Search the Community

Well, about 6 weeks ago, my husband and I attended a seminar for Lap Band Solutions led by Dr. Scott Stowers. In the ensueing weeks I have found out that my insurance has an exclusion for bariatric surgery. My wonderful hubby told me that he would support what ever decision I made and would be there for me every step of the way. (I so love my hubby!) As a result, I am going to be a self-pay patient. I have my appointment with Dr. Stowers on Dec. 22nd. Hopefully my surgery will be in January. I am very excited.

Hi Kathy, I hope you make the decision that is best for you and your body. I also have the band and it needs to come out. My band is almost 10 years old so instead of having my band completely taken out, my dr. is going to replace it with a new band (depending on the shape my stomach is in once he's in there) but I'm keeping my new port and tubing and I'm either going to have a gastric plication or the sleeve. I haven't decided which way to go yet either. When I spoke with my band dr. he normally recommends the bypass but I'm unable to have that plus I wouldn't get it anyway if I could (I think). He doesn't recommend the sleeve and doesn't do many of them mainly because he thinks the leak rate is too high, even though he is a very skilled surgeon he doesn't like the sleeve. I went to a different bariatric dr. who is also very well-known in southern Cali and skilled and he also doesn't really recommend the sleeve. So now I'm really confused. I was leaning towards the sleeve but now that I know about the gastric plication, I am leaning more towards that. My main concern with the plication is that there is no long term data. The longest term data I could find was between 3-5 years out. I was very happy with my band until about 7 years out, so I'm not real comfortable with the limited amount of information as my own data would show good progress at 3-5 years out. Anyway - do lots of research, ask lots of questions and good luck to you. genepha

September 13th for me. Looking forward to it, but not the 10 day pre-diet. I have a friend who does bariatric hypnosis and I am going to do a couple of hypnosis sessions during the pre-diet to try and give my subconscious some strength. Good luck everybody.

*scratches head*....ummmm....actual "dumping" does not happen to lapband patient.....perhaps they have a phamplet they hand out to Bariatric patients and they lumped banding in with it. Dumping is most certainly something that you do not need to worry about.

I had a stomach virus this past week and immediately called my bariatric doctor. They told me that once I stop vomiting and can start eating again to just have warm liquids the first couple of days and then move to mushies for a couple of days. I'm not a doctor, but seems to me that if you have a stomach virus, it's best to get it out of your system and not just take meds to make you not throw up. I know the dangers of vomiting, but you can't go the rest of your life popping a pill to keep from throwing up, can you? I don't know, this, like almost everything else having to do with the band, is different among doctors.

Hi I know this is going to be a crazy question but I need to know which surgery I had. I had my surgery in 1979 when I was 18 years old. It was done in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at Mount Sinai Hospital. I am now in my late 50s and my health is failing. I guess the reason I never knew which surgery I had was because I never had great medical care beyond the day I walked out of the surgeon's office. I spent years of throwing up my food and not losing much weight. When I asked other doctors about malnutrition they just laughed at me and asked if I had rickets. They made me feel stupid so I never pursued it further. I didn't have great medical care beyond that. I never had the energy or stamina that other people had, I just thought I was lazy and I pushed myself harder. Other people thought I was lazy too, and they never understood my eating issues. My teeth started breaking off and became painful in the back from all of the throwing up I was doing, which impeded my eating habits even more. I got pregnant several times and became very ill and I was not offered any medical help to get through the pregnancies. My husband was very upset about how sick I was he did not want lose me to not getting any help and did not want me to go through with them. My final pregnancy I spent 7 months hospitalized and tube fed because of malnutrition. That was 25 years ago and after I had my daughter again no doctor would presued the malnutrition issue they just told me that pregnant women had worse issues in third world countries. I went on from there to live my life until the last 4 years when I started getting too sick to even go to work. Finally I got social security disability but because you don't get actual medical insurance for two years after you start disability I did not get medical attention again. I am told by other people that the malnutrition issue is well-known however it seems to be unknownby any doctors I am seeing. So anyhow back to the original question all I know about the surgery is I have a large scare from the top of my abdomin to my belly button, I was told they had to take my stomach out to work on it, the staples show up on x-rays or scans and something was done with the opening to the intestine, I think it was moved to form scar tissue to slow down the emptying of my stomach. I have attended seminars given by bariatric doctors and when I pose the question to them about which surgery I might have had they tell me they can't help me. So what was the name of my surgery and what was done to me? I hope someone can give me some help here.

Dr. Abkin is my surgeon...he's out of Morristown, NJ and so far everythings been great. The patient education and the office staff are very good. I was approved within less than a week after submitting the paperwork to BCBS.... and he's on NJ Monthly's list of the Best Doctors in NJ under Bariatric Surgeons... He does surgeries in three different hospitals, so you can pick the one that's closest to you.... www.alsbariatricsurgery.com

Well guys it has been 11 days since surgery. I have lost 18 pounds and 1 pant size... I dare say it has been a good experience so far. The only thing I don't like is the Bariatric Meal drinks I have to drink (7 a day). I am really looking forward to eating real food again even though I'm not really hungry right now. I have to say the sugar free popcicles have been a God send.... Without them I would have probably killed someone by now. Well gotta get back to being a loser... hehe

I had the greatest idea for opening a new chain of fast food restaurants this morning. It would be a post bariatric surgery patients dream come true. The only thing on the menu would be high protein meats and fish, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt, sugar-free Jell-O and putting, some fancy flavored ricotta cheese desserts, veggies and low carb fruits. We would make our own delicious protein smoothies. There would be absolutely no bread, pasta, chips or even liquids of any kind served. The salad bar would offer customers a scale for their use so they could measure their own portions.,Every day would also feature a couple of high-protein low-carb hot meals. I would call it The Pro Shop. That should read *pudding! Damn autocorrect

Anyone have DR. Sherrod From Southwest Bariatrics, Texas?

I had my 100 questions thingy also .... plus 4 visits with my bariatric psychologist pre op. She even told me to call her if I had any issues during my hospital stay, and she would come and visit me. I have seen her once or twice post op, and will be seeing her once a month for few months, then possibly less frequently. My weight loss surgery clinic insists on both pre op and post op bariatric psychologist appointments. Actually, the clinic has team meetings all the time, to discuss the best option/care/treatment for any patient.

I am so sorry to hear this, remember many insurances will deny you. According to the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons, insurance companies will do this in hopes that you give up. They will find errors in paperwork or errors in filing etc. to deny you. This is an expensive surgery and if they can get a few people to say "forget it or I'm done" that's money in their pocket. So don't give up file an appeal, don't let them win.

My bariatric doctor said that for every one band they were putting on they were taking two off due to complications. RNY is the standard, it has been around for decades. I have absolutely no complications, I couldn't be happier with my decision.

There is a support group at the Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Woodlands that meets once a month. It is for anyone who has had any type of WLS (Weight Loss Surgery) so there is a combination of folks with the lap-band and folks who have had RNY. It's a very nice group of folks that share experiences, successes, ideas and information. Here are the details: Weight Loss (Bariatric) Surgery Support Group Memorial Hermann Hospital - The Woodlands DATE: 3rd Wednesday of each month TIME: 6:30pm - 7:30pm ADDRESS: Memorial Hermann Hospital 9250 Pinecroft Drive The Woodlands, TX ROOM: Conference Room, 1st floor CONTACT: Linda Nelson, 281-364-2458

Beba, at my surgery consult on 12/09 my bmi was 61. My surgeon does all of the bariatric surgeries, but I had already knew that lapband was for me. He made sure I knew my stuff and also asked exactly why I wanted that particular surgery. I had already made lifestyle changes so he was confident that I made a good informed decision and was a good candidate. Weight was never an issue...I was actually worried that he wouldn't do the surgery due to my size, but he quickly told me with a giggle that I was NOT the heaviest he had ever banded. I had surgery on 3/2 and I am doing well and down 37 lbs. So all in all if you have educated yourself and know that lapband (and all the hard work/maintenance afterward) is for you then stick to your guns. Because this is a long term commitment be sure that you're comfortable with the surgeon and his office staff. No one says you can't research others before making a decision.

I can't beleive that some hospitals are charging 55K for this to insurance?? The reason I say this is because I'm self pay and I'm paying 16,620.00 for everything. Would have been 18,000 but I got them to come down since on the surgeons website they advertised this price. Anyway, this includes surgery, hospital, anesthia, pre op, and all post op for 1 year. I'm having my surgery at Des Peres Hospital which is a bariatric hospita of excellence in St. Louis. So, I guess if insurance is paying for this surgery, they bill more than they do self pay? Very confusing.

I am considering it as an option if I don't get approved for my surgery, but with a max $1500 out of pocket on my insurance, I'd rather have it done here and stay local. I don't see any information about there being an exception for the OOP maximum for bariatric surgery for BCBS IL, but I'll be sure to call them on Monday.

Yes, I have PCOS as well. I was actually diagnosed years ago - probably more than 15 years. But in the past few years, things have gotten bad, and while I was not yet diabetic, my doctor upped my dose of metformin to 3 times a day. Even taking all that metformin, I was struggling to even maintain my weight, let alone lose it. And I knew diabetes was around the corner because things were getting worse and my dad got it around this age. This is the main reason why I chose to have bariatric surgery. I think PCOS is a very common reason. I did my surgery self-pay, so I did not have to go through the pain of a doctor monitored weight loss regime before hand. However, I have read others talk about it on here. It sounds like there are two point of the monitored weight loss regime. One is to make sure you can follow a restricted diet, since your diet will be very restricted after the surgery. I am 3.5 weeks post-op, and I probably spend more time and energy on food that I did before the surgery - I have to eat more often, and I have to track my food to make sure I am getting protein, and I have to make sure I am getting enough water. Not everybody is up for that, and those people who aren't ready aren't successful long term. The second is to reduce the amount of fat stored in your liver, which makes the surgery safer. It sounds like you are following the advice from your doctor well. He knows you have PCOS and about your medication problems and why you are struggling with weight loss and how hard you've been trying. Your profile says you have lost 26 pounds - so that's not nothing. A 26 pound loss is enough to reduce the fat in your liver, and to show that you can follow a diet. So let us hope that you still will be approved. Also, talk to your doctor directly about this concern - she probably has dealt with insurance companies/patients before. If you're wanting some suggestions on how to get your diet back on track just to make sure you are approved, I wonder if you have thought about low-carb? I'm not an anti-carb fanatic, and I hope to be able to eat reasonable amounts of carbs in the long term now that I've had this surgery. But before surgery, whenever I was having trouble controlling my appetite, low-carb usually got things back on track. At it's core, PCOS is a metabolic problem with your glucose/insulin metabolism and low-carb helps. And doing low-carb pre-op will prepare you for the post-op diet. The post-op diet isn't strictly low-carb, but when you can't eat much and you need to make sure you get your protein, it pretty much ends up that way.

@dreamingofasleeve From what I read, it is normal to have some reservations and fear pre-op. In the weeks leading up to my surgery, I know I was certainly questioning myself every step of the way, even up to the surgery itself. As they were strapping me to the operating table, I was crying. And, just like Matt, I can say that I'm glad I did it now. That was not always the case. I went through a similar experience as Matt with Lap Band, but I had my band out long ago and lived without my tool for about 8 years before realizing that I needed help. Since I got sleeved, I've gone through what I call a food "mourning" period where I think about what I've done and what the ramifications are to my relationship with food. There was a certain pleasure in eating and for me, it was linked to socialization and love. I have had to come to grips with that and change. I think I will always struggle with it, a little bit. Today, food is fuel. Yes, I still derive a certain amount of pleasure in it, but I don't eat for pleasure. Today, I eat to live. I don't live to eat. My advice to you is to do a little bit of soul searching. Bariatric surgery of any kind is not the end all/be all. YOU need to examine how much you are willing to adapt and change in order to reach your goals. Any weight loss surgery is a tool, a powerful one, but a tool just the same. Good luck!

WARNING.. Long read... But I feel I have to write this.... I have debated on posting this.. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to admit about myself. That everything I wanted is falling apart.. And I feel like such a failure. I started this process with a goal! Be that patient that is a rock star! Walk when I should. Drink when I should... Eat the exactly right thing at the right time... Take super good care of myself.. My fiancé would be the one who was by my side the entire time... And It wouldn't hurt that much. In the beginning Everything was going according to plan. It was a really rough first day... But the second was so much better! And the third!! A breeze. No one in the hospital could believe how well I was doing. The Bariatric team all made special trips just to say hi! Everyone was so happy. Assuring me I was gonna rock this recovery. While in the hospital.. My fiancé was there for maybe a few hours two of the three days.. And wouldn't come near me... Wouldn't even look at me. This just broke me. But I pushed through. When I came home... Our room was so dirty my mother wouldn't even let me stay in it out of fear of infection. No bother. I slept int the recliner anyways (which let me tell you... A godsend!) and he said he was "very sick and didn't want to get me sick" so he went to stay at his parents. Still raw from everything... In tons of pain... And feeling so alone... I thought "fine, no big deal! My family is here and will take care of me" and god bless my little sister. That girl changed my bandages 4 times a day like clockwork. Never complaining how gross my JP drain was... Or how needy I was. She made sure I got my fluids in. And I am so lucky for her. But I kept thinking..."he should be here!" "He should be the one doing this!" If he loved me so much... How could he be like this? So I went on with a broken heart. My family didn't Celebrate Christmas this year... My other sister is down in Texas and they said no celebrating without everyone... Which I was honestly fine with... It's not about the presents right? It's about the joy of the season. It's about family. Except for the fact that all my mother did was cry. The Friday after Christmas everyone but my sister left for vacation in Florida. You see my mother couldn't take the day of my surgery off because she had to save her PTO for vacation. (That's also why she didn't come to a single doctors appointment or seminar before the surgery). Priorities right? So my sister and I were alone for what seemed like forever. To make it even better I started getting so ill. My wound hurt. The stitches on that pert ocular site looked wrong. Very tight and too big. There should have been three small instead of two big ones that were strained. To top it off I had a terrible fever... And I couldn't keep anything down. I broke down and let my fiancé come home. That night I woke up on the living room floor. Severe pain in my surgical site and sweating bullets. They took my temp which was 100.1 They called my doctor and he confirmed it defiantly sounded like an infection. We were pulled in first thing that morning to see the surgeon. He walked in and treated me like an inconvenience. He began telling me all about how he had just treated a woman who thought hers was infected... And of course it wasn't. And he was sure it's fine... He pulled off my warping and took one look at it. His eyes got a little wider and his voice more serious. "Haven't had one of these in a while. Very rarely actually" he said in a very nonchalant manner. Great just what I need to hear! He told me that the wound had to be packed (sorry for the gross detail) it was so painful. I asked for my someone to get my sister. Since she changed my bandages and there would be no way for me to do it myself if I can't see. He blew me off and just went for it. He just started stuffing gauze in with a long Q-Tip almost 6 inches deep. Of course big chested ladies understand that it's hard to see over the Tatas so I couldn't see what he was doing. He told me no antibiotics that the surgeon on call ordered for me the night before. I was in so much pain I just ignored his obvious indifference and left. The next morning we had to change it. My sister had no clue how to pack it.. And I was the blind leading the blind. We dressed it the best we could and called the center. No one answered. The answering service wasn't even connecting. And then I fainted again. Amy sister called the hospital three times. Only to get ignored and forwarded to the nonfunctional answering service. Out of options we called the nurse in ER. They were very concerned with my temp and getting the wound packed and that the doctor didn't show is how. She told us that because it was a weekend I couldn't wait the two days for the practice to be open and to come in. She was so nice and told is to get to the Er and they would show us. I got there... And upon being wheeled into the entrance immediately got sick. Needless to say the receptionist and I didn't hit it off. I feel pretty bad about her desk :/ I saw two doctors who both looked at my bandages and looked very concerned. They pumped me up on IV fluids and antibiotics immediately. I told them 4 times I am allergic to penicillin. The nurse starts to hook up this bag when a woman in a white lab coat runs into the room. She grabs the bag out of the nurses hand and pulls him just outside of my door. "She's allergic to penicillin. That cod have been really bad. Throw the bag out and credit her account. I'll figure out what to give her!" Close call huh? Honestly after the three bags of fluids I did feel better. I had been so dehydrated my skin was flaking. They told me that my surgeon was busy and sending his intern. So in walks this woman. I had my right leg bent at the knee and tucked under the left under the blanket. She looks at me wide eyed. I had no clue you were An amputee! I swear I would have seen that In your chart. We all looked at her dumbstruck... I dryly muttered... "I'm not?!" She stared feeling the blanket over the empty bed below my leg looking for the rest of my leg asking " where is it?" I just looked at her and unfolded it. Needless to say not a good first impression. She barely let me talk. Then proceeded to ignore me and jam Q-tips into my wound to "open it up!" I'm pretty sure it was open considering I had been through tons of gauze just while being there three hours. It hurt so bad I felt sick. She proceeded to tell me that they shouldn't have given me the antibiotic... And I basically needed to suck it up and let them jam me full of gauze three times a day for a few weeks. I was so upset I just stopped talking. After 20 minutes of condescension she told me... I'm inclined to send you home. Let me touch base with your surgeon. So I waited. Two minutes later she throws open my door and says very loudly... "You didn't tell me you were throwing up." Like I had the chance?! I had only told every doctor and every nurse and been sick there.. Let's play a game called "WHO DIDNT REALLY READ THE CHART". She just bluntly told me... Well that could change you going home.. Let me check with the doctor. Well she strolls by almost 30 minutes later dressed in surgical gear and nonchalantly says "you can go! They'll be in to discharge you". And leaves as fast as she came. An hour later I was home. I felt like I was such an inconvenience. That's not fair to a patient. I get they do stuff like this every day... But here I am scared and in pain... And infected (which is apparently rare) and all I get is lectured by a woman who can tell a leg tucked under a blanket? I'm so upset I'm afraid to even call my surgeon. I was supposed to see him 2 days later and was so traumatized and depressed I just never made the appointment. My follow up is in a few days and I don't even want to deal with him. I'm just so fed up and so tired of throwing up at least 3 times a day for a month. I am a failure. I feel so raw. I literally feel like I'm wasting away. Not just physically... But I'm a shell of the happy person I was. I just feel so lost. I am not writing this to discourage anyone from the surgery! I am dropping weight so fast and I m sure I will look back at all of this healthy and happy and think it was well worth it... But I'm really struggling right now. And unhappy just isn't me. I don't know what to do... Get a new doctor? Ride it out? Confront my surgeon about his bedside manner? I just don't know. ????

Hi, I live down the shore as well. I had my surgery in Montclair's Mountainside Hospital in October 2007 by Dr. Karl Strom. He and his associates and office are TERRIFIC. They have great monthly meetings, a terrific dietitian and Dr. Strom has done tons of bariatric surgery (no pun intended.) I highly recommend him. Please e mail me if you need more info. I'm at exit 80 (only Jersey people understand that, lol. It's secret code.)

I'm from zanesville but I had mine done in Columbus at Osu bariatrics I wish you luck for your approval !

Check out BariatricPal Multivitamin ONE "1 per Day!" Bariatric Multivitamins from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/bariatricpal-multivitamin-one! BariatricPal has a secret offer just for this group where it'll cost you only $99 for an entire year supply! Check it out at https://store.bariatricpal.com/products/bariatricpal-multivitamin-one-1-per-day-bariatric-multivitamin-capsules-yearly-subscription With just ONE convenient & affordable BariatricPal Multivitamin ONE each day, you can get the bariatric vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy! BariatricPal Multivitamin ONE was designed and developed by a team of the world's leading Bariatric medical professionals. Please take a calcium supplement separately to prevent interference with absorption of iron. You can view a large selection of bariatric friendly Calcium supplements at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium.

That one person might lose weight on junk food but the health implications are not good at all spiking insulin and raising cholesterol levels plus others so this is why most of us chose a bariatric path and obviously our diet should be strict to get the most benefit out of it and the fact that our intake is so little post op we have to go for the most nutritional food possible! I've followed my doctors guidelines and was off multiple meds before I even left hospital and have lost over 100lbs and healthier than I've ever been before by being strict and following the doctors rules of high protein low carbs! Obviously "some" ppl have medical reasons that may interfere with their results but most of it comes down to those who work harder have the best results! But I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I wish them luck just don't complain.

Hi I am Kelly. I am a 32y RN, mother of a 5y daughter and wife to a husband that has a bottomless stomach. I am from Dothan, AL. So us southern ppl are not known for our skinnyness. I have been battling with my weight almost my whole life. I have been under physician supervised wt loss for >2y. Highest wt. 291. I have do every diet and wt loss program possible and I YoYo between 290-260. I have been approved for VSG in April. No surgery date yet. Have my last appt 4/6/16. Hopefully I will get a date then. I have been on the 45gm carb diet for 3wks now and have lost 13lbs. GW- 160 CW- 265 Any help yal can give me would be Great!!!!!! Sent from my SM-N910V using the BariatricPal App