. I remember the first surgery I had, I was having nighmares for days leading up to it and was shaking so bad in pre-op they brought me heated blankets thinking I was shivering. But the surgery was not even close to being as bad as I thought. I am not sure your fear will affect your psych evaluation but it is a good place to discuss your anxieties. And make sure your surgeon knows about the special place you keep your appendix so that he/she can account for it.:biggrin: As long a you are ready for it, this is a wonderful tool to lose weight and become healthier. You will still be able to eat alot of those wonderful foods, just in a much smaller quantity. And there may be some foods that you won't be able to tolerate. I wish you luck through this process, it is a big step to take but so very worth it.

At about 20 pounds. Other people noticed before I did (i.e. clothes getting looser etc.) even people who didn't know about the surgery.

I don't eat until I am full. I was told to stop eating when I am satisfied (no longer hungry). And eat again when I am hungry and I have been following that. At first, I measured everything so that I could get a handle on how much food satisfied me yet didn't leave me hungry an hour later. Now I have a handle on it and pretty much know without measuring how much food I should eat. I did overeat at lunchtime once . It felt like a weight on my chest and like the food was getting backed up. I felt uncomfortable all day and was not able to eat until the next morning...something I don't ever want to do again.

I was told that caffeine is a stimulant and can stimulate your appetite. I make caffeine-free iced tea...I can't tell the difference.

My doctor explained the bread thing like this: Take a small piece of bread, ball it up and drop in some Water...what happens? The bread swells. The same thing happens when you eat it, you chew and swallow then it swells in your stomach and gets stuck. Doesn't happen to everyone, I was glad to know that it happens to me because I ate too much bread anyway and can do without those carbs. PB= Productive burping. If you do not eat properly (eat slowly, chew well and stop eating when satisfied) you could "burp the food back up" It is not like your typical throwing up, there is no stomach acid just the food. Sliming= When you don't eat properly the food gets stuck and your body makes excess phlegm to try to dislodge the food, that phlegm can back up into your mouth.

Yeah, I heard that you shouldn't refrigerate them and I wouln't be able to get them down straight, not because of the flavor but because of the consitency. They are pretty good mixed with a similar flavored Crystal Light though.

Welcome Bryan. Not all insurance policies are the same, Aetna does cover the surgery for some policies but not all, it just depends on what Office Depot's policy allows--You will have to look into that. I hope it turns out that you will be covered!!!

No, this is the PCOS board. We have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome which is caused by insuline resistance. Lack of periods is one of the many possible symptoms of this condition (other possible symptoms are ovarian cysts, excess weight, acne, excess body and facial hair,infertility, skin tags to name a few). New research shows the promising idea that the Lap Band can put this condition in remission and I believe it is true.

Two days liquid, two days mushies then slowly introduce solids.

Same for me!

I had my surgery on May 29th, got a period on June 9th and another one on July 6th...do the math that is a 28-day cycle!!! I hadn't had a period in forever before these two. I can't explain the science behind this but I believe...correction: I know that it can happen that quickly for some. My thoughts were that it probably has to do with both the weight loss and the diet; pre-op and post-op for me were very low carb/no processed carbs which of course is best for those of us with PCOS. Just a heads-up: The first one for me was extremely heavy, I guessed that it was my body shedding the buildup after such a long time. I couldn't go anywhere between days 2 and 4 due to the heavy flow. The second one was a little heavy but not nearly as bad.