RestlessMonkey

I agree with adagray. If the cut off is a BMI of 40, then ask to be reweighed. I have even known of people who do thinks like carry rolls of quarters in their pockets, weigh with shoes on, and eat like little piggies prior to the weigh in. OH and Water weighs about 1/2 pound per 8 ounces...so drink water just before! Sounds shady but come on, .4 of a BMI as a reason for denial? That's outrageous! Good Luck!

From what I've read Crohn's is a contraindication for lap band surgery, but I am not a surgeon. Your safest bet is to attend a seminar and ask the surgeon.

You can also stretch out your pouch if you drink while eating. If you have food blocking the stoma prior to "trickling on through" and then drink, it can sit up above the blocked hole (just like you can clog a kitchen drain) too much food/fluid means a stretched pouch. I don't drink while I'm eating because it occasionally hurts to do so. It is easier just to wait. My surgeon fortunately though says 15 minutes before, during, and then 15 minutes after eating.

Did you carefully choose the surgery? The issues with Roux - n- Y bypass are different...and honestly it is more invasive (because they reroute your intestines and cut away part of your stomach...) but there is less aftercare... Don't mean to second guess you! Because the surgery is an elective, don't choose it just because the surgeon said so. Do some research and make sure it's what YOU want. You'll be the one living with it, not your doctor! If you're sure, you've researched, and you're ready, then good luck! IF you feel hesitant (maybe I just mis "read" your post) then ... listen to your "gut" and look into both operations more deeply.

You should call your surgeon and follow his direction! Do it now; 8 days is too long to wait. Good luck!

I looked back through some of your old posts and see that you have lost, just very slowly, and that you have PCOS. If you truly are working out and eating right and not losing, then I would think you'd 1. need a good physical to see if you have thyroid issues 2. see if you need medication to help with your PCOS, and then armed with that info 3. meet with a GOOD nutritionist. I don't think it matters at all whether you failed the band or vice versa. You just need some intervention. And honestly, at least you DID lose 9 pounds with WW. So, you can lose. Just a little tweaking might get that 9 pounds to 16 which is 1 pound a week (the low end of average lap band weekly loss). Call your doc, and then your nutritionist. And FYI I don't think eating "low carb" can screw up your sytem. It's more likely that having PCOS you are more insulin resistant and lose better (as do many many people) with a low carb, low fat, high Protein diet. Why not try that again if it worked for you before? Either way a nutritionist can help you.

The "exclusion" isn't usually driven by the insurance company, but rather by the purchaser of the insurance, uour employer. In other words, in order to cut the cost of the insurance (and it is staggering) some companies exclude certain services (like psychiatric outpatient treatments, and weight loss surgeries, for two examples) To know what your company may be planning, you need to ask your HR department.

I hope you can tell I answered your questions ...up there in the "blue" area. :tt2: I'm really worried about your surgeon...i hope they just meant 84 minutes for the surgery itself (it usually takes 45 min to an hour)

Your safest course is to ask your surgeon when it's safe. he'll know for sure.

I love Dr. Cavazos, he's at Texas Bariatric and head of bariatrics at Northeast Baptist Hospital. If you aren't sure about Dr. Patel, check out Dr. C. He's really a wonderful guy, and his staff is marvelous, too.

Why do you HAVE to wear it in order to have the surgery? I know that many insurance companies who require co-morbidities before they will approve lap band surgery consider sleep apnea as a co-morb., but I never heard that you must treat it before they will approve operation. Does your surgeon require it? My surgeon was going to have me tested and I told him I sleep fine but that even if I didn't I would never wear the mask thing (personal issues, my mom died of emphysema) and he said ok and didn't require the test. ?? If your apnea is caused by obesity (and many, but not all, cases of apnea ARE tied to obesity) then losing will "cure" it. So, I'm puzzled. Anyway people I know (from chat boards) who do have the machines say getting the correct mask is VITAL. If you have to have it, maybe you need a different mask. Good luck. I feel your pain!

I agree, it depends on the requirements of your insurance. Insurance is the BEST place to start this journey; not all policies cover lap band surgery. Once you see if your ins. covers, and see if you need a physician referral, then your next step (after getting a referral letter if required, or skipping the PCP referral if it isn't) will be to attend a seminar. Most surgeons and/or centers advise patients attend a seminar BEFORE the meeting with the surgeon.

My first fill agitated my port a little. Where is your port? If it's on the left that's probably what it is and it will go away. HOWEVER with any pain, if it is bad enough for you to ask about it, you are safest to call your surgeon!

It IS really individual and I don't think we can give you the answers you need! :eek: I am 54, way fat, and had my surgery on Friday. By that next tuesday I was essentially back to "normal" for me (not as active as your normal, though!) You may be one of the unlucky ones that has severe pain, you may be like me and just use tylenol for a day or two and then not need it any more. May I suggest planning on 2 weeks? That way if you NEED the help it will be in place. If you don't, as you say, you can always step in and take back over. Wanting the kiddos back can truthfully aid in your recovery (part of it is mental) . Good luck to you!

I thought that "ache" was just soreness and gas. If I breathed deeply more than once or twice in a row it got better. SO I breathed deeply often (good for your lungs too) and by the end of the day it didn't hurt any more. I guess you could say the band is tight, but more importantly it is tight because you are swollen inside from the surgery. That will go down pretty fast so try to be calm, take your pain meds, breathe deep because it IS good for you. Walking will help, too. Anything you can do to get you and your body "back to normal" will help you feel better faster! :eek:

I can tell you it works because...I didn't follow my physician's diet for the 3 weeks he had me on it. I lost 15 pounds but I did a more low cal thing. I came to in recovery without the band because he couldn't place it...my liver was too thick. I 'fessed up to him, I followed his diet PERFECTLY for 2 1/2 weeks, and got the band successfully on try #2. I don't get any feeling that my doc is punitive or trying to torture me; I hope you were just exaggerating to make it funny. If you really think you're being punished you need to find a new doc or maybe rethink the band, because it will severely restrict what you can eat! And I don't know about anyone else but I don't get "used to starving". If that worked, I'd be thin as a rail, from all the diets I've been on in the past.

You need to tell your doctor what you did; he needs to be informed so he can decide if you need to be tested or if it is just lack of restriction. He's not your mommy LOL so if he fusses he can just get over it; he's your doctor and needs the truth. Odds are it'll be ok; but let him know.

Are you sure they aren't referring to bypass surgery? Either way, you can prove them wrong! Welcome!

Cobra must be the exact same coverage, at the cost (plus a small handling fee, usually aroumnd 2%) your employer paid in full for you. (so anything they used to kick in to cover you, they don't any more). It is usually horridly expensive and you may find it cheaper to just pay for the fills out of pocket (just a warning) At any rate, if insurance, while you were employed, covered the fills, then the cobra coverage you pay for will cover the fills (at least unless or until they change insurance companies, which places can do usually once a year)

Aftercare is vital for the band to work. I don't know if it's possible to have success using the band without at least a place to do fills and unfills. Without that, you just have a pricey piece of plastic inside.

If you follow this link: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f178/surgery-day-stories-64287/ You'll find literally PAGES of people giving their "surgery day stories". Short of actually having the procedure, that should give you a good idea! :mad2:

Another vote for wait. It's not a race, and you'll be better set to succeed once you get the wedding behind you (you do have to work with the band, and that takes some time and energy to get used to!) I recovered VERY fast from my surgery (had it on friday, back to school where I'm a student on tuesday, no pain meds, no issues) and I still wouldn't have wanted to have anything big just 2 weeks post op. Give your wedding and "new life together" all your attention...then once you are married and settled into a routine (which can be quick...depending on your relationship etc) THEN get the band. Give yourself an opportunity to "enjoy" both things, if that makes sense?

I've honestly never ever heard of a vitamin to control a craving for sweets and that isn't just a "lap band" problem, either. I wish there were such a thing! However I was told I would have to take a good multi vitamin for the rest of my life (even people without a band are often advised to take a good multi...to be safe) So while vitamins don't really work for "sweet" cravings (or else diabetics and many many overweight people would be taking them already!) a good multi is a good idea.

Not ALL ulcers are caused by H. Pylorii. I suggest you go back to your doc; there are other tests they can do....you may need an unfill so they can get a scope in there, but once you're cleared you can get it back. If you have burning etc don't put it off; it's possible it's something that you can fix easily now but if left untended will become huge. :blushing:

There are so many side effects and long term ill effects with bypass. I know it's a godsend for some and I think that's great; but even though my loss has been very slow with the band I STILL would rather have it than bypass. In fact I would never have WLS if bypass were my only option. Considering that 3 years post op the average weight loss is comparable between the two surgeries, to me it's a no brainer. If my surgeon had tried to push bypass on me, I'd have gone elsewhere. (not being dramatic either, it's just the truth) Even my PCP said to get the lap band, not bypass. So I'm a band baby all the way.