Lady Lap Band

I am in the process of all my pre surgical tests....the doctors have not really talked about fills but I am curious so here are the questions I have if anyone has any answers! Is your band empty when you come out of surgery? How long do you wait before your first and in between fills? How much saline does the band hold? Does anyone have a full band? If you ask your doctor to be aggressive with the amount he puts in your band for optimal weight loss will he/she? Can you request a fill or does the doctor have to advise it? Anything else you want to tell me please do and thank you!

You know, you are right. If you are not willing to make a life change and eat different food. The lap band will not help you much. It will just keep you from gaining as much weight has you would without it. Even if you had bypass...you can still eat the wrong things and not loose as much weight and you can gain weight with by pass to, i watched a relative do it.

This is how my Doctor explained it.... Its like a tri pod effect. All of us have been on diets forever, we do the regular diet and exercise which statistics show most people loose about 15-20 pounds which later returns. He said diet and exercise are crucial to the success of the band, but without all 3 components, the tripod will fall over. When I went to my seminar one woman said, "You said that if we get the Lap Band removed, that all of our weight will be gained back" and she asked why. He then said that is because the band is actually doing something. When I went for my consult they explained what the band actually does. It creates a very small stomach which in turn can only hold a small amount of food. The band itself is inflated with saline to create the passage way for the food to leave your small pouch pretty narrow which makes the food stay in your stomach longer creating a sense of fullness longer. Which makes you less apt to eat more. No I am just a beginer here so if someone else can add to what i said or can clafiy anything feel free!

Hey I Live in Tyngsboro and work in Lowell I have just begun and am looking at a surgery date sometimes in the Spring. I love to chit chat send me a message if you ever need to talk!

Hey JoJo! I am from MA also. I have just started my journey but it looks like my surgery will be sometime in the spring. I know it was a while ago you posted this..how is the process going for you?

I know I want to go so badly but I work nights! My schedule will be changing soon so hopeflly I can make it to the one in January! :laugh:

Oh and I just found out that I will have a new Doctor at Lahey Clinic seeing he will have the most availability..... Dr. Lelan Sillin

Hey! My name is Breanne! I will be having my surgery at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA sometime in the near future! I'm 5ft 5in and and currently 250. I have been accepted as a patient and have begun my journey to being banded!

I had my consult yesterday and the Nurse Practitionar sad that this surgery is very similar to surgery on you gall bladder.She said that if you dont want anyone to know, then tell them ou are having abdominal surgury and if they persist, you could tell them gall bladder if you want. It's really no ones business unles you want it to be....I am not telling anyone because i can just hear the negative remarks now..:wink2:

I'm starting to feel better, my consult got bumped to today - yay! Instead of 2/10 and I called my Hubby to tell him and he seemed sincerely happy for me which was nice!

Suzanne! Thanks for your response! I just wanted to tell you that you are living my dream! I weigh 250 and my goal is to be 135 someday and you are so close to that! Seeing how well you are doing just gives me hope! Thank you!

That definetly all makes perfect sense. I am sure that the insurance company will be specific. I will call the weigh loss center tomorrow and ask them to help me get started. I am seeing a new PCP for a physical on 12/31 and hopefully I can work out something to get it to be my first one. Thanks again!

Your 15 minutes and 15-20 after sound more doable to me. But I will try the 30min and 1hour. Hey Jenny you live in Springfield? I live in Tyngsboro, MA it's right near Lowell. That is too cool that we are so close! Have you been banded yet?

That definetly helps, thanks! Have you been successful at doing it? It sounds like it would be hard getting use to.

yay! That is so exciting!

Wanted to know if anyone else was told they would have to /should do this once they have the surgery.... No drinking 30 minutes prior to eating, during eating, or 1 hour after eating.... They said if you do, it liquifies the food more quickly and it leaves your stomach faster causes you to become hungry sooner.

I went to the Doctors in November, it was technically for a sick visit because of my cronic headaches but we discussed my weight as being one of the problems and they weighed me at 250. They also set me an appointment with a Nutrionist that very day. At the time I did not have a PCP and just saw another General Internal Medicine Doctor. I have a physical appointment with my new PCP on 12/31 and at that time plan to tell her of my lap band plan. I know I am going to have to do a 6 month PCP diet and weigh in, but my question is...do you think that my appointment in November and my one in December will count as 2 months or do you think my one in December will be counted as number one? Or perhaps neither will count? I am just so eagar to get the ball rolling and am really hoping that at least one of these visits will count? What do you think? Oh and please tell me about your experience if you had to go through a 6 month PCP diet. THANK YOU!

Go to Lapband.com and find a seminar near you, they are mandatory and are really the first step in starting the whole process. They are great, and will tell you everything you want/need to know. The team at your hospital will tell you everything you need to do after that. They are usually great with walking you through everything! Good Luck!

Just came back from my seminar in Burlington MA at Lahey Clinic with Dr. Nepomnayshy! It was fantastic and incredibly informative. Only thing that was a bit discouraging to me is that they list Aetna (my insurance) as one that may be difficult to get coverage from. However, I called Aetna and they did tell me that my plan says that they would cover up to 90% so long as I meet their requirments. Deep breath lol I'm also discouraged because my loved ones are not all that supportive. I have decided to only tell my parents and husband. None of them object, but no one is enthusiastic for me either and it's rather depressing. I'm so unhappy at the weight I am, all I want to do is to be happy, I thought that they would want that too, but no one seems to. :wink_smile: Anyone else have any similar situations? I could really use some encouragement. Thanks! Breanne Seminar 12/8/08

Hey Cali! Good Luck with your surgery! I'm so excited for you! I am attending the seminar tomorrow! I have aetna so they will cover up to 90% but I don't know how long it will take to get approved! please keep me updated on your success! We are about the same age so I can't wait to see how well you do! Breanne:smile2: bprimeau@verizon.net

I have decided to only tell my Husband, Mom and Dad. I live with my mom and dad right now so that would be impossible not to tell them. There are a couple other people I would like to tell but I don't trust that they won't tell someone else. I don't think I would like te constant questions about how the whole thing works. I am just a very private person. I like to keep what I do to myself. Perhaps years down the road when I have reached my goal I will tell, but I can make that decision then! Breanne:smile2:

My Seminar is tomorrow night at Lahey Clinic in Burlington MA. I was hoping that those of you who have been through a seminar could tell me about your experience. I have no idea what to expect but I am very very excited! Also, if you have already been banded I would be very interested to know what kind of weightloss success you have had! Thank you everyone!:thumbup:

Hi There, I am with you, I am going to keep it very very private. The only ones who will know are my husband and my mom and dad. I get 2 weeks vacation so I plan to begin my vacation on the day of the surgery and try to not even let anyone know that I am having surgery at all. Breanne 12/8/08 - Seminar at Lahey Clinic

I called Aetna and they said they cover 90% if the Lap Band so long as you meet the following criteria: Selection criteria: Presence of severe obesity that has persisted for at least the last 2 years, defined as any of the following: Body mass index (BMI)* exceeding 40; or BMI* greater than 35 in conjunction with any of the following severe co-morbidities: Coronary heart disease; or Type 2 diabetes mellitus; or Clinically significant obstructive sleep apnea (i.e., patient meets the criteria for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea set forth in Aetna CPB 004 - Obstructive Sleep Apnea); or Medically refractory hypertension (blood pressure greater than 140 mmHg systolic and/or 90 mmHg diastolic despite optimal medical management); and [*]Member has completed growth (18 years of age or documentation of completion of bone growth); and [*]Member has attempted weight loss in the past without successful long-term weight reduction; and [*]Member must meet either criterion 1 (physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program) or criterion 2 (multidisciplinary surgical preparatory regimen): Physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program: Member has participated in physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program (including dietician consultation, low calorie diet, increased physical activity, and behavioral modification), documented in the medical record at each visit. This physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program must meet all of the following criteria: I am curious to see who has been approved by Aetna. If you have or have not, what is your height, weight, and bmi? THANK YOU! Nutrition and exercise program must be supervised and monitored by a physician working in cooperation with dieticians and/or nutritionists; and Nutrition and exercise program(s) must be for a cumulative total of 6 months or longer in duration and occur within 2 years prior to surgery, with participation in one program of at least three consecutive months. (Precertification may be made prior to completion of nutrition and exercise program as long as a cumulative of six months participation in nutrition and exercise program(s) will be completed prior to the date of surgery.); and Member's participation in a physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program must be documented in the medical record by an attending physician who supervised the member's participation. The nutrition and exercise program may be administered as part of the surgical preparative regimen, and participation in the nutrition and exercise program may be supervised by the surgeon who will perform the surgery or by some other physician. Note: A physician's summary letter is not sufficient documentation. Documentation should include medical records of physician's contemporaneous assessment of patient's progress throughout the course of the nutrition and exercise program. For members who participate in a physician-administered nutrition and exercise program (e.g., MediFast, OptiFast), program records documenting the member's participation and progress may substitute for physician medical records

I am so excited for you!!!!!! :cool: