Hi, I have been lurking & reading for a few days thought i would say hello. I am just now starting my journey into hopefully having a band to sleeve conversion. I have my appointment Fri afternoon. I am anxious, nervous & scared of being rejected by Dr & insurance. I never realized that the daily constant vomiting wasn't supposed to happen. The fact I couldn't eat until well after 2pm daily was just now that a fact of life. & many more stories that have already been shared. It's refreshing to know it wasn't necessarily me that failed with the Band, but the band that failed to hold up its end of the bargain. Long story short I have since Dec had bad ulcers, have had iron levels drop & now B12 levels drop & was so irritated trying to take iron supplements I couldn't keep water down & had to have my band drained completely. I've had 2 fills since then & am only 1/2 cc away from my pre empty spot I do not want to live like I was, that wasn't living.

So thank you to all who have shared their stories, you have given me the courage to talk with my Dr about a conversion. (Something he suggested about a month ago & I was too terrified to even consider it). I have already called our patient advocate & asked about what will be required, as long as the Dr will state a necessity it shouldn't be an issue! Fingers crossed I'm ready to evict this annoying room mate I've allowed to control my life since 2007! :-) thanks for taking the time to read

Kami my fear comes in after I get the band removed getting approval for the sleeve since myBMI isn't high enough. I know I won't give up but it's a bit scary thinking in advance!

Feeling a little defeated yet challenged....my EGD didn't show much in the way of ulcers or GERD today. My Dr did take a biopsy of something that was concerning to him so will have those results next week sometime. I feel defeated because to get this thing out of me I will have to get more fill & allow myself to be sick at every meal to damage my esophagus again. But I guess I'll do what I have to do.....

Quiet persistance pays off. Or as Winston Churchill said: "Never, Never, Never Give Up".

Could they just submit to the insurance on intolerance and pain? Hang in there.

Hi' date=' I have been lurking & reading for a few days thought i would say hello. I am just now starting my journey into hopefully having a band to sleeve conversion. I have my appointment Fri afternoon. I am anxious, nervous & scared of being rejected by Dr & insurance. I never realized that the daily constant vomiting wasn't supposed to happen. The fact I couldn't eat until well after 2pm daily was just now that a fact of life. & many more stories that have already been shared. It's refreshing to know it wasn't necessarily me that failed with the Band, but the band that failed to hold up its end of the bargain. Long story short I have since Dec had bad ulcers, have had Iron levels drop & now B12 levels drop & was so irritated trying to take iron supplements I couldn't keep Water down & had to have my band drained completely. I've had 2 fills since then & am only 1/2 cc away from my pre empty spot I do not want to live like I was, that wasn't living.

So thank you to all who have shared their stories, you have given me the courage to talk with my Dr about a conversion. (Something he suggested about a month ago & I was too terrified to even consider it). I have already called our patient advocate & asked about what will be required, as long as the Dr will state a necessity it shouldn't be an issue! Fingers crossed I'm ready to evict this annoying room mate I've allowed to control my life since 2007! :-) thanks for taking the time to read[/quote']

Hi just started to use this site today. I was band in 2005. Had a pretty good experience with it until it eroded my stomach in 2010.Band removed with insurance blessings. My surgeon would not consider replacing the band with sleeve during the surgery which I had in June 2011. I actually lost weight after this surgery and was doing fine until my stress level reached levels beyond my control. I lost 70 lbs with the band and 20 more after it was taken out. Fast forward to today. My insurance company would not approve my revision, even though I meet the criteria. I have high blood pressure, diabetes,osteoarthritis, herniated discs . My PCP tried sending a letter on my behalf during my appeal but that fell on deaf ears. They said, "the surgery was not necessary" Can you believe this? Nonetheless, I am happy to say I was approved this time 6 months later and received my date, July 2,2013 Long awaited! Looking forward to this. Really need to get rid of the weight not only to feel better about myself but for my health.

Sorry it's been a bit. Now we move on to check for pouch dilation or slippage. We will see aft the upper GI. I'll update again later not giving up just yet

Praying for you! I too had my band in 2007 and have had complications since 7 months post op. I was originally denied by Cigna in 2010 to have the band removed. So I have been fighting for 2 and a half years to get approved for the removal. Finally I changed jobs and got BCBS and they approved me in a week! I am scheduled to evict the evil band on 6/25. I never lost hope or stopped trying because I am the one going through all of the pain and throwing up not the insurance personnel. I am approved for the gastric sleeve also but they are changing our insurance plan 7/1 so I am running into complications with getting the 2nd surgery done but again I am going to stay positive. Sorry for the long post but I am happy you are taking the steps to get a revision and I am sending prayers your way. Good luck!

Tomorrow is your surgery! I'm happy for you and pray God's blessings over you and your surgical team. Everything will go well. I just had mine out on Thursday, 6/20. Advice from me . Limit your foods the day pre-op and keep them light. Keep walking post op. drink your h20. For intestinal gas drink hot herbal tea and heating pad. For intradominal gas - keep moving, walking. Let us know how you're doing.

Tomorrow is your surgery! I'm happy for you and pray God's blessings over you and your surgical team. Everything will go well. I just had mine out on Thursday, 6/20. Advice from me . Limit your foods the day pre-op and keep them light. Keep walking post op. drink your h20. For intestinal gas drink hot herbal tea and heating pad. For intradominal gas - keep moving, walking. Let us know how you're doing.

I hope you are doing well! You are well enough to post though so that is good! Thanks for the prayers and advice. I am at work today and having trouble focusing. Coworkers saying their goodbyes to me for two weeks. I am nervous but I know I will be fine. My surgeon requires no solid for dinner. I just have lunch meat and spinach for lunch then after that all liquids for me. Soon I'll be with you on the other side

Kami63 - your Facebook family here . How are you doing? Please check in when you're feeling up to it. Remember to walk, walk, walk!

Not Facebook! Lol

Not Facebook! Lol

Kami63 - your Facebook family here . How are you doing? Please check in when you're feeling up to it. Remember to walk, walk, walk!

Hello! I have been doing relatively well! I did great right out of surgery the doctors and nurses at the hospital said that I was the best patient they have seen in a long time lol. Being at home had been fine. I dont think I am tolerating the thin Protein shakes yet. I can only drink 1 oz per hour so it took me two days to get one Protein shake down. That being said though I am getting other liquids down and staying hydrated. I have been without those gas pains until I woke up this morning and All the gas was trapped under my big incision. Very painful but I rubbed my belly and it redistributed lol

Did you get a date for your removal? I know it vs be scary but even with all of this surgery stuff I'm going through right now, I am so relieved to have evicted the band forever. Right out of surgery that pressure/pain in my chest was gone... Whew! I am excited to start my sleeved journey. I know that this will work because I am determined to make it work lol keep me posted

SUPER EXCITED!!! I was called Thursday by my insurance company advising they have approved removal of my band! I will be calling the Dr office Monday to set an appointment to talk things through & hopefully schedule a date for evicting my band! I will have to appeal the conversion because they have already said it will be denied, I've talked with our patient advocate at work & she is on my side & we will petition the board to cover the procedure. (My employer is self insured so even when Humana denies the sleeve, the board can over-ride them & tell them to pay). I'm hoping by the end of this year I will be sleeved, & on a new road to health. I hope everyone is doing well on their journeys.

Well to update my Dr is all for eviction & he is going for the reflux/GERD as the necessity part first. I have an EGD next week then we battle with the insurance company. My biggest fear is that I am not going to show symptoms of ulcers because my band was emptied at the end of Jan & I'm not yet to my point of constant daily vomiting. Short of it, if insurance denies the medical necessity for removal we will go with an intolerance route. The next battle will be to get the conversion approved. My BMI is around 35 so I'm no longer in the morbid obesity category. And thankfully I have no other issues. I'll pray for the best outcome & if I have to go self pay ill cross that bridge when I get to it. I do not want to get back to my pre-band weight just to get approval :-(

Good luck to all of you on your journey! We all have to stay as positive as we can....we will make it through!

Welcome!! I too went throught the lapband let down, and am currently going through all the Dr visit with my New Dr. My old lapband dr put my lapband with the port in wrong, so no wonder it didnt work and it was a matter of time for the tube/port attachment to crack. Before Lapband i never had gerd or reflux after being tighten to tight Vomiting became a part of my normal everytime i eat Protein. So I completly understand what you have gone through. Good luck onyour journey to better health.

The band is gone!!! Had the removal Wed & feeling pretty groovy today. Now Ono the battle with the insurance company to approve the next step. They have already told me the next step would be denied because I get one lifetime treatment & removing the band they consider a bariatric treatment. Good thing my work is self insured then my patient advocate can take it to the board & fight for them to over ride the insurance carrier who does all our payments. One step at a time. I'm still a bit afraid to eat because its been the norm to not be able to eat until a certain time etc... I hope everyone is doing well