Lap Band Who's happy ~ Who's not; Why?

Hello WL Family: I am 5'4" tall and weight 242lbs. I am afraid to have something done that cannot be reveresed. Therefore I am considering the Lap-Band surgery. However, I have heard many stories of people loosing 2-3 lbs per month; I have only heard of few people loosing 5lbs or more per month. My surgery is scheduled the 5th of July W/ Dr. Tiesenga; I am hoping to loose 40lbs by December. Please give me input on your experience/results with the Lap-Band. Regards, Juli M

Juli, I hope it is ok if I respond. I have BCBS of Illinois (State Farm Plan) so I venture over to this forum to see what problems the members here face with BCBS. Lap Band was just started in Alabama a couple of months ago and I know a few of the members there have had it. Would you like to post on that board to get their responses. I know of one or two have not had fast results in losing the weight - yet I would rather you hear the facts from them directly. I hope this helps. Good luck on whatever decision you make! Beth M

Hey Beth! How is the insurance thing going? I'm still in the holding pattern - having submitted some information and waiting for a response. Right now my surgeon's office isn't worried as we still have time to resolve things. But I'm worrying! Have you heard of anyone getting approved with BC/BS PPO IL? Good luck!! San

San, I was in Bloomington last week and guess what!!! I went to Kinko's and had them drill holes in the 200 page appeal package. On Friday, before heading back to Alabama - I went to the corporate office and submitted my appeal paperwork to the Benefits office. It has everything they have asked for in there. I feel really good about it. I have been praying along with so many others. I will definitely let you all know when I hear something back. Don't worry. All of this fighting WILL be worth it all. I have checked the Insurer's forum and haven't seen much. However if you go to the Insurance Help Form here on OH, you will find that Gary Viscio has helped several people. I just could not get an atty involved at this point and affect my job (I have an ERISA plan). I love my job! He has helped many people get approved and has even said that it may be 3 mos, 6 mos or a year but BCBS of IL will pay. He has won several cases against them. If you go to the WLS HOME link at the top of this page you will see a list of forums that you can go to in the left hand section of that page. Just choose Insurance Help Forum. Beth M

Hey Beth! Thanks for the tip. I'm on my way over to the Insurance Help Forum to check it out. Glad things seem to be looking up for you! I'll post something when there's a change in my insurance status, too! Wish you all the best! San

Hi Juli, I'm in the exact same boat. I have some auto immune issues and I must say that out of all my doctors only the surgeon is totally gunho about WLS and my PCP is basically saying..well nothing else worked..why not? But as far as my endocrinologist, family doctor and rheumatologist, they are in the anti WLS camp. I have been thinking about lapband as a happy medium. But I have read alot of things that are pushing me towards the RNY lap surgery instead. My surgery date for the RNY is July 12th. I have no approval yet from the good ole boys at BCBS (PPO) so its a waiting game filled with alot of uncertainties. Good luck, roxy

Hey Roxy!! I'm in pretty much the same boat you're in - have a July date (the 25th) scheduled with Dr. F for a lap RNY and BC/BS IL PPO! I also struggled with what to do - whether to have WLS and then what sort of WLS to have. My regular internist/doctor is the one who first suggested WLS to me. I've also read a lot about the RNY (a year is a long time to think about all this) and talked to every doctor they sent me to for pre-op certifications. All the specialists I've seen - gastroenterologist, cardiologists - said the same thing: the surgery was great and it was good that I was doing this now instead of waiting until I was too sick to do it. My cardiologist said that he had patients he wished he could recommend for WLS, but they were already too sick to have it done. Once you are sure about what you are doing, don't second guess yourself - just make the best decision you can and go with it. My friend used to have a saying: choose, prize and act. And I guess I'd add - don't look back! Good luck! San

Wow San, We really are in the same boat. I have Dr. F too! It's funny I stil vasilate back and forth with the lapband and still have a tiny nagging voice in the back of my head saying maybe I just need to stick to not eating as much and be more disciplined. But that little voice is losing its roar and I have come to the realization that there isn't enough will power in me to cut down my eating and lose all this excess weight and keep it off without any help. I think it was on this board, someone said that the mortality rate on this surgery really pertains to the skill of the surgeon. Well with that reasoning, I guess being that I'm scheduled with Dr. F, I can't be anymore safe. I'm glad you've got the support of your various doctors. I'm still struggling with mine. Good luck! See ya over at the losing side roxy

Hi I have the lap band and I am happy with my choice.......I have lost 48lb so far.....There is a lap band board and there are so many people that have done so well with the band....you may want to check out that board.. go to a gallery....then member forum and then click on lap band... With the band you average 1-2lb's a week....Feel free to ask me any questions...Good Luck Tina

Hi Juli I have heard many good things about the lap band. I chose RNY instead because I knew that I could really cheat the lap band and probably would not have much success with it myself. Most of my problem was the kind of foods that I ate before surgery. I believe that it is a descision that you must make on your own. Everyone is different, and while some people may have great success with banding, others like myself probably would not. ((((HUGS)))) Dawn