Debutantex

I'm working with my insurance company in order to get the lapband, but for the time being I'm trying to do it on my own with exercise and diet. Anyway, I just turned 22 and so far I've lost 24 pounds. My question is - for those of you who have lost a lot of weight, does your skin sag? I think it would be absolutely horrible to lose all the weight, expect to be confident, and then still be unhappy with yourself because your skin doesn't snap back. I've heard about people having this dilemma, but I didn't know if it would be easier for me to avoid this because I'm younger. I'm not quite for sure. I'd really appreciate it if you'd share some tips, testimonials, etc. Thanks

Well, I've researched this quite a bit over the last couple of days, and the majority of the research says the same thing - stay hydrated. Also, have a diet that is balanced and all were against low-carbing it because carbs keep your body hydrated. Some advocated skin firming lotions - but most said moisturize at least. And then they all said not to lose weight too fast because your skin can't catch up as quickly. I'm guessing that means that eventually it will catch up? One article said that loose skin was a myth and that it can be treated with exercise - it was from an expert trainer. So who knows. I drink a whole lot of Water each day and exercise - there's not any excess right now except on my breasts, but that's been there forever, and I've already got a tentative date for an augmentation. I'm 22 and I have the breasts of a 50 year old - says my plastic surgeon. It's pathetic. Not to mention, they're severely assymetrical. Anyway, thanks for all the responses

Yeah, as of right now I'm about 247 and my doctor said she doesn't think I need to go any lower than 160 because I'm 5'8. I think we'll just have to see, but I doubt I'll go any lower than 145 because I don't want to look like a skinny little boy. And I'm more of an hour glass shape. But if I had to pick between apple and pear, then I'm more of a pear because sometimes I have to wear a size bigger on the bottom than the top. And I gain a lot of weight in my butt/hip/thigh area. BUT I have stretch marks on my stomach They just popped up last year when I gained a WHOLE lot of weight within a VERY short amount of time. That's the problem. But since the majority of those that are here are/were clinically overweight, then I figured they probably had the tummy stretchmarks to and I wanted to know the result. Oh yes, and I've been overweight since I was young, but I've only been clinically obese for about 3 1/2 years. It fluctuates, but I'm ready to get it off for good now. Any tips on how to keep my skin from sagging? Water? Certain exercises? Anything I can do that is known to work?

I know that everyone is banded for different reasons, but I'd like to know what they are. So please, post them here

Congratulations! You may have to kick yourself some days to go, but once it's done and over you feel SO much better. I try to swim when I get a chance and it makes me feel so good.

As most of you all know, I'm really new to this. I've read several different sites and have done lots of research over the past few weeks. However, if I ask something stupid, then just bare with me - because there are still some things that I'm confused about and some questions that I have. So, here goes... - How do they do the fills? I have one person tell me that they put you under an x-ray machine in order to find the port, numb you, and then stick a looonnnngggg needle in your skin and that's how they do it. But just recently someone told me that you have an open spot on the side of your body and the port is there and once you get to your desired weight, then they close the open spot up. They said that the opening is covered with a tightly sealed patch at all times to prevent infection. Some insight on this would be nice... - Do the fills hurt? Is there a lot of pain after you are filled? And how often do they perform the fills? - Once you reach your desired weight, is the band loosened, or does it remain tight? - At what point after the surgery are you allowed to eat normal foods? - I took a look at some of the pre-surgery diets as well as the post surgery, and aren't you people STARVING? What keeps you from being so hungry? How long are you on a liquid diet? - How long after surgery were you able to return to work? I'm considering getting my surgery on spring break, so that gives me roughly a week to get surgery and recover and be back on my feet to return to work and school. Do you think this is a good idea? - Does the doctor put you on a specific diet or do you choose the diet that you are most comfortable with? I'm talking about after the liquid diets and everything is said and done, and you're making your lifestyle changes. OK, I think that's all I can think of for now. If y'all could answer these, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks so much

Thanks so much to everyone who answered my questions I really appreciate it. I'm calling on Monday to see if they can move my appointment to Tuesday so I can get in a month earlier. I'll be so preoccupied in thinking about this if I don't talk to her about it soon. So, cross your fingers that they'll still be able to fit me in. Thanks again

I've already hit a bump in the road and I just started! Good grief. This whole process is NOT going to be fun and I can already tell. So, first thing I did this morning was call up my insurance company and ask them about lap band. My parents pay for the insurance we have [Anthem BC/BS] because they weren't satisfied with the insurance that is offered at their work places. So I get out my insurance card and call the customer service number on the back. The first guy told me that they didn't offer the surgery at all for the plan we are on because it's an individual plan instead of a group plan. Had we been on the group plan, then the surgery would be offered. So, that sucked. But for some reason it didn't get me down, so I went to class, took my test, and as soon as I got back out I called back again to ask. My rationale was the BC/BS is one of the biggest insurance companies in this part of the USA and surely they offered coverage for this surgery. It's not some home town locally owned firm - it's a huge company. So this time I talked to an older lady that was MUCH nicer than the man I talked to before. She searched and it said the same thing. No coverage for obesity surgeries. However, she said that to her it didn't sound right, so she made a call to the specialist for the company and they said that they would consider covering the surgery if my doctor can testify that I have medical conditions that are caused by my obesity and the surgery was necessary. ::siiiiigh:: I don't know if that's possible. I have a doctor's appointment on the 19th of December and I was actually supposed to go a long time ago. Ironically, I didn't go to the appointment back this summer because I was at the same weight I was last year when she told me to lose weight. I had really high blood pressure last Christmas [160/90] and she told me that the weight needed to come off or else I was putting myself at risk for a heart attack or a stroke. Eeek. It scared me for a little bit and I lost some weight, juuuuuust to gain it all back again. ::another siiiiiigh:: Do you think that my doctor could use my high blood pressure as a "medical condition" that is caused by my weight? I don't think I have diabetes [even though I get light headed and sleepy after I eat as of lately], and I really can't think of any other medical condition that I would have in order to present to the insurance company. So I called my mom to tell her what they said and she asked how much it would cost to pay out of pocket - I had no clue, so I called the doctor that I'm considering and they said 18K to pay out of pocket. That's when I lost it and broke down crying. I wouldn't want to ask my parents to pay that kind of money for this because I'd feel bad. I don't know what to do. I've lost weight so many times in my life and it all just comes crashing back to me. I know this is going to be a repeated cycle for the rest of my life and I just want to get this done now instead of 10 years from now. I just want to feel confident and beautiful, and I just can't do that when I'm 100 pounds overweight. I just feel so helpless. I'm already getting discouraged and I guess I got my hopes up that this was going to happen for me, and it just looks like it's not going to. And I don't know what to do about it... Any suggestions or words of advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

That's something to think about [writing it off my parent's taxes]. Definitely something to consider. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention. I was curious as to how tall I was because I've never been measured, I just always gestimated 5'9 - well, I'm actually 5'8 which makes my BMI over 40. At least I have that going on my side...

Thanks all I knew this wasn't going to be easy, because I knew it was going to be me writing lots of letters, seeing lots of doctors, and fighting lots of battles, but I certainly didn't expect to be kicked down right off the start. To say that my insurance company doesn't even OFFER the surgery really sucks. But there is that loop hole, and I'm going to talk to my doctor. In the meantime I'm just going to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. I'm going to try to get an appointment for this Tuesday, but I have to call back to ask if there are any cancellations that I can take their spot. So, cross your fingers that I can get in sooner. I really don't want to have to sit around and wait for the next month to see if there is anything that can be done about this. I need to know now so I can find something else to do. I'm not very patient. As for reading up - I have, plenty. I've ready dozens of different sites and message boards on the Internet. Everything that I could possibly get my hands on, I read. So hopefully I'm pretty well informed about the surgery - however, I'm certainly no expert and I'll continue to ask questions about it. A lot of the sites I visit don't target my specific questions that I might have. So, we'll see. I may skip my classes on Tuesday so I can come home early to go to my appointment. It'll be excused with a doctor's note, so it shouldn't be a problem. As long as I let the professor's know in advance, then they shouldn't count it against me. I really would like to know the outcome of this. If this doesn't work out, then I'm prepared to put my nose in the grindstone and bust my ass to lose weight. The only problem is, it's so hard to keep it off. It would be so much better for me in the long run to do the band, but if it doesn't happen, then it doesn't happen and it just wasn't meant to me. So, cross your fingers for me, and thank you all for your support

I'm 21 years old and I've just recently started considering lap band surgery. I've battled my weight my whole life and even though I've succeeded in losing weight, it's always crept back up on me. It's incredibly frustrating and disheartening, and I feel as if there are too many other battles in life that are to be fought, and weight shouldn't be one of them. I'm considering getting a lap band procedure done this spring and have already picked out a handful of doctors. Now, it's butting heads with our insurance company that is going to be problems. I'm 265 pounds as of my last weigh in and I'm 5'8 or 5'9. My BMI is in the range of be considered for the surgery and I'm definitely 100 pounds overweight. I'm calling tomorrow to make sure that my insurance company even covers it. I have Anthem BC/BS PPO. Anyone know anything about them? I've never had to deal with insurance companies before because I've always been on my parents' insurance. So begins my journey... Any advice or words of wisdom would be much appreciated, thanks