Dave_NW

I have Tricare Prime, and wasn't required to have those other tests. Here is my timeline from referral to approval: Referral from PCM to WL Surgeon 19-Aug-10 Attended Surgeon's Mandatory WL Seminar 25-Aug-10 1st Consult - Surgeon/Staff 29-Sep-10 (Surgeon, Physician, Nutritionist, and Psych Eval, all on the same day) Lab Work Completed 1-Oct-10 Endoscopy 14-Oct-10 Surgery Request Submitted to Insurance 15-Oct-10 Surgery Approval Received from Insurance 20-Oct-10 As you can see, it was basically three weeks from the consult to surgery approval. I disagree with what you're being told about Tricare being hard to get approval from. Everything I've experienced, and been told, says they're one of the easiest to get approval from, if only because they don't require a six month managed diet. I live in Washington state, and went to a civilian surgical center. The closest MTF to me is further away than the civilian hospital I used. Tricare didn't care. The only reason they would have insisted I go to an MTF would have been if I'd wanted to have sleeve surgery instead of lapband. (For reasons I don't understand, that's covered at an MTF, but not at a civilian hospital.) If you have questions, call Tricare and ask them directly. Getting rumors and suspect opinions will only frustrate you. Good luck! Dave

Rachel, this is YOUR band journey, not theirs. If the fill PA and whoever aren't giving you the support you and your insurance are paying for, find a new practice to attend. What they're telling you is crap. You have every right to know if your band is working right, and after a sixty pound weight loss, you are not a newbie with unrealistic expectations. They are disrespecting you, and treating you as if you haven't got any sense. You KNOW how you felt before, and if things feel different, there's a reason. Unless you've overeaten to the point of stretching your pouch, it's very possible you do, in fact, have a problem. The very least they can do is verify the amount of Fluid in your band. If they won't do that, then it tells me they doubt their own work, and are trying to cover it up. My best advice: Find out where the people you liked went. Go to that practice, if you can. If your hairdresser went to a different salon, you'd follow them, right? This isn't the same thing, but it's not all that much different. Good luck, kid. Keep us posted. You deserve continued success. I'm pulling for you. Dave

Sorry to be so quiet. I've been on vacation so haven't been around much. I learned how to maintain reasonable eating habits while I was gone, away from the gym and my normal eating routine. But my weight stayed the same, more or less, after a crazy visit to New York. I ate more, but I think I must have walked it off. I came home weighing within ounces what I did when I left. Now the next step will be getting back into my normal routine. This last ten pounds is proving to be more of a challenge than I expected it would be. All in all I'm doing great. How about the rest of you? Dave

I use a straw every day, in my car when I have a ready-to-drink Protein shake on my way to work. I don't want to risk spilling it on myself, and a straw makes it pretty easy to avoid a mess. I've had no problems doing this since I was banded last December. I have 9.2cc in a 14cc band, I have good restriction, and minimal excess gas. As was mentioned, everyone has a different experience. You'll have to see what works best for you. Dave

Welcome, Jim. You're almost exactly where I was one year ago. I was doing my pre-op testing and such last October. I was banded December 6th, and look at me now. It's an amazing feeling! You're going to do great. Good luck! Dave

There are height/weight proportionate ranges that are published by Medicare and are followed by insurance carriers. Your PCP should be able to tell you where you fit in. For example, if your ideal weight should be 125 pounds for your height, and you weigh 250, then you'd be at 200% of your ideal weight. Good luck' Dave

Good luck, guys' it goes quickly, and then the fun really starts. Hang in there. Dave

I started my journey at 320 pounds. I had fought a losing battle with weight for so long, I felt so completely beyond help, and I never thought I'd be a normal size again. After surgery, and the rush of weight loss that happens right away, I was suddenly in the 290s, and I've been in Twoderville ever since. I've worked my band as hard as I could, and worked myself in the process. One pound at a time, it's dropped lower and lower, and I started to think maybe I could get to a weight range where I felt more like the person I knew I wanted to be. As I got closer to being out of the 200s, my anticipation grew more and more. Summer got in the way, and family visits, disruption to my daily routine, eating less well, and not getting to the gym as much as I wanted to - it seemed like my life was trying to prevent me from getting past that important milestone. My weight loss has been stalled the last month or so, and I've really had to apply a lot of effort to get back on track. This past week I've really forced myself, and I've worked harder than ever. And today, I made it! I am now at 199 pounds as of this morning, which officially puts me in Onederland! And I want everyone to know this is a fantastic place to be! I'm absolutely beside myself (or I would be, if there was enough of me left to go around... ) For you newbies just starting your journey, or those who are questioning whether getting banded was a good choice for you, let me reassure you: This is all TOTALLY worth it! NSVs are great, but sometimes a SV is even better! Dave, happier than he's been in a very, very long time.

Jon, the purpose of the liquid diet is to try and shrink your liver. It is a very large organ, sitting all the way across your midsection, blocking access to your upper stomach. It needs to be moved out of the way during surgery, so the band can be more easily placed around the upper stomach. Your liver can be reduced in size by as much as 15%, making your surgeon's job easier, damage to your insides less likely, and your recovery easier. Hang in there - you'll be done with it soon enough. Dave

Gary: Ticker help: When you go to the Ticker Factory page and enter your password to edit your ticker, on completion it shows you the image of your updated ticker. Right-click the image and Copy it. Then back here, tunnel down to the page where you update your signature. Click into the signature text edit box, then right-click and Paste the image there. Click after the image, and enter any text you want to add below the image. Once you like the layout of the signature box, click the Save button at the bottom. It should get you where you want to be. I figured out it's easier to work with a copy and paste of the ticker image, rather than mess with the ticker URL and HTTP text. it may be the LBT software isn't user friendly enough. But I just did the above, and it worked for me. Hope this helps. Dave

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate the kind words. All of you make this place a really great place to visit, and I'm happy to contribute when I can. I have a 9-month Follow-up Group appointment at my surgeon's office in a few days. It's been six months since I've seen the other folks who were banded around the time I was. Last time, they got all snotty towards me because I'd lost more weight than they had. That was more than 65 pounds ago. I'm REALLY curious to see if anything has changed for them, and what choice words they'll have to say about my results since then. Yikes! Dave

Roz, I'm really sorry for your loss. But as you say, things happen for a reason. As your weight loss journey continues, and you get even more healthy, here's hoping you have the successful pregnancy you want. Good luck! Dave

I have Tricare Prime. My consult was September 29th of last year. In addition to seeing the surgeon, I met with a psych, a physician, and a nutritionist, all four back-to-back on the same day. I was recommended by them to have surgery, then scheduled to do a bunch of lab tests and an Endoscopy, all of which were accomplished by October 15, 2010. They submitted the surgery approval request to Tricare on the same day. On October 20, 2010, I was approved for surgery. That was a wait of only three business days after submission of the request. Due to conflicts between the holidays, the surgeon's schedule and mine, we delayed having surgery for me until December 6, 2010, which was seven weeks later. So even with the scheduling delays, it was still only about ten weeks from Consult to Surgery Day. Dave

Shirley, ask him to show you his port scar. Dave

I couldn't have said it better. Nice job, Thee-o. I'm all in favor of support if there is a problem, but I don't understand some of the posts I read here. If someone was given the right information, then they don't follow it, what are they expecting to find here that would make it any different? They still didn't follow the rules, and they need to accept the consequences are their own fault. Everyone needs to take ownership for their own actions. Expecting people here to tell them it's OK to eat half a pizza a week after surgery is just plain wrong. If you're having that kind of problem, call your doctor for help, and face the music. That's why you paid him thousands of dollars. I'm reminded of the people standing on the deck of the sinking Titanic, up to their ankles in Water. And one of them says, "But didn't you think it was a NICE ship?" I'm not a hater, but I do get frustrated when people refuse to take responsibility for what they do. Dave

It's Water weight. Perfectly normal. (I lost 19 pounds my first two weeks after surgery.) It'll slow down, and eventually even stop. Hang in there. Your journey is just getting started. Dave

Jessie, you need to tell your surgeon about your concerns. They can do a reverse-fill, by extracting all the Fluid out of your band. That way you'll both know exactly how much fluid is in your band. If you expect to have 4.5cc in it, and they can only get out 2cc, for example, you'll know you have a leak somewhere. If they take out 4.5cc or more, then you'll know the issue you're having isn't likely caused by a leak. Presuming the band isn't leaking, I'd strongly recommend you revisit your daily diet, your calories, your Protein vs. carb intake, and how many calories you're burning off every day. The band will not stop you from eating anything you want, just how often, and how much you eat in one bite. It won't stop you from overeating, or from making poor food choices. Good luck! Dave

Gary, I'm beyond happy with my results so far. Things thin people take for granted - fitting in a restaurant booth, buckling the airline seat belt without an extension, buying clothes off the rack in a "normal" clothing store - those are the things I missed being able to do, and I've rediscovered them, one at a time. It's an amazing feeling. Top 3 pieces of advice? Hmm... 1. Learn ALL you can about the band, and how it works. Your success will be based on what YOU do to work the band, not what anyone else does, or what someone else says you need to do. Take ownership of your band, and responsibility for your weight loss. Educating yourself in how it works will help you more than anything. Read this page: http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html 2. Know that your band is not a magic bullet. It is a tool, and nothing more. Use it like one. It will NOT stop you from overeating, or from making bad food choices. But once adjusted properly, it will give you the ability to use your common sense and will power to control your eating, and result in weight loss. This is a program, not a permanent fix. You have to manage how it works, and accept that weight loss happens when (and only when) your metabolism adjusts to a new lower weight, and lets go of the excess pounds. 3. Get out of your chair, and move. The band works best when combined with exercise and a proper diet. If you're eating right, adding in movement - be it walking, running, swimming, working out, whatever you can do - will result in weight loss. The combination works great when you do it all every day. If you sit on your butt and do nothing, you may lose SOME weight, but not nearly enough to satisfy yourself. (I work out four or five days a week for about an hour at a time, and I walk throughout the day as much as I reasonably can. Everything helps.) 4. Bonus tip: You did not gain your excess weight overnight, and no matter what you do, you won't lose it overnight. You have to develop a sense of patience with the band. Evaluate your current status, introduce new things as you go along, and re-evaluate your situation. Work your plan, make adjustments as you go along to get maximum performance, and learn how best to work your band. Weight loss is rarely linear or consistent. It happens in fits and starts. So if you picture a side view of a loading ramp, with a steady downward angle, know and accept that your weight loss will NOT be that smooth and easy. Weight loss looks more like the side view of a staircase - you'll be on a step at a certain weight for a time, then you'll lose a pound or two and drop down to the next step. You'll go along on that step for awhile, then drop more pounds and be on the next lower step. The length of time you're on a given step (at a given weght) will vary as you go along. I've had periods as long as 18 days without losing a pound, then I've had periods where I lose a pound a day for five or six days in a row. The trick is not to get discouraged, and to keep working your plan. If your daily intake and output are consistent, when your metabolism adjusts to itself, you'll drop the excess pounds. It's all about day to day behavior, patience, and following your own road on this journey. Good luck with all of it. It's worth every bit of sweat to become the guy you know is waiting inside of you. Dave

Good luck, guys. I'm here to tell you this is totally worth the effort. Work your plan, work your band, and stay with it. The results are SO worth it. Check the numbers on my ticker - this can be any one of you in a few months' time. I'm nothing special, and this has been a fantastic journey! Dave

I was on a liquid diet for three weeks after surgery. By the time I got back onto soft foods, everything tasted weird. I was a serious coffee drinker before surgery (I live near Seattle, and it's the LAW... ) but suddenly coffee tasted awful to me. Over the next several weeks I needed to retrain my taste buds to what I liked and what I didn't. I think it was somehow connected to breaking the sugar cycle. Even now, nine months after surgery, if i eat a sugary food, it seems terribly sweet to me, and even a small amount of sugar goes a long way. Not a bad thing, but definitely different than I was used to. (I rewarded myself with a fresh-made milkshake in a restaurant the other day while having dinner out with friends, and I ended up giving away more than half of it. I just couldn't handle all the sweetness.) You're perfectly normal. Hang in there - things WILL come back to normal, just adjusted for your new bandster palate. It's all part of the journey. Dave

Rachel, as the old saying goes: "No brag -- just fact!" You look awesome!!! Dave

I know that by the book, a bandster is expected to lose more slowly than a bypass or sleeve patient, and on average only about 50% to 60% of their excess weight. I've been following the rules, (for the most part), and I've lost 119 pounds in 9 months. That's more than 13 pounds a month. I can't imagine anyone losing weight more quickly than that without being sick. In my case, I'm healthier than I've been in years, all my lab work is now in the "normal" range, my meds are being reduced or eliminated, and I feel absolutely AWESOME! I can't see that bypass or sleeve would have been a better way for me to go. And as aware of my diet as I am, I don't expect I'll be gaining back weight like some of the folks who have those other surgeries. Dave

I think you need to figure out where those negative posts are coming from, and put everything into proper perspective. In my experience, those people who are the most educated about the band and how it works are the ones who have the fewest problems (if any.) They're not making a lot of posts anywhere because they don't need to ask for help, or complain about what's working for them. The negative posts you're reading are from a relatively small number of people, when compared to the huge numbers of people who have the surgery every year. If someone isn't having an issue, why post about it anywhere? One reason I chose the band was that it's reversible, and I can get my system mostly back to normal if I ever need to have the band removed. But at this point in time, after nine months of consistent and (frankly) remarkable weight loss, I have no intentions of going back, unless I should develop some sort of issue with the band at some point. If it ever happens, I'll make the right decision at that time. In the meantime, I'll keep working my band like the tool that it is, and I'll continue to enjoy living my life as the skinny person I always knew was living inside of me. Put me down as someone who has nothing but good things to say about my band experience. Good luck in your journey! Dave

Jim, the one thing the band has given me I never felt I had before is CONTROL. For the first time in my overweight life, I feel like I'm the one calling the shots. I think of the band as a helper in my weight loss journey, and it's given me the edge I never had before. I've lost nearly 120 pounds in 9 months since being banded, and I don't ever see myself going back. I could never say that before. So would I do this again? Absolutely. As you're doing your research, keep in mind that those who are having issues are the ones who post online. People not having a problem are out living their lives, and are happy with their decisions. Those who are unwilling to follow the rules a bandster needs to follow are often the ones who complain the loudest, and in the most places. They expect the band will do all the work for them, and they refuse to take responsibility for how they manage [or don't manage] their banded lives - so it's no wonder a lot of them are having problems. So take those problem posts and complaints with a huge grain of salt. (That's not to say there aren't honest issues out there, but I don't think it's as dreadful as a lot of people make it out to be. And if banding was such a terrible option, it wouldn't be promoted like it is by Medicare and all the insurance companies. Certainly not to the point that low-BMI banding is becoming an option for those who don't have as much to lose as others.) Another thing to think about is that certain boards are promoters of their version of surgery. So on a bandster board you'll hear positives about banding, and negatives about bypass or sleeve. On sleeve sites you'll hear bad stuff bout banding. And so forth. So step back and take it all in, but keep it in perspective. I think all in all, you'll find banding is a great option, if you're willing to get out of your chair and do the work it takes to be successful. If you aren't willing to be proactive in your weight loss, another surgical option may be a better choice for you. Good luck with your decision, whichever way you decide to go. Dave

I think tomorrow is nine months for you, not ten. I was banded three days before you, and that was nine months ago. Dave