Search the Community

Hey.Thanks so much for the quick reply. I now will pursue the $ end on my part. So you're here in Houston...May I ask who did your surgery? or is this too personal...I don't want to be nosey by any means...I'm a little nervous about this. I have been doing some research. I checked my BMI and it was 35.5, however, I based it on the wt that I thought that I was. Went to Australia for two weeks, came home and weighed 4 lbs more..go figure. Such is my life....Is this procedure painful? Is it done on an outpatient basis? This risks? Someone said something about having a port? Do you know of ANYONE at all that has had any problems after surgery? I don't expect this to be my all time miracle wt loss method...I do believe that it will be a tool for life for me. I'm so tired of being this way, you know? I hate being photographed and being told in a dept store that MY SIZES are over there. So far, I'm just very appreciative of the help that I'm being given here. Thnx.(my online name is under barkleigh, simply because Kim was already taken!)

I'm so very sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you and your family.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I am very sorry for your loss :cool:(

It's a hard balance. I was banded April 2 and my weight loss isn't as quick as I would like but I'm finding I'm a much healthier me and my kids are benefiting too! I'm cooking smaller healthier meals for my family. Crockpot cooking is great especially when working. I can come home in the morning throw dinner in the crock pot and when I get up dinner is almost done! The band is a reminder that I didn't gain the weight overnight and it's gonna take time to get it off. It also reminds me I can't go back to my old eating habits or oh boy the pain is not pleasant! Hang in there and good luck!

Monday, April 2, 2007 It has been a little over a year now since I have heard about the LapBand. If you set your wayback machine to February 2006 you will find my wife and a co-worker disussing this new proceedure like a gastricbypass and see the first steps towards the Banded side. Jump forward 2 months to a nervious Mr. yoda at TLBC in Toronto waiting to hear how his better half has done in the surgery. She came through fine with her own little symbiont implanted inside her belly, to help her loose the weight that has plagued her for far too long. With a slight fast forward we see her melt away, loosing over 70 lbs in a little over a year. Health improving and shopping like a 16 year old valley girl with a new limitless credit card from daddy. But alas you will also witness the slight reduction in my weight followed by the explosion of my waist line as I find all her losses like a Hardy boy on speed. This is just one of the many see-saw battles of the bulge that I have waged for as long as I can remember. Always losing in the end. (the battle not the weight). Then as the wayback machine returns us to now, we find that after I have witnessed the effectiveness of the Band, I too am considering it. It is not a choice made lightly(no pun intended). As I am a Chef :hungry:and food is my business. She is my mistress, my second love, my second passion and ultimately my bane. Luckily my first love and passion, my sweet wife, has shown me the benifits of the Band symbiont, and the plus' she has experienced moves me towards the banded side. I have will power that rivals a monk, as demonstrated 5 yrs ago when I quit smoking cold turkey with the realization that I could be spending that time I was wasting with the sticks of cancer, with my wife! and that thought alone was enough to give it up forever (I even appologied to her for wasting that little time several months later). Now I see that with the BAND, I could have even more time with her, and that is more than enough to make me want to turn my back on the Bane of my existance. I am also sure that with my will and her love I can win the battle of the bulge once and for all. I just need a small tool, (men like tools) to give me the edge to lose this extra person I carry around now. This journal will be the record of my journey from obesecity through pudgytown to skinnyville, filled with yammerings, complaints, trials, tribulations and ultimately successes. It is said that a journey starts with a single step! My single step starts on April 5 2007 when I go to TLBC in Toronto to have a consult with their staff to see if I am worthy of the Band. It will all begin (hopefully) in 3 days. "Once you start down the BANDED path, forever will it dominate your destiny!... Consume you it will..." truer words were never written! (in this journal)

Periodically, we do reach plateaus in the weight loss journey. Very frustrating to say the least...you remain compliant and the scale does not move... There are many reasons for this, and the suggestions have to continue with diet compliance, and try to "shake up" your exercise routines by doing something a little different; alter the pace, the amount of time you are exercising, even the type of exercises you are doing. This journey has taught me a virtue which had eluded me for years...patience. This is a journey and not an event. Stay the course and keep your "eyes on the prize" of a healthier you! Best wishes as you continue...

I told my mother a few days before surgery. "Just thought I would let you know, I am having a bariatric surgery this Friday. Not looking for any dialog on this, but I know you would be upset if I told you about it after." She had no choice but to accept it. If she were more extreme, as it may appear to be in your case, I probably would have waited and told her the first time I saw her, which would have been 3 months later with significant loss. She would have had no option but to see the results and be happy for me. Sounds like you are in a no win situation. Get yelled at for having the surgery or get yelled at for not telling her about the surgery. Any way you look at it, you're going to get yelled at, so, I would prefer post-surgery b!tch session.

I haven't really noticed a difference in how people treat me. The only big change is me more so being less quiet than I used to around others, I have more confidence with myself. I don't really mention my weight loss to them, they don't really grill/talk to me about it. Although there has been a few times where they have noticed a significant loss before I have and congratulated me on it. I do get asked for recipes a ton as they all know I love cooking and know I make everything I eat, myself.

I got a fill last Wed I was 232 got on scale today and it said 220 I thought scale was messed up up at Manor so went over to hospital to weigh it said 219 lol. Love Love Love my lap band. First significant loss I have had in awhile. I even called Dr. thinking maybe I was confused about weight and or date I got fill but nope it is true. 12 pounds since May 14th. And yes I am eating enough. Definitely not starving myself.

First~ You are not a failure. You are using a tool (the surgery) to help assist you in a lifetime change. This tool will assist you in regaining your good health back, exceeding your lifespan, and living a life of happiness. This will be one of the hardest challenges you will take on and you will WIN! Everyone is build different. Some of us burn calories immediately and can maintain normal weight. Many like you and I need more than the gym, Do this for you! Go to support meetings, online support, look for a weight loss partner to get your support from. It 's to bad your partner is not supportive but she is not your medical health provider. I wish you the very best on your journey. God's Blessings! Victoria

I went to my family doctor every month to weigh in for 6 months. Only to find out that those visits didn't count and I was denied. I then went to a nut that specialized in weight loss surgery, she had me keep journals of my feelings, my food, my exercise...anything that had to deal with my struggle of being over weight. I did this for 6 months. After finishing with her and she submitted the paperwork to the insurance, I had to appeal the first denial and was approved in a month and had surgery within 2 weeks there after. So I suggest going to a nut that is familiar with weight loss surgery. good luck to you

so i have all of this paperwork to fill out before the seminar on Jan 22nd. ive got the base of it finished, the last two pages are 30 questions for my insurance company representative. the first question is do i have benefits for weight loss surgery for morbid obesity if medically necessary? then, i choose yes or no. if yes, i am suppose to complete all 30 questions...if no, i need to ask the rep to read the exclusion to me, then it says if i have an exclusion in my policy, would i self pay for surgery, and i cant. and if i say no, i dont even go to the seminar, it just ends there. ive emailed a rep and all it said, point blank, is your plan does not cover obesity related surgeries. so is that it? its just over? I dont understand. i thought going to the seminar would help me through all of this. and i thought if it isnt included in my plan i can "challenge" it? am i wrong?

chiming in for my monthly update. Still not used to the cpap machine... it sucks really bad, and I don't feel like it's helping AT ALL. On the plus side though, the doctor started giving me Nuvigil to help with my sleepiness from not being able to sleep with the machine. If ANYONE is having trouble sleeping with their cpap, I *highly* recommend you guys ask your doc about it. I feel GREAT on this stuff, awake, focused, ready to seize the day!! On the weight loss side of things, my starting weight was 415, when I checked in with the surgeon, it was 405, and today ( 3 months into my preop diet) I'm down to 375 !! Down 40 pounds ! woot.!

I went through this. I really wanted a tummy tuck about halfway through my weight loss - about November last year. I too thought that if I just lost my tummy, I would be happy with how I looked at that stage. I was convinced that it was the best idea. It was actually Dr Schulman who reminded me that if I lost more weight after the tummy tuck, that I'd likely need even more surgery later because the 'effect' of it wouldn't be as good as if I waited until I was closer to goal. So I waited. I figured at about 7-10 pounds a month weight loss, I'd only have to wait another three months before seeing a PS. So I rescheduled my PS appointment for Jan 09. When I saw him I was 8lbs from goal, instead of 25lbs. He scheduled me for body lift surgery (it's today actually, in about 6 hours!!) and as of today I'm below goal. So I would say that it may be an idea to wait. Even if it's only for 2-3 months. You only have 25lbs left to lose according to your ticker. What's 2-3 months in the scheme of your whole life? And the results will be much better if you wait just a little bit longer.

From the time I started the process until the surgery almost a year went by. Since this time was spread out over two calendar years, it meant that I had to pay the minimum co-pays before the insurance kicked in. My insurance required a 6 month medically supervised weight loss and exercise program. But even though they required this, the insurance would not pay for the monthly doctor visits. What was even stranger was that they in the end paid for every other visit. I asked them why and they said the payments they made were their mistake but I didn't have to pay them back. Dealing with the insurance can be frustrating. It is almost like they do not want you to have the surgery so they don't have to pay for it. Sometimes you just have to put blinders on and go forward no matter what. Even when you do your homework and find doctors within your preferred network. They sometimes want to charge you the out of network rate. This happened with a pulmonologist. He was within network on their online database of in network providers, but when the bill came in they charge his fees as out of network. I called the insurance company and said he is within network per your online list of in network providers. They said our database must be wrong.

good job on the weight loss. I go in for a fill today hope it puts be back in the green in my stomach and my head. lol

the sugar free is for diet....not because of side effects. when you do your pre-Op you are ridding yourslef of the sugars from your liver....my nut said the fastes and most effective way is to continue not eating sugar...especially refined sugars....i spec asked my doc about dumping and he said no we won't have that side effect. I'm kind of enjoying not eating sugar...has helped the weigt loss so well!!! (25 lbs in 21 days!)

Doesn't matter if we think you qualify. Call your insurance company (there should be a customer service number on your insurance card). Give them your policy number and ask them (1) does the policy cover weight loss surgery? (2) If yes, what are their specific requirements so that they will approve the surgery.

I walk and I just started yoga. Taking yoga to improve agility. Weight loss is causing some tendon and nerve pain (due to fat leaving and them rubbing on each other) so stretching helps. That is it so far... No matter the Protein, unless I take adipex, I have little to no energy, and stuggle to work out or walk. I just want to make sure I lose fat and not muscle.

I am currently at the lowest weight I have ever been in my adult life!! I am the same size I was when I was a cheerleader at 16 years old!!! Highest Weight: 303 Surgery Weight: 295 Current Weight: 226 loss of 77lbs!!!!!

The difference is in what people burn, so that what you have to eat to get that 3,500 calorie deficit differs for everyone, I can do that easily on 1,500 calories a day which is quite a lot for a woman, but that's because I'm very active. The real test is just see how your body goes on that sort of intake. Many people start exercise and then wonder why they havent lost weight - the answer is they consciously or unconsciously eat more. I'd say an increase of almost 400 calories in your daily intake compared with just over 400 burned is not going to result in terrific weight loss, if you were at a steady rate on 1000 or less. But you might be surprised. Perhaps try to keep it to 1200?

As Besty stated above, take this time prior to surgery and start making changes. I look back on the time I prepared for LB surgery and see it as a gift (8 extra months to prepare). I researched for 3 yrs prior to surgery and was fully prepared. No way did I want to wake up from surgery and feel like I had the rug yanked out from under me. I mourned the loss of food long b/4 the surgery was done. I will give you some examples of how I prepared: Starting 8 months b/4 surgery I forced myself to eat as close to a banded person as I could. I cut my calories to 800-900 daily. I made myself shift gears to another actvity when I was about to reach for something that I should not eat and just eating out of boredom. I also forced myself into a rule of NEVER eating after 6pm. Nothing. I think this helped prepare me more than anything. I was a night time snacker. I have a snack every evening now but never out of control snacking like b/4. I would do ANYTHING to take my mind off of food. I would go rinse with mouthwash, brush my teeth, take a walk, sit in a warm bath, go ride my bike, get on the treadmill, grab my book...and, always take myself out of the situation that tempted me (example, walking out of the kitchen). I was able to lose 54lbs prior to surgery. I had friends that doubted why I would then have surgery after being able to lose the weight prior....I could see the light at the end of the tunnel...I knew the band would help me through. Being prepared (truly in your head ready) is the best weapon to carry with you along this journey. If you feel you are not ready...back up and take a look at things. Maybe you need to see your therapist for a few sessions...maybe a few visits with your nutritionist...maybe keep visits in place with both of them prior to and after surgery. Wishing all of you luck

yes but don't worry people get bored or lose intrest with your weight loss after awhile, for about 5 months I was asked by someone everyday about my weight, it has been a few weeks now from the last time I was asked