WASaBubbleButt

I give mine away to my fellow fatties. It gets so expensive buying new clothes and the closer you are to goal the faster you go through sizes. So I recycle mine by giving them away. Hopefully, each person will continue the cycle.

Yeah, only time I wear a cap is here. Did you know in Mexico it's routine to wear it? White uniforms and caps pinned with those old fashioned white bobby pins! Being 9lbs from goal feels neurotic, much different from what I expected. For a better explanation: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f109/omg-how-crazy-am-i-39650/ I can't honestly say I was prepared for all the head stuff that goes with weight loss. I knew about the band inside and out, I knew about the doc, I did my research but I was never even close to prepared for all the head stuff. Not saying I wouldn't do it again, I would! I just wish I was better prepared but honestly, I don't know how that could have been done well.

You can still vomit after banding. You want to do anything necessary to avoid it, but you can still physically do it. Sex... each doc has their own suggestions, each doc is different. You won't want to do anything for a few days, you'll be sore and burping. Kids... you won't be able to lift anything over 8-10lbs for a couple weeks or more after surgery. Your children won't understand and they will forget, so plan on a big "OUCH!" Pre op diet... each doc has his own way of doing things. Some require a liquid diet that they just happen to sell. Some are low carb, low fat, adequate Protein. Mine requires a low carb, low fat, adequate protein diet for those over a 40BMI. The truth about liver shrinking diets is that they don't really shrink your liver unless you are on the diet for six weeks or better. But, when you lose even 10lbs it does help so that your liver isn't slippery and slimey during surgery and every pound you lose makes life easier for your surgeon. If it is easier for him it is safer for you. Good luck on your surgery day!!! It's will be a GREAT day!

Belite contracts with various docs to promote them. Docs pay Belite to advertise on their behalf. They used to contract with Dr. Kuri but that ended. While they used to have virtually no actual reputation, the doctors had the rep, they seem to be developing a 'not so great' rep lately. Lots of people are coming here and complaining that they are not getting return phone calls, they are not getting questions answered, they are not happy with the service. They feel that when they are booked for surgery, Belite tends to ignore them. Belite is right there for them until the moment they book surgery then Belite hits the road and tends to focus on getting more business, not working with the people they already have signed up.

I can eat the white part of iceberg with no problem. The lighter (in weight) and greener it is (vs. white and crunchy) the less I can do. Use an oil based dressing, it makes a huge difference for how it goes down. Girards Chinese chicken salad Dressing... I put it on anything I question if it will go down and that stuff just makes it slide right through.

The surgical scars are not nearly as noticable as stretch marks. You might have sagging skin, you have excess skin now, it's just full. When you lose weight it will likely sag depending on how long you have been obese and how obese you are. BTW, the surgical scars are tiny. For me... four of them are about 1/3" and one is about 1". MUCH MUCH MUCH less than stretch marks. Honestly, those scars are the least of the problems regarding body image. What is your BMI?

No, $16K - 17K is about the going rate in the US. Some are cheaper, some are more expensive. That's about the average. Mexico is half that price.

Here are some of my comments. Nothing here shows anything about your individual insurance company. I explained how SOME insurance co's work and repeatedly suggested you read your own policy and verify for yourself. >>Then perhaps a six month medically supervised diet. Some have to try to lose weight, others MUST lose a certain amount of weight such as 5% of your excess weight.<< >>Not every insurance company covers banding, some will only pay for bypass (for example). Some will only pay for banding up to a certain BMI and then if you are larger than their stated BMI they won't pay for anything other than bypass.<< >>If your policy requires a six month medically supervised diet ...<< >>Some insurance co's are amazingly stupid and anything over a BMI of 50 they will only pay for bypass ...<< >>... but that's what they do often times ...<< Nope, nothing in there about blaming BC/BS of CA for anything. Just how SOME ins co's do things.

Everyone thinks the same thing. They wonder if they just blew a lot of money paying for something that doesn't work. That time frame is called Bandster Hell for a reason.

Are you asking if I "blame" BC/BS of CA for something? Of course not. I never made any such claim. I told you what SOME insurance co's require and how SOME of them work. I know nothing about your particular policy. I never once claimed they all do things a certain way. Please reread my posts, I never claimed they all do any such thing and I have no idea where you get that idea from. It certainly wasn't anything I wrote. If you don't feel that your inability to stop eating and lose weight is an eating disorder, so be it.

With a BMI of 62 have you verified with your insurance company that they will still band you? Some insurance co's are amazingly stupid and anything over a BMI of 50 they will only pay for bypass. I still haven't figured out their reasoning behind that one but that's what they do often times. It's just another thing for you to research. Don't just call the insurance company, look it up on your policy and read it with your own eyes. You have the same issue as the rest of us. You can't stop eating on your own, thus... the band. If you could control your eating behaviors over the holidays or any other time you would but you can't. That is why you are just like the rest of us. Most of us can lose weight but we can't keep it off. Eating is a compulsion and it's very difficult to overcome that kind of issue. Many compare it to telling an alcoholic they can only have one drink daily but they MUST have that one drink daily. Well, for an alcoholic one is too many and 100 isn't enough. I think the same kind of concept applies to us as well. One bite is too many and 100 isn't enough. Yet unlike an alcoholic we HAVE to eat to survive. It would be easier to just cut out food completely since we typically are "all or none" kinds of people. But that isn't possible so it merely means we have a few challenges others don't have. I don't really look at our type of eating disorder as a mental problem. I have read too many studies that show very clear biological differences for our complusion to over eat. Everything from hormones, brain activity, type of bacteria in the intestineal system, pancreatic issues, studies showing how MO diabetics respond to bypass procedures... I can go on and on. Thin people stop eating when they are no longer hungry. We eat until we can't possibly cram one more bite down. We can eat until it hurts and then we eat some more. That isn't depression, that is an eating disorder. Maybe it's a matter of what came first, the chicken or the egg. Depression/eating disorder. Either way it isn't something to be ashamed of, it just is. It is probably one of the least socially acceptable disorders out there. It's PC to make fun of a fat person, it's a horror to make fun of a 78# anorexic. That doesn't help us any. Tell me something, when you eat Breakfast are you thinking about what you'll have for lunch? If you are eating lunch are you planning dinner? If you are going to go to a restaurant do you stop and think about what you will order before you ever see the menu? Thin people don't give it much thought until they are in the restaurant looking at the menu. We are planning what we will eat the morning before we go to dinner. Do you eat when your stomach isn't really hungry? There is more than one kind of hungry. There is stomach hunger and head hunger. Our issue is typically head hunger. We aren't hungry, there is no stomach pain associated with hunger but we see that chocolate cake and we want it. We don't need it, we aren't hungry, but it tastes good, the texture of the frosting is creamy, the aroma is fantastic. We aren't actually hungry but we just want to eat anyway. Does this describe you? Anyway, it seems to me your next step is to read your insurance policy for yourself. Don't depend on what the ins co says when you call them on the phone. Look it up for yourself. Verify everything. See if they cover bands, see what their requirements are, see if your BMI fits in with their criteria for banding vs. bypass, and most of all at this point, see if they require a six month medically supervised diet. If so, you need to get to that appointment and get it started. Have your doc document your weight and get a copy of the office notes each time you go there so you can prove you were there. Some people do all the diagnostics such as the sleep study, nutrutionist eval, psyc eval and THEN they discover the six month medically supervised diet. So get that diet going just in case it is an issue otherwise you'll have to start all over and do it again.

What is your BMI? Using food during times of depression, anxiety, when you are lonely, bored, etc... all symptoms of an eating disorder. If your weight is the direct result of depression and you are not depressed anymore then you wouldn't need a band. See what I mean? The reason I'm pushing the eating disorder issue is because the actual surgery for banding is a piece of cake. The head games you play after surgery is when it becomes tough, that's the real challenge. Justifying food (such as depression, anxiety, personal loss, boredom, etc.) is something we all do and that's what makes us different from naturally thin people. Personally I couldn't do this without a band because I do have an eating disorder. I can't quit stuffing my face without the band. You say that you are over the depression issue. Are you taking meds for this? The reason I ask is because some meds for depression can actually make you want to eat more.

Around here you just never know. I've seen people ask if the band goes around your waist, I've seen people ask if the port gets soap scum eventually from the shower, one lady swore up and down that her best friend had her band placed vaginally. Without smiley's you just never know what people are thinking.

Sure. I will send you a list of things you need to look for in a bariatric surgeon and going to Mexico. You have a lot of work ahead of you in research. You should know everything there is to know about the band and everything there is to know about the doc you choose. You have a ton of reading ahead of you. Sorry I can't give you better options for insurance. The WLS portion of the policy is a good place employers feel to save money. I understand it is a bit expensive. Are you absolutely positive that you don't have WLS coverage? I would look it up in the policy for yourself and see where it is excluded. Just make extra sure. HR isn't always right and when you call the insurance company they don't always give out correct information either.

If you don't have an eating disorder then how did you become obese or morbidly obese? If it is just fast food then why would you need a band? Just don't get fast food anymore. If it is genetic and a very slow metabolism, if you are only eating 800 calories daily and still gaining weight then a band won't help you. If you are like the rest of us you eat too much and you can't control it without surgical intervention. That is an eating disorder and eating disorders run in families. Allbeit genetic or behavioral that's the trend. It isn't easy being honest that there is a portion of our lives that we can't seem to control. If you can can control it you don't need a band. If you can't control it you need a band. First thing you need to do is verify if your insurance will even cover Weight Loss Surgery (WLS). If they do then the next step is to see which procedures they will cover. Not every insurance company covers banding, some will only pay for bypass (for example). Some will only pay for banding up to a certain BMI and then if you are larger than their stated BMI they won't pay for anything other than bypass. If they cover banding then you need to find a doc and get this going. If your policy requires a six month medically supervised diet you can't miss an MD appointment even once within that six month time frame. You have to have medical documentation on your weight loss efforts every single month or they can make you start all over again if that's what they choose. My insurance covers banding but I didn't want to jump through those hoops. The unnecessary diagnostics and the supervised diet. So I just went to Mexico and got it done. Had I gone through my insurance I would just now be getting banded. Instead I'm almost to goal. Best money I ever spent. I would suggest reading through this link: Obesity News & Weight Loss News & Fitness News from Medical News Today What is your BMI? That matters for insurance purposes too. You can calculate it here: Barix Clinics - Is Surgery Right For You - BMI Calculator

No, you can't buy a portion of your employer's policy. Your employer would have to buy it and offer it to every employee. From what I understand it is quite expensive and that is likely why they exclude it from the policy. If they don't want to pay for the premiums, they don't have to. An employee can't just purchase this portion of a policy, that isn't how it works. You have no WLS coverage. You are looking at self pay at this point. If you were to get a supplemental insurance policy they would likely exclude WLS because it is a pre-existing condition. They try to avoid people buying a policy just for a specific procedure. As you can imagine, they would be taking losses on that with each insured person and no business can do that. As for complications, the three main complicatons that would require surgical intervention are erosion, slips, and infection. Erosion and infection would likely be covered under your policy if it was an emergency situation. Slips can be fixed 80% of the time with an unfill. 20% of the time it requires surgical intervention. This is when you look for the very best doc around with great erosion and infection stats. Usually (not always) slips are the patient's fault. There is one doc that has had 1-2 erosions in 1600 bands. Then there is another doc that has 3-4% erosion stats. Quite a significant difference.

It depends on your doc and your insurance company. They may both have specific requirements. Each doc is different. You already know you have sleep apnea so you'll likely have to go to a nutritionist so they can tell you your diet is bad. Then you'll have to go to a psychiatrist/psychologist so they can tell you that you have an eating disorder. Then you'll have to go to a bariatric surgeon so they can tell you that you are fat. Then perhaps a six month medically supervised diet. Some have to try to lose weight, others MUST lose a certain amount of weight such as 5% of your excess weight. As you can see, it is clearly money well spent.

That is an urban legend. I would suggest browsing through: Urban Legends Reference Pages

Again, you'd have to give us something to work with here before we can respond. Why isn't the band right for you? I doubt insurance is going to pay for a 2nd WLS just because you don't think the band is right for you. They are going to want specifics. Your fill history... is that a grand total or a running list? Are you at 0.4cc for your 3rd fill?

If a doc's office is that unorganized and uncaring about their patients I would find another doctor. Keep in mind, most doc's offices are sweet as pie until you book. Once you have surgery you are no longer a priority, they already got their money out of you. If they are this bad before surgery, what will your experiences be after surgery? Does your insurance company offer various doctors or are you stuck with this one?

If it is excluded then you will not be able to get them to pay. Weight loss surgery is an extra premium and if it is not paid, they will not cover it. It's like having dental insurance an wanting your dental insurance to cover a hysterectomy. It's just not going to work. You have to purchase the WLS premium and if your insurance is through your employer they call the shots on what pieces of coverage they are willing to purchase.

May I ask why you are considering revision surgery? Did your band erode? Slip? It would make a difference regarding surgery and insurance.

Congrats on getting banded! It's the best thing you could possibly do for yourself. The day you get banded really will be the first day of the rest of your life. Life changes in great ways with the band. You'll see. I don't blame you for going to Mexico for surgery, I did the same thing. Just do your work and do your research well. Know everything there is to know about the band and your doc. Don't bank on anything you hear on the internet regarding doctors. Listen, but verify EVERYTHING. It pays off to find the doc that is the best match for you. Good luck and congrats!

Most US docs will not band unless you have a BMI of 35 w/comorbidities or a BMI of 40 or greater. The US is the only country that expects people to wait until they are full blown diabetics, have arthritis, joint problems, etc. All the other countries that I am aware of will band with a BMI of 30 or more. If you have a BMI of 33 you are already considered to be obese. You have passed "over weight" and are now at obese. I can understand your concerns, I had them when my BMI was that high and it climbed to 41. I think it is Australia that has socialized medicine and they cover banding for a BMI of 30 or greater. The US is just slow, backwards, and hillbilly-ish when it comes to WLS. So all in all you will have a hard time finding a US doc to do the procedure with a 33 BMI but you won't have any problem finding a Mexican doc do the procedure. I don't know if your insurance excludes WLS or not, but even if it is covered you likely won't qualify anyway. You aren't morbidly obese yet and you don't have a slew of weight related problems. Is self pay an option for you? If so, you will have no problem getting the surgery.

Hear hear! Repeatedly telling people to go against their docs advice is just not wise. Instead of telling people we know better than their docs we should be giving them tips on how to get through clears/full liquids pain free. Telling them to go against their doc's diet is just plain wrong.