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Congratulations to you also photoegor,, didn't mean to leave you out. Same goes for you,, take care of yourselves these first few weeks. Good luck

Sghatl - I had two abdominal hernias. My doctor said it was a real mess inside, but from what many others are saying, I don't think it affected my recovery very much. My first week was pretty miserable, but now at 10 days, I'm almost feeling normal. Good luck with yours.

Hi kandiceb, I have heard that some ppl can return to work a couple of days after surgery, but that was not the case for me. It was about a week after my surgery that i started feeling better. For me, i was nauseated for about 5-6 days. If you feel up to going to work on thursday that's great but i would let management know that it could be longer. You definitely don't need to over do it. Good luck and hope you have a quick recovery.

Getting banded has been really great so far. My surgery went without a hitch and I was out of bed and rarring to go almost immediately following. Its early days, but I remain hopefully optimistic that this will work out in ways that all the other diets that I have tried have not. I consider myself a professional inexpert dieter --if its out there I have tried it. Low carb, no carb, nutri whatever, ww, fasting, diet pepsi and cigarettes, opti, medi, HMR, slimfast, diet pills (Rx and OTC) added to the mix to keep my appetite in check. My best and longest successful dieting foray was from the winter of 2000 through the summer of 2003. With boatloads of Water, a low carb diet, and as much exercise as I could stand -- I managed to lose about 90 lbs (this left me still needing to lose about 50 or 60 lbs to achieve a healthy weight by American standards and certainly by my standard). However, the long plateau worked to undermine my dedication and the weight began creeping back at a pretty steady clip. I never again got to my high of 292, but at my first weigh in with the lap band surgeon I was about 268 or so. It was a tough decision for me to make. For a variety of reasons I wasn't interested in a bypass....and it killed me that essentially I am paying someone to restrict my food intake. But the yo-yo dieting had really defeated me. I have been forturnate in that I am a relatively healthy fat person -- but I knew that time was working against me and the older I got -- the less likely that that trend would continue. So it was with alot of baggage that I started shopping around for a bariatric doctor to explore the lap band. The whole insurance thing was/is a hassle. They cover, but I couldn't find an in network provider (in NYC or NJ), just out of network with a threatened 70% coverage amount. I haven't seen any bills yet. I will certainly provide updates as that situation unfolds. Post surgically I have "officially" lost 14 lbs.... this is a little sketchy in my opinion. They weighed me at the hospital the day of .. and I was a whopping 274. I think working the day before from home, planted in front of my computer all day with no food after 3pm and no liquid (because I can be overzealous in following pre-surgery instructions) had me retaining major water. If I go by my last weigh in at the doctor the week before my surgery my weight loss as of 12-19-2007 is closer to 4 lbs. Post surgically, I was bullied by my doctor to lose about 10 lbs. Surprisingly, I have found that I am not at all interested in monitoring my weight other than whatever I am forced to do when I go to the doctor. I mean why torture myself? That's why I decided to get the surgery, right? This should not be interpreted as not monitoring my intake.... I have. Although I didn't do so good with the whole crushing pills until 1 month after surgery. Yuck! I just couldn't. I have tried my best to limit my intake, eat three times a day with no snacking and don't eat and drink at the same sitting. The last has proven to be the toughest thing. Also, it has put me in jeopardy of not taking in enough water -- I am trying but if you can't drink during, or up to 30 minutes before or after, and can't gulp it down like medicine.... I am reduced to totting around a bottle and taking sips all damn day. It has proven to be my greatest challenge so far. :faint: But generally speaking -- its so far so good and I am hopeful that I will have lost another couple of pounds when next I see my doctor 1-15-2008. And if I haven't... that's alright. The average weight gain between Thanksgiving and New Year is like 5 lbs, right? If I managed to dodge that bullet -- its all good. Later,

Sherri - I'm right there with you. These holidays have been terrible on my resolve. Doesn't help that I have absolutely no restriction at the moment and all the local fill docs are completely booked. Oh well, I have a fill scheduled in a couple weeks. It just hard working on will-power alone this time of year. PS - Good to see another new "old-timer" from 2005. We should start a thread to help with support for those with the band more than 2 years. Don't get me wrong I love the enthusiasm of the "newbies" they frequently help kick my own lagging motivation up the rear and get me moving again on this path but sometimes it is also good to talk to someone else that understands what I'm going through at this stage of the game.

what are you afraid of? The procedure? I don't know if this will help you, but I have never had any kind of anything done to me. No broken bones no surgeries. In fact the only time I have been in the hospital is One over night stay for the birth of my son and to visit other people LOL I am so convinced this is soooo safe that I am not scared in the least. My Dr told me the worst thing that he has happen is three of people had infection around the port area and they just go in and move it to a different location. For me the positive far out way the negative. Ultimately you have to do what is best for you. I would not even consider bypass the risk were to high for me but many people have had it done...it's not for me though. This on the other hand I can do. My biggest worry is, if I will be in alot of pain after wards. Do more research, talk to more people, people who have had it done, talk to your doctors. I did so much research and have read through these forums and my PCP Dr, one of her nurses had bypass I talked to her about it even though it was bypass. I hope this helps. I haven't been approved yet so my help and advise can only so far.

Hello, my name is Tiffenii and I am from East Texas. I am in the final stages of the approval process, just waiting to hear. I have my fingers crossed as I am waiting to hear from UHC. Hopefully, it will be worth the wait!! I think that the lapband would be a God send for me. After having three children and eating a poor diet I have gained about 70 pounds in seven years! I am 30 years old BMI is 37 Hope to be banded June 08

This is my first post, yay! I just got my surgery date -- it's next week (Jan 17th) which is 2 days before my birthday! What a wonderful birthday present to myself! No cake this year, but it will be worth it.

Hi All, I am a new bandster banded the day after turkey day in Tijuana..I wish I could say my recovery has been easy but sometimes it's been HELL!! ..but I made it through week one WHOO HOOO I have a seroma at my port site :cry but thanks to this site I've read that it's not the end of the world, I've been putting a hot compress and a heat pad on it 2/3 times per day and it looks to be getting better I do have a question for anyone reading? :help:I have a scar that looks like it's not closing, my scars are closed with wire stitches and the one under my breast that is not getting air seems to be open still. Has anyone had this issue? I would post a pic but it seems pretty difficult to do. On another note this site has been tremendously helpful, my husband says I'm addicted LOL I look at this site everyday Thanks all Happy

Ok, so I went to the weight center in the fall of 2011 and went through all the classes, psych eval, nut, weigh ins, etc and paid my surgery track fee....Then found out that my husbands bcbs ppo national account had an exclusion on bariatric care. I even went and was was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, which i am glad i got the CPAP as I am sleeping better and my husband says I am not snooring as much as in the past, plus on this account! So, I wrote a 6 page letter outlining my history....Please don't worry after you read this, but when I was almost 20 I was crossing the strret in college, of course in the middle of the night with all the athletes before spring break trips for sports and I was hit by a 55 mile an hour car crossing the street. I broke my back, pelvic, had Filled up with fluid in my legs and the hip I was hit on, plus fracturing my skull and damaging my neck. No worries, I survived, but was told I would never be able to play sports like I did because of the injuries and were bad, but that didnt stop me. i learned to re-walk and care for myself....then the following season I wanted to just try to play soccer knowing I had ,issed softball all varsity sports, so I didnt want the driver to determine my fate.....Coach and the team were so excited to see me dressed.....I walked out on the field took one pass to me and as I crossed half field to kick it in the goal, which would have been easy for me....i kicked and felt a horrible pain through my body...shruuged it off, asked for another one thinking I could pass and low and behold body told me H..LL NO. I hugged the team and said sorry I just can't do this. The trainer drove me back to the lockers and that was the last time I was ever on the field until I had children...but before children I had surgeries to remove fluid off my hip and legs, but it will always be there. I was healthy at 180 lbs just not as muscular as I was in the past. So having children, wasnt sure that could happen based on the drs reports. So my husband was told this on our first date because I decided I didnt want him to get connected unless he was aware, yes he laughed...i already went through a long relationship and he was different than anyone I had ever been with..he says its because of the accident and I say its because he made me laugh. Ok, got preg for our first, deemed high risk...now the drama, the found a fibroid growing beside our baby...i was watched every week. Anyway was put on bed rest, the day of the c-section was def a comedy show, i had 2 surgeons in case I needed emergency hysteroctomy but when they said our new son was fine, they asked if they could take pictures of the fibroid as it was large, we asked them to remove it, but it was too dangerouse and I could die from blood los, etc so they tucked it back in my uterous and my life has never been the same. I couldnt loose the preg weight due to the pain on my back...so the dr told us if we wanted another child now or never...so they helped us get preg for our second...the fibroid grew, we ended up aving an emergency c-section 7 weeks early and our daughter was 5 lbs, again too dangerous so tucked fibroid back in. Anyways, i finally had enough....went in for an eval for the hysterectomy and after them saying no more and we couldnt get preg again, surprise of our lives we were. Thought we lost the baby cause I was bleeding and they didnt expect the baby to make it. A nurse at my work gave me shots to help me along....needless to say, our third was taken emergency c-section if you couldnt guess but she was over 8 lbs abd healthy...me on the other hand not so much....the re-oppened me that night as I had a major infection. I was then packec at home for months to heal, but we had our last baby...tubes tied as well. Now to heal, 2 yrs ago I had an ablasion to stop the horribly female cycles due to the fibroid, but it didnt help with the size....i am getting to my question, but figured you needed this background....so now its been 10 yrs, our son just turned 10 but had the fibroid for 11yrs, now its pushing on my bladder and I drip all the time, uterous is pushed uo as its inside the wall, constant back pain and it pushes on my pelvic and back.....so, this 6 pg letter was just captured in this paragraph...but it was to my husbands company as we would out there is an exclusion for weight loss. Needless to say, I self paid all the previous apts but stopped going as we wrote the letter to see if they would waive the exclusion...YES after 5 months of follow my husbands HR team overrode the exclusion and worked with BCBC to approve me. Now my letter said verticle sleeve, but they wrote a note that after review they approved the bypass......NOW what...they are working on how to notify the drs and Heres my question.....what are my chances of getting the sleeve? Can i loose over 100 lbs?? Also my uterous is enlarged so i am worried about bypass and only wanted sleeve! I dont know when I will be able to go back to the dr, but now that I have ben waiting and got the news wasnt sure what your thoughts are on getting them to agree to sleeve versus bypass. Thanks for listening! I read all the discussions and guess this is my largest post. Thanks again for your time.

I am brand new to this forum. I have been researching the band for a few weeks now after my last doctor visit. I have to say, I am already so glad I found you all! I have been reading for hours, and all I can say is WOW, and THANK YOU! I have been feeling so hopeless in a time when I should be so full of joy...I am 24 years old and married the love of my life just over a year ago. Just before that, however, I found out that I had type 2 diabetes. What a blow that was, and is everyday. I have always struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember and I am so tired of it. I have dieted and exercised for years, and now that I am completely insulin dependant within one year, my doctor and I are trying a weight loss rx (pills). Nothing lost. It has been almost 4 months and I have not lost a single pound. I have NO self confidence at this point in my life and it is really putting stress on my new marriage. I know there is a long road ahead of me before I can really move forward with the band, but after reading what you have all posted, I finally feel like there is hope. I will be discussing the band as a possibility with my Endo on Monday and I am very excited. I am a little concerned about how people with diabetes do with the band. Is the diet the same? Any severe lows? I just have so many questions, and no one to ask...until now I am hoping...Thank you all so much for sharing and supporting. I would be curious to know if there are others with diabetes with the badnd who would be willing to share. Thank you all, so sorry for the long post, I promise I will be good from now on! Thanks!!

Hi everyone! Like many others, I too have read this site for some time now. This is my first post because I've been a little apprehensive to post--but then I thought, "what the heck" and decided to introduce myself. I'm 19 (young I know) and I decided to begin my lap-band journey in June of this year. Basically, my main reason for choosing to have this surgery is because this really is a last resort. I know some of you may be thinking that I'm awfully young to have to move to a "last resort" but, hear me out. I've been overweight my whole life, seriously, my mom started watching what I ate at age two. Anway, at twelve I was diagnosed with dismetabolic syndrome with insulin resisitance. We hear about this a lot now, well type two diabetes in children now but when I was diagnosed my case was actually just surfacing. In one of the leading children's hospitals in the nation, I was the only patient with a condition like mine in the whole hospital. Anyway, sorry to go on and on. So, now at 19 I am at risk for PCOS and have normal blood pressure but it's abnormally high for my age. My mother and gradmother are also overweight--so I guess you could say it runs in the family. I am experiencing things that a fifty year old woman should be dealing with--not a nineteen year-old. I'll give a few more details about my self, just so you get the idea---I promise to make it short! :eek: I also have lower back pain and joint pain in my knees. I did tae kwon do for three years and while I was healthier, the weight never seemed to come off. Oh, I almost forgot my diet! Since about twelve I have been eating low carb but have not cut out carbs completely. And last but not least---my weight and height (for the whole world to see) I am 5'7 and about 330. OK, so now you know a little about me. Let's see, what else can I say...ah yes, surgeons. I have United Heath Care (primary) and Coventry (secondary) insurance but am having to go through conventry. My primary won't cover the surgery until I am 21 so...secondary insurance it is. As far as the surgeon...really my only option is Dr. Hohen from the Bariatric Center of Kansas City. Coventry only has Dr. Hohen in their network--at least that's anywhere close to where I live. I like in the KC metro area but go to school in Springfield, MO. While I am mentioning school--I'm an English Education major and I love literature---Go English! :biggrin1: Anway, this is getting to be a novella...so I'll end it here. I look forward to meeting all of you and have enjoyed reading the plethora of information on this site--it's amazing. Oh, and as of now, I am still in the beginning of this journey. As of Friday, my file is being referred to the person in charge of the psych. consult! Finally, after 3 months the ball begins to role!:clap2: Lauren :kiss2:

you mean sex..with another person right? there should be a class somewhere we could take for those of us who have likely grown shut... since its been soooo long. they...dont grow shut, REALLY.. i think.... to answer the question for myself, ive only been banded three weeks and i am a solitary practitioner, but the IDEA of it has definitely increased. ideas...plural...

HI, my name is Jeanine and I've been on this site for a little while but realized I haven't made an introduction. This is the most resourseful site I have found on the Lapband (and the most interesting, too!! ). I'm 40, married w/2 children. I'm 2 weeks into my 26 week journey to the lapband and though the insurance hoopla. Going pretty good, I think. The big thing with me is that I'm sitting on a 40 BMI and was told that I can't lose any more then 5 pounds and can't gain anymore then 5 pounds. I can gain/lose that much in a week from that time of the month! BCBS of Arizona has very stringent requirements (6 months Dr visits, weekly dietician discussions, and 3x a weeks at the gyn w/a workout plan from a trainer). I've been heavier, and have only been slightly lighter than I am now and know that I won't lose or gain during this time. It will be hard but I can do it. This is too important to me. Does anyone have any suggestions, tips or/and adivce for me? I want to lose the weight and get healthy NOW but not risk losing the surgery. Thanks your help!

Welcome - I too am new, have attended seminar and see doctor next week hope to be done asap. Most sound more than happy with the procecdure - some not so happy. I pray I am one of the lucky ones without problems.

I had mine the day after surgery - and it was at least a week early. I'm guessing it had to do with the 2 week all liquid diet (I lost 11 lbs), and then just the stress of surgery? or it was just a fluke. We will see what next month brings.

Hi everyone! My name is Kris and I live near Cleveland, Ohio. I'm 36 years old, single with no kids. I'm still in the research phase and haven't made any decisions yet. I have a seminar to attend next week and the week after I'm meeting with my general physician to talk about all my options before I go to my first consultation. Growing up I was always the skinny kid in the neighborhood. I was a size 6 until my early 20's. Since then I've steadily gained weight. I've tried every diet out there. Some worked, some didn't. I lost weight only to gain it back plus more. I've done Weight Watchers which is really the only thing that actually worked but once I stopped paying the fee I gained all the weight back. After reading some of the threads here I have a couple of concerns and/or questions... I've been in and out of therapy since my late 20's for personal matters not directly related to my weight. About a year ago I had an appointment with my Psychiatrist for a prescription refill appointment and I broke down and told him that I had been using laxatives on and off for the past 6+ years to lose weight. (As much as they say laxatives don't work for weight loss, they lie because it has always worked for me). Since the admission to him I've also had to come "clean" with my regular doctor and my therapist. Early 2007 I had lost about 30 pounds and was up to 15 laxatives a day. I stopped taking them in July and gained all the weight back plus 10. I know laxatives are bad so I'm not looking for any lectures but its a problem that I'm trying really hard to work past. It's almost like an addiction. Every time I eat a bite of food I think about taking a pill. *sigh* anyway.... My question is... will this end up hurting my chances to be approved for the surgery? Another concern I have is the cost. I called my insurance company and they said the surgery is not covered. Has anyone fought their insurance company and won? If not, how were you able to afford the surgery??? I'm really glad I found this site. I just mentioned to my sister tonight that I was thinking about getting the lap band hoping I'd have her support but all I heard was "how stupid" the idea was! ~kris

I am just starting to research lapband surgery. However I dont know where to start the process. I have checked with my insurance and they will pay 100% after deductable if using certain dr.s and hospital which is fine. What I dont know is if I should start with my primary care dr. first then have him recomend me for the surgery. Do I just make an appointment with the lapband dr. Also could someone tell me just about how long with the process be before the actual surgery is scheduled? From reading some of the threads it seems as if it is going to be months before anything can be done. Also does anyone know if age is a factor. Next week I will be 60. Is that too old for this procedure? I appreciate any information you can give me. :smile:

Okay, I been wondering this for the last couple of days. If we can do liquid diets some up to 3 weeks then why can we not control what we eat other times and not have the band? I am wondering if I can do this why should I spend the money on getting the band if I am going to have to have the strength of liquid diets? Is it because we see an end to all this madness of struggling with food?

hi ann i want to lose around 7 stone i had a band fill monday when then opend me up to do my port i had my first fill 6 months after but thats 2 yrs ago and things have changed you will proberly only have to wait three months as funding is better now x wendy

I haven't been banded yet, but hope for a late August/September date. I met with the psychologist yesterday, nutritionist next week and the surgeon for my consultation on July 2nd. My 6 months of diet will be complete in August and then it's off to the insurance company to review..:thumbs_up: I hear this can take awhile.. Has anyone been banded by Dr. Andrew Averbach in Baltimore, MD?

I also had a h. hernia found when I was banded last Wednesday. I had no idea it was there. Anyway, I am on day 7 and feel completely fine. No pain, gas, or really any sign other than my scars that I had surgery a week ago.

Hey Tammy, we were banded the same day. I can't believe how quickly you organised everything. What a great weight loss you've had so far. I'm staying away from the scales for a few weeks but we're of similar weight believe me. I agree, come and join us on the June, 2007 thread.

Hello, So i am a newwwwbie! i just got a call from Kaiser in So Cal saying that before they even sign me up for the orientation i need to get a nicotine test done first. and the results can take a week. Did anyone else have to do this first?

i am also aussie was done on 24 april. so thats nearly five weeks ago. i have no idea how much weight ive lost as i dont have scales. I know i have lost two dress sizes though .. thats so cool! but looking forward to seeing the surgeon again on friday to get weighed see how Im going.. keep in touch. this site is so good! full of useful information. feeling good now but had a bit of pain for a week/ ten days. im ionto solid foods now and am starting to get hungry! maybe thats time for the first fill? I dont know how that works. not sure that i got enough information about that part of it before the surgery. but I guess I will find out.. did your drs tell you of any local support groups. this is the only website ive found? but i wouldnt mind a local group....