ppqjones

Hi, I have been lurking & reading for a few days thought i would say hello. I am just now starting my journey into hopefully having a band to sleeve conversion. I have my appointment Fri afternoon. I am anxious, nervous & scared of being rejected by Dr & insurance. I never realized that the daily constant vomiting wasn't supposed to happen. The fact I couldn't eat until well after 2pm daily was just now that a fact of life. & many more stories that have already been shared. It's refreshing to know it wasn't necessarily me that failed with the Band, but the band that failed to hold up its end of the bargain. Long story short I have since Dec had bad ulcers, have had iron levels drop & now B12 levels drop & was so irritated trying to take iron supplements I couldn't keep water down & had to have my band drained completely. I've had 2 fills since then & am only 1/2 cc away from my pre empty spot I do not want to live like I was, that wasn't living. So thank you to all who have shared their stories, you have given me the courage to talk with my Dr about a conversion. (Something he suggested about a month ago & I was too terrified to even consider it). I have already called our patient advocate & asked about what will be required, as long as the Dr will state a necessity it shouldn't be an issue! Fingers crossed I'm ready to evict this annoying room mate I've allowed to control my life since 2007! :-) thanks for taking the time to read

The band is gone!!! Had the removal Wed & feeling pretty groovy today. Now Ono the battle with the insurance company to approve the next step. They have already told me the next step would be denied because I get one lifetime treatment & removing the band they consider a bariatric treatment. Good thing my work is self insured then my patient advocate can take it to the board & fight for them to over ride the insurance carrier who does all our payments. One step at a time. I'm still a bit afraid to eat because its been the norm to not be able to eat until a certain time etc... I hope everyone is doing well

SUPER EXCITED!!! I was called Thursday by my insurance company advising they have approved removal of my band! I will be calling the Dr office Monday to set an appointment to talk things through & hopefully schedule a date for evicting my band! I will have to appeal the conversion because they have already said it will be denied, I've talked with our patient advocate at work & she is on my side & we will petition the board to cover the procedure. (My employer is self insured so even when Humana denies the sleeve, the board can over-ride them & tell them to pay). I'm hoping by the end of this year I will be sleeved, & on a new road to health. I hope everyone is doing well on their journeys.

Sorry it's been a bit. Now we move on to check for pouch dilation or slippage. We will see aft the upper GI. I'll update again later not giving up just yet

Feeling a little defeated yet challenged....my EGD didn't show much in the way of ulcers or GERD today. My Dr did take a biopsy of something that was concerning to him so will have those results next week sometime. I feel defeated because to get this thing out of me I will have to get more fill & allow myself to be sick at every meal to damage my esophagus again. But I guess I'll do what I have to do.....

I am in a similar situation. I am awaiting my EGD this week then will be submitted for removal either for medical reasons or intolerance which ever path best fits. Then hoping my ins will approve revision even though my BMI is only 35 now without any co-factors. If not ill see what I can do for self pay. And if that doesn't work I'll start all over I refuse to give up at the first "no". Good luck & keep pushing for your health!

Kami my fear comes in after I get the band removed getting approval for the sleeve since myBMI isn't high enough. I know I won't give up but it's a bit scary thinking in advance!

Lap2band I am scared too, but after reading so many stories of people suffering the same that I have I'm ready to evict my band. I admit the theory of it was fabulous, & of course there weren't the 6-7 years post op to have the stats. I am very scared that I will balloon back to my highest of 278 (& probably higher) because the band will be gone. For me to lose at this point I have to not eat at all & I can drop below 200. I prefer to not do this, for obvious reasons. Thank you for the continued support & prayers they are much appreciated!

Well to update my Dr is all for eviction & he is going for the reflux/GERD as the necessity part first. I have an EGD next week then we battle with the insurance company. My biggest fear is that I am not going to show symptoms of ulcers because my band was emptied at the end of Jan & I'm not yet to my point of constant daily vomiting. Short of it, if insurance denies the medical necessity for removal we will go with an intolerance route. The next battle will be to get the conversion approved. My BMI is around 35 so I'm no longer in the morbid obesity category. And thankfully I have no other issues. I'll pray for the best outcome & if I have to go self pay ill cross that bridge when I get to it. I do not want to get back to my pre-band weight just to get approval :-( Good luck to all of you on your journey! We all have to stay as positive as we can....we will make it through!

Thank you all for your kind words! I will be in the Dr office in less than 15 hours! :-)

Thank you both! I am so comfortable here already it has been refreshing! Thanks for the iron info I will def look into it!

Don't worry about the binging, (I don't know for sure how to spell it without looking either) if you do and you have restriction you will be miserable and you will tell yourself you will never want to feel that way again. But there will be more times if you aren't careful. What frustrates me is there are days I can eat bread and other days I can't. So if I want to eat a 1/2 of a sandwich I do, some days it works and some days I'm in severe pain until I can get it up. Not knowing until i take that first bite is frustrating. For the most part I avoid bread because it is one of those things that trigger PBing for me, but I am and always will be a bread lover! Anyway I got off track! :tongue_smilie: If you ever get to a point where you can't get water down without it coming back up you may be too restricted, I've never expereienced this but you will know from what I've read. How are you feeling now after you got off of the soft foods?

I read the post you referenced, I can only speak from my own experience, the first few fills I felt the same as most people like there was no restriction but once I received a fill where I felt the restriction, I knew it when it was time for another one. Any of the fills I had after the first few I could feel a difference immediately, again speaking strictly from my own experiences. I just re-read your post, you are at 7-8 weeks post op and have 10cc's already with 1-2 being filled each visit? When did you receive your first fill (at which week post op?) Just doing the math if you got your first fill at 4 weeks post op, that sounds like alot to be up to 10cc's already (no insult intended just my line of thought) :thumbdown:

Hi, to start congrats on your journey! I have the AP large 14cc band which was put in place 11-28-07 I too was getting a fill every visit for my first few visits (only up to 1cc, the PA was very conservative about fills). I have a total of a little over 8cc's now and have been at that amount since around June of 08. Once you find your sweet spot you will stay in that range. I didn't even get my first fill for 4-5 weeks after my surgery, hang in there you will find your spot.

Hi, I was banded 11.28.2007, I have lost 83 pounds so far, 55 more to go! I have had a rough year and have decided it's time to get back to the basics. I moved 1,000 miles away from my surgeon and my PA (I loved her she was straight up!) So anyway glad I found this site! Looking forward to getting back on track. Kristal

Hi, I was banded 11.28.2007 good luck with everything! I too was up and walking within 30 mins to an hour after surgery (this was a requirement....not an option) :thumbdown: and I was home by 5:00 that night. (I was banded in TX) The PBing you will experience if you do not eat the right foods or if as mentioned above you eat too much, eat too fast etc. It is different for everyone! Even after being banded for 1 year and 7 months there are days that I PB because I haven't listened to my body. Once you get past the liquid phase and start on your soft foods start noticing how your body is reacting and start listening to your body. You will thank yourself in the end. That being said do no let this worry you, and if you have any questions please feel free to drop a line, I'm still trying to figure this site out though :laugh: Kristal 278Pre/195C/140G