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Well I had to come back to tell everyone about my journey..luckily for me it was not as hard as I thought.

Was banded 2 years ago..weighed 311 pounds before the surgery..got down to 303 the day of the surgery..and now I have stabled out today @ 178 pounds....yup..133 pounds gone..along with my Type 2 Diabetes and a much lower blood pressure.

Did I think I made a mistake at first...duhhh..you bet..those first few long weeks were both scary and

humbling but I was bound and determined to make this work for me.My main reasoning/rationale was

not only my health issues of course...but I was a self pay and every day I told myself not to mess this up due to all the money that I shelled out..lol..it helped!!

This forum was also a lifesaver...I was on everyday scouring for bits n pieces of any info that I thought would help me thru this journey.The main piece of info I would like to share is that..as we have all heard time n time again..IT IS A TOOL..not a miracle cure...you also must shift thru all the info and find what works best for you.WE are all individuals thus we are all different..what worked for me will not always work for you!

We all now know that different clinics have different sets of rules/guidelines..drove me bonkers at first reading about this Dr said yes to this...but this Dr said no..wow!! I shifted thru alot of info and it can be so frustrating and confusing!

Case in point..how long to wait before consuming liquids.The first year I stuck with what my Dr told me..wait at least 45 minutes to an hour before having liquids..set my alarm after every meal..stayed busy until I could drink!!Now I only wait 20- 30 minutes and have no problems at all.Will it work for you..I cannot answer that..but I experimented with everything that I read til I found a solution that I could live with.

I want to tell the newbies to stay focused...it can and will be difficult for some but the outcome is worth all the frustrations and self doubts!!

Do I know the band is still there..of course..I still follow some simple rules/guidelines...but it has become such a daily part of my life and I refuse to go back to the way I was before surgery.

I wish all continued success on your life changing journey!!

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Congratulations on your success. Thank you for sharing your story.

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Awesome.....thanks for sharing. :)

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Good fo see postive posts... keep on your journey .. you health is worth it....

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Congratulations. ..what a wonderful journey

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Hi everyone, I am considering having lap band surgery especially since it is now classified as a disease. I'm hoping insurance will cover it. A couple of questions: how much does it cost without insurance or did insurance cover any of it? And, I am taking a lot of meds (12 pills a day) that are not related to obesity. How will that work with the lap band. I must, must, must take these medications. I'm so scared that something will go wrong and I won't be able to take the meds.

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Congratulations and thank you for sharing your journey.

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So glad when I see positive stories :)

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    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
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    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
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