juliegeraci

I have UHC too. Hope they cover your fills. Mine are $200 out of pocket. I'm not sure why they don't cover them. Best of luck to you with your surgery.

I have UHC

Hi Helena, thinking back I think it took 6-8 weeks to get everything done. I had to have a psych eval, nutritionist and blood work drawn. I am really happy for you. Don't worry about your mom and brother. You need to do this for yourself. You will feel great afterwards. Best of luck.

Hi Holli, welcome to lapbandtalk forum. I've been banded 8 months and I'm down about 40 lbs. I love my band. I hope that your insurance pays it for you. Best of luck.

No coverage. Mine was about $150 out of pocket.

Dr. McKeen in San Jose is excellent.

It may not be because of stretching. It could merely be that you have lost fat around your stomach. How much have you lost after your fills?

You definitely need a fill. You are consuming way too much food in my opinion. You should never be able to eat 1/2 of a double cheesburger. That would kill me. Keep in mind while our stomach changes fill levels do to. You may be okay at 3.5 this time. Good luck.

I would go in for a slight unfill. That should do the trick.

I was told by my doctor that popcorn goes down like sand believe it or not. I can eat a full bag too. What you are describing is common. I can eat a few bites, wait and continue or I have first bite syndrome PB then continue. You aren't alone.

1-2 times a week is very little PBing. You should be okay and resume losing weight at that rate. I would be more concerned if you PB'd every day or several times a day.

Lauren, sorry you are going through this. Just keep calling them. Things will work out.

Glad you learned from it. I have heard good things about things going back to normal after being unfilled. I'm sure you will be okay.

I go through the same thing on my damn scale at home. It has to be the scale. I would weight in 1 x a month at your doctors office if I were you. Scales can be wrong.

Don't lose focus. Its hard when you don't have restriction. Hopefully with this next fill you will. Good luck.

I would definitely ask your surgeon how many lapbands he/she has performed. That will tell you their experience level.

The sore throat is very common with the tube they place down the throat. Yes, you can have a popsicle. Yes, you can have chicken broth as your liquid. You are doing fine. Just hang in there and heal.

Mine is placed on my left hand side right at the waist line.

Yes, you do go under for the surgery. I believe Sharon had hers removed because she had acid reflux and wanted to eat more. Good luck.

Congrats on your impending surgery. You will love your band.

Push your insurance company daily. That seem to work for me.

Sorry you haven't lost that much. Is it time for a fill?

The lapband is an excellent tool to help with portion control. I believe it has only been approved in the US 2001-or 2002 so its fairly new here. Its more popular over in Europe and other Coutries. The pro of the band is that it is noninvasive surgery. There isn't any rerouting that takes place. The con is you can have a slip and/or pouch dialation. You have to make sure you follow your doctor's orders so that you can avoid these things. To make you aware, you can outsmart the band. You can eat frequently and absorb a lot of calories so be aware of that. One other pro is you feel less hungry and when you eat it lasts longer. I love my band. I do not exercise and so far I have lost about 40 lbs in 8 months. That is considered slow. The surgeon told me that it is typical to lose 30% of your excess weight the first year. Typically it takes a bandster 2 years to reach their full weight loss potential. Good luck to you with your decision. The surgery is roughly $15k but some insurance companies do pay for it. My fills are out of pocket $200 each. Best of luck to you.

Its good that you are being honest about being lazy and you have concerns. The band is just a tool. I have only lost 37 lbs in 8 months. I do not exercise and I drink alcohol. If you want to truly lose weight you have to follow the band rules, exercise included. Best of luck to you.

I know how you feel. I'm 8 months post op and have only lost 37 lbs. I am discouraged as well. The only advise I can give you is to get another fill and just try your hardest not to eat non band friendly foods. Do you have a doctors support group you can go to? Best of luck.