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I have struggled with my weight for years, especially these last five or so, well I have committed to myself to lose the weight and keep it off this time, roller coastering is wearing down my system and alot of health issues keep coming up, so for me to continue the wonderful life I have currently and to be around for the future, I have made up my mind. I hope that each and everyone will be supportive with me not just because you asked but because you deeply care. No I don't want to be skinny, if that is what you asking, I want to be healthier: So I can go outside in shorts and not be embarassed by my fat thighs. So that I wont be ashamed by my imperfections. So that I wont be thought of as one of the statistics of obese America. So I will see a difference between myself months ago and myself minutes ago. So I will have confidence So my thighs wont touch when I sit down. So when I moisturize my legs they don't jiggle. So my breasts would be more perky. So I wouldn't have to look for a bigger size in the department store. So I wont have stretch marks. So that I wont be the sidekick to my beautiful friend So I can have higher self esteem. So I can motivate myself to achieve any goal I set my mind too. So that I can fit into a size small rather than an average mediocre medium. So when I put my jeans in the dryer I want have to worry if I can fit in them again. These are just a few of the things that come to mind. A few known people say wait til after the holidays, NOPE, I wanted to do it thru the holiday to prove to myselft I can avoid the tempation of splurging, once that tempation is gone, I will be well on my way to my success. and I have proven to myself I can.... **this was originally posted on myspace blog**

I have struggled with my weight for years, especially these last five or so, well I have committed to myself to lose the weight and keep it off this time, roller coastering is wearing down my system and alot of health issues keep coming up, so for me to continue the wonderful life I have currently and to be around for the future, I have made up my mind. I hope that each and everyone will be supportive with me not just because you asked but because you deeply care. No I don't want to be skinny, if that is what you asking, I want to be healthier: So I can go outside in shorts and not be embarassed by my fat thighs. So that I wont be ashamed by my imperfections. So that I wont be thought of as one of the statistics of obese America. So I will see a difference between myself months ago and myself minutes ago. So I will have confidence So my thighs wont touch when I sit down. So when I moisturize my legs they don't jiggle. So my breasts would be more perky. So I wouldn't have to look for a bigger size in the department store. So I wont have stretch marks. So that I wont be the sidekick to my beautiful friend So I can have higher self esteem. So I can motivate myself to achieve any goal I set my mind too. So that I can fit into a size small rather than an average mediocre medium. So when I put my jeans in the dryer I want have to worry if I can fit in them again. These are just a few of the things that come to mind. A few known people say wait til after the holidays, NOPE, I wanted to do it thru the holiday to prove to myselft I can avoid the tempation of splurging, once that tempation is gone, I will be well on my way to my success. and I have proven to myself I can.... **this was originally posted on myspace blog**

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Well, I started to lose a little hope for getting approved. The doctor's office was moving and hired a new (inexperienced) insurance coordinator when I finished all the insurance prerequisites. I felt like I worked for the doctor's office because of all the calls I had to make to the insurance company with verifying what was needed and what was missing. What should have took only a couple of weeks took 2 months. I'm a woman of faith so the delay started me wondering if this is God's way of saying I should reconsider the surgery. I just completed the Daniel fast for 10 days and lost 6 lbs. Now I'm around 200 lbs at 5'3 BMI 35.4. My mind fluctuates every now and then but I still have the overshadowing feeling that I'm so tired of battling this weight. Will be scheduling surgery tomorrow!!!!!!

It is very frustrating and disheartening to say that I have no support with my decision to have lapband. I am 25 and have only told a few about my decision. My mother, little brother and boyfriend all think it is an unnecessary choice. Any advice on what to do? I have my last weight loss visit this upcoming Wednesday and will hopefully have surgery at the end of July.

Jan. 18, 2013 -- More than 200,000 weight loss surgeries are performed each year in the U.S. Several recent studies have questioned the effectiveness and safety of one type, gastric banding, which has led to a decline in its use as patients choose other surgical options. But the largest and longest study yet of the procedure found that patients followed for up to 15 years maintained significant weight loss -- an average of about 60 pounds. Study: Banding Effective for Weight Loss About half the patients in the study needed additional surgeries to adjust the bands or deal with other complications, but only about 1 in 20 patients opted to have the bands removed. Researcher Paul O’Brien, MD, of Melbourne, Australia’s Monash University, was a pioneer of the Lap-Band procedure, and his latest study was supported by Allergan Inc., which markets the gastric band system. He says gastric banding offers an effective, reversible, long-term solution for weight loss as long as patients get good follow-up care and are willing to carefully control the way they eat. The study is published in the January issue of the Annals of Surgery. “Placing the band is just the first step in the process,” he says. “Compliance and follow-up are critically important. There are plenty of people out there doing this surgery without a follow-up program for their patients, and they are setting them up for failure.” Banding, Bypass, and Sleeve Gastrectomy The Lap-Band procedure is one of several weight loss surgeries performed in the U.S. and the only one that is easily reversible. The band is an inflatable silicone ring that is wrapped around the upper part of thestomach to create a pouch the size of a golf ball, which limits the amount of food that can be eaten. The band can be tightened or loosened to increase or decrease the size of the opening to the lower stomach. The most commonly performed type of gastric bypass surgery also reduces the size of the stomach to that of a golf ball. The surgery also bypasses a section of the small intestine, which limits calorie absorption. The gastric sleeve procedure involves the surgical removal of a portion of the stomach to create a "sleeve" that connects to the small intestine. Just a few years ago, gastric banding was widely seen as less risky, less costly, and less invasive than either of the other surgical options, and about half of weight loss procedures in the U.S. involved banding. But that has changed as the long-term data comparing weight loss surgeries has come in, says Ronald H. Clements, MD, who directs the bariatric surgery program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Fewer Lap-Band Surgeries Performed Clements says just five of the 360 weight loss surgeries performed at Vanderbilt last year were Lap-Band procedures. “We have essentially stopped doing this operation,” he says. “The sleeve and the bypass are just better for helping people lose weight and keep it off. That’s what we are seeing in our patients and that’s what the data are telling us.” A 2011 study from Belgium found that the bands eroded in 1 in 3 patients, while 60% required additional surgeries. And a study published last year that compared banding to bypass surgery found that bypass patients lost more weight and kept it off over six years and had fewer complications. Four years ago, as many as 40% of weight loss surgeries performed at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York involved gastric banding, says Mitchell Roslin, MD, who is chief of obesity surgery. Today, the figure is closer to 3%. “Last year we took out 80 bands and converted them to other procedures,” he says. “Patients do well in the short term, but they tend to have problems later on.” Banding Good Option for Some American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery President Jaime Ponce, MD, confirms that fewer Lap-Band surgeries are being performed in the U.S. Allergan’s sales related to its Lap-Band system reportedly fell from close to $300 million in 2011 to about half that figure last year, and last fall the company announced that it was looking to sell its weight loss surgery division. But Ponce says the surgery is still a good option for some patients. “The band is a device that requires a lot of maintenance and multiple adjustments, and one problem is that our insurance system is not set up to pay for this,” he says. He says gastric banding is much more popular and widely performed than gastric bypass in Australia. “In Australia, aftercare is covered by national insurance, so patients don’t have to worry about paying for adjustments,” Ponce says. And there are plenty of gastric banding success stories here in America, including New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, who lost more than 100 pounds after having the procedure in March of 2010. Ponce says patients who understand that gastric banding will require careful compliance and frequent follow-up visits to their doctor can achieve good results with the gastric banding surgery. “Patients need to be followed, preferably every month or so,” he says. “If your surgeon doesn’t offer this kind of follow up, you need to go somewhere else.” http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/news/20130117/lap-band-shown-effective-long-term-weight-loss?page=2

You know when the surgery is the right option for you other people can't determine that. I know that I resisted for a while thinking I can do it on my own but Once I decided to do the sleeve I feel more encouraged and knowing that it could be a great tool for weight loss and hearing all the success stories is a plus too. I am 30 ... 5'5"...290lbs and a BMI of 49...

Stept, Do you really need to ask if any of us have problems losing weight? We all do or we wouldn't have this surgery! Sorry, just giving you a hard time "I read the band tricks the body into thinking it is not in starvation mode thus speeding up the metabolism" ??? Nope. The band only slows the passing of food through a small pouch. Nerve endings in the small pouch send signals to your brain that you've eaten enough and dims your appetitie. That's it in a nutshell. It doesn't restrict how much you can eat, it doesn't store food in your pouch, it doesn't make you eat less, it only helps you to know when you've eaten enough. There's so much more than just this and you will have to read this forum to learn more or buy Jean McMillans book "Bandwagon" or Alex's book "The Big Book on the Lap-Band". link is below.

Thanks guys. Yesterday was not easy - yes, I left the office feeling pretty darned elated. I mean, I not only have a surgery date (12/16), I already have a time (8am). And overall the process of getting to that point was pretty painless But man, when I got home, I was thinking WTH did I just do? Can't I just try to lose weight on my own again? But then I realized, uh, we'll. that hasn't exactly worked out considering I've never lost more than 42 pounds - didn't keep that off either. And what's to say I won't just keep putting on weight? So then I had a good cry snuggled up with my pups, and then had another one when hubby got home. Slept like crap last night. Woke up today feeling still a bit worn out but overall I am feeling a little better about my decision. I imagine the next few months are going to be a crazy roller coaster of emotions. In one way I wish I could schedule the surgery earlier and not obsess about it for months. But in another way I'm kind of glad I have time to process everything and start gearing up for my new lifestyle. Weight loss surgery right before Christmas - what kind of a masochist am I? Lol

New to this group, and enjoying reading about everyone's experiences. After a lifelong journey of gaining and losing, I've begun the process for gastric sleeve surgery. I have so many questions, and I'm having lots of trouble getting answers. I am insured through Aetna. I'd love to know what your experiences have been! My current BMI is almost 41. My insurance requires a 3-year weight history, and I don't know if I've had to have a BMI of 40+ during that time frame in order to be approved. For the last three years, my BMI has been between 35 and 40, and I have no comorbidities. Also, I completed the required blood work and it came back perfect; not a single thing was "flagged." I fear that I won't be considered fat enough or unhealthy enough. (as if!!) I'd love to know how the process went for you if you had a similar situation. Thanks in advance!

I think it's because a lot of over weight people have sleep apnea and some surgeons make their patients wake up on their machines. Not sure why but I know my surgeon said there was a possibility that one I'd either wake up with the tube down my throw still or I'd wake up on my cpap. No need to panic either way though, it's just a precaution.

I go for my pre op surgical consult tomorrow and I saw someone who was sleeved about two years ago who looks so frail and thin and now I am worried that could happen to me. I want to be healthy - not uber thin. Will I be able to control when the weight loss needs to stop without gaining it all back? I am writing this instead of doing what I really want to do (which is find anything in my house to eat myself stupid and sabotage my appointment tomorrow).

Since they are 4 I would definitely keep it short and simple. "Mommy is having surgery on her tummy. The new tummy will be small, and I won't be able to eat very much for a while. Mommy isn't sick, or hurt, but this surgery will improve my health. I might feel tired after the surgery for about a week or so but then I will be feeling better and back to playing with you like normal." We talked to our girls about the weight loss aspect of it simply because they were older. (like 8 & 10 at the time, plus mommy & daddy had sugery...not at the same time but we are both sleeved) so they understand what it was about. It was still a bit scary for them and they had a lot of questions. I didn't tell them about surgery until about a month before my actual surgery date, I didn't need them worrying for 6 months about what was coming. We also covered the privacy issue, that this was something that we were doing but that we didn't necessarily want them to talk about it with the whole world. They did pretty good, and of course now that we have lost almost 130lbs between the both of us, they say things like "we can hug all the way around you" and little stuff that is encouraging. But for the most part I would keep it short and simple and just answer their questions as the come up.

At the top right of the screen, click on your screen name and then my profile. On the next page, click edit my profile. in the band above general account settings, click my surgery and at that screen enter your new weight. It will update your ticker.