BayougirlMrsS

LOL.... i hope yours is not as self-centered as mine. I did what i wanted to do and have never re-grated one moment. Lapband was my saving grace. So now i have a 8000k tummy tuck to pay for.... but i don't care.....

Glad to hear that you have taking steps to educate your self. I was lucky in that my friend had her surgery a year before me and she was my sounding board. In fact her girlfriend had her LB the same day as me. Now we all have the same doctor. At the time he only choose 4 people per month to do the surgery on. He could have done more, but he only chose the ones he deemed "ready" for the life long commitment. I'm so glad he chose me.... I worry about the "clinics". I don't feel they do enough education and almost seems like they are just in it for the money..... moving people in and out like cattle. I would also double check with your insurance about your coverage. 50% does not seem right. They may be doing a little sneakiness to get more money. For example: if the national trend is LB at say.... $30,000..... but your doctor charges $40.... then the doctor has to eat or write off the $10... no covered. They maybe not wanting to "write off" the extra.... just check.

This is true.... i use to work in Insurance and it all depends on the company you work for and the "options" they chose to cover. Don't mean to be a "Debbie-downer" I'm just more worried about the swiftness of your surgery. did you have to do a psych exam? cardio? ... how much counseling did they do? how much are you prepared for the life long commitment?

my husband didn't want me to have the surgery. during one of our Many arguments he said..... you losing weight was the worst thing that ever happen to us.... this is because my "attitude" has changed... or so he says. I tell him ... well hell yes my attitude has changed.... i lost 80some pounds..... Now he is dealing with the Tummy Tuck after math....lol Which by the way.. i'm sooooo happy i did. That i had to pay myself. He is not helping me with it. Well i say that but he did give me $500. He is just so scared i will leave. i told him if he keeps his crap up.... i will, but it won't be because of the weight loss it will be because of him.

I also had UHC.... They paid at 80%. Plus all of my pre op was co pays... 20buck. If i may make a suggestion..... I just recently had my Tummy Tuck and was also going to finance thru Care Credit.... at like 20-some-% interest.... Crazy... So i went to Chase bank and got the Slate card that i got with a 8000 limit at 0% interest for 15 months... my monthly note is 80bucks.....so i'm paying 200 to knock it down faster..... if i don't have it paid by the 13th month i'm going to put the remainder on my discover card at 0% interest till i pay it off. This worked out better for me than pay for the finance charges and ALL that interest.... So if all goes as planed.... i will have paid ... no interest or finance charges.... AT ALL. Good luck to both of you....

41 when i started, nov. 09'. 223lbs.... 5'2.5" first year i lost 60, second 20 and in the last 4 weeks 5lbs. Discouraged at first because i was a slow loser. But, then i learned that i had to work with my band and not against it. I watch what i eat, i stay away from bread, rice and other bads. I do still struggle with cravings. That is one thing, the band does not take away the cravings. I exercised 3-4 days a week. Started with Zumba at the ymca and then branched out to Body combat, and body pump. Started amping up my walking and elliptical. At first i could only do like 10-15 min on the treadmill and 5 on the elliptical..... but i'm now at 45 walking and 45 elliptical..... I started at a size 18/20 pants and xxlg shirt.... now i'm at a size 6 and a md/lg shirt. I recently had a Tummy Tuck..... so happy with it. All of my surgeries destroyed my stomach (2 c-sections, hysterectomy, gallbladder and LB), i had the apron. I asked the PS if i need arms, legs, back done as well, but he said i did great and that it was a blessing that i lost slow and that i exercised. Makes a big difference when you exercise when it comes to skin and muscle.... just saying. Good luck

No.... i'm sure you are fine. I have given up soooo many things in this journey.... but my Mt. Dew will not be one of them. I buy the 8oz can and sip on that one can.... ALL DAY. It's my limit.... I spoke with my dr. and he said that was fine.

i should own stock in that cheese..... i eat them from breakfast and snack with these crackers. Sams club or Whole foods has them.... They are sooo goooooddddd.

Omg.... my husband has been telling me the same thing from the get go.... then when i get skinny i was going to find another man..... i told him if i wanted another man i could have had many already even at 223lbs. That normally shuts him up for a while. A while back he said... how much more weight are you going to lose.... I said, i don't know why. He said, cuz your starting to look like a bag of bones... INSERT KNIFE IN HEART... Now that i had the tummy tuck... He's been hitting the gym even harder. So this is my theory.... Now that we have lost or losing the fat.... they are pissed that they are not getting the attention anymore.... and for years they have counted on we as "fat" girls have self esteem problems and they know that we would not feel comfortable with other men.... but now that they see other men looking at us and complimenting us..... THEY ARE SCARED.... Scared that we will leave. The other night one of our "biker" guy friend told him...(i over heard) Damn Jim... Chris sure is look fine.... He turned white and his expression was one of fear... Of course he said, yes she is.... but that was all he said.

another suggestion...... buy good quality chocolate. and if you can by the bar so you can break one square and pick the rest up.

Do some over head lifts and arm exercises... that will help. I started my weight loss at 41 and lost slowly... (85lb). My arms and legs did great... my stomach on the other hand didn't.... so 4 weeks ago tomorrow i had my tummy tuck.... When i went for my consult he looked at my arms, legs and back and said.... you don't need any thing done here. Breast reduction and lift ... next. Good luck

B-52 is correct..... if you can eat as much as you want, you need a fill. Then you have to monitor HOW YOUR EATING. Are you truly chewing till it's minced in your mouth? Are you putting your fork/spoon down after each and every bite? Are you paying attention and not watching tv, reading, or talking? Are you drinking with your meal or are you waiting your full 30 minutes? In my opinion.... the band does fail to work.... WE FAIL TO WORK OUR BAND....

Shap..... just an FYI... we all put on a "pretty face"... but deep down inside... confidence is all but gone. curves are great... that's why im happy being the weight i am. But "fluffy" girls...who say they are happy being Big.... are not being honest with their selves... You are not alone in the fact that you like curves..... i have many guy friends that love a fluffier girl. By the way.... when i was bigger i hated being called fat, large....so i started calling my self ... fluffy....lol

don't despair.... Vickie..... according to mine... i look like a bag of bones.... and my face is looking sunk in and he tells me he can see my Wrinkles.

I think most of the men in a relationship with "fluffy" girls like the insecurity that we have/had. As the weight goes down the confidence goes up and they have a hard time dealing with it. My husband has been married to three different women in our marriage... when we first got married i was a size 0... weighted 100lbs. then thru the years as my weight got out of control... i think he liked being the attention grabber (he is 6'4" and works out everyday). Now that i'm down to 139.... and men and women...lol are Hitting on me and complimenting me... he's feeling more insecure. He asked me one day... how much more weight are you going to lose? I said, i don't know, why? he said, cuz your starting to look like a bag of bones. So, i lost 10 more pounds and got a Tummy Tuck....hehehe

The band never makes the cravings go away.....it just stops you from eating a dozen of the Cadbury eggs.... down to one.... lol Don't deny your self.... simply adjust your way of eating that temptation. Candy still calls my name too... When i have to have .... i do exactly like Rachel above. My co worker freak that i can make a small bag of M&M's last a week or two. I take one M&M and put it in my mouth and just let it melt and savor it.... then i'm good. Good luck.....

When this "new" doctor pulled up to check what i had in my band it only showed 10cc and not 10.9....... So he put the 10cc back in Plus .5cc. So that had me at 10.5cc in the band. So he thought... the next day when i went back because i knew something was not right..... he pulled up to check again and again.... 10cc... We still don't know what happened to the .5cc he "thought" he put in the day before. At that time he put in .5cc and i defiantly felt the difference. But what pissed me off was the fact that i had to pay another $85. the "office manager" said, we don't know what happened so we are just charging you for the office visit.... i was like.... what a minute, why should i have to pay for your mistake. she is such a "B"..... i told her that too....... i was beyond mad... But now i have 0cc in my band because of the tummy tuck. The PS removes all the fill due to the swelling of the stomach area. So i have to go back to my LB doctor and have him put my fill back in and pay $150. But i'm glad i fought to not have to pay $235 anymore.

My PS also uses.... no drains. I heard that the drains are very painful. And no staples, staples some times cause infection. I stayed one night in the hospital with a Morphine pump. went home with Percocet and lovanox injections that i had to get twice a day to prevent blood clots. I would say most of the "discomfort" was from the LIPO. He removed about 2-3lbs of skin and 1 liter of fat with LIPO. The pain was no more than my C-Sections.

Tomorrow will be my 3 weeks since having my TT. I'm being honest when i say, my pain was not bad at all. The worse part was the first two day when you still have that cough from being put to sleep. It hurt to cough with the incision.... after that i pretty much stopped taking pain meds and was pretty good too go. I made my self walk. Took the dog down the block. had to catch my breath a few times.... but it was for the best. Now what bothers me most is this compression garment. I have to wear it all the time. I can only take it off to shower. My dr. closed the incision from the inside and glued the outside. I will try and put more pics up. I have my TT pictures only viewed by friends... if you want to see.... send me a friend request. On another note, if i would have know then what i know now.... i would have had my breast reduction and lift at the same time. I was really expecting more pain with the TT... My breast have gone from a 44H to a 36FF. and recovery, i could have been back at work in 10 days, but we had Mardi Gras holiday so i got an extra two days off. was able to drive at one week. Surgery on Feb. 15, back to work Feb. 27.

I had my LB 11/10/2009 and got laid off from my job 11/16/2009 on the day i returned from surgery.... So I lost my insurance. Thanks God my surgery was covered and one years fellow ups... up to 7 fills. Skip ahead to seven months after and now i'm self pay..... my surgeon charges $235 per fill. So i paid for a fill in July 2010 and then waited till Nov. to get another. Went one year with out going back. Last appointment 12/2011. total weight loss .... 80lbs. 14cc band and with all the my visits and my calculations i should have 10.9cc in my band. My doctor has acquired a new doctor in his office and i saw him that day for the first time. Not a good experiences. Never Never had pain while getting a fill.... but this time... hurt like hell. He stick the needle in and because i had not been in in over a year he pulls every thing out to see what i have.....pulls up .... 10cc. I'm like what the hell happened to my .9cc. he said it sometime evaporates. OH OK. didn't know that. So he puts in .5cc at a charge of $235. Wen home and i knew something was not right... i was STARVING... and could eat solids. so i called him back and went back in the next day. he pulls up 10CC.... WHERE IS MY .5CC that you put in yesterday? He said... I don't know.... but that will be $85..... WAIT.... WHAT...you are charging me again? so after multiply rants and Bi@ch fests..... and me telling him he was wrong and that he is raping people that are self pay for fill.... I WON...... He has now changed his fill price too...... $150. To all of my Dr.'s self pay patients...... your welcome.

i too was a slow loser..... two years to lose 80lbs... well now 84 after the TT. I also, only lost 63lbs in the first year. the remainder came last year. I too wanted to lose 100lb in a year, but now im glad i didn't. Losing the weight slower meant my skin went back better. My PS said that besides my apron, my arms, legs and back has gone back great. He did do a little lipo on my sides, back, hips.... but it was for contouring. Good luck in your next years.... and if you haven't already... get to the gym. It will help. I started with Zumba...

Didxo..... this question has been asked many time over the years and the "majority" of us will say the same thing..... YES!! it was worth it and YES!! my expectations were EXCEEDED.... But like the above have already said...there is a lot to go along with getting banded. You will have to break up with food. Most of us will say that was a hard hurdle to jump. Not turning to food for sadness, happiness, anger, love.... etc. You will have to make time for you to exercise, you have to make sure your hubby is on board. Lost of marriages don't survive ones new found confidence and attention....... we have some people that come on and will tell you ..... they never watched what the ate and never exercised and still lost.... well ok. But for most of us it was hard work. So like Toddy said.... if your head and heart are in the right places... then continue your research and make the best decision for you and your family. And i say your family because they are a big part of this journey.... I understand the money part, i just recently had my Tummy Tuck that i had to pay out of pocket. Went back and forth with the same.... but then i thought. My kids are grown, i have worked all my life (most of the time more than one job at a time)... plus being wife, mom, housekeeper, cook, driver,.... etc.. I deserve this....I'm so glad i did it... good luck

Wait... I just had my tummy tuck two weeks ago. the muscles will be stretched and will be a waist of your time to do the tummy tuck or anything now.... But that's just me. How old are you? You may also want to got for a check up with your GYN to make sure everything is good for you to be able to have kids. congrats on the Amazing weight loss

got banded with my 14cc band nov. 09'... went for fills like i should have and last Dec. 11' i went for a fill. Felt like i really needed it. I asked.... how much do i have in "tina" aka my band..... he said you should have 10.9.... i was like ok, that's what i thought also. He stick in the needle and pulls out 10cc......im like .... were did my .9 go. he said some time over the years it evaporates.... i was like .. Really. So he put in .5cc.... now i'm back up to 10.5cc right.... wrong. Went back the next day because i felt no difference and in fact was very hungry. so he stick in and pulls out......10cc.....What? what the hell is going on.... he said... I don't know so he put in .5 again. Two months later Feb 15, 2012 i have my Tummy tuck and guess what.... they have to pull it all out... so now i'm back to 0cc in my band... and i have to start over. Today i ate my first slice of pizza with crust in two years.... OMG.... It was so freaking good. But, it to shall end... going get a fill as soon as my swelling goes down.

oh sweetie.... im so sorry. Really wish i could help. You know i would. But you made a good point.... why will it take a week when they should have all that together already? That looks like a RED flag to me on your doctors office part.