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Sooverit, The surgeons sent me a letter prior to the orientation with all those that were interested in bypass or band. They request you look at the list if your BMI is under 40. My insurance agency states that you must have medical problems associated with obesity( which to me is most!) to be eligible if your BMI is under 40. The health issues I have are; shortness of breath, sleep apnea, asthma, thyroid,urinary incontinence, depression and heart disease. The heart disease was a bit of a stretch, for my blood pressure is fine. I had a heart rythem issue in November, actually in the mid of the night after Thanksgiving ( maybe that was the food!), I had to go tot he hospital. I was sleeping, and woke up feeling I was having a heart attack. All the tests showed nothing, which is good, but I am scared it will happen again! My surgeons also request a letter from you, stressing your life challenges related to weight ( mine sinc age 10). I beleive that letter went to the insurance agency as well. I hope this helps. I was really concerned if I would be eligible. The Nurse I saw for my evaluation and the coordinator for the process gave me all good support, so I was feeling supported by them, however as you know insurance agencies are funny! Glamourgirl, I have asked myself all those questions, and I am still a bit nervous of the finality of the choice to go forward, however I feel if I don't where will I be, heavier? I have the ability to lose the wieght if I have the right tool and motiviation, which I feel the band will give me, the problem I always have is keeping it off! I am hoping the limitations of the band will give that to me. Good Luck Hope to keep hearing from you both! Janine

I've sewn for a long time -- in fact I have a BS in Home Ec. I started quilting in about 2000. I'm waiting for a surgery date. I've been getting through all the tests and pre-op stuff, and it's taken months. My date should be in late October, or early November, but I have to prove I've lost the 15 pounds first. I've got 13 down my first week of dieting, and two to go, but no weight loss this week. Sticking with it though. Boy, you have less than two weeks before the big day. Good luck! I think it's going to be life-changing, don't you?

Hello all> I was banded in November and have been doing ok with my diet. Was being REALLY good with avoiding the heavy carbs like bread, rice, pasta, and cereal but still picking at sweets and sugars in fruits. Down 100 pounds feeling good, then I went on vacation and it all went to hell. I knew I was not going to be sticking to my diet guidelines while on vacation but I planned for it and tried to bring alternatives. I ate the fruit and protein bars I brought plus the other crap that was available on vacation: mashed potatoes, bagel!! ice cream, even pizza etc. SUGAR,carbs and more sugar and carbs. Now i am craving carbs and sweets- in carb withdrawal, trying to be good but I have been fighting it all month and everytime I give in its like starting all over again. Have only lost about 3 pounds this month and I know its because of all the crap I ate. What have you guys found to help handle the carb cravings? I want to get through one entire month without cheating!!:thumbup:

So, I was banded 7/2008, got pregnant in 8/08. Didn't "use" band until my daughter was born, so first fill was in May 09. In November 09 started having bad symptoms - food coming out onto pillow when I slept at night. So, I guess you'd say severe regurgitation. I thought it was just part of being banded. Well needless to say I let my symptoms go and go and finally went in to see my doctor in March, he took some fluid out of the band, went back again in April and he took some more fluid out of the band, had an upper GI, scheduled a band revision for yesterday and low and behold I HAD A HIATAL HERNIA......please if you have any wierd symptoms like I did go and see your doctor don't wait. Ugg...:devil_smile:

Since most of us are off restriction on what we can do... does anyone wanna do a November exercise challenge? Like I hope to do 3000 steps on the wii fit 5 days a week for November. Which would total 60,000 steps. Anyone wanna join me? BTW I can do that in 30 minutes max. So it's a total of 600 minutes for a month, 10 hours. teri

Hello to all~ I had my lapband surgery in November 17, 2008.I waited soo long to have this done that finally i did it. I have a question from anyone living in the Triangle area. I had my surgery done in Ft. Worth Texas and i am looking for a support group somewhere tlose to Morrisville or Cary North Carolina. I know that there are a few places when i was looking to have the surgery here but i forgot the places they said they had the meeting. Could anyone help me locate a place to attend. I am new at this and i've been told that the group support really helps through the steps of getting to my goal. Please ifanyone has any idea where could i go i will greatly appreciate it. Thanks to all and happy to be here!:tounge_smile:

:wub:Hi out there, I am getting ready to have a lap band on jan 8th . i had a gastric bypass in 2004 and lost 50 lbs in about a year. since then i had 2 babies and kept some weight from each of them and i noticed it was creeping up again. my pre surgery heaviest weight was 245. i am almost back there and really frustrated, upset and feel like i failed myself. Has anyone had a lapband after gastric bypass?? ps i was surprised the insurance co. approved it.

Well, technically still my first since I freaked out the first time. But, I need it for sure! The past few weeks have been not so good. I lost focus, ate larger portions, drank wine, ate when I wasn't hungry, etc. The scale shows it, too. Funny how that happens and how surgically altering my body still hasn't made that fact stick in my brain yet! OK, all that is in the past. New start, new focus and a fill. I also picked up a copy of Jackie Warner's book "This is why you're fat". I learned a lot about sugar and its addictive hold. I went through my pantry and was shocked at how much sugar is added into "good" food! My favorite Kashi cereal has 13 grams per serving and I eat it with skim milk which has another 13 grams of sugar! Good grief! I'm going to follow her nutrition & exercise advice and see how it goes. I am ready for Onederland for sure! My goal is to be there before the start of basketball season, November 1st. I'll keep posting, that has a way of making me accountable!

If you go to OHIP's Schedule of Benefits and look at S120, it states that bariatric surgery is covered except for gastric banding. They specifically exclude it. If I couldn't have afforded the band, I'm not sure if I would have opted for any other option since it was the only one I was comfortable living with long term. If you want to do more research on each of the procedures that are covered, I would recommened joining ObesityHelp - Gastric Bypass, LAP-BAND and going to the Ontario forum. Almost everyone on there had OHIP covered procedures both in country and out of country. Lots apply for OOC since the wait lists are so long in Ontario. I think the procedure you choose depends a lot on how much weight you want to lose and what you are willing to live with. Each surgery requires different post op guidelines and you have to be able to live with those. Some of the surgeries have malabsorption issues and you have to know that you are the type of person that will diligently take your Vitamins daily.

Hello all; I've been away from this forum for awhile. I was banded on 8/12/08 and had my first fill in September (about 5 weeks after the surgery), and felt some restriction (although my doctor says that his first fills are really quite small; sort of to help you get used to the band). I did well at first; lost about 20 lbs. But, right before Thanksgiving, I noticed that I really didn't have any restriction anymore. I was going to schedule another fill right then and there, but I sort of wanted some freedom during the holidays, and also I had a sort of "macho" attitude where I felt like I "shouldn't" need another fill. (I realize that is sort of silly... I mean, why did I have the WLS in the first place?! lol) Between November and now, I have gained back about 5 of the pounds I originally lost. I had my second fill yesterday, which I'm sure was the right thing to do. My doctor has us go on clear fluids for three days, though, after a fill... then full fluids for a week, then mushies for a week, then regular diet.... and I'm SO HUNGRY! In the past few months, I truly reverted back to my old way of eating... so clear fluids for three days is torture! LOL I'm looking for a little encouragement here :thumbdown: thanks everyone and good luck to all

Hello World, I'm feeling great. It's been 9 days since my lap band was removed and my surgeon performed a Gastric Bypass and I feel terrific. I'm really shocked at how fast the recovery has been. I am just starting the puree diet, having met with my surgeon. I'd love to hear from folks about what they like to eat post-puree. I am DETERMINED to lose the weight and I want to make sure I do the best I can to achieve that goal. Kind regards.

So, I belong to a couple of Bypass and Sleeve groups on Facebook, and have recently been reading posts written by quite a few people who have had complications. Typically, I am grateful to hear about the complications because I want to go into this knowing everything I possibly can. However, one this weekend has sent me over the edge. The person had surgery (sleeve) a couple days ago and is still in hospital. She is regretting having the surgery and her post was absolutely heart wrenching. Since reading that post and possibly the accumulation of reading ALL the posts, all I want to do is eat. Thinking about it, I realized that it's some sort of subconscious sabotage; I have to lose 25 pounds before I can have surgery (I have lost five), and if I don't lose the rest, the consequence is not having surgery. I don't even know what to do or to think. I'm in severe pain because of stenosis and sciatica in my low back and legs and haven't been sleeping really well. While losing weight won't cure this, but it will help a lot, so I needed to lose weight, and for long-term success, it looks like having surgery is my best option. Honestly, I just want to curl up in a little ball right now. Help.

I spent the day Saturday with my sister, attending a baby shower and having dinner at my house. The conversation was almost exclusively about weight. I still haven't told a soul about the LAP-BAND®® except my husband, and I almost cracked under the guilt pressure I was feeling that day. I can say that I haven't lied at all about how I'm losing weight, but I am not telling about this one amazing tool that I had installed. I did tell my sister how much my weight had gotten up to (241) and she was amazed that I'd ever been that heavy. I have always heard that I carry my weight well, and I suppose that's true. I actually thought that my sister looked pretty heavy this weekend and she told me that she weighed 173 and had just lost 5 pounds on Medifast. I thought that at this point I look thinner than her but she's only a few inches shorter than me so this may be that my own perception of how I look at this point is not realistic. I never seem to think that I look as bad as I do until I'm confronted with a picture of myself. Anyway, we talked about what my goal weight was going to be and she told me she thought I was quite thin on my wedding day 13 years ago. I remember that I had starved myself down to 145 for that day and I agree, I was very comfortable with how I looked that day. Of course I came back from the honeymoon at 153 and never looked back! Anyway, I think that the 140s is a more realistic and reasonable goal than my original 130, so I am changing it to 141.4 to make it an even 100 pounds that I want to lose. I love even numbers, I'm an accountant and something about them makes me happy. When I told her that I wanted to lose that much weight in 2 years time, she said that was great, especially since I hadn't had gastric bypass or anything like that! Yikes. No reply from me, I just moved on to something else. I feel so guilty for being less than honest, but I don't think that my sister would even qualify for the surgery if she wanted it at less than 180 pounds, so I don't think it would be a help to her even if she knew. Maybe that's just my selfish justification for keeping my secret. What does everyone else think?

I spent the day Saturday with my sister, attending a baby shower and having dinner at my house. The conversation was almost exclusively about weight. I still haven't told a soul about the LAP-BAND®® except my husband, and I almost cracked under the guilt pressure I was feeling that day. I can say that I haven't lied at all about how I'm losing weight, but I am not telling about this one amazing tool that I had installed. I did tell my sister how much my weight had gotten up to (241) and she was amazed that I'd ever been that heavy. I have always heard that I carry my weight well, and I suppose that's true. I actually thought that my sister looked pretty heavy this weekend and she told me that she weighed 173 and had just lost 5 pounds on Medifast. I thought that at this point I look thinner than her but she's only a few inches shorter than me so this may be that my own perception of how I look at this point is not realistic. I never seem to think that I look as bad as I do until I'm confronted with a picture of myself. Anyway, we talked about what my goal weight was going to be and she told me she thought I was quite thin on my wedding day 13 years ago. I remember that I had starved myself down to 145 for that day and I agree, I was very comfortable with how I looked that day. Of course I came back from the honeymoon at 153 and never looked back! Anyway, I think that the 140s is a more realistic and reasonable goal than my original 130, so I am changing it to 141.4 to make it an even 100 pounds that I want to lose. I love even numbers, I'm an accountant and something about them makes me happy. When I told her that I wanted to lose that much weight in 2 years time, she said that was great, especially since I hadn't had gastric bypass or anything like that! Yikes. No reply from me, I just moved on to something else. I feel so guilty for being less than honest, but I don't think that my sister would even qualify for the surgery if she wanted it at less than 180 pounds, so I don't think it would be a help to her even if she knew. Maybe that's just my selfish justification for keeping my secret. What does everyone else think?

Hi All, I hope I might be able to find some help in a decision of whether to have my band removed or have it converted to Vertical Sleeve. (I can't bring myself to do Bypass and my husband is VERY against Bypass due to a friend having severe complications.) My band has slipped three times and I am facing my fourth surgery. For some reason every time I get the stomach flu and get sick... my band slips. I have had my band for two years and most of that time it has been unfilled due to a slip, unfilled due to post op or minor fill due to going slow on fills. I have managed to lose 55 pounds and keep it off, but I can't keep having slips every time I am sick. I have two children at two different schools and my husband and I both work so there are lots of opportunities for germs to come into our house. Do others that have the band slip so easily? I liked the fact that the band was relatively unintrusive, but I have feel it is time to do something that will not cause me to have surgery every 9 months. Luckily my insurance has covered the cost to date, but I see them refusing if this keeps happening. I have had two different surgeons (both work at the same practice) and both are in a Center of Excellence and have a good reputation. I am beginning to think there is just something wrong with my stomach and it doesn't like the band. Any help or advice is appreciated! Donna

Glad you are doing well. My 40th isn't until next march but That was one of my motivaters. I want to be fit and 40. My kids are 18,7,and 5. I need to be healthy for them and myself. Thanks for the info. I actually started this process in November. What held me up was meeting with Jane.She was out for a few weeks and my original appt to see her was 1/16 but I never got to see her until 2/24. I missed the march support group meeting because my daughter had an ear infection. Thanks again and keep up the good work.

Please know, you are not alone in revision surgery! My suggestion... after your stomach has healed go to a surgeon that does ALL major procedure types, band, sleeve, and bypass. If restriction is all you need and you don't need malabsorption, get a sleeve! They ROCK! I love mine, it is so much easier than banding. No slips, erosion, stomas, getting stuck, none of it. Just a tiny little stomach. Weight loss is faster, better, easier, and far fewer long term complications. They also remove Ghrelin, a hunger causing hormone produced mostly by the stomach. So hunger is not the same as before surgery. Here is a link to find out more: Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery (VSG) AKA Gastric Sleeve (NEW!) - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum If you go to someone who only does bands and bypass they aren't going to push the sleeve. It would be like a toyota dealer talking you into a ford. It isn't going to happen. That's why I suggest going to someone who does all the major procedures, you get a more balanced opinion. But no worries! There are options and they might just be better than the band!

Hi all, I wanted to say "HI" and tell a little about me. I have to admit I'm a little nervous so please bear with me I had the lap band placed August 2002 by Dr. Phillip Schauer at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (he has since moved on but I still follow with the practice). It did very well for me up until about 2-3 years ago ( I went from pre-op wt 263/ surg wt 240/ lowest wt 173. I felt the best ever at that weight. I started to learn how to eat around the band and slowly began putting the weight back on. Then about a year ago I got pretty sick (vomiting) which required hospitalization. I was afraid that my band had slipped. But the medical team didn't seem too concerned. I had a CT done at that time but somehow it got "lost" and I was lost to follow up. Well, I went back for a fill in Feb 2011 and they did an upper GI (Yuk!). This showed that my band slipped and was no longer functioning properly. I could have told them that when I gained all of the weight back! Anyway, My new surgeon, Dr. George Eid from the same practice, said that I would need to choose which of three surgeries I would need done. Either band revision, bypass, or something relatively new they have been doing called Sleeve gastrectomy. He said that I would be a good candidate for sleeve but that they haven't had much luck with insurance approval with my type of insurance (cash is not an option at this time), but that they would submit and push for the sleeve. So, I went home to think and do much research. I didn't want a lap revision since I've about had it with fills, etc. Bypass seemed too extreme for me. The more I researched, I found I really wanted the sleeve. I wasn't sure what I would choose once I got the call from the Dr wanting my decision fully expecting the sleeve to be denied. To my surprise, THE SLEEVE WAS APPROVED!! So they will do a lap removal to sleeve revision. Wow! I wasn't expecting that and had mixed feelings. I want to have weight loss surgery very much (i'm tired of being fat) but am TERRIFIED of anesthesia. I keep telling myself that I did it once, I can do it again. Also, I don't have much of a support system since I am divorced since my band. I have a wonderful >18 yr old son who is very supportive but hate the thought of him having to care for me even for just a week. The docs called me end of March with the good news stating they could do the surgery April 14th! Everything seemed to be happening so fast. I wasn't ready so soon. My son would not be done with college until first week of May, so I had to schedule for when he was home to take care of me and to make arrangements with work for 4 weeks off. My surgery date is May 12th. I have mixed feelings and don't know why. I am excited to start my life over again with my new weight loss journey but at the same time have a healthy respect for what's to come. I feel I have very experienced surgeon who is ranked among the highest in the nation. So my fears don't rest in that department. I still have to have my pre-op testing (labs, EKG, endoscopy, PCP, xray, Gyne). I hope all goes well so I don't have to postpone. I'm sure I'm not alone with my feelings but would sure appreciate any encouragment and/or advice. Thanks for being patient with me

Yes, i had this too. Yesterday was my first full day at home after my bypass. Ive noticed its better already. First couple of days felt like I was in a half dream, half awake state anytime i tried to sleep. Propping myself up, doing the walks and taking deep breaths regularly helped it improve quickly. Slept 4 hours straight last night, awake for an hour than 3 more. It gets better fast!

I found out today that the military hospital in South Korea doesn't do lap-band only bypass. :crying: I am disappointed but not devastated. I'm going to keep trying on my own to loose the weight while we are here and if nothing happens get it when we move again. So hopefully I'll either by slimmer or joining you all in two years.

Hi everyone, My mom has gastric bypass a few yrs ago and lost 80 pds despite needing to loose 120. Unfortunately, after that my cousin died tragically in a accident, my uncle died from cancer and she was diagnosed with cancer. She has now put on 35 pounds after all these tragic events so after her oncologist gave her the green light, we went back to her WLS surgeon. He suggested the best option now is a lapband over her bypass. We never heard of it! Has anyone heard of it here? Experiences, results more importantly safety?? We appreciate your help! I just was banded so once I recover, I want to take care of her. Thanks so much

:redface:I started my journey towards bariatric surgery the end of November 2007. I'm being worked up by James Harris, MD in Wilmington, NC. This past Friday I finished up all my preop requirements and I'm waiting now for my second appt with the surgeon...I'm somewhat undecided between which procedure that I want to have. This particular MD have done over 300 gastric bypass procedures (with a high success rate) and just started doing the lap bands. I'm curious to know if anyone out there has heard of this surgeon or been banded by him.

So I have been told that I have to have surgery prior to getting another surgery. I have never considered WLS in the past because I have always been able to keep my weight down with diet and exercise.....until I had a colon resection that I have yet to heal from. The last year has been a painful reminder that I am getting older and unable to recover like I used to. Because of my colon resection, I am unable to get the bypass surgery so my only option is the sleeve. I hope that it will be enough of a tool to help me lose this weight so I can get my second surgery done and on with my life. I have a four month wait period because my insurance still says that this is an elective regardless of the fact that my doctors (I have seen 4 different doctors and have been told the same thing) say that it is medically necessary. Next week I go in for my psych examine and to finally see my nutritionist, as well as have a ton of blood work done, a chest x-ray and something to do with my heart. I have tried to look at this as a plus, as it will help me lose some weight that I have been unable to lose as I have grown older. But at the same time, it is an extreme response to a problem that was created by another problem. I am not given any other options so I have no choice but to accept the diagnosis and move on. If anybody has any insight, I would appreciate it.

ok first of all -- BRAVO!!! 100 pounds in a year! that is so incredible and inspiring, ESPECIALLY because you said you did all that in the first half of the year and have been able to successfully maintain that weightloss for the past few months. so a huge round of applause to you girl, seriously! im gonna respond to the post you wrote on my visitor wall in this message board because you asked for my advice and i feel like i have to explain myself a lot more than this website will allow to fit in a visitor message! :wub: wrapping my head around being "skinny" is really hard, and im sure it is realllllly hard for you too, at least that is what i gather from what we have talked about in the past. one of my first memories of clothing sizes was in 5th grade wearing a size 12 (of course i worked my way up to a size 20 by the time i was banded). well the first few months i dropped weight consistently, and can say i had it down to a science because every day i have been writing down everything i eat in my online calorie counter. i bought my first pair of size 12 pants at the end of march.. but in the 2 months since then i did not really lose any more weight. i was overstressed and that had an effect on my band of course-- like everything does-- and at the beginning of may i had my band completely unfilled after my doctor was worried my stress had caused a slip (i could not get any food and eventually any liquid down). a week later i had an upper GI (had to swallow the barium liquid so they can look at me through an x-ray), and my body had already healed itself. this i could have told the doctor anyways-- because i DEFINITELY am hungryyy! but that is great news because it means i can slowly put Fluid back in my band. but unlike a year ago, when i would have felt hungry and gone out to eat a 4th or 5th or 6th meal at some fast food place, something has finally clicked in my head. i am so thankful for my band (JUST LIKE YOU OBVIOUSLY SHOULD BE!) because without it, this plateau would not have happened--- we both know i would have gained the weight back, then been depressed about gaining weight after all that hard work and eventually gain MORE weight. thankfully, with my band, i know i cant let myself down. this is why i have continued to write down everything i eat, even when i know i am going waaaay over the calories alotted for me for the day. i know sometimes i make poor food choices or say i shouldnt have eaten that or drank that... but because i am aware of what i am putting in my body, i know exactly what i have to do to lose the weight i want in the time i want to do it in. we are also in the same boat exercise-wise -- i have also found my motivation again! a few weeks ago is actually when i will say i started up. we both know how much i was exercising back in november-february, but school work made my life too busy, especially because i wanted to hang out with friends in my free time. but like i said-- i guess something clicked in my brain. i want to be healthy and fit and active more than anything, and while this band will certainly put me in the right direction, nothing and no one aside from me will get me to my goals. even when i dont have time for it, i HAVE to make the time for it. it takes a half hour to get in a solid workout, thats all. and then an hour to quickly shower and dry off/cool off, which i can do while watching tv or doing homework anyways. the hospital i went through assesses your physical fitness with a personal trainer in their physical therapy center before surgery, and when i first met him back in november, we became pretty good friends. i can obviously exercise without his help, but i called him and decided to "hire" him as my personal trainer for the summer (he hooked me up with a sweet discount because he knows im self-motivated so i wont be a tough client for him). i am so excited to work with him and get off this final weight. it is great to have someone else excited for me to lose weight and get fit too, and who cares about my well-being so that i won't injure myself doing so. i already feel so strong and powerful, and i have always loved that euphoric feeling that comes with exercise. i worked out really hard this morning and a few hours later i was still a little red even after a shower, but i saw an old mentor who was just gushing "jane-- you are absolutely GLOWING! you are so skinny now too! are you in LOVE or something? is there a BOY in your life?!?!" hahaha wellllllll that is certainly not the case, but its good to hear that my after-exercise redness makes me look like i am GLOWING and in love! ha i really want to give you solid advice-- like "do this" or take this magic pill and suddenly you will find the motivation in yourself to eat better and exercise on a lazy sunday. i want you to let go of your fears and let yourself get skinnier and healthier like you DESERVE to be. but obviously, i cant do that. all i can do is offer support and motivation like you do for me. and it sounds like something has finally clicked in your head too. year one is done and you have proven you were a successful bandster, and now it is time for year two-- the year for you to REACH YOUR GOAL and be healthy and happy and MAINTAIN IT! i have absolute faith that you will be there by next summer. alright. ive written a lot here, haha. but i hope this is all stuff you wanted to hear, and i hope that this summer we both accomplish our short-term goals! the past two weeks i have turned my plateau around and am losing again, finally. my size 12 express jeans are getting too big now, would you believe that? im smaller than the ten-year-old me!!!

I know and I guess he did it because of my diabetes I think and by the way my sugars have been way better plus he also wanted to give me a bypass and I kept refusing. I want baby steps first with the band. I now know how important it is to sip sip sip 1 oz every 5 mins but sheesh this ribcage pain hurts lol and sneezing with it is NO better