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Almost 10 months out - went thru Kaiser Panorama City - but had surgery at Kaiser West L.A. really happy with the bariatric program and how it all panned out. I would never have imagined that this dream came true for me. I have been a slow loser and I am at a standstill right now, but slow and sure has worked for me. I have to really push now to try and get alot closer to goal. How about you? Have you reached your goal yet?

I too have Blue Cross...they told me today they needed old medical records...btw, I sent them to my surgeon's office. The customer service rep was super nice...she said she had bariatric surgery in February and reassured me that bcbs is quick to approve surgery bc they understand it's better in the long run! Fingers still crossed!!!

I believe it was the July issue of Atlanta magazine...they had a section for their top docs. Dr. Sweeney was voted top Bariatric Surgeon. I went to his seminar and LOVED him, but, sadly, I'm self pay, and can't afford Emory.

Hi everyone, I am about 15 months out of surgery, and feel very discouraged. I have lost 13 lbs. in all and have about 120 left to go. I don't feel the band helps me because I don't eat out of hunger, I am an emotional eater and the band doesn't do anything for your emotions. I recently met with my doctor and am trying to willpower my way through. But it makes me so sad and I really feel like a failure. I mean, who but me has bariatric surgery and then doesn't lose weight? If I could tell you how people who know about my surgery look at me...mix of disgust, pity and amazement. I am seeing a therapist, and I am spending time on eating disorders recovery websites (something fishy is really good). I feel sure now that I have an eating disorder. I had it before I was banded but didn't know it until I realized that my hunger level has nothing to do with how much I want to eat. So now I'm like, Oh, I have an eating disorder, not a hunger problem, and thinking that the whole band thing was a big mistake for me. I vomit a lot, but keep eating. I just throw up, eat more, throw up, eat more, and so on. It really sucks. I just feel really bad about myself right now. Like a total failure. And ashamed, and embarrassed, and alone. I even feel alone in regretting getting the band. I don't know what I'm looking for here, just thought I'd put myself out there and hope that the universe comes together to support me.

Hey Renewed! I have the same problem. It's not so much that I am hungry though, I just get the munchies. I have a lot of trouble going to sleep at night, so my "normal" bedtime is around 2:00 am. During the winter months, I would make a big cup of SF hot apple cider, diet hot chocolate, or a chai tea latte. All of these were hardly any calories and they actually calmed my cravings. Since it's not cold anymore, I've been snacking on SF Popsicles at night. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. Here lately, I've been trying to eat 5-6 really small meals a day and that has helped some. The meals are small enough to hold me over without actually getting hungry and it feels like I am getting to eat more food. It also keeps that metabolism going. These are just a few suggestions that have helped me a little. Believe me, you're not alone. I think a lot of us bandsters have the "night eating" problem and it just takes time to get it under control, kinda like trial and error. I know I still struggle with it. Hope you get it figured out soon.

9pdmnm5 I too have had a hard time recovering from the anastesia myself. That is one of my main concerns. I am hoping this time will be better. I go for what my Dr's office calls Bariatric University on Monday and do my preop at the hospital right after. Pradice73 I hope you feel better soon. I am so excited to find some buddies to walk through this process with. I will be on here frequently as I want to be prepared for whatever may come. Thanks for the encouragement Mutt! I know I need all the help I can get.

I understand where you are at. . . . I had my band placed in 2006 and sucessfully lost 70 pounds. In years following my husband died & then I had breast cancer which with resulted in surgery. Now I've returned to the bariatric center and my surgeon just smiled & told me I'd stretched my pouch above the band he would see me in one year. I've gained back some of the weight and am trying to mentally get on track. Next week I have an appointment with a therapist to guide me and hopefully get me on path. I like your word "mojo" because I need a push & a good shove to find my way back to the good life. I do love my band and it's placement resulted in correcting diabetes, high Blood Pressure & other health problems. I can't see where a sleeve would do anything for me. . . . . . I believe my problem is me.

I had mine done in Mexicali, MX at Mexicali Bariatric Center with Dr. Antonio Esquerra. www.mexicalibariatric.com Wonderful doctor, wonderful staff, nice private room.....would do it again in a heartbeat!!

WooHoo!!! That is so great Thanks for the support, I am still doing everything I'm suppose to! I will meet with the Doctor in two weeks,he will be the one to either give me the referral to the Bariatric Surgoen or the one to cause all out battle of the bulge,LOL . For me,it is all about the insurance paying for it, I am going to put up a good fight

Im sorry but i was excited to renew my commitment and i was looking for encouragemen and others doing the same thing. Lets put this into perspective for you. I had gastric by pass 6 years ago and last year was rewarded for keeping All of the weight off with a free panectomey. I have gained back 40 pounds. I know what im doing and how to do it and you dont know what i am referring to as a "pouch reset", just as i dont know what you have for a definition for those two words. Therefore, um flad it worked for you but to each their own journey. And my response was to the other woman but i just joined this thing. So awesome Sent from my SM-G903W using BariatricPal mobile app

I have to have one looking for cancer. Going for consult next week. New dr, never have been to him and not sure if he is familiar with bariatric patients, his website and his prep for them well, are things that I can't drink according to my surgeon like carbonated drinks. I see my surgeon on Thurs for a ck'up and to discuss my procedure this gastro dr and my lap band surgeon suggests drinking 2 bottles of magnesium citrate and pills, are the pills hard to swallow? and I'm sorry but the mag cit is nasty and my gag reflex is sensitive, I just know I will gag on this this stuff but the procedure has to be done. Has anyone had this done after lapband and if so what was your prep?

well here's the deal, I went today to my lap band dr, thought for a fill, NOT! Was disappointed since I need one. I might add that he is a general surgeon also and he also performs colonoscopies and at first I had scheduled him to do this procedure but after weighing all options I really couldn't afford a bill from my hospital, him, the anesthesia person and anone else involved and be stuck with a few thousand dollars worth of bills since I'm only 47. The situation stands like this, I'm having issues, I have IBS and my OBGYN found somthing a couple of wks ago with my colon and said for me to get it ck'd out and my brother has colon cancer right now and the kind of cancer he has is hereditary and I am to be ck'd every 3 yrs, well my 3rd yr comes up this coming December so since I'm having issues I thought I'd go ahead and have it done. Now, today in my lap band dr's office, I told him that I found a gastro dr in a nearby city and he was fine with that but then I asked him for instructions as my lap band dr for prep of the procedure and he refused he said that he didn't want to step on any toes and for me to do whatever the other dr says do. Well the other dr has you drink 2 gallons of gunk which I will end up puking cause I did the last time and also drink a 2 ltr of ginger ale which is carbonated, hello, we can't drink that. I'm peeved. I'm also concerned that when I go in next week for a consultation whether or not he is going to be familiar with bariatric patients. I want to call my original gastro dr in Nashville just don't want to have to do the early morning drive to Nashville for the procedure and Nashville is an hr and half away. Makes me want to have my lap band dr do the thing and have it done here at home and pay whatever. Yes I have BCBS but I haven't met my deductible which is 2500.00. I don't know what to do.

For those who haven't been following my story............... I was diagnosed with an eroded band in November of 2011 and had it removed in March of 2012. I had to wait for six months before revising to the gastric sleeve as my surgeon wanted to wait for me to heal completely and do medical tests before confirming that I would be a good candidate for the sleeve. I have complete those tests and he was satisfied that I could have the sleeve. We also found that I had developed another hiatal hernia (the first one was repaired when I had my lap band surgery). My predetermination request for the sleeve surgery was denied. They stated that I needed to complete a six month weight loss program in order for them to consider my request. I asked my surgeon's insurance coordinator to appeal based on the reasoning that this was a repeat surgery for a lap band that had medically failed me and that I shouldn't have to complete the six month medically supervised weight loss program. She filed an appeal but no where in the letter did it address the six month weight loss program so of course they denied me again stating that we still hadn't submitted the records they had requested. Frustrated beyond belief, I took the initiative to write my own appeal letter. I used language from the BCBS-AL bariatric policy regarding repeat surgeries and their rationale for requiring the six month weight loss program and explained how I had met that rationale just by having a lap band for four years and that my waiting for six months before revising to another surgery was not conducive to improving my health. I just got off the phone with BCBS-AL and they have approved my surgery!!!!!! I am actually shocked that I succeeded in my appeal. I fully expected them to deny me and had already started the medically supervised six month weight loss program in preparation for that denial (and have lost 10 lbs over a six week period which is nice). I'm excited, relieved and nervous! I've been through this before so I don't know why but I am. I was very successful with my lap band (losing 94 lbs). I remember how wonderful it felt to be thin and feel good about myself and how I looked and not to be in pain anymore from carrying around all this extra weight (yes I packed the pounds back on after my band was removed). I can't wait to be there again! Yeah me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will see how it goes and report back. I'm anxious for some reason, to the point of getting heartburn. They said expect this first appt to be 2 1/2-3 hrs. I've done WW off and on for years...know how to track, now just need to learn how to change what I'm eating to be in-line with bariatric surgery. It will be eye opening in sure, as like many people out there, even eating healthy includes carbs like bread, fruit and yogurt. Wish me luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Can Hardly Wait, I do think they want to repair them if you are having a lap band - to avoid slippage and other complications. The radiologist told me that it would not have to be repaired except for bariatric surgery. Good luck to you this week. Come back here and tell us if they repaired your hernia and how you did! I'll be thinking about you...sending you good luck wishes!

http://www.mybrandnewlife.org/patient-stories-and-support/bariatric-dietitians-guide-to-successful-weight-loss/

You can also go to FACS, American College of Bariatrics etc online to check memberships. http://web2.facs.org/acsdir/public/DetailMember.cfm?CHKDGTS=70304750667 http://web2.facs.org/acsdir/public/DetailMember.cfm?CHKDGTS=18700144761 Examples.

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure why I am afraid to call my insurance. I just e-mailed them instead. They reply within 24 hours so I guess that will have to be fast enough. My insurance is through Aetna (Choice POS II) and I'm in Phoenix, Arizona. I was able to find some info on various bariatric groups around here and one of the groups said this: Aetna - covers the band and has worked well with surgeons and policy holders. There are some policies that do not cover the band. For Aetna HMO patients the HMO requires that you obtain a referral in order to see us in consultation.. For other insurance carriers, it specifically said they require a certain # years of history. So, since this wasn't mentioned for Aetna, maybe they don't require it here. Interesting that it varies from state to state and the rqmts are all over the place. Oh well, I should have more info tomorrow and then can start talking to my PCP for a referral. The sad thing is that if I'm denied, I know I'll EVENTUALLY qualify. I hate to sound so negative, but I've watched my mom deal w/her obesity her entire life and hasn't ever been able to successfully lose and keep off weight until after lapband surgery she had one year ago.

So, I know from reading about others experiences that this can be a long process. I also know that the clinic coordinator told me it could end up being late summer/early fall before I could expect to have surgery. So this is probably just a whine. I went for my sleep study consult, pulmonary function test and an Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) test yesterday. My next required test is the psych eval. So, maybe I was starting to feel a little too optimistic in thinking MAYBE I could end up having surgery sometime in June or July. BUT after the sleep study consultation I went out to schedule the actual sleep study. At first I told the scheduler I would prefer to do it on a Friday night. The next Friday night available was in late July! So I changed my tune to accept any night of the week and now I have it scheduled for Tuesday June 9. So that didn't sound so bad until she said, "now lets schedule your follow up visit." GRRR, after the actual study I have to come back to see the doc who did the consult yesterday and that appointment is not until July 14! Then the staff at the bariatric center will decide whether I meet their criteria and THEN they submit me for insurance approval. I am starting to feel like it may be Christmas before I get the actual band! It shouldn't bother me, because I was well-informed going into this. But I found myself feeling a little frustrated and down about it. I said something to the person doing the scheduling about the process being so long. She said that yes, it is and that she finds a lot of people get frustrated with the process and just quit pursuing it. So, I guess I just need to suck it up and carry on ::::thumbup:::: Thanks for letting me vent

I felt completely prepared for all aspects before and after the surgery. Most all information I needed was on the net. The rest, especially my customized plan, was provided by my surgeon, nutritionist, and bariatric behaviorial therapist. I read voraciously all that I could regarding the surgery before I even attended my first consultation. I watched hours of youtube diaries that people have so graciously provided of their surgeries, struggles, successes, and failures. I particularly focused on failures and what people didn't consider before the surgery. I focused on what people ate and what their relationship with food was before and after surgery. I read every bit of material my surgeon/nutritionist/psychologist provided. The information laid out every aspect of life before and after surgery. Their material covered all phases of eating pre- and post-op, nutrition guideliness, behavioral modification. I tried out different shakes, Vitamins, and foods to see what I'd like for the pre-op and post-op diets. I didn't really plan menus because I'm a fairly decent cook. I can follow any plan. I attended (and still attend) support groups to help and discuss the pre- and post-surgery life. Always something new to learn! I understand not everyone prepares for the surgery for one reason or another, but there's so much that we have to do after the surgery to be successful long-term, that I can't imagine not being armed with all the information I learned. Best of luck and success to everyone!

Hi all! My name is Brenda and I live in Lexington, SC. I just truned 40 yesterday so the LB is my b-day present!!! I'm self-pay so guess it will also be my Mother's day present too-HA!! I'm married of 15yrs to a wonderful man, 4yrs younger. He's a true supporter. We have 2 children, Rachel, 13 and Carter, 11. I will be banded May 13th by Dr. Antonetti thru SC Bariatric Center here in Lexington. I seriously got to deciding this route a yr ago but was hoping I could do without it. My history...well, you look at my 6mos old pics of me trying to walk and you would see how big I was then. I remember having to wear boy's Levi jeans in waist size 36 back in 5th grade. Then got excited when Sears started selling "plus-size" clothes for young ladies. No more blacking out the size tag on the Levi's!! Although I had to submit to wearing Holly Hobbie dresses...all from Sears. I carried my wgt on thru life. Guess I weighed 185'ish around 14-15yrs old. I was already in size 20 at age 18. I pretty much stayed within 230-250 up til now. My highest was 283 before the birth of my son due to depression (living with in-laws at the time-ha!) I always lost 30lbs during my pregnancies so that was fine until in 2003. I decided to try Weight Watchers for the 1st time. I lost down to 188 by 2004. But that lasted what?? about 5mos? Long enough for me to wear my first ever pair of knee-high boots during the Winter. Right now I'm 5'6" at 245. I still have those boots...plan on wearing them again this coming winter---whoa-hooo!!!! Good luck to all us May bandsters!! what an exciting time for us.

Thank you for posting the link to Bariatric Foodie! These recipes look amazing!! Can't wait to trying some on down the road!

Hey! We are in the same boat. I am 3.5 weeks out and can barely stomach food. It's really catching up with me too bc I'm running around after two 8 year old twin boys, driving all over town, and my energy had plummeted. I was doing fine until this week. I cannot seem to get my protein in or all my water. Yesterday I was so fatigued and weak that someone asked me if i was ok to drive home! One trick that has worked, though it takes me forever to get though a mug, is that bariatric hot chocolate that has 15 grams of protein. I mix it with 8 ounces of milk bc cup of milk has 10 grams of protein so 25 grams in a mug. The taste is pretty good, it's just kind of rich and takes me about 1-2 hours to get through. As I write this though, not having eaten anything yet, the thought isn't appealing. (Who ever thought I would not want food??!!!) my biggest concern is losing my hair if I can't get my protein up-omg trading in one insecurity for another!!!! Last night we went to Thai food and I ordered soup made with coconut milk to up my calories and added soft tofu. I got a little down. I'm right there with you! I have even thought about puréeing a protein bar into my shakes. You should see my front room-Amazon delivered powdered peanut butter (PB2), bars and shakes. It looks like a protein store and I want none of it. Holding your hand from California! I'm here with ya! 5'7 HW: 256 SW: 248 CW: 235 At 2 week post op GW: 150 Fantasy GW: 135 Sleeved 8/7

I've created a closed Facebook group called Bariatric Surgeries 2016 if anyone would like to join! I still have to schedule a date for my surgery, but I'd to receive/share pre-op, post-op, and any advice others have! I have been struggling with the whole 'but it might be the last time I get to eat it' excuse! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hello other bandsters, I am so happy to be able to return to this site after so long away, and know that when I post something on here, I am going to get responses from people who actually KNOW how I feel, and what I am dealing with. I have so many people in my life that THINK they know . . . sad really, that they are totally oblivious to what a banded-person lives with on a day to day, meal to meal really, basis. Here's my story: I was banded in February 2007 by the most wonderful, Dr. Hadar Spivak in Houston, and was very pleased with the aftercare he provided. I had several fills, both up and down, determined to get 'there' . . . I am certain I could have tried much harder to make my initial experience successful - straight talk: I still drink sweet tea, milk and dr. pepper (not diet) . . . I know crazy, and yes . . . I was a cash pay patient, so even the knowledge of how much money I spent, didn't really change anything. I eventually dropped about 50 pounds and should have been THRILLED. But, being the over-achiever I am, it was never good enough. I even had a tummy tuck after about 50 pounds lost, but was never happy with the results of what I felt like was a pretty drastic surgery. Post TT, I maintained my weight for several months, and as I said before - should have been extatic with my results, but deep down, I wasn't. Fast forward a few months, and imagine the worst stomach virus you can . . . YEP! I got it . . . because of the insane amount of vomiting, I had to have an un-fill. That was in April 2008, and I have never had another successful day. Gaining weight at a pretty steady rate, I became ashamed to go back and let Dr. Spivak see me - I was so embarrassed. And when I finally decided, 'Okay!! This is insane . . . I have the tool, but am OBVIOUSLY not using it correctly, I called to make an appt to go in, face him, and deal with the mess I had made. Never have I been more shocked than when the receptionist said, 'Dr. Spivak retired.' I hung up in absolute disbelief, and went immediately to his website, and sure enough, this doctor who I trusted so much, was no longer available to me. Tears and frustration, all directed at myself. A few days later, I was able to get in with a bariatric surgeon, who had apparently worked out an agreement with Dr. Spivak to see his patients. VERY long story: in a nutshell, he told me that there is no such thing as a 'thicker' solution to fill the band with, as Dr. Spivak had always said he was using, is this guy calling Dr. Spivak a 'liar' ?? Pretty sure, that'd be a 'yes.' Ummm, okay . . . so he inserts the needle into my port (I had forgotten how badly I hated THAT), withdrew all of the Fluid, made me drink that stuff, and decided I could have .1 more cc than I already had. So, he said he filled me to 1.9 with the regular saline soution, and said that should do the trick. Now, 4 days later . . . I do not think I have any restriction at ALL. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! Going back and forth like I did with Dr. Spivak is not possible for two reasons: 1. No relationship with this doc, and he does not appear to want to be in the room longer than he has to. I have a feeling more than a couple of questions would irritate him. 2. This guy charges $150 every stinkin' time you see him. So, if I call tomorrow and say that: 'I have no restriction' . . . Oh, they'll see me alright, for $150. All of that is just my background. I got back on this site tonight because I want to DO IT this time, but I know I can't do it alone. I would love to hear from any fellow bandsters, and could sure use some encouragement and advice about how to . . . for lack of a better way to say it, 'start over.' Thanks in advance for all of your input and suggestions, I look forward to them. Gosh, I am so sorry this ended up so long!! I just wanted to put it all out there the first time. Thanks if you took the time to read all of that!! :-) Signed, Mommi-Hammi in Houston