I would love to hear from some Lap Band Patients!

Hello- I am looking to have the lap band surgery. My consultation visit is scheduled for 11/1 with Dr. Iragu.  I would love to chat with those who have had this surgery done. Thank you!

I'd be happy to chat with you about my experience.  Feel free to contact me.  Thanks, Lisa

Dr Irgau did my lap band surgery on 9-11-06..He is a GREAT surgeon, with great office and bedside manners. The best decision of my life...Try to get to one of the monthly lap band support meeting, you will learn so much from everyones expierence... The meetings are really laid back, so don't be nervous LOL....Best of luck  Dave

Dr Irgau did my lap band surgery May 30th 2007 - I weighed in a 469 Lbs. - I'm now 383 Lbs. - this was by far the best decission of my life.... I have a wonderful wife and family that is still helping me  get past the tough times - Twink

Hi, I'm also interested in the lap band. My appointment is 10/31 with Dr. Peters and I too would love to hear from those who have been through it. I've been wondering how long it took to get all the pre op work ups done. (how long from initial appointment to surgery) And your experiences with them (the classes, the psychologist, the endocrinologist, etc). Thanks!

The length of time from inital consult to the actual surgery varies. Alot of that depends on what your insurance company requires for approval and if your company is one that automaticly requires you have documentation of a "medically supervised" weight loss attempt before considering approval. My required pre-op appontments for Pulm & Cardio & Psych Consults were not that bad -they requested I have a Pulm fuction test, sleep apnea test, echocardio & stress test. Everyone got me right in w/in 2 wks of the original appt.  I go the 30th to get my test results for approval. If all goes well I call for my surgery date. Wish me luck.  My company insurance (Aetna)  has an exclusion for any weight loss methods, so I am self paying. That actually helped me out, the required nutrition classes (3) & support meetings (3) are less for a self pay w/out a pre-op weight loss requirement - if I would/could have gone through Aetna - they required alot more meetings & a required pre-op weight loss requirement (10% I think). It also varies as to which hospital you use. I can tell you St Francis is cheaper than Christana for self pays & each hospital also have different class requirements. So it's hard to give you an exact time frame.      

Thanks for responding. Have you decided which hospital you're going to use? I could go either way, although since I live in Newark, probably Christiana is more convenient. Although the classes are not.

I believe (hope?) my insurance BC/BS PPO will cover and I believe I meet all of the requirements (including a current membership to Weigh****chers which shows that it took me 5 months to lose 23 lbs and 3 months to gain most of it back - sigh...). I hope the tests come back okay.

I'm 52 and oh so tired of gaining and losing and gaining more...Over the last year I gave it a really good shot on my own. Exercising regularly and going to WW, but it just wasn't enough. It's hard to exercise when I'm this heavy in spite of it feeling good afterwards (never during). Being able to exercise without carrying an extra 100+++ lbs is one thing I am looking forward to.

I have some fears and anxieties, but I know it's the right thing to do.

Thanks again for responding and I wish you luck on the 30th! btw, my name is Barb

I had my lapband surgery with Dr. Wynn on 9-13-06.  I couldn't be more thrilled with the results--I had insurance problems with BC/BS but no longer.

The reason why I chose the lapband was we had fertility problems for over 3 years, which packed some weight on and the weight gain made it even more difficult to get pregnant.  It was a vicious cycle and easily the most difficult emotional journey I ever had to endure! I lost almost 40lbs when we found out we were pregnant--with no fertilty drugs in July.  My hormone/endocrine problem was undetectable and my blood sugar levels were much more desirable.   So I called Dr. Wynn and she saw me right away--even though their office was in the midst of recovering from flooding!  She took the fluid out of my band--making it safe for baby and my constant morning sickness.   I am currently gaining weight and couldn't be happier.  So, I like to say Dr. Wynn got me pregnant!  She says as soon as I can get in after the baby is born, she will fill me right up and the baby weight will come off.  She said every mother should have a Lap Band! I couldn't agree more.  The LapBand has made my and my husbands long awaited dream come true!! So I think it was the best decision I ever made!  I have seen each of the Chrias Docs for fills and loved them all!  I especially love Dr. Wynn.  She listened to what I needed and my results were dead on!  I don't regret a thing.   Make sure you do what they tell you to do, so it works.  The liquid diet stunk but my healing went much better!  Surgery is too much to go through to not follow the rules--remember they know what they are doing!

Congratulations on your pregnancy!! How wonderful!

I wish I'd had the lap band when I got pregnant back in 1990 with twins. Sixteen years later and I'm still carrying the "baby weight" (wow time has sure flown).

So far I've only met Dr. Peters but I've heard wonderful things about Dr. Wynn. I'd really like to have this work and from what I'm reading it really will take following the rules. I'm 52 and I'd like to be around for grandbabies. Since my kids are 22, 16, and 16, it's gonna be a while.

Again, congrats on the baby.

-Barb

Thank you so much we are thrilled.   Good luck with your surgery.  It will all be worth it!