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After I met with my surgeon, we set 190 as a good goal weight for me. There are several factors, I'm 5' 71/2", have a large frame and have been overweight pretty much my entire life. Unlike a lot of posters here, I didn't put on my weight after having children. I was normal size until I got sick the entire summer between first and second grade (measles, mumps and bronchitis) so I was just lying in bed being fed anything I could keep down. After that I was always chubby. I got down to around 190 when I was 20 and felt really good. At 22 I was married, pregnant and packed on 60 pounds. After that, I yoyo'd back and forth but never got below 200 pounds again. My goal of 190 puts me in the overweight category (but not obese!) If I look at the ideal height/weight charts, I should be no heavier than 165. I can't even fathom being that weight. So for those like me who have always been overweight, how did you arrive at your goal weight? Did you achieve it? Am I being realistic with my goal or am I limiting my possibilities by "settling"? I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this.

More close minded BS

Well folks I still need prayers... I have yet to get my return and the IRS can not give me a reason... This is BS... I call every other day and nothing after the initial 30 days they send a message to a different dept. and say to give it another 30 days... That was on 3/25 so I am in waiting... I have talked to Sandy and She is waiting until 4/8 to hear back from me... I just really need prayers.. This has gotten me so down that I am not wanting to get out of the bed.. I am a mother of 3 (son is 15 and twin girls 10) also 1 of my daughters has Down Syndrome and needs extra care.. I have got to get healthy so I can take care of her.. My mother in law lives with us and takes care of the things I can't.. helping her bath and stuff... But that is my job.. PLEASE KEEP ME IN YOUR PRAYERS.. Angela

Yes I checked with BC/BS PPO back in June 2010 and they told me that Medicare does not cover VSG surgery but they do. I was told by BC/BS PPO that I met their requirements and they would pay even if Medicare denied it. I have to wait & see if this is true. Shady Grove Hospital did not bill BC/BS because they said if Medicare did not pay for the surgery neither would BC/BS. BC/BS told me that is not true so I called Shady Grove Hospital and told them BC/BS want my claim to cross over to them and they will decide what to do. Shady Grove filed a claim with BC/BS after I insisted they do and start doing their job correctly. I have at least 30 days until I find out what is up. The surgeon does not take any insurance except Medicare so I need to appeal Medicare decision because until Medicare agrees to pay the surgeon I am in for $9000.00. BC/BS may pay him some money for the surgery if they pay some on the hospital. Medicare needs to get with the times & recognize VSG surgery. Gastric Bypass is becoming obsolete because VSG is much better surgery and allows the patient a normal way of living. I can eat most anything now except in smaller portions. I continue to lose weight and I feel great. No Dumping.

Yeah I didn't even think that it could be constipation bc I figured it would be different.. but..... The pain is not ignoreable... It's like tearing stabbing exploding pain

I won't do the smooth move tea bc I've tried it pre operatively and got sick. Mineral oil finally did the trick for me!

I used Alightermeme....and had surgery with Dr. Lopez assisted by Dr.Ortiz. The best part of my experience was knowing I could call Abraham my driver at anytime to sort things our for me. He was very helpful in getting me from the airport (11:34)pm into Tijuana and to the hotel. The next morning he had the paperwork ready for me to fill out nd I as even given priority over patience from other companies. dr. Lopez met with me once and then returned to PV. Surgery went well. I woke up and ws taken to my room. I had nausea for a day and bc I had a band before ws coughing up blood. As they assured me it was normal and would subside in a couple of hrs. I was not so sure. But as the predicted it subsided and I was eventually placed on apple juice. Dr. Ortiz came by the first day and was helpful with question and yes he is handsome but I thought a little insensitive since he came into my room drinking coffee...and it smelled so good too. I wanted to slap him for that one. After 2 days one nightin the hospital which was very clean even by American standards, we got to the hotel. Dr. Ortiz came later hat night to remove my drain. As of now, I'm waiting to return to the states and home to my children. If I have one thing to say about my experience in Tijuana, is I would do it all again. Do I recommended Alighterme and Dr. Lopez/Ortiz, yes. But the best was Abraham. He genuinely knew your concerns and tried to ease any fears you had.

No worries, this won't be a full recap of my life. I just feel that my story is one that should be shared because of how the band changed my life and then unfortunately had to be removed 4 years later. Before I jump into the story I will say that if you are feeling ANY unusual pain - not necessarily in your port area or stomach - see your surgeon. We have a foreign object in our bodies and it's not unusual for our bodies to try and reject it... Before the band: I've been overweight my entire life. Like many others I couldn't latch onto the right tools to lose that unwanted weight. My level of discipline is something that I continuously struggle to build up - especially when it comes to food. I was an anxious kid who turned to food in times when I needed comfort or was under stress. Although I was always active - playing multiple sports throughout life - I couldn't seem to maintain a healthy weight. My junior year of college was spent abroad in Italy. It was there that I gained a new confidence in myself and my abilities. I've always been an outgoing and confident person but it took experiencing another culture to make me feel like I had the control to make a change in myself. When I got home I went to the initial lap band seminar to get an overview. From there on it was a whirlwind of appointments and all that pre-op stuff we all had to go through. Four months after that seminar I was in for surgery - November 2009. At the time I was one of the youngest to get the band - only 21 years old. Life with the band: It felt like the weight was melting off of my body. I barely worked out the first year with the band and had lost the first 40 pounds with almost no physical effort. I changed the way I was eating, that's for sure. The band did its job - it restricted how much I could eat, how quickly I was eating and just made me more conscious of the choices I made. I noticed that every time I was getting a fill, I could barely eat for the following days. Looking back, I don't think that's the right way to do it but in my mind I was thinking, "great, here's an easy 3-4 pounds gone." I became a better me. As the weight fell off, I became even more confident in all areas of my life. I had my first serious relationship, I was fiercely going after my career goals and just felt happier and healthier of course. It became harder to lose weight as I got closer to my goal weight (which by the way, I'm still not quite there). I added in exercise and it helped me shed more pounds. As of summer 2010 (year and a half post-surgery), I wasn't able to get anymore fills. I had a fill where almost immediately after the solution was injected I started to feel back pain. They sent me home anyway and told me to come back if it worsened. Oh boy did it ever... it turned into radiating pain throughout my entire body. My jaw, neck, legs, everything. I couldn't even drink water. So, they took the last fill out and I returned to normal state. They couldn't really explain why the pain was occurring other than maybe my band was at its max capacity at 10cc's. So needless to say after that experience, I stayed away for a year. I didn't want to go through that pain and felt that my band was telling me that it has done its job and now its my turn. After a year of unsuccessful weight loss, I went back for another fill but had the same experience. The doctor took even more solution out this time just to see how my body would react. It was around summer of 2012 when this back pain really began. It was the same pain I was feeling when I had the fills that needed to be removed. It's pain that starts in the mid to upper back and then radiates throughout my lower back and through my sides...almost always coinciding with nausea and after I ate something. In the back of my mind, I knew it had to be from my band. I was only 24 years old and shouldn't be feeling that kind of pain. But of course, like many of us do, I dealt with the pain for months hoping it would go away. I altered my desk and computer at work thinking it was my posture. I tried changing how I was sleeping. And by this point, I was on a serious workout regiment - a lot of weight lifting and hard cardio so I thought it could be from that. The turning point: During Fall and winter of 2012 I had back pain every single day. Some days it was so debilitating that I'd have to leave work. The only remedies were laying down on my back and wait for the pain to subside or occasionally ib profeun. The pain and frustration brought me to tears. It was affecting my life at work and my social life (not fun having an episode while you're out to dinner with friends). So in April 2013 I decided it was time to just make a call to my primary care doctor. I needed to start somewhere. I was in the middle of an "attack" at work and walked outside to call my doctor because I was so fed up. They couldn't see me that day so they sent me to the night clinic the next day. I explained my situation and also happened to mention that many of the women in my family have had their gallbladders removed. While he didn't seem to think it was my gallbladder (because of my young age) he decided to "rule it out" by scheduling an ultrasound for me the following day. I had the ultrasound. The tech was awfully quiet and wouldn't share my results with me. They had me wait as the results were sent to the referring physician. Then, they told me the doctor was on the phone and needed to speak with me. "You have huge stones!" he said. "And we need to remove your gallbladder immediately." I couldn't believe it. At that moment, I was relieved that I knew something was wrong and that I followed through to find the solution but I was scared too. So I thought that the gallstones were the cause of all my pain. But then, I scheduled a pre-op consult with my bariatric surgeon so he could perform the gallbladder surgery. He wanted to remove my gallbladder the next day. "No problem, see ya then" type of conversation. But before he walked out of the room he happened to ask how my band was doing and I said, "eh." I told him my suspicions for the cause of back pain were initially due to the band. Because of that he insisted that while I was there they should just see how much fluid is in the band. Thank goodness he did! What went wrong: The doctor pulled out brown fluid from my band. "Hmmm..." he said. He tried again just to be sure he made it into the port and didn't collect fluid from stomach cavity instead. I've never seen him lost for words or for explanation. He sat down and stared at the brown fluid and said he had never seen anything like it. The brown fluid suggested that there may be an infection somewhere but that would mean that somehow there was a puncture in the band itself and therefore stomach fluid was leaking inside the band creating a bacteria. He sent the fluid for culture testing immediately and shipped me down to radiology for a CT scan so he could see a full picture of the band. Hours later, he came in the room and said that the band looked unharmed. Therefore, he had no idea what was causing the bad fluid. We discussed taking the band out. And since I felt like it wasn't working for me anymore anyway, he was most comfortable with taking the whole thing out. Back in the OR: So 10 days from my first call to my primary care, I was back in the OR. And not only was my gallbladder being removed, we were also taking out my band in the same surgery. I was scared of course but also praying for pain relief. And it was unnerving that the doctor wasn't even sure what he was going to find when he got in there. When I came to, I was in the exact same recovery room that I was in just 4 years ago! Itching like crazy again because apparently I'm allergic to morphine and a little more uncomfortable than when I got my band in. The doctor came to explain what he found and how he removed the band. Gallbladder was no issue, he removed it and moved onto the band. He found that the band part that is wrapped around the stomach (the part that restricts your intake), had eroded into my stomach lining. The CT scan didn't show him this part of my body so he was surprised to find this. In his thousands of patients, I was the first he had seen this happen to. There was no research to back up his findings. We're still not sure how this happened or why. Even better, the way he took the band out... he cut it into pieces and then removed it through my mouth. Yuck! Needless to say, the recovery process was more difficult because of the two surgeries and complications with removing the band. They had me there for almost 2 full days because of all the follow-up tests they needed to provide to be sure my esophagus and stomach weren't leaking. Another CT scan, a barium swallow a JP drain and 2 days of itching from pain meds later...they let me go home. Life after the band: I can't believe it's no longer part of me. For so long I felt like it was my safety blanket. I'm disappointed that it didn't get me further and that it caused me so much pain. The gallstones were just a coincidental find that led to finding the real issue with my band. I'm almost 4 months out from surgery and have adjusted fine to life without a band. It's what I learned while I had the band that is making me maintain weight. My discipline is stronger than it's ever been but needs to be even stronger when it comes to nutrition. The back pain has subsided and I no longer anticipate feeling like that on a daily basis. I'm still working toward my goal weight and almost there! Moral of the story: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! I waited too long to see my doctor about the pain. I suffered for months and months because part of me didn't want to know the truth. I was scared that it was the band's fault because the band had given me so much and I didn't want to believe it. So if you're feeling any unusual pain, anywhere, just talk to your doctor. And tell them everything. If I hadn't mentioned family history of gallstones then I might never have had the ultrasound and therefore never have gone back to bariatric surgeon when I did.

My doctor asked me what I wanted to get down to. I said 200. He said sounds good. That will still put me at overweight according to BMI standards but honestly that stuff is such bs. I'm 5'10 by the way

For everybody, I’m i day 3 and on ice chips.... my stomach cramps after every ice chip.... how long did the cramping last for you if you had any? Also did any other women get there menstrual cycle right after surgery? I’m on a BC patch and still got my cycle thought that was weird.

no, no challenges at all. and i’m not trying to be flippant, but, getting to the goal itself was the reward! it’s the thing i have wanted my whole life and it’s here and i can’t believe it. every time i go up three flights of stairs and don’t even breathe hard, that’s my reward. every time i sit on the floor and play with my niece, it’s a reward. every sports game i take my nephew to, which i couldn’t before bc i couldn’t fit in the seats, it’s a reward. every day is a reward in a hundred different ways.

Well I am 2 years out from my lapband surgery and decided that now I would like to have all of this extra skin removed. I had an initial PS consult in February. My surgeon is Dr. Michael Beckenstein in Birmingham. I worked in surgery for 6 years and I really liked his work. He submitted the procedure to my insurance and it was denied. I was heartbroken. It turned out to be a blessing, because that is how I learned that my insurance would not cover any complication involving my band. (I had bc/bs which covered my band - then I changed jobs and switched to Viva). Luckily my HR department was not aware of this either and let me change to bc/bs (which is more expensive) before open enrollment. Sooo I went back to Dr. Beckenstein last week and he is resubmitting all the paperwork to bc/bs. He see's no issues with getting them to conver the panni. The rest however I will have to pay for. Luckily it will only be $1,800. So I am okay with that. It was submitted earlier this week, so everyone please keep their fingers crossed that it will be covered. I have been reading other stories on here and it really is helping with what to expect. Hope everyone is well!! Thanks!

@@mallnut Basically anything that isn't a dense Protein. When you are eating meat, I seriously doubt you will be able to eat 4 ounces. 4 ounces is an expected amount to be able to eat according to my booklet, 2-4 ounces. Don't listen to all the people that talk that 2 bites BS. We have no idea what 2 bites is, and it is useless anecdotal information, not a scientific measurement.

Ok Dr C, this slip thing scares the crap out of me. How hard is it to slip or is it not hard at all? I get nervous now even being around my kids when they are sick, I think in the end I could end up throwing up and then slipping. But my Dr is very blasie about it. She even told me about a paitent she has that throws up everytime he eat bc he has no idea what restriction is. Am I a worry wart? She makes me feel like I am. Is there any guidance with this??

does anyone know what to do about the kezaysim that need to be eaten and drunk at the seder?? is there a way to deal with it bc of medical issues or is a loosening required?

had to post here, as I am having my last supper tomorrow!! I am going to a buffet for all you can eat grab legs...(which aren't actually bad for you...except the butter) but I dont plain on over doing it at all. I don't want it to be a Complete shocker to my body on Friday when I start my liquid diet bc I had just ate so much food the night before. I plan on enjoying my meal moderately tomorrow!!

I hope Tiffykins is right in your case. I also have BC/BS, but I'm in Ohio. I just got my denial letter in the mail on Friday. There are a few states where BC/BS is finally approving the sleeve, but most (as in Ohio) still consider it investigational/experimental. I will be appealing their decision. I'm VERY surprized your surgeon's ins. gal didn't understand the language in your policy!! My surgeon required me to be under the supervision of his hospital's nutritionist for 3 months. They don't really expect you to lose weight, but it is encouraged. I still got denied. I'm sure they would have approved an RNY in a heartbeat, as I meet all their requirements. You should be able to go to your BC/BS website and read what is allowed and what is excluded. My surgeon's ins. gal basically lied when she told me at the seminar that she wasn't having any trouble getting approval's for the sleeve through BC/BS. I expected to be denied and figured she was not being honest with me. I'm ready for a fight now!:thumbdown:

Kelli, I have Federal BC/BS of Kansas City and what Tiff wrote was all that was required by me. When I went for my psych eval. the doc had previously sent me some paperwork and there were some questions that asked me about what kind of diets I had been on ,how long, and how much I had lost. I'm five weeks post op, so that must have done the trick. Good luck!!! Deb

Oye! There are people with very definite opinions, and let them. Who the hell cares. I'm getting so fed up with the constant debate of which wls is better. You know which one is best, the one that works. ALL of these procedures have failure rates- period. Noncompliance yields status quo. Surgical and apparatus complications can and will occur- why argue over which ones are worse or more predictable. None of it is predictable! WE make choices as to which wls option seems most suitable to us based on mutliple factors ranging from what we feel we can comply with (diet wise) to the inherit nature of the surgery itself. What you choose is great, what I choose is better. PERIOD

Don't stop posting... you have been VERY supportive and VERY helpful! I posted a lot more at the beginnimg of my WLS journey (sleeved last October) and got publicly flamed once and privately flamed once so I backed waaaay off of posting comments. I do read the boards just about every day though. I feel selfish because I really want to help others but I don't appreciate getting slammed for telling MY truth. I have seen you, PDXMan & a couple others receive some totally unfair bs from others and that made me back off from posting even more. And like some others said, I don't understand why people don't search the archives for (basic) info that has been shared over and over again. Nor do I get why some folks get so hostile when the more "seasoned" sleevers are just trying to be helpful. But then again, I don't get a lot of thoughtless things people do like , can't someone simply say "sorry, wrong #" when they misdial instead of hanging up on the person answering, or those who don't use a turn signal when they see you sitting there waiting just for them to go by before you can be on your way.... stuff that is based in selfishness or laziness. Uh-Oh, opening myself up for a talking to! Seriously, there are so many great and helpful people on here that you just gotta let the "others" go. I appreciate you and everyone who shares their journey with an open, honest and kind heart! Leah Don't stop posting... you have been VERY supportive and VERY helpful! I posted a lot more at the beginnimg of my WLS journey (sleeved last October) and got publicly flamed once and privately flamed once so I backed waaaay off of posting comments. I do read the boards just about every day though. I feel selfish because I really want to help others but I don't appreciate getting slammed for telling MY truth. I have seen you, PDXMan & a couple others receive some totally unfair bs from others and that made me back off from posting even more. And like some others said, I don't understand why people don't search the archives for (basic) info that has been shared over and over again. Nor do I get why some folks get so hostile when the more "seasoned" sleevers are just trying to be helpful. But then again, I don't get a lot of thoughtless things people do like , can't someone simply say "sorry, wrong #" when they misdial instead of hanging up on the person answering, or those who don't use a turn signal when they see you sitting there waiting just for them to go by before you can be on your way.... stuff that is based in selfishness or laziness. Uh-Oh, opening myself up for a talking to! Seriously, there are so many great and helpful people on here that you just gotta let the "others" go. I appreciate you and everyone who shares their journey with an open, honest and kind heart! Leah

Hey guys I was banded 11/11/11 and as of today I lost 115lbs with only getting filled to 5 ccs I just recently learned I have a hernia which is gonna cause me to have my band removed...I'm upset bc I really felt the band was working...now I'm scared I may go backwards... I have learned about watching what I eat n how much I can handle...

Jean thank u....bc of the hernia I cannot get anymore fills after 5 ccs bc nothing passes through... I'm going for another swallowing study soon to rule everything out...I hate to lose my band also bc it has worked with me n helping me lose my weight..

My personal opinion...hype and BS. Essentially, you're eating rubber chicken sternum cartilage and hoping for a miracle. If you try it, be sure to post a before and after pic. Will gladly root for such a product if there is any hard evidence it gives results beyond making its marketers money.

.Too late,I am already discouraged. Of course all of the crap happened over the holidays. So I won't be able to get in touch with anyone until Wednesday. The other concern I have is that my husband's company is looking into changing insurance companies. So if I plan to use bc/bs to cover this, I have to do it quickly. Day One Health is basically on Michigan Ave in Chicago. I researched it before I chose them. I really think they dropped the ball on this. It seemed like I was kind of being bum rushed because my appointment was late on Friday and everyone wanted to be off for the for the holidays. They closed the office until after New Year's Day. I remember two things my bc/bs rep told me was I did not have a behavior modification program. That is exactly what the dietician discussed with me. I had no exercise program. That is my point. I am injured and that's what made me gain the weight. Worker's comp will not cover anymore treatments. So I am going to court for a settlement. When I receive a letter from Traveler's Insurance saying they will not cover more treatments. I will be able to go thru bc/bs to help my back. My pain management doctor says losing weight will really help my condition. I told my dietician that. She wrote something down. If that was going to be a problem, she should have talked to me about it and encourage me to at least walk 30 minutes a day. The other thing I "think" my bc/bs rep said they need blood tests results. Has anyone had to submit a blood test to bc/bs? If not, I misunderstood him. Someone on this board suggested I join a gym or go to the YMCA That was an excellent suggestion. I can cancel that after surgery.. Thanks to all of you that responded to my post.

How right you are. I spoke to my insurance company today. They received no information from my dietician about pre and post op requirements. No modification information, and no exercise plan. My dietician discussed all of this with me. WOULD YOU BELIEVE SHE SUBMITTED NOTHING? Also my surgeon dropped the ball. They need a letter from him as to why the lap band is a medical necessity. We discussed my high blood pressure, my borderline diabetes, my arthritis, my cholesteral, and my family history. WOULD YOU BELIEVE HE SUBMITTED NOTHING? They also want to know that I will get counceling. I see my Psychiatrist once a month. In fact he was the one who submitted the letter saying that I was mentally prepared for the surgery. I am not sure if that is enough. They may want me to receive weekly counceling, but I forgot to ask my bc/bs rep that. :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: