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And yes, weight loss is quicker with the sleeve over the band. When I went in my doc says I am losing like a bypass patient, guess they lose a bit quicker than sleeves she says. Woo hoo!

Hi everyone, I hope im doing this right. I've decided to join and get some support. I had lapband surgery on 4-18,and I have lost 11 pounds since the surgery. I started with a physician (not the surgeon) weight loss program for three months as directed by my insurance company. I lost about 10 pounds on it. After the three months, I went to see the surgeon, Dr. John Baker, prior to my surgery date. He put me on protein shakes for two weeks prior to the surgery and I lost 15 pounds. The day befor surgery, I did clear liquids and lost a few more pounds, so i'm looking at about a 30 lb loss since February. It was recommended that I have gastric bypass for the amount of weight I have to lose, but I was totally against it. These past 12 days have been interesting. My core has been especially tender, but im walking 40 minutes per day as the doctor instructed. I am on sugar free, fat free full liquids. On Thursday I can advance to soft diet and I am excited. I am almost ready to come off of my BP meds ALREADY!!!!!!

Well i am almost there I assume. 6 month doctor diet check, mental health check, meeting with doc.. check and check. Tuesday I go in for a throat scope while my final paper work is processed and my date will be set for surgery. So i am guessing i will have surgery before mid November can't wait !

I do have a primary care physician but I never once said anything to them about my process. Actually - I still have not contacted them and I was banded on November 10th. I really like Dr Eagon and his staff! It was a 7 month journey for me but I am 6 weeks out and down 13 lbs which is the most weight I have lost in 6 weeks in 10 years. good luck and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

I had my gastric bypass on March 22nd. The surgeons and other people say I should be re-introducing soft foods into my system. Some days I can eat pudding Jello yogurt....and some days even broiled/grilled chicken. However for like 2-3 days I haven't been able to eat anything. I'm barely even drinking Water. I force myself to so as not to become dehydrated. Before the surgery, I was on a partial liquid diet and I drank glucose controlled Boost and Glucerna shakes. Do y'all think it would be ok for me to resume drinking them just to get some type of nutrients in my system? Even the Protein shakes come back up sometimes and the water based ones are just gross. I went from weight 403 to 377 in 3 weeks. I don't see a difference but I feel it in the way my clothes fit [ATTACH]36[/ATTACH]

I started this journey about six months ago when I attended my first informational meeting at MMC. Now here I am getting ready for my surgery. I have struggled all my life with my weight since age 6. I have been on many diets and thought there was never going to be anything that worked for me. I had never considered gastric bypass surgery so when my physician suggested it to me I was very interested. She had seen me struggle through the years exercising losing and gaining .... I had always thought gastric bypass surgery was not for me because it would mean I was weak and unable to do this on my own. I am so happy to find out that that's not the case at all. It is especially for me! And I deserve it and I'm worth it! my surgery is scheduled for May 30. I am on my preop diet now. It is harder than I thought but I know what will be worth it!

Hello I was banded in the Dominica Republic. Everything is going well. There have bee a few times I have been hungry. I think the key is to carry your protien shake around with you, so you don't get caught out somewhere and get really hungry. I have started walking 1 hour a day and am feeling fine. Rose

Hi! I haven't been banded. I am just doing research regarding LapBand. I weigh over 100 lbs. beyond my goal weight, but the gastric bypass is too invasive! I am 59, and not sure whether this is for me. Secondly, my husband has Medicare with Tricare for Life, and I am covered as his dependent (spouse) with Tricare Prime; I do not qualify for Medicare. I found Tricare Prime accepts referrals from Primary Care Physicians for GBS. However, I checked about 4 months ago about whether they approve for LapBand surgery, and was told "No, not at this time." Has anyone heard different as to whether they have reconsidered? I am curious. Does anyone know why Tricare Prime would pay for GBS and not LBS? Maybe because the procedure is still too new? I would also like to know why it is easier to exercise and eat right when one has the LBS, than before the surgery? Doesn't the motivation have to continue? Perhaps the LBS does motivate, when youhave gone that far? I know one thing... I have been too heavy, too long (about 8 years) and realize that soon I am prone to diabetes, sleep apnea, etc. as it runs in my family, both sides. My motivation to lose lasts about 1 week, then it fades. Could be because my husband can and does eat Desserts, or anything he desires, with no weight gain. Guess you might call that co-dependent, but I can't help it. When sweets are around, I weaken. I have not been a happy person for a long time now. This weight is depressing. I would hate to think that I would have to carry my two dogs around all day long, but my excess weight outweighs them! ...and they are BIG dogs!:help: Any information about insurance, or advice about LBS will be appreciated! Thank you! Pam :clap2: pamblundell@aol.com

I've been lurking here on and off since November, and have finally worked up the nerve to post. To start, I want to tell all of you how helpful this board has been to me -- without me ever having posted anything. I am inspired by your stories and successes, and reassured by your first hand experiences and knowledge. Still -- in spite of it all -- I'm nervous as hell. Not so much about having the surgery, mind you, but the insurance waiting game is killing me. I will probably not find out if I've been approved until days before my scheduled surgery -- which is April 7. A bit about me: I'm 47, married with two children (9 and 11). I live on Long Island, pretty close to the city. My surgeon is Dr. Christine Ren, at NYU (who I think is wonderful). Yesterday, I had my pre-surgical testing, and tomorrow, get my medical clearance forms filled out by my doctor (who should be receiving all the necessary paperwork from NYU sometime today. I'm 5'8" tall, with a BMI of 38.4, have hypertension, high cholesterol and triglycerides, orthopedic issues (plantar fasciitis and arthritis in both knees), but only have mild apnea. Evidently, I'm neither fat enough, nor co-morbid enough, to unquestioningly (if that's a word) qualify under my insurance company's guidelines, which requires a BMI of 40, or a BMI over 35 with two co-morbid conditions (my hypertension is enough, but my other issues may or may not qualify as additional co-morbid conditions). There is no six months of weight loss documentation required. Meanwhile, I started my liquid diet yesterday -- and needless to say, I'm pretty darn hungry. Although cutting my calories is hardly a bad thing in light of my condition, surgery pending or not, I'm very nervous and afraid that I won't be approved by my insurance company. If I'm not, I will have to cancel the surgery, and begin the process of appealing the decision. Has anyone here ever qualified with similar circumstances. I'm in need of a whole lot of hand-holding right now!

It is really good to know I am not the only one that is obsessing with this. I also have 2 books and have another one on order. But like NtvTxn said the also mainly deal with the bypass or the lapband. But there are some really good recipes in them. It is all I can do to hold off on calling the insurance company. I know it is probably too soon for them to know since they probably just got it on Tuesday. I got my Protein samples that I ordered, these are actually pretty good. I got the information about them off of another post. It was a really good deal and I ordered them on Thursday and got them Tuesday. Here is the information if anyone is interested. They are offering a special deal on the sample pack right now. Only cost me $9.99 and there is 23g of Protein in each packet. nectar ?Variety Sampler? containing 11 full serving packets of the following flavors: Apple Ecstasy, Caribbean Cooler, Crystal Sky, Fuzzy Navel, Roadside Lemonade, strawberry Kiwi, Twisted Cherry, chocolate Truffle, Strawberry Mousse, vanilla Bean Torte and Latte Cappuccino. The price is $21.89. We are offering a coupon discount of $16.90 leaving a total of $4.99 plus $5.00 UPS Shipping. The total you pay is $9.99 and arrives in 2-5 days. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please give us a call at 866-333-7403 x 801. Our hours are Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm Central time. Best regards, Amanda SI03 Order Department Phone: 866-333-7403 x 801 Email: orders@si03.com www.si03.com Again thanks for all the support and it is really nice to know I am not alone on this.:thumbup:

Hi there. Im from Australia and was banded back in November 2007. I've had moderate success, having lost 25kg (about 55lb) but still have a bit to go. Having browsed a few threads on here about people suffering from left shoulder pain, i'm feeling a little better! (I'm not alone!!!) Recently I have began having SEVERE pain on the top of my left shoulder, which sometimes gets so bad I feel like i'm going to collapse. I can't seem to pin point what causes it. My surgeon sent me for a Barium Swallow Xray (which was horrific), but can't seem to find anything. He thought it may have been my band pushing up on my diaphragm, but it doesn't seem to be. Just a warning to people who are looking in to getting it done - not everyone gets it, and I was only warned that it may happen in the first few weeks. 18 months later and its killing me! Its worth having the surgery for the weight loss, but sometimes I wonder about this pain! Good luck to anyone who is about to have the surgery! :blushing:

I just wanted to introduce myself, my name is Jamie and I have been looking into the possibility of lap band or gastric bypass fora bit now. I am trying to gather as much info as possible regarding each procedure to make the right decision. Any help either way would be great!!! Thanks All! JAmie

Hi everyone! I am so excited and scared at the same time. I am sure I am among the thousands who feel this way. I started my journey 1 1/2 years ago with aquiring and insurer who would pay for bariatric surgery. I talked with the people at Bariatric Treatment Centers and they told me BCBS would be the best insurance for me to get. So I did. I had to wait a minimum of 6 months before doing anything. So I did. I went to my evaluation, meeting and consultation. They told me I was in. Then I broke my ankle in 3 places and was a mess. On top of being a single mom with a house hold of animals and a full time job I now was barely able to get around even on crutches. My one year anniversary is 2/19 of my slip and fall. I needed to recover from that to go forward with the surgery. Then 2 months later when I was feeling better but still in a cast I recieved a letter stating they were no longer excepting my insurance. Well I was extremely dissappionted but wondered if it was meant to be that I did not have surgery. So I kind of forgot about the idea. Thinking about it but realizing maybe my life was at risk if I did it. I met a nice lady who had the lap band surgery in November 2003 who had the lap band surgery and had lost 111 lbs. in a little over a year. She told me it was a much lower risk and less time in recovery and reversible if I didn't like it. I had looked online in the past about this surgery and liked that it was done laproscopic but had not done much about it. Feeling like I could do it on my own. But I am and have been unsuccessful in removing the unwanted pounds for years. The more I diet the more I eventually gain. So I went to the seminar about 10 days ago and did my phyc evaluation before the seminar and yesterday took care of consultation, blookwork, insurance and I am scheduled for surgery Monday 2/2/2004. I am so excited. Please wish me luck and I so hope to join the ranks of all of your success stories! Terri

Hi Hogan! Welcome to LBT! I don't know anything about Group Health Coop. but I wanted to pass some encouragement along to you. I researched different WLS's before deciding on lapband and even after that, I spent a year researching more in depth and deciding whether it was right for me. I choose lapband over others because of several reasons. It's not as risky, it is adjustable to provide you with the help you need and because quite frankly, the other scared me! In the end, I decided to have the surgery because I realized that the risks of staying obese were far worse than the risks of surgery. I had my surgery this past November and couldn't be happier with my decision!! It's not a miracle cure but it can help us achieve things that we aren't able to do on our own. I am forever greatful for my band! Best of luck to you as you look into this and if you have any questions, let us know!

Hello everyone. I had my surgery November 1 of this year (2010) and have lost about 30 lbs. so far. I did really great during Thanksgiving, but this past week, during Christmas, has been very difficult. Everything sounds good and I've felt hungry. I'm told it's just time for another fill - which luckily will occur tomorrow. Any and all advice is welcome. I'm in my 50's and my health has been declining (as well as getting very depressed). I have six kids and 5 grandkids that I would like to stick around for.

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,

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.

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.

Hello all... I'm from the Kansas City area and have recently decided to start the process to get banded. My wife was banded in 2002, her two sisters after that and between the three of them, have lost almost 500 lbs. I swore I would never get fat. In high school and when I was in the military, I was never more than 210 lbs. I'm 5'10, but was athletic and physically fit. About the time I turned 25, I had gotten out of the military and started working for a local police department as a dispatcher. Sitting for 8-12 hours a day, talking on the phone and radios. It didn't help much that our office was right next to the break room and the vending machines. By the time I was 30, I was weighing in at 260. I got married to a wonderful cook and here I am, almost 40, and topping at 365. If I had held true to my word as a young man, I would have killed myself when I hit 300. Luckily I didn't and here I am. Eating for me has rarely been psychological. Or at least I don't think it has been. I enjoy food. I enjoy the tastes, the textures, and I enjoy a good meal. I guess I enjoy it too much. The only time emotion has ever come into play is every once in a while, when I get down on myself and down on life, I will order a pizza and finish the whole thing in one sitting. That happens about once every 3-4 months. So that's brought me to where I am now. I currently travel alot for my job and every time I board a plane and have to ask for an extension, part of me dies inside. It's not pleasant to watch people when they realize they have to sit next to the fat guy. Most people try to hide it, but many times I've gotten that "You've got to be kidding me!" look. I used to love flying. I decided to call my insurance company, Anthem / BCBS. I wanted to find out if they even covered bariatric surgery. Turns out that the plan my employer has with them does NOT cover any kind of weightloss surgery. Not the bypass, not the band, not a thing... So now, I wonder... do I self-pay or do I go thru the initial process and see if my Doctor can get them to approve the surgery? I went in for my initial consult with my local family doctor and he referred me to Tallgrass Surgical in Topeka, KS. They have a rule that before they will even see you, they require you to attend a monthly seminar for the lap-band. This is not uncommon from what I've seen. So, one Saturday morning, my wife and I packed up, drove over an hour to Topeka in the middle of a rainstorm, and got there 10 minutes late. I was turned away at the door, being told that they don't allow late arrivals. I will not do business with someone who is not only rude, but has no compassion for prospective clients. There are many other local doctors I can go to for my procedure. Anyway... has anyone had the same block with their insurance? What did you do? My credit is not the best, otherwise I would just finance it. I know I need to lose the weight, I just don't know how to overcome this $10,000+ hurdle. My name is Brian and I'm a fat guy... *sigh*:biggrin:

@@Qtpie28 welcome Kayla! My name is Ericka! I'm 25 5'5" and weigh 311. I also have uhc and have started my journey recently. I am beginning my 6 month diet this month first nut appt on the 22nd....I will not be looking at surgery until next year either due to uhc requirements! I was originally wanting to get vsg but after talking with my surgeon I decided on gastric bypass. I felt like we were kindred spirits when I read ur post and wanted to reach out lol. If you want a journey buddy I am here since we are in a similar place! Good lick and congratulations on your decision to live a healthier life!

Hi my name is Tasha and I'm 3 days post-op with the bypass. Right now I feel like I got run over by a truck. I'm trying to push through but it's hard. I'm not hungry at all but just feel so uncomfortable and sore.

For those who read my previous post earlier today..I spoke to my friend who had gastric bypass surgery about a year ago. I'm feeling better now about having the surgery...another plus is that I will quit smoking!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!! I call the hospital tomorrow for pre-registration. Not sure how long the process will take before my surgery can be scheduled...but it'll be enough time for me to get the right "mindset" :teeth_smile: Thanks for your support...I'm sure I'll need a lot more as this progresses

I had the procedure on November 17th. :tongue2:

Just putting in a post. I was banded on November 18th. Made it through Thanksgiving without too much of a problem. I was still a little sore so I wasn't that hungry.

Hi Everyone, I have finally worked up enough courage to introduce myself. I started my Lap Band Journey on November 4th when I went to the WLS seminar. Since then I have met with the surgeon, and done all the pre-op testing required. I completed my 6 month diet requirement through Jenny Craig last year. I am now schedelued for my final Surgeon visit on 1/14 and then they will submit my packet to Carefirst BCBS and see what happens. I am so nervous about the possibility of being rejected and that is why I have been afraid to post. I currently weigh 223 and am 5'2" tall, my BMI is 40.5. I am the proud Momma of 5 boys and 2 girls ranging in age from 20 - 1. I am thrilled with the idea of getting healthy, so I can keep up with the little ones as they grow.