Alexandra

What a wonderful post, ReneBean. Thank you for taking the time to share! It really means a lot. :hug:

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!!

Evers, a lot of us feel your pain and your daughter's pain. When I was 12 I weighed well over 200 lbs and had already begun to compensate by removing myself from "normal" teenage interactions. But while I was depressed, often, I was never suicidal and I honestly believe it's because of the way my parents treated me. They were able to instill in me a sense of self-esteem so robust that it got me through the hardest times of being the fat girl. Banding isn't the answer for someone so young and for whom there are other issues beyond weight. Losing weight doesn't automatically make someone happy, even though to a 12-year-old it can seem like the answer to all problems. You already know all the advice about helping her lose weight, but at the same time it's important to show her that weight isn't the be-all and end-all of self-esteem. Focus on what she does well. Let her see you thinking about things other than her weight, valuing her for who she is and what she does, not what she looks like. Being a teenager is hard for everyone, not just the fat kids, and she is NOT ALONE. The right therapist is out there, and when she has reached her adult growth perhaps surgical intervention will be called for. For now, just love her and show her that life is wonderful even with a few extra pounds.

I expect that when I get to maintenance mode and as long as things are going well there won't be any need to visit my band doctor at all. He gave me the rundown of nutrional benchmarks and tests that need to be done annually, and my PCP has this in her file and does them when I have my annual physical. As long as things are where they should be, band-wise, my PCP can monitor my overall health.

I've heard that gall bladder pain can be pretty bad. Have you called your doctor? It comes from when gallstones are stuck in a duct and can be brought on by certain kinds of foods. Call your doctor!! Having gallstones is a common side effect of significant weight loss, and many end up having to have their gall bladders removed. Good luck, and I hope it's nothing serious!!

Surby, there's nothing wrong with you, but there may indeed be something wrong with your band. Have you spoken with your doctor about this? Many people need three or more fills to feel the right level of restriction, but most feel SOME effect even after only one fill. Do you not have any sensation of tightness at all, no matter what you eat or how fast you eat it?

This is hard to do, actually. All I can seem to think of are things I have to deal with every day. But here are the good things: 1. The cup of coffee my DH leaves for me in the bathroom each morning when he leaves for work (before I get up). Every day that makes me smile. 2. The "Mommy's home!" I get from two beautiful young ladies when I walk in the door every afternoon. 3. Taking pride in the fact that as a health insurance broker I can actually help people. (I am the only one I know who makes that a priority over just making a sale.) 4. Knowing that I am bringing home enough bacon to feed my family and provide for our futures. 5. My online distractions, LBT and others.

Sounds wonderful, Sue! Congratulations on your progress and on staying so healthy in spite of your best efforts. I know how incredible it feels to have less than 50 pounds separating us from a "normal" weight. It is truly amazing! :biggrin1: Does the caloric malapsorption of the DS dissipate over time like the RNY? In other words, are you going to be sorry you haven't made more of an effort to make your diet reflect that you want to lose weight?

This discussion gets more and more fascinating, and I'm just in awe of the depth of everyone's knowledge. I'm just popping in to congratulate everyone on keeping it civil and not making it personal.

Hi Melipooh, You don't have to worry about anything you eat harming the band in any way. The actual types of foods you CAN eat is not limited in any way by the presence of a band around your stomach. The choice of what to eat is entirely up to you; the consequences would be the same as if you weren't banded (that is, too many calories in equals no weight lost). Once you're off liquids you will have to pay attention to the textures of foods and the sizes of bites you swallow. That's a learning experience and no one can really just "tell" you what will work for you. But liquids are completely fair game and nothing is off limits, band-wise. Congratulations on your banding and welcome to LBT!

This is actually one of the reasons I didn't want the RNY when I was considering weight-loss surgery. The LAST thing I wanted was for my weight loss (or lack thereof) to be the topic of anyone's conversation. Back in 1990 when I lost 75 lbs in 3 months on Opti-Fast, the first thing out of everyone's mouth was a comment about my looks. It was horrible! My weight is MY issue, and I don't invite or welcome discussions about it. With the band I have lost weight gradually enough that most people were able to pretend to ignore it. And that's exactly how I wanted it. :biggrin1:

Looks like you successfully figured out how to start a thread, good job! Now just poke around the forums and if you want to add a message to one, type it in the Quick Reply box at the bottom. Don't be afraid to click and experiment--you can't break anything!

Good luck, Laurend! Do yourself a favor and follow up on the submission. With time being so important you don't want even a couple of days to be wasted because someone didn't get a fax. Just call your carrier and ask if they have received the request for precert and whether any information is missing. Fingers are crossed for you!!

Only your carrier can answer that question. Honestly, in my experience carriers are excellent nitpickers, so quite likely they wouldn't consider the six months satisfied until December 20. But that's just a guess.

Speck, every surgeon's practice is different. Even the least busy practices can't do surgery immediately when you walk in the door. There's going to be pre-op testing, evaluations, and if you're going through insurance that process is even longer. You have to plan on at least a couple of months. Even if you walk in the door with your checkbook in hand, I'd guess it'd be a minimum of three weeks.

I had an endoscopy recently and the total charges came to about $1300. It was $800+ for the facility, which included the anaesthesiologist, and then something in the neighborhood of $500 for the doctor's services. It was covered by my insurance but with my plan my out of pocket was close to $700. It was considered to be in the same sort of category as out-patient surgery, since it wasn't done in a doctor's office and there was anaesthesia involved. Obviously your situation may be different. Oh, and I was knocked out completely. It wasn't a long procedure, but I wasn't allowed to drive afterwards because of the general anaesthesia. I had to get a ride home and stay there for the rest of the day.

I read the George R.R. Martin trilogy recently, and it was indeed very entertaining. I'm a HUGE Tolkien fan so it really spoke to my sensibility. It fell short in clarity, though; for my taste there was complexity upon complexity for no reward. After a while I just stopped caring about new characters because I didn't know who anyone was anymore. All in all, though, it was fun. I just finished a really intriguing novel called The Girls. It's a fictional autobiography written by a set of conjoined twins. Excellent! Now I'm on to the two most recent Elizabeth George books. She's about my favorite mystery writer going.

You have to have a surgeon who is EXPERIENCED in doing this type of surgery. That doesn't necessarily mean they will be called "bariatric surgeons" but you must make sure they do have experience in these procedures. When I was looking for surgeons I discovered mine listed in the insurance roster as "general surgeons." So start there. Then go to lapband.com for a list of doctors in your area who do the surgery, and see if any names appear on both lists. You will NOT find a cardiologist who does lapbanding surgery, and I'm shocked you were told that by an insurance representative.

Hi Sandra, The "fill" is just an injection; no hospitalization is necessary. It takes about 10 minutes plus whatever time your doctor makes you wait. Some doctors do it in a facility with x-ray equipment (fluoroscopy, sort of a moving x-ray) and others just do it in their offices. Fills are intrinsic to how the band works; they're how the band is adjusted for your personal needs. Saline is added or subtracted to the band to tighten or loosen it, and it's done as often as necessary to answer the patient's needs. In general, people probably get 3-5 adjustments in the first year, fewer after that. In 3 years I've had about 8 or 9 in total, and am having another one next month. I get them in the morning and am usually only about an hour late for work.

I'm so sorry you had this experience, and hope you're on the mend now! Surgical complications can pop up at any time, with this or any other surgery. It's why it's so important to really do a risk analysis before deciding on this major medical procedure. Most of us come to the conclusion that the risk is with the potential benefit, since it is relatively low compared to other bariatric procedures. But it's not completely without risk and sometimes we just hit the booby trap. Take good care of yourself and heal quickly!

This is a really great question, indeed. I don't know that I would change anything, except possibly to have waited longer for my first fill. I wasn't really hungry, I was losing weight slowly, but the holidays were coming and I really wanted to have some help avoiding my annual 10 lb gain. So I had a fill 8 weeks after surgery. The only reason I say now that I might have waited is that now there seems to be a growing body of evidence that the more slowly people get fills the better they tend to do in the long run. This is an informal impression my doctors have gleaned from their practice (which is large), but I can see the sense in it. And since my goal was never to lose weight fast, but to lose weight permanently, I think I might have agreed to wait had they made that suggestion back then. Beyond that, I'd always say "exercise more, eat healthier" but that's got nothing to do with my banding journey, per se. That's just about life. :peep:

Regulations about pre-existing condition exclusions may vary from state to state, but generally speaking the following applies: If you are enrolling in a health plan on an approriate eligibility date (such as open enrollment, taking a new job, becoming newly eligible due to marriage, etc.) pre-existing condition exclusions do not apply. Antivicky, you've asked a different question. If you are self-paying because your insurer excludes banding or other WLS, treatment for complications might be excluded based on the fact that your surgery wasn't covered. However, emergency treatment can't be excluded for any reason, so if you're getting treated for some emergency related to your band that should be covered. As always, check with your insurer for specific contract terms, and it's also a VERY good idea to find out what your rights are with regard to health coverage in your state. Check your state's website for information on HMOs, health insurance, and related regulations.

Well, I guess I shouldn't say that...because the unfill DID accomplish what it was supposed to do. It completely eliminated my reflux immediately. Since my saline was removed about six weeks ago I've slept like a baby without even being careful about eating later in the evening. But WHACK! My hunger is back in a way it wasn't the last time I was unfilled. My theory is that back in February, I had reflux and irritation that went on for more than a month before I had the endoscopy and unfill. All of that took time to resolve and it wasn't until several months later that I noticed my significant lack of restriction and hunger pangs returning. I didn't gain any significant weight, but felt I needed a fill and got one in August. I was fine for a few weeks but after overdoing it on jalapeno potato chips AND having a horrible allergy season without meds, reflux returned. Without waiting for it to get worse I called the doctor and scheduled an unfill right away. I guess I figured I'd go back to the way things were just after my last unfill. But NO; now I'm back where I was right before I needed a fill in August. Hungry, able to eat too much, and having trouble moderating my intake the way I should. As of now I've put on only about 5 lbs, but I can see where this is headed. So now I'm thinking about trying to go with a little more Fluid, but less than what I had put in last time. That means maybe .4 ccs. And I promise I'll stay FAR away from the jalapeno potato chips!!

Update: I am scheduled for a fill in mid-December. I've already put on 10 lbs (!!) and clearly have to work much harder at getting the munch-monster back in its cage. Wish me luck!!

Fingers crossed for a smooth, successful, fast and uneventful surgery!! Thinking of you, Jess!!