I originally was going in for a consult for gastric bypass, after meeting with the surgeon he recommended that the lapband would be a better choice for me. I had never heard of a lapband. After being told how less invasive this surgery was & the results would be terrific for me, I decided to do this. I was a self pay since my insurance wouldn't cover this type of procedure. So I took out a loan to pay this. I was banded in 2008 starting weight 213. My first 2 weeks I lost 8 pds easily. When I had my first visit I was given a fill. Within 3 months I was able to get down to 185. I was so excited. I went every month for a fill. Each time I told my Dr that I didn't feel any restrictions he said well let's see how you do. Each month he would fill a little more & each time I still wasn't feeling any restrictions. I just felt like I was being given the runaround by the Dr saying each time to see how it works. After having fills for a year which was included in my self pay I had not lost anything & had actually gained back all the weight plus more. At that point my Dr finally said well sometimes the band just doesn't work, no matter how many fills we've done. He even sent me for an ultrasound & another test that I had to drink some chalky drink so they could see if my band might have a leak or if it had slipped. Neither of those were the problem. I watched everything that went in my mouth & am an active walker. In order to see my Dr after the first year I had to pay $50 for the visit & another $50 if I wanted anymore fills. I did that once because at this point I was very upset that I paid over $14k & not have the band work. At that point my Dr said that they have come to realize that the band is not for everyone & that office is actually not going to be offering this anymore because of the low weight loss compared to other surgeries that have success. So if I wanted to have the band removed & go through with the gastric which I originally wanted done but listened to him as a surgeon to get banded then he would do it at a discount. Really a discount? Wow. Our current insurance now covers weight loss surgery so my plan is to see if I can get the removal covered since I want the gastric. My Dr said that I wouldn't have to go through all the normal procedures & loops with the wanting me to show that I've tried to lose weight, attend meetings, etc since the band failed they would push it through for gastric. So this will be my goal hopefully before the end of this year or early next year. Very disappointed that I was ever talked into be banded. It really isn't for everyone.
