minpinmom

cool, I love this thread. I have told just about everyone I know about the band, but I think I must be unusual. Everyone has been so supportive, some have described their jealousy at how lucky I am that my insurance will pay for it and I have given out the lapbandtalk website probably 5 times after telling people - they are interested in it too. However, after reading all your replies, I have come up with a GREAT response. Those of you that have told, and people keep asking you how much weight you have lost, tell them, then ask them how much they have lost. Do this every freakin time they ask. I bet after a couple of times they will get the point. I can't wait to try this!

I just got back from the Houston Museum of Natural Science, they has a VIP party for members to view their new CSI exhibit. It was really cool. If you are in the area, you should really go. They had dinner, drinks, deserts and a cash bar. Then we went into our Crime scene - it is a fake crime scene complete with body. You take your pad and paper, take notes and then test your evidence. They had VERY cool hands-on tests and such, they even had an autopsy. Anyways, it was worth going, so much so, we will probably pay to go again to one of the other crime scenes. (3 total). I am hoping tomorrow the Dr.s office will receive my approval, it is amazing how something so freakin simple as a fax is so difficult to do. Hell, if I knew where there office was, I would drive there, get a copy and fax the dang thing myself. Oh well, it was mailed out last Tuesday, it will arrive by snailmail soon enough. I didn't realize how freakin impatient I am, until this.

I just got back from the Houston Museum of Natural Science, they has a VIP party for members to view their new CSI exhibit. It was really cool. If you are in the area, you should really go. They had dinner, drinks, deserts and a cash bar. Then we went into our Crime scene - it is a fake crime scene complete with body. You take your pad and paper, take notes and then test your evidence. They had VERY cool hands-on tests and such, they even had an autopsy. Anyways, it was worth going, so much so, we will probably pay to go again to one of the other crime scenes. (3 total). I am hoping tomorrow the Dr.s office will receive my approval, it is amazing how something so freakin simple as a fax is so difficult to do. Hell, if I knew where there office was, I would drive there, get a copy and fax the dang thing myself. Oh well, it was mailed out last Tuesday, it will arrive by snailmail soon enough. I didn't realize how freakin impatient I am, until this.

I have gone to my seminars and everything and can't for the life of me remember what he requires for post op food stages. Could be I read too much Lapband Talk and swirls my brain :-) I am going to call Monday and get another packet, but a friend of mine is going down town this weekend to hit some health food stores - I wanna go and get some supplies. Anyone know how long his stages are and what the requirements are? Thanks for the help! Oh, and keep your fingers crossed that Monday I get a surgery date.

I am on a pill called Desogen (I am not sure if that is the generic name or what). I have been on it forever and just recently, my Dr. asked if I wanted to have fewer periods - uhm, yeah, so she has me on it "continuously for 3 months at a time. So I skip the white pills the last week and only have periods 4 times a year. From what she was telling me, I believe all bc pills can now be used to this - just a tip for those that want it less and less.

I agree with your post - I was always the nice girl. Luckily, I am married and happy now - the same guys that pulled me to the side to talk to me about their girl problems and how they can't find anyone . . . blah . . . still are looking and looking, and still finding the sleazy girls - amazing how all the sleazy girls are still single, still sleazy and look like Tammy Fae after a long night of partying. :-) I am glad I was the nice girl.

Ugh! These kill me. I have been very lucky, the worst thing my Dr.s office does is assume I weigh a lot less, they slide the scale over, it doesn't move, move it one more notch, nothing, I smile and say thank you, but it needs to go THERE. Then they leave the scale there for the next person to see. I hate that you guys have gone through so much hell. That isn't right.

I have been approved, I have Tricare South. The paperwork went in and the next day it was approved. I am 5'4", 258, no co morbidities. Good Luck!

I am 100lbs over and NO co morbidities - I was approved no problem. I believe you have to have the co morbidities if you are less than 100lbs.

I was lucky enough to "make friends" with a Tricare Rep during the process and she called me to tell me when it finally went through and said to PLEASE tell everyone who has had it this past year to submit for reimbursement, she said it would be on a case by case basis and the same requirements would have to be met. So, I assume that if you qualify for the surgery they will reimburse you the amount that they pay the Dr. (which isn't usually as much as self pay). Let us know how it goes - how awesome for you!

hopefulbndr, I think you should be fine, they go by the Met Life table of recommended weights. For 5'6", 120-130 for a small frame and it goes up, the larger the frame, if you are close, I am sure your dr. will fudge on what "frame" he considers you. http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/met.htm Here is the link, you may want to bring it with you to your appt and have highlighted the"small frame" section :-) maybe your dr. will just go with it :-) I have no real comorbidities. The dr. put that I had Asthma (left out the part that says childhood) and said I have shortness of breath, he asked if I had shortness of breath and I said, no, he said, so you can climb a flight of stairs and not be out of breath, I said OH, hell NO! lol. If you meet the weight, Tricare doesn't care about anything else. You shouldn't have any problems. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions. Wendy@BeldwinKennels.com Goodluck!

As I get closer and closer to being banded, there are so many things that start worrying the mind. I have read on this board so many stories of friends and family members being negative about Lapband. I decided I wanted to write a letter, ok, who the hell writes letters, I want to send an email to my friends and family explaining what is going on. Here is what I have so far, let me know if you think I am giving too much info, or not enough. Well, my 3 year wait is over – I have finally been approved for Lapband surgery. I wanted to send an email to everyone, explaining what the procedure is, what to expect and what not to expect. Feel free to ask any questions. Lapband is an outpatient surgery that places a silicone band around the top part of your stomach. The band is inflated/deflated “a fill” with saline through a “port” that is accessed (by needle) around your belly area. This surgery is completely reversible and has <1% complications. I will be home recovering for about 3 days. My surgeon is Dr. Felix Spiegel. He is the MOST experienced surgeon in the United States; he has done more than 5000 Lapband procedures and is very well respected. I am extremely lucky that he is in my network. People fly in from all over the world to have him perform their surgery and he is right here in Houston. Here is his website if you would like to see his information. http://www.felixspiegelmd.com/index.asp The Lapband is NOT a miracle; it is a TOOL, it allows you to feel full faster and keeps you from eating as much. However, if you don’t follow the rules, you can gain weight on the Lapband, just as without it. The nerves of your stomach are at the very top. So when we eat, you fill your stomach all the way to the top before you feel full. The band will hold the food at the top and have a small opening where the food will slowly disperse into the lower stomach, so not only do you feel full faster, but you stay full longer. For the majority of people, this surgery enables them to loose weight, but it does not work for everyone. Thankfully the band can be removed in minutes in an out-patient procedure if needed. I hope it won’t be needed. When I have the surgery, I will be on liquids while my body is healing and the stomach is swollen from surgery. Once the swelling goes down, I will be able to eat anything for a couple of months. The band will not be inflated, so there won’t be any restriction – Restriction is when the band is inflated and helps hold the food at the top of the stomach. Sometimes it takes 6 fills or more before your restriction is to a point where it helps control your hunger. So there may not be much change in my weight or eating for many months. There are 3 stages of eating following surgery. Liquids Following surgery, the Dr. doesn’t want the stomach to have to process anything. It is freaking out because it has a band around it. The band is stitched into place and after a while it creates a “place” for the band to sit. If you eat solid foods or take huge bites, it could move the band while it is supposed to be healing. Mushy Foods Instead of going from Liquids to solid foods, they have a mushy stage so that your stomach has time to adapt to everything. Also, since you won’t be very hungry following surgery and your stomach is still swollen, this allows you to consume more calories and promote healing. Solid Foods Finally, I will begin introducing normal foods again. Some people have problems tolerating certain foods after surgery, others don’t. Tough meats, nuts, dried fruit, soft breads and pastas are normally the culprits. Once I have proper restriction, you will notice that I won’t be able to eat very much at one time. Usually ½ a cup is normal for a banded person. Because I won’t be eating as much, I will have to eat a lot of Protein. Since I will get full fast, I am supposed to eat Protein first, then everything else. So, for all you people that I go out to eat with all the time – I am going to start eating off your plate! Ha! Also, I will be taking very tiny bites and chewing forever! A couple of other things you may notice, I won’t be able to drink with my meal – that is going to be so odd and I will be taking small bites. This surgery does not cause any type of starvation, malnutrition, or vitamin deficiency. I will be able to eat everything from before; I will just want less of it. The typical banded person eats 1200 calories a day, which is what anyone is supposed to eat. Bad foods, such as fast foods, fried foods, sweets, shakes and such, go right through the band with no problem, so there is always room for failure. This surgery usually results in loosing 70% of your excess weight. I have done so much research on this procedure; I think I could give classes on it. My favorite place to browse is http://www.lapbandtalk.com/index.php this website is devoted completely to Lapband. It is a great place for information. I have started an online Blog to document my experiences. Feel free to check it out. http://lapbandtalk.com/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=936 Hopefully next time I see you guys, I will be happily banded!

As I get closer and closer to being banded, there are so many things that start worrying the mind. I have read on this board so many stories of friends and family members being negative about Lapband. I decided I wanted to write a letter, ok, who the hell writes letters, I want to send an email to my friends and family explaining what is going on. Here is what I have so far, let me know if you think I am giving too much info, or not enough. Well, my 3 year wait is over – I have finally been approved for Lapband surgery. I wanted to send an email to everyone, explaining what the procedure is, what to expect and what not to expect. Feel free to ask any questions. Lapband is an outpatient surgery that places a silicone band around the top part of your stomach. The band is inflated/deflated “a fill” with saline through a “port” that is accessed (by needle) around your belly area. This surgery is completely reversible and has <1% complications. I will be home recovering for about 3 days. My surgeon is Dr. Felix Spiegel. He is the MOST experienced surgeon in the United States; he has done more than 5000 Lapband procedures and is very well respected. I am extremely lucky that he is in my network. People fly in from all over the world to have him perform their surgery and he is right here in Houston. Here is his website if you would like to see his information. http://www.felixspiegelmd.com/index.asp The Lapband is NOT a miracle; it is a TOOL, it allows you to feel full faster and keeps you from eating as much. However, if you don’t follow the rules, you can gain weight on the Lapband, just as without it. The nerves of your stomach are at the very top. So when we eat, you fill your stomach all the way to the top before you feel full. The band will hold the food at the top and have a small opening where the food will slowly disperse into the lower stomach, so not only do you feel full faster, but you stay full longer. For the majority of people, this surgery enables them to loose weight, but it does not work for everyone. Thankfully the band can be removed in minutes in an out-patient procedure if needed. I hope it won’t be needed. When I have the surgery, I will be on liquids while my body is healing and the stomach is swollen from surgery. Once the swelling goes down, I will be able to eat anything for a couple of months. The band will not be inflated, so there won’t be any restriction – Restriction is when the band is inflated and helps hold the food at the top of the stomach. Sometimes it takes 6 fills or more before your restriction is to a point where it helps control your hunger. So there may not be much change in my weight or eating for many months. There are 3 stages of eating following surgery. Liquids Following surgery, the Dr. doesn’t want the stomach to have to process anything. It is freaking out because it has a band around it. The band is stitched into place and after a while it creates a “place” for the band to sit. If you eat solid foods or take huge bites, it could move the band while it is supposed to be healing. Mushy Foods Instead of going from Liquids to solid foods, they have a mushy stage so that your stomach has time to adapt to everything. Also, since you won’t be very hungry following surgery and your stomach is still swollen, this allows you to consume more calories and promote healing. Solid Foods Finally, I will begin introducing normal foods again. Some people have problems tolerating certain foods after surgery, others don’t. Tough meats, nuts, dried fruit, soft breads and pastas are normally the culprits. Once I have proper restriction, you will notice that I won’t be able to eat very much at one time. Usually ½ a cup is normal for a banded person. Because I won’t be eating as much, I will have to eat a lot of Protein. Since I will get full fast, I am supposed to eat Protein first, then everything else. So, for all you people that I go out to eat with all the time – I am going to start eating off your plate! Ha! Also, I will be taking very tiny bites and chewing forever! A couple of other things you may notice, I won’t be able to drink with my meal – that is going to be so odd and I will be taking small bites. This surgery does not cause any type of starvation, malnutrition, or vitamin deficiency. I will be able to eat everything from before; I will just want less of it. The typical banded person eats 1200 calories a day, which is what anyone is supposed to eat. Bad foods, such as fast foods, fried foods, sweets, shakes and such, go right through the band with no problem, so there is always room for failure. This surgery usually results in loosing 70% of your excess weight. I have done so much research on this procedure; I think I could give classes on it. My favorite place to browse is http://www.lapbandtalk.com/index.php this website is devoted completely to Lapband. It is a great place for information. I have started an online Blog to document my experiences. Feel free to check it out. http://lapbandtalk.com/journal.php?do=showjournal&j=936 Hopefully next time I see you guys, I will be happily banded!

Freakin unbelievable. I would like to see what they consider obese. Stupid people

We have an HEB Market here (kind of like a very upscale HEB), they have an entire section of protein powders and bars and such, they had LOTS of samples, I paid 100-225 per sample - and I am glad I did, I have found a couple that I couldn't even finish. Yuck! I have been trying the bars, some are awesome and some, what were they thinking!

I would like to read it too, Googled it and couldn't find it.

I have not been banded yet (hopefully soon), but I had Strep Throat last week, on top of the antibiotics and all, Alka Seltzer Cold and Flu was the ONLY thing that made me feel better, and I started wondering if the bubbles are like carbonation - and if it would be a no-no after surgery. Anyone know?

I can't remember which procedure it was that I had a few months ago - but I remember they said they were "freezing" the bad cells. I was high risk, I had borderline ovarian cancer in 2001, (we didn't know until the tumors/ovaries were removed, thankfully). My procedure wasn't too bad. I didn't take anything for pain, and I would suggest that you do. I cramped so bad during that I couldn't sit still. I bled for about a day and cramped for a few days. I too tested positive for HPV - not a big deal, Dr. said something like 70-80 % of sexually active women have it. My Dr. was telling me all about her staff having lapband during the procedure - she is all for me having it, even gave me a cool measuring tape (the kind for pregnant women) so I could see my progress. Of course my Dr. is 5'5" beautiful and everybit of 100 lbs. Try not to worry about the procedure and it has nothing to do with being banded, You will get you band!

Well, I was so freakin ready to call this morning and see if my Coordinator is back to work from being sick - she was! Yea, thank you for being there today Brandi! The bad news, she still didn't have a hard copy. So, I call Tricare and get a smart ass named Tiffany. Well Tiffany says that they are not allowed to fax to the Dr.s office by request of a patient, it has to be by request of the Dr. I asked her to look up the 29th and check the notes, she said, yes, it shows they were supposed to fax the paperwork. So, still being OH SO diplomatic, say, my Dr.s office has misplaced it, can you have the referral dept refax. She repeats, I am sorry, we can't fax on your request. I say, OK, then fix what was supposed to be done on Tuesday - She puts me on hold for freakin EVER. Comes back and says they are contacting the Dr.s office to get the fax number, mind you, this is the fax number that I GAVE them on Tuesday, and tried to give them again today. But Tricare thinks I have cooties and refuses to take the Fax number from me. She gives me some load of camel crap about they can't fax to a number without the number being given to them by the Dr.s office . . So, I HOPE, beyond hope that the stinkin fax got freakin faxed today! Brandi said as soon as she gets it, she will call. Come on Brandi, pls call tomorrow!

Well, I was so freakin ready to call this morning and see if my Coordinator is back to work from being sick - she was! Yea, thank you for being there today Brandi! The bad news, she still didn't have a hard copy. So, I call Tricare and get a smart ass named Tiffany. Well Tiffany says that they are not allowed to fax to the Dr.s office by request of a patient, it has to be by request of the Dr. I asked her to look up the 29th and check the notes, she said, yes, it shows they were supposed to fax the paperwork. So, still being OH SO diplomatic, say, my Dr.s office has misplaced it, can you have the referral dept refax. She repeats, I am sorry, we can't fax on your request. I say, OK, then fix what was supposed to be done on Tuesday - She puts me on hold for freakin EVER. Comes back and says they are contacting the Dr.s office to get the fax number, mind you, this is the fax number that I GAVE them on Tuesday, and tried to give them again today. But Tricare thinks I have cooties and refuses to take the Fax number from me. She gives me some load of camel crap about they can't fax to a number without the number being given to them by the Dr.s office . . So, I HOPE, beyond hope that the stinkin fax got freakin faxed today! Brandi said as soon as she gets it, she will call. Come on Brandi, pls call tomorrow!

I called my Dr.s office today to make sure they received the referral and to see what I do next, scheduling, pre-op, etc. Brandi, my Patient Coordinator went home sick. Stinkin FLU Bug! Maybe she will be in tomorrow I have my fingers, toes, legs and eyes crossed.

I called my Dr.s office today to make sure they received the referral and to see what I do next, scheduling, pre-op, etc. Brandi, my Patient Coordinator went home sick. Stinkin FLU Bug! Maybe she will be in tomorrow I have my fingers, toes, legs and eyes crossed.

I am 5' 4" and weigh 258 - NO CO MORBIDITIES I did not have to do anything - no psych, no nutritionist, nothing. They sent only a letter from my surgeon stating my stats and saying it was medically necessary. I called my Dr.s office to see if they got the fax and my case mgr went home sick. UGH! Another sleepless night. I can't wait to see when I will be able to have the surgery and start dreaming of PBs and sliming :-) Woo Hoo!

I can't believe it! My Dr.s office said they faxed my paperwork last week, there was nothing in the online referral for me, so on Friday I called Tricare, they said they hadn't received it. So, I had my Dr.s office refax Friday evening. This morning I get up and see that it is in the system pending approval in about 10 minutes, it changed to approved! I called my Dr.s office, and they need it in hard copy - so I called Tricare back and the lady was so awesome, she personally faxed it to the office for me and told me to rock on with my bad skinny self! Hopefully tomorrow I will get to know more about scheduling. I can't freakin wait. I take back all the bad things I ever said or thought about Tricare, they are now the EASIEST insurance for approval. Eagerly awaiting bandland . . .

I can't believe it, I checked the online referral site and sure enough, it is approved! So I called my Dr.s office and they need a hard copy. So I called Tricare and the lovely lady Novel, says it will be faxed to their office by end of day today! Woo Hoo! I am on my way to Bandland