Manatee

My PCP doesn't know. My insurance didn't require a referral, so I simply chose my lap band doc and went from there. If your doc is giving you problems, get another doc. Always keep in mind that they work for you.

Dang, lost some ground during the rebanding. I'll be back....

Sigh. Truth in Tickers, I finally had to admit and adjust upwards. I managed to keep it under 175 the whole month I was unfilled, but have ballooned up since the surgery on Wed. I know it will come back off and it's just water weight, but it's certainly no fun to increase the number on the ticker :crying:

Back from the revision surgery. I'm sore, but home and alive. Too tired to say much more.

Sorry if you took my answer as flippant. It is not. If you don't want us to talk you out of it, then all we can suggest is talking to your doc.

So talk to your doc. None of us have the tools to remove your band. :shades_smile:

Need a second or third opinion I'm getting closer to goal, and feeling pretty good about it. However, I'm starting to get a lot of flack about wanting to be "too skinny". I think I still have a good 20 lbs to go before I will have a stomach smaller than my chest. My original goal was 'healthy', and I've done that. Now I want 'concave'. Look at these pics, and the starting one, and let me know what you all think. Am I fine where I'm at? Current is 5' 9", 174 and a 34" pant. Start was in the 280s (260 in that pic) and 46-48" pant.

I think there were over a hundred A-May-Zing bandsters, and only a handful still show up on the May 07 thread. Where are y'all? How ya doing?

I will never understand insurance companies. Today I got a call from the doc, and they've approved the revision. It's the exact same procedure -- cut the holes, remove the band reposition the stomach, place a band, and suture. The only difference is that he can't replace the band with a new one. As long as he reuses the existing band, all is well. A new replacement band will not be allowed because it then falls under the obesity guidelines. Bizarre. I asked the doc, and it's literally a matter of a few minutes to use a new one vs the old one. In any case, I'm scheduled for this coming Wed.

So, I have been officially denied any payment for treatment of the slip because I am not morbidly obese. I am beyond pissed at this point.

I don't believe he had surgical help. What I DO believe is that his role as spokesman provides a lot of incentive that most people do not have. We've all lost a lot of weight on diets and had it come back when the internal motivation fails. He's got too much of a spotlight on him for that to happen.

Go get an unfill ASAP. I too thought I could ride that feeling out, and a month after the fill I ended up in the ER due to esophageal bleeding caused by the reflux. This isn't supposed to hurt. The "I was losing weight just fine" level is what you're looking for.

I saw something similar. The cash price at my doc was something like 14K. The insurance statement was close to 40K. The hospital REALLY cranked up the fees once they knew it was a third-party-pay scenario

I'm just curious. For those at goal, what was your endgame plan? Did you unfill so that you can eat like a normal person, or do you still have the restriction in place? I'd like to think that by then I would have learned enough to eat rationally. Thoughts?

Finally a real update -- UHC wants to do a "peer review", so they're trying to schedule a time for their pet doc to talk to mine on the phone. Still, it's progress. On a non-scale victory (?) front, the cop writing me a ticket today mentioned that I need to get a new license picture, and that I must have dropped a lot of weight.... I'm up to 179, but I'm not changing that ticker yet :smile2:

What's your stripper name? - Yahoo! Answers Mine's "Dallas Sweet Heat" :sad::smile2:

Just a non-update. Going on 3 weeks now, the insurance company is still "reviewing the file" regarding the revision. :tt2:

Ginger Vargas

Well, it's been almost half a year since I had this thing implanted. I have to say, this has quite literally been a lifesaver. I've gone from morbidly obese to merely overweight, and can pass for a normal average person. The rate of loss has slowed, but I should be able to hit goal by the 1 year mark. So how are y'all? Still glad you did this?

Anyone who doesn't believe in food addiction should get an unfill. I've only been unfilled since Monday, and I am unable to control the eating. Even KNOWING what I am doing I'm stuffing myself. Right at this moment I'm miserable and bloated and yet still thinking about all the sorts of foods that I can actually eat without restrictions. At least I now know my end-game plan will involve keeping a tight fill. Still no word on the date for my revision. It can't come soon enough. :wink_smile:

Just go, and ignore the food. If someone asks, just say something about some minor complications from the gall bladder surgery, and that your doctor asked that you follow special instructions. It's pretty much the truth, and will hopefully embarrass the asker enough to shut them down.

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To get a band requires that you admit you are powerless to control your weight situation. Most guys will NEVER admit that they are not in control of any part of their life. Better to die early than admit weakness. By the time I decided to get one, I had already been shown that control of one's life is an illusion that can be shattered easily. The only thing that matters is tangible results, all else is mental gymnastics and vanity.

Well, there's finally a diagnosis of my issues. The causality chain is unclear, but the bottom line is that part of the stomach has prolapsed upwards through the band. Doc pulled 5.5 cc of 7.5 cc out of the band, and wants to schedule a revision and/or replacement ASAP. Because I was so close to goal he asked if I wanted it simply removed, but I fear the loss of the tool more than the complications. He did say if he replaced it with a new band, that the odds of this recurring were extraordinarily slim. Lesson here: if you're really tight after a fill, go get checked immediately.

My turn to be added to the list