My name is Maren and I live in Alabama. I'm 34, with a high weight of 293 and a BMI of 47 (starting). I have BCBS and am in my third month of the 6 month supervised weight loss. My doc has me doing a controlled carb diet, mostly to get me in the mindset of putting protein first and carbs last for my post-surgery lifestyle and I'm down to 278 after only a few weeks of *really* trying. Believe me, I've done the calculations and know that to be safe in terms of insurance coverage, I shouldn't get below 260. I think I'll have to add back in a few carbs over the next few months and then once I'm approved, get back on track. That's sad, considering I've been morbidly obese for about a decade, but I'll play the games just like everyone else.

For a long time I've thought casually about surgery, but I haven't gotten serious until recently. I actually don't have any major health concerns yet but I've had three miscarriages (no successful pregnancies) and even though there is no clear reason why weight would have anything to do with it, my OB specialist recommended I put off any more attempts until I lose weight.

My doctor (primary) and my OB-GYN think I should do the full bypass because of my weight, but I have thought a lot about it and think I prefer the band. I'll hold off final decision until I talk with my surgeon, but in the meantime I'll be preparing for the LapBand procedure.

I look forward to learning from you all and journeying with you.

-Maren

Hi Maren,

I started this at about the same weight as you and just want to warn you to be prepared for your surgeon to push hard for you to do bypass because of your weight. If you really feel like the band is the way you want to go(like I did) then do your research and stand firm. If they are a good surgeon they will respect your decision. Good luck!

Hi,

My surgeon did push very hard for me to do the bypass also. I just said, the lap band or nothing! My weight is 364 and I am 5'6". My surgery date is June 1, 2009. :eek:

Good luck!!:glare:

Thanks for the reply- I appreciate hearing from people with a similar issue.

The morbidity/mortality comparison makes me really like the band, as does its versatility. Even though my OB says he's had patients with bypass have successful pregnancies, I just worry about the "what if I need more room" issue to provide adequate nutrition. And frankly, when I get right down to it, because of my job (college professor), I can't really easily take off at least 2 weeks for post-surgery recovery unless I want to wait another year for next summer when I don't have any classes. I don't get "vacation" or "sick days" like most people do because of the different nature of our work calendar.

When I had my first appt with the surgeon I went in and said "I am here for the lapband and the lapband only don't even talk to me about the bypass because I don't want it" I am so happy that I had the lapband and didn't let him try to talk me into the bypass.