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No, don't worry. My situation is nothing like yours! I applied for WLS 2 years ago. I had a BMI of 39 for two years and over 40 for a year with no comorbidities. I began meds for high blood pressure at the end of my 6 month weight loss plan required by my insurance. I was basically denied because I was not heavy enough or sick enough due to my obesity at that time. Two and a half years later, I have now had a BMI over 40 and am treated for hypertension. I have decided to try to get approval once again in February of 2015.

Because it's an initial consultation, there isn't much that actually "happens". In fact, my initial consult didn't even involve my surgeons. I spent most of the time with the office staff, then with the nutritionist. My visit involved going over fees, insurance procedures, medical clearances, a discussion of why I was interested in bariatric surgery, and finally an overview of the lifelong dietary changes that I'd be signing up for. At an initial consult, I'd try not to worry too much about being "rejected" if you've done your homework first about a couple of things. Meaning... 1. Insurance coverage. Insurance policies vary widely, but from what I've learned, it seems as though most of them have a minimum BMI to cover a bariatric procedure- usually 40 with no comorbidities, or 35 with the presence of one or more comorbid conditions like Type II Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, etc. As well, it seems many insurance policies (in addition to a doctor-supervised weight loss program prior to considering WLS) require a sort of "laundry list" of other weight loss interventions (Weight Watchers, Herbalife, etc...), complete with approximate dates, and amount of weight lost. 2. Expectations for the procedure. Though you may go through a formal psychological exam as part of your preoperative clearances, both the surgical office manager and the nutritionist had a dialogue with me about what brought me to the office in the first place. How you'll fare with WLS surgery depends on a lot of factors, one of which is how realistic your expectations are for results. **How far from consult to surgery? Honestly, that's a question with no definitive answer. For me it was almost exactly 3 months. But.....it depends on (among other things) your clearance tests, how quickly your insurance company approves your procedure (if you're going that route) and what the availability is for your surgeon/hospital to schedule your procedure. One of the best things about my consult visit was my "Bible Binder". My surgeon's office had a fantastic binder assembled that outlined the whole WLS surgery process. Every. Single. Step. That consult appointment is an information overload, and to have everything written out for me was wonderful. I remember how excited I was at that initial appointment- it was all starting to become "real" finally! I wish you the best of luck- keep us posted on your progress

,hi melva, hairloss is something i dread also. I have heard many theories as to why it happens surgery shock,,anaesthetics etc but i am convinced it must be all about what you eat.I have had about 8 surgical procedures in my life and never lost hair. I am going to concentrate on getting as much protein as i can and fingers crossed i wont be bald by the New Year.Pippinleicester.

I was told to take biotin and make sure I monitor for adequate protein intake. But I may lose some hair anyway. However, it's supposed to be temporary and it will grow back.

I'm of the opinion that it doesn't matter much what you do to try to avoid hair loss. It'll either happen or it won't. You can lose hair from anesthesia as well as low Protein levels. You can also lose it if your Vitamin A level is too high. Despite my picture, I have very fine curly hair. I've not lost any at 6 months out. I don't take Biotin (other than what is in my multi) and generally get over 60 g of protein. I was really good about getting 80g or more early but I've no desire to go back to two shakes a day. But really, any hair loss is temporary. Don't fret it. It's worth the health benefits alone.

Hi all! I have been reading posts for a couple of weeks now-i couldn't figure out how to post anything. I am in the process of doing the 6 month nutritionist thing and tonight I have to go to a weight loss seminar. These are all requirements of bcbs. Is anyone out there at the same point as me in this journey? Can anyone tell me if these 6 months fly by? Take Care!

Im already losing hair also, but I have so much. I always have my hair stylist thin it out for me. So I could save some $$$

I did the optifast program that where I drank 3- shakes a day nothing in between drank lots of water and I lost hair then also. The hair does grow back.(unfortuntaly the 60lbs I lost in 3 months did too thats why I am thinking of lapband)

I did loose hair the first few months out of surgery. I started to take Biotin 5,000 mg and the loss stopped. Not sure if it was the Biotin or that my body recovered from surgery. But since I've always had weak nails I think taking the Biotin is worth it.

I'm sorry you were feeling sick. I actually think this is a common symptom of detox and fat being released around your liver and I'm glad wifey gave you a pass. And her request may not have registered to her as insensitive. But this did get me thinking about my role as personal chef in my home and what will be required without causing to much discombobulation in my home. Maybe I can switch duties or pick up some extra slack in other areas outside the kitchen because preparing food is when I typically consume the most unconscious calories.....I don't want to appear like narcissistic, that can rear it's ugly head during previous diets and weight loss attempts and my family is over me.

Wow! You've already achieved great loss! That's terrific! You'll be where I'm at now in no time, and better yet losing more after that! Good job!

Okay so I've done about 3 major searches through the forums for posts related to questions you should ask your surgeon. There is no 1 direct place where this is located and I was wondering 2 things. First off, is there anyone that could maybe make a pinned thread of a list of questions that might be good to ask your surgeon that people can add to like some of the other things that are pinned? It seems to be a really popular request. Secondly, I'm going to write out the questions I have written down to ask. These are all ones I've either thought of or found here on the forums to be really important. Can you guys think of anything else I am missing?? *Feel free to copy and paste these into a word program and print them for yourself!* - Can you take a picture of my stomach that you take out? - Do you utilize catheters? - What bougie size do you use? - How many sleeve surgeries have you done on people with a BMI similar to mine? What types of results to they see? - Do many of your patients lose 50% of their weight or more? - What are the biggest reasons you see your patients "fail" at long-term weight loss? - How many years out is your first patient, and what have their results been? (side note for you guys, this will also give you an idea how long your surgeon has been doing weight loss surgeries) - Will I have a drain? - Will there be any post-op medications I need to take, what ones? - How many incisions will there be? - Is a sedative something I can request or is it automatically given? - What can I expect to feel like upon waking up from the surgery? - Are there any "leak" tests performed? - How are the incisions going to be closed? And that concludes my list. Do you know of anything else I should maybe ask my surgeon in consultation?

My PA told me at 3 months the hair loss begins. That is exactly what happened to me. You might be the lucky one! Hope so. :0

My hair loss also started at 3 mths. I am taking Biotin to reduce the shedding.

My gall bladder came out during laparoscopic surgery at the same time that my lap band went in four years ago. They took it out as a precaution because apparently you can get more gallstones once you switch to a low fat diet. The bile that is made by the gall bladder is for digestion fat, and if there is less fat to digest, it can build up and turn to sludge and form stones. That is the explanation that they gave me anyway. I noticed no change, and because I could not eat lowfat healthy foods with the band, I opted for higher calorie/higher fat foods just so I could have some food that would stay down and help my hunger. I used to slather mayo on everything as dry anything would come right back up within seconds. I think you are better off without your gallbladder with your weight loss surgery. I experienced some discomfort after they took it out, but the whole recovery for the gall bladder/lap band surgery wasn't more than about a week of taking it easy. If you have a choice, I would highly recommend having it done all at once so you have one surgery instead of two, one anesthesia, one hospital stay, etc.

Don't panic, this happens to me everytime I lose more than 12lbs a month. As long as there is no pain, smell, itchy discharge then it's down to weight-loss and hormones but it's annoying. If in major doubt and you have a chance of pregnancy then check immediately or speak to doctor in case.

I made mine up by going by my past. I'm 5'9" (5'8-1/2 now by my surgeon's measuring) and I think the silly height/weight charts say 135-165 or something like that for my height. When I was in high school & college, I was about 150 & was very comfortable with myself. Therefore, that's what I said my ultimate goal is. My surgeon put 146 on my chart after looking at his height/weight thing, although I'm not sure how he got that number from the range. He also put 187 in a different spot & said that would be if I lost 67% of my excess weight (132 lbs overweight) which is the overall average for people with weight loss surgery according to him. He said that of course I don't have to stop at 187, but that's the average so he had to write it down. I might never get back to 150, and that's okay as long as I'm healthy. I just know that's what I weighed the last time I was healthy and happy with my weight & didn't feel overweight, so that's what I picked.

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Congrats this week will just fly by yet drag at the same time. LOL enjoy your last week and be ready for this life changing event. Before you know it you'll be a one month post op bragging about your weight loss!

Congratulations to all those success stories. I have worked with Dr. DeBarros and Dr. Orris for over a year now. I like how they work together in helping me achieve my weight loss goals. I am down about 40 lbs. The process does have it's ups and downs. I'm going to have an endoscope for my first anniversary. They release the band and make sure everything is okay since I've been having a tough time keeping food down. I like how WLIA;s staff treats me. They answer all my questions and make sure I have a full understanding of how I'm making the most with my weight loss. I appreciate all the hard work they have put into me and my success.

I've lost 20 lbs counting preop and post op. My daughter saw me after my surgery when I looked 7 months pregnant but not since. Ran into her at the grocery store. She had to look twice! She said wow momma I almost didn't recognize you! Felt so good because I can't tell much of a difference yet. Actually felt I should've lost more but it all counts as a loss and that really made my day! Wanted to share that! Everyone I've met here is so kind and beautiful inside and out! God bless and enjoy all of your success, they are all big ones!!!!!!!

I have MS and self-paid, but that was because I had a BMI of 35 and no co-morbidities. The MS didn't seem to be affected by surgery or my weight loss. I didn't relapse and I feel great.

My surgery is 2 weeks from tomorrow. My surgeon doesn't do the liquid diet so I'm just on a really restricted low cal/low fat/low EVERYTHING tasty diet I've lost 15 lbs. so far. My fear is this won't be enough to make a significant difference in my liver size before surgery. I'm hoping to lose more before surgery but my weight loss slowed down a lot once I hit about 14 lbs. How will I know if I've done enough? I have a pre-op appointment with my surgeon and the hospital tomorrow and I'm not sure what to expect from that or if I'll have to do liquids in the last few days before surgery either.

I can see their concerns, a sleeve might cause your GERD to get WORSE as a LOT of sleevers have excessive acid at least for a while. The VSG DOES remove a good portion of the pump material but what pumps are left and the resultant smaller capacity can often lead to too much acid for the small area to hold and it spills over into the esophagus. I wonder too if they're worried about having enough material to possibly do a fundoplication ( https://secure.wikim..._fundoplication ) should one be necessary, the sleeve would eliminate a lot of the stomach material with which to do this. Stick with it, you'll know the answers soon enough and hopefully they include your WLS. I too had / have a have a hiatal hernia as well as a Schatzki ring ( https://secure.wikim...i/Schatzki_ring ). I was worried about getting the surgery. Fortunately neither proved serious enough to keep me from the VSG. The VSG even HELPED with the Shatzki ring in the fact that I now cannot eat enough to get hung up in the ring and therefore have not had ANY symptoms since the surgery and weight loss. We all wish you well and hope to hear a good report and news soon.

Congratulations on your weight loss and I'm sorry to hear that you've got a slip. Have you discussed replacing the band with your surgeon? Staying on a liquid diet for 30 days and "hoping" the slip does not progress would not be my idea of an ideal solution.