swood

Hi all! I am new here. I have had a band for about 5 years now and have had problems with it the last 2 years after it slipped. I have finally made the decison to have it out and have it converted to the sleeve. Of course my insurance company is making me do the 6 month doctor supervised diet before I can have the surgery done. I didn't have to do this the first time.(different insurance company) I now have United Heath Care. They are very vague on what the doctor needs to turn in at the end of the 6 months and what they expect of me. Does anyone have United Health Care? and can you tell me what I need and what to expect? Yes I am a little OCD and just want to have all my ducks in a row and don't want to get to the end of the 6 month waiting peroid and have it all denied because I didn't do it exactly like the insurance company wanted it. I know how they can be. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Yes, she unfilled to put it back in place. She slowly put some fluid back in. It slipped again and it would actually slip into and out of a comfortable spot. Finally I am just totally unfilled. Now waiting for a revision to a sleeve.

I have to do the psych exam too. That one doesn't scare me. I have a co-morbidity also but can not lose more than 20 lbs or that will put me under the BMI for the surgery limits. Crazy isn't it. All because the band moved and wouldnt go back in place. I have United Health insurance and my husband works for the state so yes it is a bit different. It is a shame that when you have a problem with one device they cant just go in without other obstacles and do a revision. I have had major acid reflux and throwing up for almost a year. I didn't realize how hard it would be to get a revision. I just dont want to do this 6 month doctor surpervised diet wrong. I have heard of some insurance companies turning people down because they said they didnt document it properly.

Good Morning Everyone! Today is my 1 year Bandiversary! I don't post a lot but I do read all of your posts. It has been wonderful having a group like this to go through the different changes I have encountered along the way. Last year I had a few family and friends that thought having this done at Christmas was crazy. But all of you said it would be just fine. And I was! And my baked potato smoothie was awesome on Christmas day. This is just a Thank You to all that post. I am now down 85lbs. I have 52 more to go. It is coming off much slower now. But thanks to Special K's posts I know that is normal and I am on track. Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

Sillypuddy it sounds like you are doing great to me. 26 lbs and you have energy and feel better, what more could you ask for! Keep up the good work. I couldn't figure out why Thanksgiving dinner was so easy to cook this year. Then my family reminded me I didn't weigh near as much as last year and my feet no longer hurt. I kept thinking I was forgetting something because dinner was coming together to easy and I wasn't sweating while slaving over the stove. Have a great time in Florida!

Good to hear from you. I am glad you feel up to being on the computer. I didn't feel that good! I can't wait to hear some of the differences between the two bands. I think I have read you actually get to eat real food quicker with the Realize band, but I may be wrong. Of course listen to the doc. I can't wait to hear more. Prayers are with you! Shawna

Good Luck Joyce! You are in my prayers today!

Congrats Sillypuddy/Joyce! I did the same diet as Special K. Protein drinks with lean protein and veggies for dinner. I was very scared my liver would not be small enough and I wouldn't get my lap band. The doctor didn't put me on the diet, I did. I also hadn't lost all the weight I needed to lose. Dr. Choban told me to lose at least 10lbs. So, I ended up losing 14lbs and she said my liver looked great. I think I might have started mine 3 weeks out from surgery. I don't work outside the home so I can't help you with that. But I got out of surgery at 4 in the afternoon and was very ready to leave by 8 am. I didn't get released until 11am. I also didn't get a choice of bands back in December. Your Doctor should help you decide, I would think. Share your wisdom when you make your choice. Shawna

Good Morning sillypuddy, Special K always answers the questions so well, I only have a couple things to add. I would call Charlene and leave a message that you have completed all your clearances and ask if she has all the paperwork. That is what I did. It lets her know you are ready to go and she can make sure your paperwork is together and ready to be sent in to insurance. Andrea should be dropping off the list of who finished the nutrition class today. My first meeting(to get my packet) was in May last year and my surgery was Dec. 15. I totally agree with Special K that everyone is different with what they can eat. You will learn what you can and can not eat. My no-no is cooked cabbage/sauerkraut. I don't know if other bandsters have a problem, but I do. I drink coffee and tea. I don't drink carbonation it actually hurts. I eat out all the time! Wise choices are my problem not finding something to eat. I love my band and I don't regret getting it for a minute. I do still take Advil/Aleve off and on. I just don't take a lot in one day or everyday. I also take Nexium because I am a sensitive stomach person. So, I always take my Advil/Aleve with hot tea to help it dissolve faster and slip to my bigger stomach and not stay in my pouch. I have not had a problem so far. Oh, one last thing, when I eat out I usually drink something warm like tea or coffee when they bring drinks. That helps open up my band alittle so I make sure nothing gets stuck when I am out. Cold drinks seem to shrink it. But I don't drink a lot because of the band rules of not drinking before eating and while eating. I hope I didn't confuse you more. I so want to look like Julie too!!! Doesn't she look awesome!!

djk24 I like Unjury the best. I have tried EAS-Myoplex lite (Target and Walmart) and Wheybolic Extreme from GNC. I always come back to Unjury. Make sure you look at the fat, carb, and sugar content if you buy it from a store. Unjury can be bought online and it takes about 3 days to get to your house. I honestly haven't price compared because I like Unjury the best. By the way, I use a shaker to mix mine. When I first had my surgery, I mixed it with the magic bullet and I found it put too much air in the liquid for my stomach. Good Luck with your surgery!

Hi, today is my 6 month bandiversary! I have lost 50 lbs and am feeling better than I have in a long time. I am off my blood pressure meds and my CPAP has been turned down from 11 to 9. I can't wait to have my cholesterol checked because it has always ran high, I am hoping it has dropped too. To SillyPuddy and FloridainOhio, whatever you have to go through to get all your clearances in to the office, it is worth it in the end! I have never regretted my decision for a minute. And I only had nausea once, the second morning after surgery. I went too long without a pain pill and it hurt when I got out of bed and made me sick at my stomach. Dr. Choban sends you home with pills just in case you get nausea. I took a total of 1 in 6 months. I totally agree with what gregw says about eating slowly and quit when you are full. For me sometimes one more bite is too much. I had to learn this the hard way. I have also lost a lot of the cravings I had in the first couple months. I don't know if it has anything to do with getting the fills or not. For me, when I know it just won't go down, I don't want it anymore. That mainly goes for pizza. That was all I wanted when I first got banded, I very seldom crave it now, and it was my favorite food!! Sliming is not a pretty thing. It happens when you get food stuck in your band and the saliva that you are swallowing won't go through then either. So you kind of have to keep spitting it out until you get unstuck or throw up, which is usually slime and food. So, chew, chew, chew, and small bites, slowly. Shawna

Hi Candy, Congratulations on your first 20 lbs. :blushing: I was banded on Dec. 15 by Dr. Choban, so we are just a few days apart. I also can't wait until I reach the pounds off that some have on this message board. I am making the right choices when it comes to eating. But when it comes to exercising, I just can't seem to get off my butt and do it! How did you all make yourself do it when you didn't want to? Or did you all just bounce back and want to exercise? With this cold weather all I want to do is hibernate. At least this year I am not eating with the hibernation!!

I am finally banded and getting my strength back. I really appreciate everyone that posts here. Reading all the questions and answers helped me decide which surgery was right for me. I am so glad I went for it. I haven't lost this amount of weight in years. Thank you to everyone. Now for my question: I saw Dr. Choban yesterday and forgot to ask when I can start exercising. When did all of you start exercising after surgery? Not that I really want to, but I thought I should be doing more than walking to the stove and frig!

Thank you all for the support and comments about having surgery around the holidays. And of course I am having it done and not listening to my friends!! Monday at 12:30, I have a date with Dr. Choban. Deep down I knew I was making the right choice. I am already dreaming of my baked potato smoothie for Christmas dinner. LOL

I finally have a surgery date and will be joining you in the land of the banded Dec. 15 with Dr. Choban doing the surgery. My friends do not understand why I would choose to do this to myself 10 days before Christmas. I am sure you all understand. I have waited 7 months, went through all kinds of tests, waited for paperwork to arrive at countless places, so many appointments, and approvals and now it is here. How could I say no? And what better way to start out the New Year. Maybe only all of you could understand. My family is very supportive! It is just the few friends I have told. They think I should wait until after the holidays. But I am ready for this now. I don't have small children at home. I say go for it. How did you all heal ? Are my friends making me over think this?

Thank you both so much! It has been very hard. He was almost like one of our children. Needless to say, I am a stress eater and this is not helping me get that 10 to 15 lbs off for Dr. Choban before surgery. Shawna

I wanted to take a minute and thank Angie (ThinnerMe) and SpecialK for responding to my posts, and thank you for the invite to Polaris. Our wonderful golden died yesterday after a 5 day illness or I would have come up to the mall Saturday. I am looking forward to meeting you all.

Hi. I am new here and have never posted before but I have been reading messages for awhile. My name is Shawna. I hope to be banded by the end of the year if everything works out with insurance. I have one more clearance appointment (sleep dr.) and I will have everything done. And I am a Dr. Choban patient. My question to you all, did anyone have a hard time getting the doctors you saw for the clearances to send the clearance paperwork to Charlene? (I hope that made sense) I had my Psych eval 2 months ago and I have called twice and they said they faxed it but Charlene says she still doesn't have it. My Cardiac clearance was 1 month ago, I called on Monday and they aren't sure what they are supposed to send and they can only send it to my PCM, then they will have to send it on to Dr. Choban. Still no one has it. Meanwhile Charlene only has my Nutritional class in my file. Sorry to unload here but I want this so bad and I have been working on it since May and it just doesn't seem to be moving along. Did anyone else have to deal with this? Oh, by the way I did use only doctors from the lists that we were given because I thought they would be used to dealing with the paperwork. Any help or encourgment would be appreciated!