Hey all .. I am a girl in her early twenties that is just fed up with the constant dieting and the minimal results. I have been fighting with my weight my whole life but the struggle seemed to get worse within the last few years. I have a bad back and knee problems along with a mild case of depression that I only see getting worse in time. I do find myself blaming it on my weight more times than none. I am about 200 pounds and most charts put me (with me height) at around 140. At this point I am not trying to lose weight to be the size some chart tells me to be, I want to do it to be comfortable in my own skin.

Not to ramble on about myself but I have recently been reading up on the lap band surgery and before presenting the idea to anyone I would want to get as much information as possible. I can only read so much on websites and in articles but I want to hear the good and the bad from those of you that have done it. I live a very busy life juggling around a few jobs and school and it seems that this surgery requires a lot of time pre and post surgery. I understand that I won't lose weight the second I get off the table but I would like to know the REAL average time it takes to see some results. What can I expect to spend on the surgery and what requirements do insurance company's put forward in regulars to covering most if not all costs of the surgery? Will the band restrict me from activities or foods in the future? As much information and testimonies anyone could spare me would be greatly appreciated.

I understand that I won't lose weight the second I get off the table but I would like to know the REAL average time it takes to see some results.

What can I expect to spend on the surgery and what requirements do insurance company's put forward in regulars to covering most if not all costs of the surgery?

Will the band restrict me from activities or foods in the future?

To answer your questions... the time it takes to lose is so individual I can only tell you my story. I am older than you and have spent a lifetimes dieting only to lose and gain and repeat. With the band i have lost 210 lbs in 23 months. The band was a wonderful tool but it only does 70% of the work. You must do the the rest... I ate 1000 calories a day because that's the number which seemed to be most successful for me to lose.

My insurance paid nothing. My dr and hospital cost me 10k but then the hospital offered to discount my bill if I paid it off more quickly so the total was $7200

The band will restrict everything you eat from the moment it is implanted. What it restricts is very individual. I have a hard time with rice... Others cannot eat eggs...I can. It's purely subjective.

The band will not limit and physical activities once you are healed from surgery.

Hope this helps in your quest for info. Feel free to pick my brain anytime.

Thank you Floridays. Just reading around here I've noticed a lot of people talking about drinking and eating at the same time and how it isn't really allowed. What is that about? Also, like I said I'm in my early 20's and obviously going out to dinners and bars socially is something I do from time to time. Not saying I abuse it at all or that I wouldn't beable to give up alcohol for my health but is alcohol frowned upon after getting the band?

I've been banded just over 6 years.

I still have the occasional drink(s) but I do prefer to eat my calories.

I don't drink wine...and of course no carbonated beverage of any kind so no beer and diet pop to mix with liquor. I usually have Baileys and coffee or a Bloody Caesar.

While I was losing my weight I didn't drink any alcohol...but that was by choice... again because I want to eat my extra calories. I really struck to my menu plan.

Tom, Toronto

Banded July 6 06

Wt. Loss; 156 lbs

tomander@bell.net

Re alcohol: I drink wine about 2-3x a week. A big band no-no is to stay away from sodas or anything with carbonation. The bubbles can make you feel pain and stretch your pouch. I take a sip of my husbands soda occasionally. But I'm a rule breaker (and I've also had a band slip, so learn from me!). You're not sposed to drink at the same time as you eat so that you don't wash down the food that it's your pouch before satiation is found. Over the last 3 yrs, I've attempted numerous times (especially while eating spicy foods) to break this rule also, but it never stays down. Some banders get what they call the "cork effect", which is the food that sits in your esophagus acts as a cork and when you add liquid to it, out it all comes. It's now been 3 yrs and it still does the same thing.

I will honestly tell you - if you're a rule breaker, you might want to look into something else. I wish I had followed the rules from day 1 (but alas, I didn't) - maybe then I wouldn't still be dealing with a slipped band 6 mths later.

That said, I luv my band! Would do it again in a heartbeat! It has helped me take off almost 100 lbs and get to a size 8. I think I would just have done things a little differently, if I could.

Good luck with your decision!

Marci

Thank you Floridays. Just reading around here I've noticed a lot of people talking about drinking and eating at the same time and how it isn't really allowed. What is that about? Also, like I said I'm in my early 20's and obviously going out to dinners and bars socially is something I do from time to time. Not saying I abuse it at all or that I wouldn't beable to give up alcohol for my health but is alcohol frowned upon after getting the band?

drinking once in a while is okay. however you wouldn't want to have more than one really. why would you? all those empty calories. And having the band could make you a "light weight" I still haven't figured out how the band can effect that. but drinking is something you want to be careful with. your still young i would wait. I am 33 years old and have had a partial hysterectomy after my third child was born. I have been bigger most of my life weighing happily around 215. And then i started having health problems i was sick because i was over weight and over weight because i was sick. my medicare insurance paid for my full surgery i am on SSDI for being bipolar and suffering from depression. my anti-depressants caused me to gain 70 lbs. and because the weight was chemically induced i couldn't get rid of it. it seemed the harder i tried to loose weight the more weight i gained! that's when i decided to have lap-band surgery. I am 6 weeks post op today. i go in for my first fill next week. I am happy with my choice and my progress but i am glad i waited till this time in my life. LB is a whole new life. it's not just time before and after surgery.

It's a good thing I haven't had soda in years! Its the beer I'm going to have to give up losing weight and finally being happy is something I not only want but deserve so no cheating over here! I'm sure it's easier said than done but its been a rough few years and I wouldn't want to live another year like this

As for insurance, you can call your carrier now and find out if they cover weight loss surgery, they can also tell you what there requirements are for covering it. Ask them if they have a restriction on what the minimum BMI is that they will cover and if yours is under that are they ways it may still be approved (such as having 2 comorbities). My BMI met the requirement as it was high and I also had 2 comorbidities (high BP and sleep apnea) so my surgery was easily approved. They can answer the coverage aspect. Once you know if it is covered and whether you may want to proceed with getting knowledgeable, sign up for a seminar in your area to learn more about the procedure. Definitely do your homework so you know what is involved.

Good luck on your journey!

I am 4 months post op and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Wish I had done it yrs ago. I'm still learning my band. What I mean by that is, you have to really chew your food, chew it to smitherines, chew it to liquid form or you will have a stuck episode and believe me you don't want that, been there too many times, it's painful and gross. You have to take your time eating so if you are in a restaurant, please take your time eating, take tiny bites and chew chew chew. As far as alcohol, I don't drink but personally if I did, I think I would want to put delicious food in my mouth for calories than a drink. This is a lifestyle change, eating healthy, not drinking while you eat and waiting up to an hour for some people after you eat to drink. Some dr's say only 30 mins my dr says an hr and then I can drink. As far as recovery, it wasn't bad. You may have a pre-op all liquid diet for 2 weeks, piece of cake, you can do it! Insurance, I had BCBS at the time and since my BMI was over 50 I didn't have to do the 6 month diet before surgery, they waived that, therefore from the time of my first appt to surgery was very quick. You can call your ins company and ask if they cover lap band surgery and what are the requirements as others have stated above. I started out day of surgery June 13th, 2012 weighing 294 and this morning I weighed 255, so yes I'm happy I did it. Good luck.