Search the Community

their rules for coverage of gastric bypass and adjustable gastric banding. That way they should realize that you are talking about two things, but it should also be similar. Since medicare started to cover banding, most insurances do now too. But there are also many different versions of CDPHP also. So check yours. But get it in writing. You may have things that aren't documented, but if you have some they can get documented. Some of the tests may find things that you don't even realize you have. Just take things one step at a time. BTW, don't worry about venting, we all have to at some point... and... we all know how being fat sucks!!! so you are in the right place!! jacci

(Headless, because I'm waiting for my stalker dude to DIE before I put my photos anywhere he can see them. He's even older than I am. This may not take forever. LOL) Also, remember that revision patients usually have a slower rate of loss and even a lesser total loss than first-time patients...so I'm still "a ways" from where I want to be. Photo on the left is three years AFTER banding and the day before my band removal and revision to the DS. Photo on the right is one year AFTER the DS. Let's see if I can do this:

If you don't even know what a RNY or a DS is, I don't think it is a good idea to go for a bypass. They ARE Bypasses. Do your research or you are setting yourself up to fail. You need someone (a doc, or nutrionalist) to clue you in on the band. Obviously somewhere there was a major breakdown of communication, unless this is a drive-by posting.... edited to add this was directed to BBD or BPD, whichever it was...

Are you exercising Vanhos? It makes a really enormous difference to how much weight you''ll lose. Not just a stroll round the block but putting some effort into it within your abilities five or six times a week for an hour type of exercise. Many people loathe it but its really really necessary. But 50lb a year is a great loss. You're body and your health will thank you for losing that weight and they'll thank you for losing it at a slow, steady pace. Dont compare yourself to bypass patients, who often regain a good portion of what they first lose. the best thing about the band is it doesnt force you to do anything. You can choose to begin working properly with it if you've been a little off the wagon at any time and it will always be there ready to support you.

Have you talked to your doctor about the food getting stuck? It sounds like you may be a little overfilled. It sounds like you're in a vicious cycle and I'm wondering if not eating properly is causing the gas...? Maybe you're lactose intolerant. You should be so proud of your 50 lbs! You are right on track for 1 lb a week, which is a faster rate than many bandsters. Remember - a year from now when you're still losing, a lot of those bypass coworkers are going to be struggling with regain. I'm in Michigan too. Please feel free to PM me if you want to chat. Good luck to you! (((HUGS)))

It has been almost a year since my lapband. I went to doctor to have bypass but because of too many hernia surgeys in lower abdomen, they wouldn't do it. That was the reason I wanted the bypass, to lose the weight to stop hernias from happening. They did lapband instead and it has been a huge frustration and only about 50 lbs. lost in a year. All of the bypass surgery people at the place I work (and there are many) look at me like I am a big loser and not in the right way. They have all lost 100s of lbs. Also, I have a horrible gas probelm since the day I woke up from the band being put on. Nothing seems to work and so it keeps me from eating properly. I feel like my food gets stuck in esophagus and it is scary. The gas starts everyday at 3:00 pm and lasts until 10-11 pm. It is very uncomfortable to say the least and pushes up in the little stomach and keeps food out. I am sitting here wondering why I let them do this to me. I feel like a total failure and more frustrated than I have ever been in my whole life!!!:cry Because of the huge frustration, I eat stuff I shouldn't when I can get it down. Stuff that made me fat in the first place like cookies!! I know it's dumb but food was my last vice and it would probably be easier to cut off my head! Anybody else out there can can relate or give me some good advice???:think Miserable in Michigan....

I had an endoscopy before surgery, and had moderate gastritis caused by GERD. I also had a haital hernia, which can cause GERD. Had my hernia fixed and had sleeve. I have very little acid now, and am thrilled with the results. Some people do have acid issues with sleeve. Bypass people typically don't. Bypass people do have some other issues, though....so it's a trade off. Talk to your doctor. Pay your money and take your chances:)

Hello everyone, my name is Kyle I'm from St. Louis. I'm 26 and I had gastric bypass October 17, 2012. At my heaviest I weighed 530lbs and the day of surgery i weighed 495. As of today I currently weigh 305lbs. I have 90lbs to go till I hit my goal weight. I look forward meeting and talking with fellow wls peeps. lol The pic on the left is a few days before surgery and the one on the right is 6 months. I don't really have any current pics, but i'm sure i'll post more a one year.

I am considering gastric sleeve over gastric bypass mostly because of the less invasive process but I do suffer from moderate heartburn and am curious if that will effect my chances of getting the sleeve over the bypass. Any info would be much appreciated!

The sleeve will be covered if it is done at a military facility that has a bariatric program. If you don't live near a post that has one, you'll have to get a referral from your PCP to a bariatric center, where you will have to follow whatever their protocols are; Tricare will only cover gastric bypass. If there is a bariatric program at your post's hospital, you have to do the following to have a VSG: -Get a referral from your PCP to the bariatric program. -Attend the bariatric seminar, meet the surgeon and other members of the bariatric team (nutritionist, nurse, coordinating staff). You will be weighed and vitals taken which will be used to measure your progress and compliance. -Attend their nutrition / weight loss program. One class is required, but continued participation is suggested. -Maintain a food diary per the guidelines provided in the nutrition class (MyFitnessPal etc). -Maintain or lose weight. Weight loss is not required, but you CAN NOT gain weight. -Stop smoking. They will routinely check for cessastion via a urine test. -Attend one bariatric support group meeting. -Have a one-on-one session with the nutritionist who will check your food diary for compliance. Once cleared by the nutritionist, you'll be scheduled for a Psych appt. -Get cleared by the psychiatrist (usually one appt, but more than one session may be required). -After the psych clearance, an EGD will be scheduled to check for H. Pylori, hernias, and you may also have an ultrasound to check your gallbladder. -Bloodwork is redone and if you see any specialists (cardiologist, pulmonologist etc), they'll need to clear you for surgery. -Final meeting with surgeon. Surgery date scheduled. -Length of time from beginning the program to having surgery varies. Could be a couple of months or closer to 6. Hope this helps.

this makes me very sad. I have my seminar on the 19th of January and I refuse to have a bypass. Looks like I will have to wait until I get a job that offers insurance. I was told by my PCP that the military is now leaning toward the sleeve and all her patients had the sleeve and we don't have a hospital at our base. I wonder what the heck she was talking about. I'll talk to my surgeon's PA at my seminar and see what my options are, if I can't get the sleeve WLS is off the table for me.

I wish I had the Bypass back in 2011 when I had the band... Best thing I've done in a very long time. Had my 6 month check in today, down 87 lbs since March, 147 since my max. The surgery is much safer then it used to be, medical technology has advanced and the risk have reduced greatly as well. Just remember, the risk of the surgery is lower than the risk of not having the surgery if you are obese. Good luck!

Excited to have replies. Infinite Butterfly - you hit the nail on the head saying when you said "focusing on other stuff instead of my next mean". That is me - I actually talked with my surgeon over the phone on Friday. We are acquaintences, and he also performed my lumpectomy for my Breast Cancer in January 2013. I thought I had been having gall bladder pains and he called because they were having to reschedule some appts and he wanted to talk with me. He said at one point that there was something he wanted to discuss, but did not mean it in a bad way. I told him I knew exactly what he was going to say and was going to bring it up to him during the appt. He said that he liked the Sleeve over Bypass and LapBand because it was metabolic also and not just a physical one. He explained about the hormone. I also would not choose the bypass because before I started teaching I would for a gastroenterology group. I saw too many people with complications with dumping syndrome. And as a science teacher, I can understand removal over rerouting. Our intestines were made to flow a certain way. I will still have some stomach after the surgery and food will flow through it like our bodies were made for. My college roommate's husband (who is an OBGYN) also had this done. So, I kinda figure that if a doctor has it then it should be pretty safe too. He is next on my list to call before the appt.

I have already told my boss that I'm going to have my hiatal hernia fixed. For me, though, it is a true statement because I have a hernia that is huge and is just about wrapping around my esophagus (ewww). I just will happen to be having the lapband placed at the same time. I don't know if you have a hernia or some other explanation for minor surgery (compared to gastric bypass, for example), but I sure wouldn't lie. I'm just not going to tell the whole story unless someone asks me directly. At that point, for me it would be lying if someone asked me directly if I had lapband and I said I hadn't. But since your surgery probably will interfere with your job to a degree, you could probably tell your boss and ask to keep it confidential. Isn't it a breach of some kind for an employer to share something that you want confidential, especially the nature of surgery? I don't know, just a possibility....

I can completely understand why you want to keep it private because once you tell everyone there is this expectation of losing a ton of weight in a short time frame(because most people are ignorant in regards to gastric banding vs bypass). They don't realize that with the band you aren't going to lose weight as fast. Since I was banded back on Sept 11 all of my coworkers ask me all the time how much weight I have lost and I hate to keep telling them the same number because I have hit a plateau. It's embarassing when people think you should be losing but your not, but they also don't understand the banding process. I pretty much had to tell my coworkers because of all the doctors appts and everything leading up to getting approved by insurance...I wish I didn't though so I wouldn't have this high expectation hanging over my head everyday...

I've had 4 friends who have had gastric bypass surgery. While all are losing weight they've all had some form of malabsorbtion issues post-op and have to take alot of liquid Vitamins and stuff. One also has problems where she will just suddenly throw up for no reason. They were all laid up for almost a month after surgery and 3 required open not laproscopic due to their size. I took a serious look at gastric bypass but in the end the mortality rate scared me. Also another thing I did was find a message board for gastric bypass. I was looking around one day and found a Memoriam page after having made some posts there. It was a list of all the people who had died who had posted there. There were alot of names on that list. I looked up their posts and saw the hope and comments like "I can't wait for my surgery and my new life!"..... then a few days later there would be an admin message "this person passed due to xxxxx" after surgery. There is no comparing the two procedures. I've had some people say "well bypass is reversable". No it's not. They can hook the plumbing back up but it is NEVER the same imo. With the lapband it's completely reversible and they're not rearranging anything. It's a much much much safer procedure. I'm on day 6 post-op and feel great. By comparison if I was post-op for bypass I'd just be getting out of the hospital today and would have 4-5 weeks of hometime before going back to work (what they told me). Instead I'll be back to work on Monday. Like I said no comparison. Just follow the doctors directions, get on your feet and walk as soon as after surgery as possible to prevent DVT and drink plenty of fluids as tolerated. If you do what they tell you to you'll be find and the risk of the unknown will be greatly reduced. Yes it's an elective surgery but I view it as medically necessary. Cormorbid conditions WILL kill you eventually. This surgery can stop those conditions in their tracks and set you on the right course for your life. ErikMesa :regular_smile:

Afterward, meaning after you have healed, for the most part, unless you are eating you will not have any different feelings, nor abilities than you have now. The ability to do more things will increase as your weight decreases. Your port and tubing do not just flop around freely inside you. They stitch the port, tightly into muscle, which holds it securely, and the tube simply runs from it, to the band,and you do not have sensation of it being there at all. I am quite close to my goal weight and I must still push firmly to feel my port. I ride motorcycles with my husband, as well as 4 wheelers, ride horses, haul firewood, jump on a trampoline, swim, wrestle with my grandbabies on the floor, use a variety of exercise equipment (not nearly as much as I should tho!)....heck the list could go on forever! I do a lot of these things thanks to the band, I was too heavy to do them before. The problem with stats when it comes to this surgery is the fact that they are operating on some seriously obese people. I am talking Super obesity, of over 500 pounds at times, and when you begin looking at that type of weight the health issues are monumental, and death is more common due to blood clots following surgery as they are not often mobile....but once the surgery is done, it is reported as a surgical statistic. This was a simple surgery for me, and I was very close to your weight. I was up and walking within hours, and back to my normal life in a week. We were remodeling a home with my Daughter at the time, and I was back to weilding a paintbrush and making Home Depot runs within that week. I am able to eat all foods. There are a few I opt not to eat....but that is a personal choice. I eat much much less than I did before, I am now in control of the food as opposed to the food being in control of me. I chose banding over bypass for several reasons. #1 being I am a cancer survivor and if I ever need to increase nutritional intake I can. #2. I had serious fears of my insides being cut and rerouted and removed. #3. I do not do well with deprivation. Being told I could NOT eat sweets was a deal breaker! I wanted to have a piece of birthday cake with my grandkids on their special days. So banding was the ideal choice for me, I eat that small piece of cake and am good, no longer wanting to eat the entire cake!!! The choice was an easy one for me. I do understand it is a very personal choice for everyone. I hope you do take into consideration the risks associated with obesity as compared to the risks associated with lap band surgery. At the risk of sounding like a mastercard commercial, getting your life back is priceless......being able to run, and sit in any chair, climb any ladder, fit on all amusement park rides----and not stand out in the crowd because of my size----those and a host of other reasons make me happy every day I chose to override my fears and be banded. I hope you come to peace with a decision soon. Did your wife go to the seminar with you? They can be super informative! Kat

Hi soontobelittle. you asked me about a doctor who could help you with your six month diet. i have one who is in montgomery who helped me and he was wonderful. his name is Ashley McIntrye. his office is located in Montgomery and his office number is 334-279-8180. he did my six month diet and did not charge me anything but the cost of my co-pay. he has done it for others as well. he perfers the lap band over the gastric bypass. he knows how to document your diet so that the insurance company will accept it. mine was approved in two days and all you have to do is see him once a month to get weighed. ask him to document diet pills, just don't take them of if he gives you a prescription, ask him to document it but don't get them filled. that is what i did. hope this helps. good luck and i know things will work out for you. :laugh:

My PCP suggested it...and then I read up on it, discussed it with my surgeon, and talked to a couple folks who actually had it. Last night, I went to a support group meeting I attend sometimes. I left there happy with my decision....once again. Here's why I am so happy in my decision. There were folks there last night who had the bypass, sleeve and lapband. And as they go around the room at the beginning of the meeting (introductions/etc) I hear the following.... From the bypass person "I've lost about 130 #'s....BUT, I'm stuck...haven't lost anymore in months....and don't know what to do." From one of the sleever's...who has lost about 160 #'s (she started at 409#) "I'm not losing anymore now, but thats ok...just look where I started". Then there were some bandsters there. One, who previously was at a stall...BUT is following up with her doctor, BECAUSE there are options to improve with adjustments, etc. And she's back on the losing track! Yea her! One had a temporary port issue, but has done FANTASTIC so far, and will continue to....she's got the motivation and determination. And me....when I wasn't losing much a couple of years ago, because I was eating too much, getting discouraged, etc....and I went back to my surgeon...he say's "why would you be discouraged. You told me you weren't good at dieting. Lets adjust your band." I think about that particular visit often.....I wish everybody could have a surgeon like that. AND, an option to adjust....if things aren't working to desired results.

I have a sister who the bypass 20 years ago-she gradually ate her way through the procedure and gained back all the weight she had lost. The gastric bypass is a surgery with all the complications that surgeries can entail. I had the lapband as it is a procedure that is less invasive (I went in at 6:00am and was home by 3pm same day.) My sister had vitamin deficiency problems as are a known problem-and lost alot of hair. There aren't vitamin absorbtion problems with the lapband as nothing is removed. My MD told me that my reflux would likely improve due to weight loss and it wasn't a contraindication according to my MD in Chicago.

seeing the scale at over 336 pounds, not being able to walk far or wondering do they make clothes bigger than size 30..that was my deciding factor along with being able to push my new granddaughter around the block. i did not want the bypass as i was too scared and my dr felt i should have because of my size and high bmi...so he told me of the latest thing, the plication with the band..he stressed i would have to change everything about my life..in order for it to work..for me to lose weight, id have to help the band by eating better foods, and in my allotted amounts and follow the guidelines..i think its successful, any wls if you really want it and do everything you can to make it happen. its not a magic cure all but it will work

Hi :-) and yessssss, I'm still on for Nov. 12th for my revision. My hubby and I arrive in SAN on Nov 11th @ 10:04 am. So I guess we WILL meet When do you come in?

Had my band to sleeve revision almost 9 weeks ago, was at a party last night and passed out. I had one small drink, turns out I was severely dehydrated. I swear I thought I was drinking enough during the day, I guess not. My urine was brown. Fluids are so important even further out u go. I gotta be more careful. Just want to remind people, if you aren't eating, you need to be drinking!

I have not gotten a date yet but I have some questions. Is it really necessary to purchase a blender? Also I hear some people say the protein powder shakes are not that great in taste. What is best for shakes because a family member had the gastric bypass and she only purchase the Atkins shakes which to me can become expensive. Also there is possibility that I might be starting a new job and I need the job just as bad as I need the surgery. So my next question is how long was you off work? I hate to start a new job and then request time off.

I am planning on getting the Lap Band ((HOPEFULLY)) in December. I just found out that my insurance requires 6 months of physician monitored documentation of a weight loss plan before even considering to pay. UGH! :faint:Had I known that 6 months ago, I would be planning my surgery now or may have even had it. BUT....there may be a reason that the Lord has for me to wait...He always does. I'm very overweight for my height and the Gastric bypass is just not for me - it scares me to death but this is the perfect tool for me. I can't wait until I have my surgery - I have 6 months to prepare my body for my new lifestyle. I plan on starting ((SLOWLY)) to exercise and I've already started chewing ALOT more before swallowing so that I get used to it when I have the band in. I'm in Alabama and my surgeon is Dr. Schmidt. I have not even met with him yet - that's planned for July 11. :clap2: I hear that alot of post surgery patients have "mourning" periods and even turn to other addictions such as alcohol once they have the surgery - I'd love to hear from anyone that has advice for me. And where do I get one of those CUTE counters that keep up with your weight loss? Tickers??? I think .....