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Up to ten per year were included in the cost of my band. (For life). The first fill is done by the surgeon and the others are at the bariatric center with a nurse practitioner.

It depends on what the results say and whether or not they'd impact your surgery in any way. Mostly it won't just pop up in your bariatric surgeon's screen but he/she can see most records from any and all of your doctors and labs in the system, so you should know that if for some reason you're trying to hide the results.

We all have to learn how to make suggestions, but then stand back and let things happen as they will. I'm surrounded by people that all constantly make wrong choices. But they are their own people, and other than helpful pointers, there is nothing more I can do. Your daughter has gone through 2 surgeries. Hopefully she received the nutritional and psychological programs that most bariatric practices require. Mention to her your concerns, write down any applicable phone numbers for her, but as long as she is over 18, there isn't much more you can do.

come on Lori, you have lost a whole person. I know some days I think I sure would like to just say to hell with this weight thing and be "normal". The benefits of losing weight are so great compared to being obese. There are surgeries that will remove excess skin and while none of us want to go through more surgery, it might be an option for your bat wings and thighs. I have also gotten stalled since the first of the year, too many holidays, stress from husband's health issues, etc. but I am resolved to finish the job. You look great and maybe if you get into a support group it would help. Most bariatric centers have support groups . I'm not a good one to give advice on exercise but now that the weather is better here I hope to start a good walking program. I can walk at least a mile a day to the mailbox and back. (we live in the Country). I found that reading post from CG and TMF and some of the other regulars on here helps motivate me. Take care sweetie and get back your mojo.

Bedhead, well yes and no,. Because there was a portion of her stomach that was left in (as it is when you have gastric bypass) and she evidently was an acid maker, she developed an ulcer (probably more than one) She did not go back to her surgeon. We had been wondering about why the boys said she was sleeping so much during the day, it was because she was anemic because the ulcer was bleeding. All of her pain symtoms were mimicing gall bladder disease. So, after several trips to the ER they took it out. Long story short, she came home on a Thursday after surgery and died that Saturday when the ulcer perforated. It is my opinion that this was a needless death. She should have gone back to her surgeon who should have recognized the symptoms, she should have listened to her body about how sick she was (but she hated sickness and tried to ignore it) We saw a change in her appearance, hair, skin tone, etc but could not get her to go. The physician who did the gall bladder surgery also does bariatric surgery so he should have recognized the possibility instead of just doing the surgery without any additional workup. That is one reason that my husband and I (who have both had sleeve surgery, no stomach left in) went to a surgeon who does nothing but bariatric surgery. Anyway, bad things happen all of the time for all sorts of reasons to all types of people. As for her boys, it has been almost four years and they are doing really well. The youngest does have some issues, but did before she died (he is a little bit on the spectrum and a little ocd) They have the most amazing step mother who lost her Mother the year before our daughter died so she understands that type of loss. We feel very blessed that our son in law had the wisdom to marry such a wonderful person.

I only have the one incision in my belly button. Dr Enochs of Bariatric Specialists of NC. He did a great job! I just got sleeved March 13th.

The base here doesn't but I called Tricare yesterday and also talked with my PCP and they said in my circumstance it will be coveres for mee off base at a civilian bariatric surgen.

Are they also covering it because your base doesn't have bariatric? I'm trying to go through Womack in Fort Bragg. I live about 3 hrs away. My dr office has sent in 2 requests for referrals and I've been approved both times to see a local Dr to see if weight loss surgery is necessary. But I don't want to go this route because I know Tricare doesn't cover the sleeve and I was told this by a tricare rep. Womack said my Dr isn't wording the requests correctly so that I can be treated at Womack. They said my Dr needs to send in a request to Tricare to be evaluated and treated on base. I see my family Dr On Friday and I hope I can get this straight. I would be a lot farther in the process if I decided to go gastric bypass, but I really want the sleeve.

Yep. She's the nutritionist in my surgeons office that only works with bariatric patients. I just don't think they're used to patients hitting their goal weight so soon. I lost almost 90lbs in the 6mo pre op before the surgery, so I was at goal about 7 months post-op. I think another issue is that 90% of their patients are women who just want to get and stay skinny. The nutritionist struggles with me being a guy who is now interested in GAINING weight (muscle) after the sleeve. I just don't think she's had this scenario before.

Hi all! I'm almost 2 months post op. I take a chewable bariatric vitamin and calcium combo daily, but just want to make sure there's nothing else that should be added. Thank you!

I was sleeved on August 5th, just now getting up the energy to get this written. Anyhow, my husband and I arrived at the hospital at 8am and I was feeling pretty good, not all that nervous, Just ready to get it done. I get admitted and set up in the pre-op room waiting for 10am to come around. My inlaws drove over that morning to be with me and with my husband while he waits and I can tell that my MIL is sooo nervous, she keeps rubbing my arm. When the nurses come in we all chit chat while they are taking vitals and hooking me up with this thing and that thing. Someone brought up the question on if I needed a blood type band, but the other nurse said no it wasn't necessary. My husband asked why and was told that my Surgeon "Never needs to do transfusions so we don't worry about it." Meh, sounds good to me, I have complete trust in my surgeon! Before i know it my surgeon is here and the anesthesiologist is here and we are headed down the hallway. I don't even remember making it to the OR. Fast forward a few hours and I'm in a small hospital room, my husband is there and he says everything went great! I remember my mouth being soooo super dry and the nurses let me swish some Water around and spit it out. I remember telling my husband to go out to lunch with my inlaws and get something to eat! Then darkness. I wake back up to several nurses in my room and my husband and lots of beeping going on, someone is trying to either get a vain to put something in me or take blood I'm not sure, I'm so tired I can hardly even keep my eyes open. Everyone is shaking me and telling me to open my eyes, wake up, stay wake but I'm so tired. I hear my husband tell me to open my eyes and now my surgeon is in the room and nurses are on both hands trying to get a vain, I don't feel anything anymore. I hear my husband say "Take Her!" and then I don't remember anything. Fast-forward to 8pm that night, I wake up in the ICU of the hospital with a very stressed out looking husband. I am hooked up to several machines at this point. My surgeon comes in to check on me and tells me what happened. My sleeve procedure went smoothly, but while organs were being moved around some blood vessels that go from between the stomach and the spleen had gotten pinched/torn but it was in a way that nothing was showing itself as a problem. I had my surgery and was in recovery for 2 hours and in my room for 1 hour without any issues at all, I was a star patient. Until, as my husband told me, the nurses came into the room to start getting me up to walk, as they lifted the head of the bed all of my vitals crashed. As they were trying to get me to get up those blood vessels that were pinched were shifted and I started bleeding out. My surgeon took me back into surgery and said it was like a mini geyser in there. He said he cauterized it 9 times to stop the bleeding. I lost a lot of blood and while I was in ICU, I received two units of blood. I was on a pain pump, morphine and I remember I kept asking the nurses for something stronger, I just couldn't breath, it felt like I had done a thousand ab crunches and I couldn't even take a breath. After giving me morphine and Vicodin through the IV they finally called in something stronger called HydroMorphin. That stuff was AMAZING! within 20 minutes I was able to take my first real breath. I had lab techs coming in every hour to take blood samples and check my platelet count, my veins were collapsing and they had to call in the big wigs, he said he was only called when no one else could get anything, and it still took in a try or two, I;m still foggy at that point. I think I fell asleep because I open my eyes and my husband is there the next day, he had to go home shortly after I arrived in ICU to feed and let out our dogs and get some sleep. I am still having labs drawn and by this point I'm still not really feeling the needles, at one point the poor tech only got out a few drops before it was over. That lab had to be redone since it was so small it had clotted. They successfully attempt to get blood out of the IV that they had been giving me blood through. It must of been ok because they didn't hook me up to anymore blood bags. Yay! It's time to start getting up! My ICU nurse starts to position the bed into a seat position and my heart goes from 98 to 160, she panics and lays me back down and starts on the phone with my surgeon who has told them to call him if I go over 110. At this point my respiration drops and more alarms are going off. the nurses come in and check my breathing and open up the air thingy behind me. Respiration goes back up, but I can still hear my heart beating in my ears. that slows down and they draw more labs! Over the course of the day and three shift changes, I was able to get up and out of bed, I walked a few short trips around the ICU and I was bubbly happy when I was cleared for my first sip of 1oz water! I over heard the ICU nurses talking about me and how crazy it was that they actually had a bariatric patient because "That NEVER happens!" My Surgeon came by and told me how i was a first for him as well, as in bleeding and having to go to the ICU. I was in his "less than 1% complication" I graduate to phase two and started on my Protein drinks, no problems at all, maybe a little gassy but not bad. At 11pm that night, (day 2 post-op) I get moved to the bariatric floor of the hospital. I text my husband the room and try to get some sleep. No luck, hourly checks have me awake most of the night. I scare the hospital staff when I try to getup to go to the bathroom, (they took the catheter out at the ICU), my heart rate jumps back up into the 160s and I suddenly have a couple of nurses in my room. Eventually they come to accept that if my heart alarm is going off then I'm out of bed. They slowly stop checking on me throughout the day. I've been up and walking the floor, I've peed tons! I've walked some more. I keep asking to have the IV lines taken out since I wasn't hooked up to them anymore. I keep getting told at 3pm. I am going to get checked out at 3pm. Thankfully 3pm shows up and I've meet with the head nurse, and the nutritionist and some other ppl and I am cleared to go. By 3:45 I am home and exhausted. I sleep on the couch and my husband tends to me sweetly. So now that I am 8 days post op here's what I have to say. I absolutely LOVE my surgeon, as my MIL said, other surgeons would have maybe tried to wait and see if my vitals leveled out but not my surgeon, he saw that there was a problem and took Immediate action! I would absolute do this surgery again even with time spent in the ICU, The staff there were amazing. Days 1-6 TOTALLY Completely SUCK Monkey Butt, but it gets better. I don't want to weigh myself until my two week check up, but I am as gitty as a school girl about it! So, pick your surgeon wisely and trust him/her completely! I did and still do!

Starspring--Sorry to see that you are struggling. But this is now June and, assuming you are healing well physically from the surgery by now, it's pretty important that you are nourishing yourself better than it sounds like you are. Have you said these words to the bariatric team in charge of your post-op care? It's their job to help you--bug them until you are on the right track. If you feel you need help with depression, talk with a therapist. It might be that a short-term anti-depression could help you. Or, if you have ever looked into relaxation techniques such as meditation or just simply belly breathing, those things can help alot. You probably have no energy and are irritable and feeling depressed because neither your body nor your brain are getting the nutrients they need. It's hard to fight for ourselves to do what we know we have to do, especially when we're not feeling up to par, but it's what we HAVE to do. We are the ones who have to find a Protein drink that ISN'T too sweet for us; we have to find a way to get the liquids in that we are required to have. If swallowing Vitamins are a problem, there are alternatives--there are bariatric approved chews and liquids. The challenges of bariatric surgery are MANY. But you CAN tackle them. You must begin tackling them, and the other ones that will come up, so that you can have the good quality life that you expect as a result of choosing to have WLS.

I self paid my band in Mexico almost 11 yrs ago. At the time I paid around 9,000 for the surgery. I went through all the trying to find the "sweet spot" and was never successful. A little over 4 months ago I made the decision to return to Mexico to have a revision from band to gastric. I paid around 6,000 to have the band removed and have gastric done. BEST DECISION EVER!!! dr. Ponce de leon in Tijuana through Bariatric Pal was a great experience. I borrowed the money and would do it again in a minute. Down 70lbs and going. I feel great! I wouldn't waste any more time trying to make the band work. You deserve to have a surgery that works for you. Good luck. Sent from my VS880 using the BariatricPal App

A few years back my insurance didn't cover bariatric surgery. So in desperation for change I went to Mexico and had a lap band. Right away I got pregnant and did not get to use the band properly not to mention I had to pay cash for my fills. So now 4 years, I have been getting fills and unfils trying to find my green zone. I throw up a lot and the GERD is unbearable. Not to mention I haven't lost any weight. I have increased my exercise and see the dietician. Even signed up for extra nutrition counseling out of pocket. Well I want to have a revision and my insurance denied me. Said I haven't used my band the way I was supposed to and didn't have enough follow up care. I don't have high blood pressure or sleep apnea. I have pcos and sever GERD. I live on protonix bid and tums at least 3x a day I'm so heart broken and discouraged! Let me clarify. My insurance does cover bariatric now. And many of my coworkers have had the surgery some who even weigh less than me

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get more energy. I am so exhausted by lunch time its not funny. I go to bed around 8 pm. Need to be up by 5 am. I have had my follow up for anemia 2 weeks ago and all my numbers were fantastic. I don't know who to talk to. Maybe its depression. If you guys have any energy tricks I would love to hear them. Or suggestions of which Dr i should talk to. Bariatric surgeon, hematologist, or psych.

I just bought the GNC bariatric line of soft chews also. I have the multivitamin and calcium. They smell amazing! They dont taste nearly as good as they smell, but tolerable. When I run out I will switch to patches.

I just switched from Celebrate chewables to the BariatricPal Multivitamin One. The Celebrate used to make me super nauseous, and you had to take two of them. The Bariatric Pal version is only one tablet and the taste is much better. The Celebrates were so bad that I had to extend my Rx for Zofran just to keep them down. Do yourself a favor and get a 30 day supply and try them out. This is not an endorsement for any kind of kickback, I truly have found them to be superior and I'm happy to support this product going forward, it's a game changer.

I'm new here. I'm 49 female. BMI of 45, 5 ft 7 in. At first I wanted a lap band but now I think I want a gastric sleeve. I have to wait until July 17th for the orientation class before my PCP will refer me to the bariatric surgery office. I do have an HMO that covers surgery. Thanks for all the info I'm getting from these forums. I'm very anxious to get started and can't wait for the class on the 17th. Wish it was sooner.

hey Guys thanks for the posts, when i woke up this morning i threw the rolls out i really didnt miss them as much as i thought i did when the impulse came. I started a low carb diet today!!!!!! Ive been a excellent patient for many years with all my injuries, so if the doctors say do this i will to the T. As for me doing diets and weight loss ive failed for one reason or another and after staring and stoping a diet Ill start again monday or after the holiday im just tired of it all. two years ago i walked into a bariatric doctors for a consultation he talked to me and pushed the Lapband, at the time i had three friends who had it done and it worked for one out of the three (the husband and wife) had complications not from lapband. So after leaving his office and talking to family who of course said just lose the weight you dont need another surgery, i put all thoughts of bariatric aside. All this time my mom has been suffering with Lymphoma (3yrs) and while helping her i popped a umbilical hernia and didnt tell anyone except my doctor and wife and maybe a close friend. I had been taking her to chemo and radiation for about 2 1/2 yrs and i just couldnt do it anymore i needed to help myself i forgot all about me and my needs, thats when i knew it was time to see another gastric doctor and get the help i needed for me. I seen my doctor this summer at the same time mom calls and says my aunt has pancreaitic cancer and not much they can do for her, she doesnt live close and mom and grandmom dont drive so ive been doing all the driving a few times a week back and forth 80 miles round trip and if theres traffic....ugh Id do anything for my family as you can see, had a talk with my aunt while she was in bed already thin and in pain but still smiled to see me and knew i love her, i told her what i was doing and she said its the best thing i could do for myself and wished she would be around to see my transformation, i cried she cried and she said she will always be around watching me and i know she will, last night i visited again and she only has days left. As you can see im a caretaker im not ashamed of what ive done always putting family or friends before me but if your like me and are thinking of bariatric help, DO IT and dont look back you have to put you first take your life back as im doing. Sorry for the long winded post i got off track a lil with my family issues andi was going to delete but there might be that other person who is in same spot and it might help...if not it helped me write it down! God Bless Joe

I am not a patient of Dr Cunneen’s, so I cannot speak to any experience with him specifically, though I have met him, and he was present in the operating Room when I had my Lap band installed. However, having said that, I WILL tell you that my experience with that Medical Group, and Cedars-Sinai in general was absolutely horrific. The “surgeon” who installed my Lap Band was Theodore Khalili, who is now the Chief of the Cedars Bariatric group. Just THAT fact alone is enough to make me advise people to STAY AWAY from Cedars, and particularly Khalili. He did an AWFUL job on me, and when the problems surfaced, he ran like jackrabbit. No support whatsoever until I threatened a lawsuit, and then he acted like a three-year old whose toys had been taken away. In addition, Dr Cunneen was present during the surgery to oversee Khalili’s work….and the surgeon who REMOVED my lap band stated that the band had been installed INCORRECTLY. So, I would have to question Cunneens skill if he oversaw a procedure that was performed incorrectly. HH

Hi, I live west of Alexandria on Hwy 27. I started a Minnesota site but have no action so far. I'm a 7 year Lap Bander and I would not part with my great little tool. Let me know how you are doing. I'm actually looking for a Bariatric Doctor, mine is in Abbott NW, Minneapolis, and I want to transfer to someone who really takes time with you & has a pleasant personality. I have had Cancer & Breast Removal in 2012 and Minneapolis is pretty far to drive to just be hurried through when I have a Lap Band ckup appointment. Would you have a recommendation? I am an internet Lap Band Forum Fan. Folks here are so helpful.

Hi all, Well I had my weight check with the surgery clinic today and I was greeted by the bariatric coordinator who weighed me and put me in a room to tell me that they are going to bring me in for a preop appointment on September 2nd and that my surgery can possibly be either September 4th or October 16th. The surgeon will determine on the 2nd. I am excited and nervous all together!

So today, I had to do my labs work which included that nasty 2 hour glucose test. So I was pretty much wiped. I have extremely small veins (I think that is the only part of me that is small). The girl in the lab rocked! Anyways, I also had my EKG at 4 PM. The nurse was awesome and very supportive and talked about how great the doctor I am going to is. So she tells me that Dr. XXXX, is coming in to talk about my EKG. First, let me state he is not a doctor. I think he is like a physician assistant. (My husband was with me) This is our convo: HIM: "So your having surgery? Have you done the psychological evaluation?" ME: "No, the doctor would prefer me to do all the lab and other required testing prior, to ensure I am a good candidate. " HIM: "Well, you know your insurance probably will not pay. The consider it kinda like cosmetic surgery." ME: "I have spoken to BCBS and they do cover Bariatric Surgery." HIM: "Well, there was someone else in the region that has BCBS and they did not pay. You know they have criteria you have to meet. Also, you know there are horrible side effects like dumping sydrome." ME: "The surgery I am considering does not have dumping syndrome and is a relatively new procedure. Yes, I am well aware of BCBS requirments and have done my research." HIM: "There was a lady here that had liposuction and they punctured her lung and she was in the hospital and we could not help her and her insurance is did not cover it. You know we do not endorse the surgery and if you have any reoccurring side effects you will not be covered by our office." ME: MOUTH OPEN HIM: "But if you do decide to do it we want to be there with you to walk you through it." WTF>>>>>>>>>>>>>>, Let me just say this as an American Stationed Abroad, yes, we have different standards, but I didn't need all the negativity and comparsion to COSMETIC SURGERY, again WTF!!! I can understand them CYA'ing and telling me they do not endorse it....I have to be medically cleared to be here and they decide that, so what they yank it?

i am happy with my results also . But this is sure tough . I dare anyone to say bariatric surgery is "the easy way out ".... Are you exercising? I am walking but not as much as I should. Im just tired when I get ho from work. I did swim today for 15 minutes . I feel like I should be all up into some kind of big workout ! Feeling guilty about NOT

Whether or not you have excess skin relies on lots of things---but rate of loss is not one of them. (People who have gastric bypass may seem to more dramatically develop the issue, but that is simply because their loss is more rapid. The rapid loss does not CAUSE the problem; the loss causes the problem--which means that yes, it can indeed occur after banding.) The things that influence the degree to which you are affected include age, genetics, smoking history, sun exposure history, how much excess weight you carried, how long you were overweight, how many pregnancies you have had, how many times you had large fluctuations in weight, and so on. Losing fast, losing slow---it doesn't really matter. Think of a balloon. If you blow it up to capacity, then let the air out, it looks pretty much the same. If you do this many times, it starts to change. It gets less elastic, striations appear in the latex. Your skin is pretty similar. If it's stretched and stretched, then the tension is released (again, fast or slow, doesn't matter), then elasticity is lost, especially if there is yo-yoing. There isn't much one can do about this other than hope for good luck and good genetics. Meeting your nutritional needs can give skin what it needs, too---that for sure is important. (Get enough Protein and Fluid, get adequate heart-healthy fat, take a good-quality bariatric Multivitamin.) Exercise to build a good "scaffold" for your skin to drape on. Know that exercise will not tighten skin, but will improve your health and appearance anyway. I'm almost 49, am almost 90 down from banding almost 10 months ago (and over 100 down from my highest), and have been very, very pleased with how many of my body parts have rebounded. OTOH, I have had 3 pregnancies, breastfed, and am no spring chicken; I have a plastic surgery consult scheduled for May, when I'll be in the surgeon's city for my daughter's graduation. I am nearing goal. I look pretty darn good in clothes. I look a HELL of a lot better naked than I did before losing weight. If I decide to proceed with surgery, it will really just be icing on the cake, something to do for MYSELF, to complete the journey. But the laxity of the skin is not something that torments me----really, it is weirdly symbolic of the positive changes I've made. ETA: To answer your other questions: I am aiming for the lower end of the normal BMI scale because my frame is small. Since yours is large, I'd go for a bit higher on the BMI scale. "Normal" BMI is defined as 18.9-24.9. At your height, you'd hit the high end at 159 pounds. I've had great success! I'm 0.4 pounds away from 90 pounds down, and have not yet hit the 10-month mark. The band has really addressed my particular weight issues, and I've found it quite easy to work with. I was taken aback by the hair loss that occurred beginning around 4 months postop. This is a result of an interruption in the hair growth cycle caused by the trauma of surgery and anesthesia. While it's important to make sure you get the right nutrients (protein, fluid, Biotin, zinc), and it can be helpful to use growth-promoting shampoos/conditioners such as Nioxin, really---it's just a matter of time. Just when I thought it would really become noticeable to others, my normal hair growth resumed---no harm, no foul. Otherwise, it's been pretty smooth sailing for me. I accepted the lifestyle changes (permanent eating changes, a lifelong need for daily exercise) pretty happily---so I have no real complaints.