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Greetings everyone. I have been lurking here for a week or so. I've struggled with my weight since I was a child (joined weight watchers for the 1st time @ 12). I can't count the number of times I have joined that program since then. I always seem to loose 20 or 30 lbs and then stall out completely. I did once go from 210 to 150 in a 6 month period of time after a very bad end to a long term relationship. LOL, that was the first time in my life I just could not eat! It was not the healthy way to do it, though! I have known several co-workers who had lap band procedure done and had great success. I was never sure if I would qualify or not, though. When I went for my yearly physical in Jan. my PCP noted that I had gained some significant weight over the last year. She asked if I had ever consisdered bariatric surgery (she had gastric bypass done herself about 6 years ago). I told her I did not know if I would qualify or not as I do not have any major health issues. She suggested doing a referral to the surgeon in my area who does this type of procedure and to discuss with him whether I meet the qualifications or not and whether gastric bypass or the lap band would be best for me. I am leaning toward the lap band. I am 5' 2.75" and am between 220 & 230 # at the moment (I don't weigh myself). At any rate, my pcp made the referral to Dr. Jamie Loggins. I have my first appointment on March 13. I received a big packet of paperwork that I have already filled out. The person who called to set up the appointment advised I should expect to be there for 2 hours. Any idea what I can expect during those two hours? I am assuming since I have seen a number of co-workers go through this process, that my health insurance is fairly good about approving it. I have Anthem as insurance. Anyone have experience w/ this company? Look forward to learning lots here and getting to know you all! TSB

track your calories.. make sure you are not eating more than the 1 cup of food at each meal, get your protein in and lots of water. the band will not necessarily make you lose weight.. it's a tool to help you eat smaller amounts and keep you satisfied longer... myfitnesspal.com will work for tracking calories.. you would be surprised how that will help you...

Sounds to me as if you may need to have s long hard talk with your surgeon or perhaps therapy. In the meanwhile stop comparing yourself to your bfs wife or whoever she is. Preop weight 389 current weight 327 that's 62 lbs lost since RNY 6/11/13

My name is Hutch - I have a tentative date of May 9th with Dr Aceeves in Mexi -Cali I am a truck driver and struggle with weight loss so I have made the decision to be sleeved. I am nervous but not scared. I have been 100 lbs overweight for the last 10 years and I have tried every diet imaginable - and they work for a minute and then fail. I have no one to blame but myself. I have diabetes, sleep apnea, asthma and planter faciatias in my feet which causes me alot of pain. I hope and pray that after the surgery with time these conditions that I mention will go away. I recently got married to a beautiful woman that was sleeved in Janurary,2010- and when she said that I needed to get a passport I thought she was excited about going on vacation but little did I know she had other plans - I am happy though because I feel that this is the best decision for me and for us to live a long and healthy life together. If you all will join me in my upcoming journey I would greatly appreciate all of ur help and support. Thank you and God bless, Hutch

Great to know!! Now you get to really start losing weight without any worries. I'm a lil jealous

I'm also 10/25 and have the same concerns. I've tried lots of diets that work but that I can't maintain long term. There are tons of people on the boards that have been able to maintain their weight loss. I've know 4 people who have had wls. 3 have maintained wonderfully. (Over twelve years for one) and 1 who has regained. She is an emotional eater. I think it's important to really get in touch with your relationship with food. BtW, when I cook, I think I eat less. Is that weird? Best of luck on Tuesday! Sent from my XT1650 using the BariatricPal App

So, 19 months post op, after an 85 lb loss and very successful surgery (I have been at goal weight for 9 months), I decided to have a breast lift in both and reduction in one. That happened a week ago and all is well! I posted my story on my blog, so take a look. Most of you know I did a weekly blog for the first year of life after the sleeve and posted faithfully every Sunday. I stopped after a little over a year, but thought this was worthy to share. I thought I would need implants but after some research, found out that a lift and reduction would be best and I am so happy not to have implants! I am almost 60 but for the first time in my life I now have nice breasts! My blog is www.queenofcrop.com I have more details of what happened there and yes, there are photos (that I couldn't post here). Haven't been on the forum for a while so I'm sure there are lots of new people here....hope everyone is having a very successful time of it. The forum was so helpful for me in my first year!

:confused2:hi,i want very much to have the lapband .but my doctor does not believe in losing weight the easy way(doctor calls it ).she always tell me how to eat and exercise or walk.over the pass 6 mos. i loss 9lbs. but seem to be gaining it back.i,m 45,5'5" and weight 270lbs..with bad knee,have had 2 surgery on my knee.my doc.say if i lose weight that would take some of my knee problem away.but it hard.i really want to find a doctor who can help me with this.my family doctor said no,my knee doc said it would be the best thing to do.my insurance may pay if the doctor say it is med. needed.some advice please....monalis in philly

Hi everyone! My name is Sue and I live in Dublin, OH (near Columbus). I am very interested in finding out more about banding. I did attend a seminar in Columbus...with Dr. Meyer. I went in leaning more toward banding but they seem to be pushing more toward Bypass surgery which quite frankly scares me. I am the nervous type and although I know I need to do something to help get the weight off, I don't want to regret my decision either way I decide. I am very interested in finding out more about people's results and experiences in both banding and by pass to help me decide which way is best for me to go. I weigh 298 and would like to get down to 175 or so. I am 40 yrs. old and have a family history of health issues relating to weight that I know if I do not do something drastic soon, I too will fall into the family doom! Any info anyone can provide me to help me make my decision including the best doctors in my area, experiences after surgery etc. I would be very grateful. I am looking forward to reading blogs and making new friends here so let me get started. Thanks for reading! Sue:rolleyes2:

Hi Cecilia. Welcome to LBT!! I've read about lots of people who have had skin reduction surgery after losing their weight. I think it kinda depends on your age, your genes, where you carry your weight, etc. I was the exact height and weight that you are when I began my weight loss journey in August 2008. I've lost 64 pounds and I feel GREAT!!! I had my blood pressure medication cut in half and I have so much more energy now. But....... I can tell that I will have some excess skin when I get to my goal. Not sure if I will be able to afford plastic surgery, but I've decided that the empty baggy skin is better than the tight fat filled skin was. Guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. This is a great place to come with your questions. Lots of very nice people here who can answer your questions, address your concerns, and give you support. People who know exactly what you've been through, what you are going through, and can help you know what to expect. I've made some very good friends here. Keep reading and asking. Good luck in your journey and if there is anything I can do to help you, let me know. Take care. Becky

I am newby, for a year i've been wanting to this surgery. My doctor just tells me to loose weight on my own... I am 250lbs 5'4 and have been overweight 10+. How do you get your doctor to approve this surgery?

Tonite..I had some rice..I figure I went this long with the diet I thoought I could have some rice..But since I ate that now my tummy hurts(shame on me) But I got my protein drinks(powder) at GNC..Its really good I can mix it with either skim milk or water, The water seems to help better with my hunger. I have lost 11pounds being on that diet..And, I can only imagine after tomorrow since its only liquids for another 2 weeks I may lose 10 more wooohoooo me..I never said but my weight was 204...I am down to 198 now...I am glad about that...But we are gonna be looking good..YEAHHHH I cant wait...Hoope everything goes well tomorrow for you..I am gonna be on lapband awhile tonite It helps me calm down talkin to other banders...

I had BCBS of TX. I had to do 6months of pre=op medically managed weight loss. My surgeons office gives forms for you to take to the doctor for him to fill out and then they submit everything at the end for you. They also checked 5 year weight history. I had to do a psych eval, they did approve me on the first submit. I did not lose much in the 6months pre-submission. I would see if your surgeon has a patient advocate/liason that handles any of the insurance and ask questions. If they don't contact your insurance company and have them fax you the bariatric weight loss surgery requirements. Hope that helps.

Hello, everyone! I am a 32 year old female from Portland, Oregon, and I'm in the very beginning stages of my WLS journey. I just applied last week to a clinic, was got the call on Thursday from the insurance coordinator. She said that my insurance does cover the surgery, and that I don't need to do any doctor supervised diets - the only requirement is that the insurance company wants to know an exact surgery date 6 months in advanced. So basically at my first appointment I'll get my surgery date (probably sometime in November, I'm thinking) and then the waiting will begin. I'm 5'2 and I weight 240. I've been heavy most of the life, although in high school I was down to about 140, thanks to bulimia (not proud of that, but eating disorders definitely play a role in my weight history. I have 4 beautiful children, and last year I decided that I wanted to become a surrogate. I tried my best to get healthy and lose weight, and I went from 250 to 180. It was at this time that I was matched with an infertile couple and I started my surrogacy journey. I gained a bunch of weight due to the fertility meds I was on, and I got pregnant weighing about 200. I gained a lot of weight with that 5th pregnancy, and I delivered at about 260. Sadly, here I am 6 months later, and i'm only down about 20 pounds from when I delivered. But being able to hand an infertile couple the gift of their healthy, beautiful newborn son was by far one of the coolest moments of my life, and I will never regret doing that. I am now officially hanging up my uterus ( ) and saying no more pregnancies! It is time that I focus on me, and my health. I am so tired of my weight being such an issue for me. I hate the self loathing that I feel every time I see myself in a mirror, and see a picture of myself. I am tired of not feeling worthy to my parents, especially compared to my skinny siblings. I'm just tired of being fat. I have a very supportive husband whom I love dearly, and I know that with him, we can do anything. I'm excited about the possibility of having this surgery done, and I'm excited about getting healthy.

Hey Everyone, I was sleeved on April 20, 2015 It has been 7 weeks and I am down 39 pounds! I am pretty excited about it. What kind of foods is everyone eating? Thanks! Jenn

I figure that probably around spring of next year I might start posting some body shots. By that time I should be approaching my goal weight, and it won't be a horrendous waste of money to buy clothes that fit properly. Plus, I maybe will be a little less shy about people seeing "all of me." Now if I could just turn back the clock so that I was 30 instead of 40, life would be good

I can actually get down on the floor now and GET UP BY MYSELF! This is still quite amazing to me. There is a ton of information about WFPB eating online. Go to You Tube and watch "The Game Changers" and "Forks over Knives." That will give you a good idea. Basically it is WHOLE, unprocessed food. That means food as close to its natural state as possible. Whole grains, not refined grains, for example. No processed sugars, no animal products (that includes dairy and eggs), no processed oils (you use avocados, nuts and seeds and nut butters instead.) LOTS and LOTS of veggies and fruit, plenty of starchy veggies, lots of legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds, no alcohol, no soda or artificial colors/flavors/chemicals, decreased salt. Many WFPB folks also avoid gluten (wheat, rye, barley) and I am highly sensitive to it, so have already avoided that for years. I get more than enough protein, tons of fibers and phytonutrients, eat all I want, am never hungry, have tons of energy, and am NEVER sore after workouts. Amazingly, my cholesterol always hovered around 225-235, even after losing over 100 pounds. Once I went WFPB, my cholesterol dropped like a rock to 152 (80 points!!!). My triglycerides and LDL also plummeted. Even with the low total cholesterol, my HDL went up to 80. For me, it is a lifestyle that I will maintain for life. It is change, for sure, but not actually hard to do. Most of my family is making the switch as well. You don't have to go 100%, either. When you look at the areas of the world (the blue zones) where people live to be over 100 and have virtually no cardiac disease, osteoporosis, dementia, cancer, or diabetes, these are all plant based societies. Does this mean they won't eat some fish or cassowary eggs if they find them? No. But animal protein is the exception or reserved for celebrations. They don't eat meat 3 times a day like most of the western world does. I will occasionally eat an egg (my own backyard chickens) or a little wild game meat. (The more I learn about commercially raised cattle, hogs, chickens, turkeys and dairy cows, the more I cannot bring myself to eat these products.) So there you go - probably more info than you wanted. I started this about 6 months after my surgery as I learned about it and once I was able to eat the volume that is required. I had to rely a bit more on the grains and nuts to keep my calories up so I wouldn't keep losing weight. I used pea protein powder as needed to keep my protein up. I don't need that now, with the increased legumes, tofu, tempeh, and soy/oat milk and yogurt. Now I eat a lot more of the veggies and legumes, and control my weight very easily with decreasing/increasing the grains and nuts. I did gain 8 pounds of COVID weight, but have lost all of it and some extra, just by cutting back a bit on the nuts and grains. It really couldn't be easier!

Hello everyone, I am new to this site and guess just looking for a supporting cast plus people who have been there and done that. This is my first post. My name is Greg, and I am sure that I have a similar story to most people on here. I have always been overweight to a certain extent. I have been on many diets lost some, didn't on others, but always seemed to gain it back. I am scheduled to start liguids on Feb. 12 with surgery on Feb. 26. I am very excited about this. I am really not sure what else to say other than I hope that I can make alot of new friends on this site, because I know the better support staff I have the more it will help. I am glad there is community like this for all of us. Greg

This is just my two cents worth, but I would be highly upset if someone told my medical information to my friends or family without my consent. I guess the facts of your surgery would have come out eventually when you began to loose the weight, however it's your decision to tell how you are loosing it not hers or anyone elses. I think you should call the office manager and set up an appointment to discuss this with them. If the facts come to light that the woman in your church gave out this information, she should be fired. I don't see what you will gain by suing the doctor's office because of a big mouth employee. I'm sure they train everyone on the HIPPA laws. Calm down and take it one step at a time. just remember you are doing this for your health and don't let this stop your from pushing on to your goal of being banded. Good luck to you.

Wait a second. You're really being too confrontational for your own good. As I said in my message to you, I wanted you to take my opinion as just that - an opinion. You're right, it was my choice to share my decision with the people in my life that I would need support from. It is your choice not to. I just think you are being a bit dilusional to think that no one will notice that you're loosing weight. What were you planning on telling folks when they ask about your weight loss - because they always do? My point about "endearing" yourself to the medical community was misconstrued. I merely meant to infer that if I sued a doctor for something, or threatened to do so, I sure wouldn't want him/her to operate on me. That's my 2 cents.

How'd we ever get out of such a wonderful habit? The last 10 years my two sons were living at home we left the day after Christmas and spent a week in the Islands, then along came grandkids and no more Christmas trips. Hmmmm, maybe it was really due to my weight and the grandkids were just a good excuse, time to get back into that old tradition.

Hi, I also started rather slowly, but now after 6 months and 3 fills, I've lost about 75 pounds!!! So, as you've read before, just be patient and let yourself heal and slowly get used to this new way of life. Once you start getting some fills and restriction, you should be well on your way to a decent weight loss. The ONLY complaint I had about my pre-surgery meetings and information from my doctor was that he didn't stress to me how I probably would NOT lose weight right at first. I, like many others, came out of surgery thinking....."OKAY!! Let's start LOSING!!" But in reality it took a couple months before things really started happening. I would have felt better emotionally if someone (my doctor!) had told me this was "normal" so I wouldn't have gotten so impatient and frustrated at first. So, difficult as it may be, just hang in there, do what your doctor tells you, get some fills, then go shopping for smaller clothes!! It will happen!!

Hi guys I am also losing really slow (3 months, 16 days and counting) and as of yesterday I was back to only losing 7 kilos ( from 10 kg - I blame the heat wave in melbourne). I have to admit, I feel a twinge of pain in my new stomach every time I read how many pounds other people are losing ( specially since you all write in pounds which is like .5 kilo so for a second before i convert is like WOW!!!! what am i doing wrong!!???? that is, besides eating pretty much all I want in portions larger than I would like to and enjoying every morsel.....)) Ok, I am off track, what I came to say is that of course we shouldnt be tempted into comparing our progress to others', we are all in the race to get to the finish line, nobody is timing it tho, so we are not competing with each other. Now, my mantra if you like, this time around ( after hundreds of diets) has changed to quality not quantity, in every sense. I want to lose weight while enjoying every day, every meal, and with NO concern of how much faster i could do it if I applied myself to the task at hand. After all, this time around, it is NOT a diet. I am finally making changes that have to last for the rest of my life. Every diet before: pills, shots, starvation, protein, carb, no carb, low carb, grapefruit, rice and melon, cabagge soup, etc, etc, were about how fast i could lose as much as possible before I lost the ability to keep up the madness and go back to .... well, eating like fat me. Now, my will power (so to speak) is not going away after 6 weeks of hunger! So I am enjoying every day that the scales go down a little bit ( hopefully the heat wave will be over soon Sorry I tend to go on and on and on.... tellie ps, I am soooo looking forward to my next fill on thursday I only have .5 ml in at the moment which means, well... lots of food!

Congrats on the start of your journey! I have Basic Federal Blue Cross Blue Shield, and I had surgery in Texas. My doctor just documented that I came into his office for weight loss management. He provided the insurance company with a letter explaining that the surgery is medically necessary, provided my weight history for the past two years, and listed the diets I have tried within the past five years. It was a one-page letter. The beginning of the entire process was a breeze. It got really annoying once my surgeon's office turned in everything to the insurance company. It was submitted August 21. They sent a letter to my surgeon on September 7th requesting documentation of the nutritionist visit (that was already submitted). We didn't get the letter until September 16th, and it was re-submitted. I called the insurance company on September 19th to make sure everything was okay. They said that I was approved. My surgeon's office called, and they told them the same thing. So we scheduled the surgery for October 3rd. On September 29th, my surgeon's office called for a pre-certification (something they do a few days before the surgery). BCBS said that I wasn't approved, and they are waiting for the further documentation. After we provided a "approval code", they said it was a "reference" code and not an approval code. Needless to say, I wasn't actually approved until a million phone calls later - the Friday before my surgery on Monday. I was a wreck - had been on a liquid diet for two weeks not knowing if I was even going to be approved at the last minute. SO, my point is - stay on top of everything. When you call, get a reference code to each conversation. When they say you are approved, have them fax you a copy (the mailing takes forever). If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I am two weeks out, and would do every single thing all over again. I'm down 25 lbs since the beginning of my pre-op diet. Such an amazing feeling! Good luck with everything!!!

I worked again today. The diet went much better today. I have not worked out in about a week. Shari is losing weight and looking good. I am wanting to get another fill but I do not want toface Stanish.:omg: