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I have another insurance but at the seminars you can attend they will tell you what each insurance requires. Or you can call Banner Bariatric/Bridges Weight Loss/True Results along with other doctors offices. Most of the office people are really knowledgeable. I used St Lukes out of PHX but St Likes in Tempe has a program too.

9 out of 12 supervised weight loss visits done sleep study done Abdominal ultrasound done H. Pylori test done nutrition class done nutrition class follow up done Now I have 3 more weigh ins and an endoscopy left to do. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my insurance will approve this swiftly & I can get the May date I want.

I still battle the gout too. It's gotten worse and I've been to my Doc a few times since surgery because of debilitating outbreaks. He gave me Prednisone and that works fast but can't be taken long term. I was told (like you mentioned in another post) that it's part of the process if you are a gout sufferer but it's almost unbearable at times. It definitely puts a damper on the exercise part of weight loss. We'll have to keep each other posted about this gout thing since we had the same surgery 4 days apart. Congrats on your success by the way.

Just hit my 40lbs off today!!! Yeah!!! My surgery date was 8/29 I lost no weight pre-op so my 40 is definitely all because of surgery, best decision ever!!! I had my surgery on 8/29 also and hit my 40lb loss as well. It doesn't seem like much compared to others but for me it's a ton.

I’ve lost 40 pounds since I started my weight loss journey 3 weeks before surgery. Have lost 26 pounds since surgery, which was 9/11/17. I knew I’d be one of those slow losers, because no matter how hard I’ve tried to lose weight, it has always been a struggle. It may be slow, and it sure isn’t easy, but I’m doing it!

I have a friend who is participating in a "biggest loser" contest at work, she is trying to lose 10 llbs in 2 weeks. :eek:I have seen preop post where isopure drinks were mentioned, and I want to get an idea on how much wt was lost. She works out approx 1hr--4 days a wk and daily caloric intake is approx. 1000. I know this is not a healthy idea but....any help in appreciated

Hi. I had my surgery Nov 4 2010. I've lost 69 pounds and feel great.... But, I want to to lose the last 40 and it will not come off. I've been working out with a trainer and eatting 1200-1500 calories a day. My Protein is 60 - 80g per day. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I love my sleeve and so happy I did this but just wish this last 40 would go away . I eat 5 small meals a day. Usually about 6oz servings. I'm worried I've lost all I will lose. I've been stuck at the same weight for 10 months. sw- 256 cw-187 gw-140 Thank you! Katie

I am 9 months post, have lost 140 lbs. I have been on a CPAP for years for my sleep apnea. Since surgery and with weight loss I have experimented with lowering my CPAP pressure and am at a very low pressure now. Essentially only about 40% of my max. I don't think that I need the CPAP any more, but I think I am addicted to the air pressure and don't know how to stop using it. I have tried to sleep with out it and find it almost impossible. Anyone have any experience with getting off their CPAP? Thanks

Have you had a new sleep study done recently? You may very well not need it anymore. I need a lot less pressure these days so my sleep doc switched me to an autopap. That may be a good solution for you to wean yourself off. Congrats on your weight loss success!

I'm having the same dilema right now. I've just about emptied my closet of all the old clothes and I don't want to spend a lot of money for clothes that will last only a few weeks, but I still need to dress halfway descent for work. My boss gave me permission to wear jeans during the weight loss, but I don't want to take advantage of that. I'm trying to find inexpensive staple pieces (black pants, plain shirts) and so far that has been working. I do buy the pants a little snug so they have been lasting a little longer. I think once I'm closer to the goal weight, I'll really start investing in clothing. It's a different dilema to have, that's for sure!

It has been a really slow process for me. I have had a fill each month since January. I thought maybe my band had a hole in it but my Dr said no since he pulls the liquid out each month before adding more. I'm so glad I asked cause I was sure it had a hole in it. Lol. Well my last fill was at 9 in a 10 bad and I finally feel like I have a band. So I know what ur going through although you have done really well. I've been hanging on trying not to lose the initial weight I lost. This is certainly a journey and I look forward to learning how to figure it all out so I can lose some weight. It's been hard not getting down on myself and worried about people judging me knowing I had surgery and not seeing any weight loss.

I go for my fifth of six weigh loss visits (insurance mandatory) tomorrow, I also have a stress test scheduled which will be my last test then all I will have left before submitting to insurance company for approval is my last weight loss visit. I am hoping to have surgery in February.

Glad to hear that things are going so great - and congratulations on the loss - that's terrific!

I use to have long thick hair..but thyroid problems got the best of it...got the band and hair started falling out. I am eating more protein and taking biotin and using a product called Nioxin. Its a hair shampoo and conditioner that I'm using...fairly expensive...but beginning to see hair soft and fluffy in balding spots. So if I keep up the combo I hope it continues. Also got an eyelash builder to grow thicker and longer lashes. It says it's safe around eyes but haven't started it yet. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Okay so my surgery was on June 29, 2011 I do feel the restriction but I am NOT following a diet. I crave sweets & I'll eat them and that's it. I feel fatigue most of my days and I have really bad body aches and headaches. I need to get back on track and need guidance because I'm not happy with a 90 lb weight loss.

Thanks for your advice! I really appreciate it and I will go back to square one and start over...I figured since I can only eat small amounts it would be okay for me to eat sweets but it just slows down my weight loss and makes me tired. Thanks again! :-)

Welcome! Everybody has to start somewhere. I would suggest taking some time and searching on this site. There are so many great posts about WLS and there is a ton on here about having it done in Mexico. As of the ibuprofen question, you are right....in both Bypass and sleeve they prefer you dont take it as it can cause ulcers which can be very serious when a good portion of your stomach is no longer there. I suffer from severe osteoarthritis and Psoriatic arthritis. I used to have it something fierce in my ankles and knees. I also have it badly in my spine and shoulders. I take NO ibuprofen ever. Since losing weight, My knees, ankles and feet no longer bother me at all but if they did, I would go and have some cortisone. My back on the other hand is much worse and i suffer with pain everyday. I use alot of heat, ice, bio freeze and when desperate i take tylenol and muscle relaxers. I have also used essential oils for pain relief and relaxation. Regardless of the pain in my back, I feel 1000 times better than when i weighed 310lbs. I have more energy and get way more out of life. It is very likely that your arthritis will improve greatly with weight loss. I wish the very best for you and hope that you are able to get in and get things moving so you can enjoy life. You are young and have lots of time to bounce back. I always say if I have had any regrets it is that I waited too long but thank goodness i am there now. I am 53 and was 51 when i had bypass.

Erosion is where the band just gradually erodes a hole in your stomach and works its way through. Its pretty serious, the band must be removed and the stomach allowed to heal, sometimes a new band can be placed, but its not uncommon for there to be just too much scar tissue for this to be possible. Slippage is where the band simply slips down on the stomach, which is what I suspect you mean by twisting. A loop of stomach will bulge out the top of the band and it may cause you to either lose restriction or to make you unable to even swallow Water. Sometimes it comes with only very mild symptoms like heartburn and reflux. A slipped band can sometimes be fixed by unfilling, and the stomach will readjust itself, or it can be repositioned and sewn back down or removed and replaced. It doenst usually do so much damage that a new band isnt possible. Twisting of the stomach on the other hand, major, life threateningly serious but not really a band issue, that's something that can happen with techniques like bypass and sleeving, where the new tiny stomach can twist over on itself, cutting off blood supply. Erosion seems to be one of those things, an infection in the port is very serious as it can travel up the tubing and eventually lead to erosion, but it doesnt often have a known cause. Slippage on the other hand - treat your band badly and you're way more likely to have problems. If you pb daily or even weekly, constantly overeat, and have your band really tight, then you're putting yourself at risk. never ever ignore symptoms like reflux etc, it means you're too tight and that's not good, bands are not supposed to restrict you to eating like a sparrow, they're supposed to reduce the amount you can eat from gargantuan to small and YOU have to do the rest of the work that causes you to lose weight. The high incidence of band problems, I firmly believe, is becuase being a weight loss surgery people AND surgeons simply expect it to perform as well as bypass and expect too darn much of it. They tighten it up and up and up and cause these problems. A moderately firm band that provides portion control but not much else is what is safest and healthiest and that means of course, that there's a lot of people who are just too disordered and unwell in their eating to be able to work effectively with a band. Not a moral judgement in the slightest, but a simple observation. If you treat your band well, dont have it too tight and make up a lot of your calorie deficit with good choices and good exercise, you stand a good chance of being absolutely fine for years to come. But bands are a bit of a problematic surgery, there's a lot of complications that come with them and you can just be unlucky too.

I read through a bunch of the comments. People are clueless about nutrition or any data about long term weight loss and SO MEAN! Kudos to those of you sleeved who are writing such great comments.

Anyone who's had sleeve surgery have gerd before hand? How about a hiatal hernia... I have gerd pretty bad on protonics twice a day. I'm assuming weight loss will cure this, but concerned it will make it way worse

My sleep apnea was diagnosed after I was denied the first time for not having a comorbidity. We resubmitted this past Wednesday. (crossing fingers) I am just wondering if they will count my 6 months of weight loss because now it is older than two years. Do they go back to the initial date you filed, or use the date you filed appealed as the two year mark? If nothing else in 2 months I will have another 6 months of physician monitored dieting under my belt, just hoping it will work for the initial date filled. Thanks for any input!

Thanks for the advice! You are right, I am not going to stress about it and keep going the way I am going by focusing on protein with every meal. Tonight we had cracked crab for dinner (3 oz = 19g protein!). We're on vacation on the coast. I think I'm doing okay- the only thing I am really afraid of is my hair falling out.

Hi everyone! I had my sleeve done on June 6th - so far things have been going well so far. I'm getting into the rythem of getting my Vitamins and food, following what my nutritionist says for food, etc. So yesterday, I had a meeting with my nutritionist and she said I was doing great - it looked like I was getting 60 grams of Protein a day, and said I could eat regular food now. Then I met with my Dr., and HE said that 60 grams of protein was not enough, I needed 100g! I should be drinking 2 Protein shakes a day and everything else I eat is a bonus on protein. The more protein I get, the better my weightloss will be, etc. WHAT??? I have one camp that says getting 60 -80 grams of protein a day is fine, use the shakes for Meal Replacements on busy days. Then another camp that is telling me that 100g of protein and I must drink the shakes. Oh, and did I mention that the protein shakes are on the list of foods that make me nauseous? I don't like chocolate (yeah, yeah, I know, weird huh), and the nectar ones are nasty. The costco premier shakes are just, blech. I am trying to force one down now and I am getting more and more nauseous with every sip. So what are your experiences? How much protein have you been required to take in and how has it helped/hindered your weight loss? What should I do? Thanks!

Almost exact same scenario here! I think everyone still had the mental image imprint of the larger size, with the break from seeing each other it takes them aback that suddenly you look much smaller than they remember. Also, I think the closer and closer you get to goal the more difference the loss makes. Just yesterday my mother said "Good Grief Lee, how much more have you lost since last time you were here?" And yep, it has only been 10 lbs. I swear this last 10-15 lbs has made more difference than the first 30 lost... which is a good thing : )