Hi my name is Ron.

[ronnfia 13]

Just realized I never made an introduction!!!

Hi , my name is Ron. It took me 16 months from first appointment to surgery.

I was Banded on March 17 2008 (Happy St Patty's Day). I lost 27 pounds on my pre-op diet. It was much easier than I thought it would be, until the holidays hit. had to make a mad dash to the finish line to loose the last few pounds b4 surgery.

I had my procedure done In Fremont California by Dr. Dutta and his staff. They were all wonderful as well as the staff in the Hospital after surg. I stayed 1 night and went home the next day. Sounds like I have been having issues most others have been having so far; no fill yet and getting hungry!

One thing I have been experiencing is air/gas in my stomach. it was bothering me so bad after surg that I went to the store and bought Gas-ex. It helped a little. has anyone else had this problem? I still struggle with it and wondering if it will get worse after fillings?

So far this site has been a God send, you are all wonderful and I totally appreciate all positive and sometimes negative input. I think I need to tuffin my skin to take the negative. Queenie (haha)

Enjoy the site, it's a lot of fun and informative!!!

[MacMadame 81]

There is someone in Fremont doing this surgery?! Oh wait, I forgot about Kaiser. Did you have your surgery there? I drive by there all the time.

I don't have Kaiser and the closest East Bay doctors I could find were at Alta Bates in Oakland and ValleyCare in Pleasanton. The Oakland guy hadn't done enough lap bands for my comfort level though.

[ronnfia 13]

I did have my surgery at kaiser in Fremont. I dont remember the # but they do them all day long there. lap band and RNY.

My insurance (Kaiser duh) covered it 100% due to my sleep apnea. My BMA was at 38. I had my routine blood work and regular check ups in Santa Clara but only Kaiser Fremont and South San Francisco do the procedures. I will need to get my fills done there too..

[Elisabethsew 50]

Welcome and congratulations on your success.

[MacMadame 81]

I have Aetna but WLS is excluded. I can switch to UHC or Kaiser at open enrollment time. UHC covers it under certain conditions that I had trouble getting a firm answer as to what they were out of the CS rep I talked to and I haven't looked into Kaiser since my family has been with the same doctor since '96 and we don't want to change. I strongly suspect it's covered though.

I have a BMI of 42 and hypertension.

[Parvathi 2]

Welcome, Ron :cry_smile:

The gas (at least for me) subsides. I had it for about a month - 6 weeks post op. After that though, luckily, it went away. The best thing for me when it occurred, was walking.

[ronnfia 13]

Kaiser covers the procedure as long as your bmi is 40, or 38 with a health related condition, mine was sleep apnea and a bmi of 38. My nutritionist suggested i pursue it and with a little coaxing my gen practitioner agreed to refer me to the Bariatric Department, and the rest is history....

Thank you for the greetings and warm wishes:biggrin::cry_smile::biggrin:

[WendyB 0]

Hi I am Wendy.

I was told to use Phazyme for the gas pain. Many banders mentioned it worked better than Gas-X for them and it can be bought in any store. I got mine at Walmart to pack for my surgery trip. Good luck.

[lizzy h 0]

Alta Bates Oakland Dr Upadhyay is F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. I am a Kaiser patient, but went outside Kaiser and had Dr Upadhay do mine...get this I was his 1st Lap band ever in 2004..... I have some thoughts on this, let me know if you want more details

[ronnfia 13]

Hey all, anyone still on this thread? Can't believe it's been 4 years. Still down 50+ pounds but definitely still struggle. Foods just doesn't mean much to me anymore. Sometimes I would rather not eat than deal with the uncomfortable full feeling and the occasional slimming. Anyway, how about updates, if anyone has the time.

[ronnfia 13]

Update time,

Hello to anyone out there. Just passed the 5 year mark. Have been happy with weight, not skinny but not getting any bigger. Complications a few months ago. Had a bout with vertigo and ended throwing up a few times. It was the first time for me to actually throw up from my stomach and not from eating too fast. From that point on I started to feel funny, I was able to "feel" my band and port more prominent. Was uncomfortable as soon as i started eating was always felt odd. I let it go on for a few months before going back to my Bariatric dr for a check up. Turns out it may have slipped. My dr immediately unfilled by band (weight gain started right away!!) and now I have to wait till August to get an X-ray to see if it moved back. If it doesn't correct itself I will get the option to have it removed and replaced with ru en y. Any thoughts from anyone out there???

[dawalsh 919]

Hi Ronn

Did your doctor give you the option of a sleeve?

I just feel that you were given only one option.

I opted for the band but I originally wanted the sleeve. If I do have problems down the line I would probably opt for the sleeve.

I'm in FL, and I live in Titusville but travel to St Petersburg which is 3 hrs away but that's a story in itself. I went to seminars for 3 yrs, I wanted a person to person relationship with my surgeon. I have that with my surgeon. The other places I went fills were handled by someone other than the surgeon. Then you never saw the surgeon again unless a complication set in. I couldn't handle that. I have to have a rapport with the doctor.

Wishing you well and hope everything turns out OK for you.

[ronnfia 13]

Hi Dawalsh, thanks for your comment. In the clinic I go to (kaiser) there are 4 surgeons that handle the operations and the fills, i get to see my surgeon occasionally but normally See another for my fills and follow up appointments. Kaiser does the sleeve but my dr is recommending the ru en y if I have it redone. She advised me of patients having lots of reflux issues with the sleeve and ultimately I would prefer gastric bypass because in an emergency my dr said it can be reversed. The sleeve cannot be. Wish me luck in my travels!!!

[dawalsh 919]

Good luck Ron!