Hello all... I am so overwhelmed with emotions! I'm excited, nervous, scared, anxious, relieved... just everything! This process is going pretty quick for me and I'm trying to mentally prepare myself by now getting advice & opinions since I've already read all the statistics & facts now id like to hear from actual people who are about to be banded or have already been banded. I have been researching for over a year and switched from the idea of the realize to the lap band a few months ago. Gastric bypass was totally out of the question for me personally. I literally went to a seminar/consultation weds the 31st, I'm self pay & have a BMI of 51-53 (depending which calculator you use) so I was an automatic approved candidate and therefore am having all my pre-op done this coming weds (4/7) and my tentative surgery date is weds (4/14). EXTREMELY fast! Within a 2 week time span I went from wanting to be banded to scheduled to be banded. My surgeon uses only 1 week of pre-op liquid dieting but I've decided because my bmi is so high to start a little sooner. That's mentally quite a challenge for me but again I'm self pay so I'm very commited to doing this right and not wasting my $! Is there anything else I should be doing to prepare? Any advice any of you veterans can give that you didn't know until it was too late? I've read a lot about the slippages & esophageal erosions and I'm wondering if this is dominately something avoidable by the patient (strict dieting/portion control) or is it just a common occurance of the band itself?? And truly do you actually feel full with the band or are you better off just disciplining yourself without the band? The fail stories are a bit nerve racking but this is still a tool I really think will help me. Anyone else who's newly banded or will be banded in april/2010 id love to connect with you so I can have someone to go through this process with! Thanks.

~Shay

Yim:soserious02

Hey ladies! Sorry I'm so late getting on its been a long day! I'm soo happy your surgeries went well & that we're officially on the banded side! So proud of us all. I lost a total of 10lbs on my pre op diet (19.3lbs overall this mt) & my bp was 124/84 this morning! My mom joked well let's go you don't even need this surgery you can do it on your own! (But not for very long I said!) Well my surgery as far as the LAP-BAND® goes went smoothly I'm told that only took 45mins but like Purple said my doc also found a HUGE hernia (he actually showed me a pic). I went in as scheduled about 8am should have been out by 9am but wasn't out til 11:10!! My poor mom, uncle & bf were pacing worried. The doc said he got a lot of reflux when trying to repair the hernia & I guess with the size of it that tacked on 2hrs to my surgery. =/ but as purple said I'm glad that will solve my heartburn & indigestion. Afterwards I had a hard time waking up to the point the nurse began shouting my name & telling me to keep my eyes open & talk. Anesethesia and I have never friends so I expected some complications I was VERY nauseous. I got the max amout of antimetic so I had to just stay uncomfortable (and irritable!lol). The other issue was that towards the end of surgery & during 3hrs in recovery they couldn't get BP readings & began saying they could not send me home the way I was. Even though I was very out of it I knew I didn't wanna get transfered to a hospital overnight.(I'm self pay!) When they did finally get a reading I remember looking over at the machine alarming my BP 188/111 o2sat 94! They were very calm though I knew they were a bit alarmed because they refused to let my family back to see me the entire time I was unstable. I forced myself to stand up tried to calm my nerves & breath deep, it was getting late & I did not want to be transferred. The pain was bearable but the gas pressure & hernia repair were very uncomfortable. My. Incisions feel fine they only hurt when I bend. I finally got out of there with the prize gift of a promise to come back in 5 days since I had a rocky recovery & some blood pressure pills for 30days!! =( I never have taken BP meds and I really felt bad that I needed them at my age (25). Why in the world they gave me pills instead of liquid ill never know but ill gladly take them crushed! I'm willing to suffer anything for my health now. But I am sooo glad this is over & I have celebrated my 'B-day' with some yummy chicken broth! Gunna go rest up now. Happy B-day ladies! And amber best of luck with your surgery! =)

hey there... i still hvnt been banded but im curious..... since they went in and repaired your hernia... did your ins cover the procedure?

sorry if im being nosey. :thumbup:

I had a hernia repair, and it made no difference to my insurance. They still said nope!!

Purplelover I too am doing self pay but I am curious if they charged you more for the hernia repair? I have to pay everything up front so I worried something might happen to change the price. I am getting banded a week from today and am getting worried about every little thing. Probably from the lack of calories. this pre op diet is killing me

I doubt my insurance will cover any of it even with the repair although the medical director did say you could always do an appeal after for some reimbursment at least for the anesethesiologist but even then its not guaranteed (or likely!) because with hiatal hernias they don't 'have to' be repaired like for instance, a strangulated hernia would. My Surgeon did not pad the bill at all any extra for the hernia repair or even the extra 2 hours it took. I had that same thought when I woke up at 1pm when I originally should have been home already at 12! They do it sort of as a choice if they see something wrong while in there they'll address it (if anything ever happened later & they neglected to fix it or at least tell you they could be held liable.) So he did tell me a few mins before going in then if he saw a 'hiatal' and he did emphasis hiatal hernia he would repair it no problem. You know I hardly remember the pre op diet now, it will pass! The post op diet is equally if not less gratifying in the frst few days post op, but you don't feel nearly as hungry & the oddest foods never tasted so good!!! I had cream of potato soup from Vons' deli today and OMG I might as well have been eating a thanksgiving feast! I already feel like my taste & desire for food has changed. Its easier to say than to do but try not to stress yourself. The day will creep up faster than you think baptist & bella. Good luck to you both!

How's everyone doing with their post op diets??

I would love to know what made you decide to do the lap band instead of the realize?

Well it was a purely personal choice I don't knock anyone for getting the realize band I read up on them both & spoke to my surgery centers medical director about the differences between the 2 and this is the info I got that helped form my decision: the lap band system (allargen) was fda approved in the US first (2001 vs 2007) & has since underwent 3 series changes. Their original was like the realize band with one single balloon that is inflated- so therefore the realize band is still using the original construction of band that Allargen has since improved on. The lap band has 7 baffles (mini resevoirs) that are soft & pre curved. The lap band has a patent on this design and that's why realize can not use it. Maybe the place you go to has a seminar & can show you both bands inflated like mine did, you can see that the lap band forms a circle of even pressure bc of the baffles as oppose to the realize band which formed a triangle & had 3 pressure points. Erosion is one of the main complications of both bands that can not be prevented by the patient so in my mind it was best to go with the one that had less risk ie: no pressure points & soft curving. Also bc of the triangle shape the realize band was more likely to have food get stuck in the creases & I was also concerned about slippages from constant vomiting brought on by stuck food. Further more the realize band is a one size fits all system where as the lap band has 2 sizes: standard & large with gives the surgeon the option once inside to see which model the individual needs. Being overweight & a nurse I'm a firm believer that one size never fits all!! =) I read a thread on here of a woman who was fitted with a standard band when she should've had a large one & had to have revision surgery after having complications. This was with the lap band system & clearly was a mistake on the surgeons behalf but if she were using a realize band standard would've been her only option despite her larger than 'standard' anatomy. Also speaking on ports... the lap band has 2 ports available standard & low profile- low profile to be used after massive weight loss when there's less belly fat to hide the port under. Realize band only has low profile & if you're grossly obese this can be hard for different fill doc's to locate in just one stick & frankly I don't like needles enough to be playing the guessing game! I also like that the lap band is either stitched in or mesh is used that once healed over holds it in place vs realize's 'self clamping system'. Port flips are the other complication that lies strictly on the equipment & not the pt so again I opted for what I felt was a better overall design. This info is displayed on both systems websites & that's pretty much what I used to direct my decision. But everyone is different & you can draw your own conclusions. Either way best of luck on your WL journey. Hope it helps!