Hello,

To all who have already been banded (& those about to be banded) congrats.. I've just had it with myself & really think I want the band. I'm just wondering if anyone has received the lap band through Kaiser Insurance? I pretty sure they cover the actual gastric bypass but not sure about the band? Also, how long does it take to start losing after the band? How long are you in the hospital & back to work?

Any answers are appreciated.

Hello....

I was banded on 4/6/07...I have lost 32 lbs...I was not in the hospital overnight...I went to a surgery center here in my hometown...was taken back for surgery around 9:00 a.m. and was home by 11:30 a.m.... not able to return to work for a few days....I also had a hernia repaired...at the same time they did the lapband...so I figure that caused me some additional pain....

I was a self-pay...$15,000.00 ....was denied by insurance two years ago...

Hello, there and welcome to LBT. This is a great place for information and support.

There's a special "Insurance" section. You may want to check out the threads and ask about Kaiser there.

All the best with your decision.

Hi, welcome to LBT! If you get the band, I promise it will be a wonderful decision for you. I am not familiar with Kaiser insurance, as I was self-pay. I spent the night in the hospital, but I think most people do go home the same day. My surgeon just prefers to keep patients overnight. I needed a good week to recover from the surgery. As far as how long it takes to start losing after the surgery, the important thing to remember is the first 4-6 weeks are for healing, not dieting. Once you start getting fills and feeling true restriction, the weight will start coming off. However, it usually takes 2-3 fills to reach that point. It will happen though.

Kaiser does do the lap band. I will be attending my orientation tomorrow. From what I was told, the process takes 3 to 6 months start to finish. I'm really excited about getting the band because I'm too am tired of fighting the battle. I'll start my pre-op meal plan on Wednesday. So the weight loss starts then. Hopefully, it won't be too long until I get the band.

Big as Life

Congrates on your 32 lbs - I'm 52 and we have the same bmi - how tall are you?? i'm short 5'3. It's very encouraging to see someone in our age bracket doing so well.. I am pre-bander - jumping through all the hoops (test) etc right now - should have my date shortly.. Sometimes i get discouraged when I don't seem that women in our age bracket are lossing very much or should i say very slowly - I KNOW that this is a 2 yr process but we still all have that I WANT IT NOW mentallity.

sdkellygirl - Welcome - this is the greatest place for info.....

sdkellygirl, the best advice I can give you about Kaiser is to pick up the phone and call them. Just because Vicki J's policy covered it, yours might not. Every company can offer different riders and clauses on their insurances. Many companies do not choose to pick up the bariatric surgery rider because it is more expensive. Please get your card and call the company and ask before you get too far into this. That way if you need to change to self-pay you can fairly easily.

Length of time off depends on each person, and what you do. I've red many people say that they returned to their desk job in a couple of days, others needed a week, others two. There's quite a few threads around here about it and a poll or two. The Search function on the blue toolbar near the top of the page is great. I'd advise you click on Advanced Search and then choose Thread titles only as a search. Put in Work as the search word. You should get quite a few hits. Good luck!

Everyone loses at different rates. The intention for band loss is the safer and slower 1-2lbs per week. Some lose faster, some slower. It all depends on how much you want to work with the band. It does require a lot of work on our parts. We still have to watch what we eat and we need to exercise and move.

Good luck and WELCOME!