k9momma56

I'm so sorry to hear all the issues & problems many of you are having with Dr Cywes office. As I said before I had researched the local offices for over a good year & heard some not so nice things regarding them. When Dr Baptista left his office & began his own practice I then knew it wasn't all rumors. I absolutely adore Dr Baptista & can't say enough kind words about him or his staff.

I'm a nurse & have been banded nearly a year now. I did alot of research regarding local surgeons & chose Dr. Baptista. They told me on a thursday they were submitting my paperwork to BC/BS & was called the next morning with my approval from them. I was totally amazed.

I live in Jacksonville. I don't think you mentioned where you are from.

I wonder if it is the type of band & how many cc's it will hold as to how much they put in for fills. I have the realize 14cc band & with my first fill it was 6.5cc & I had very little restriction.I had my 2nd fill on 11-21-11 of 1cc & that little bit extra kicks butt.

I have BCBS of Florida as I work for the state.I had surgery 8-23-11. Up to then mine covered it with a 6 mos physician supervised weight loss program,a BMI over 40,overweight for at least 5 years with documentation from a dr,have tried previous weight loss attempts with dates & amount loss each time, yada yada yada.Even though I am paid thru the state I work for the Dept of Health. I know that Georgia state plan is trying to eliminate it from their policy.Your husband needs to check with his HR manager.

I'm probably going to receive flack for this. I'm a nurse & I've taken care of more than my share of bypass patients.I remember 1 patient in particular that started @ 400 lbs & she was what we would call a frequent flier. The last time I took care of her she was @ 78lbs & could not keep anything down. Once she said to me "I wish I could be the poster child as for why you shouldn't have a bypass & that my before & after pic would be right there when you would step off the elevator". I, personally couldn't go that drastic. I'm sure there are plenty of happy bypass patients. But as a nurse I would see the unhappy malnourished ones.

I went thru the same exact problem. No matter what it would not budge. So, I got desperate & did 2 days of clear liquids only. It wasn't fun but it jump started the whole losing process again for me.

Hi, I'm from Jacksonville. I was banded 8-23-11.Had my first fill thursday.I can tell a difference already.

They submitted mine on a thursday & it was approved the next morning.

I was scheduled for my first fill today & discussed it with the Dr that I didn't feel I needed one. He agreed since I have been consistent with my weight loss & to come back in 4 weeks. I'm wanting to hold out as long as I can since I'm currently satisfied with my progress. I do have some restriction in my 14 cc band without any fills. I call it my leash because it definitely will rein me back in if I go too far.

I have been researching bariatric surgery for over a year & chose the lapband. I'm a 55 yr old nurse & took care of more than my share of gastric bypass patients & felt I just couldn't go that route. My surgery is scheduled for tuesday, the day after my birthday. So, needless to say there will be no cake for me this year. This is my present to myself. My Dr told me in January that I won't live 5 more years with the condition my kidneys are in if I don't lose the weight now.I had to do the 6 mos supervised weight loss which I balked at initially but am now happy I had to do it. I have lost #37 since february on a low carb diet & have really gotten into my new lifestyle. I'm not even sure I will need a fill since even now I never get hungry between meals.What I was wondering is if you never have a fill do you still have stuck episodes,pbing or still have to take the tiny bites & chew,chew,chew?

I was told @ my Dr visit on thursday that I can start adding regular food to my meals. The question I have is since I don't have any fluid in my band how will I know when enough is enough without doing damage to my self or the band. I asked the nurse if there is a portion amount I should start with & she said you'll know when it's time. Will I know when it"s time?

I had posted a few days ago asking about last minute change of heart. As a nurse I tell my patients to stay off the internet & just follow your Dr's orders. I had a hiatal hernia repair wit the banding procedure. I had read & heard all the horror stories that can happen during the surgery & post-op. I can happily say I am one of the very lucky ones. I had a little gas yesterday but none today, I slept in my bed & on my side, no nausea. I'm a little sore in the abdomen area & that's to be expected. I was really expecting the worse, I've always been a pessimist but this has truly surprised me. To all of you that hasn't been banded please don't let the worry & anxiety get the best of you. As so many have said they wish they had done it sooner, so did I. What I din't expect was that I went under hungry & woke up hungry. After I got home I had some broth & that was enough for me.I live in Jacksonville, Fl & Dr Baptista did my surgery, he & his staff are so caring. I had researched banding & Dr's for over a year, so I felt I made the correct decision. When I got pregnant for the first time 35 yrs ago I was scared to death because any woman you meet always has her own story. Since I have worked L&D for many years I can honestly say that probably 99% of deliveries are textbook with little or no problems. So, this is what I held onto. The easiest surgery I ever had. I went in @ 7:30 & was home by 2:00. So to all of you that haven't had the surgery just go through with it. I truly think the hardest was the pre op preparation of 2 days with clear liquids. Kathy

My surgery is tuesday morning @7:30, since I'm a nurse I've just been wondering what was the deciding factor on continuing with the surgery? We all know the possible problems that can go along with having the band. Since it is an elective surgery I'd like thoughts & opinions. Thanks,Kathy

My surgery is scheduled for the 23rd,the day after my birthday. I planned this as a present to myself. My feelings that I'm having now is that when I started this I never expected to lose the weight that I have on my 6 mos supervised diet. I guess everyone has to find THE diet that works for them. I have tried what I thought was most of them. I started in February @ 217 & today I'm at 185. I have never lost this much weight before on any diet. My goal is 120. I was put on the 30 carbs a day & it works for me. I have hypertension as well as stage 2 kidney disease. I was told if I didn't get this weight off I wouldn't live another 5 years. So, my thought is do I go ahead & have the surgery & if I start to fail with my dieting I already have the band in place or just stick to my dieting. I've never had a diet where I haven't been hungry. I thought I might even get the band & never have to have a fill. Opinions please.

I haven't been banded yet, I'm still doing my 6 mos diet for BC/BS & my last weigh in is in July. My surgeon is Dr Baptista. I'm hoping to have my surgery in mid august for my birthday.

I live in Jax as well. I'm into my fourth month of my 6 month supervised physician wt loss per BC/BS. Dr Baptista will be doing my surgery hopefully in early august. Welcome to our forum.

This is not to try & persuade you either way. I was on Nutri System three times & lost weight. My problem was it got too expensive for me, had terrible gas due to so much soy in their food & when I stopped I would resort to my old eating habits. I would gain back what I lost & more each time. I'm currently in my 6 mos diet for lap band. I decided on lap band because I know personally when I go off a diet I will resort back to my old habits So, this time it's for good.