Hi. I'm female, age 39, about 5'5" or 5'6" and 185 pounds or so (approx. 31 BMI). I am curious if there is anyone out there that has been banded with a lower BMI like mine. I have struggled with my weight for the past 7 years and I just can't seem to get it under control. I'm not as active as I used to be with kids but I do get out and play tennis once a week. My weight is killing my ankles, knees and hips.

If you were able to have the surgery done, did insurance pay for it?

jodi

Jenn--What city in w. Kentucky to you live? How much to you weigh? Height? Very curious to see someone near me go through this. I've been doing A LOT of reading on the lapband and I'm starting to shy away from it because there seems to be so many complications...some little, some big. I'm also seeing that they don't last a "lifetime" like I thought they would. It seems like they eventually "slip" and have to be removed. I just can't afford to have complications as I would be totally self pay. I'm still reading up on it so I may change my mind. I could just be reading all the negative posts right now. I'd love to know what the average length of a lapband lasts. I also still haven't gotten an answer on what would happen if I went to Mexico and then had complications in the U.S.--would my insurance pay for any complications, etc.???

Jodi

Jodi,

I live in Owensboro. The closest place for lap-band is Evansville IN, or Paducah KY. My BMI is 37.1. I am not sure about the answers to your questions. I have just recently started doing Lap-Band research. I am waiting to see if my insurance will cover it. Where in KY do you live?

Jenn

Jenn - I live in Ol' Paducah.

Is that where you have checked into Lap-Band? I may have to go there if my insurance wont allow out of state. Just wondering about the hospital there.

I try not to think about what can go wrong. In any procedure it is possible to have trouble. I just try to out weigh the right things. My aunt had gastro bypass about 2 years ago. She looks great, and feels great. The way I feel now ( knees hurting, back hurting, etc) will not be missed.

I have had many people try to discourage me from this but I have made up my mind that I want to feel good and feel good about myself, if this works GREAT, if not, I will try something else. You never know till you try.

Jenn - I have not checked into lapband here except to do a tad bit of research on the doc that does them here. From what I have read online, he does not have a really good bedside manner with some people. My BMI is only 31 (I'm 5'5" or so and 186 lbs). No doc would touch me here in the US, I think. I was looking into surgery in Mexico with Dr. Ortiz...I think that is his name.

My fear of something "going wrong" stems from my past experience with surgery. I've had several surgeries but this past March I had some major complications from a surgery that caused me a great deal of pain for about two months. It has been very hard to get over. It was a simple surgery so things CAN go wrong and can be horrible. This year had been VERY hard because of those two months of horrible pain.

It sounds like you know what you want...I'm still trying to figure that out. I wish you the absolute BEST and hope this makes you a healthier person. Wooohooo for you! :clap2:Please keep me updated on your progress.

Thanks for the Paducah info, that helps.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I hope everything is going well now.

I'm sure everything will work out for the best no matter what you decide.

Good luck to you and keep me posted as well.

Hi Jodi - Yes I had a BMI of 32 and got banded 8 days ago. Same thing as you - couldn't get it under control. I saw this as a preventative measure as well as treatment - figured if I didn't do something drastic I'd get lots bigger with lots more medical complications - I already had high cholestrol and was pre diabetic. I just didn't want to get to the stage where I had too many medical complications. My surgery went really well - doc said it was easy for him to do- and I'd stuck with the Opt Fast for the 8 days prior to surgery to reduce liver size. So far so good - though I will say it was much more painful than I thought it would be.

Cheers

Jodi In KY, come to think of it my BMI was 39 and my insurance company paid for mines. I'm with Carefirst Blue Cross Blue Shield. All insurance companies have there own requirements. I called my insurance company and spoke with a representative, who advised the requirements that I would have to had fulfilled before the insuance company would pay for my surgery. Luck I fit those requirements. Suffered with my weight gain for the last 5 years, 6 month supervised weightloss program in the last 2 years, either 6 months straight or 2 consecutive 3 month sessions would qualify. Two health physical or health problems related to weight gain. I did not have health problems and throught because my BMI was 39, I would not qualify for the surgery, but I was approved.

Not sure about the insurance thing. I live in Australia and the Health System and private insurance covered some of it and I had to pay $3000 extra - which included doctor's follow up for the next 12months. Hospital was covered by health insurance and there was no'qualifying' criteria - obviously different systems. My specialist didn't even weigh me - just needed a referral from my local doctor who, though usually very conservative, thought this was a good idea.