Seriously considering Lap-Band.. I Have ?'s

Ok Hi everyone. I am new here. I ran across this site and was excited to see that I can talk to REAL people who have had this. And better yet are in my regional area. I became alittle disappointed to see that some people have to wait over a year to be approved by the ins. carrier. I have United Healthcare and have no idea what they would say. By the reading I have done I am 99.9% sure I am a very good canidate for this. Does anyone have anything to inform me on as to what to expect on my first visit? I'm the type that likes even the small details. I want to be prepared and help my journey go as smoothly as possible. Anything you have to say, little or big, will be taken to heart. Like I said I'm a newbie to all of this and would love some help! Thanks everyone!

Hi Shawna........I just had surgery on August 1st, so I can't give you too much information on life after lap band, but I can tell you about the pre-op experience. I went to my first informational seminar on April 19th, had my initial appointment with the surgeon on May 11th, and enrolled in the mandatory educational/support program by May 15th. After meeting with the surgeon, I was told to have a behavioral and medical assessment (provided through the program I joined), meet with a dietician, have a pulmonolgy assessment, cardiac assessment, and to attend pre-op education classes and support group meetings. I pushed really hard to get them all done by June 11th, but I still didn't get my date until July 25th. It took me 4 weeks to get the second appointment and final approval from the surgeon, but only two days to be approved by my insurance. Once you get your tests and assessments out of the way, it's just a waiting game. I was also told to lose 30 pounds pre-op, which was very difficult. You also have to prepare for the specialists to require more testing if they feel it's necessary. When I went to the cardiologist, he required me to have a echocardiogram and a nuclear stress test. The pulmonologist required a sleep study for apnea. So far, the most difficult part of this whole process is the pre-op experience.........I was under a time constraint since I am a teacher and wanted the surgery completed early in the summer. If you have time, try not to stress yourself out with all the requirements, and take your time. It will come quicker than you think! I hope this helped........good luck and keep us posted on your progress............

Thanks for the info! Something I am worried about is I heard most want a 5 year history report from your doctor. Well the thing is luckily for me even being overweight over 100 lbs I do not have any serious health issues. I've only been to my dr. for sore throats! But I am overweight! And I want this really bad. Today I took my first baby step. I haven't mentioned this to my fiance b/c I was scared of his reaction. I decided to talk to him today and he is 100% supportive and asked me to make my first appt.!! Now I'm really excited about starting this process. One question, when do you find out if your ins. will approve this or not? I'd hate it if i go through all the pre op mess and find out I'm not approved and I did it all for nothing! I can see myself getting depressed and getting even fatter! lol..

Hi Shawna... make sure your insurance is going to cover lap band. I know that some insurance companies.. including mine (BCBS of Alabama) just stopped covering the lap band. I am having the RNY.

Oh that's kind of scary. I hope this doesn't happen thanks for the warning. Good Luck to you with the RNY i don't know much about that one!

Oh.. RNY is just short for Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass. It's considered the "Gold Standard" of all bariatric weight loss surgeries. -Marianne C.

Yeah I had just looked that up. I just knew it by "gastric bypass" I'm very familiar with that one. I co-worker of mine had hers last year. She looks so different now, she's an inspiration!

Oh isn't it great to have people you know who have had it and are such an inspiration! They sure do put wind in your sails don't they? My WLS angel had it done 2 1/2 yrs ago. She looks like a different person now too. I look at pictures of her from back when before surgery and it seems like it's someone I knew but havn't seen in a long time. LOL Her OH name is Mary J. if anyone is curious. She is a good angel let me tell you. She lives up North for the summer and is flying down here to Florida to be with me for my surgery. hugs, Marianne C.

How did you decide to chose RNY over lap band?

A few reasons. Of course when I made the decision I didn't even know then that my insurance was going to stop coverin lap band so it's a good thing I made the decision to have RNY. I liked the fact that RNY has TWO ways to lose and keep weight off. The main one is that the size of the stomach restricts the amount we can eat. So does the lap band. But with RNY you also have a malabsorption so some of the calories that you do get are not absorbed so it's a two fold reason why you lose weight. This is also the reason why people lose faster and more weight than the lap band. I wasn't crazy about the idea of having to go back to do "fills" with the lap band. I didn't like the idea of this foreign object being inside my body forever. I also read where sometimes your body rejects it and can grow around it. The long term success rate was not as good as with RNY. In fact this is the reason my insurance company stopped covering it. I also figured as long as I'm having this invasive surgery, I'd might as well go for the Gold Standard. The surgery is still as invasive as the lap band. So these are some of the reasons I decided to go for RNY. -Marianne C.