NWgirl

Why are you so defensive? I asked you a question in regards to how you were so successful in losing weight and you jump to the conclusion I am accusing you of lying about your band? I think that your input and experience may be beneficial to some, but you never share your actual experience and the way you ended up being successful- you only say that the band did not work. I'm sure there are more people than just myself who are curious about how you overcame obesity on your own if you had started out with the mindset that WLS was the only way. This is why I said that even though you may have useful information for other bandsters or bandsters-to-be, you never actually talk about the HOW involved in your journey. You also only use negatives and say things in a way that many people will just role their eyes and move on. You do no credit to yourself and your own journey. This is the last time I ask you anything directly about your own journey, because I have posed the question on more than this thread and you never feel the need to respond. I don't know the motivation behind your silence, but it seems to me if you are trying to convince people that this is an ineffective WLS, you would explain why you believed that to be the case.

Fluffy, why do you believe your band failed? What types of food did you eat, what types of exercise did you do? if the band failed, how did you lose the weight? I saw your blog and can see that you are skinnier. You always seem to use scare mongering tactics when someone asks anything, which frankly discredits anything of value you may have to say. PLEASE tell us your story and what you believe went wrong with your band.

Please get your facts straight about band complications fluffy- just because the band didnt work for you for whatever reason, does not mean it is not a valid and safe procedure. http://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/lap-band-problems-lap-band-complications.html#Potential_Lap_Band_Problems Band problems (1.1% - 18% of gastric banding patients) Band erosion (2.1% - 9.5%) – (also called “band migration”) occurs when the band actually grows into the stomach. The only treatment is permanent removal of the band. See our Lap Band Erosion page for more information. Band intolerance – some patients’ bodies just can’t handle the band. After all, the band is a foreign object in your body. Band intolerance includes vomiting excessively or feeling uncomfortable all of the time. Permanent removal of the band is required in these cases. Band leak (1.1% - 4.9%) – patients can usually tell if their gastric banding system has a leak if their feelings of restriction decrease over time (thus increasing hunger) without the doctor unfilling the port. To determine whether you have a leak, your doctor may inject colored Fluid and take an X-Ray to see if any of the colored fluid is present (from a leak) outside of the gastric banding system. Surgery is usually required to repair it. Band slippage (2% - 18%) – occurs when the lower part of the stomach “slips” through the band, creating a bigger pouch above the band. Either removing fluid (from the lap band) or surgical repositioning is required to repair band slippage. Symptoms include vomiting and reflux, and it is diagnosed by drinking a dye and using X-Ray to observe it. The band placement technique used by the surgeon also makes a difference - between the perigastric technique (PGT) and the pars flaccida technique (PFT), the pars flaccida technique appears to have a much lower rate of slippage (up to 16% less often).7,8,9

I had to get all the blood work too. I actually started seeing a new PC Dr., and he wanted to make sure I didn't have anything else wrong. I did find out I have hypothyroidism, low Vit D and low Iron... I am still going forward with the surgery because I have tried on my own and failed miserably each time. If you need to, find a new primary care Dr. I actually found my new Dr. through the folks at the weight loss institute. Maybe you can call the place you are looking to have surgery and tell them you don't have a PC and ask for a recommendation?

I just can't believe that a Dr would let you go through with a procedure without making sure that you understood how it worked. It takes people AT LEAST a month to get to the point where you actually complete all requirements to get the band. Even a self pay patient must undergo the four or five meetings with the psychologist, the dietician, the physical therapist, and the nurse practitioner. At this point they are told appropriate foods, etc and what to expect from the band and how to use it as a tool. I do not believe that the person who brings so much negativity was not given the same treatment and rules as everyone else. I have noticed that each time someone asks her what she was eating (to try and find why the band didn't work) she never responds. She also always blames the manufacturer's advertising from misleading her, but how many of us have seen a commercial and taken its claims at face value? if that were the case, I would have been skinny long ago with a diet pill...

I read exactly what was said throughout the whole thread. You are the one that followed up her posts with a few posts that made it seem that having a mental illness would be horrific, verifiable by the way you made such statements. It was obvious her post was a quip at you, but meant to be taken without real regard.

I am not yet banded, but is there a local band support group you can go to? Or post in the by state special forums to find a buddy near you?

I suggest that if you actually want someone to take you seriously, you stop throwing around the phrase of mental illness with such venom! Some of us are or have people we love dearly with a mental illness and have sufferred through the bigoted and stereotypical views of people such as yourself in regards to said illness. Please grow up and find some compassion for people along the way and realize that you only discredit your own argument when your biased and disgustingly vile nature in regards to mental illness come out.

I saw something about papaya enzyme working....

Wouldn't you be unhappy if you paid $15k and thought you were buying a get thin quick machine??? I think that's the real reason why I've seen a few on here come out against the band in the way they have. Maybe they expected to buy the band and get thin without the effort it takes. I know I've researched and researched and read so many posts that to think the band would make your decisions for you is not a good mindset. When I get my band, you bet me I will be counting my calories, eating better foods, and exercising. Otherwise, why waste the money and time??!

Definitely talk to him and express how you really feel about your weight. I personally have dieted for years and never been able to get to the weight I want to be, and I've been miserable about my body. Don't get me wrong, I like myself, just not the way I look. I also watched a youtube video of a lapband surgery and my honey watched with me. Before the video, he was hesitant about the surgery, thinking it was a full blown, open you up kind of procedure even after I told him how minimally invasive it is. After watching the video, he actually saw for himself how little is done to put the band in and is relieved and 100% behind me. He knows how hard I've tried to lose the weight on my own, and my recent diagnosis of hypothyroid helped to shine a new light on maybe why those diets never worked...

I did want to buy the withings scale, but think my honey would disapprove. I have a Fitbit too (it is AMAZING) and they have started coming out with apps that you can link to. I am linked to lose it, and am pretty sure the withings can link to that too... Somehow I still can't justify the $150... Maybe in a year or two there will be more competition in the marketplace and I can get one for a lot less.

Just looked at the rest of my paperwork, and saw I will also be having an EKG, vital signs, and body fat measurement as well as photo taken on the first day as well.

For my first meeting on the 17th, I was told the same thing. I will be going in at 730AM for a welcome group/orientation and then I will be taking a 300 or 400 question multiple choice test (I assume this will be gone over at my visit with the psychologist). I was told I will be there til 11 or 1130am.

Those Withings scales are pretty awesome... they have wifi built in and automatically upload weights to a website for tracking... Of course, they are about $150.

Yay for you!!!!

I am with you, my insurance that covers surgery started 1/1/12 Just make sure that (obviously) your insurance covers the band, but more importantly, make sure that if your insurance company has a bariatric contact to call them and ask if there is anything you need to do for them. For my insurance, bariatrics are covered but you must be on a list of patients that have contacted the insurance bariatric contact before they can assure that anything related to the band is covered (including pre-op testing).

So my primary care Dr.'s office called today and told me my blood tests came in. My PC is at the same hospital as the surgery center I am using, so I was able to get lab work for both offices combined. Turns out, I have high Iron level (test ordered by Lapband office), low thyroid, and low Vitamin D. I go to see my PC Dr. on Thursday... I assume they will be putting me on thyroid medicine. As for the high iron, I'm hoping the test was a fluke. I did see a couple women post on another forum that they got high iron levels back, but that they also use Seasonale (or the generic), which only lets you have four periods a year if taken correctly. I am wondering if this is possibly part of the issue?

Hi Shirley, Where is the site? I looked under specialty forums and saw diabetic, etc but didn't seem to find thyroid? What am I doing wrong?

Congratulations! What a surprise

I know, I've been religiously poring over sections for the last month and need my forum fix!!!!

I had something similar happen to me last year. I was covered under an employee Regence BCBS plan, and Oregon Weight Loss Surgery sent me a letter stating that I was covered and the level of coverage, copay, etc. I wanted to verify myself, so I called the insurance company and was told there was no coverage. I explained to the insurance company employee that I had received a letter with benefit breakdown and asked how it was possible. She then did a three way call with her, myself, and the insurance coordinator for Oregon Weight Loss Surgery and come to find out the OWLS coordinator saw I was under a Regence Employee Plan and ASSUMED I was on the plan that covered bariatrics without actually checking. Needless to say, I am now under a new insurance that does provide coverage and will not be going to OWLS because the coordinator didn't even apologize for the mistake. Talk about a total let down... I have a feeling this also happened to you

That sucks When I tried in internet explorer, I got the same error message as above. When I try in Firefox, the page turns blank (unless of course I am going to new content). Hopefully this gets fixed asap.

Sorry to hijack your thread, but is any one else able to get into specific forums right now? I have tried switching internet browsers and trying to enter from different spots, but am unable to access anything but the "view new content" section. Any help appreciated.

I know if I go to my insurance website (Anthem BCBS), I can select to either search by doctor/profession or by hospital. I assume when the hospital comes up, the insurance will probably cover at whatever tier is stated.