Search the Community

Both places in Ouachita parish have been out of commission for band fills for almost 3 months now. I was banded in Dallas by Dr. Cribbins in November 2008. Had lost 90 lbs, have now gained 20 back because I can't find anywhere to get a fill. I am willing to travel if necessary. I have called several places outside of Ouachita parish but have not had any luck either they 1. won't return my phone call or 2. only do fills for a certain doctor. Anyone have any advice, suggestions, phone number for a fill Dr.?

Well, I am not a vet but this is an excellent question, I am only 3 months out but this is a big question in my head too. Like I understand the importance of my PPI when it comes to my "new" stomach, but what happens to the bypassed tummy??? Because it is just sits there and produces acid and it's not like my PPI will ever get to it to to turn off the pumps that are producing the acid? I am not sure the PPI goes systematic, I have researched it on the internet but didn't find much about the bypassed stomach. I will sure to ask my doctor the next time I see him...

You should know that there are two types of calcium, calcium carbonate and calcium citrate. Calcium citrate is absorbed much more easily and is the kind of calcium gastric bypass/lapband patients need. When purchasing a calcium supplement, make sure you read the bottle to see what type of calcium you are buying. I google search it for you.

I was sleeved in 2012, and am currently working on getting revision to gastric bypass [emoji17] I was initially very successful and hit goal after 2 years. However... I had a baby in July 2015 and not only gained back my weight but went into such a deep depression I gained almost 100+pounds. Not typical of most sleevers but just sharing my personal story. I had my tubes tied and this time around I will be doing things BY THE BOOK! Good luck to you!

I am 11 years out from rny gastric bypass and am sitting here waiting for my gastroenterologist's office to call so that I can schedule my second endoscopic dilation to fix a stricture that was diagnosed a couple of months ago. No ulceration. Just a narrowing of the gastrojejunal anastomosis with some inflammation. This is the first serious issue that I have had that has resulted from my surgery. Moral of the story, you can develop a stricture at any point post surgery, even 11 years out.

Awesome news! Are they removing the Band and giving you the sleeve all at once? I just had my band removed a week ago. My sleeve is scheduled for November 13. Good luck to you!!

Tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of my life. This journey of mines has been going on for years in my head. I have listened to so many people say that you do not need the lap-band surgery. All you need is a really good excerise program and a great nutritionist. Well damn it I tried all of that and I am tired of the yo-y syndrom that I fall into every year. I had to come to a place where I was sick and tire of being sick and tired of feeling fatigued all the time. I have been to several seminars but the beginning of October 2007 I got real serious about getting a new out look on life. I attended my last seminar of Oct 4 2007 , my first pre surgical appointment, and pyche evaluation on October 16 2007. On October 29 I was told that I was approved for surgery on November 21 2007.( I have the best insurance) I was 363lbs on November 7th 2007, Then on my birthday NOvember 16th I went to weigh in after being on the liver shrinking diet for a week and was 350.3lbs(13 lbs lost). Today I am sitting around excited and nervous all at the same time. I have to be at the hospital @ 6am and my surgery is @ 7:30am., So I will have to get up after 4am to make sure I am there on time. I am late for everything, all the time. I pray that this will soon be the end of that. Well the next time you all here from me I would have had my surgery. Prayers are welcomed and wish me all the best. I am gonna need you guys to help me reach my goals. See ya till next time. Pre-surgical journal. 11/20/2007 @ 9:20pm (Tuesday night) P.S I will be home on thanksgiving day Did I plan that or what. I am so serious about this and this should prove it. :clap2:

Overlake inBellevue has (or had) a support group open to outsiders. I went a few times pre-sleeve but it was very rny focused at the time. PSSC has support groups in a couple of locations - Edmonds, Marysville Fife and Bellingham - I think anyway. I believe they allow outsiders and it is very sleeve specific. I would call first and ask though. Call the EDmonds location for info. I don't like support groups... too many years at weight watchers I guess... but I would enjoy meeting some fellow VST friends! I will have time in November as I am recovering from plastics.

I was experiencing organ damage due to my Type 2 Diabetes. Medication and insulin wasn't controlling my levels. My PCP suggested the bariatric procedure and urged me to speak to a surgeon for which procedure would be best for me. The bypass blocks the portion of the stomach that causes the organ damage. I am 7 months post op. Down 85 lbs. I came home from the hospital off all diabetes pills. Within the week I was off insulin. After a couple months I was off high blood pressure meds. I only take thyroid replacement due to my thyroid being removed years ago. My blood tests show no further organ damage and my liver levels have improved. Sleeve or band wouldn't have been the solution for me. Best of luck! You won't be disappointed with the bypass results.

Hi... great question. Alot of people asked me this. My surgeon told me since I have history of acid reflux that the sleeve was not an option for me. I really wanted the sleeve at first, I felt the bypass was so much more invasive... but I am 5 weeks out now and am so happy with my choice. I weigh in tomorrow. But last time I checked I was down 30lbs. I am hoping that I am under the 200 point tomorrow!! Fingers r crossed.

I have found a couple around these boards that have gotten insurance coverage for the SIPS/SADI, so it seems that somebody out there is covering it. Perhaps the insurance coordinator in your surgeon's office knows which company(s) may be covering it if your company can't be convinced, though that would probably mean delaying things a while until coverage can be transferred, if such is at all possible. We went the self pay route for my wife's DS as the bypass and bands weren't appropriate for her needs,

So I'm not sure where to put this post since it covers several different topics I guess Before I had my gastric bypass last year, as you all know 1 of the things that you have to do is see the psychologist. So I went & seen her, and she basically took the wind out of my sails. I had a binge moment before my surgery & I made the mistake of telling her about it. She then told me that I had to read a book called End Emotional Eating. I don't emotional eat, but she told me that I had to read this book before she would give me the green light. So then I tried several times to read the book & I just could not get into the book at all. I ended up writing her a letter letting her know that I don't usually binge eat, and that I am NOT an emotional eater, and all that good stuff. Anyway she ended up giving me the green light, and I had my surgery last August. What really upsets me is that I was doing great with the way that I was eating, and had lost weight, even with having quit smoking (I'm still smoke free & at the writing of this post I'm at day 456 (1 year 3 months). Thus far my lowest weight was 235, down from 281 on the day that I started my weight loss plan from the hospital. I had quit smoking on March 8, 2017 & I started my hospital diet on March 27, 2017. When she told me that I had to read that book, and she criticized me with stuff, she honestly threw me into a tail spin & I started cheating here & there, then fell off the wagon totally. Now don't get me wrong, when I had to do my pre-op & post-op diets I did them, with the exception of like the last 3 days of my final stage of my post op diet. We went out for Chinese with a friend of mine who's like my little brother. Unfortunately I guess that I had eaten too much & got sick. Fast forward to now & I'm back up to 250, I'm having more chronic pain that I had been having, and I'm extremely depressed. Trust me, I'm not going to do anything dangerous to myself or others. We also have been having money problems, though as of today things will get a little better since my husband will be back to working 6 days a week, not sure how long that will last, but we will take advantage of all the hours that he's getting. Plus he's working for cash filling sand bags for a pipeline. I NEED to get back on track. I can't keep doing this. We just got back on our medicaid insurance, and now that I've been approved for social security disability I'm just waiting to get on medicare. I want to find a counselor to talk to, but it's almost impossible to find someone that is taking new patients, or that will take medicaid. I just don't know what to do or how to do it. I sleep a good portion of my day, plus I'm drinking cappuccino for Keurig, way too much of it. It's 70 calories per 8oz cup, and I'm drinking 6 or more per day because I'm sitting home constantly. My car is in the shop & hubby is using the car for working. Monday I have to get up at 7 to make sure that I get him to work by 7:30a.m., and I have no clue when I'm going to get my car back from the shop. I'm beginning to feel like I'm a prisoner in my own home & am just really frustrated. We don't have public transportation. Needless to say, all in all, I just feel down, lonely, depressed, and frustrated with so much & I don't know which way to turn anymore. Maybe i f I can find a buddy that I can be accountable to that would help me to get back on track? And I can help them to stay on track as well. Thanks for hearing me out! Lauri

1. Was your procedure outpatient or did you stay overnight? One over night stay - precaution I was one of the doctors first three lapband surgeries that day (he had been doing gastric bypass for years) 2. Did you have complications related to surgery? No Complications 3. What you were given for at home pain? How many days did you take it? Liquid Roxicet I took my last dose Sunday night, I was banded on a Thursday 4. Pain after surgery for how many days? 2-3 days to me there is a difference between pain and feeling sore. I felt sore. Luckily No gass pain! 5. Degree of pain...10 being your arm was cut off and 1 being a paper cut? Between a 2-4 depending on the day 6. Doctor and state where surgery was done? Dr. David Gould, Manchester, New Hampshire

Not sleeved yet...hope to get my surgery date tomorrow. But suddenly I'm feeling much better about the hysterectomy I had last November!

The whole experimental/investigational category is a bit of a catch-all for anything the insurance company doesn't want to cover. Some procedures are genuinely investigational in that they are new or novel approaches that aren't well vetted yet (which would include the SIPS/SADI, though that is getting more borderline these days) while others are ones that have been around but never gained traction or acceptance within the US medical community (such as the mini-bypass or the Scopinaro/BPD precursor to the DS, though that one was fairly well accepted in Europe.) Some companies are slower to accept newer procedures than others, even when they have been accepted or vetted by the relevant medical organization such as the ASMBS. 11-12 years ago we fought hard to get coverage from Aetna for my wife's DS with no luck while others got insurance approval for it with no problem. A couple of years later, Medicare started covering the DS, so the experimental/investigational dodge no longer worked for them. OTOH, Aetna started covering the VSG well before Medicare and other insurance companies started covering it. Go figure. Those I know who have gotten reversals on insurance decisions in this direction did so with appeals (usually several, and often to the state regulatory level) and usually had some compelling reason why their preferred procedure (typically the DS in those days) was more appropriate medically for them than the standard offered procedures. Hopefully, your surgeon can convince them with the peer-to-peer review and you can get on with life. Good luck!

Hi Pete, thanks for sharing your story. Mine isn't EXACTLY the same, but pretty dang similiar. I had that lapband for 10 years and it was awful. I think I realize now that it is gone just how awful it really was. It was so embarrassing to be morbidly obese AND have this device that made my eating weird. Anyway, I had all the fill taken out about 3-4 years into the nightmare and it got better after that but it was still an albatrosse and reminder of my failure. I only lost 70 pounds after being banded, regained it plus a TON and then lost 85 on weight watchers later... kept much of it off for years but then was on t e regain train big time by the time I ws sleeved. So, I had all the fill removed like you did but the docs hardly believed it and kept trying to take more out - like just in case some had been missed. I thik the band that they used back then was too small because I had symptoms like that even with no fill. I had all of your skepticisms and fears. I am 10 months into the sleeve, loving it, it is so much better then the lapband, however, I still have fears about failing again. Here is what i would say about the sleeve and eating right. This is my personal experience, and I think shared by many but perhaps not all who revise. These comments refer to months after surgery - so when you are completely on solid foods and healed up. I can eat dense Proteins with no pain. I can eat salad and veggies no problems. I even had a couple of bites of rice, just because i could! (10 years, i could never keep down even a forkful of rice even with no fill). Is the temptation to eat slider foods still there? Yes. It wasn't in the early months, but my hunger has definately returned and there is something about those carb laden foods that gives us comfort and it does continue to call my name. HOWEVER, the sleeve gives me a tool that actually works. I have a fighting chance to overcome those old demons with the sleeve and last night was a good example. I went to an event (I was actually hosting) that started at 6:15. I wasn't hungry enough to have dinner before, but about an hour into it I was hungry. There were Cookies and donuts and even a cake! I didn't have a single one even though I felt hungry and it was because I knew that it would not make me feel good and not really satisfy me so it was easy to say "no" to myself and have some decaf coffee and just be fine until I got home. I could have NEVER done that presleeve. Bottom line, you sound like a very committed and disciplined person, and have learned alot from the band so I think you have a good chance at doing really well with the sleeve. When I was banded, I had almost no education. Now I totally "get it" and the ONLY way you will have long term success with the sleeve is tiny portions, Protein first (preferably dense protein) followed by greens and healthy veggies and perhaps some fruit. Really, need to minimize carbs (I do eat some whole grain bread) and eliminate junky carbs like crackers and chips etc. The long term stats on the sleeve are still a bit unknown, so that is a gamble. I personally could just never get comfortable with the gastric bypass - there was a heebie geebie factor that I can't totally explain. I had that with the sleeve at first too, but then I started thinking of it like "my stomach is too big and I am just having it reduced" which I was able to make peace with. You should know that a significant minority of people (probably 30%) experience ongoing issues with acid. I don't experience it as reflux like I did with the band, but do get an acididy tummy. Would probably help if I quit coffee, but what I do is go on a round of proselec when it acts up. This may be problem forever.... and just because you don't have it at first doesn't mean it won't show up later so be forewarned. I think fear of failure is probably the biggest issue for me, even now after having all this success. I remind myself what a doctor I saw said "You will be successful because you never give up no matter what". It sounds to me like the same could be said of you,.

Hi all! I decided to start sharing my story since I am coming from a totally different perspective than most, I am a registered and licensed dietitian! While I have battled weight all my life and I have all the knowledge I could imagine on eating healthy....I let my mind take over and ignored what was happening to my body. Never in a million years did I think that I would have WLS, but I did! I think the idea of the sleeve and removing the factor of malabsorption as in the bypass helped with my decision. While I was a very healthy obese person, I knew the consequences that would face me later in life if I didn't make a drastic change. In addition, my confidence as a dietitian became nonexistent. I needed to get my mojo back....so here I am 1 week out from surgery and overcoming the hurdles of recovery. I started at 285 pounds before preop diet and as of today I am 249! While my education tells me this can't be healthy, my mind and body know it's a necessity and I will ultimately reach a healthy goal. I love reading all your posts and support! This is truly a journey for all...I joke around that I am going to write a book because I am probably the only Registered Dietitian that had WLS! Lol! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Ok. So I got ahold of a rep. at Disneyland, they said $67 Dollars per person, and $15 for parking if we have a group of 20 or more. I'm not sure if this is much of a discount, as I don't go to Disneyland that often. Well let me know what ya'll think. These are only the 2011 prices, and good mostly weekdays, but they will be sending me the 2012 prices in November.

Hello. I'm not really sure of where to begin with this post, but I guess that I'll start by saying that I am dangerously... well, obese, I won't lie to myself any longer about it. I am 5'4" and as of yesterday evening, 302 pounds. I have a BMI of almost 53, which has scared the living daylights out of me, especially since I'm still able to not only walk, but run, stand on my feet for long periods of time, fit into "standard" sized seats, etc. I simply didn't think that I was "that bad". But the inevitable health problems have begun to crop up, and I'm frightened that if I don't do something now about the weight (I'm 38 years old), it'll simply get worse over time. Last year, my health provider suggested the idea of surgery, but I immediately nixed it because I was under the impression that it was a very dangerous procedure (however, it wasn't LapBand I was thinking of, but Roux-en-Y, which I still would rather not do - I think I'd prefer the weight problem over my stomach being stapled). Unfortunately, I no longer have that same health provider due to an insurance switch - so now I have no idea of how to go about it finding out how to get qualified for the procedure. From what I've read on this board and others, I know that I have to meet a certain BMI requirement (at a BMI of 53, I don't think that'll be an issue), and that possibly I may have to show that I have tried other options (which I have, I've been on Weight Watchers since November of last year with little to no results). I have not tried Jenny Craig or Nutri/System or the like - and I'm hoping that I don't have to, because I don't think they're going to work for me at this point. I know that I need to see my primary doctor at this point and explore options. I know that I'll have to be tested for everything under the sun before they'll approve a surgery. I'm honestly scared, as I've had some really rotten experiences with doctors and health care in general - but I know I have to do this. I also have a lot of mental health issues (severe depression, amongst other things) which I think may have been a major contributing factor in causing the weight gain in the first place. Anyhow, I just wanted to introduce myself, I guess. If anyone could point me in the right direction as to how to get started, what I should do, what things I can expect, I'd be grateful. Thanks.

Just wondering whats everyones opinion on these options, which are more beneficial . Any help would be appreciated. Leaning toward sleeve.

if your only issue is sleep apnea, you can probably go with either surgery. The surgeon will explain your options and let you know if he/she thinks one or the other might be more appropriate for you (I had GERD, so mine recommended bypass over sleeve)

Nooo, completely different. Sleeve is purely restrictive, RNY is restrictive and malabsorptive. Bypass is bypassing intestine, there is no intestinal rerouting with a sleeve procedure. __________________ Originally posted at www.lapbandtalk.com

I am 3 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. This short article describes my experience. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf

I didn't have Bypass but the sleeve so don't know if your program would be different or not so my answer may or may not be applicable. I eat turkey burger patties all the time. If you are far enough along on your program to have ground meats then they are a great choice. I find that I like mine with a little bit of gravy so that they are a bit more moist than the plain ones.

I am a lower BMI 37 and a self payer as well. Less hassle and the lap band is something I really want. My doctor also agrees that I should not wait until I get to a higher BMI if I am willing to do the work now. Why get your body into MORE trouble just to be accepted by others for getting the lap band?? I can get to 170 -160 on my own but then I give up dieting and get right back to 220.... Vicious cycle, one that I want to end!! My Dr. is requiring me to do two weeks of pre-op dieting invloving 3 shakes a day + low glycimic veggies. I cannot wait for November 30th to get here!!! I also get the "your to small for the lap band" comments, but I figure when I get to 150 or lower (my goal is 140) the same people will say I look great. I am sick of being the biggest girl on my hockey team, or the biggest mom at swimming lessons, etc. Do whatever you feel is best for you!! The nay sayers will think you look fabulous in the end no matter what!!