For those of you who chose the band with a BMI <40

[brittu 42]

I'd really love to get some input with lower-BMI banded folks. My BMI is right around 35. Unless I happen to get pregnant, I'm not going to gain enough weight to qualify for insurance coverage. I've got about 70ish pounds to lose at this point. I've been overweight all my adult life save for about 2 years that I lost weight and maintained it before heading up above 200lbs again. I had a baby last year and lost 36 pounds in the first 6 months but am back up about 18 to my pre-pregnancy weight.

I've been reading a lot about the band and went to a local seminar. My insurance covers the band for a BMI of 35+ with co-morbidities but the doctor's insurance specialist said it wasn't worth even trying to get coverage unless I had severe diabetes or other medical issues. So then I found other less expensive doctors including a few in Mexico that seem to have good reputations. My husband will support me going ahead with the band but I just can't seem to make up my mind...

I worry about the risks, even though I know they're small, because I have two tiny boys to raise. The idea that I might not ever be able to eat bread or rice or Pasta is a little disconcerting. The potential cost if something show go wrong is scary. On the other hand I worry that even if I gear up and lose the weight on my own, I won't be able to keep it off unless I do something like the band. I feel like I'm stuck.

For anyone who chose the band but had less than 100lbs to lose I'd love to hear from you: why you went ahead, how it's been working for you, and any other input you might have for me as I try to make my decision.

Thanks!

Britt

[Jachut 487]

I had a BMI of 36 I think, it depended on who was measuring my height!

I'm in Australia so I had no problem getting covered, our health system works differently, if my surgeon agreed it would be a good thing for me then I was covered, no questions asked. Also in Australia they've been doing the band for longer and have a different attitude, you can generally get done from a BMI of about 30 here because as my surgeon said at the info evening, most people simply pass through 30, 35 on the way through to higher levels of obesity. For me, there was definitely a preventative element in choosing this surgery.

I chose it becuase I'd just gotten to the stage I was tired of the diet merrygo round. My life was out of control becuase my body was out of control. I'd gotten fat enough that I had started to suffer with a bad ankle problem that no amount of physio, expensive orthotics etc was able to fix, I felt I looked dreadful, I was beginning to get depressed and because of my bad ankle, my activity levels were just dropping. All I could see for my future was continuing to get fatter.

It was the best thing I've ever done. I was warned not to expect the fast weight loss as I only had 35-40kg to lose but I did just fine and in fact my doc is rapt with me now as I've lost almost 20 which is half my excess weight, in 5 months. I havent lost for the last month though, in fact I'm starting to struggle not to gain so its definintely time to scale up my previously cautious approach to fills. I've been able to eat everything, bread, Pasta, the lot up until now and I may still be able to as its not so much that I need to go tighter as that I've lost restriction - due to weight loss, the band has gotten looser.

I've never PB'd (vomited) anything. I take it slowly and carefully, stop when my body says its having difficulty getting something through. Being banded does not ahve to be all about throwing up all the time, sure it happens to everyone occasionally but there's plenty of people here for whom its infrequent or has never ever happened.

But I'm in a headspace now that if I need to go that bit tighter and some foods become impossible, so be it. YOu dont have to face that all at once. Bread to me is now only bread, Pasta is only pasta. Our family meals havent changed much, I usually dont have the side potato, pasta or whatever because I cant fit it in.

My social life remains unchanged, I go out for dinner without worry, I eat whatever is available, just not terribly much. Its a huge weekend here, my nieces birthday, mothers day on Sunday with two families to see, and I'm not worried like I used to be that it'll be a weekend of gorging with a big fat 2kg gain at the other side of it. That's for everyone else, I go to sample, taste, enjoy what's there in moderation. This has freed me to enjoy food, not be scared of it.

Doing research on the band is daunting, there appear to be so many rules. Protein levels, drinking with meals etc. That's an American thing - its much more relaxed for me, I dont worry about any of that stuff, I just eat less and that works. I try to include more healthy foods, less unhealthy ones. I havent counted a calorie since I began. I'd never advise anyone to ignore what they've been told to do but you can approach these things as you're ready, as long as you eat less you'll lose weight.

I dont think I could live with a really restricted diet though - if I had trouble with meat, fruit etc then to me I'd be too tight. That's the beauty though, you get to choose. I dont need my band to be so tight that I dont need to exercise any self control, I can eat bread yes, but I dont eat 10 slices because I know I cant do that and lose weight. A big part of my focus was a healthy diet and I refuse to be able to eat so little that I start to get malnourished.

With a smaller amount to lose its been great because you get results almost immediately. 14 kg off and I could suddenly run again. My ankle is so much better, not normal, but I can run regularly and not be crippled. I can shop in normal stores. I'm now just overweight, not obese.

Then next 20kg looks like a long hard road because its no longer just melting off me, and I reckon it will take me the rest of the year but I'll get there.

I have kids too - two boys aged 10 and 8 and a 3 year old little girl. I'm so much a better mother to them now, my healthy actions are educational for them, our family eats better as a whole, we bought a treadmill the whole family uses, its just all good, nothing bad as far as I can see.

[Miper70 0]

What kinds of co-morbidities do you have? Don't let these people scare you away from trying to get it covered. All you can do is try. I tries and tried, but my insurance didn't cover band at all. I ended up going to Dr. Ortiz in Mexico which costs about 8500.00. I had a BMI of 35-36 also.

[Mrs Sabre 1]

My insurance covers 35-40 BMI with diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease. I have none of these, but do have 7 other conditions/risk factors that would be improved or cured by weight loss. I was initially denied and wrote one appeals letter. Two weeks later the denial was overturned and my surgery approved. I'll be banded June 5th.

I'm not saying every insurance company works this way, but it may be worth a shot before trying Mexico?

Also, I've heard a number of folks having great experiences with various MX doctors, but some have had difficulty finding fill doctors in the US. You may want to research this too before deciding?

[NaturalBeauty 2]

I agree Karen. Britt, you really need to find a fill doctor here before going to Mexico cause this could hender your progress. I was banded in Mexico by Dr. V and I thanks God for his fantastic work! My downfall was not finding a doctor here immediately after or before being banded. I have actually heard of horror stories from some patients with doctors in Mexico so make sure you research it throughly.

I to had a low BMI, 37. I was difinately overweight and needing to lose a lot of weight but I new insurance wasn't going to cover me and I didn't want to go through the hastle so I self paid.

My favorite is bread also but do I miss it? Sometimes but not more than how I feel being smaller. It doesn't bother me as bad now cause I know I can't handle it. What I did was, I had a funeral and buried it. I've mourned and I've even tried to dig it up but the band always reminds me, it died and you can't have it, so I leave it alone now.

There will be things that you can't have but what is more important to you right now? Bread or being a healthy mom for your children and yourself? It is your decision but I believe this is a great tool and it has helped me greatly over the year. I Celebrate my 1 year band anniversary tomorrow and I am more excited about that than I was about my birthday which was last Saturday.

Best wishes to you in making your decision.

[niki 1]

Hi,

I had my band surgery 15 months ago with a BMI of approximately 35 and even though I still have more than 20 Kgs to loose (this has been a very slow and graduate proccess) I still believe that having the band is the best thing I ever did for myself!

The band is just a tool that's there to help you because you're the one who has to do most of the work (exercising more, eating correctly and making the right choices, etc) but there's no comparison on the quality of life you get once you have it and you start loosing some weight!

I also have a kid (7 years old) and now I can go play in the park with him, or to the swimming pool, or to the beach, etc, etc.

And who says you can't eat bread or Pasta for the rest of your life??? of course you can! You can still enjoy all the same things you did before - but you should notice the difference between «can't» and «shouldn't» because it's sure you'll have some problems in loosing weight if you still stuff yourself with bread and cheese... but you can enjoy every now and then, a slice of bread and some cottage cheese (as my nutritionist says, it's not really the bread that makes us fat, it's what we put on top of it...), and instead of having a whole bunch of fries, you can have 2 or 3 along with a nice salad. I still eat Pasta, but instead of having a huge quantity of tortellini, I only take a little quantity and I have them with some broccolli or zuchinni on the side. The band is there to help you to reduce the amount of food you eat per meal, that's all. In my case, it helps me to have the will power to make the right choices on what I eat and to go to the gym or take 30'min. walks every day. And I never had a PB in these 15 months or any other complication in these 15 months. Loosing weight for me has been going smoothly, calmly and very slowly - but then, it took me more than 20 years to get to the 100Kgs I had before surgery, therefore I don't expect to loose all this fat and extraweight in just a few months.

Don't get scared with everything you read, do a lot of reading and research as much as you can. In the end, you'll have to be the one to decide which is best for you.

Lots of luck!

niki