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I will meet with the Dr for the first time Thurs, and I attended his seminar Saturday. I have a feeling I will have the same issue that u had at your Dr's. During the seminar he focused mostly on the gastric bypass. I will have to do some wheeling and dealing like u did probably. Thank goodness u stood ur ground. I plan to do the same.

If my doc wasn't givin me fills when I asked for em, I'd go to another doc. Luckily, he lets me decide how I think I'm doing. I had a fill from the port-revision, was too tight, unfilled in November, decided maybe I wasn't too tight, just not use to how restriction fills.. got filled back up in Dec. Now I am pretty tight, it's hard to eat a lot of solid foods, but liquids go down fine. I eat about 1/4-1/2c of food depending on time of day. Mornings are a lost cause, I will always spit up solid breakfasts, so I stick to a coffee, frappuccino, v-8, or milk. Lunch I am still pretty tight, so I have soup, or a few really small bites of something solid that take a while to eat. Dinner I am still restricted, but not nearly like I am for the rest of the day. Depending on what I'm eating.. I have never had a rice problem, but pasta doesn't go down well. And bread is out. I still try to eat bread even though it makes me sick!! A typical dinner is about 1/2c of food, spread out over whatever I feel like eating. I make dinner most the time, DH eats most of what I make and I take 1/2c and pick at it.

:confused2: Hello Everyone, I was originally going to get the gastric sleeve, but found out my insurance didn't cover that procedure, even though a Representative originally said they did. I had done all my pre-op appointments, but now my doctor wants me to do the lapband. I was wondering if the success rate was as high on the lapband as the gastric bypass. I tried doing a side-by-side comparison, but not much is really out there on the internet. I worry about finding places to do the "fills" in case I ever move or will the band have to be replaced after 20 years. Any information would be great! Thanks.

I'm quite the baker, but thankfully I prefer the act of giving away baked goods rather than eating them myself. I might have a spoonful of dough on a particularly tasty recipe, but that's about it. My sister, on the other hand... well let's just say she's eaten more dough than actual Cookies. (She's now had a bypass and is doing better!)

What procedure are you considering? You will DEFINITELY lose weight with bypass and sleeve because those will permanently decrease the size of your stomach. The lap band is dependent on you getting the fills done when you need to. Now, with each of the procedures there is a post surgery diet that needs to be followed. No drinking while eating, also. Sent from my SM-G900P using the BariatricPal App

I used tricare standard for my bypass Then sent my approval letter in the mail so that was the longest part but my hospital called them and I found out I was approved within a week. Just had to wait for the letter

I was happy to read that you are working with a therapist to address your continuing issues with food. Though your weight loss has progressed impressively, your relationship and beliefs about food do not seem to have made the same rate of progress. Revising your thinking about food, and the requirements for your diet with your band has to happen before you can truly be in a different place emotionally. I have never felt that having to chew many times, taking small bites, and restricting the type of foods I can have were an imposition, or that I was "missing out" with the changes I chose to make with eating. These action items were part of what I still consider to be the opportunity to have better health. I had to wait an extra year for my surgery for a variety of reasons, none of which were planned or avoidable, so when I was finally cleared medically, I had no reservations to proceed. I believe that most bandsters have some pre-op questions to themselves about if they are making the right choice. There is no easy answer, but I believe that the answer is tied to one's priorities. At the Southern Woman's Show 2 summers ago, I had the good fortune to encounter someone who had been banded the previous fall. She helped me place my concerns in the proper perspective: which is more important to you? Being able to eat anything you want to for your meals covering several minutes a day during meals, or having some rules for those meals which require attention and mindful eating? It was a no brainer after that for me. We should eat to live, not the other way around. The longer you hold onto your flawed thinking, the more of a negative attitude towards diet compliance you will have. The things you mentioned that you disliked are the same things which got most all of us to the point where we had bariatric surgery. You cannot expect a sustained weight loss without increasing resentment towards compliance unless you redefine for yourself what your relationship with food needs to be. You have done so well with your weight loss...I hope you modify your beliefs about food. and let go of the ones which got you to your band surgery. Food is not your friend...and in many ways one can be addicted to food in the same way as one can be to drugs or co-dependent relationships. Wishing you continued success with your weight loss journey.

In the mini gastric bypass, it is both a restrictive and malabsorptive procedure. My understanding is the stomach is cut so you have an upper and lower stomach. You get malabsorption because the intestinal tract is looped up and attached to the upper stomach. With the sleeve, they just reduce the size of your stomach. There is no malabsorption involved. The stomach is cut to divide the upper stomach from the lower. Malabsorption is accomplished because the intestinal tract is looped upward and attached to the upper stomach. __________________ Originally posted at www.verticalsleevetalk.com

I eat a lot of fruit relative to other bariatric patients and am not a big meat eater (pre or post gastric bypass) and I do not dump, not once; even the occasional dessert does not cause me any issues. YMMV

hi ladies! I have some good news for you guys looking for band fills. I am a patient of Dr. Ren's and now one her awesome nurses, Gaspar Rosario, has opened his own "fill station" in Old Bridge, NJ. His fills are $75. Access Weight Loss Care, LLC. Gaspar is also a banded person, too, so he is definitely one of us :thumbup: I have gained 40 lbs back. I thought it was stress, and all the traveling I did for 6 months, but Dr. Ren and Gaspar think I have a leak. I'm 4.5 years out from the band and stopped losing weight about 3 years ago. I honestly thought I had someone ruined the band, or stretched it, because I never felt the same restriction I once had. Very frustrating!!! Anyway, I am scheduled for a revision on May 18. I hope my insurance covers it...and if they don't, I'm going to see about financing it. Or something. Dr. Ren is so freaking awesome, she emailed me back personally and told me I am NOT crazy, there is no "window" I missed, and the band WILL work for me :tt2: God I love that woman!!!! We seem to have a few peeps in the same area here. I would love to start up our own support group. I've been kind of isolated without any real person (not online) support, and I want to finish this damn journey. Anyone interested in meeting up? I dunno, June or July?

Oh my goodness the sitting and just waiting on an approval or denial from Insurance company is killer. I have researched and read, and joined support groups and continue to read others journey stories, I don't think my head can hold anymore knowledge about Gastric Bypass. Therefore that leaves me with too much free time on my hands and my mind start rambling, oh for pete sake, can I get a answer already. I am ready to finish what little bit of the journey I have left as for my psych eval, and meeting with the surgeon I wish I could have had those appointments while I waited, would have been nice to get those cleared out the way then I could just been scheduled once approved. Well I got that off my chest I guess I'll find something productive to do. Good Luck to all others in the same situation waiting like me, I hope we all get that letter of Approval.......

I went in on Tuesday morning, had OPEN revision, went home on Friday and was at my granddaughters dance recital Saturday night.

I am considering a revision from the band to bypass. I know little about the process, and bypass in general. I don't know if my insurance will cover it, and right now I am in that awful catch 22 of weighing too little for surgery but too much to have a healthy lifestyle, so there are a lot of ifs there. Assuming all the planets align though, what questions did you have for your doctor? My family is pretty much convinced bypass means I am going to die, so I'd like to calm their fears. Thanks!

I have Tricare Prime and made an appt in Feb with the white clinic at Blanchfield and saw my PCP and got a referral to see the surgeon. While I waiting for approval to see the surgeon, I decided to go ahead and call Tricare and see if I was approved yet and able to make my appt. I was glad that I called, because there are 2 Drs that perform bariatric surgery and I had been approved for the Dr that only did gastric bypass, so I was able to get the referral changed to the Dr that covered the lapband. Tricare has been VERY easy to deal with. I am 100 pounds overweight, plus I have high BP and GERD. The first thing I had to is go to an information class that was held at Gateway Hospital in Clarksville, TN. I also had to have bloodwork done, an EGD, an EKG, an ultrasound of my gallbaldder, a sleep study, go to a support meeting, have a pysch evaluation, and finally go to the Diet & Nutrition class. All I am waiting for now is a surgery date. I would recommend that once you get your surgeon in place, then schedule everything you can, because I am going on month 4 of starting the whole process and I just finished up this week. The thing that held me up was that the Diet & Nutrition class was only held once a month, and I missed last month's meeting.

I promise I'm not trying to negate the emotional side of losing hair. I think acceptance of there is nothing to prevent it really helped me get through it. I was devastated to lose my hair, but knowing that it is going to happen, and knowing that it'll grow back helped me get through it. Plus, I could not tolerate Protein drinks/supplements so I was pretty sketchy on protein intake until I got to mushie/pureed foods and even then, I'm sure I didn't get exactly 60gr of protein every single day even though I was super close. My hair was the one thing I was proud of, the one thing people "envied" and complimented me on when I was fat. When I started shedding, losing in clumps, I mean I was having to put drano down my shower drain at least weekly, believe me, I was upset. I chopped all my hair off, and had 100's literally 100's of layers cut into it just to hide the loss. Here's the best way I can show the dramatic change in my hair: Obviously pre-op Thick coarse, gorgeous luster This was 2 months post lapband December 2008 so 6 months pre-VSG revision: Right before the shedding started (I had it cut off, highlight, lowlighted) You can tell it's still thick and coarse 3 months post-op After the shedding had stopped not so gorgeous, no luster, little chia pet hairs everywhere This was January, 1 month after the shedding stopped 2 months after I chopped it off and 2 months after I stopped shedding, can you see my scalp? ? ? Yeppers, that's how severe it was for me. This is late March, after I went back to dark hair. You can still see how much my hair is lacking Most current still super thin(a couple of weeks ago), luster is coming back finally, but still not anywhere near where it was pre-op volume-wise I know this doesn't help any, but I think it's a great visual to see that hair does come back, and I'm still getting "baby hairs" all along my hairline, and especially underneath around the nape of my neck. My flat Iron gets a workout just because I have to tame all the crazy hairs.

Interesting article. http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/5-reasons-skip-breakfast-142000450.html 5 Reasons to Skip Breakfast By Details Magazine | Healthy Living – 4 hours ago Once considered the foundation of any healthy diet, the morning meal may now be negotiable. The belief that we won't have our get-up-and-go unless we down our bowl of Cheerios has turned the concept of eating upon rising into a die-hard dietary rule. Original research on whether breakfast made an impact on health did find that healthier people ate breakfast. But as we know, data alone doesn't always tell the whole story. "Lots of people who skip breakfast or practice intermittent fasting are healthy too," says Dr. John Berardi, co-founder of Precision Nutrition. "About 85% of the clients we work with eat breakfast and tend to follow a guideline of eating small, frequent meals throughout the day, but that's largely to help them learn to practice healthier eating habits. If you're a person who regularly makes good nutritional choices, then eating breakfast is more negotiable." The Virility Diet - What to Eat for Better Sex In fact, skipping that first meal may lead to some real benefits-from possibly losing a few pounds to increasing your level of anti-aging growth hormone. And don't worry, your metabolism won't suffer. Eating small meals throughout the day, starting with breakfast, isn't necessary to stimulate metabolism, says Berardi, who co-authored an extensive study review on meal frequency for the International Society of Sports Nutrition. His suggested revision to the dictate: Breakfast is optional. Hard-and-fast rules don't allow for much mindfulness, anyway-and that's an integral part of any nutritional approach. So if you love how breakfast gets you going, feel free to stick with that routine, but if you're not a morning person, there's no harm in forgoing food first thing. Foods That Will Make You Look Younger Here, Berardi's 5 reasons to skip breakfast: 1. It's not required to boost metabolism. The idea that metabolism slows radically in response to not eating certain meals in a single day just isn't accurate. The amount of calories you're taking in and the composition of those calories-Proteins, carbs, and fats-are really what impact metabolism. 2. It may lead to eating less overall. If you skip breakfast you can eat fewer, larger meals beginning later in the day, rather than six smaller meals throughout the day, which may be less satisfying. This can lower your total caloric intake for the day and may lead to weight loss. 3. There's a payoff even if you're only an occasional skipper. Intermittent fasting reduces insulin levels, so you can actually increase your insulin sensitivity for better blood sugar management. At the same time, your body will release more growth hormone, which helps to preserve lean tissue and burn fat tissue. 4. It can help lower your total carb intake for the day. Most of us are over-carbed. We eat too many refined carbs, too little Protein, and too much fat. Skipping breakfast can steer you away from the typical high-carb breakfast foods (toast, oatmeal, Cereal, pancakes) that may trigger an insulin response that kicks you out of fat-burning mode. 5. It can help you tune in to your body. You just might feel better sipping Water with lemon or a green juice instead of forcing down food first thing every day. If you're one of many people who feel nauseous early in the day, you're better off listening to your body's cues. Sure, you're co-workers come into the office, bagels with cream cheese in hand, but at the end of the day (and the beginning), you want to figure out what works best for you.

The only thing I was required to do was get a referral from my PCM to go to the surgeon I chose. I also had a referral from my endocrinologist to go see this surgeon, so the PCM was a formality for the insurance. I am +100 lbs overweight, diabetic, sleep apnea, and a couple other issues, so I met all the criteria, and because my physician requires it, I was able to produce 2+ years of diet history, including the diet my endocrinologist has had me on for the past year, plus my medical history where a former PCM recommended me for gastric bypass and my subsequent refusal to have it (due to someone I know who had complications), so... I saw the Dr. on 4/7. He sent the paperwork in that week. Tricare approved me on 4/14. I found out on 4/21. They called on 5/12 and scheduled me for 5/29. They had originally planned to schedule me for 5/22, but I have a work thing and had no choice but to put it off one more week. I wanted to cry. But that's Ok. I have time to prepare (AND I'm already on a planned vacation that week so I don't have to explain a darn thing to a darn soul about where I've been !)

Welcome Kyle. I had my surgery in April. My son is 22 and is having gastric bypass in September. He was 486, as far as he knows, at the highest. He has always been big and was a huge football player throughtout his school years. I think he really became motivated to lose once that part of his life was over. He started losing on his own before deciding to have the surgery. He just hit the 390's! I have tried to get him to join here but he hasnt yet. You look awesome, congrats on your success and best wishes!

Has anybody reading this thread delved into the reasons (if any) given by that study's author for the higher re-operation rate in band patients? It would be interesting to look at that information. Based on my personal experience and the experience of some band patients I've known for a long time and know IRL (in real life), there are a number of reasons for re-operation, not all of them due to complications. Some revise to other procedures because of disappointing weight loss (and the disappointment can be related to concurrent medical issues that affect weight as well as unrealistic weight loss expectations). Some revise because of side effects. Some revise because of complications. Some revise because a band that worked very well for the 1st few years didn't respond to fills after pregnancy and birth of a child.

I'd rather have the opportunity to be able to re-operate than have no other alternative. I'm banded and I'm happy with it. In case of complications I can do something about it. My daughter has the sleeve since July and she looks fantastic but if there are complications she has no alternatives. It's a matter of personal choice. My doctor does the band and the sleeve. My daughter's surgeon no longer does the band. He only does the sleeve and gastric bypass.

I don't mind at all. At about 4 years post-op, I began having reflux that didn't respond to any meds or other measures. An upper GI study showed that my esophagus was dilated, so my surgeon removed all the Fluid from my band and told me my band would have to go. Esophageal dilation can be caused by poor eating behaviors (overeating, frequent PB's, etc.) and/or by esophageal dysfunction - that is, the esophagus isn't doing its job of moving food down into the stomach. The dysfunction is often caused by untreated reflux. After my band was removed and I had had a lot of tests, the various doctors I'd seen concurred that my esophagus had been damaged by decades of "silent" reflux whose only symptom was a chronic dry cough. When I consulted an ear-nose-throat specialist in the mid 1980's, he told me my problem was reflux and I didn't believe him (since of course I know far more than any graduate of any medical school), so my reflux was never treated. Apparently the pressure created by my band was aggravating this. My choice of the sleeve for my revision was pretty foolish (a choice made in panic and haste) because reflux is very common in sleeve patients, even in those who never had reflux pre-op. Fortunately, omeprazole is managing that for me now.

Thanks for posting this, maestrita. Your thread has provoked an interesting discussion, and I'm glad no one has resorted to mud-slinging (yet). Since I revised (not very happily) to the sleeve, I've often been asked if I regret my initial choice of the band. I admit that my affection for my band colors my response to a question like that. No, I don't regret my band surgery. It's harder for me to answer 3 other common questions. One: Would I recommend the band to pre-ops as eagerly today as I did 6-7 years ago? I'm not sure. The answer depends as much on the person who's asking as it does on me, and there's no such thing as a perfect or one-size-fits-all WLS procedure. Two: Would I choose to revise again (if needed) today? No. Since most of my stomach is gone forever, there's only one other WLS option available to me now: duodenal switch. I'm having enough trouble with micro and macro-nutrient malabsorption with my sleeve. I can't imagine how I'd manage with the DS. Three: Would I recommend bariatric surgery (as a whole, not related to a particular procedure) to an obese person today? I'm just not sure. I guess I would if the person's co-morbidities were so severe that some kind of WLS could be life-saving.

Hi Amy. I am not sure if you had bypass surgery or if you are just trying to combat this on your own. I had RNY gastric bypass surgery over 3 1/2 years ago. I transitioned from the weight loss phase to the maintenance phase at around 7 months. I covered the approach that I am using in the maintenance phase in the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf This might answer some of your questions because you are pre-op. When I was very young, I worked a swing combined with a graveyard shift (around 100 hours per week) for a year. sleep was a difficult problem but it was also very important. I found that they make curtains that let in zero light. This allowed me to sleep effectively during the daytime.

Hello! I'm scheduled for RNY Gastric Bypass on Aug 18th as well. Originally scheduled on Aug 3 but the surgeon had a family emergency and I had to reschedule. This will be my first bariatric surgery and I'm so excited! I've been on the liquid diet since July 20th because of the rescheduling and it's hard but I think it's good for me, getting me in the right mindset.

I had a lapband 10/04 weighing in at 320 pre op. On 6/05, I had my first slip as well as had developed a hiatal hernia and severe acid reflux. The hernia was repaired and the lap band revised. The acid relux has increased to the point I can't stand it! After more teesting it was determined that I had yet another slip and needed to convert or ditch the band. I am now at 232 and lost all my weight within the first 6 months of my initial surgury. I have experienced no food tolerance issues, nor a feeling of being restricted despite 4 cc in the band. I realize I let this go too long but travel for a living and just dealt with it until I aspirated acid into my lungs...OUCH!! Trip to the doctors told me to get this fixed so I took a few months off work and returned to MA to review my options with a gasto doc. The first doc suggested a RNY as he does not do the VSG. (The nutritionist however feels that I am uncommitted and have failed the band.) A second opinion lead to my being told that my surgeon could convert to a VSG on a case by case basis with my insurance but felt I had failed the band twice and wasn't sure if I was committed to WLS. This Mexico for the procedure. I have been told by both docs above that one can not fly for 4-6 weeks after surgery due to risk of blood clots. Is this not the case? Where you uncomfotable during the flight? How long was your recovery? (I was driving 3 days after lap band surgery and back to work 5 days later. No pain meds and only mild discomfort after 3 days.) Should the surgen in MA not agree to perform the VSG, what is the time line with once contact is made with a Mexican Doc? Has anyone had any luck with their insurance covering the surgery in Mexico? (Few VSG have been done in MA to date I would definately prefer a doc with more surgeries under their belt without incurring the out of pocket cost.) What is the weight loss like for VSG versus RNY? (My mom had RNY and lost 88 lbs within 3 months.) Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!