Hi Everyone! My name is Kim and I'm new here. I was looking to talk to people who have had lap band surgery that are in a similar to me in their goal. I am 5'5" tall and weigh 295lbs. I live in Southern California and have a referral for the weight loss surgery process. My medical group requires 6 months of classes (2x per month) prior to the surgery. Did anyone else have to do this? If so, was it beneficial?

I have one child (almost 2 yrs old) and was really hoping to have more children. When I was pregnant I ate really well and lost 50 lbs (while pregnant) and since he was born, I have gained all of it back and another 25 lbs. One of my biggest concerns is not being to have children after the proceedure. Anyone have information on having children after the proceedure? I am terrified to have gastric bypass and feel more comfortable with the lap band proceedure but I have to do something. I really just don't want to have complications and possibly die from either proceedure, I have a child to live for.

I am sure I will be posting more :smile:

WOW, reading your post it could be me. I to live in So Cal, I am 30 and have a 2 1/5 year old daughter and my highest weight was 303. Where in So Cal are you? Can I ask who is your medical group? I am pretty familiar with a bunch of them, maybe I can help you navigate the system.

If you are worried about having more kids, with the lap band its much easier and of course losing weight will only help your chances of having another baby, and having a healthier pregnancy. I was plagued with gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. I am hoping that a big weight loss will prevent me from that when I decide to have another child.

I have been reading a lot here since I joined in January, and it looks like the band does wonders for fertility. In my orientation session, the surgeon mentioned that he recommends patients use BC at least in the first months after the surgery because women who are infertile due to excess weight convert to fertile very quickly following the surgery.

That being said, there are a lot of bandsters here who have had what they call "band babies" so I do not think you should worry much about the band and childbirth. It sounds like you have to get an unfill while you are pregnant though, to assure you are able to take in the required calories and nutrition.

Good Luck!!! I know how it feels about that 300 number! :smile:

Hi Everyone! My name is Kim and I'm new here. I was looking to talk to people who have had lap band surgery that are in a similar to me in their goal. I am 5'5" tall and weigh 295lbs. I live in Southern California and have a referral for the weight loss surgery process. My medical group requires 6 months of classes (2x per month) prior to the surgery. Did anyone else have to do this? If so, was it beneficial?

I have one child (almost 2 yrs old) and was really hoping to have more children. When I was pregnant I ate really well and lost 50 lbs (while pregnant) and since he was born, I have gained all of it back and another 25 lbs. One of my biggest concerns is not being to have children after the proceedure. Anyone have information on having children after the proceedure? I am terrified to have gastric bypass and feel more comfortable with the lap band proceedure but I have to do something. I really just don't want to have complications and possibly die from either proceedure, I have a child to live for.

I am sure I will be posting more :smile:

Hey Kim, I will be 20-10 in September and started this journey at 327 pounds! I did not have to do the 6 months supervised diet THANK GOD! I did get a good deal of info about having children after, and you will find many ladies on here that are preggo or have had children. From what I have read they just empty the band and then everything works as normal. During my psych eval they told me that many women get who thought they couldnt keep pregnant find it very easy!

Good luck on your journey and let me know if I can help you!

AMY

Yes, beware of the accidental band babies!!!!:smile: My friend was banded two weeks before me, has a 6 year old and a set of twins that turned 1 on Jan. 10. She had to take fertility drugs for her first two pregnancies, so she thought she was infertile. Joke is on her...she lost her first 40 lbs and became pregnant. She is due in September. Her band is still filled, but as soon as she can't consume at least 1800 calories per day, then will do a slight unfill. Good luck with your band!

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful feedback. I am going to be poking around this site to find out more information. My concern about having children was mostly the timing issue. I am almost 31 and have to go through the 6 months of classes prior to my surgery. From there, I have to meet with a surgeon and a cardiologist (because I have a history of blood clots and had a very minor heart attack when I was pregnant). In my first class they told me that I would have to be on BC for 18 months after the surgery. That will make me about 33 when I can start trying again and I really didn't want to wait that long to have children. But hey, if I have to get healthy first, I guess that is the best way to do it (by waiting).

Again, thanks to everyone for the feedback.:glare:

WOW, reading your post it could be me. I to live in So Cal, I am 30 and have a 2 1/5 year old daughter and my highest weight was 303. Where in So Cal are you? Can I ask who is your medical group? I am pretty familiar with a bunch of them, maybe I can help you navigate the system.

If you are worried about having more kids, with the lap band its much easier and of course losing weight will only help your chances of having another baby, and having a healthier pregnancy. I was plagued with gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. I am hoping that a big weight loss will prevent me from that when I decide to have another child.

Well, I live in the Santa Clarita Valley (by Magic Mountain) and am part of Facey Medical Group. I have Health Net insurance and they said that they don't require the 6 months of classes and all I need is a referral from my doctor. The problem is that Facey requires that you go through the program (as a prereq.) I'm not sure if I can get around it or not. I am still working on that.

Thanks for your reply. Any additional advice or information would be helpful.

Oh yeah I am not really familiar with that area, I am in the inland empire myself. And of course you would have to be part of a group I am not familiar with, figures :glare: but the only thing I can say is 6 months will go by pretty quickly and maybe you can try to get some of the other things out of the way during that time, maybe the psych eval and so then when it comes time for the referral to the surgeon you are a little bit ahead of the game. Well I wish you lots of luck on your journey. These boards are a fabulous tool, I just found them myself.