Johnny1313

I am a 47 yo man who had lap band placed in Mexico in 2014. My insurance did not cover such surgeries at that time. I had many complications over the years with my lap band and got very little support once I left Mexico. In november of 2016 i had finally had enough of dealing with the complications. I went to a local batriatric doctor who removed my lap band due to 95 % blockage due to slippage of the band and using a band that was too small. I explained prior to surgery that i did not want to gain the 100 plus pounds back that i gad lost. My doctor assured me that he would replace the band with gastric sleeve in a timely manner even if it meant finding funds from elsewhere to pay for the surgery. Removal went fine. Surgery was covered by insurance. 3 months later we sent paperwork in to my insurance company for gastric sleeve as a replacement. It and the previous removal were immediately denied. I called my insurance and my doctor over a dozen times in the last 4 months. I finally found someone at the insurance company willing to find out what and why everything happened. Their explanation was that someone from my docs office had put part of my band removal paperwork in with the gastric sleeve paperwork. This was all given to a different individual to review than the person who had reviewed my removal. Since, all has been resolved and the original surgery has been covered. Now its been 7 plus months since band removal. I have gained almost 100 lbs back and am on the verge of losing my 17 year position due to weight restrictions. I have no problem with these restrictions. They are justifiable due to my type of job. Problem is that my sleeve doctor wants me to go on a 90 day liver reducing diet. I feel like I have waited long enough and they should do the surgery immediately due to this all being their screw up. I am considering just taking the.money out of my 401k and going to.mexico again. But if I do I need a doctor that can do the surgery in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Any advice????

Me last week in Cozumel and me almost 1 year ago.

I dont n4ed to see a psychologist, i just love to eat. I Iived with my lap band for over 2 years and was able to stick to that lifestyle change, and im sure ill be able to stick to anothet one. People often asked me if i miswed eating certwin foods or larger amountd. My answer was always yes i do, but id much rsther be at a healthy weight and abke to do physical things than to eat a whole pizza at one sitting. I guess seeing as this was only supposed to be a 4 month turn around between surgeries i really took advantqge of being able to eat anytjing and everything. I got down to 171 with the lapband, the more blockage i experienced the more liquids i took in to compensate for missing meals, in fact the last 4 months i ate only 4 sit down meals, the rest consisted of liquids, including chocolate milk and protein shakes. I put about 25 lbs on just from them. Ill have no problem adjusting, i want to get bavk to 170 again. Today, i located the funds to pay for surgery, spoke to Bill, filled out the questionaire, requested fmla paperwork as a back up, found out what i need to do to get short term disability, and am now waiting on a decision. I also hesrd from the other doctors office. They told me that they think they would not be able to get approval in such a short time. I myself have already checked what it takes to get approved for any bariatric surgery, I have to have 2 of 4 different factors of which i have 2. High BP and a bmi of 45 or above. I feel like they have dropped the ball and given me even less support than i recieved when i had the lap band placed. Not one time in 7 months has anyone called and asked me how I was nor have they callef to help me resolve the insurance issues. I did all of that on my own. Im now Mexico bound as soon as I get a date and approval.

I just filled out the questionaire for dr illian

Im trying to diet but it isnt easy 2hen you are living out of a hotel room. I have decided to give the local doc until friday for a response. If no response i will seek answers elsewhere. Probably will be mexico bound as i do not wabt to wait any longer.

I have told the surgeons office. They supposedly have spoken to him but I have gotten no reply. I happen to be working out of town right now so my boss has not seen me since March. I'd tell him but he just fired a guy in December for the same reason.

I'm new to this, tomorrow will be day 8. I'm ready for this lifestyle change, but I feel like I'm going at this blind. I'm not one to read page after page of material and retain much of the info. The whole reason I'm starting this post is because I had a huge scare 2 nights ago. After arriving back home late Monday morning from my longgggg trip to Mexico I started on my diet. I was having an extremely hard time getting anything down. I ended up drinking a 10 oz clear protein drink over the course of the day. The whole time I felt extremely bloated. The next day I had the same thing and about a cup of beef broth. Still extremely bloated feeling. I started feeling somewhat weak and a little dizzy. That night after trying to go to bed and sleep failing me I decided to take a warm bath as they usually make me feel much better. About 20 minutes in I lost my bowels 3 times in quick succession.i never even had time to get myself to the toilet. I immediately drained the tub and stood up to take a shower. About the time I got myself rinsed off and somewhat clean I started feeling dizzy. I leaned my face into the back wall of the shower and the next thing I knew was on the floor outside of the shower. I yelled for my gf. She got me to bed, dried me off and got me some water. I woke up the next morning feeling about the same. I tried to drink water and was still having difficulty. I finally decided to go to the ER. At the ER they told me what I already suspected. Extreme dehydration. My whole point in sharing this extremely embarrassing episode is in wanting to know what I need to avoid short term and long term in my new life. Also what positives do I need to be on the lookout for? Are there certain foods I should avoid? Are there medicines that are going to screw me up? Any advice will help.

Those videos were great. Thanks for the advice, I now feel better informed.

Yes I have Joanns number and have spoken to her this week. Thanks for the help.

I know my diet, and I have support from them. I just felt overwhelmed by the reading material I was given. I'm using water, pedoolyte and Gatorade and it all helps. Just was wondering if there was anything they didn't tell me.

I am 3 days out from lap band surgery performed by dr Pedro Kuri at hospital Angeles in TJ. Cleanest hospital I have ever seen. Right this minute I am sitting in a terminal in San Diego and can't wait to get back home. I have lots to learn about myself and my surgery and all that it entails but I couldn't be happier with what I chose to do for myself.

Leave at 630 am tomorrow for Mexico. Problem I have is that no one in charleston that I can find will support me when I return. It seems they are biased against Mexican surgeons and/or the type of band they use down there. Does anyone know of any doctor in charleston that will help me with fills when I return?

Thanks all, found a dr 2.5 hours away, 165 a fill. I can handle that.

I know the band is primed and I am expected to have fills on a regular basis. There Is a place that will support me, but they require a 300 dollar fee upfront and mandatory presence of their surgery seminar. Then they want to charge 480 bucks per fill. Seems awfully high for some saline added to a tube with a needle.