NWgirl

Didn't mean to worry you I was literally clinging to five pounds to be above 40, so I always want to warn people. If you've got weight to lose and you'll still be in a safe zone , I'd say go for it!

I've heard of either way. I think stomach slipping UP through the band is more common, but some people have it the other way.

Some insurances require you to get surgery at a center of excellence. If this is what you mean by facility, I don't think they will approve a place that is not a center of excellence. Center of Excellence locations have extremely strict requirements which are set forth to ensure the best patient care and outcomes.

See the Dr, you don't want to mess around with something going drastically wrong because you didn't want to pay. If there's something wrong, the faster you catch it, the better.

Do you have insurance? If so, do you know the requirements to be eligible for surgery? Usually it's 35+ BMI with two co-morbidites or 40+ BMI without. If you are close to the 40 BMI mark, be careful about losing too much weight and falling below. Insurance usually counts the first weigh-in at the surgeon's office as the starting weight. If it's too low, you could be ineligible for insurance covered surgery.

I would vote for brachioplasty. The boobs can be put in a nice bra and they still look good, the stomach and thighs can be covered with spanx and clothing and look good, but the arms will be seen...

usually the 6 month diets/supervision are to show insurance you are serious about doing what is required to be successful.

Some people have to lose a certain percent, I luckily did not. I did go on a low fat/low calorie diet about a month prior and lost about 15 pounds.

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-favorite-protein-shake-recipes.html

The evaluation is pretty much a six month supervised diet under your Doctor. Some surgical practices have you do this in house and others allow you to use your PC. You must go to all appointments monthly and if you miss one, you start again.

Since you are eating so little is there enough nutrition going through your body to ensure you are relatively healthy? (are vitamins required, I have heard of hair loss?): Most people who lose hair are not getting enough protein in. I do take a multi vitamin, calcium chew, and a biotin daily (only calcium chew and multi are recommended by my surgeon). · If you drink water does that fill you up similar to food or does it pass through you? Water can help keep you feeling full, but it does go right through as it is not a solid. · Anyone have excess skin or have they found with continued exercise that this is not that big of a problem? Not at this time. · Can you feel the band does it interfere with another aspect of your lives? No. · Does the gas subside or is it a constant side effect? After about two weeks, the internal gas/pains subsided. I did burp a lot for the first month, but it did go away too.

I was full liquids for two weeks post-op.

You should find out if your insurance has an out of pocket max for the year. All the testing I had to do to qualify for surgery plus the surgery itself pushed me over my $3000 out of pocket. My insurance wording was 80 % they pay / 20% I pay up to out of pocket max. I know for the surgery itself, my insurance was billed approx 20k.

Ooh yay! How do I claim it?

I can still eat pizza and I feel that I'm at proper restriction. I can eat a small meal and do not get hungry for 4-5 hours. I get stuck if I don't chew thoroughly. I think my idea of restriction I'd a lot looser than others, as I wanted the band for hunger/portion control and not for restricting the types of food I can eat.

Insurances vary greatly. Some don't require a supervised diet and some require 6 months. You will need to find out more specific info about your policy to get an answer.

I felt restriction at 4cc (2 fills), but everyone is different- some end up near the upper limit (ie 8cc in 10cc) before they feel it. Once you get restriction, it's all about the decisions you make. The band won't stop you from eating things that go right on through.

Looks like it's for people who are thinner but have some problem areas, specifically stating "This is not a weight loss treatment" on The American Society for Aesthetic Medicine. http://www.surgery.org/consumers/procedures/body/non-surgical-fat-reduction http://abcnews.go.com/Health/freezing-fat-fda-green-lights-weight-loss-treatment/story?id=11641994#.T-VXIvUVrhI

You look great!

If you're using insurance, I have heard of some insurances making people redo the supervised Dr's visits if they gained weight. When are you trying to get banded?

Welcome to the blogosphere! I'm glad you're doing so well on your pre-op, sometimes they can be pretty difficult to get through. I've always been interested in taking a cooking class, and I think next year I'll try to find a healthy one. I can prepare meals, but would not say I'm a chef per say, and the healthy meals always seem so bland. I need someone to teach me the ropes

Did either of the professionals you saw today give you a reason for why they thought you should consider the sleeve vs the band? I know for certain eating issues, the sleeve will work better than the band because the band won't stop a heavy consumer of sweets from eating them. I have also heard of people blindly recommending the sleeve because they are not very familiar with the band. Just make sure that the reason they were recommending the sleeve was legitimate (or not). It would be something to mull over if their advice had merit.

I also take biotin for hair and make sure to take all vitamins recommended by my surgeon.