snowhard

Hello, I'm moving to the United States next year, either Florida, California, or NY. Recently, I've been really nervous about not being able to get health insurance. I'm 26 years old, and had the lap band 3 years ago. I now have a 29 BMI, and I have had no complications from the band. I plan on working for a company that offers I'm sure offers health insurance for their employees. But lately, I have been really nervous that somehow they won't want to cover me because I had this surgery. Can anyone shed light on whether or not I could get insurance as an individual? If I work for a company, is the insurance company still allowed to exclude me? Thank you for your help, Im sooo nervous about it.

This is something I'm very worried about too. I think one of the moderators is in an insurance broker? Perhaps she can help us out? I don't get what you're saying though?? What is a guanteed issue? Also, this may be a silly quesiton, but if I am employed they can't by autodecline me right?

The anestethic is really not dangerous at all. Your chances of having a complication as a result are very very very low. Ask anyone on this board if they have had a complication as the result of anestesthetic, I guarantee it will be very very small % of people (probably under 1/100,000, maybe 1/million).. It doesn't hurt! All that happens is you lie on the table while they inject medicine into you. I actually closed my eyes during the entire event so I would feel like its more of a natural transition. And I don't feel you're losing control. Your instructing the physician to do this to you,and you are in complete control of your decision. Relax, after its over, you will realize how easy it was.

The most common thing I hear from people preparing for WLS is that they are afraid. Usually, despite the assurance that they know the surgery is extremely safe, they still have cold feet. My solution to the problem is recognize that it is normal to be afraid of any surgery, whether its a cavity repair (dental), appendectomy, or a heart transplant. I on the other hand, am way more afraid of what may happen to me at BMI of 50! Working in the hospital and seeing what happens to these people is frightening. Trust me, whatever you think is the worst complication imaginable from the lap-band surgery (which is extradordinarily rare) is way BETTER than seeing what these patients go through. <o></o> If you have an unhealthy BMI, you can look forward to: <o></o> Dying younger (almost a guarantee that WLS takes off years from your life, if you don’t believe me, PM me and I’ll tell you about a Harvard study correlating BMI vs death, extremely scary). 2)Diabetes and all of its ugly consequences on other organ systems 3)Hypertension 4)Heart problems 5)Stroke 6)weight-bearing joint problems Etc. etc etc.. the list goes on and on. <o> </o> So if you’re afraid of surgery, realize the reason you are doing this procedure and that the relative risk from a serious adverse reaction is low, compared to the risk you would be taking by not getting the surgery. <o></o> The choice is clear. I was petrified of surgery. But the weeks leading up to it, I pictured myself as a 45 year-old man on 9 medications and finally dying of a heart attack (probable). Then, I tried to think about the 45 year old (healthy) on 0 medication with a slipped band (holy sh*t, this is nothing compared to the other me). Good luck, and its ok to be afraid. But try to be afraid for the right and probable reasons. <o> </o>

Extremely good question! The answer to your question is: "we don't know"... But I'll do my best to guess on what would most likely happen. It turns out that there has never really been any published study on the effects of band reversal on stomach anatomy. One would assume that there may be some scar tissue, muscular wall abnormalities, or some other problem after leaving it in for a long time. However, what you must understand, is that the stomach is extremely resistant! When you eat food, the stomach gets bigger by a process called "receptive relaxation", where the muscle in the stomach wall relaxes. The stomach is a motile organ, with lots of muscle in the wall. SO, my best guess would be that the band does cause some scar tissue to form, but I strongly doubt it wouldn't remain functional. In other words, I think that there would be small, and not very important abrnormalities after removing the band. But keep in mind that you can live without your stomach! Lots of people have their stomachs removed because of cancer or something, and they are perfectly able to just shunt the food right into the duodenum. In the case of our friends with gastric bypass, the remainder of the unbypassed stomach sits in the abdomen essentially useless. So, my best guess is that these abnormalities (scar tissue, etc) are really not going to effect the functionality of the stomach all that much. Cheers

Interestingly, the term "PB" seems to be only known by those who've had the band, and is not discussed in the literature. It would be interesting to see some long term studies on the frequency of these episodes in patients, as well as their severity. This is not an accurate poll, and thus, I can't use this information in my decision other then knowing that there will be obvious side-effects when you tie some around the stomach... But believe me, I'd rather have a PB than a heart attack ,stroke, which I will get until I get the surgery.

Hello, I've been posting some questions here about concerns I've had over the lap band. As I'm currently in medical school, I've had the opportunity to ask many physicians about their take on the surgery, etc. I've spent the last 6 months researching all the literature, and I have read every published study on the band since its existence. I have decided to go ahead and GET IT! Now, the issue is what to do between now and the date of my surgery. I've been able to lose 50-60 lbs so many times before, only to regain it. My question is, before the surgery (which will probably be in July) should I go on a crazy hard diet (you know what I'm talking about, Atkins, low carb, low fat, low calorie) UNTIL then? Or should I relax, and go on just a Weight Watcher diet where I probably will lose very little... So you all know the drill, anyone can lose a lot of weight, and I'm not doing the surgery to LOSE THE WEIGHT. I AM DOING THE SURGERY TO KEEP IT OFF. Any input is appreciated. Thank you

I'm still undecided, mainly by choosing between the gastric bypass versus the band... I think I've made the decision that I will be getting some type of wls. It is worthy to note that during my research, speaking to several well known weight loss surgeons, most of them expect the band to last forever, and keep stating the band is indeed a permanent solution. They claim that if one takes care of their band, and if they don't erode, they see no reason why it can't last forever. So who knows?

I agree. Even if you were to conclude that the lap band generally cannot stay long term, the benefits of losing weight would still outweigh the risks. And I'm not sure about the "magic pharmaceutical bullet" you're talking about... I think that it is wishful thinking, but not guaranteed as to whether their will be "cure" even in our lifetimes. And "magic pills" don't get to the market right away. It could take many decades for the FDA to approve the therapy.

Yes, it is made of a material that is supposed to minimize the possibilities of: 1)the band getting eroded 2)autoimmune rejection of the band. But long term data still hasn't determined the long term risks of band slippage, or esophageal dilatation. So who knows, what the probabilty of having an erosion or a slip 30 years post-op? The hip replacement seems more risky long term since it involves moving parts and a more complex mechanism. The lap band is a very simple device, and it certainly is very possible and in fact likely (in my opinion) that it can last for a very long time in some people.

You know, I doubt that the pressure change would effect the band since it the cabin is kept pressurized during the flight. Perhaps its due to the changes in inertia as the plane moves, and the contents of the small stomach sort of move around a lot, which could cause the band to sort of loosen up?

Well, I think we can all agree that at least for now, there isnt enough evidence to suggest that the lap band can stay inside someone lifelong. I'm not saying its not possible, or even if its unlikely, it just hasnt been documented. But I've also asked the question for all other surgeries, like Roux-en-y gastric bypass, which also doesnt have a lot of evidence long term. So the band isn't all that different from any other surgery. Someone suggested that if I was looking for a permanent fix, I should choose another procedure, but HOW DO I KNOW if that will last forever? I don't... But what I do know is that its a hell of a lot easier to reverse a lap band than a gastric bypass. So I think the band is still the way to GO, since we don't know the long term effects of any surgery, but we do know the lap band is definitely the safest. So in the end, this has not discouraged me in any way from still looking into getting the lap band.

Still can't find anything related to that statement. If that is really what the Inamed publication says, than it would contradict A LOT of websites of various wls centers.