Hi all! I am a military wife living in Vegas who is working towards having lap band surgery (ASAP). My husband is being discharged soon so I literally only have a few months to get this done and have it covered by insurance. I have done all of my pre-testing and should get surgery clearance on Wed next week. Meet with my surgeon (Dr. Atkinson) after that and pray for a speedy approval from Tricare. I have found a lot of really helpful info on here and hope to be joining the bandsters soon! :-)

Hi all! I am a military wife living in Vegas who is working towards having lap band surgery (ASAP). My husband is being discharged soon so I literally only have a few months to get this done and have it covered by insurance. I have done all of my pre-testing and should get surgery clearance on Wed next week. Meet with my surgeon (Dr. Atkinson) after that and pray for a speedy approval from Tricare. I have found a lot of really helpful info on here and hope to be joining the bandsters soon! :-)

I wish you luck on a speedy approval!!!!

Hi all! I am a military wife living in Vegas who is working towards having lap band surgery (ASAP). My husband is being discharged soon so I literally only have a few months to get this done and have it covered by insurance. I have done all of my pre-testing and should get surgery clearance on Wed next week. Meet with my surgeon (Dr. Atkinson) after that and pray for a speedy approval from Tricare. I have found a lot of really helpful info on here and hope to be joining the bandsters soon! :-)

I had my surgery with Dr. ATkinson on 12/20/08 and am to goal with losing 90 pds. Good luck and you are in good hands with Dr. Atkinson. I was very pleased with the Dr and his staff and never regretted the decision. I go on this website very single morning and have been for the last 2 1/2 yrs and I can't seem to find anybody that has the band for over 10 years. I guess I should not have to worry since I am 58 but if I were young, you might want to ask these questions before and decide on what surgery you want after that. I never had any fills and I have read that the life of the band is somewhat extended from not getting it filled/unfilled. I have read that getting too much of a fill over time sometimes causes slippage and I am not sure what actually causes that. Regardless, I am thrilled to have the band but if I was younger I would certainly weigh the pros and cons on permanent surgery that cannot be removed or eroded down the road. Good luck on your choice and you are starting out with one of the best doctors around.

Hi Lvgirl,

Good luck on a quick approval. Welcome to the board. I am on here several times a day to read peoples updates and to update myself. It has been very helpful to keep me on track; plus, there is a lot of helpful people and information here. Karen