Toddy

DON'T GIVE UP!! If you really don't want the sleeve, then don't get the sleeve! The band will still be very effective!! Even though I earlier said knowing what I know now that I would get the sleeve over the band... I still LOVE my band and how it has changed my life!! And I can still say that even though I did have a slip and had to have surgery a second time!!!

I can only answer half of 4. I moved and changed insurance shortly after surgery and my new insurance does cover my fills. Insurance also paid most of my surgery though. Not sure how the new insurance company would determine if you were self-pay or insurance paid. That being said, EVERY insurance policy is different. With my first WLS surgery I had BCBS Maryland, and they paid 100%. With my second surgery, I had BCBS Tennessee and I had to pay roughly $1500 out of pocket. My daughter has BCBS Tennessee and her insurance has a clause that it will not pay anything for WLS...

My daughter's insurance has denied coverage for wls. She is looking at lap-band with plication. I've had it done and it's the best thing I've every done for myself, but I had 100% insurance coverage, so my feelings may be skewed a little bit. In fact, I most likely would not have even considered wls if I hadn't had insurance coverage. I know the majority of people on this site say it's the best thing they've ever done, also. I'm just wondering about the perspective of those that have paid $12,000 to $16,000 (or more) and if they, too, think it was worth the cost. My daughter is 25 and has a bmi of 43. She does not currently have any co-morbidities, but having visited her lately and hearing her snore, she could probably use a sleep study and CPAP. However, with my history of high blood pressure and both sides of the family having history of diabetes, I feel like it's just a matter of time.

Was the $7500 just the surgeon's fee or the all-inclusive?? I can't imagine it being the hospital and anesthesia... that would definitely be worth the drive!

The clinic I went to and want my daughter to go to reduces the band from 16K to 12K if you're self-pay. Unfortunately, the sleeve is twice that! She really wants the sleeve, but just can't afford it and won't accept help from her parents...

I've got to be honest here. I have lap-band with plication (the plication was added when I had to have a slip repaired). I don't regret my decision to have lap-band at all, and believe that I was partially responsible for the slip by not going back on liquids after my band was irritated following being stuck. However, I've learned more about the sleeve since a dear friend of mine had sleeve surgery earlier this year. If I was starting this journey all over again, at this point I would opt for the sleeve. That being said, I would NEVER, EVER have gastric bypass, though, as rearranging things just seems a lot more drastic than simply removing part of the stomach.

I just had a salad for dinner tonight. Just must go S-L-O-W!!!!

Heartburn is a classic symptom of being too tight. Don't ignore this or the problems will get worst.

Always been busty even when I wasn't overweight. The boobs were the first to come and the first to go... but not really gone... just much more mushy. Going to eventually get a lift. Don't want to change the size, just the texture;-) Anyway... I've noticed the upper arms and upper thighs just being wrinkly.... just makes me feel OLD!!!

I have trouble with bread, but if I do it right, very small bites, very slowly, I can manage. I can't eat corn, or the skin of a potato. The very worst, I can't eat clams, one of my favorite things ever, at all!!!! No dry meat at all. I have finally learned, when trying something new, if I can't get it chewed up to the consistency of applesauce, I don't swallow it!

Different people have different philosophies about this. I am almost at goal, and at this point, my focus is more on the maintenance aspect, in other words, what can I live with for the rest of my life. I don't count calories or fat grams any longer. The only thing I even think about now is Protein because I want my hair and nails to stay healthy!! Other than that, I feel like I eat so little, I want what I do eat to be really good! I'd rather eat 1/4 of a piece of chicken parmesan than to eat a whole plain chicken breast. For me, it's easy to sacrifice quantity for quality. I am very mindful about junk food though! Those things that are easy going down, like ice cream and mashed potatoes, will come back to haunt you and you will gain weight if you fall into those kind of eating habits, band or no band!!!

Great story... gave me chills! Yes, you can do it! One word of caution though, the band will not help with the "head" hunger, that addiction is powerful and, unlike alcohol, cigarettes or drugs, since you can't give it up completely, you might want to look into some counseling! I'm a firm believer that a good counselor is worth their weight in gold!! And I look forward to reading your post a year from now after your next Disney trip!! I'm sure you and the kids will have a blast!

Very well said Hazelsbliss! Some of the things I read on here about some of the doctors and their "practices" just makes me cringe. These tiny, little fills in the very beginning are ridiculous. Now when you're approaching the green zone, then yes, a tiny fill can make a difference. But only doing fills on Fridays and that's the reason for giving small fills... that screams doctor more interested in making money than having successful patients. Kind of like the docs that perform wls on self-pay patients with low bmi's and only 20 or so pounds to lose...

When I had a slip early on, and my doctor questioned me about vomiting, I specifically asked him if there was a distinction between vomiting and regurgitating (PB'ing) and he said most definitely... he was concerned with the vomiting that was a forceful expulsion from the stomach below the band. But do take it easy and stick to soft foods for the next day or two. I do blame my two instances of vomiting on having an irritated band and still trying to eat regular food.

I highly recommend the plication!!!

Battling the head hunger is tough! I have found that staying busy is the best thing. When I start "craving" something, I clean out a drawer or a closet or something similar and it passes...

I've had a pair of pants hanging in my closet for years that I thought, "If I could only lose enough weight to fit into those again, I'd be so happy!" Well, I just put them on... and they're TOO BIG!! And I'm not even done losing yet!! Loving my new life and my lap-band!!!!!

I've had the same experience as Terry. The other day I tried a large vitamin and even after breaking it in half, it hurt going down. I won't make that mistake again.

I did have plication ten months after I was originally banded. My band slipped and I opted for plication when I had the slip repaired. Strangely enough, I recovered a lot quicker and had much less pain with the second surgery that added plication than I did the first surgery with the band alone. I opted to have the plication added because I was not happy with my rate of weight loss with the band alone. Unfortunately, I really didn't notice any difference at all with the plication added. I still had to have several fills to my band to get back into the green zone. But now that I am finally in the green zone, I'm pretty happy with my weight loss.

I think it's great that he has done this for his health. It's nice to see someone in the limelight come out with positive things to say about lap-band! I do envy both of you having lost your appetite. I know my band is as tight as it can be without causing me complications -- been there/done that and not going back down that road!! And while I know I'm in the green zone, I do still get physically hungry, and deal with head hunger occasionally, too.

Glad that you've decided to tell him. I just can't comprehend a world in which I would keep something like that from my husband. Even if he hadn't been supportive I would have just told him it was something I had to do for me and I would appreciate his support.

My understanding of plication, unless something has changed in the last six months: It is still in the experimental/research phase. A doctor has to be approved to do this and is required to follow the patients that opt for band with plication for five years. They fold the stomach inward and stitch it up, very similar to the sleeve, but without actually cutting the stomach. So far the research is showing that patients with band and plication need fewer, if any, fills. It also greatly reduces the possibility of slipped bands. Also, because this is in the research phase, there is no additional cost for plication over just banding alone.

The band will not make you lose weight. It is only a tool to help with weight loss. If you don't use the tool properly (by making wise food choices) you will not lose weight.

My insurance company accepted my WW weigh-in booklet even though at the time I wasn't attending regularly.

I was thinking the same thing. I regularly have two glasses a wine at night. Occasionally on the weekend I might have three. And while I don't get sick at three, I know that's definitely my limit and I might not feel 100% the next morning. Whatever that cider and vodka was, I'm sure it would have kicked my butt too!