looking at weight loss helps

i hate to admit it, but i'm whipped!!  for the past 10 years, i've battled weight loss from all angles! dieting, exercising, medications...with very meager results. 

i have been diagnosed as a metabolic syndrome person.  i take metformin twice a day and watch what i eat, as far as carbs go... and i've been exercising like crazy, but its not helping much at all.

soooo.... out of frustration, i'm researching the lapband...

it appears to me that its the least invasive... but maybe you know some things i don't?  i'd appreciate your input...

also, i'd like to think my insurance... kentucky employee humana would assist in financing this...

i don't know if i meet their requirements...  i've the following proven diagnosi...

hypertension
metabolic syndrome

and my PCP says she'll bet her office call that i have a sleep disorder...

but this is going to get done if i have to pick up pop cans to pay for it!!!!  

HELP?!!!

Everyone on here can 100% sympathize with your struggles.

Some of the best advice I can give is research research research. My husband, mother-in-law and I all have the band and we love it. I also have numerous friends and 4 cousins who have had the bypass and it has made a world of difference. I know very little about the other WLS procedures but a lot of the people on this board have had other things done like the sleeve and the switch and have had great success.
The band was relativley the easiest surgery I've ever had. My husband had it on a Weds and played 18 holes of golf the following Thurs.
My docotr is Thomas Sonnanstine he is located in Georgetown Ky. We live 5ish miles south of Cincy so we drive about an hour to see him. I have heard excellent things about other surgeons located all across the state though.
I'm sorry I know exactly nothing about insurance.

I wish you much luck and ask plenty of questions on here sometimes it takes a bit for people to get back to you on here but they can be very helpful.

Wendy

thank you Wendy...

i'm doing exactly that.... read read read!!! 


how was it after the surgery?  i hear stories from time to time about people having problems after this or that procedure, and at the time, i didn't pay much attention to it... i still kept thinking i could do this myself...

i understand that some of the procedures require a period of time for only liquid foods, or baby foods...

i'm hypoglycemic, is that a problem? 

thanks again!

I have had very few problems and most of them were honestly user error. The first thing I did was swallow a big wad of chewing gum, and then a few weeks ago I had an issue were I got something stuck and instead of calling the doctor immediately I waited almost a week and got myself in such a mess that I had to have my fluid drained but i am alsmot completely re-filled.

Our surgeon has a post surgery diet plan for the band and is something along the lines of this(it's been almost 2 years so I am not guaranteeing this is exactly it):
For 2 weeks post op- liquids
Week 3- pureed foods(apple sauce, puddings etc)
Week 4- soft foods(mashed potatoes, whole grain pasta etc)
Week 5- you start introducing more solid foods and should be almost totally back to regular foods

I do not know what the diet plan is for any of the other procedures but I'm sure someone on here could tell you.

I do not believe hypoglycemia is a problem

Anything else let me know

I do not know about your insurance but go ahead and have the sleep tests. I was CERTAIN I did not have have it, did and got a cpap and I swear as soon as I used it I noticed a huge difference. Sleeping better will help with almost everything.
Keep looking at WLS it sure as heck helped me.  Read my blog in its entirety if you have awhile, I went thru some stuff to get it done, but it was truely worth it for me.
In 6.5 months I have lost 113 pounds- I still have about 30 to go, but hell yes I'll take it!

good luck and if you have specific insurance questions post them here I am sure the Guru will answer you...she is an awesome advocate!

I had the band in June 2009.  Lost 33 pounds officially.  The weight loss with the band is slower than the gastric bypass. 

I'm also an employee of the great Commonwealth of Kentucky.  I have Humana.  My insurance covered the testing as well as the surgery - other than the deductible.  Now that I've met the deductible I pay the doctor's visit co-pays.  Insurance approved me rather quickly.

valerie 

Call the number on the back of your insurance card and ask them if they cover bariatric surgery, and what the requirements are. Ask them to mail you a copy. This way you don't waste a lot of time, and possibly co-pays for things that you might not need. Also, it will let you know if you need to do a 6 month supervised diet as a requirement, so you can get jump started on that as well. Hypertension is considered a co-morb for most insurances, so if your BMI meets the requirements, you should be good to go.

Speaking from experience, if you have hypoglycemia, you might want to look into the DS, as hypoglycemia tends to get worse after an RNY. Also, if you are a metabolic syndrome person, the DS is a metabolic surgery. Do some research on it. The lapband does not address anything metabolically, and I'd hate to see you put your time and effort into a procedure that is going to disappoint you in the future.

Also, go to the RNY board and ask about the hypoglycemia and reactive hypoglycemia. I'm sure you'll get tons of answers.

One last thing - surgery is surgery. Lapband is touted as the "least invasive" but you are still being put under anesthesia, and you are still having surgery on your stomach. No two ways around the risks associated with that. The stats show that a good deal of lapbanders will require an additional surgery sometime down the road for erosion, band slippage, leaking port, etc. I'd take my chances on another surgery up front.