Jim1967

Then you basically are a troll and have nothing good to offer anyone here. Do you enjoy spending your time on forums for things you have no interest in with the attempt of spreading fear to new people? There is no doubt there are people who have had various issues whether self inflicted failure or legit issues with the band but there is also a lot of success stories. I think with research you would find that true for all forms of WLS... I highly doubt you blocked anyone because that is why you here. To argue and start trouble. You certainly have no interest in the band so you say so the first part must be fact.....

Honestly I did not see your original post but based on the quote Mis73 took from your post you provided basically a very negative opinion with no facts to back it up and automatically planted a seed of doubt. I can only assume you either failed with the band or the band failed you but either way its left you with a sour taste and you only have one motive being on this site and that is to spread fear and fallacy about the band.... Quote: "In this case fear is a great precaution for you, consider other procedures, the band is the worst and you will regret it over time due to it's failures, do your own research and don't believe the hype from this or any other banding forum."

Hi Bravo,, Just curious what your story is. I see you have not filled out anything in your profile with exception to your biography which states "THIS FORUM IS SUBPAR". Can you share your experiences with us or are you here to troll like your posts and profile suggest? Trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here but right now you sound like a person with sour grapes looking to spread fear.

I missed the posts....Must have deleted them. I have no regrets with the band. Only thing I wish I was better prepared for was bandster hell but I got through it and so does everyone else who experiences it. Some lucky few never have that. I've lost 70 pounds in 4 months with minimal exercise. I wouldn't change a thing except increase the exercise. My weight loss would probably move along even quicker if I did.

I didn't meet with my Surgeon until I was two months in. My first appointment was with a Nurse Practitioner Oct 12, 2011 who set up all my testing. Upper GI, stomach ultrasounds, x-rays, EKG, cardiac echo and blood work. Also that day I met with the Nutritionist who set me up with a preop diet plan. They required me to lose 5% of my weight before they would even think about agreeing on a surgery date. I didn't meet with the Surgeon until Dec 13.

Exactly!! I worry about failing myself but now I also have that added feeling that everyone knows I had the surgery. I don't want to be known as the fat guy who couldn't even lose weight with WLS... Edit: Maybe I do care to some degree a little bit about what others think. What worries me the most is failing....myself

I had my old boss ask me what I was going to do about all the excess skin I was going to have when I lose all the weight....people just don't get it and especially the ones who have never had a weight problem. "You wouldn't be fat if you just stopped eating" mentality.

I agree any loss is a good loss. I am really hard on myself and sometimes have to stop and think about it. I have lost 70 pounds in 4 months and that is an average of 17.5lbs a month. That's not too shabby but I think too much about it sometimes and I get down on myself for it. My wife had to hide the scale on me because I was weighing every morning and I was starting to get obsessive over it. I guess its because I am so heavy and have so much to lose. Instant gratification is what we yearn for but it just isn't realistic....

Funny you mention that. One of my co-workers who is also a friend outside of work he returned to work from a two week vacation and said to me "what you haven't lost all the weight yet?" He was totally joking but I can relate to what your saying.

Just know that it will take time for the weight loss to start. I wish I had a better understanding of "bandster hell" when I got started. It is that time in between being banded and getting fills. I was able to eat the same even after surgery. It took me about a 10 weeks for the scale to really start moving. Frustration with that was an issue for me but other than that everything was great. I was like "ok, I had weight loss surgery so when does the weight start to come off". It comes off but it takes time and adjustments. Good Luck!!

Walking really does help a lot with the gas pain in the shoulder.

I have Cigna and had to do 6 months but recently I heard they changed that requirement to 3 months. I go to a center of excellence and my surgeons staff handled everything. I didn't have to see a doctor or nurse for weigh ins every month. I had to go to the center step on a scale in the waiting room and they recorded my weight and I left. Did that for 6 months. Saw a Nutritionist there at the center twice. They took my food logs and they documented everything and faxed it over to Cigna. I was approved in 4 days. Good Luck!!

Hi and Welcome the LBT!! It's kinda hard for me to give you advice as I am a guy and twice your age so my perspective on it is a little bit different. I could care less what others think aside from my Wife and my parents. That being said, everyone pretty much knows I had the surgery and I wish I did handle it a little different. While yes I don't care what people think I do constantly get asked how I am doing, how much weight I have lost and so on and so on. I had a co-worker come up to me and tell me they are ordering pizza for everyone for lunch "but you shouldn't have it" Umm excuse me??? I am 44 years old and its been a long time since anyone told me I couldn't or shouldn't eat something. I know she meant well but seriously, c'mon!! You have to make this decision for yourself as far as who to tell. I wish I didn't tell as many people. I wish I didn't tell my mother because now all my aunts, uncles and cousins now know. I am not hiding anything but I wish I thought it through. Remember you are doing this for you and your health. If you come across negativity just disregard it best you can. We have one pass at life. Make the most of it and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.... Take some time to digest it all and don't rush into telling anyone until you are 100% sure that's what you want to do Good Luck!!

This may sound strange to you all but in my opinion you don't feel restriction, you sense it. Check out the link to Dr Simpson for a great article on restriction. I think the name "restriction" is just plain bad because when someone hears it they get the wrong idea.... Just my 2 cents.....

Nerves is definitely normal. We've all been there. This was probably the easiest surgery I ever had. I was walking the hall of the hospital wing two hours after coming out of recovery (with a very lovely Nurse). You ladies will rock this thing and see that it is not so bad. Good Luck!!

After three weeks I wouldn't expect you to still be having gas pains but everyone is different. How often does it occur? Does it happen random times or when you eat something? May want to run it past your Doctor.

My appetite has diminished greatly since being banded. It took probably took 3 fills to get to that point. I am amazed at how little I can eat and how long it sustains me before the stomach growls and says feed me.

One other thought about having the medical card with your license. If you put a paper clip to keep them together there is no way they can miss it when looking for your license....I would hope anyway.

Hi All, I thank you all for your opinions and I respect them. I personally have decided to get a dog tag with a chain to go around my neck. I feel its better to be safe then sorry. I would rather have it knowing there is a chance some day it could help me greatly. I figure worse case scenario if something were to happen the first thing they would do is cut my shirt off and remove the chain. whether they were to actually take a minute and look it is another case altogether. I really like this dog tag on Laurens hope http://www.laurenshope.com/product/2065/ST54/swiss-army-medical-dog-tag-necklace/size

I have no problem taking big gulps of any drink just as long as I am not eating anything at the time. Everyone is built different though so while I can do that you may not. Every Surgeon has their guidelines they ask patients to follow. One rule is not to drink while eating and wait until at least an hour after eating before drinking anything. Now the eating part is something you have to learn and being 4 months post op I can tell you I am still learning. You have chew very very slow and small bites. If you eat to fast you can cause something as minor as burping to something more painful like a stuck episode. Stuck episode is when the food will not pass through the band and it just sits there until it either passes or you vomit. It feels almost like the food is just sitting at the top of your throat. It can be very painful so you learn quickly but it does take practice.

I would do it over in a heartbeat!! I cannot feel my band but I can feel my port. So far I can do anything now that I could do before except eat as much. In fact I can do more now because I have lost some weight and I get around better. I have arthritis in my left knee bit it has not bothered me for the last couple of months. My only regret was waiting so long to do it. Your first couple of weeks of post op you will have some limitations such as not lifting anything over 10 pounds including kids!! I had my Cat jump on me in my sleep and that sent me through the roof. I was just only 4 days post op. I slept with a pillow over my belly for two weeks.

I have Cigna and was banded in April. I had to undergo a 6 month supervised diet in order to get approval. I was approved in 3 days after submitting. I heard Cigna has recently changed the requirement from 6 month to 3 month. Also, keep in mind Cigna's coverage may depend on what level of service your employer purchased. Assuming of course it is employer paid Cigna. I definitely recommend to anyone seeking coverage to fully know what they will and will not cover. If you call Cigna and ask for the policy in writing they will send it to you. I got mine via email PDF. Good Luck!!

Make sure you ask them to send the coverage policy to you in writing. Some insurance companies and mine being one of them may say it is not covered only to find out they do in fact cover it as long as certain criteria is met. In my case a 6 month supervised diet with full documentation from the Surgeon. They even wanted examples of my food journals.

I went to a seminar in September 2011 and had to wait a month and half to actually start because they were so booked. So first actual appointment was Oct 2011 and surgery was in April 2012. My insurance company required at the time a 6 month monitored diet. A month after my surgery I found out they changed it to 3 months. Those 6 months went fast and gave me plenty of time to digest and learn and train for being banded. One of the things I would change if I were to do it all over again would practicing taking the time eating slow and chewing. I saw the Nutritionist on Tuesday and she put down a piece of rubber that looked like a 4 oz hamburg patty and asked me how long it would take me to eat it. I said I don't know 20 minutes maybe......She said your eating too fast and not giving the brain a chance to catch up with the pouch.