ccinlv

Hello-surgery date 12/2 been losing every day until I hit the three week date last Friday haven't lost or gained in 6 days. Started soft foods all is going good my question is how long does the "3 week stalk" usually last

Yes this happened to me every night for 5-6 nights in a row back in the fall. Called the surgeons office and they said that the band will tighten up if there is any inflammation. Mine happened to be post nasal drip from allergies. Took some Benadryl and Prevacid all was fine again.

I'm 3 days out from surgery (12/3) and I have been feeling wonderful until this morning, no problem getting fluids in, no nausea . Today lightheaded, weak and gas bubbles!! I'm wondering if all this gas is making me lightheaded? Has anyone else heard of this

I am also approaching my two year anniversary in August. I lost 47 lbs the first 3 months, but it didn't take me long to figure out how to cheat. The good thing is that I haven't gained alot I fluctuate +/- 5 lbs, bad part is I haven't lost anymore either. I would keep getting fills every so often, too tight, too loose. My friend got the by-pass and lost like 100+ pounds, she hit goal in about 10 months. I was so regretting my choice on the band until something clicked a month or so ago, I went back to the original eating plan 4 oz 3X a day, Protein, veggies. Was starving for the first week, went in and got a small fill, started some exercising and 6 weeks later I'm down 5 lbs. I don't know why I could not accept the fact that this band is only an aid to make the new healthy lifestyle easier, its hard, I expected to get this band and poof, it would do all the work for me.....make me make the right food choices, make me dislike the taste of sugar, I wouldn't have to do any work or changing (by-pass friend can't eat sugar...throws up if she eats too much....she's not exercising....weight is falling off...). Friend update, she is 3 years out from her surgery and has regained almost all her lost weight. My moral to this story, she didn't learn how to change her habits, it was too easy and when I reach my goal hopefully I wont regain any, but I'm not giving up.

Does anyone feel like some of your old friends don't want to hang around you anymore now that you are losing weight or if they do still hang around do the secretly begrudge you every pound you lose? Maybe I'm being paranoid here these days but I had surgery 10 months ago and 35 lbs the first 4-6 weeks then nothing for 6 months finally found my sweet spot and now am losing weight at about 2-2.5 a week. I'm tall so you really didn't notice the first 10 but now that there is 20 gone you can tell, I slipped into a pair of shorts I hadn't had on in 5 years. My so called good friend, who has had the by pass a couple of years ago and never met her goal tells me, don't get to excited they are stretchy.

I was banded 10 months ago on the 19th; lost 35 lbs the first month, didn't lose another pound untill my last fill a month ago. I did not experience pbing, could pretty much eat anything I wanted, didn't have to change my eating habits (ie chewing and bite size) could almost each as much as I wanted, didn't exercise much more than before. And was boohooing and whining that I should have had the by-pass. I skipped quite a few fill appointments because I thought it was a waste of $16,000, my husband was not too happy with me either and we got in to many heated discussion with him saying, your not acting like your trying to lose weight and me shooting back defensively with I got this sugery so I wouldn't have to watch what I ate...... Until one fateful Easter Picnic in April 09. My surgeon just so happens to be one of my best friends cousins and he and my husband also know each other anyway he (my surgeon) attends this family pic nic and he an my husband gang up on me and tell me all about banster hell, and how it may take up to a year to find your sweet spot so skipping fills is a no no, and how this is not by-pass and if you do nothing the band will do nothing. Well now I have pre-made appts for fills out until October, I have finally reached my sweet spot, I know completely understand small bites, chew well, it used to take me under 10 minutes to eat a whole plate, now it takes me at least 30 minutes to eat 4 oz. and forget about bread or anything like it (ie cake, doughnuts ect). Well enough rambling. Yes I thought the weight would just fall off like my friends who have had the by-pass, I thank my surgeon for not babying me and telling me clearly the mistakes I was making although I seriously doubt I would have told him everyting I was doing, my hubby ratted me out 100%. But I have lost 9lbs since my last fill 4 weeks ago.

Oh my gosh, that is exactly what happened to me, I too live in a small town were everyone knows your business and I also told my hubby what our story was going to be because I knew far too well that this is exactly what every one would say and/or ask whenever I was at the store or post office. Well just lilke you it was supposed to be a hernia repair, oh no he just told a few of his friends (which by the way are way worse gossip spreaders that my girl friends ever thought of being) the truth and with a communications network that would make NASA fail in comparison it was all over town in 2.5 seconds.:bored:

I am 10 months out from surgery, I lost 35 lbs on the liquid/mushie stage and then no more, actually gained a few back from Halloween to Valentines day. Keep getting your fills, you will know when you have finally found your "sweet spot". I skipped a few fills which I do not reccommend and finally found it at 6.8 cc I have lost 8 lbs in 4 weeks. Do not give up, keep getting you fills and watching what you eat.

I am 10 months out from surgery, during the liquid/mushie stage I lost 35 lbs. Then it took 6 more months to find my "sweet spot". While trying to find my sweet spot I actually gained 5-7 lbs back. Now I am losing 1-2 lbs a week. Oh boy everyone but my husband was making the same comments and even a few more like "Dosen't it feel like you wasted 16,000 dollars only to still be able to gain weight." It was very frustrating and I was tired of the comments along time ago. Be patient and get your fills!!!

It is a personal decision on what is best for you. I asked my surgeon when I was deciding on which surgery "if I were your wife which one would you perform on me?" And his reply was the lap band. I also have total trust in my surgeon. That being said I got the lap band on 8/19/2008 and have only lost 31 lbs. Have gone up and down with the same 7-8 lbs for 7 months, it is a lifestyle change that is hard. The good thing is I am not gaining and for the first time in my life, if the scale starts moving up and can get it in control quickly and it comes back off which is worth alot. I know I will reach my goal eventually and for me when I do I feel it will be easier to keep it off (hopefully) with the help of the band with the lessons I am learning along the way. And I too have friend who have had the by-pass now going in to get the lap band because now 6 years out they have gained alot of their loss back. She said that for her losing weight with the by-pass was too easy and she didn't really learrn to change her eating habits now its like she never had surgery. Friend number 2 who has had the band, wishes he would have had the by-pass, because he has had nothing but problems with chewing, fills, sliming, dehydration, slow weight loss and getting discouraged.

Hello, I have California Field Ironworkers insurance and they have an exclusion on weight loss surgery, they told my surgeons office that there was an exclusion for weight loss surgery and there was a 95% denial on the procedure. The surgeons staff basically said well, when you are ready to pay cash, call us. Well lets make a very long story short, I took matters into my own hands, kept calling the insurance company until I found someone there who was willing to tell me the requirements, gathered all the required medical records (200 plus pages) myself which took months, made an appointment with the surgeon told him the whole story, he took my huge folder of records and told his office to submit it, and I was approved in 5 days !!! Had my surgery on 8/19/2008 feeling great. Good luck everyone, and don't give up because the office staff said there was and exclusion, do your own leg work if necessary and MAKE them submit it.

Thanks everyone, I called the surgeons office and they called in some nausea medication, they seemed to think it was from the anethesia (sp?). Told me to drink room temp liquids, and take small sips. It only lasted 1 day, now I'm almost 3 weeks out from surgery and feeling great.

Hello- I got banded yesterday 8/19 and today I have had 2 episodes of nausea one with dry heaves, is this normal? It happened after I drank chicken broth and the 2nd time with water, but nothing came up just dry heaves.

OK, I have been trying to get approved since March. Finished my 6 month supervised diet and everything then. Well the insurance coordinator at the surgeons office called the insurance and found out there was and exclusion on my policy, to make a very long story short I was getting the run around from the office staff and finally in at the end of June they just got tired of me calling and said you can only proceed as a cash patient call back when you have the money, basically. I got the financing ready to pay cash, have final consult with surgeon, he said why were you denied? I said I wasn't your staff never sumitted it to the insuance due to an exclusion, he and I go to the insurance coordinator that works for him and he said with all this stuff, she has many co-morbities submit it to her insurance before she pays cash and see what they say, I will do a peer to peer if necessary. She then tells him "there is an exclusion..." he says "submit it any way all they can say is no.." she is again hesitant and he sternly says "SUBMIT IT TODAY". This was three weeks ago Tuesday, she calls me the next day and says its all ready to go, I'm mailing it in because you have alot of records (I think" I know I got them all and brought them to you because you wouldn't request them"). Fast forward three weeks till today, cannot be patient any longer, I call my insurance to see what decision they had made. They say we don't have anything on you, haven't seen anything. I then call the coordinator, tell her the insurance hasn't seen my pre authorization claim yet, she tells me oh I'm sorry, I haven't gotten around to sending it in yet, I'll do it today. I about came unstuck. When do you cease being nice, I really really like the surgeon and I don't want to go to anyone else, but I am having a very hard time with everyone else in his office, and the most frustrating part is I have the cash but if I don't have to pay out $17,000 on the off chance that my insurance will pay for it I can't help but try!!! And after my consult with him I don't think he has a clue as to what his staff is up to! :biggrin: Thanks for letting me vent, I'm about to the end of my rope and getting ready to say forget it.

I made copies of everything, I had a friend of mine get the surgery at this same office a couple of years ago and she warned me about how this staff has a tendancy to "lose or misplace" records. This office is very busy, and 90% of their business is easy insurance approval. I really don't think any of them in that "patient advocate" part of the office wants to put any effort into something that might require a little extra time an energy on their part, I think they have become way to complacent and really don't care if the patients go someplace else, I'm sure the surgeon doesn't know, though he is about to...:wink2: I have made an appointment with him on Friday the 8th

I am going to contact the doctor, he was wonderful. I didn't want to be a tattle tale on his staff and seem like a whiner but he did look at me a little funny when I handed him a folder an inch thick with records so I kinda eluded to the fact that I was getting the run around. But this is the last straw. I'm going to throw them under the bus this time if I were the surgeon I would like to know how my patients were being treated. I just wonder how many other people have gone to other surgeons because they don't want to work on the cases that might be out of the ordinary. The surgeon is in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thanks for all your support, I'm not nearly as mad as I was yesterday, I didn't even break out the Cookies.

In 2006, the insurance approved the surgery but stated that I needed to try a 3 month medically supervised diet. During the last month I found out I was pregnant. Now fast forward to 2008 and the insurance said to the office that as of Jan 1 2007 there was an exclusion. I then found out that the exclusion is based on medical necessity. And 90% of the pre-approvals are denied. It has to go thru a separate medical review since they changed to a self funded plan. So I am taking out a loan against my 401K and going ahead as a cash patient.

No, I'm with Dr. Atkinson. I am still going to have them submit my paperwork but I am going to proceed as a cash patient.

OMG! I could have written this post, I am in the exact situation that you are in. The office staff at surgical weight loss center of nevada in Las Vegas has basically said the same thing to me. I have California Ironworkers insurance and they have an exclusion and the office basically said "when you are ready to pay cash call us and we will make you an appointment with the surgeon" They didn't request any medical records, they didn't submit it to the insurance eventhough I have many co-morbities. I have since written my own letter of medical necessity, compiled all my medical records from all my other doctors supporting all the co-morbities. I made the appointment with the surgeon and I am going to talk to him about at least submitting it to the insuance company. I too will pay cash if I have to but I would at least likt to try and get it approved. I called the insurance company and they said yes there is an exclusion but approval is on a case-by-case basis. I go the feeling from the office staff just like you did that they didn't want to be bothered with it if it wasn't a sure thing right away.