Alexandra

Hi Bubbles! Welcome to the site. We'd love to hear more about your experience indeed. Did you have any real-life support group to attend? Glad you found us--may your second year be the year it ALL comes off! :eek:

WOW!!! 90 lbs gone, that's phenomenal!! Congratulations, Donali, really. This is the first time in my long, sad, weight-loss-failing life that I can look at the successes of other people and believe they are waiting there for me as well. You're truly an inspiration and I'm so glad you hang out here to share your peace and non-dieting vibes with all of us! WE'RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU, LADY!! WATCH YOUR BACK! :eek:

Hi Darcy, welcome!! I've heard encouraging things about Humana and I'll bet you won't have any problems as long as you qualify for WLS. Good luck with your appointment! I can tell you that my yen for ice cream hasn't diminished one iota. I love the stuff! :eek: Now there's room in my "diet" for a reasonable amount once in a while whereas before it would just be adding insult to injury. A world without ice cream is not one I want to live in.

My rings are so loose I can't even wear my mothers-day ring at all. And I've had to reverse my engagement and wedding bands so that the engagement ring is closer to my palm--it will fall off otherwise and I couldn't survive that! When even the wedding band is too loose to do guard duty I'll have them all resized.

Wow, Michelle, what a difference! You look fancastic, and I can tell how good you feel just by looking. :eek:

Sue has great advice for you. And I also know little about financing, and less about Monarch, but it seems to me that a personal loan from any bank would be better than what they've described for you. With your father co-signing you should be able to borrow what you need from a regular bank, I would think.

Oh Renata, wow, that must be super frustrating! I'm so sorry you're going through this. Did your surgeon have any thoughts about why your port flipped, and so soon? I mean, he only just installed it, right? I'm sure things will work out and you'll look back on this as just a minor bump on the road. But I know how you must feel right now. You can still be a bandster even without a fill, and you might even lose some weight! Stay happy! :eek:

Thanks for all the cheers, people! I've also recently noticed hard places on my body that have never been evident before. I think they're called "bones." Like collarbones! And knees! Cool!! It's definitely true that the changes continue even if the scale doesn't move for a while. That's why it's so important for our sanity to take a step away from the numbers if we tend to obsess. I weigh myself every day and I admit to feeling a twinge of disappointment when on the 14th or the 21st day there's still no change. But I know this will all take lots and lots of time, and there's no point in making myself miserable during the journey. It's happening in tiny ways every day, and I'm loving it!!

Hi Holly, Welcome! Glad you found us and I hope you'll find whatever encouragement and support you need. And share! Your experience will bring insight to others as well.

Hi Maguilar, In most states there is a mandate for carriers as to how long they can take to make coverage decisions. I mean, they're essentially making a decision that will effect whether or not you get necessary medical care, so they owe it to you to make it in a reasonable amount of time. 30 days seems to be about average. Have you called the carrier to make sure they have all the information they need? In most cases delays like this are due to one or two pieces of information being missing and no one caring enough to make the phone calls. So it's up to the patient to make sure everything is collected, submitted, and is moving through the system correctly. Don't just sit and twiddle your thumbs in frustration. Call your carrier! You have a right to a decision in a reasonable amount of time. Good luck!!

Hi Joyce, Congratulations and welcome!! Have you ever had surgery before? That to me was the biggest thing, not so much the actual type of surgery it was. As I think you'll find by reading the various post-op messages from people everyone heals differently. Some common pieces of advice are to try to get up and walk soon after surgery and as often as possible thereafter. Laparoscopic abdominal surgery of all kinds uses some sort of gas to inflate your abdomen so the surgeon can see what he's doing, and there can be some residual effects from that. Personally the hardest thing was recovering from the anaesthesia, but if you've ever had surgery before you'll probably know how that is for you. I just had to take it easy for a few days and let my head clear. Is your surgery scheduled? Did your doctor give you a pre-op diet and discuss the post-op plan with you?

Hi Patty, I hope your doctor can find the problem and fix it quickly. How frustrating to have a mechanical problem on top of all the other challenges being banded poses!! Good luck and please let us know what happens. Thanks!!

HI Robert, Wow, I hope that's a typo in your subject header and it should read 2002! Because if you've lost 170 lbs in 6+ months you certainly didn't do it with a band alone. What's your secret? Hmm, but then you typed it twice... is it possible? Please clarify. Inquiring minds and all that... Whatever the case, welcome!

Congratulations!! What a relief! Good luck with your surgery--let us know how it goes. You're on your way!!

Your company being self-funded gives you a good chance of success, KYAngel. It's your company that makes the coverage decisions in your case, not some impersonal insurance carrier dealing with hundreds of thousands of people. Assuming you meet the qualifications in general for needing WLS, your next step is to figure out why the denial--did they deny you for all weight-loss surgery in general or just for the Band? If they denied you for all WLS, you need to convince them that it would be cheaper to pay for your surgery than let it go untreated. In the long run they would likely be paying for other obesity-related conditions, such as diabetes (which is chronic and the costs never go away), hypertension (same), heart problems, sleep apnea and so on. There's no question that the insurance world in general has embraced the notion that treating morbid obesity is more cost-effective than not treating it, so that's your argument. If they denied you for the Band your argument is even easier. It's cheaper, safer, less likely to create problems down the road (which they would have to pay for). Your company is primarily interested in saving money. You have to show them that the $15,000 spent on the band now will save them untold dollars down the line. Good luck!!

Oh, Ginger, what a drag! We just went through this in our house--in fact, it may not be over. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't catch it (although in my experience, any stomach bugs I get tend to manifest themselves in a different way--lower down, if you catch my meaning :sick ). Sorry I don't have any words of wisdom for you. All I know is that banded people do get it and survive. Maybe you want to stick to softer foods and Soups until the danger is past? Good luck!!

Hi Brooke, welcome! Good luck with your surgery--it's right around the corner. I admit to having mixed feelings when I hear about someone so young getting banded. But one thing is for sure: I am SO GLAD you're not getting bypass!! Band surgery is completely reversable so if anything comes up in your next 80 years that warrants it you'll be able to have the procedure undone. It's a different story for older people who may really have had a lifetime of dealing with obesity and who may be faced with immediate health problems. But when I hear about the new trend toward operating on teenagers I'm always appalled that the articles don't mention banding as a safer, saner alternative. How did you hear about the band? Was your age a deciding factor in your decision? Anyway, welcome and I hope we'll be hearing about your successful surgery on April 10th or so!

I'm going to echo what Kathy and Patty said; Don't beat yourself up about it! Negative self-talk doesn't do you any favors at all. A fill will come and by then you may have gained a pound or two. You just keep going; this is a long run we're on and you can't change overnight.

Hi Candy! You are right, Dr. Borao has a great reputation. I'm surprised he doesn't have a better after-care program, since he does so many bands. Although I probably shouldn't be surprised--my doctors' office has only just instituted band-specific support group meeting and one of the docs has been doing the band since the clinical trials! Oh well, better late than never, I guess. How cool that you're doing this with your sister! I'm jealous. And I love your line about the people who feel superior--I work with one of those and she ticks me off all the time. Glad to have you aboard, another Jerseyan! :eek:

I don't recall seeing a message with this question until now. And it's an interesting question! In my experience my stomach rumbles as per usual when I'm hungry, and when I eat it stops. Maybe it's a matter of perception--our own. It must take only a little tiny bit of food to stop a stomach from growling, and I never noticed that before.

Hi Felicia, welcome! Sounds like your doctor is right on target with conventional practices and has his head on straight. I like that HE told you not to worry if you aren't losing weight prior to a fill. Usually we only hear that from fellow bandsters. Candy, your doctor sounds just like mine. Where were you banded? It's always worth repeating that the prefill stage is NOT ABOUT WEIGHT LOSS, although when we lose some weight right after surgery it's so easy to think this is the start of a steady downward slide. But then reality sets in and it is a bit hard. Don't let yourself get too hungry! That's even more important in the healing stages, and it's a good principle for all of us to remember. Stick with your doctor's instructions but don't worry about calories now. Welcome to Bandlandia!!

Congratulations, Babs!! That is such an accomplishment, you should be VERY proud of yourself! Someday that will be me, I hope...

Hi Bullit, I guess I am a "veteran" on this site. I visit other band support sites but I like this interface the best so here is where I post. But I'm not a band veteran, having only had my band for about 7 months. And yes, I have the adjustable. Is there any other kind? All three of the bands we talk about most -- the Inamed band, the SAGB, and the MidBand -- are adjustable. Depending on the yardstick one uses, I'd say I've done fair to extremely well! Many people lose more weight than I have, but 40 lbs in 7 months is well within the expected range of loss and I'm absolutely thrilled with it. It's not a miracle cure but I didn't want one. I wanted a tool that would help me modify my behavior, and that's exactly what I got. I'm still climbing the learning curve but a lifetime of bad habits is hard to change.

Hi there, new bandsters!! Welcome to Bandlandia! It is true that doctors have a wide range of post-op instructions. My doctor said thick liquids were OK after the first couple of days, and mushy foods after 2 weeks or so. During the 2 weeks I really wasn't hungry, what with the wonderful array of Soups out there. I loved it! Then I went into hummus, soft cheeses, tzatiki, all that yummy stuff you usually put on crackers. I went nuts! To stave off the hungries you really want to push Protein. Thick liquids can be very high in protein--go for bean soups (mush up the beans), egg-drop Soup, and thick chowders. I didn't have any problems with the "solids" in soups like that, especially if they were homemade and could cook for a really long time. And then there are Protein drinks, which really can help. I made my own in a blender with milk, Protein powder, yogurt (regular and frozen), Peanut Butter, and Ovaltine. A big serving of that and you're full for hours! Take it easy and remember not to push yourself or think too much about calories. That will all come later. Just heal! :eek:

Good luck!! My boss is having his gall bladder out tomorrow. My thoughts will be with you next week too!!