I just joined last night. I have my first consult on November 3. I am very nervous. The appointment is 4 hours long! I am meeting with a Nurse Practionier, Psychologist, Dietician and the Surgeon. They said they would be able to tell me after my appointment if they felt comfortable banding me. My questions are...then what? Do I have to go through a bunch of other appointments? Do I just schedule the surgery? I am very lucky that my insurance is covering 100% of all pre and post op appointments plus the surgery. How long do you stay in the hospital? How fast do you loose weight? I am so glad that I found this website, and I hope soon that I have a date to add to the forums, and I am excited to have support along the way! I looking forward to talking with you!

Amanda

Welcome to the forums!

The answers to your questions vary from surgeon to surgeon and patient to patient!

For me, my weight loss was fast for the first 6 weeks and I've plateaued for the following 4. I'm getting my second fill in 2 days though, so I hope it will pick up then.

That's a lot of questions. You'll need an upper GI, blood panel, chest X-ray, cardologist's

clearance, plus all that you mentioned.

The hospital stay is usually overnight, depending on your insurance.

Weight loss is entirely dependent on how enthusiasticly you accept the program.

There really isn't anything difficult about this, a lot of it is new and there's a lot to get used to,

new ways to eat and live your life, but just take it in steps and you'll be fine.

WOW! That is a lot of work-up! I am learning something new everyday!

That's a lot of questions. You'll need an upper GI, blood panel, chest X-ray, cardologist's

clearance, plus all that you mentioned.

The hospital stay is usually overnight, depending on your insurance.

Weight loss is entirely dependent on how enthusiasticly you accept the program.

There really isn't anything difficult about this, a lot of it is new and there's a lot to get used to,

new ways to eat and live your life, but just take it in steps and you'll be fine.

I never had to have an upper GI or cardiology clearance unless that's what you mean by a 5 minute EKG! Once your surgeon knows hes getting paid, things can go very quickly! Good luck youll get lots of support here!

i have blue cross blue shield federal employee insurance; they required three meetings with the dietician; clearance from psycologist; pulmonologist; cardiologist; gastroenterologist; primary care doctor letter of support and five year weight history. started the process on august 10th with a seminar and have just one more dietician appointment november 8th and surgery on december 1st, so the process can go fast. i am scheduled for an overnight stay in the hospital but some people leave after the surgery. depends on your insurance. good luck.