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Unfortunately there is no magic skin poofing button. LOL I wish! I have lost 152lbs and have a lot of the same issues with chaffing. Even so without long history of having that skin problem documented most insurances will not cover removing it, because they say it's cosmetic. I say BS. I had a terrible time with my bat wings....they were very large and even though I had gotten to my optimal weight I still had residual fat and tons of leftover skin and no matter what I did, nothing helped. I did not even realize how badly it pulled on my neck. So I pain 5950.00 to have them removed 5 weeks ago. I have to do the same with my stomach and breasts because everything is hanging low pulling on my spine. I have osteoarthritis of the spine and have had 6 back surgeries so far. Hoping to hold off another one. Anyway, you think insurance would cover these things given Morbid obesity is a metabolic disease. Yikes! It will cost me another 18K to have both my Abdominalplasty and breast lift with augmentation. That is the bad news.....the good news is there are excellent surgeons out there who can do this kind of work if you can raise the funds to do it. It is the only way I know of taking that skin off your body. It simply will not go away without it.

I love these posts because it really makes you stop and evaluate your entire transformation. Pre-op I was postivie and outspoken but I always had that tough exterior wall up, I held back to a certain extent because I didn't want to put myself in the spot light because I knew what people were really thinking. Post-OP I'm still that same positive outspoken person but the walls are down now because I honestly don't care what others think of me because I LOVE ME the ENTIRE ME!! Yep, that's right I love myself, I've never honestly been able to say that before and not because of how I look (that helps) but because I've proved to myself that I have what it takes to get through whatever life brings my way, with alot of help from the Man Upstairs!!! I wake up everyday with a smile on my face, FULL OF ENERGY, ready to take on the world I'm a go getter, take no BS kinda gal who loves herself!

Thank you Fran! It's unbelievable to me! I asked so many questions because I like to be prepared as best I can. I have spoken to my surgeons office several times and they never mentioned certain things, as the surgical center sends me a surprise letter less than 2 weeks before surgery. They will be billing me for my anesthesia and anything over the norm which is the 20% I pay. I have Anthem BC and they have been as helpful as possible on their part. I just think that maybe my surgeons office could have given me a heads up, something along "Hey, be prepared or check into XYZ." But nothing was said. They have been through this hundreds of times and I just find it frustrating. People need to know to prepare financially. It's not good for their mental/emotional health to get so close and the keep having the rug pulled out from under them. I do hope future banders ask more questions and ask several times! Something I learned, get as much as you can in writing!!!!! Thanks again for the wishes Fran. Have a great day

I can't wait for my plastics I'm terrified of the pain bc I'm a huge baby and had the hardest time with recovery from my gastric bypass but I feel I've earned this i worked my butt off literally to be healthy and fit now I wanna be happy and feel comfortable in clothes I have to constently tuck in my skin and my breasts are like a 100 year old lady my arms don't bother me but the loose skin from my breast and belly honestly hurt the more weight I lost the more pain I was in I can wait to wear jeans comfortably and feel like a 26 year old!! Instead of the old women I feel like now so I'll spend the 18,500 dollars to be comfortable in my own skin I need skin removed from my thighs but that can wait!!!

These are all terrific ideas, I should get my notebook our and take note bc this is one of my concerns as well!!

Don't leave! It's hard to read peoples comments sometimes in any forum but this us definitely the best one for RNY. Just accept that we all differ and that's what makes it so great Who is it by the way? I know it's not me bc I'm lovely lol xx

I had my one on one with my surgeon today, I have 2 more dietitian appointments and should be ready in December. I have BS of CA and Cigna as secondary. I'm hoping all goes smoothly. I barely have a 40 BMI and no co-morbidities.

I can see this from both sides, but what would be the problem with waiting until you return from Mexico to tell the PCP about the surgery and providing them with the surgeon's reports? Then, if they're not supportive, you can start looking for a new doctor. If the thought of the stress you might suffer from dealing with negative, unsupportive comments from the doc is bothering you, why put yourself through that? Now, the issue of not telling AT ALL after surgery...that seems really risky, but I can see OreganDaisy's point about that also. I hate that some of us even have to be put in that position because of these BS insurance companies.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to it bc I'm fairly hungry often right now so I def need it.

I was banded on Feb 1st 2013.. Ive lost 38 pounds so far... which i am ecstatic about. About a week ago i went in to see my doctor thinking somehting was wrong, because I was feeling hungry often and eating more (i thought my band had slipped or something). The doctor told me this was normal, because as you lose weight your band gets looser. make sense. so she gave me a fill and sent me on my way. BUT since then its like ive lost my mind. I know i am making bad food choices but its like i convince myself its ok (like eating ice cream bc it eventually turns to liquid and doesnt take up space in my tummy-!!crazy !!), and then feel horrible afterwards. i know what it sounds like. i was doing so well prior to this last week, my willpower was intact i guessbut now--- its an awful feeling because i know im probably doing damage but idk its hard. i want to say on track and 'be strong' and i know everyone has cravings and most of you are able to move past them. im wondering if anyone else is or has felt like me; and how did you overcome it?

I was banded on August 8, 07 and have lost a total of 41 lbs to date. I had my first fill this weekend and I feel no difference so far. I will try for another one in a couple of weeks. My doctor was Dr. Joya in Puerto Vallarta and he was excellent. I was treated very well and would recommend him to others. It was impossible to find a fill doctor in my area (Vancouver Island, BC, Canada) so I had to travel to Washington State to have it. It becomes expensive and time consuming, but the people there were great and very supportive.

I see a new "Gofundme" everyday for the craziest things! I'm going to set up a Gofundme account to fix my "give a sh*t meter" because it's broken! I'm not sure how much it's going to cost to fix it but I'm sure it's more than I can afford. Now, to you...if I were in your shoes I would defiantly go to Mexico! That's what I was going to do but we have Fed insurance through my hubs work that was excellent and paid for it (he's been working over 35 years so he's more than paid his fair share trust me) Please don't call me "lucky" lucky would have been not needing it at all! Not going to Mexico when you can afford that route and asking others for money instead is like being a starving person who rejects a sandwich because it's has mayo on it. It's the whole "beggars can't be choosers" scenario. In the end it's up to you but go to MEXICO and enjoy!!! Adios!

I have multiple pairs of Old Navy St Johns Bay and Lane Bryant shorts for sale in sizes 22. I bought them bigger bc I have a larger hip/butt area....email me Simms148@gmail.com if interested. I will send pics and will pay for shipping.

No regrets whatsoever. I don't think about food in the same way I thought about it before. Actually I didn't "think" about food, I just ate too much of the wrong food and gained 100 pounds over 10 years. I was just getting bigger every year and finally I said that's enough. I was not overweight all my life like some folks here; that wasn't my issue. So when it came time to wanting to get rid of the weight, it was time. You have to be ready to do it. I researched WLS for about 3-4 years before I became so fed up with myself that I was definitely ready for a change. Now instead of thinking about food and what I'm going to eat, I'm looking at clothes to buy online. If I traded one thing for the other, that's OK, I'll take buying smaller sized clothes any day over a pizza, know what I mean? It feels a lot better.

you nurses need to relax lolol... in reality.. sure you have a lot if extra info in your head that maybe u shouldn't but also that knowledge can be power...you can take better care of yourself too..but right now it's time to let go and be the patient...let them take care of you... don't give then a hard time bc you know better... and everyones trajectory is different and even unique so you can't predict what's going to happen and obsessing about all that can go wrong due to ur knowledge base isn't going to help you cope ir heal physically or emotionally....so try to let it go and get off the hamster wheel

So I thought I would start this and see what people's weight was before the band (even if your not banded, still reply=) what their goal is and what the reason for having the surgery is - Most say to be healthy but I know their are others that have other reasons. Anyway this is mine Sarah - 20. I'm 5'4 and my weight is 118-120 but that was the last time I checked it (back in july I think) so it's probably more. Goal is probably like 65kgs so that's like 55-60kgs to loose. As for the reason, I'm 20 and have heaps of crap wrong with me - 97% not to do with my weight. That and I might be looking at a transplant later in life so I need to be in "good health" as the doctor put it lol. Other reasons - Yes I'm vain, 20, never had a bf and all the other bs that goes along with it, I'd like to at least be able to fit in a bikini - wouldn't wear it but it'd be nice to know I could if I wanted. Another thing is people are so discriminative towards bigger people especially women so hopefully this will help me get a job. Anyway that's mine, what's yours?:thumbup:

I was just denied by bcbs fed even though over bmi of 35 but was below in 2013. Any tips?

Try Dr Otto, Libertyville Il Condell Hospital, (not accepting BC/BS) does fills in his office- recently relocated one month wait on fills until equipment is set up. also ENH(Evenston Northwest) has an office in vernon Hills and they have a Lap band specialist

Hi girls~ Been a crappy few days. My DD is not well. She got an ear infection, and the glands below her ear and just behind it swelled like nobodies business. She has been to the ER 3 times, only managed to get seen once, and he made her an appointment with an ENT, for next week. She was supposed to come back if 2 days on steroids, and antibiotics and pain killers did not help. They didn't, it swelled more, and moved up into her ear itself, the cartilege outer part is swollen, oozing, and now black, and the skin has broke down. Well as we sat in ER again, I saw my own ENT, he saw her...because he didn't know what else to do with a crying Mom! She has staph infection, and is not good. The area below and behind her ear is like a rock, and so swollen, she does not even have a jaw line. She hurts, and they are concerned, as she is also septic. And the concern is the proximity of the brain to the infection. Kinsey is handling it better than I expected, her Mama being sick. Manda is such a good Mommy, she does everything she can to make sure Kinsey is ok, and not too stressed. I have hives on my hives. Went to get Ricks heart meds, and insurance changed their formulary the first of the year, and his meds went from $40 a month with insurance, to insurance not covering them so now it is $174 every 30 days! I called and he even went and saw his PCP here today, and he refuses to change the cardiologists orders, so somehow, somewhere, some day we are going to have to try to get an appointment, and get to Albuquerque to his cardiologist and see what can be done. It is 186 miles each way....with my DD sick, we are just going to have to deal with it for now. His job did the first round of lay offs, and we managed to survive, but figure we are looking at a couple of weeks max. And they are not offering any severence packages at all---cheap ass company! They are HUGE and world wide.....and corrupt as the day is long. Claim to be all about family....such BS!!! Anyway----I'll be in when I need to destress!!! Y'all take care!!! XOXOXO Kat

"We want to talk about Lap Bands, not all the other BS that goes on over there." ABSOLUTELY! No offense, but if I wanted a general topic conversation board, I would have joined one! I wanted a LAP-BAND BOARD!

I don’t do thrift shops bc I’m afraid of bedbugs so everything I purchased was new. I buy one pair of jeans for each size down and I wear workout leggings a lot bc I’m at the gym everyday. The leggings last a lot longer than the jeans. My gym tops can last several sizes and don’t look too bad oversized. I have 4 dressy tops and I just rotate them out. That’s it! I also bought them all on sale none of them cost more than $15. I’m a stay at home mom though so I don’t have the challenge of buying work clothes.

I have Anthem BC/BS administered by Health Comp and began the 6 month approval ordeal at the end of January. My surgeon mentioned when I first met him that he has a good relationship with Health Comp and would try to submit after 3 months for approval. Well he submitted after 8 weeks (after seeing him 3x, the Nut 3x, and the psych eval), and a week later (today) I got word that I'm approved! Not only that, but my surgery is scheduled for this coming Monday, April 4. Sweet!!! I was debating between getting the sleeve or the plication, but in the end opted for the sleeve. So I'm quickly ordering my Vitamins, vita-mix blender, and Protein powders. Hopefully the operation and recovery will go well. I can really only take a week off work so I'm a little worried about that, but we'll see. - ken

Hey there, I'm 28- I started this journey at 25 but got every road block. Finally got through them & am scheduled for an Oct surgery. Don't wait, the odds are so stacked against you doing it on your own. I'm 5'2 bmi 39 also was 41 when I started. I actually had to gain to get approved- total bs- my pcos wasn't enough to get approved. That I was bigger around than I was tall terrified me & I ended up getting high bp with the last 10#. My friends all fired me bc they dont agree w/ my decision to do this but we all did WW together & I never really lost anything. I am sick of being fat. Its not "fun" anymore. My losing cal per day is 1200- I am miserable on that little w/a normal sized stomach. I can eat 1200 so easily in one meal. I looked around my house & there were diet pepsi's everywhere. My soda addiction was so out of control. I'm now off it in anticipation of surgery. I am not off caffine but I did swap to the great value sf energy mix powder. I lost what I did by eating1 meal & doing shakes for the rest. Also miserable, but nice to lose some. The hardest part of all this has been admitting to myself that I am unhappy with being fat. I am super confident in my daily life but having to be real with myself has left me feeling vulnerable. Hope this helps. allons-y

about 6 weeks post op. down almost 60lbs. got sleeved on 01-29-13. i do great all day. drink Water and my Protein shake, have my yogurt and soft cheeses, sometimes tuna. but when it comes to dinner time and the night time i always seem to struggle especially when i'm home. i def graze when i am home. and i hate it. a little Peanut Butter, a little more cheese, S.F. pops etc. sometimes if i eat chicken and f.f. gravy ill eat till im full and then go back later. it's so hard to learn this new way of life but i know i have to. i scraped the cheese of the pizza i made from scratch for my family the other night. is this normal ?? should i feel hungry and still crave food? i know my brain can play tricks on me but when will it stop. i don't want to want pizza or chinese or fast food bc i know it's poison. it's what go me here in the first place. i think i should eat and once im full just leave and walk away or go work out. do you still want food this far out ???

Hi Jacksbanster, I was banded back in 2004 and weight loss was great. I went from 322 pounds to 140 pounds. In 2010 my band seem to stop working and i started to gain weight (plus I stopped following the bandster rules) but that is because again I didn't feel I had the control the band gave me originally. Anyway, after gaining 60 pounds I was fed up and decided to investigate if others where experiencing the same thing with the band and if there were other options out there for me to look into. So I did a lot of reading and research and found out about the plication surgery. So I met with my Lap Band doctor and he told me more about this new investigational surgery called Plication. Fast forward, I had the surgery Dec 8th 2011. The surgery was a success, recovery was a breeze, the liquid diet was hard, but I got through it. My first post op visit I had lost 8 pounds. Then I got walking pneumonia and had to go on prednisone - this made me ravenously hungry and of course I regained all the weight I had lost back. I was so disappointed and frustrated that I wanted to die. But my doctor told me that prednisone is know for weight gain and I'll get back on track soon. So fast forward, my next appointment with him I had only lost 4 pounds which did not make me happy because before I had lost 8 and now I was starting all over and at a slower pace. It is now Feb 16th 2012 and I've not gotten on the scale because I don't feel like I've lost any weight. All my clothing fits the same and I just don't see any change and I've not weighed myself since my last fill. I've had two fills since my plication surgery and I'm still hungry (more than) I thought I would be with the band and the plication. This is a different experience than when I had the lap band surgery, the lap band surgery had the weight come off very quickly. I didn't even have to think about dieting I just wasn't hungry. With this surgery (albeit it is a revision of the previous band, new band with more capacity, and the plication) I'm not as pleased as I had expected. With all that said I think my expectations need to be adjusted. I wonder if people who have had the band and have had some type of complication with it (slippage, erosion, etc) it the pouch that is above the stomach is premanently stretched out of shape. I don't have the answer I just know that the experience is not the same. I'm having to really monitor what I eat and exercise everyday. So I eat around 900 to 1000 calories a day, and I exercise on the stairmaster for an hour/ or I go for a jog. I know that I need to incorporate some weight training but I'll just have to get to it when I can. As for your questions above: How was your recovery? Recovery was great. The first couple of days there was a little pain but after that it was a breeze. How soon did you go back to work? Surgery was on a Thursday I went back to work on the following Wednesday. Do you follow a low carb diet? I followed the liquid diet they put me on for about 4 weeks. Since then I've tried everything - right now I'm basically eatting lean cuisines or smart ones. But I think I'm going to try a one week Medi fast - we will see. Right now I'm so hungry between meals I doubt if I can pull that one off. Have you had to have any fills in your band? Yes I've had 2 fills since my surgery and they don't seem to have made that much of a difference. The doctors, are being cautious because they don't want me to get too tight and have another band slippage.. I understand that but in the meantime I wish I had more restriction. How is your hunger level? Higher than I thought it would be. But if I try to stay on an eat every 4 to 5 hour schedule I do okay. How much can you eat before you feel "full" If I allowed myself I could eat a lot. The think is I count every calorie that goes into my mouth. I use www.fatsecret.com they have an incredible food database - almost everything you can put into your mouth in in their database, So that helps. I hope that my story has helped you and I will keep you informed on my progress - I hope that you will do the same. Regards, Willowsdoweep