Alexandra

Congratulations on getting in on a clinical study!! You're really lucky--you should be getting great care that way. I was part of a clinical study years ago after dropping 75 lbs. on Optifast; they were studying the effectiveness of SSRI medications (like Prozac) on weight loss maintenance. Either I was given a placebo, or their theory didn't hold water.

Hi Charles, It seems quite common for doctors to wait at least six weeks before the first adjustment, or fill. I guess the thinking is that it takes about that long for one's stomach to adjust completely to being banded in the first place. Not all doctors do this but it's not at all unusual.

IMO, trying again with the same doctor will get you farther with your carrier than trying for the same thing with another doctor. See, the insurance carrier is insisting that it's YOU who do not meet their medical criteria--they're not going to change their minds about that if you have a different physician. But you can absolutely ask your doctor for a copy of the letter he sent, get that sleep apnea test and add those results, have your PCP write another letter, and so on. UHC MUST look at any information you want to add to your current file, and IMO it makes a stronger case if your position on appeal is that they didn't get a complete set of facts the first time. Going to a different doctor just makes it look as though you don't trust the first one, or that you somehow think it was *his* fault you don't meet UHC's criteria. Try to look at it from their point of view. You already know they approve this procedure for medically qualified individuals. You either are one, or you aren't. Who your doctor is doesn't matter. What does matter is how persuasively you can put together the facts to support the medical necessity of the procedure according to UHC's criteria. Don't leave this up to your doctor alone! You are the patient, and you can include whatever information you want in your appeal package.

Hey JC: I'm sorry you're having this trouble! I had one episode where I was at least two hours out from having eating (or drunk) something, but out of nowhere my salivary glands just started working overtime. I had to spit out several mouthfuls of saliva which, if I had swallowed fast enough, would have made me sick to my stomach. It couldn't possibly have been something I ate, but I asked around and was told it was likely an esophageal spasm. That sort of thing happens spontaneously in everyone, but it more noticeable once you're banded. It's a very unpleasant sensation but on its own is not dangerous. Vomiting, which I guess involves actual stomach contractions, is what's dangerous. So if you're not actually vomiting there probably isn't anything serious happening. Your esophagus may settle down with some warm liquid, and remember not to gulp your fluids. (That's something I'm having a very hard time with myself.) Keep us posted!!

I just posted my experience with this in another thread. No question: Protein makes me feel full longer. Cottage cheese, goat cheese, pate (I LOVE pate and have always avoided it as being too rich and expensive--great to have this time to splurge!), liverwurst, and refried Beans are all plenty dense and filling. I blended up salmon chowder last night and it was a really yummy savory Soup with a gazpacho-like texture. During this time of mushy foods I'm not worrying about going low-fat. Plenty of time for that later. Now I'm just concerned with finding enough variety to keep my tastebuds happy.

Hey seanmama, don't give up!!! So what is their definition of "morbidly obese"? If you have 100 lbs to lose your BMI must be pretty close to 40, right? Try shaving an inch off your height and see what that does to your BMI. UHC probably uses the same definition as everyone else, and if you are borderline you might have to try a little harder to make the case. This sounds like a matter of your doctor not having sufficiently explained your health issues to UHC. You should get a copy of your file from your doctor's office and make sure it includes everything you think is appropriate. Then send in your appeal focusing in on the fact that you DO fit their medical criteria and should therefore be approved. All is not lost, not by a long shot. You're in much better shoes than someone with a policy exclusion or an "investigational" denial. Don't worry--just keep at it!

No kidding!! When I think about numbers like 200 and 230, they appear like distant pipe dreams to me now. Once they were horrifying milestones that to a teenager signalled the death knell of any successful social life. My, how times change...

Hi Heather, You'll see other posts here and there about this. Three hours does seem like a long time but they could be including time for the Personality Assessment survey that some therapists administer. I didn't have to take that, but I know lots of docs include this lengthy multiple-choice quiz. Otherwise, they're just basically checking to see that you understand the consequences of being banded, and that you aren't prone to some eating disorder or other. This is a big step you're taking and it's important you're psychologically as well as physically prepared for it.

Oh, Holly, what an ordeal! But it's true--you have something to be deeply thankful for. Your children would so much rather have you around with a few extra pounds and a healthy heart than...well, you know the end of that sentence. Take care of yourself! Who knows--perhaps fixing your heart problem will increase your energy (and/or metabolism?) and some weight will come off in that way! The cosmos works in mysterious ways, but I am convinced it is always for the better. Best wishes to you and your family. Hug them!!

Hi Mary, Yup, I guess my doctor is pretty liberal in his post-op diet. By my one-week checkup he said I should be able to handle mushy foods, which he wanted me to stick to for another two weeks after that. I had only tried one thing by that point--refried beans--and it was a little rough--so I'd backed off. But he reassured me that if I'm not actually uncomfortable eating something there's no reason not to. Now I'm having cottage cheese for breakfast 11 days out and it's actually good! It's enlightening, isn't it, how different the various doctors' post-op instructions are? I'm sure each one is convinced his or her approach is the right one, but it's clear there are as many different doctors as there are patients. Medicine will always be as much art as science.

Well, I learned something today. I've always known that Protein makes you feel full longer, but today's events really brought it home to me. Since today was Saturday and I didn't have to drink my Breakfast in the car, I passed on the Protein Drink and had a yogurt for breakfast. Then right before we left on our outing I had a small cup of tomato Soup. Feeling good! Now, on Saturdays my family often eats lunch out wherever we happen to be. Well, we ended up at a takeout grill place that had absolutely nothing mushy on the menu. But I was hungry so I committed the ultimate Bandster BooBoo and had a milkshake. Well, this filled me up just fine, for a while. A couple of hours later we're leaving the lake and the kids needed a snack, so we found ourselves at Wendy's. My stomach is growling too but all they had that I could adapt to my mushy requirements was a baked potato. I ate that, all mushed up, pretty quickly. But it didn't last! Two hours later we came home and it's almost time for dinner. I'm famished! Then I ate about 2 ozs. of salmon pate while waiting for my soup to heat up, and before I know it I'm full. But my brain still thinks I'm hungry, so I start in on the soup. Uh-uh. I find myself just staring at it, amazed that 2 ozs. of salmon pate filled me up in a way that an entire mushed-up baked potato could not. Protein. It's the bomb!

Good luck to our early-September crowd. We'll be thinking of you next week!!!

OK, those of you on the full-liquid stage, here's a question. How much Soup do you consume at a meal? How big are your Protein shakes? I've been consuming approximately 12-14 ozs of either soup or shake at a sitting, and get plenty full. That's only slightly less than the amount I'd have before banding; it seems like a serving to me. Am I nuts? Should I actually be stopping at 8 ozs. and saying "enough"? Then what do you do with the rest of the can?

Hi Heather, welcome!! You're a very lucky woman to have such a supportive husband--I know, because I have one too. He didn't start out that way, I have to say; it took some time for him to get over his innate fear of surgery. Your daughter is beautiful! I have two small kids myself and I'm doing this for them more than anything else. I can't wait until chasing them down the block is a reality instead of a reason to call the paramedics. Good luck with your evals and sleep test. Keep us posted!

Congratulations! We'll repeat the mantra: relax, relax, relax. And learn to love soup!

Bob, sorry but I can't be optimistic about a situation like Wayne's being covered by insurance. The removal, yes, but not the replacement. At the point where his had to be removed, he was no longer MO (or even obese, I don't think). So no, there could be no medical reason to replace the band. It's not a prosthetic required to live, or even to maintain a certain bodily functionality (like an artificial limb). If you're already at a healthy weight, my feeling is that it would be upon you to stay that way. If something like that happened while you were still very overweight and actively *in treatment* for your MO, a case could be made that the band would need to be replaced so your treatment could continue. There are never any guarantees, of course. Good luck with your insurance approval. I'll be waiting to hear what they say!!

Big congratulations, Nancy! Even though you may feel great, please be careful not to overtax yourself in these furst few days. Your body has a lot of work to do in healing. All best to you!!

You know I'm there!!!

By the time you read this you'll be a BANDSTER!! Good luck, get lots of sleep, and recover well. See you soon!!

The answer to this question can't be firm, of course, because all insurance carriers and policies are different. But I can tell you the answer *in general.* If you had a slippage that resulted in a need for medical treatment, yes, treatment would be covered. Each situation is taken on its own--if you have a condition that requires medical treatment you should be able to get it. It doesn't matter if what's causing the problem has always been part of your body or is something you added (tattoo, breast implant, pacemaker, lapband). The medical team would have to code your treatment correctly so that the insurance carrier sees it in the right way, though. The diagnosis code wouldn't be 278.01 (morbid obesity), it would be something else entirely (whatever the code is for gastric obstruction, I guess).

Congratulations, Mary, and welcome to Bandlandia!! I hope your recovery goes smoothly and that you can get some sleep. Sleep is the miracle cure! And Elizabeth, I'll keep a good thought for you in surgery tomorrow. You'll do fine!!

Hey Kelly-- I'm really hearing you on this presure thing right about now. The gas pains were almost gone for me this morning but today I had my first business lunch since banding. My food of choice was black bean Soup, and though I avoided the Beans as much as I could, I'm sure it was a little more fibrous than I should have attempted at this point. Now I'm feeling the pressure again, though my lower stomach is grumbling that I haven't eaten in 6 hours. Time for hot, THIN, soup! Ouch.

The only ongoing discussion I've ever found involving bandster problems is the Yahoo discussion group, Struggling Bandsters. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StrugglingBandsters/ to register and read the postings. I really appreciate the messages there. Otherwise, whenever I'd see someone post about a port problem or some other issue, I'd follow the discussion closely to get all the info. There are lots of bandster lists on yahoo, including Bandsters, SmartBandsters, and many that are state-specific. But as I said, even the bad news wasn't very bad. Of course, there have been some deaths from the surgery as there can be with any surgery. As far as I can tell they've always involved surgical error, patient noncompliance/denial, or both. Obviously you have to take your chances with the first of these, but complications in the second category are within our power to prevent.

Thanks for the details, Brandi. How are you feeling now? I'm paying more attention to my water, now, that's for sure!!

Hi Candace, I searched and searched for months to find the bad news about the band. I've been reading Struggling Bandsters for months now because I also don't want to get a sugar-coated version of banded life. The conclusion I've reached is that there can be a dark side, but it's so much lighter than that of the bypass even the bad experiences with the band are better than good experiences with the bypass! And if you're having trouble losing weight, there's always another day in which to work on whatever problem is occurring. Therapy, exercise, a fill, whatever, there are lots of ways to make it work. There are as many ways to make it work as there are to work around it, and they are all within your control. The great thing about it is that if you're not losing this month, try something different and try again next month. It will still be there! Physically speaking, aside from the surgical risks (which you may or may not decide are worth taking to achieve weight loss) the worst that can happen is that you'll have a slippage, port twist, or something like that. With the band, those sorts of things are easily fixed if caught early. To prevent major problems, you have to be really aware of your body and its relationship with the band so as to catch symptoms of over-restriction, but that's not too much to ask. This is in marked contrast to the effects of gastric bypass, which are not at all in the control of the patient. Will I dump? What will be my window of weight loss? Will I have physical reminders not to overfill my pouch? What do I do two years out when I have 75 lbs. left to lose and my body's adjusted to the malabsorption? Will I know I have a Vitamin deficiency before I pass out one day? No thanks. I want to have control over my life and weight loss. The fact that the RNY is a vastly more difficult and dangerous procedure is just the final nail in its coffin, as far as I'm concerned.