PennyLane

Not banded yet, but I have thought about international travel in general, and specifically immediately post banding. My plan and suggestion would be do to your best to find a clinic or doctor that does or is familiar with the band, preferably one who can speak a language you can speak. These surgeries are more common in Europe than the US, so finding a "just in case" place shouldn't be too difficult--the language thing might be but I think is less important than having access to someone who knows what they're doing. In terms of healing--I don't know. Two weeks sounds too soon to me and I'd avoid it if I could but based on the fact that most people seem to be back at work within a week, and this is a vacation you might be alright. Just know that many people experience the band feeling tighter during and after air travel (something to do with pressure) so you may want to plan accordingly with Protein shakes etc.

I don't have any advice I'm just here to commiserate. I feel the same exact way (not banded yet though). What's worse is that I'm fairly certain that I missed what could have been my only chance. I was head over heels, but convinced that he'd never feel the same because of my size so into the friend zone we went. We now don't live in the same city (we both moved quite far away actually, and in opposite directions) and there's really just no chance (someone's engaged and it's not me). Thing is.....I have very good reason to believe that he felt the same about me at that time and I just totally blew it. I know that life goes on and there isn't such a thing as an only chance (I hope anyway) and I'm not pining away or anything but I do know that I will live with this regret for the rest of my life and that really hurts. Oh, and it turns out I haven't learned my lesson either. But that's another story for another day.

i put this together real quick to give an idea of what i was thinking of. if you like this sort of thing i could work on something like it (or improve this one).

I like July Butterflies, mainly because I have a cute design in mind. I'll brainstorm other names/designs and report back. But for now, butterflies it is! July 21 for me, btw.

Hey there, yet another American here. Just have to say that not all of us live on canned and processed foods! Another "ugly American" myth! As you can tell from the other two "Yankees"* on here, grits are kind of a divisive food in the US. They're essentially watery polenta (but white), or watery "pap" (not sure if they have that in Australia--it's a South African thing). It's almost exclusively a Southern thing (Texas and all points East--staying south of Washington, DC). Southerners seem to love them, everyone else either thinks that they are bland or strangely textured, or just hasn't even heard of them. I think "pork grits" is a confusion with "pork rinds", and I just don't know what they are except that they're generally considered very unhealthy and I think are also associated with Southern cooking. Canned pumpkin, though, I must defend! I think we may talking about different "pumpkin" here. I've never lived in Australia but I have lived in English speaking countries abroad and it seems that what's called a pumpkin there is a different variety of squash than what we call a pumpkin (usually a butternut squash outside of the US). Even if we're talking about the same pumpkin, the canned stuff is used to make pies and pudding, not as a side dish for a regular meal. It has a flavor sort of similar to spiced sweet potatoes, put into a pie crust and baked. It's not terribly uncommon to preserve pie filling (for any pie) by traditional home canning methods--it's like canning homemade Pasta sauce, relish, jam or salsa--everyone has a different method and it's fun to share. Preserved pie filling can be found in most farmers' markets I've been to. So this canned pumpkin thing is like that but on a larger, commercial scale. LIBBY'S Pumpkin History - NESTLE VeryBestBaking.com Doesn't seem all that unusual to me, but I was born and raised here. Vegemite and Marmite I have tried, but cannot understand. Same with blood sausage/black pudding and sour milk. Oh, and prawn flavored potato chips/crisps and anything involving the use of sorghum (although that may just be personal taste on the sorghum--we use that for cattle feed here). Everywhere has it's own "thing" (or several) that's hard to understand, I guess. *BTW, even though Yankees was the term used for the rebelling colonists during the American Revolution and you'd think it could apply to all Americans, it was also the term used pejoratively against Northerners by Southerners during the US Civil War, and that's carried over into the modern North/South divide and occasional animosity. Every Southerner I know gets pretty prickly when told that they are a "Yankee" in the eyes of world so of course when they call me a "damn Yankee", I remind them that they are technically Yankees too. It's a great game .

Do you need your GP's approval for insurance reasons? If not, you can just go right ahead with the surgery without him. I'm not saying to ignore your doctor's advice but if you and your surgeon/program feel that you've prepared for this and that you are a good candidate, your GP may not realize this or may be against the band/WLS in general. If this is the case, you may want to switch GPs.

Yeah, I know that exact personality type/mental issue or whatever it is. It's quite frustrating and I'm sure they could easily mislead whoever does the evaluation (I'm almost positive the person I'm talking about could), but it's still important to try to identify those who aren't good candidates. Also, I wonder if you say that you're in therapy or on any sort of meds if they would ask for a letter from your psychiatrist? That would be really very helpful in many cases, I think.

I think it's really to evaluate people with potential or histories of eating disorders--this is the type of thing that could be very "triggering" for someone who has been prone to anorexia or just recovered from it. Also, people with severe food addictions may not be good candidates for this, as they may do anything to "eat around" the band. Also, assessing someone's mental state is some pretty serious business. I have several family members who have various levels of mental illnesses (some life threateningly serious), but you can't tell unless you ask or spend some time assessing the person. One in particular I think could really benefit from WLS but I don't think that she should get it because while she's not necessarily mentally ill....she's just not what I'd call mentally "fit" to really, honestly embrace change and follow instructions and do the work required. I really think she'd just get it done, and sit back and wait for it to work and when it doesn't, it would be everyone's fault but her own. She'd be a failure waiting to happen at this point in her life. This kind of thing could be picked up in a psych exam. For most of us, it IS like the eye exam at the DMV--but most of us have good vision or the proper prescription---but not everyone does.

I couldn't agree more, and that's what I was going to chime in to say. If you're happy and healthy on the raw food thing, by all means stick with it! But, I really think that the health benefits are coming largely from the fresh, non-processed nature of the food, not the raw nature (although this surely contributes--Vitamins are lost from veggies in the cooking process although some heat is needed to "unlock" nutrients from leafy greens--otherwise it's mainly roughage). Personally, my plan for this summer is to get at least 75% of my food from within 100 miles of my house, meaning from local farms and things--that pretty much automatically means fresh, non-processed, in-season, (usually) organically grown and raised fruit, veggies, meat and dairy. The 25% is for things that are difficult to control--olive oil, for one, baking soda for another (I use that mainly for home cleaning purposes though) and the occasional splurge on a mango, avocado or fancy French cheese . I hope to learn how to preserve and can things at home so that I can save for winter! It's good for you, good for the local economy, and good for the environment!

How do you know which are high pressure and which are low pressure? I think I'm getting the Allgern AP (but I forget, I went to so many info sessions at different hospitals it's all kind of a blur now).

I asked my surgeon specifically about flying because I read that some people are tighter after flying. He said something about the pressure during flight having an effect on the saline in the band. I'd imagine that it's a similar problem with altitude. Come to think of it, I wonder if barometric pressure has an effect and that's why some days are tighter than others? I think I'll ask my surgeon about that too. As for me (not banded yet) I think that I may see if it's possible to go in for a slight unfill before any long plane ride (I don't travel by air frequently, but when I do it's usually for an 8+ hour flight) as a preemptive strike against potential problems while traveling.

Here's a commercial hydro-testing body fat composition company. It's the kind that uses the swimming pool/dunk tank thing. They have locations all over the place it seems, for about $50 a visit (so you can't really go every week but a few times a year to check up on your progress wouldn't be too terrible). I'm nervous to go myself. A large part of me just doesn't want to know this kind of information. It's bad enough knowing my BMI/weight. I'd hate to have images of my body fat percentage floating around my head. I've got issues to work through, I suppose. Anyway, here's the site: Hydrostatic Testing | FitnessWave : Body fat testing - hydrostatic body fat testing - body fat equipment

30lbs since Jan 21st with no fill, right after surgery sounds great to me! That's 15 weeks (right?) at 2lbs/week without ever having fill. I think that you're supposed to consider a slight unfill or diet adjustment (more calories) for weight loss greater than 3lbs/week because it really shouldn't be that fast. Too bad on the fill doctor info. Maybe contact the surgeon and ask him for another recommendation? Maybe go to your local weight loss clinic for fills? Don't know what to tell you on that one...

I'm no lawyer but I've had my fair share of spars with insurance companies (one tried to write my wisdom teeth off as a non-covered pre-existing condition...which is just a little crazy). I think (although you'd have to look into it) that in your case because you have creditable coverage through your husband, and especially because his insurance covers you now, that HIPAA laws would prevent any new insurance company from denying you coverage. I'm saying this because I think you could successfully argue that the band is a pre-existing condition and those same laws apply to the lap band. Those pre-existing condition laws (again, not a lawyer, but I believe) that you can't be denied coverage for those conditions if you haven't received medical advice or treatment for them for 6 months before your enrollment date in a new plan. Which I think would mean that if your husband does change jobs to a new employer who doesn't cover lap band stuff, wait to enroll for six months (while spending those six months away from your doctor if at all possible) and then...there you go. Now, for all I know there are exclusions in HIPAA to things like the band but I hope not (if not, couldn't they do the same for prosthetic knees and such?). And don't people with breast implants gone bad get their removal covered? Just something to think about :frown:

Shoot, I wish I'd written it down now, but I just read somewhere else on this site that some states have laws which say that insurance must provide coverage from any ongoing medical issue no matter what the point of origin is. Basically, they might not pay for the lap band but they do need to pay for anything that arises from it. Whoever said this works for an insurance company. I believe that I read it in the "complications" forum and I'd go and find it again but that forum seems to be down at the moment...

That sounds awful, and the way your surgeon is handling it doesn't sound very nice at all...would you mind sharing who you went to? I'm trying to figure out who to go to/who to avoid. I really hope that your experience with your new doctor goes better. It should, you know? If he was able to catch something wrong that the other guy didn't than he might know his stuff better. Sorry I can't offer anything else...I'm not banded yet. Good luck to you!

Love... (could only find this style on ebay, that's why the bad photos...the summer styles are peep toe which i don't like)

Are you sure it was the AP and not the older model Lap Band? My doctor only uses Lap Band--the old models sound like what you are describing but the Lap Band AP he had in his office and I got to look at it and it was pliable (almost like those plastic bracelets people wear for different causes) and went all the way around the stomach.

So by the time you were banded you had 33 lbs left to lose? How did you qualify for surgery? I'm sorry if it's personal...I'm just confused.

I won't be telling many people because I'm very aware of the common perception of weight loss surgery out there and I don't need or want people saying to my face or behind my back that I'm taking the "cheater's way out" or "too lazy to do it on my own" or what have you. I actually had someone who I consider a friend (and of course who has never struggled with weight for one single day) say that "we can work out once a week together and you'll be fine, you don't need surgery". Imagine strangers/unfriendly folk's reactions. Also I'm tired enough of explaining over and over and over again to the few people I have told about the HUGE differences between gastric bypass and lap band and still most of them still not understanding, I don't need this from society at large. People pretty much only know about gastric bypass and lump all weight loss surgery in with that and because it's covered in the media a lot they all think they're experts on it, and therefore all weight loss surgery. Did you know that with the lap band they'll have to re-route my intestines? (Seriously, I just got this the other day AFTER I'd already explained the procedure). Finally, the less I have to talk to people about weight, or food, or exercise in general the better. I'm super sensitive about the topic (I know most Bandsters are or were but I think I might be a little out ahead of the pack) and because I'd rather not talk about it, the easiest way is to just not bring it up. I'm sick of talking to people who have never had a weight problem about what I "should do". They all think they're experts on weight loss because they "had to" drop 10 lbs once--not for any medical reasons, mind, but because they thought they'd look better in a bikini at a size 4 than a size 6. How people don't understand about metabolisms and the difference between wanting to lose 10 vanity pounds and needing to lose over 100 "medical" pounds I don't know. Gah. Frustration. Ending the rant now.

Oh I didn't mean what you said, I mean the tone of some of the comments on the article--people flinging around mean names, saying that people who have WLS are weak etc. As for people under age 18, I don't know. I'm a little torn. I was overweight as a teenager so I can sympathize but even though I was by all standards a very mature and intelligent teenager (focused on school and family, never in any trouble, not taking risks, top grades, top university etc), I still don't think that I would have fully grasped the full weight of that kind of decision back then. I also think that reading that article and some of the posts by some teens here who have had it or are thinking about it, the health reasons are really just kind of thrown in there as an afterthought. It often sounds to me that the decision is being made purely for social reasons which seems a little irresponsible and possibly dangerous. Each individual is different, though, and I'm certainly in no position to say who should or shouldn't do what with their bodies. I just think that the medical profession needs to be much more careful with the younger patients and possibly hold them to a stricter standard than adults.

It could be the new version of the Lap Band--the AP. That's the newest one on the market, I believe.

I don't know about needing a referral from a primary care doctor for insurance reasons but most hospitals (in my experience) offer and require that you attend a free informational meeting before having any sort of appointment for the surgery. It wouldn't be on your insurance records and if they tell you that you DO need a referral then you can find a primary care doctor and get one. Who knows, they may be able to help you find a "fat friendly" physician. In terms of self-pay (which is what I'm doing), I didn't need a referral, I just went to info sessions at a few of the hospitals in my area that do this (there are 6 or 7 locally) and chose the program and surgeon that I thought fit my needs best. That being said, my primary care physician did mention surgery as an option when I brought up my weight in passing to him when I was in for something else. I'd been thinking about it for a while but him mentioning it is what really got the ball rolling for me (it's like he made it real or something). He still doesn't know that I've taken steps to doing it though!

Yeah those comments are terribly misinformed and mean spirited. I'm super sensitive about that kind of thing, too, so every time I read or hear something like that I get really depressed

I know it's an old thread but I had to add this..... Turns out there's at least one (but if you read the comments, probably several) bridal salons out there who "don't dress fat brides" (their words) as a matter of store policy. Apparently having a larger woman wearing a dress she bought at your store gives you a bad image or something.... Vendornistas Jan-Jun 2005 Archive