mila1013

investigational that is the one bcbs loves to use, i have a feeling that by jan 2011 they will be approving the sleeve-hope i am right...congrats what great news to overturn the denial

wow it sounds like you have a great insurance!!!

Dr Jossart I have UC, I know that RNY is not a good option for me, but I am trying to find peer reviewed journals to support my appeal. While I have seen this in many insurance co contracts, and on your info about the sleeve appropriatness, I am still unalbe to find peer reviewed journals specifically to RNY not appropriate for inflammatory bowel disease, competent medical evidence? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time. Mila

ok that was just funny

losing your hair will be inevitable, with my lap band i lost over 50% of my hair starting at about 3 months post band. it took about 5 years for it to come back, i did everything, vitamins, special shampoos etc, while that will not hurt it will not help, nothing will......

great info thanks for posting

nope you are perfectly normal, when i weighed 126lbs my spine could be seen through my clothes (as could my port)

LOL this is me, i dont think i can ever eat Jello again in my life!!!

Brian, congrats!!! Tuesday is right around the corner (7-12 i will have my band removed.) were you denied and had to appeal? who is your surgeon in NY? how many sleeves? I live in the east coast too, but no one in network that has done more than a few handfull of sleeves----- very happy for you Mila

wow that was a nice thing to do, sometimes it is nice to have someone to talk to .....

this is completly true

oh this is such a difficult thing, no one supports me (my parents are old school and just dont understand) but my siblings are just plain ignorant, and have refused to take me to any appt. or pre surgery (endoscope) that have had anything to do with wls. i have had 11 surgeries my siblings only took me to one, 2 weeks ago my friend took and picked me up from my enodscope, she will also pick me up after surgery on 7-12 for band removal, i didn;t even tell my family for the endoscope or the surgery "I would never do that" or "why don't you just eat less" "she didn't need to do that" hmmm this comes from someone who herself is 100+ lbs overweight so such is family, you cant change people, I have learned to accept it and i am fortunate to have a friend that will take me-i also have in the past driven, left my car there then pick it up days later, or in the case of endo scope ask the endoscope place if my driver can pick me up after 4 pm. or i have taken a taxi there and had her pick me up, i have been doing this for years now-just the way it is, i have learned to accept it, not like it, but just the way it is.......i truly understand

i know exactly how you feel, I am also a single parent so exactly but to top it off, my family, siblings do not support me at all-I should just eat less and exercise more. I jsut went thru that 2 weeks ago for my endo, i asked my friend, what you can do is drive yourself, then have them pick you up with someone else to take your car when they are done work-that is what i did, just tell them in the endoscope area what time they close to make sure, or find a friend that is not working, let us know, i have had 11 surgeries, drop off and pick up was only done once by a family member others were friends....i truly know your pain...let me know if i can help further Mila

the bougie size is the biggest controversy, there is no "standard" i am not sleeved yet but i know my surgeon said he would use a 40 fr.

hi all I noticed a few posts saying there are a few from CAnada going to mexico, but i thought that canada was socialized medicine, don't they pay for that? jsut curious, thanks and good luck to everyone

hi, i was wondering what the outcome was for you? this is interesting as i was trying to find the same information, it is a big secret or something? what is up with that? hope you are well Mila

oh my gosh, reading this i was like darn it, first, ignorance is bliss, to have posted the original post was really out of ignorance. i will tell you i NEVER thought of going out of the country for surgery-NEVER- in my life so far i have had 11 surgeries, BUT now i am thinking about going out of the country-not so much for money (yes and no) here it is quickly-where i live there are 3 surgeons that do the sleeve, the one that has the most experinece has done 10 and my surgeon has done 1, no one here can get it approved, so that is the issue. so in the next few weeks my surgeon will request the sleeve, he already told me it will be denied, i know it will be denied, but i will appeal, but the lingering thought in my mind is appealing to have a surgeon who has done only 1 sleeve or 10, same thing. I have a HMO and can not go outside the state i am in, so i NEVER thought about going outside the country, but let me tell you this, it is ignorance to think the US is the all knowing country, peer-reviewed competent journals are not all from the US or a small amount are, look at the "experts" for the sleeve for example MOST are NOT from the US. As a post grad clinical scientist I can tell you that is not true and that your statement reside in ignorance, and many Drs here in the US contact many drs outside the country for "expert concerns or questions they have" still i NEVER thought about going out of the country, jsut a personal choice, but it was not becasue i thought they were not skilled, or that it would be done in "the back ally" that is where the ignorance lies or that i could not use the court system (oh that was a good one) or dirty or whatever the reasons you posted. Still contemplating having surgery here in the US paid (but the surgeons i am allowed to use only have done 10 at the max or going out of the country for experience) For me it is, experience and pure distance thing, my little ones, Mexico is a 6 hour flight for me-distance is the issue-I wish everyone luck with whoever they choose, research your drs, I mean there are horror stories no matter which country you have surgery in, live in, etc

Carolyn, while i can't comment on the sleeve because i have not had it yet, waiting, i can comment on your skin quality. skin elasticity is dependent on many factors, age, how much one has lost, hereditary etc. I lost 166 lbs with the lap band going down to 126 lbs. I am 44, have had 4 pregnancies, have lsot and gained more weight than i think is humanly possible, so skin redundancy was my coming my way, and it came. So don't worry so much about that, there really is nothing you can do about that, once damaged it is permanent, unless you opt for surgery (i have had ps to fix that) first ask yourself if you and your dr are comfortable at this weight-try not to look at physical so much as your overall health? did you have co-morbidities? also remember that it is not usual to dip a little lower at the begining till your body adjusts then you may gain 10 lbs. so don't worry about "looking yucky" with your deflated skin, think how much better you will feel with the weight off, and if you are done and feel comfortable then start incorporating more carbs into your diet (not garbage carbs, just good carbs) you will certainly stop losing weight that way. losing weight like you have posted, and trying to stop losing weight is such a stange concept with me, with the lap band it is soo different, as i struggled all the time, everyday.....wishing you great results with everything you decide

Tiff, gosh darn it your story sounds so different than our bandster story, losing the weight with the band was HARD all the time, NEVER did i wake up and say ohhh i lost 3-4 lbs without trying? ha? I guess since all i know is the band (8 years) all i can think is it will be painful like that? don't know if that makes sense to you, one of the hardest things i've done was to lose 166 lbs with the band, and i did get to goal 126 lbs and i thought about it every day, everymeal, and even then it was soooo difficult to maintain, i mean everyday so when someone with the sleeve says they are having a hard time stopping losing weight for me it is a strange concept. Next week i will be going in to have my band taken out, permanently this time, then wait a few months, since my eophagus is too damaged then the sleeve (or however long it take for the appeal) I am afraid i will fail with the sleeve....

wowo that is great news with BCBS for you hope it continues...

congrats on your 2 year mark, you sound like you are doing great, continued success to you...pre sg for me

hi i am going into my 8th year with the band, i will be having it removed 7/12 due to erosion, then 3 months post protonix i will have another endo to see if i can have the sleeve (well they will deny me on investigational and depending on how long to get it appealed) i started having problems last year, lots of them. i have gained 65 lbs in 1 yr 3 months i had lost 166 lbs. so now i wait, i have significant long term complications and my esophagus is jsut too damaged to do surgery all at once, as mortality rates increase with all my post band complications i have....it is a scary thing to gain weight. do some reseach about rebanding, i was also rebanded and hiatal hernia repaired in 4/26/10 keep in mind my band has not been functioning in over a year, it feels good not being sick everyday all day, but the weight gain is tough, but i have to thinka bout my health-if you want the sleeve then get the sleeve don't do what your surgeon wants you to do..contact me private message if you would like.....

well i think this is normal, i have thought over the years, gosh darn it why can't i just eat less , well i can but not forever, that is the problem for me it is not weight loss it is keeping it off, and i think that is where the struggle lies. i tell myself do i really need to have yet another surgery (lapband) oh gosh, my little ones, but the weight gain over this last year with the band complications is tough, i still think i can do it without anything, but i know i can't, does that make me weak? well if morbid obesity is a disease logic says we need to treat the disease and if NIH and so many others say that surgery is the only lasting effect then that is my thinking, but is it logical? not sure, it is still a difficult thing for me, but right now i have a mess to deal with, so it is fresh, and continues to linger in my mind (band complications, emptied, surgery 4/26 new band, hernia repair, new band never filled, erosion now, waiting for removal surgery 7/12 then wait 3-6 months for esophagus to heal, erosion is probably the easiest thing to heal as i have significant damage as i am in my 8th lapband year) so for me it i think about it, but i have made peace with the fact that this is a disease state like anything else, to not do anything is iresponsible for me and the kids, i am trying to do what is best for me, even if my family (siblings) don't and never have supported me on this "surgery that is not necessary" as "i can just eat less"-----ok ranting.... Mila